[H500]

Turn off the backlash compensation and see if it still occur.

[Dirty Steve]

I have the blue 4 axis tb6560 board from eBay, with the pendant controller.

The only mod I did was to jumper the opto-isolators and it all seems to work fine from Mach3, no dropped steps, and smooth motor control.

I cannot find info on my pendant controller, it looks just like the one earlier in this thread, but it also has a mini-usb port on the pendant next to the DB15 pin connection. The pendant would not turn on. Just by the simplest voltage test, the GND and V+ wires were crossed at the controller. The controller now turns on but other wires are crossed. X+ and X- both jog X+ and the other direction buttons do not move the steppers, no spindle control, no e-stop. Does not 'latch on' the board drivers, x buttons only work while in Mach3 with Reset active.

The 3-axis and 4-axis controller pdfs in posts #343 and #342 of this thread do not seem to go with the controller I have, and do not match the cable i got with it.

The tb6560 manual pin-outs for DB15 seem wrong too. The pdf manual shows:

P1 Z/C Empty, P2 C Step, P3 Z Step, P4 X Dir, P5 X Empty, P6 Y Empty, P7 Y Dir, P8 Z Dir, P9 C Dir, P10 Spindlemotor, P11 Y Step, P12 X Step, P13 STOP, P14 GND, P15 5V/vdd.

Hooked up a volt meter to the driver board and found no voltage from P15, no ground at pin 14, backtraced from the pendant found Pin 9 as 5V and pin 10 to be ground. So that's not right from the git-go. Swapped these two wires at the pendant connection and got power at the pendant, but obviously the other wires are incorrect as well.

I must completely have the wrong cable, and need to re-arrange the wiring.

Does anyone have this pendant with the usb port working? Have a pinout or picture of the pendant end of the cable?

[doorknob]

Hooked up a volt meter to the driver board and found no voltage from P15, no ground at pin 14, backtraced from the pendant found Pin 9 as 5V and pin 10 to be ground. So that's not right from the git-go. Swapped these two wires at the pendant connection and got power at the pendant, but obviously the other wires are incorrect as well.

I must completely have the wrong cable, and need to re-arrange the wiring.

Does anyone have this pendant with the usb port working? Have a pinout or picture of the pendant end of the cable?

I have one of those pendants, however I do not currently have it hooked up and running (it has a mini USB jack next to a 16-pin plastic header just like yours).

While I know that you have probably checked this already, can you again verify that you are probing the proper pins of the DB-15 connector, and you haven't mistakenly reversed the pin numbering? It wouldn't hurt to double check it.

Pin 15 is the outer pin on the bottom row on one side, pin 9 is the outer pin on the bottom row on the other side, and you are measuring +5 volts on one of them when that should be on the other. Likewise, pin 14 is the second pin from the outside of the bottom row on one side of the connector/socket, while pin 10 is the second pin from the outside of the bottom row on the other side of the connector, and you are finding GND on one of those pins when it should be on the other. So both of those observations could easily be explained by inadvertently misreading the pin numbering where you are doing the measurements.

[Dirty Steve]

I double checked, I am definitely getting +5v from pin 9 and ground at pin 10. Looking into the male DB15 connector on the driver board, numbered left to right. Top row first pin far left is #1, bottom row last pin far right is #15.

[doorknob]

It could also be the case that the pin numbering is reversed on the diagram to which you linked.

[Dirty Steve]

The connectors have little numbers next to the pins that match the diagram I linked. Going to try a left to right flip, since 9 is V+ instead of 15 on the driver board.


Edit: flipped the pins left/right and that didn't work either. i.e. 15+9, 14+10, 13+11, 12 same, 1+8, 2+7, 3+6, 4+5. Not a left/right flip at the pendant end, but swapped pin location.

[texaspyro]

Did you buy the pendant from the same seller as the board? Many sellers have warnings in their listings that the pendants are not compatible with all boards.

[Dirty Steve]

The pendant came with the board. Nothing in the ebay posting about incompatibility.

Have you ever had yours hooked up? Do you have the cable for it? Curious if it is wired the same.

[texaspyro]

I never bought the pendant for my controller...

[ngmacha]

I have tried both the 10k solution and changing the C-osc to 100pF.
(I wonder why 100pF, The TB6560 data sheet tells that even if the range is 100pF to 1000pF these two values has not been tested. They recommend 330pF ?)
Nothing seems to help
The only way I can get the noise to stop is by means of manipulating the DIP SW settings (power, decay and micro-step) together with Mach3 motor-tuning.
However this generates another problem, I cannot chose my settings at will, as an example I cannot use micro-step, then the noise returns.

I'm a newbie here and just finished reading all posts on this thread.
Tallon, it was quite a while since your last post. I have exactly the same problem like yours, that annoying vibrating sound when the motors are idle. Did you find any fixes for this, or followed James Newton's advice and threw the board away?

My setup: this is my first ever CNC conversion, Sherline lathe/mill, fitted with 23HS6620B steppers, using TB6560-based HY-TB4DV-M 4-axis driver without any modifications (yet :-); with the small blue pendant already mentioned in some posts. All bought via ebay.

I'm still in some testing phase (or call it pilot running), already noticed most of the issues with this controller mentioned, but so far with my requirements (and a very small mill) it's OK. Except that annoying sound, which causing my wife to turn mad (I don't have a separate workshop, so everything in the same living room with the TV et al :-( )

So, even if you didn't get a fix, could you share those DIP settings and Mach3 motor tuning parameters that quiet it? Would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Mac Ha

[spiderdab]

Hi I just wanted to add my little experience whit this board, to be precise a 4ch version built by hyu68.com and bought on the bay two years ago. blu silk.

My changing where to completely bypass the step ch optoisolators, and to cut out the power safe circuit.
Then when I was trying to change the caps to put 100pF, I realized that SMD capacitors were already 100pF, since measuring with my DSO i can see a triangle wave of 162 to 174 KHz on the 4 channel. 164KHz is the value of the only one I've changed with a 100pF ceramic cap.

After those changing i could measure a very much clearer square wave at the input and much faster at the output.
I didn't feel difference in the noise, but maybe that's because of the caps already 100pF.
At the end I found out that my pc step gen is much slower than this board, so this board is still a nice choise for diy hobby machinist.

Ciao Davide.

[docileroo]

So, after 50 pages of user experience, I'm wondering if it's worth buying this kit:
【US Ship&Free Ship to US】4Axis Nema 23 Stepper Motor 290oz-in & Driver CNC Kit | eBay
or not...

Has anyone got a better documentation for step-by-step repair of the 4-axis board? I can solder and I've got a voltmeter, but my talents end there.

Are we better off buying the Linistepper and 4-axis breakout board kits and building those?

Thanks!

[doorknob]

So, after 50 pages of user experience, I'm wondering if it's worth buying this kit:
【US Ship&Free Ship to US】4Axis Nema 23 Stepper Motor 290oz-in & Driver CNC Kit | eBay
or not...

Has anyone got a better documentation for step-by-step repair of the 4-axis board? I can solder and I've got a voltmeter, but my talents end there.

Are we better off buying the Linistepper and 4-axis breakout board kits and building those?

Thanks!

The motors in that kit have 6 wires (you can only connect 4 of them to the driver) and have a winding inductance of 18 mH which is very high. Those motors are not a good match for a driver that uses a 24-volt power supply. You could reduce the inductance by wiring the motors with a 'half-winding' connection, but even then they would still have a relatively high inductance.

[aarggh]

So, after 50 pages of user experience, I'm wondering if it's worth buying this kit:
【US Ship&Free Ship to US】4Axis Nema 23 Stepper Motor 290oz-in & Driver CNC Kit | eBay
or not...

Has anyone got a better documentation for step-by-step repair of the 4-axis board? I can solder and I've got a voltmeter, but my talents end there.

Are we better off buying the Linistepper and 4-axis breakout board kits and building those?

Thanks!

As Doorknob indicated, those steppers are really unsuitable! For most kits in fact, not just the crap driver board they are selling them with. You really want steppers with as low an inductance as possible, 18mH is very, very high.

The rule to work out what voltage the stepper needs is 32 x the square root of the stepper inductance, which means you need a 135v power supply!

Even if you do the rewiring as Doorknob suggested, you still need a 96v power supply. With the 24v suplied with the kit, you may get a little speed out of it but you'll get no torque at all as it will be insanely underpowered. I would say the entire kit is a waste of money, and is simply a bunch of parts thrown together, with no thought as to it actually working. Also, as I mentioned, the controller supplied in the kit I would consider just garbage, unless you're talented with electronics to rework it to get it to a usable stage. Out of the box, these controllers invariably don't work at all and some people spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to get them work.

cheers,
Ian

[kool-lites]

Subscribed
I know i will probably purchase s ebay unit too

sent from one of those mobile thingies

[docileroo]

The rule to work out what voltage the stepper needs is 32 x the square root of the stepper inductance, which means you need a 135v power supply!

Ian,

Thanks for the help. That is a disappointment and makes one wonder why such motors are even created. So what is the low-cost (hobby performance) solution for controllers? Is the Linistepper worthwhile?

[James Newton]

That isn't want it needs to turn, that is what it needs to turn at the absolute maximum speed. You can use higher inductance motors at a lower voltage and have a working CNC machine just fine... it just may not go as fast as it would with a higher voltage. But you will hit the motor heating limit or the total wattage limit before you hit the voltage limit in any case.

The Linistepper is a great design (arguably the best) for a system up to 75Watts of power. E.g. 2 amps per axis at 35 volts. They require a larger heatsink than most drivers, but then the motor will stay cooler, and they cost more than the TB6560 drivers, but they are easier and much cheaper to repair. 75 Watts will generally move a 40 lb load at 1000 IPM... given a good lead screw and a smooth axis.

Watts = ( IPM * Lbs ) / 531

Or

Watts = (Inch/Ounces * RPM)/1351

If you need more than 75 Watts, up to about 120 watts the SLAm Stepper Motor Controller is a good option. It isn't as smooth as the Linistepper, and it cost more to repair, but it does provie real power.

Those are both Unipolar, which isn't as bad as everyone says. Unipolar means less starting torque, but slightly higher top speed, which is usually more imporant for CNC anyway.

We will have a new driver out soon that will do 4 amps at 48 volts (192 Watts) and is bipolar, and is about like SLAm as far as cost and repairability. Eh... a little more than a SLAm probably.

If you need more than that, seriously, buy one of the low end Geckos for $80. You won't regret the extra cost.

[docileroo]

That isn't want it needs to turn, that is what it needs to turn at the absolute maximum speed.

And what is the max torque Nema 23 motor you would recommend for the Linistepper?

Any plans to offer a 4-axis Full Kit like the 3-axis kit?

[James Newton]

And what is the max torque Nema 23 motor you would recommend for the Linistepper?

There is a nice list of good motors for the Linistepper or SLAm at:
Good Unipolar Stepper Motors
with possible sources, including old copiers or printers.

If you want some speed, then you should also be concerned about mid band resonance. Chopper type drivers (TB6560, SLAm) have issues with that, and mechnical dampers may be necessary.

Any plans to offer a 4-axis Full Kit like the 3-axis kit?

I don't understand why people think there is any advantage to having multiple axis drivers on one PCB... what will you do if you fry one of the axis? Replace the entire board? And having all the axis on one PCB increases the chance of frying all the axises if something goes wrong. There are no cost savings to multi-axis boards anyway, none of the components are re-used.... really baffles me.

We offer a discount if you purchase 3 or more, so the price break is there anyway.

And having each axis seperate means you can mix and match. e.g. if your Z axis nees more torque and less speed, you can run a different driver for that one axis.

There is a break out board available which simplifies the wireing and can provide for a relay driver (for the spindle motor) and a source of 5 volt regulated logic power if you don't already have one from your power supply.
Slowing 69.16.243.61&c=1&t=41163.5012858796

[docileroo]

I don't understand why people think there is any advantage to having multiple axis drivers on one PCB...

No, you misunderstood me. I meant, that I see you offer a discount on a 3 Axis Full Kit for $114.90. I was interested in a 4 Axis Full Kit (realizing that it would be modular - just discounted).
PIC Linear Stepper Motor Controller

PM me and let me know how to order all that I need to get 4 axis going.

Thanks!