I'm so close to getting mach 3 and my x2 mini mill to live in harmony.  I've tried lighting incense candles and sprinkling flower petals around. They're just not totally in love quite yet.  I've got one last problem.  Mach 3 boots up and runs fine but after about 3-5 minutes the x axis stops working.  Even if your using it. 

My board is a easy CNC  http://www.easy-cnc.com   (crappiest board ever but still functioning)
probotix 260oz steppers

The inputs are opticoupled so I have to run the board in sherline 1/2 pulse mode or the signal seems to get really jittery and not function.  Something about the pulses not being spaced far enough apart.

The X axis will cease to function but when I try and jog it I can hear a faint high pitched signal coming from the motor.  Keep in mind the Y and the Z function perfectly no matter how much time passes.  Also the x,y,z also function on kcam but I use that old program sparingly but alas after cutting 8 parts with it today.  I know that the board will use it.  I've tried different frequency's to no avail.

I soooooooooo want my mach 3..   Any ideas?  Pulse issue?  interference issue?

It sounds like the kiss of death for your driver board. Something is failing when it gets warmed up or put under pressure.

There is no reason why Mach 3 should suddenly stop putting out signals - especially on just one axis.
To test it  use two other output pins (if you haven't any spare, swap the x and y, or x and z) and reconfigure Mach 3 to output on these new pins.

If the fault moves (or does not appear) then the trouble lies with the computer side. If the fault stays with the same axis, the fault lies with the driver board.

You can, of course, test this by swapping the driver boards - i.e. inputs from the computer AND outputs to your motors swapped and see if the fault moves.

If you have to replace the driver I would suggest you use a single axis driver card. The trouble with 3 or four in one, with a breakout board is that if something goes wrong you have to replace everything. You could just use a seperate single card, and leave the faulty axis on your main board disconnected. That would get you going.

 

That's why I put that it works for several hours in a different piece of software..  If the board was heating up and not working then it should do that in both..  unfortunately the problem lies only when I run mach 3...  other software works..

If the other software is a CNC program, then I would check the configuration of Mach3 against the other one, and try and identify where the configurations differ - which might give some clue. If the two systems use the same driver board, then the signals they give out must be almost identical. The only one I can think of that might have any bearing on it is the pulse length on the motor tuning page. Everything else must be the same by definition.

The only other thing is active high or low on the stepper pulse - is Mach3 leaving the board turned "ON" when at rest - although I think that is a function of the driver board, not Mach3.

Does the other sofware allow the same performance? What I am thinking is possibly your computer or card has problems with the pulse rate etc.
 Have you run the driver test to see how that looks?
Hood

There is a status message window and a history button on the bottom of the Program Run Screen.  What does the error message say after your machine poops out?  Buffer Error Perhaps???

Sid

I should also note that if I exit mach 3 and instantly go back in to it.  The axis kicks back to life for another 3-5 minutes.  Right now I'm doing simple jogging tests.  Right now each piece of software is jogging at the same speed.  I had to flycut some pistons for a customer so I drove the machine around with the jog till I can iron the kinks out.  Both pieces of software run the same steps and velocity.  I will check and see for an error message when I get into work.

Try the drive test and see what it looks like. You will find it in the Mach3 folder, just double click on it and it will run. Mach has to be shut down when you are trying it.
Hood

Hello,
Take look at the Ports & Pins setup after malfunction appears and see if pin numbers are still correct for X axis.