Hi there, have just finished building my pro. I am having Limit Switch issues, the more I play with it, it definitely seems to be a software issue in Firecontrol rather than a hardware issue. Upon setting up as per the limit switch instructions I have noticed a few things which I think Langmuire need to address with a software update.
Firstly, I am in New Zealand, and we use the (far superior!!) metric system. When metric is selected in the units option, the limit switch soft limits settings still remain in imperial units. This caused me a issues until I noticed, and converted my measurements to inches. However once enacted, the soft limits still do not work and the machine has the ability to exceed the soft limits I have input. It appears the soft limits do not work at all.
Secondly, following the procedure of homing to the limit switches to establish the zero point then jogging to the far end to establish the soft limit parameters, when you then access the limit switch settings menu to input the soft limit values, firecontrol resets the X/Y positional values to zero, regardless of the position of each axis, requiring you to rehome the axis.
Thirdly, when jogging up to the limit switches, it appears the limit switched are not enabled and the machine effectively crashes into the ‘zero’ end of each axis and does not take the signal from the limit switch to stop movement. It only does so during the homing command.
I have a fair bit of experience running CNC machines, so I feel the Limit switches do add some value.
There is a lot more to say about this machine. I am an Industrial product designer of 20 years experience with my own consulting and manufacturing company and, whilst this machine is value for money, I feel that Langmuire would do well to consider evaluating the build process and refine many aspects from the perspective of the user. The instructions bounce around all over the show, particularly if you have ordered many of the optional extras, requiring you to undo previous steps to then enact one of the accessories you may have brought. The cable management is some of the worst I have ever seen, and the design and positioning of the electronics enclosure I feel is sub optimal from an ingress protection/safety perspective. There are many other aspects but I will leave it at that. Im happy to have the machine up and running, and enacted a few of the tricks that others have to make it better, but there is a whole bunch Langmuire could do at no additional cost penalty to the product that would ensure much less time supporting less experienced users in setting up the machine, I feel.
Im looking forward to using it anyway.
Any help with the limit switch issues appreciated, but I suspect that leaving the soft limits off is about as good as it gets.