Tom Eldredge
Wow,
You are certainly having problems getting set up. Thank you all for your help in this problem. I am impressed by the advice given.
In supporting Rutex drives for the past 4-5 years or so, I have found that most problems like this occur from inadequate shielding on the encoder feedback. It is not just shielding however that is important. It seems as though even with shielding, it is important that the encoder wires be kept away from the wires running to spindles, the motor power wires themselves to the servo motor and any other noisy signals.
The Rutex drives respect the shielded pair configurations, and utilize popular line drivers, the 26c31 and 26c32 matched pairs of drivers. Yes, they run on 5 volts, and I know users often use them 5 meters. I don't hear from too many users running them 10 meters, but that does not make me think they are not used at those distances.
I had one user tell me that in order to eliminate his encoder feedback noise issues, he had to shield the servo motor wires to within 3/4 inch of the R2020 drive connections, but that was the most stringent case I can remember.
Be sure NOT to connect the shield on the motor wiring to the motor case. I would recommend you grounding the motor case. While I have not seen this cause problems with Rutex drives, I have seen ungrounded motors cause problems with Servo Dynamics drives, Elmo drives, and others.
Although this sounds entirely crazy, I shield the motor wires, but do not connect the motor cable shields to anything on either end.
Time, and time again, the problem turns out to be noise picked up from the motor or encoder wires. I'd try different motors to ensure that the motors themselves are not introducing noise if you have swapped out everything else. Divide and conquer is always my tactic in these cases. Normally the problem is that there is some part of the configuration that it is inconvenient to swap out, and the customer holds off from trying that. I cannot remember a rutex drive having this kind of problem inherently. I'd press on and isolate the problem by moving things or swapping things out.
Obviously you have tried the drives, and R2210 adapters already. If you need another mother board to try, I have them in stock, and I will warantee any of our products.
If this does not help, give me a call at 573 341 1528, or 573 368 7399. I always prefer phone support to email.
Vladimir just returned yesterday from Eastern Europe where his ailing parents still live. For the last two years he has really been struggling to help them through the autumn of their lives. This time he was over there caring for them for the last two months. It is hard on him. Before this last trip, he finally introduced the R2040 drives. I have them in stock. They work well in my tests on a lathe with Servo Dynamics analog drives on it. Although I ran out of stock of the R2010 drives just recently, I expect to have more in stock in a couple of weeks. They are in production again.
I hope this helps.
Tom
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)