Stepper driver suggestion

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15 Nov 2016 16:20 #82838 by stana
We're doing a CNC conversion and we've had a few issues. We've got a breakout board from cnc4pc which seems like it works well and two nema 34 stepper motors that want 4.24A when wired bipolar parallel. For a stepper driver we opted for a MA860H since that's what Tormach uses for the A axis in our 770 mill. The MA860H has been a complete disaster. The first two were DOA. Of the next two, one was DOA and one would only spin the motor one direction. We know this unit can drive this motor since we hooked it up to the driver in our Tormach and it works perfectly. It just seems to MA860H is shoddily made and the "QC passed" stickers are meant to be ironic.

Now we're looking for alternative stepper drivers and I'm hoping for suggestions. The KL-6050 looks like it might fit the bill as does the KL8060 DSP-based controller. Both are less expensive which is attractive, but appear similar to the MA860H in terms of quality. The Gecko drivers such as the G213V look interesting at a higher price point but require an external heat sink at the amperage we're looking at.

Does anyone have experience with either the KL or Gecko drivers, good or bad? Can anyone recommend a reputable web site for buying them? The web site with the attractive KL pricing also sold us a CNC4PC breakout board that is rev 1.5 when the current rev is 8.1. (You don't know who the original source is until you receive it.)

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27 Nov 2016 18:57 #83379 by tommylight
I thought i already replied to this thread from my mobile! Apparently something went wrong, sorry for that.
I have no experience with MAxxx drives or the KLxxx ones, but i do have with Gecko drives, had over 20 of them consisting of 4 X G320, 2 X G540 and plenty of G212. They do work nicely and they can handle plenty of abuse. Also you do not need coolers for them up to a certain current ( 4 or 5 Amps i think ). I have used them at full power with no cooling for short periods of time with no issues at all ( sometimes up to an hour ).
If you must have the best stepper drives and are willing to pay for it, get the LAM Technologies drives, they are magnificent and indestructible ( even reverse polarity will not harm them, i did test them ). Just be sure to order a USB programming dongle for 28 euro, as without it you can not set the current or anything else, and they do have way to many options to mention here. Most importantly every statement on their web site about current and micro stepping and options, is true.
I have no affiliation to them, i am just a very happy customer. I have several machines working with their drives for the last 3 or 4 years.

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