I'm a new to this as they come, just got a used 3040T today and a UC100 USB-parallel adapter, I followed the Chinglish instructions that I found online and installed a demo version of Mach3....after much messing about and head scratching i've installed the correct drivers and got the machine operating mostly.

I haven't been able to get the Y axis to move using the keyboard, X and Z are fine.  I switched out the cables for X and Y which meant that "Y" worked but not X so i can assume the motors and wiring beyond the control box and that the issue is either hardware within the control box or software with my setup of outputs.  I set the outputs as the manuals online said and have even tried increasing the port output numbers incrementally to try and spring some life into Y but to no avail.

It is a 4 axis version of the machine so I plugged the Y axis cables into the "A" output and can control it from there by setting up the output pin to correspond to that.

1) Is there any disadvantage to doing this, other than not being able to use the 4th Axis?

2) Can anyone point me in the right direction of further fault finding to set up the Y axis properly or deciding that I have a hardware fault?

Thanks for any help you can give!

Attach your xml file for others to look at.

Also, does the Y-axis work using the MDI or the pop up onscreen MPG pendant (press tab key on keyboard)?

Is there a consistent response with the BOB output pins p2, p3, p4,p5,p6 and p7 when you jog?

Hi,
I think this test is the correct one:

Also, does the Y-axis work using the MDI or the pop up onscreen MPG pendant (press tab key on keyboard)?

If the Y axis does not work under this circumstance when the X,Z and A do then it means most probably a fault on the board, most commonly the stepper driver IC.
I would guess if you had a close look it will be a Toshibe IC 68.... or similar, good  ICs if used within their limits and cheap, but tender and prone to failure if you
stray outside those limits.

Can you post a close-up pic of the board and/or driver ICs?

Craig