Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Finally moved into a place where I can get my shop back up and running. Was able to score the Taig I built from my buddy who I sold it to about 4yrs ago, and he gave me an even better deal than I gave him!
My setup is 3x 273oz steppers (kl23h276-30-8b) and 3 KL-4030 drivers, 36v 3A psu, and a C10S breakout. It was working about 6 months ago at my buddy's house, but there is some issue now and the C10 is currently not outputting signal. Suspect a wire has came loose, or the board is bad, had similar issue and the past and, after trying everything, replacing the C10 fixed the issue, so that's what I'm thinking I'll do straight off this go round..
or...
I have always wanted to go G540 (they came out right after my original build) and now I'm tempted just skip the whole breakout setup/debug process and just go for it. My electronics box will look a lot cleaner as a bonus..
But $270 is a bit just for convenience/bling. How much performance increase (if any) should I expect to see? Can someone talk sense into me (for or against)? If the $$ doesn't go into the G540 it'll go into other tools.
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
I had a taig with a G540 and ran it flawlessly for 5+ years. I'm afraid I can't talk you out of it....
That said, I run C10 boards on 3 other CNCs i have and I also have not had a single issue with them either after years of service.
Performance wise I know the G540 will allow you to run a 48V power supply, which will help. Not sure what the other drivers are capable of.
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
I have one and it has been pretty solid for going on three years.
I also have an MX3660, it seems to be pretty good too.
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Get the G-540, give it a bigger (48v) power supply as well; you'll see an improvement in performance . The G-540 can handle up to 50volts, and those 2.2 mH motors want 47.5v to run at their peak speed. The Gecko support is top-notch, and having an extra driver built in is nice, either for de-bugging, or if you decide to add a 4th axis.
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CS900
Performance wise I know the G540 will allow you to run a 48V power supply, which will help. Not sure what the other drivers are capable of.
The power spec on the G540 are a little better (40V/3A on the KL4030 vs 50V/3.5A for G250) but I have seen information on some threads that seems to indicate that there will be some accuracy/efficiency benefit even at the same input power levels, just not much in the way of quantification.
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
I built my control box myself....The G540 and Ethernet SmoothStepper has skipped a beat..The Meanwell 48v power supply also keep my system humming..https://photos.imageevent.com/scl_el...ze/ESS-box.jpghttps://photos.imageevent.com/scl_el...%20control.jpgJust upgraded my headstock and motor to GlockCNC units..Installed c69 motor controller....still running strong!!Good LuckStuart
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sclelectronics
I built my control box myself....The G540 and Ethernet SmoothStepper has skipped a beat..The Meanwell 48v power supply also keep my system humming..
Just upgraded my headstock and motor to GlockCNC units..Installed c69 motor controller....still running strong!!Good LuckStuart
Great looking build! The main point of the Smoothstepper is to allow ethernet connection, or does it add something else?
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Quote:
Originally Posted by
averageJoe576
Great looking build! The main point of the Smoothstepper is to allow ethernet connection, or does it add something else?
Thanks..The main purposes of the Ethernet motion controller is:
1. eliminates the parallel port...since Mach does it since win XP.
2. Rock solid and Fast Comms to the G540!!
https://photos.imageevent.com/scl_el.../ESS-Board.jpg
hth,Stuart
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sclelectronics
I
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Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mikegiraud
I
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I’ve used G540 and smoothstepper for 10 years. Solid unit that you can’t kill. I have seen issues with the low resolution of the G540 on belt systems and the smoothstepper faults if I turn the vac on while in program. I would consider all alternatives. These days there are many.
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Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Fwiw, I found out my issue was my 5v power supply. Also my #2 output terminal was bad on the C10S, so I moved X to 8/9. Guess I going to stick with my current setup for now, but G540 is still on the short list!
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Quote:
Originally Posted by
averageJoe576
Great looking build! The main point of the Smoothstepper is to allow ethernet connection, or does it add something else?
A smooth stepper is a pulse generator. It puts out the step and direction signals at a much higher rate than your PC can. Hence the higher speeds achieved. They can be USB or Ethernet. Ethernet is the way to go if you have a choice.
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Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fastest1
. Ethernet is the way to go if you have a choice.
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Why? I notice that is increasingly the way the hardware is going, but what is the advantage of Ethernet over usb?
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Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Lower latency, less sensitivity to electrical interference, requires less processing power for data transfer than USB. Ethernet is definitely the way to go.
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
I'm currently using a G540 on my mill. But I decided to try the closed loop steppers from Automation Tech (made by Leadshine) and they are fantastic. Sure, they are not true servos nor have closed loop back to the software. But they will try to catch up, but most importantly, they will stop a crash. Once it looses a few steps, the driver shuts down. And then it sends out an alarm signal shutting down the other axis. For the price, they are right on par with the G540 and a set of 386 oz/in steppers. (maybe a little cheaper if you shop around). I still love my tank G540, but that closed loop alarm is the ticket for me now. My next mill upgrade now that my R8-TTS spindle with power draw bar is complete is moving to closed loop on my mill.
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sclelectronics
do you have two 48 volt fans and two 5 volt psu in this build? how did you wire the 5 volts in....looks like a solid build
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Quote:
Originally Posted by
minsk
do you have two 48 volt fans and two 5 volt psu in this build? how did you wire the 5 volts in....looks like a solid build
The control box I build uses 2x 4" 120 Vac fans.
The two small power supplies , 5Vdc to power my ESS and C69 motor control.
Then 12 Vdc for my relays and sensors.
All are Meanwell 120Vac switching Power Supplies
I wanted to Isolate my 48Vdc for my G540....Clean power in.. Solid Output!
Hth,
Stuart
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sclelectronics
The control box I build uses 2x 4" 120 Vac fans.
The two small power supplies , 5Vdc to power my ESS and C69 motor control.
Then 12 Vdc for my relays and sensors.
All are Meanwell 120Vac switching Power Supplies
I wanted to Isolate my 48Vdc for my G540....Clean power in.. Solid Output!
Hth,
Stuart
sorry im a newb.
so do you have seperate plugs for all those then?
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
I personally think that the gap has narrowed so much the expense is not warranted, There are other boards out there other than BOBS so that makes the G540 form factor is too restrictive. You are better off not locking yourself in and go with seperate drivers.
I used to use 48 volts but am now up around 80-90 volts. I now use AC powered drivers such as Italian made Lam Technologies DS10XXa series drives. They leave Gecko for dead. But I don't think they will meet your budget expectations. To get the best out of them, your motion controller needs to be able to use Lam's boost function that allows the motion controller manage the drive current. eg the drive only runs at maximum current while the power is needed (when accelerating) and the controller can reduce it significantly when idle or at constant velocity. This keeps the drive significantly cooler and allows you to get more power when you need it most. Some systems can't utilise this feature. Its fairly easy with Linuxcnc though.
So why would you do this? Well one of our engineering models shows we need 12.3 watts when accelerating but only 4.5 watts when at constant velocity. So once we get to cut speed, we only need 40% of the power to keep everything happy and running cool at faster velocities.
Re: Convince me (not) to buy a G540 for my Taig
Quote:
Originally Posted by
minsk
sorry im a newb.
so do you have seperate plugs for all those then?
No. I have a bus-strip for the neutral and Hot lines.
So I run lines from there to any needing 12O Vac.
Also I use single point chassis Ground inside the box too!
Hth, Stuart
