[nlh205]

Hi, I am trying to build my first desktop cnc machine. I recently bought a Chinese 3 axis board that failed before it even worked. So i want to be sure before spending more money on a product. I want know if the stepper motors i have would be a good fit with the easy stepper driver controller. Im using a 12v 22amp supply. Also if anyone could tell me if there is a good breakout board that will work with these drivers.

Easy Stepper Driver
https://solarbotics.com/product/50865/

Stepper Motors
https://solarbotics.com/product/33600/

Any help or insight would be appreciated.
Thanks, Nathan.

[doorknob]

That motor is not a good match for the EasyDriver.

The motor has a rated winding current of 2.5A.

The driver is rated to handle winding currents in the range of 150mA to 750mA.

So, at the maximum current that the driver can handle, you will be getting less than 1/3 of the rated torque from the motor.

Also, operating the motor from 12 volts will substantially reduce the available torque at higher speeds. You would be better off running the motor from something like 36 volts (however that would exceed the maximum voltage rating of the EasyDriver).

[nlh205]

Thanks for the reply. You mentioned that the motor is rated at 2.5 amp and the stepper driver will give a max of 2.25 amps. So this driver is not worth using obviously for the best performance. But on the site there is another driver that they recommend using with this motor(I will attach the link below). So would this driver be suitable for the motor and also can it be easily wired to a breakout board? Sorry if these questions seem a bit under minding but i have never set up breakout board and driver combo.

A4988 Stepper Motor Driver Carrier
https://solarbotics.com/product/51090/

Also i found that the recommended voltage for these motors are 12v, so what will happen to the motors if the were hooked up to 36v?

Source
http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?product_id=3303_0

[nlh205]

Also found that the recommended voltage for the motor is 12v so what will it do to the motor if i use 36v?

Phidgets Inc. - 3303_0 - 42BYGHW811 NEMA-17 Bipolar 48mm Stepper

Sorry for the second post.

[nlh205]

Ok i was just wondering what putting 36v to the motors would do because these motors are rated at 12v. Also i found another driver and would like it if someone could please look at it and give me their opinion on it. Also i'm wondering if this motor driver could be easily connected to a breakout board.

A4988 Stepper Motor Driver Carrier
https://solarbotics.com/product/51090/

[H500]

If you don't mind soldering one together from a kit, this one works well:
http://users.skynet.be/ldt/CNC%20ele...THB6064AH.html

If you don't want to do the work, this one is probably OK:
TB6600 1 axis Stepper Motor 2-phase Drive Board for CNC Router Beter with TB6560 | eBay

If you want to hone your electronic troubleshooting skills, the tb6560 boards are sure to please. They will not work out of the box and will self destruct just from being powered up.

[doorknob]

Also found that the recommended voltage for the motor is 12v so what will it do to the motor if i use 36v?

Phidgets Inc. - 3303_0 - 42BYGHW811 NEMA-17 Bipolar 48mm Stepper

Sorry for the second post.

I'm not sure where the "recommended voltage" comes from (yes, I see it described that way on the Phidgets page, but the actual motor spec sheet at http://www.phidgets.com/documentatio..._Datasheet.pdf says that the rated voltage is 3.1 volts - and normally with a current-regulated driver it is common practice to operate such a motor at a much higher voltage than the 'rated' voltage in order to get good torque at higher motor speeds).

[doorknob]

Ok i was just wondering what putting 36v to the motors would do because these motors are rated at 12v. Also i found another driver and would like it if someone could please look at it and give me their opinion on it. Also i'm wondering if this motor driver could be easily connected to a breakout board.

A4988 Stepper Motor Driver Carrier
https://solarbotics.com/product/51090/

That driver should be compatible with typical breakout boards.

Note, however, that even though the driver has a maximum current rating of 2 amps (which is less than the motor rating of 2.5 amps), you can not run the driver with that much current without adding external heat sinking to the driver chip. Without additional heat sinking the maximum current rating of that driver is only 1 amp, which again would greatly reduce the available torque from that motor.

[nlh205]

I do plan on fixing my tb6560 in the future and for another build if its later needed but I am new to these stepper drivers and would like to get something at a reasonable price that will work well. The TB6600 board from ebay looks very nice and usable for my application but i am just wondering if you have had any experiences with this board? Also do you know of any breakout boards that would work well with these stepper drivers? I have seen many on ebay but do not know what to trust for board construction and use after having trouble with the tb6560 board i don't want to spend money on something that isn't going to work. Thanks.

If you don't want to do the work, this one is probably OK:
TB6600 1 axis Stepper Motor 2-phase Drive Board for CNC Router Beter with TB6560 | eBay

If you want to hone your electronic troubleshooting skills, the tb6560 boards are sure to please. They will not work out of the box and will self destruct just from being powered up.

Do you think that this board would be a good fit with the drivers and motors?
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1-pcs-5-Axis-...ht_5993wt_1271

[H500]

I am aware of 1 positive evaluation on that particular 6600 board. I have no personal experience with it, which is why I said it was probably OK. I've tested the 6064 kit and can confirm that it works very well.

As for the breakout, there's no way to know if it's properly designed without a schematic.

[H500]

I should mention that I did test a tb6600 board of my own design and it worked well.

[nlh205]

I have no problem doing the soldering myself but the site doesn't show any prices on the kits and also what kit/version did you test? Also what breakout board did you use to test the board?

I am aware of 1 positive evaluation on that particular 6600 board. I have no personal experience with it, which is why I said it was probably OK. I've tested the 6064 kit and can confirm that it works very well.

As for the breakout, there's no way to know if it's properly designed without a schematic.

[H500]

The page has a link to the pricing. I have the version at the bottom of the page.
http://users.skynet.be/ldt/CNC%20ele...4_pricing.html

I did not use a breakout. I connected direct to the parallel port. However, I expect that any cheap non-isolated breakout would work. The driver has isolators onboard.