[rudt_t]

A neighbor started to build a CNC router and gave up. I have (2) 381oz motors rated at 3.5 amps and (2) 270oz motors rated at 2.8 amp. The power supply is 24 volts at rated at 14 amps but has large voltage swings with a meter on it. There is no motor controller (driver) as he lost that somehow.
My question is. Would a regulated 48volt power supply rated at 9 amps be a good or better solution? Would the motors draw less amps at a higher voltage? The setup is 4 axis with two motors on the table (4 foot by 4 foot), one on the gantry and one moves up and down for a router.
What about the motor driver? I am a little confused which direction to go. He said he bought a Gexko all in one but cannot find it. I thought Gexko sold insurance until I Googled Gexko CNC. Is an all in one the dest way for a beginner to go?
Thanks for any help!

[tahustvedt]

He probably meant Gecko G540. http://www.geckodrive.com/geckodrive...ives/g540.html

It's a great unit. 48 V will probably work much better than 24 V with those motors. The G540 works with up to 50 V. I'm running my G540 at 48 V with a 7.3A power supply with three 2.8 A, 140 oz-in motors. I have another one on order for a new router I'm building.

The motor driver controls the current. The system runs at a constant, controlled current.

If you get a Gecko G540 you also need two 2.8 kOhm resistors to configure the outputs for the smaller motors. It's explained in the G540 manual, which you will also find on thepage I linked to above.

[Falcon69]

From my understanding, for power for the motors/controllers, you WANT an unregulated power supply. So those swings you are getting with your multimeter may be correct. Someone else chime in please if I'm mistaken.

FYI, this is the one I went with,

http://www.kelinginc.net/KL-5020.pdf

however, I am not running a G540, I am running 4 Gecko G203V controllers

http://www.geckodrive.com/geckodrive...ves/g203v.html

[awerby]

I'd say get the bigger (48v) supply (it doesn't have to be regulated, but it doesn't hurt) and either help him find that G-540 or buy another one. The "all-in-one" design does make it easier for beginners to get everything working correctly, but you could also get a breakout board and individual drives like Falcon if you want a more challenging project. The motors won't draw more amps when fed more voltage, but they'll go a lot faster more reliably. Usually you use current-limiting resistors with the Gecko drive to keep amperage within a safe range.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com