Controlling an external tool via PWN and 24V pins on the controller

[Matveyz71 (Matvey Zubkov)]

Have an external tool that requires 24V. Want to be able to turn it on and off via the M3 and M5 commands in G-code. Idea is to have the PWM pin on the 6-pin spindle connector on the controller box connected to a relay, M3 signal would shoot 5V and power on the relay, and then the relay would send 24V and power the external tool.

When I set this up I found out that relay didn’t receive any power from the 5V pin with M3 command running (no current with the 5V is coming through to power on the relay).

Another option was to use the pin on the 6-pin spindle connector that always supplies 24V. I read that it is possible to turn the 24V on and off with M8 and M9 command however when checking with multimeter, the commands don’t work and the pin is always at 24V.

Reached out to carbide support a couple of times, but not too helpful. Does anyone have experience powering an external tool via G-code and one of the pins on the controller, whether it is a PWM pin or a voltage pin?

Also does anyone know the uses for the “Accessory” and “Auxiliary” 8 pin connectors on the controller box?

[HeuristicBishop (Tyler Sowers)]

This sort of thing has been discussed on the forums before. I don’t recall a decent answer ever coming up.
I’d probably give up on the g-code methods and switch to some kind of external observer/sensor for your detection method.

Maybe you can use one of those current sensing outlet strips to automatically turn on a fan when your machine draws more than a certain amperage. (Essentially detecting spindle on/off based on power usage)

Or maybe you can do something to detect emi from the vfd or spindle to trigger your automaton. Not sure how it would work but it seems feasible.

Regarding the extra ports, I’d like to know what they’re for as well. There’s been mention of accessories like a pendant but currently I’m pretty sure there’s nothing on the market that utilizes the accessory port.