584,854 active members*
4,336 visitors online*
Register for free
Login
IndustryArena Forum > CNC Electronics > Stepper Motors / Drives > Looking for parts to replace Baldor Smartstep 3 Controller board.
Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Posts
    0

    Looking for parts to replace Baldor Smartstep 3 Controller board.

    Hello,

    I'm a newbie here. I'm looking for alternative boards to replace Smartstep 3 Controller boardshttp://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...d=296940&stc=1 in Denford Micromillhttp://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...d=296938&stc=1 and Denford http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...d=296940&stc=1.

    Since I really new to cnc what are the things that I need to know to replace the Smartstep 3. I tried googling and reddting. Finally I ended up here.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    9

    Re: Looking for parts to replace Baldor Smartstep 3 Controller board.

    If the board is in working condition, you could just take the top board off and use the bottom (stepper driver) as-is by connecting to it via a parallel port breakout board.
    How to convert a Denford / ScanTek 2000 Micromill to LinuxCNC / Mach3 control: Part 1 – 3 Axis control | Jay's Technical Talk

  3. #3

    Re: Looking for parts to replace Baldor Smartstep 3 Controller board.

    Advice please. I recently got xyz motion on my novamill using the 96 pin connector. A friend of mine was convinced he could get the spindle working using a jumper to something. Well now I have no motion. The transformer looking thing by the large capacitor is making noise and the solder joint are burnt. I cant find a replacement and am at a loss on what to do. Assuming the Baldor board is dead is there a decent option under a couple hundred bucks to get this fully functional. XYZ, homing switches, limit switches, and programable spindle?

    Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    9

    Re: Looking for parts to replace Baldor Smartstep 3 Controller board.

    Quote Originally Posted by chesnut84 View Post
    Advice please. I recently got xyz motion on my novamill using the 96 pin connector. A friend of mine was convinced he could get the spindle working using a jumper to something. Well now I have no motion. The transformer looking thing by the large capacitor is making noise and the solder joint are burnt. I cant find a replacement and am at a loss on what to do. Assuming the Baldor board is dead is there a decent option under a couple hundred bucks to get this fully functional. XYZ, homing switches, limit switches, and programable spindle?

    Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
    I was able to use a jumper to the right part of the Baldor board to control the spindle speed, sorry to hear a similar approach didn't work for you.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFH58YUjX5U

    Yes, you can purchase stepper motor driver boards and wire them directly to each stepper, or find a kit that has multiple stepper outputs along with spindle speed 0-10v signal that you can use to completely replace the Baldor board.

    The C11G board has a 0-10 volt output that you can use to directly drive the spindle motor control board, although you would also need to supply 3 stepper motor drivers to interface between the data level signals of the C10 and the physical steppers.
    https://cnc4pc.com/c11g-multifunction-cnc-board.html

    A device like the: Leadshine MX
    https://cnc4pc.com/3-axis-dsp-based-...tml#prodtabs-3
    Will directly interface to your stepper motors (has the stepper drivers built in) as well as driving the 0-10V signal for the spindle motor driver board.

    (There is probably an option cheaper than the Leadshine MX that includes everything you need, this was just the first example I found on the cnc4pc website, which is hard to navigate.)

    Jay

  5. #5

    Re: Looking for parts to replace Baldor Smartstep 3 Controller board.

    Thanks for the advice. So I finally have made some progress. Found the original Baldor board on ebay. So now I have xyz axis motion. I also hard wired wires 84 and 85 on the spindle board the get the spindle turning. I just wired it to a switch. I've watched your videos on ur blog and not sure how to get the spindle working properly in the easiest fashion. For now I can at least make chips. Thanks for the advice. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9592d2f56e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d88e865ba1.jpg

    Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    9

    Re: Looking for parts to replace Baldor Smartstep 3 Controller board.

    Glad to hear you got the motion working. Having programmatic control over the spindle speed motor isn't really necessary for such a small mill...(I generally just run it at full speed and adjust the feed rate to match that spindle speed...it's such a small mill that I've never ran into the problem of having to slow the spindle down ;>)

    Some of the Denford/Scantech machines had a knob on the front panel where you could adjust the spindle speed manually (it went into the control board, was read by the computer, and the speed was adjusted via their control firmware). With some work you could disconnect that knob from the rest of the circuit, and probably figure out a way to wire it up directly to the spindle power board to get manual speed control from the front panel.

  7. #7

    Re: Looking for parts to replace Baldor Smartstep 3 Controller board.

    I've since added a 10k pot to control speed its a little finicky but it works. I greatly appreciate the shared knowledge and experience that everyone has offered. If I make anything worthwhile I'll share. Feeling good about my progress with the project. Thanks again

    Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Similar Threads

  1. Baldor servo controller software?
    By DennisCNC in forum Servo Motors / Drives
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 02-02-2022, 09:28 PM
  2. multicam controller repare or replace?
    By daisydog in forum CNC (Mill / Lathe) Control Software (NC)
    Replies: 30
    Last Post: 02-02-2014, 03:32 PM
  3. Replace main/master board in 6T-b
    By L98FIERO in forum Fanuc
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 09-26-2013, 06:48 PM
  4. If you could replace your CNC mill controller with anything...
    By bogiestl in forum CNC (Mill / Lathe) Control Software (NC)
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 10-15-2012, 05:22 AM
  5. H-Square controller.replace/repair
    By graver1 in forum Engraving Machines
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 08-08-2007, 10:00 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •