Those are BIG drivers!

Electronics related to CNC

Those are BIG drivers!

Postby SSW » Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:56 am

Hello all,

I'm just starting my first 2.x build, and I've been looking over this site attempting to collect the latest information required to build the most up to date machine. The electronics arena seems to have the most mystery for me. My goal is to build a machine with DSP control. Most likely the one from Light Objects. (Sounds like FSL doesn't support DIY users any longer.)

Most information in this forum seems to pertain to all-in-one laser/motor controller boards with tiny on-board drivers. THEN, there's the picture of Bart's machine showing full size independent drivers with what looks to be a breakout board (?). See photo below. Can someone give a link to where that might be documented? (Are those parts from Keling?)

I'm also looking for links to information and recommendations, that would help with explaining/showing the connections between the drivers/control board and the DSP controller.

Thanks for the help,

Bernie
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Re: Those are BIG drivers!

Postby bdring » Wed Feb 13, 2013 2:22 pm

Those drivers were purchased from Keling. They work great and the DSP controller is designed to work with that style of driver. They are slightly overkill, but not too expensive.

I currently use Pololu drivers on a 4 axis carrier board, but that is left over from testing other control software.
Bart
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Re: Those are BIG drivers!

Postby SSW » Wed Feb 13, 2013 6:16 pm

Thanks Bart.

So, as for my motion component shopping list... How does this look?

- DSP controller from Light Objects.
- Tube and PSU from Light Objects.
- Three Keling drivers sized for the three recommended NEMA 17 motors.
- Keling power supply for motors.

??? so, no breakout board is needed when using the DSP, correct? DSP connects directly to drivers?

Thanks,

Bernie
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Re: Those are BIG drivers!

Postby Techgraphix » Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:27 pm

SSW wrote:??? so, no breakout board is needed when using the DSP, correct? DSP connects directly to drivers?

The DSP is connected to the drivers directly.
(you can download the installation manual here: http://www.lightobject.info/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=660

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Re: Those are BIG drivers!

Postby SSW » Wed Feb 13, 2013 11:25 pm

Thank you Kees, for that link. Now if I could just get to it...

Well, something has happened to my LOGIN on the LO support forum. It's stuck and won't reset. I've emailed the main address, so hopefully Marco can fix it for me.

In the mean-time I have another very basic question: Are the drivers the same for all three axis, or is the Z controlled some other way?

Thanks,

Bernie
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Re: Those are BIG drivers!

Postby StigOE » Thu Feb 14, 2013 11:20 am

SSW wrote:In the mean-time I have another very basic question: Are the drivers the same for all three axis, or is the Z controlled some other way?

All drivers are the same.
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Re: Those are BIG drivers!

Postby SSW » Thu Feb 14, 2013 2:43 pm

I asked about the drivers because I noticed in the picture (above) of Bart's setup, there are only two drivers. Additionally, the DSP setup instructions in the L.O. link above only pertain to the X and Y axis. There is no mention of the Z axis, or how the DSP controls it.

Can anyone share some insight here?

Thank you,

Bernie
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Re: Those are BIG drivers!

Postby bdring » Thu Feb 14, 2013 5:45 pm

The 2.x started as a 2 axis design. The DSP fully supports a Z.
Bart
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Re: Those are BIG drivers!

Postby Cre8ivdsgn » Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:16 pm

I just wanted to comment on Stig's comment that all drivers are the same. They are not. PacSci's (Danaher now) 6410 is the quietest, most efficient driver I have found. Copley Controls StepNet (specifically the MicroStepNet product) is the most flexible with stepper servo tuning (and encoder feedback option of course) and even on board simple programming capability. I think the stepping on the StepNet can be set to anything - any number of microsteps per step (I might be wrong but I can't recall a limitation).
In short though, you get what you pay for. The Copley list price is around $300 each and the PacSci is around $360 each. I think they are trying to discontinue the 6410, but the replacement product, while having a richer feature set, was not as efficient as the 6410.
What do I mean about efficient? We ran tests (at the company I worked at) using six different manufacturers of stepper drives back in 2006. The 6410s, with everything else being equal, gave us better maximum acceleration and the motors during cycling were almost bizzarely silent. Instead of hearing the high pitched whine so characteristic of these hobbyist drivers, with the 6410 the bearing noise became the most obvious sound.
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Re: Those are BIG drivers!

Postby SSW » Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:01 pm

Thanks for the suggestion on drivers (and I thought Geckos were expensive!). The "singing" of the motors doesn't bother me too much. To keep within budget I'll probably go with some Keling drivers, or the ones sold through Light Objects. I built a CNC router with Keling's and have had a good experience with them so far.

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