EDM V2.

0 Stepper Motor Conversion

Description of Operation
Rev 2.0 Jan. 7/2015
The stepper conversion circuit obtains signals from the main EDM board through
the U4 chip socket. These signals can be obtained by not installing the socket and instead
soldering wire leads into the holes in the board or preferably inserting a component
platform into the socket and solder the wires to that. If the latter option is used then the
stepper conversion can easily be removed and the original IC U4 can be re-installed to go
back to the original gear motor.
I chose to go one step further for my personal version because I have the ability to
make ribbon cables so I made a ribbon cable to plug into the U4 position in place of the
IC. The signals are then transferred to the stepper conversion board on the ribbon cable.
Looking at the schematic (separate file) you will see that the 12v power is
borrowed from the EDM board via U4(8) and U4(12) along with the two signals from the
window comparator on U4(10) and U4(15).
The 12v power supply is regulated down to 5volts to power the stepper
conversion circuit logic described below.
Since the comparator (U3 on the EDM board) has pull-up resistors of a fairly
large value the comparator signals are unable to supply enough current to drive high logic
levels properly.
All of the logic in the stepper circuit is furnished by one chip which is a
74HCT86E exclusive OR gate. This chip is able to drive 20ma both low and high. DO
NOT substitute other TTL exclusive OR logic chips they will not drive high properly.
The high level is required to drive the direction leds, the stepper driver and other logic all
at the same time.
The comparator signals are 12v levels so R1 and R2 combined with the 10k
resistors on the EDM board divide the 12v signals down to 5v levels for the stepper
conversion logic.
IC1A and IC1B are configured as simple non-inverting drivers to get enough
drive for the rest of the logic and the direction Led(s). The outputs of those two gates
(pins 3 and 6) are connected through R3 and R4 for two direction leds which can be
connected to JP4. One led is on the front panel of the machine and one is on the head in
the original configuration.
The outputs of IC1(3) and IC1(6) also feed the next logic gate IC1(c). This gate
provides all of the proper decoding of the comparator signals which are:
0 / 1 - which decodes to motor UP
1 / 0 - which decodes to motor DOWN
1 / 1 - which decodes to motor STOP (i.e. "in the window")
0 / 0 - this logic combination can theoretically exist but in practice due to the levels
normally in the EDM circuit (apparently) is never achieved. None the less it is decoded in
this circuit as a motor STOP.
IC2 is a 555 timer configured as a pulse generator. When the EDM is "in the
window" IC1(c) puts out a logic zero level which disables the 555 pulse generator

thereby stopping the stepper motor. Forward and reverse (UP / DOWN) are both decoded
as a logic high level so either enables the 555 pulse generator and so the motor runs.
A 555 timer cannot produce a normally low signal with a small positive pulse unless you add several more components - so the last logic gate IC1(d), rather than going
unused, is configured as an inverter to convert the 555 output to narrow positive pulses.
Most stepper drivers require this type of signal. If anything else is supplied the motor will
sometimes have a noticeable lack of power or excessive heating can occur in the driver
module.
The original EDM motor circuit wiring has the ability to have the motor run full
speed in the UP (retract) direction and a variable speed in the DOWN direction. The
variable speed is accomplished in this circuit with the 5k pot connected to JP2.
The "fast retract" action is achieved in this circuit by routing the UP direction
signal from IC1(3) to transistor T1 which bypasses the speed control so the motor runs
full speed in the up direction regardless of the speed pot setting, This control signal
passes through a front panel on/off switch so that the speedup action can be enabled or
disabled.
The values in the pulse generator circuit have been chosen to produce the same
motor rpm as the gear motor in the original design when using a 200 step per revolution
stepper motor and an 8 micro-step controller. This is a pretty common and in-expensive
configuration. If different motor is chosen or a step driver with less or more micro-steps
then the component values around the 555 timer will need to be adjusted. Since the
stepper motor will not require much power the commonly available "Easy Stepper" or the
drivers based on the Toshiba "TB6600" available on Ebay for a few dollars should do the
job. They both have an 8 micro-step setting. Also required on the driver is an "Enable"
pin (described later).
Most inexpensive stepper motors are 200 steps per revolution (1.8 deg per step). I
use a NEMA 17 format motor.
The direction signal from IC1(a) pin 3 is routed through R5 (a safety current
limiter) to JP1. The step pulse pulses are also routed to JP1 through R6.

Stepper conversion circuit interconnections

(Refer to the separate interconnection diagram)
The diagram is divided into two sections, what is in the EDM cabinet on the left side and
what is external to the cabinet - typically on the head - on the right side.
The connections on the stepper logic board are shown on the very left as they are on the
stepper conversion schematic. In the top left is JP4 and it shows the connections to the
front panel direction led. In addition there are two wires from JP4 that are routed to the
led on the head.
JP1 contains the step and direction signals, and a logic supply (5v) and ground.
Switch SW1 is mounted on the front panel and is the motor on/off switch. It switches

between the step pulses from the 555 timer and a logic ground. The ground is required so
that a solid "off" level is applied when the switch is in the off position.
JP5 is the "fast retract" on/off switch which is mounted on the front panel.
JP2 is for the wires to the speed control pot mounted on the front panel.
I chose to use a DB15 connector to connect the head to the EDM box because it had
sufficient wires and was readily available. Factory made cables are also available. BE
SURE TO GET A CABLE WITH STRAIGHT THROUGH CONNECTIONS. If a DB15
is not available the connector can be substituted for another type with sufficient wires.
The diagram also shows a separate power supply for the stepper motor. This is a
preferable arrangement since the EDM circuit board power supply may not be able to
supply enough current for your particular motor.
On the right side of the diagram are typical connections to the head devices. This is only
a basic wiring diagram and may need to be altered based on your devices.
You will notice a dashed line around several components in the center of the
diagram. These devices are located on the small control panel on the head. The motor
driver and the connector can be located wherever is convenient, probably at the base of
the head support column.
The limit switches etc. on the head cannot be wired as they are shown in the EDM
book since they were previously interrupting the power to the DC gear motor. Instead, a
simple switch arrangement is shown that disables the stepper motor driver through it's
ENABLE signal when a limit is tripped. The limit switches are wired in parallel so that
either the UP limit or DOWN limit will disable the motor drive. A led is also provided as
a visual indicator that a limit is tripped. This led is also used during the precision depth
setup procedure as described in the book.
The diagram shows an additional "limit bypass" switch that is used to manually
re-enable the motor. To use this switch determine which limit has been tripped and use
the direction switch to send the motor in the OPPOSITE direction. Then press the bypass
switch. Once the head comes off the limit, the bypass switch can be released and the
motor will continue. Although getting off the limits requires operator intervention it is a
safe solution since the operator is involved in safely correcting what can be considered a
fault condition. The second direction led is located on the head control panel as well.
The power from the separate stepper power supply on the left side of the diagram
uses 6 wires in the 15 pin cable for extra current carrying capacity. That said it is not
expected that the stepper will require a lot of current since it will not need a lot of power
to drive the ram. The power supply should be sized accordingly and if there is any reason
you require a lot of current for the stepper then the 15 pin connector should probably be
substituted for another multi-pin connector.
end