"Unable to connect to machine" error message...

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Binderman
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"Unable to connect to machine" error message...

Post by Binderman »

Hello all. I am trying to help our Ag teacher get his table going. He said it was cutting and a letter raised up and jammed the torch (crash I guess) and the table quite working.

We have turned everything off and on numerous times, changed the parallel port cable out with two other ones, blew out all the cable connectors and such.

If you hit the "initialize" button, nothing will happen and then a couple seconds later we get the "unable to connect to machine" error message. After this if we hit the "connect" button the same message will pop up.

I am going to have our IT guru check the PC out as I feel we may have lost the parallel port/printer card.

Are we missing something? Generally I can get the thing going or at least use the onboard diagnostic screen to head us in the right direction. Totally stumped with this issue!!

Thanks all!!!!
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Re: "Unable to connect to machine" error message...

Post by adbuch »

Here is some information from the Video Manual Chapter 8, Communication Errors which addresses this problem. I am posting it here just in case you don't currently have access to the Video Manual.
David

"Communication Errors

Could not start driver If the port driver error ("could not start port access driver.") appears:
Restart the computer and log onto Windows using an administrator account.
Install the software again.
Reinstall Windows or try a different computer.

Computer does not connect to machine If the unable to connect error ("unable to connect to machine. check power, parallel ports and cables. if the pause
light is not flashing, turn off controller and disconnect cable for 1 minute. then turn controller back on, reconnect
cable, and try again.") appears:
Use detect machine (not initialize or diagnostics) to try connecting to the machine and to get the port settings as
you follow each step in this topic.
Make sure the "pause" light on the controller is flashing before you try to connect.
Verify that the machine is correctly powered, especially that the voltage switch is correct for the voltage being
used.


If the parallel port is on the computer motherboard, verify that it has been correctly configured. Try the different
available modes and addresses.
Normally, the machine is easiest to detect with "automatically configure port" checked. But if an unable to find or
read port error ("unable to read port addresses from computer.", "unable to read any port information from
computer." or "no port found on computer. please enter (or verify) the port addresses manually from the device
manager.") appears, uncheck this option and set the port addresses manually.
First, verify that the correct addresses are shown in the settings. Open the Device Manager from the Hardware
and Sound section of the Windows Control Panel and select the parallel port you are trying to use from the Ports
group. Open the properties of the port, click the resources tab, and note the addresses shown. Then open System
Setup from the Settings. Enter the first address as the "base address", and the second address (if any) as the
"ECP address2".


After you enter the addresses, check "automatically configure port" again, before you click "detect machine". (This
automatically detects the other settings while trying the addresses you specify.) If the machine is not detected, try
swapping the addresses. Try other combinations of addresses if three or more are listed in the port resources.
You can also leave "automatically configure port" unchecked to specify exactly what you want to use for every port
setting. This may help you to try every possible combination of settings in order to find out what really works best.
The "set mode in ECP control" setting is needed to put some ECP ports into EPP or PS/2 mode. (The address of
the port's extended control register must be entered for the "ECP address 2".) Set the mode according to what
works best with the port. The EPP modes are the fastest, but PS/2 mode can also be used.

Check "low-voltage port" if the port outputs only about 3.3V signals rather than the standard 5V signals. For
example, if the machine intermittently connects and disconnects with communication errors and the "low-voltage
port" box is not checked, try checking it and saving the settings. Only keep this setting if a noticeable improvement
results. Low-voltage ports may lead to malfunctions due to their weak signals.
Once detect machine has been successful, click "ok" to save the settings.
You can keep trying other combinations of modes if the machine not found error ("machine not found on any port."
or "machine not found on specified port and configuration settings. try other mode combinations or automatically
configure the port.") appears.

If the computer still fails to connect to the machine, try a different parallel port or computer.
If the computer connects but has communication errors, continue troubleshooting by following the steps in the
next topic.

Communication problems

If a communication error ("severe communication problems due to noise or bad hardware." or "communication
errors. possible noise problem from plasma cutter, parallel port or cable.") appears:
If the error mentions a low voltage port ("may be related to low-voltage port."), use a different parallel port or
computer. (Low-voltage ports may lead to malfunctions when used with the machine because their weak drivers
output only about 3.3V, whereas standard ports output 5V.)

Make sure the parallel port cable is not routed with or bundled to other power cables.
Make sure the machine is correctly powered and grounded, especially that it is earth grounded.
Power the machine and computer from an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Choose a unit with power
conditioning and sufficient capacity (at least 500VA). If the problem persists, try unplugging the UPS so the
machine runs on battery power. If the problem disappears, the power in your shop may be noisy or the wrong
voltage.

Try running the machine with other equipment in the shop turned off, using a process of elimination to identify a
possible internal source of EMI. Then relocate or better isolate the machine or the cause of the EMI.
Verify that your plasma cutter and computer, parallel port, and parallel port cable meet the recommendations. Try
swapping these components with different ones to isolate the problem, and replace components as needed.
The controller may be faulty and need replacement.
If no problem is found with the equipment or environment and if the communication error happens infrequently,
continue using the machine anyway.

Wrong controller version. If the wrong controller error ("wrong version of controller. please reinstall software with correct model of machine
selected.") appears:
Install the software again and choose the correct model of your machine.
Incompatible controller version. If the incompatible version error ("incompatible version of controller. please update this software (or purchase the
current version).") appears:
Obtain and install the correct version of the DesignEdge software that is compatible with the model of your
machine.

Computer is too slow If the Video Manual fails to play video smoothly or synchronized to the audio, or if the slow computer error
("computer is too slow to keep up with machine.") appears in the DesignEdge software:
Verify that your computer meets the performance recommendations.
Make sure that no one is interrupting the computer by trying to use other programs or accessing it through a
network while the machine is running."
Strip all unnecessary software and drivers off the computer or reinstall Windows.
Use a different computer that is faster.
adbuch
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Re: "Unable to connect to machine" error message...

Post by adbuch »

By the way, I'm really not sure how a tip-up/torch collision would/could cause the communication error you are having. This is most often the result of a bad parallel cable or connection, defective parallel port card, or worst case a bad controller. If you decide to replace the parallel port card, I would recommend either the Axxon brand sold by Robert Johnson or the StarTech brand available on Ebay. Also make sure you are using a good quality double shielded parallel cable - which I believe Robert also offers.

David

Axxon parallel card
https://www.490creations.com/products/p ... card-axxon

Axxon parallel cable
https://www.490creations.com/products/p ... able-axxon


Learn Plasmacam products.jpg

StarTech parallel card
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001Q ... UTF8&psc=1

StarTech amazon.jpg

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rdj357
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Re: "Unable to connect to machine" error message...

Post by rdj357 »

With all hooked up and the controller on, pause light flashing: Go to system settings tab and click the detect machine. If it does not detect the machine you’ll need to figure out if the parallel port is not working on the computer. If it’s OK you need to go to its settings in Device Manager (Windows) and check the Use Any Interrupt and Enable Legacy Plug ‘n Play support boxes. Then click on the resource tab and note the first hex address in the list. Go back to PlasmaCAM software and uncheck the auto configure box for parallel port, enter the hex address you got in the top hex box, recheck the auto box and click detect machine. That should allow it to connect. If you get an error of some kind let us know what it is and we can try to help further.
adbuch
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Re: "Unable to connect to machine" error message...

Post by adbuch »

rdj357 wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 6:43 pm With all hooked up and the controller on, pause light flashing: Go to system settings tab and click the detect machine. If it does not detect the machine you’ll need to figure out if the parallel port is not working on the computer. If it’s OK you need to go to its settings in Device Manager (Windows) and check the Use Any Interrupt and Enable Legacy Plug ‘n Play support boxes. Then click on the resource tab and note the first hex address in the list. Go back to PlasmaCAM software and uncheck the auto configure box for parallel port, enter the hex address you got in the top hex box, recheck the auto box and click detect machine. That should allow it to connect. If you get an error of some kind let us know what it is and we can try to help further.
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Binderman
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Re: "Unable to connect to machine" error message...

Post by Binderman »

Thanks for the replies!!

We will dig into the thoughts above and report our findings.

Thanks all!!
adbuch
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Re: "Unable to connect to machine" error message...

Post by adbuch »

We are all happy to help! Let us know if you need more information and if you are able to resolve your problem.
David
Binderman
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Re: "Unable to connect to machine" error message...

Post by Binderman »

Well our IT guru showed up, restarted the computer twice with no luck then rummaged around in the program a bit and in "settings" found a "connect" tab and machine went back to work!! It initialized and run a test pattern.

He made me feel stupid as I hadn't seen that in settings or had forgotten about it from the last time I had to help make it run.

I dislike computer more an more each day!!

Again thank you all for your time and thoughts with this fix. I have since added this repair in detail to my folder for when it acts up a hundred moons from now..............
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Re: "Unable to connect to machine" error message...

Post by adbuch »

Binderman wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:07 pm Well our IT guru showed up, restarted the computer twice with no luck then rummaged around in the program a bit and in "settings" found a "connect" tab and machine went back to work!!
This is what Robert was talking about when he said: "With all hooked up and the controller on, pause light flashing: Go to system settings tab and click the detect machine". But at least you've got it running again. Good luck!
David
detect machine.jpg

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Binderman
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Re: "Unable to connect to machine" error message...

Post by Binderman »

adbuch wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 4:55 pm
Binderman wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:07 pm Well our IT guru showed up, restarted the computer twice with no luck then rummaged around in the program a bit and in "settings" found a "connect" tab and machine went back to work!!
This is what Robert was talking about when he said: "With all hooked up and the controller on, pause light flashing: Go to system settings tab and click the detect machine". But at least you've got it running again. Good luck!
David

detect machine.jpg
\

Correct!! I guess I/we couldn't see the forest for the trees so to speak. I felt like a heel after he got it working and showed us what he did. I swear I did the same, but like you said at least its running!!

Maybe this thread will help the next poor soul..

Thanks again for all the help!!
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Re: "Unable to connect to machine" error message...

Post by adbuch »

You are welcome! We are always happy to help. Glad you are back up and running again.
David
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