Feed Hold Switch

Convenience.

@npross Measured only 4mA draw on a 12V source. I measured less than 2mA on a 19mm button connected to an Arduino’s 5V.
I think you’ll be alright using the 5V from the board.

Thanks for the follow-up @Norway! Great level of detail, I definitely would not have dug this deep myself.

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@mingle, the Y2 signal seems to go nowhere else than in between the X, Y and Z limit connectors. A bug in the circuit board perhaps?

I’d be surprised if that was the case. Any chance it’s connected to the Z switch input?

I purchased some mini-fit jr connectors off of Amazon just to nab a crimp skt for getting access to the F pin. Unfortunately, the mini-fit jr are larger than the connectors on the board, and the socket does not fit. Can someone confirm what type of connectors are on the board, or a compatible part number for a crimp socket? Thanks!

There’s a comprehensive post EDIT for the SO3 (not the Pro) at:

and the wiki in question is at:

https://wiki.shapeoko.com/index.php/Shapeoko_3#Connectors

(but doesn’t cover the Pro)

Thanks Will, but that post is for the SO3, not the Pro.

With the aid of a flashlight, I found a faint marking. Turns out they are micro-fit 3.0 connectors.

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Just stumbled on this post, very cool! I am indeed wishing for a feed hold button. The touch screen, trying to hit that tiny pause button is a bit nerve racking, but reaching for the e-stop is overkill. (The time between fumbling for pause might mean the difference between a simple resume versus e-stop :slight_smile: )

That’s correct. I accidentally identified them as mini-fit. They appear the same when you ignore the scale. Where are you located? I can send you a pin or two.

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Greg,
your observations are correct! A quick pause is much more recoverable than a e-Stop.

I have made many plug-in pause buttons for SO3 friends on the Shapeoko FB page.

A while back I completed the design of a PRO Plug and Play version. Intohouse (Brandon) and I have had a number of discussions, and he was the first to get a Pro Pause that I designed. We tested it together via Zoom, and it has worked well!

Since then, I have made some for others on the FB group. There are currently a number of PRO and Regular Pause buttons that I have made…

It’s not brain surgery, but by designing it so that it is plugged between existing cables, there’s no pin making or soldering required by you! Because they are a PITA to build the mini connectors, I sell them for $59. I’m a former electricity shop teacher and ham radio guy, so I can build them, but it does take time.
I offer them to others as a fellow CNC’er, not as a business. I’m sure that at some point, someone in a related business will grab the design and replicate it for the masses… 'til then I continue to make them for fellow CNC’ers!
(saving up for a PRO little by little!)
More info: message me!

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Thanks for the offer but I am well equipped to make one. Hardest part will be matching the SO Pro’s button, but that’s just cosmetic in the end :slight_smile:

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Since this is not a business no problem there, however I think you should remove your email from the post and let folks contact you via the private messages system, just so your email address does not get harvested by the evil internet spamming minions

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Julien,
Thanks! and done…

Will you mount it like the power button (mill a hole in the left plate)?
I’ve got a FeedHold and resume wired, but I haven’t decided on the actual switches yet. I have an old two switch box I might use for now.

Just a thought…

In my head, if I had two buttons that look alike and are mounted alike, I would probably hesitate while my thinking says, “pause button?”

OTOH, I would estimate that 70% of my pauses are not Panic Pauses, but are often just to let me double check something before it might go wrong…(ie. tighten a clamp, notice it doesn’t seem like it’s centered, etc.)

I am thinking about it. Is the plate structural at all? If so I won’t be able to mill it with it removed :slight_smile: I guess drill press but I don’t have a bit that big.

If I was going that route I’d use a drill press.
I have a resume switch as well, so symmetry doesn’t matter. I’ll use an external box or panel.

Now that you mention it I do have some forstener bits that size.


I’m putting my feed hold, resume, DIY bitrunner, and e-stop controls all on the same box

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Does the feed-hold switch work differently on the Pro, compared to the S3?

On the S3, pressing the feed-hold button does ‘hold’ the process, but you will need to press the feed-hold button a second time before control goes back to CM. I don’t thing there’s an ‘feed-unhold’ (resume?) facility to ‘resume’ the process without going back to CM.

If it can be done on the Pro, this is a really good step forward, because it’s pretty poor not having it on the S3, IMHO.