[NSR_CIVIC]

I am trying to get my spectralight mill running so I can start making parts.. It is using the original round motors which I can't find specs on. The original drive was toast so I traded it for a set of 3 & 4 axis tb6560 boards. the 3 axis gave up the ghost last week while I was testing the motors. I modified the 4 axis as per the fix it thread and it seems to work. I get Y axis movement fine but X & Z seem to be really sluggish and rough. It was the same with both boards. I think the motors are shot... What can I replace them with that won't break the bank?. Preferably under 30$ a piece if possible and ill take used if they work. I just need it to move so I can get some parts made.. I am an electronics engineering student and I will be needing the mill to make parts for a final project in the coming months. Thanks.

Kevin.
Nsr customs.

[awerby]

It sounds more like a problem with your drivers than with your motors, but you can test that by transferring the wires from the one working axis to the other ones and seeing if they work with a good signal or if the fault's really the motor's. Be sure to turn everything off first, and let the caps discharge before disconnecting anything.

I'm not sure you got the best of that trade - those TB6560 boards are notorious for flakiness, and the dead but repairable old board might have been worth more. Since you're an electronics engineering student, maybe you'll be interested in this thread: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/genera...r_updated.html

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[NSR_CIVIC]

Yea I may have gotten shafted but when I made the trade it was with someone from this forum and I assumed that they knew what they were talking about.. now I realize he was more likely a used car salesman with a cnc hobby.. I have experience running fadal 3&4 axis industrial machines as well as Haas Cnc lathes and I have been working with mastercam for a while but this desktop stuff is a whole different beast.
I have seen that thread and I made most of the changes listed there. I did check the x motor on the y cable and it worked correctly but that was on the 3axis board before it melted I'm not sure if it didn't take the motor with it. But that is on my list of things to test..
I was watching a hobbyCNC driver and 3 nema23 motors on eBay but the price got to high for me to afford right now.

Kevin.
Nsr customs.

[awerby]

Before purchasing more motors, think about investing in a better drive. I've had good luck with the Gecko 540, as have many others on this forum. You get the breakout board, some opto-isolation, and 4 drives in a neat form-factor with comprehensible instructions and good support in English.

Stepper motors are pretty rugged creatures, and hardly ever burn out. It's just about always a problem with the drives, wiring or software. Yes, it's a little more money to spend, but if you value your time at all (not to mention hair pulled out in handfuls) it's money well-spent. You'll be able to think about running the machine and not just trouble-shooting it. But on the other hand, you can keep buying various cheap drives and might learn a lot about all the solutions that don't work so well, in which case please write back with a summary of your experiences with them....

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[NSR_CIVIC]

I have had many say the same thing. If all works out I will be purchasing one after taxes but at the same time I want to get a 3d printer so I'm at a cross roads as to where to send my funds.. lol

Kevin.
Nsr customs.

[NSR_CIVIC]

Must be in my cabling between driver and motors. Swapped x&y and had opposite results.. gonna check everything out right now..

Kevin.
Nsr customs.

[NSR_CIVIC]

Upon further testing and inspection its an issue with the x axis on the board itself. I checked it with a different motor and separate wiring and all but x work fine. I will double check my solder joints where I added the 74hc14 but other then that what can I test to see where its faulty? I don't have an O-scope but my meter has a logic probe function.

Kevin.
Nsr customs.

[awerby]

Once you get your CNC machine running, if you want a 3d printer, swapping the spindle for an extruder isn't too hard. There are some threads here about doing that. The hardware part is pretty simple; the software is a little more involved, but not that big a deal really.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[NSR_CIVIC]

Yea I was discussing that with someone earlier about adding a print head off of the side of the spindle spacer block on this mill so I can use both.

Kevin.
Nsr customs.

[NSR_CIVIC]

It's running. Replaced the x axis chip on the board and it came to life... still sounds kinda crunchy buy it moves without flames!!. I'm gonna replace 2 of the motors soon and then start building a new breakout board and stepper drivers along with a spindle control board all modular so if something goes poof I can swap in a new one.

Kevin.
Nsr customs.

[NSR_CIVIC]

Fixed the noise now. Replaced the 1k of osc cap with a 330pf and now its super quiet and smooth. And I got my spindle issues fixed too! Now to just get my index sensor working to read rpm and calibrate my rpm to what mach displays and I'm in biz.!

Kevin.
Nsr customs.