Servo Drive Selection Dugong vs. Gecko drive

I am new to servo technology. I have built a couple of stepper based CNC mills a few years back. I just picked up an Industrial Hobbies/Charter Oak Mill and am interested in converting it to CNC control. I would like to use Servos on this build but I don't know much about them at this point. I was wondering if someone could recommend a servo drive. I am currently trying to decide between the Gecko G320 and Dugong drives. I am also considering a smart motor called the stepper killer, it is from a company called Teknic, It is supposed to be a servo with integrated drive. If anybody has any helpful opinions regarding any of these setups that will aid in my decision it would be greatly appreciated.

Rod

Anybody??

native34

Dmm are what you should be looking at, for a new build

DMM | Multi-Axis Solutions

I already have breakout board, vfd and other accessories picked out. I have it narrowed down to the dugong and gecko drives but wanted help in deciding with one has the least learning curve. I have heard that the gecko drives can be a real pain to get working properly.

native34

Steppers would almost be as good as what you are looking at, there is no learning curve with the Dmm system

I second dmm if your looking for easy setup and great performance!

I don't know if you made a decision yet but I will give my 2 cents worth. I have a 3hp bed mill with servo drives and converted it a couple years ago. The conversion was fairly simple and straight foreword if you understand a little about computers and electric controls. Buy hardware made for this and it comes with all the documentation to guide you. All the electrics to make the conversion can be bought for about $2500 if you have nothing to start with. Honestly a used cnc with old or bad controler is a better start for the money and work involved. The motors are there ball-screws covers power-supply line filters and a pile of little things that can help. I started with the Gecko 320X servo drive but have recently started swapping to the Du-gong 16035 drive. The Gecko was excellent far as smooth quiet and accurate but lacked the capacity to carry the servo motors for more than about 6 months. My servo's are rated for a max of 150vdc at 50A. This doesn't mean you have to put that much to them but the are fairly big. The Gecko is rated at 80vdc and 20 amps, while I have a large heat sink and 2 fans on them they appear to get spikes of current at times that heat them internally quicker that the cooling system can dissipate. After installing the Dugong I saw a major increase of speed and power with all my settings the same as was used on the Gecko. Now there is one thing i haven't finished sorting out yet is the motor now makes a definite dry scrapping sound. I know this isn't anything mechanical because it was only down 3 days to swap and restart the new drive and it was quiet before the swap. I think its the difference in the power being made by the motor and I'm hearing the PWM cycling of current through the wingdings.
So bottom line is the Gecko's are great as long as they are strong enough if not don't waste time and money on them.
The CNC conversion is like a large printer, you run from LPT or USB to a breakout board which allows for the hookup of your drives and accessories. I reduced my wiring clutter by 90% switching from the OEM system to this, I put it all together so I can fix it if there is a problem later, no one part is that hard to find or expensive to replace if it fails. The most valuable part is probably the files and software but when the PC went bad once I just moved the hard drive to a new PC and was up and running with my history in no time. i do make my files on another PC so actually I would have another copy of them on a thumb drive and PC.
I would say start off simple with the basics of 3 axis and you Estops and limits then build from there so it not so much to contend with at one time.

Good luck
Steve