[DeekStarr]

But this poll is for what would you use? ( given a average setup! )

I'm going to be purchasing a Gecko driver for my 3Amp 6V steppers. Which I seems to be very common.

I'm only a hobbiest however I will be making a much larger CNC in the future and plan on using this set up for a good long time.

Thanks again!!!

[ger21]

6V steppers aren't really a good choice if you're looking for a lot of speed. You want to run your steppers at 10-20x the rated voltage, and 10x is close to the Gecko limit. 2-3V steppers are a usually a better choice.

[rdarlington]

Each and every e-mail I sent to gecko went ignored. They lost my business permanently.

[LeeWay]

I get people that email me sometimes but neglect to check their spam control or put me on the accepted list. They wonder why I never email them. Fact is I respond to every one. Sometimes they will include a phone number and I can call or they call me. Gecko hasn't sold as many drives as they have by not answering emails. Mariss or someone from Gecko would certainly answer an email.
Sometimes if you have a question, you can even post here in the Gecko forum part and it is very likely that Mariss would reply.
They are some good drivers and you may be ruling them out because of a simple communication error that may not even be their fault. Emails don't always work as well as one would hope.

Here is an instance of something similar happening with a different Vendor.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37981


Anyway, to the poll. I am using 201's but will order 203's for my next machine. No problems with the 201's, but I like the security of the 203's against my screwing them up.

[dertsap]

you can t beat the support , Mariss was quite helpfull to me here in the forums concerning my drivers after i connected the power wrong and ran into trouble , he suggested a couple of tests then told me to send them back to have em checked out , got them back within a couple of weeks ,
not very often a company will want to help a guy who honestly says i screwed up ,especially electronics , most times it s "too bad so sad"

plus these babies perform soooo nice

[Mariss Freimanis]

Sorry for the email situation. We are moving to a larger facility; unfortunately it is out of the area served by the ISP we have been using for the last 7 years. This has resulted in lost support and info emails. The issue will be resolved by July 1 when the switchover will be completed.

Mariss

[rdarlington]

If you (Gecko drive folks) are making an attempt to straighten out your e-mail system, then perhaps I will reconsider my previous statement. When dealing with companies I know to check my spam box so I'm pretty sure I just never got a response. I'll open up the possibility of using your products again, but only once.

Bob

[Mariss Freimanis]

I show only one email from you dated Mar 31, 2006 which is over a year ago. I was unable to answer it because the questions were too diffuse for me to formulate any kind of helpful reply. This isn't meant as any criticism of you but rather my inability to deal with non-specific inquiries.

Mariss

[mlaws1172]

I can say the drives and the support from Gecko (Mariss) has been way above and beyond for me. I dont know how you find the time.

The only complaint i have is ,there is only one stuffed gecko in a shipment and the grandkids always fight over it.
Thanks Mariss - great work

mike

[Corvus corax]

Mariss has always been MORE than helpful to me when I have called him with a question- many times the same question I had simply forgotten the answer he had previously given me. His company will always get my business. I don't bother with e mail- too many things to go wrong with it.

[joecnc2006]

Mariss always post on here, he has proven himself over and over again to be interested in what the people have to say.

the way i see it is that the main players here on CNCZone as the most popular drives that people buy and trust to run their DIY machines and listed in order. (this is only my opinion)

1. Gecko Drives
2. HobbyCNC
3. Keling
4. Xylotex

[mxpro32]

I have used both the xylotex driver and geckos. While the xylotex works well for the money, the performance of the geckos will blow your mind in comparison. So much faster and smoother with much more authority at high speeds.

[rdarlington]

Well, after my previous negative experience (being completely ignored) I decided to give Gecko another shot. Man am I happy I did. I pretty much standardized on designing around the G203V drivers and the GREX box. My first project was a two axis (one linear, one rotary) system for acoustic inspection of sections of well pipes. (8" diameter, 18" long, give or take). We move a deck back and forth inside the pipe that carries special air coupled ultrasound transducers and the pipe is rotated via the rollers it sits on. This lets us position, extremely accurately I might add, the transducers anywhere inside the pipe.

I posted some pictures I took of the electronics box in the middle of the design and assembly process. We're a small shop and kinda design some things on the fly. Here is the power supply and electronics:

http://www.nerdhouse.org/gallery/v/cnc/

As you can see, very simple. Off the shelf everything except the machined panels for the rack mount box (I have a cnc milling machine to do this work, but you can do it other ways).

The transformer is from Parts Express, the cap/rectifier board is from Ajax CNC. For the lines to the step motors, I'm using these nifty military style connectors made by amphenol that have a twist lock and are keyed so they go in only one way (holes are shown for these on the back).

Programming for this project took roughly 3 hours and was done in Visual Basic. Soooo easy.

The next project is a three axis inspection system that will have a library of a particular automotive part. We'll need to move the parts onto a test area for inspection, then back to its storage location. It'll be like a large tape backup library. I'm going with gecko all the way.

-Bob

[joecnc2006]

Very Clean work

[CarlosC]

For the lines to the step motors, I'm using these nifty military style connectors made by amphenol that have a twist lock and are keyed so they go in only one way (holes are shown for these on the back).

Do you have pictures of these connectors and/or part numbers? Where did you get them?

Thanks

[rdarlington]

Yes, I will list every part I used, price, and where I obtained the part. I'll even include the exact step motors I used. Give me a week or so to retrieve copies of all my invoices.

I'll also take updated pictures of the device. The only thing left to do on it is to add a 12 volt supply for the GREX. Currently I have wires sticking out through a slot in the rack mount chassis hooked to an external supply. I didn't like the idea of plugging the unit into the wall, and then running a separate 12v supply to it. I still need to figure this one out, and I'm leaning toward using the original supply with spade connectors and heat shrink tubing over the prongs that go to the outlet.