I will be installing the UC300ETH motion controller and 5LPT-UC300 motherboard on my DIN rail platform.
By using a ethernet based motion controller we better electrically isolate our PC from the CNC. In addition we can move the controlling PC further away from the CNC if needed.
The UC300ETH gives us 49 Inputs and 36 Outputs, as well as 2 analog inputs and 2 analog outputs. It can be controlled with both the UCCNC software and Mach3.
Mounting the UC300ETH
The first thing I did was 3D print a couple of my KR Universal Long DIN Rail brackets and attach them to the UC300ETH Mother board, as shown here.
The board is mounted on the DIN rail platform as shown here. I located it close enough that my ribbon cable will reach the G540 motor driver DB25 pin connector.
Powering the UC300ETH
The UC300ETH requires a 5 volt power source. Normally I would use a small buck converter to pull create this voltage but all of the converters I had on hand can take a maximum of 36 volts input.
I opted for a closed frame 110v to 5v power supply shown here.
I normally use a heavy duty terminal block to connect all my 110V devices to the mains. Unfortunately these are on order so I have to wing it.
In this case the 5v power supply's 110v input is connected to the input terminals on the 48v power supply.
I wire the output of the 5v power supply to the power connector on the UC300. Note that the negative lead is the terminal near the edge of the board.
The 5v jumper is set to the position shown here.
I rout my ribbon cable from the DB25 connector on the G540 to port 2 on the UC300 mother board.
Note that you will need an IDC26 to male DB25 ribbon cable to connect to the G540. If you cant get a cable with a male DB25 connector, you can use one with a female and a gender changer.
With with the UC300ETH all powered up, I connected a standard Ethernet cable between the PC and UC300ETH. Note that my PC supports auto direction Ethernet ports so a stanard strait through cable can be used. If you are running an older PC you may need to use a crossover cable.
Connecting to the UC300ETH
The Ethernet based motion controllers require more work to get up and running than do the USB based ones. You cant simply just install a driver and go. Unfortunately you must configure windows to communicate with the UC300ETH board.
I am not going to get into the windows configuration as its covered in the UC300ETH manual here:
!!!Important!!!
The manual covers the power connector near the end of the manual. Unfortunately this needs to be set before you start the network configuration.
It will take you step by step through the process of configuring windows to talk to your UC300ETH.
Once windows is setup, you will need to configure the UC300ETH. This is done with the UCXXX Utility.
This is also covered in the manual.
The software can be downloaded here:
Mach3 Plugin
In order to use Mach3 to control the UC300ETH you need to install a plugin.
The plugin can be downloaded here:
Once the plugin has been installed, you will be presented with a dialog when you start Mach3 so that you can choose the interface. In this case I select the UC300ETH option.
Since I am using port 2 on the UC300ETH, All my port settings need to be changed to changed to that LPT.
Conclusion
I now have the UC300ETH setup and communicating with my PC. I now have Mach3 configured and controlling the CNC. It's now time to do a little more testing.
I don't want to publish the Mach3 configuration file just yet as it is in a state of flux.
I also want to get the UCCNC software working with the UC300ETH. When I do, the write up will be posted on this page.