[eightball]

Mariss I had a couple of question i dont think are addressed. Are the step/Dir/+/- inputs going to be pins or screw down connectors? Also same question for the outputs for the stepper. And finally Is there going to be a case for either 250 or 251 like the rest of the line of drivers? Thanks a lot, Ill definitely be buying a few.

[jhowelb]

I laughed till my sides hurt!

[LeeWay]

Yeah, sure! laugh it up......until it happens to you.

[jhowelb]

ALL my Geckos work just fine. It's my LUNGS that barely work and which will kill me in a couple of short years. I'll be damned if I'll let it kill my sense of humor.

Too bad about yours!

[edferg]

Reptile Dysfunction is normally fixable and should be covered by warranty.

And if you should experience motor resonance lasting longer than four hours, contact the manufacturer immediately.

Ed

[LeeWay]

ALL my Geckos work just fine. It's my LUNGS that barely work and which will kill me in a couple of short years. I'll be damned if I'll let it kill my sense of humor.

Too bad about yours!

My reptile dysfunction or my sense of humor?



Mine was fixable, but it sure kills that special moment when I thought we were both ready.

[alipavsky]

And if you should experience motor resonance lasting longer than four hours, contact the manufacturer immediately.

Ed

... From what I understand, they have to cut into the motor to repair the problem...

[jhowelb]

My reptile dysfunction or my sense of humor?



Mine was fixable, but it sure kills that special moment when I thought we were both ready.

Well........is your reptile disfunctioning? Does your Gecko echo? Your snake fake? (................OMG, this has really gone off topic!)

Cheers, friend!!:cheers::drowning::drowning::banana::banan a:

[edferg]

"...OMG, this has really gone off topic!"

We'll anything is better than the flamefest of a couple of days ago.

As for me, I'm gathering odds & ends to get my G540 & Taig Mill system built.

So far I have:
G540
PC & LCD monitor
4 stepper motors
48V 7.3A switching power supply
Solid state relays for spindle motor & coolant pump
CNC-ready Taig Mill and Sherline rotary table

Playing with ideas how to mount the power supply and G540. Looks like I may have room inside the PC mini-tower and can cut an opening in the front or side panel. May add a fan as a precaution against heat rise.

Ed

[MrWild]

WONDERFUL! I didn't miss the two week offer, just the drama queens whining. The last two months I have been in hospitals and rehabs. I had a double bypass performed after the most minor chest pains had me go to the ER. As a paraplegic, I couldn't be discharged straight home and needed some rehab before the docs felt comfortable letting me live on my own again.

I was sure all my time away would have blown my chance for cheap drives. Thanks to a poor supplier, I'm still able to benifit Mariss's largess. Thanks Mariss!

[eightball]

Playing with ideas how to mount the power supply and G540. Looks like I may have room inside the PC mini-tower and can cut an opening in the front or side panel. May add a fan as a precaution against heat rise.
Ed

If its one of those small completely enclosed ones with no big toroid, you can likely cram it int he tower where the computers PSU would originally go. And yes definitely cool it. I'd grab at least 1 120mm fan. If you're looking for a really quiet fan (12V DC), I'd go with Scythe brand, <= 60 CFM and > 25. (can buy them fairly cheap at Newegg.com, don't get the $19+ ones) I have 5 in my computer case and cant hear them at all. They also will last you a LONG time with high quality bearings.

To mount them easily, I typically use a CD as a template and cut out the hole in the side of the case. I would also recommend making filters for them and orienting them to blow into the case instead of sucking out. Even if you don't NEED fans to keep the electronics from overheating, keeping them that much cooler will extend their lives. Good luck.

PS, any ideas about the questions i asked in my previous post?

-8Ball

[ger21]

The G251 has screw terminals, the G250 does not. Read Mariss' post a few post back where he strongly recommends the G251 over the G250 for inexperienced users.

Neither will get a cover

[eightball]

thanks a lot for the help. That piece of information was delaying me ordering a bunch of electronics for a controller to drive the driver.

[Mariss Freimanis]

Couple of things:

1) Some people are getting the wrong notion a higher inductance motor (>3mH) will not work. This is flat-out wrong; they will work. The confusion is about 'optimal' versus 'will work OK'.

Optimal (a 3.5A per phase motor having 2.5mH to 3mH inductance driven with a 48VDC supply) means getting the maximum possible mechanical power from a motor. For a G250 size drive that probably restricts the optimum motor selection choices to the NEMA-23 sizes. Driven to just within its 85C temperature limit, means you will get about 100W to 120W of mechanical power.

It doesn't mean you cannot use a higher inductance NEMA-23 or even many NEMA-34 motors with excellent results. It simply means the motor will generate less than its full power potential. Many people use G201s and G203s with NEMA-34 motors rated at 3.5A or less and using 50VDC or less. The only difference is the G201 or G203 is just cruising at those settings while the G250 is going flat-out full bore. No other difference.

Flat-out, full bore operation is not a problem. We don't play silly marketing reindeer games with max ratings. We design our drives so they can do max VDC and Amps 24/7. The G201 and G203 uses 33A continuous rated at 100VDC (116VDC destruct) MOSFETs while the G250 uses 14A continuous rated at 60VDC (72 VDC destruct) MOSFETs. Neither drive is breathing hard at its rated limits.

Derating insures reliability. If I was crazy and allowed marketing enough rope (with a few circuit changes), the G250 would be rated at 7A and 60VDC. Then it would blow up just like any L297/L298 or Allegro based drive taken to its limits. It wouldn't be a Geckodrive anymore but it sure would look good on a spec sheet. End of rant.:-)

2) The G250/G251 are just too small to have a cover can. Scaled down to size, the can would have to be 0.025" thick aluminum and the screws holding it down would be 1-80 or smaller. This is getting into watchmaker screw sizes and the cover would be so thin your thumb could compress against the internals and short stuff out.

The G201 and G203 can covers don't protect the drives against foreign object damage. There are too many places where metallic junk can get into these drives and it does. Fully half of the returned G201, G203 type drives have failed because of swarf or wire clipping winding up inside. The G250/G251 has no can cover at all. Be kind; put them in a control box with air filters to keep swarf out from settling on the drives.:-)

Mariss

[jariou]

Let's say I am going to buy one or more G540 in the next month or two and I want to take advantage of the two week price break to stock on a couple or more extra drives just in case I were to fry some of them (I am new at this).

What do I need to get? G250's or G251's?

I am sure the answer is somewhere in the previous posts but if someone woud answer this simple question, I would appreciate it very much.

Thanks,

Jacques in NC

[P.Passuello]

Let's say I am going to buy one or more G540 in the next month or two and I want to take advantage of the two week price break to stock on a couple or more extra drives just in case I were to fry some of them (I am new at this).

What do I need to get? G250's or G251's?

I am sure the answer is somewhere in the previous posts but if someone woud answer this simple question, I would appreciate it very much.

Thanks,

Jacques in NC

If you want to buy spare drives to fit into the G540 unit you will need to buy G250's. 4 x G250 units are used in the G540.
Otherwise the G251 is the best choice for the home builder as it has screw terminals for it's connections and a mounting plate. The G250 has no mounting plate and pin connections.
Link below shows pictures in the following order. G251, G250, G540

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showpo...postcount=1472

Cheers
Peter

[jariou]

Thanks Peter. That's what I thought but I was not sure.

[CoAMarcus]

The G250 is officially on sale on the website. They are for sale at $31 for quantities of 12 or less, and at the regular "for sale" price at all other quantities. This is because of the limited quantities so we can assure that everyone who orders will be able to get one in a timely manner. The female connectors will ship later in the week and the male connectors are ready to ship immediately. We will try to ship them within 24 hours of receiving the order. I have put the link to the G250s below, and the G251s will be on sale when we have them available; this should be some time this week.

http://geckodrive.com/product.aspx?c=3&i=14472

Marcus Freimanis

[eightball]

Whats the female header look like? Shown in the previous pics in this thread (like on the 540) where it is a screw down connection?

[Mr.Chips]

How soon will the 250 manual appear on your site?

Thanks for a super product.