[dreamci]

hi i checked out 540 drive but its very expensive i am building my first cnc router and a driver for 3 axis machine can u recommend me a cheap driver please. i built the mechanical parts just as buildyourcnc.com but hobbycnc dont ship to my country and buildyourcnc auther doesnt reply my mails please tell me a alternative driver thanks

[P.Passuello]

hi i checked out 540 drive but its very expensive i am building my first cnc router and a driver for 3 axis machine can u recommend me a cheap driver please. i built the mechanical parts just as buildyourcnc.com but hobbycnc dont ship to my country and buildyourcnc auther doesnt reply my mails please tell me a alternative driver thanks

If you want to build your own controller I suggest 4 x Gecko G251 while they are very very cheep at $37 each. After that the G251 will be $61 each but at that price per unit you are probably better off with the G540 as it is all done for you.

Your stepper controller and motors will probably be the most expensive part of your build but is the one item you cannot modify or improve on without replacing it. You can always upgrade your leadscrews, linear bearings, etc, a bit at a time as money is available but your pretty much stuck with the controller you chose until you ditch it and buy a new one. It is also the one piece you will take to your next build and if you are like most of the people on this forum you WILL do another build.

Just my thoughts

Peter

[dreamci]

hey thanks for reply do u know when will it be 61$ and why do i have to own 4 since i am building 3 axis control also do u think can i make it work i even cant change a lamp i dont know anything about electronics

[fretsman]

hey thanks for reply do u know when will it be 61$ and why do i have to own 4 since i am building 3 axis control also do u think can i make it work i even cant change a lamp i dont know anything about electronics

He probably said 4 (just guessing) because you may want an extra or a 4th axis later on. As for the last day of the sale price, that would be today -

Dave

[dreamci]

ok i will buy as soon as they tell me the shipping cost do u think can i make it work? or do i need electronic knowledge also can u tell me a cheap power supply that works with this driver thanks

[Adamj12b]

Dreamci - Dont forget, You will also need a break out board. This is what will connect the parallel port from the computer to the 251's. You will have to run each wire from the breakout to the drives. The 540 has this built in. Just giving you a heads up. -Adam

[CROSSHATCH]

I have an external Relay rated for 10 amps, it wires up through a ethernet cable, I would have any trouble simply wiring it to the 540 because I got to be honest, I miss having controls like m8 and m9 for coolant, I stopped using that once my OLD bob board fried and coolant motor died.

I really want to hook it up again.


-Jason

[CROSSHATCH]

Hey guys, I want to get some ideas. The 540 is going to be very needed for me and will help production and prototyping work. The Taig itself is the hold back, wear and tear on a small machine can happen quickly.

What are the Maximum speeds the Taig can handle with the 540 and these steppers: KL23H276-30-8B which in Parallel will output 4.2 Amps.

I would Ideally like to cut in the 20 IPM range and rapid higher. (This is all while cutting aluminum)

Any Taig users who can shed light?



-Jason

[alexccmeister]

Hi guys,

Not sure if this has been answered but I have some Nema 23 495 oz.in stepper motor I would like to use on my C3 lathe in the near future. So thinking about getting the G251 for this purpose. Its rated at 3.6A and my motor is rated current/phase = 3.0A. Would this driver be enough to drive the motor and still have torque at high speed? Thanks.

Alex

[LeeWay]

Hi guys,

Not sure if this has been answered but I have some Nema 23 495 oz.in stepper motor I would like to use on my C3 lathe in the near future. So thinking about getting the G251 for this purpose. Its rated at 3.6A and my motor is rated current/phase = 3.0A. Would this driver be enough to drive the motor and still have torque at high speed? Thanks.

Alex

I have similar motors. They were clearly not as strong with a 48 VDC power supply as they are with a 72 VDC PS. 3 amps were used for both.

They can be used, you just won't be using maximum motor potential with 48 volts.

They were strong enough for my X and Y on my mill, but not the Z. They would likely do pretty well on a lathe. Especially so if you use a belt drive.

[High Seas]

Does anybody have a bead on a motor that will really maximize the 251?
There was a reference to one in the offing - but I'm stuck here with the paralysis-of-analysis trying to find an off the shelf motor that will max the G251. Hurry if you have an idea! Today is wasting a way!
cheers - Jim
Maybe 'maximize" is incorrect - I'm looking for a motor that will make an optimum combination with the G251 -- near term

[CNCfun&games]

Ref: Post 1467 Item 2, from Mariss

Is the G540-Rev 2 Shipping yet??
Is there a Rev-3 in the works??

Interested in buying the Latest & Greatest..:

W. Smith

[jariou]

At least, that's what I was told yesterday afternoon when I called. I ordered one over the phone because the web site did not work correctly.

I was told the Rev-2 should be available Monday and ship soon after.

[alexccmeister]

I have similar motors. They were clearly not as strong with a 48 VDC power supply as they are with a 72 VDC PS. 3 amps were used for both.

They can be used, you just won't be using maximum motor potential with 48 volts.

They were strong enough for my X and Y on my mill, but not the Z. They would likely do pretty well on a lathe. Especially so if you use a belt drive.

Hi Lee,

This is somewhat off topic. You mentioned you are using 48VDC with these motor and you find it is not very strong. I am assuming you mean torque. What driver are you using?

As you may have read some of my posts, I am currently using keling's KL5056 drivers which is rated up to 50VDC at 6.3A hooked up to my X2 mill. Currently with my 24VDC power supply, I can only rapid at a measly 20IPM. I found out just today at high speed, the torque is non existence on these motors. Will the 48 VDC supply do better? I am thinking of getting Keling's power unit KL-600-48 48V/12.5A 115V /230V to boost the torque at speed of say 100IPM. I will be very happy if I can rapid at this speed without binding issue.

Gecko's G251 manual says that any power unit bigger than 50VDC used with the G251 will surely blow the unit. From this I am guessing I shouldn't be using any power unit bigger than 50VDC for my drivers. Am I correct?

Alex

[LeeWay]

It's been a little while since I was running the 48 VDC PS on the mill, but it was either 201's or 203V's that I was using. The reason I wasn't getting max performance from these motors is because the voltage was not high enough. The amps were right. I think I doubled my rapid speeds when I used the larger supply or nearly so. It did increase torque too somehow.
It was still sufficient to do pretty well on X and Y, but not Z. Z on my little mill probably weighs 70 pounds.
It has linear slides and preloaded ground ball screws. It will preform better with any motor/driver combo than the dovetail ways on the X2. There is simply very little friction on any of the axes.
While these motors did work, they could be better and this is why I went to higher voltage they needed.
The 251's will drive those motors, but not as well as a 201 or 203 and a higher voltage PS.
You can get better results from those motors and the 251's with a belt drive too. This will increase the torque some.

Simply put, these motors are not a good match for a 48 VDC power supply. The 251's are limited to 50 VDC, therefore they are not the best match for those either, but may still work well enough to get what you need.

[alufly]

Just a quick question as far as I can see from the specs of the 450 the inputs for the Step, Dir and Disable Inputs are Optoisolated so there is no need for a BOB I have been useing a 203V for a long time with out a BOB with no problems . So my question is what is the point of a BOB if you use drivers that are Optoisolated.



Keith.

[P.Passuello]

hey thanks for reply do u know when will it be 61$ and why do i have to own 4 since i am building 3 axis control also do u think can i make it work i even cant change a lamp i dont know anything about electronics

The reason I mentioned 4 drivers is when I looked at the buildyourcnc.com site you mentioned and it showed me pictures of machines with dual Leadscrews for the Y axis. If you have 4 Motors you will need 4 drivers, one per motor. If you only have 3 motors then only 3 drivers will be needed.

I had a look at the Gecko Website and I quote:

The introductory price of the G251 will last until 5PM Saturday, September 6.

Since I don't live in the State I don't know what the time is.

I also note the normal price for the G251 is $69, my apologies for putting you wrong there.

Peter

[skullworks]

As of this post you have just under 2 hrs remaining for the promo price.

[Greolt]

Parcel arrived today with my new G251s. Thanks Gecko.

I was a little surprised to find the two 2mm cap screws to be quite loose on all the drives. (wobbly loose).

And no sign of any heat transfer type material under any of the components.

On the G201s I have used before there is a white heat sink paste used.

Is this normal? Seems a bit strange to me.

Greg

[dmauch]

I agree . There is no need for a breakout board if the inputs are optically isolated AND if the signal source voltage is adequate. The reason the BOB became popular was that the newer computers only put out 3.2V on the PP port. The BOB's had buffers to increase it to 5V . That was important on the G201's the G210's and the G320 because they required a minimum of 4.2V as I recall.
Breakout boards are also usesful for signal distribution. When you have a pc with a 3.2V output and a G251/203 then all you would need is a db25 on one side and screw terminals on the other.
The one advantage of the BOB's is where you need an optically isolated inputs from hopme/limit switches or other devices

Dan Mauch

Just a quick question as far as I can see from the specs of the 450 the inputs for the Step, Dir and Disable Inputs are Optoisolated so there is no need for a BOB I have been useing a 203V for a long time with out a BOB with no problems . So my question is what is the point of a BOB if you use drivers that are Optoisolated.



Keith.