[dbtoutfit]

My Xylotex fried an IC and right when I started a new machine so now I need 2 Driver boards.

I will not be going back to Xylotex for many reasons but at any rate I was wondering if any of you guys have used or know anything about these boards?

eBay seller iwannebuy

And

eBay Seller VeryCNC

Not a bad price for 4axes and the boards seem to be very nicly put together etc.

Anyone have any input on these?

Thanks,
Eric

PS I dont want to get off the subject but real quick.... why the hell are gecko drives so much freaking money? Is there a technical reason?

[MrWild]

yes there is a technical reason. PWM (pulse width modulation) for current control. mid-band resonance damping. Adjustible amperage and a LOT more amp capability than the one you posted. GREAT customer service. I really don't see the drive you posted as having enough power to move any but ther smallest motors. It's cheap though, so buy one and tell us how it works. :-)

[dertsap]

PS I dont want to get off the subject but real quick.... why the hell are gecko drives so much freaking money? Is there a technical reason?

quality is the difference !



if you want cheap then have you looked at the hobbycnc boards , many people here have had good luck with them

[dbtoutfit]

yes there is a technical reason. PWM (pulse width modulation) for current control. mid-band resonance damping. Adjustible amperage and a LOT more amp capability than the one you posted. GREAT customer service. I really don't see the drive you posted as having enough power to move any but ther smallest motors. It's cheap though, so buy one and tell us how it works. :-)

Is this board comparable to the Xylotex boards?
I am running 269OZ steppers in my machine that the xylotex fried in and 100-125oz steppers in the new machine.

I thought these were Pulse width modulation boards? No?

Thanks for the feedback
Eric

[klmjr]

Till the end of the month all the geckos are on sale at the 100 order price at Gecko till the end of the month. Save a little bit of your money. I am running the new G251 and am very impressed Not sure if they are 49 or 39 apiece right now, but they will do 3.5 amps at 50 volts. If you need up to 7 amps at 80 volts Geckos are the only way to go. Just a happy customer.
klmjr

[dbtoutfit]

*bump*

[tobo123]

My Xylotex fried an IC and right when I started a new machine so now I need 2 Driver boards.

I will not be going back to Xylotex for many reasons but at any rate I was wondering if any of you guys have used or know anything about these boards?

eBay seller iwannebuy

And

eBay Seller VeryCNC

Not a bad price for 4axes and the boards seem to be very nicly put together etc.

Anyone have any input on these?

Thanks,
Eric

PS I dont want to get off the subject but real quick.... why the hell are gecko drives so much freaking money? Is there a technical reason?

Hi Eric,
I tried one of these boards when my self build popped the driver ic's, it was cheaper than buying new chips. They come all in, opto isolated, 5v psu, good value, all you need is a main psu and motors. ps get the fan model. I used some 23LM C307's and HT5776-2008b-1's. Ran these small steppers very nicely at 1.5A @ 28v, but I did think you need to be careful which motors you use as no adjustment onboard, managed to do some engraving and a bit of routing with my bench mill, but had to use 4/1 gearing. Used usbcnc and mach3 both perfomed great with these boards, so if its for something like a tabletop engraver fine. Ok for testing the water, and lots of fun. But like others will tell you, soon changed to proper drivers and bigger motors, ended up with "msd 542's, motion control products" and bigger steppers. They have website and ebay shop, or you can get then direct fron china via ebay. Bit like chalk and cheese and 10 times price of these boards for 4 axis, next..... I will probally take the gecko route, with even bigger motors, next upgrade then the next and so on..

regards
tony

[dbtoutfit]

Thanks,

Yes after non stop research (4 weeks) I narrowed things down to these options.

Gecko G251
Probotix
Or back to Xylotex

Probotix 3 axis setup I need is going to run me. 162.77 + $12 s/h
Xylotex 3 axis setup = 155.00 Plus s/h
Gecko (G251's on sell) 3 axis setup $120 (thats just the drive though)

At first the Probotix looked lik the way to go but then I started feeling like a little "Nickle and Diming" going on with screw down terminals, heat sinks and other things being add on options ontop of the cost of the driver board.

So here I am Thinking of going Gecko at this point.
Prob is I dont know what all I need for the gecko setup.
I know I need a B.O.B but which one?
Also I ordered a 24v 4.5amp PSU about 5 hrs before I started to settle on the geckos, is this power supply going to be ok?
What else do I need for the gecko drives to be up and running?

If you have ever been in my place looking for the best value and quality deal you can find, you will find that you will begin to loose your mind. This driver board thing has made me go crazy. I have to come up with a solution real soon.

I feel like the more I have learned the dumber I have got.

Thanks for any help you guys may have on what all I need for a G251 gecko 3 axis setup.

Eric

[TOTALLYRC]

Thanks,

Yes after non stop research (4 weeks) I narrowed things down to these options.

Gecko G251
Probotix
Or back to Xylotex

Probotix 3 axis setup I need is going to run me. 162.77 + $12 s/h
Xylotex 3 axis setup = 155.00 Plus s/h
Gecko (G251's on sell) 3 axis setup $120 (thats just the drive though)

At first the Probotix looked lik the way to go but then I started feeling like a little "Nickle and Diming" going on with screw down terminals, heat sinks and other things being add on options ontop of the cost of the driver board.

So here I am Thinking of going Gecko at this point.
Prob is I dont know what all I need for the gecko setup.
I know I need a B.O.B but which one?
Also I ordered a 24v 4.5amp PSU about 5 hrs before I started to settle on the geckos, is this power supply going to be ok?
What else do I need for the gecko drives to be up and running?

If you have ever been in my place looking for the best value and quality deal you can find, you will find that you will begin to loose your mind. This driver board thing has made me go crazy. I have to come up with a solution real soon.

I feel like the more I have learned the dumber I have got.

Thanks for any help you guys may have on what all I need for a G251 gecko 3 axis setup.

Eric

G540 comes with an integrated breakout board. 4 axis of g250/g251 drivers and a 0-10v vfd driving circuit.$299 super cost effective. Plus they morph from micro to full step on the fly and will run your motors to their maximum.

Most of your inexpensive boards are chopper based, as opposed to gecko which is pwm based I believe. Big difference in performance.


If you go with the g251's, I use the candcnc breakout boards. As I am also a xylotex owner, I wouldn't use the xylotoex board unless the funds were really low. I had to use a breakout board with my xylotex board as my pport puts out less than 5 volts and didn't work correctly untill I installed the breakout board.

As long as the power supply is good for the motor and below 50v it will be fine for the g540/g251.

Best Value and a quality deal ==== Gecko.

You are getting smarter, you are starting to realise how much you don't know. That is a real good sign. Took me many years to realise I didn't know it all and the guys here are the zone prove to me that I still don't LOL.

Mike

[tobo123]

Eric,

only 4 weeks, thats really good, Ive been doing the same for 6 years, still keep changing. Just wait till you start looking into software!!!!!! I would go with Mike's post above, enjoy a smile when it comes.

tony

[TOTALLYRC]

Eric,

only 4 weeks, thats really good, Ive been doing the same for 6 years, still keep changing. Just wait till you start looking into software!!!!!! I would go with Mike's post above, enjoy a smile when it comes.

tony

Mach3 $159 and you are off to the races.
I looked real hard at emc/2/linux,but I couldn't find a cad and or cam program that I liked that would run on linux. I own crossover, and still couldn't get a cad program to work thatI like.

I just purchased Punch! Via Cad and I am really inpressed. Very similar to ashlar velum cobalt for $99. It was $89 at Staples when I picked it up.

My dspmc control box only works under Mach3 at present so I will not be going to linux any time soon.
When I get disgussed with Microsoft, again, I will go back to linux to see if it is any better than the last time.

I use Deskcnc to drive my router and its cam capabilities to do all my cam work. For less than $500 I have Cam, Cad and 2 different machine control programs.

Mike.

[dbtoutfit]

Well what I meant was 4 weeks just trying to find a replacement Driver Board.

I am a parts engineer/cnc programmer for a living and I understand the frustrations of software as well. I use a lot of different programs. For my home machines like Artcam, Lazycam, Simplycam Bobcam and a bunch of others along with Mach2 & 3 and Autocad etc.
At work I use CadMan-L, Pronest, Bobcam and a few others.
And it seems I am having to write new or edit old Post Processors all the time.
Between new machines and new subroutines and/or technologies.

Between it all, there was a lot of research that had to be done. Cause I program for 3 Oxy Burners, 2 Plasma Burners, 2 LVD Laser machines, 1 Fadal VMC and 2 Takumi vmc's. And now they want me to program our LVD CNC Pressbrakes. But finding software that would cover most of the machines and or do what we needed, it was a nightmare.

I just want to get my home cnc machine going lol.

So it sounds like I got everything I need for the G251's that will work other than the fact I need a B.O.B?

The one thing I do not know a great deal on is what to look out for when it comes to B.O.B.'s if any.

What kind of things will I see different over the Xylotex Board with the geckos? Faster feedrates? what?

Thanks guys,
Eric

[TOTALLYRC]

You will see much faster jog rates as well as faster feed rates. Since the geckos are mid band resonance compenstated, the likely hood of missed steps is greatly reduced.
You will also notice a total lack of noise coming from the motors when the axis are still as opposed to the whining and squealing that you get with other dirves.

www.candcnc.com Take a look at the ubob under the simple interface tab.

Mike

[tobo123]

sounds like your way ahead of me on software side, had my fingers well burn't in that department. On the bob side I can tell you the one that works for me. Go to http://www.kelinginc.net/BreakoutBoards.html and see KL-B25 Breakout Board, I got mine via ebay but its same as, only single port, can't add on any fancy bits does the job. Its a bit like the drivers I've seen some at 50-60 pounds, but then your tempted, even more for extra's to plug in. Not sure if you really need one with G540's, worth asking gecko. I noticed they do same drivers kl-5056/42 renumbered versions I use, they seem to have dropped in price since I bought mine. When I got my drivers and wired everything up on kitchen table, like you do, some of the motors I had that were rubbish on old system just ran sweet as a nut, whatever motors you fed them the torque/topspeed/sound just improved no end. Hope you see same results.
Still think 4 weeks is far to quick.

tony

[TOTALLYRC]

sounds like your way ahead of me on software side, had my fingers well burn't in that department. On the bob side I can tell you the one that works for me. Go to http://www.kelinginc.net/BreakoutBoards.html and see KL-B25 Breakout Board, I got mine via ebay but its same as, only single port, can't add on any fancy bits does the job. Its a bit like the drivers I've seen some at 50-60 pounds, but then your tempted, even more for extra's to plug in. Not sure if you really need one with G540's, worth asking gecko. I noticed they do same drivers kl-5056/42 renumbered versions I use, they seem to have dropped in price since I bought mine. When I got my drivers and wired everything up on kitchen table, like you do, some of the motors I had that were rubbish on old system just ran sweet as a nut, whatever motors you fed them the torque/topspeed/sound just improved no end. Hope you see same results.
Still think 4 weeks is far to quick.

tony

G540 is 4 axis with built in breakout board and 0-10v vfd drive.

g251 is a single axis driver that needs to have a breakout board. It will work with 3.3v logic signals.

Mike

[vladdy]

>>.... why the hell are gecko drives so much freaking money? Is there a >>technical reason?

they work out of the box...
they do what they're supposed to do...'as advertised'
if there's a problem they're supposed to have good support, don't know, never needed to call...they work, remember?
they don't f**k around or do weird s**t....

my time isn't worth much, not sure what yours is worth to you..
but a screwed up cut because of an erratic controller IS worth money to me..

bought a couple of vampires, no problems at all, the table works, ..
the initial cost may be a little higher....
the 'installed and working' price is excellent,
and the value, is just great..

I vote for a product with my pocketbook, and gecko's [IMO], are a deal..

..enjoy..

[dbtoutfit]

Ok,

I ordered the Gecko G251's.

One prob is today is there end of the sale thing, so I gambled on this a bit....

When I go to check out I am getting $49.00 price and not the $39.00 which is the hundred pc pricing.

Do you think Gecko will correct the pricing before they bill my CC?

They have there sell ending today which stinks cause you cant call with any questions etc.

I hope they correct this.

Eric

[TOTALLYRC]

I just looked at the gecko website and it says it ends dec 1st, so I am sure that they will correct it before they bill you since you placed your order before december 1st.
Mike

[dbtoutfit]

I hope.

Eric

[Ozheat]

I think the $49 is the usual 100 quantity pricing and $69 for the usual 1-12 quanity pricing.