[robertf03]

12 gauge shotgun should work, tell me where i' m gona bring mine too.

robert ...what board are you gonna buy next?

ordered a gecko 540 earlier today.

[GrootWitBaas]

so If you don't want to loose every cent you spend on them, I am willing to buy them at a reasonable price ....

[linkintiger]

how much did you pay for gecko?

[robertf03]

$255 shipped.


Here's how I justified it
I've got money in the machine,parametric modeling software, CAM software, and controller software, some have maintenance fees too. I can't use this because of me being a cheap ass and trying to save 200 bucks


Groot, not sure I want to get rid of it yet, maybe I'll use it to make an automated dog food opener like in back to the future.

[GrootWitBaas]

hahahahaha

[linkintiger]

255? shipped on ebay?

[robertf03]

yeah

[linkintiger]

good price

[jmchris]

Hi just finished running a 4 hour gcode file, no problems except the pc shutdown during the roughing algorithm ( I turned on the big vac 2kW to clean up and the pc shut down - argh!! ), reset and restarted the code so total cut time is somewhere in the region of 5.5 hours, no issues with the driver at all, I will now adapt my original board so they are both the same.

So these boards whilst not being a 'Gecko' are cheap and relatively easy to make work properly, at least mine have been.

This is what I have done.
1) Disconnect current save feature ( remove three 10k resistors )
2) Replace oscilator caps with 330pf
3) bypass or replace the three opto isolators that pass the step signals

So anybody have a "Fix your chineese TH6560 board for dummies" document? You could sell coppies on ebay right beside all the auctions for these boards.. ha..

But seriously. I've been fooling for nearly a year now with mine. I've contacted the vendor countless times with no real assistance what so ever. I'm encouraged that I could fix my lost steps issue with the above 3 changes. Right now I'm $2,500 into this table and just need something that works! Lost steps ruin parts and make this thing worthless. (preaching to the quire here, ha)

While I can and have used my soldering iron many times in the past, I'm unsure how to make the above changes w/o pictures and a more detailed description.

Your assistance is MUCH appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

[GrootWitBaas]

Jeff have a look at my Guide in the posts here, it includes pictures. I helped two here to fix the same problems. you can start round this post

[qld]

I did all the mods to this board. What are the best dip switch settings to use for running 269 oz motors?

[GrootWitBaas]

I think the dip switch settings is affected by motor type and also affected by the software you use. I have Nema 23's run this from Linux using emc^2 and have them on all on except number 2 that is off. running from Mach3 I understand the speed setting is also important. Hope this helps.

Groot

[qld]

Ok thanks for that info Groot, sounds like a trial and error thing until i find the best settings to suit my system.

Mick

[vdb]

Hi GrootWitBaas, I own the exact same 3 axes driver and also willing to use emc2 after modification of the card.

330pF can also be used, but I went with 100pF.

As i'm ordering some electronic components, what do you think would be the best ? 100pF or 330 pF ?

Personally I use EMC2 not Mach3 (I don't do Windowzzz) but I know from feedback from other members that this does help.

Do you think it could be possible for you to share your EMC2 setup as a workbase (Maybe something like this page)

[GrootWitBaas]

Go for the 100pF
Edit: My settings was all done on trial and error. It is optimized for my needs (very small cnc used mostly for small PCBoard milling) but I will see about posting the basics I used. The nice thing about emc2 is you can test one by one until you have the setup that works for you.


Groot


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AssassinXCV]

So, should i put the extra cash towards a HobbyCNC Pro driver board, and not take the risk and hassle of this chinese one? The possibility to use a manual controller attachment looked intriguing

[James Newton]

I would recommend figuring out how many watts you actually need to drive your machine FIRST. This web page may help:
techref.massmind.org/techref/io/steppers.htm#Estimating Once you know how much power you actually need, THEN figure out which driver to purchase.

I personally would recommend GeckoDrive. The G251 isn't that much more and will /actually/ work.

If you really need to save money and you want to break out the soldering iron, I would recommend a quality kit with full sized through hole parts and clear instructions like the Linistepper or SLAm which I sell. I mean, if you are going to be soldering on it anyway, why not get one that was designed for you to solder?

But seriously, know what you actually need first, /then/ buy one that fits.

[AssassinXCV]

Well, i have 3amp NEMA23 stepper motors to run a 6"x6"x6" cutting area. The hobbyCNC Pro driver board was one that i was looking at, at the very begining, just before starting to build the machine.

and how do i use the 251??? there aren't any parallel ports and there isn't enough ports to hook up 4 stepper motors.

I'm so confused.

[rinthesun]

I went back and looked at schematics in the first post of this thread. The schematic shows a common ground which means the driver chip and the parallel port have the same ground, so what is the point of the opto isolators. For them to work the grounds must be isolated. Am I missing something?

[leaveme]

I went back and looked at schematics in the first post of this thread. The schematic shows a common ground which means the driver chip and the parallel port have the same ground, so what is the point of the opto isolators. For them to work the grounds must be isolated. Am I missing something?

Yep, there are many design fault in these chinese boards.