[yukonho]

I have been looking at commercial control units that are upwards of $3000 per axis. What is the difference between, say, Gecko drives or other higher end hobby drivers/controllers and these expensive commercial units?
colin

[jans123]

I have been looking at commercial control units that are upwards of $3000 per axis. What is the difference between, say, Gecko drives or other higher end hobby drivers/controllers and these expensive commercial units?
colin

It could be a lot of things. Semiconductors could be "Commercial grade" or "Industrial grade" or even "Military grade" and have totally different temperature range and expected lifetime. Testing could have been different as could dimension criteria, both mechanical and electrical. Shock and vibration are also parameters to bear in mind as can the encapsulation when it comes to dust and moisture.

/jan
(sorry for my bad English, but I'm working on it.)

[pminmo]

Excellent question,
Typically it wouldn't be quality of components. Your high end commercial drives have more "in depth" development and support, and OVERHEAD. Some of the extra cost is a very legit value to the buyer, more extensive testing, more robust in terms of features, warranty and replacement........... Many of the hobby designs are using large scale parts that are a 90 percent solution. Along with that also comes shortcommings of the part. The Allegro 3977 microstepping driver for example, is really geared more towards an oem application like a printer or scanner than driving a cnc machine, it really isn't tolerant to a motor wire being disconnected under power as an example. From my perspective Geckodrives, for the money are an excellant value.

[yukonho]

Thank you for the responses guys.
It does make sense that there are very high end units for heavy duty production. I am thankful that there are the less expensive options for us smaller production guys and hobbyists.
I am impressed at the reliability and functionality of the light duty units on the market.
I guess the decision is up to the end user to determine what kind of operating environment and abuse they need their machines to tolerate, not to mention the depth of ones pockets

By the way, Jan. Your english is superb, I had no idea it was your second (or third, 4th?) language until I read your note at the bottom of your post. I am always envious of people who can speak more than one language (I am OK in french, and I know how difficult it can be to learn a new language.) Europeans certainly have the upper hand on most of the rest of the world in this respect.
Cheers,
colin