advice on drivers and stepper motor purchase
29 Apr 2010 05:12 - 29 Apr 2010 05:14 #2745
by efret
advice on drivers and stepper motor purchase was created by efret
Hello,
I'm new to CNC machines and am trying to build my own so please bear with me if I ask some pretty obvious questions. Anyways I'm trying to pick out a driver and some motors. I've been looking around on the internet and I have no idea what's good or bad, but i did find this set up here . Does this look like something decent to start with for a 3 axis machine? If not what would you suggest? As for your suggestions please keep in mind that I'm not made of money and i don't want to spend much more than $200.00 if possible.
Thank you,
I'm new to CNC machines and am trying to build my own so please bear with me if I ask some pretty obvious questions. Anyways I'm trying to pick out a driver and some motors. I've been looking around on the internet and I have no idea what's good or bad, but i did find this set up here . Does this look like something decent to start with for a 3 axis machine? If not what would you suggest? As for your suggestions please keep in mind that I'm not made of money and i don't want to spend much more than $200.00 if possible.
Thank you,
Last edit: 29 Apr 2010 05:14 by efret.
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29 Apr 2010 12:29 - 29 Apr 2010 12:30 #2754
by BigJohnT
Replied by BigJohnT on topic Re:advice on drivers and stepper motor purchase
For starters what kind of machine do you have or plan to build? That would dictate what kind of drives and motors you need. Voltage = speed in the stepper world so don't expect much from a 24 volt power supply.
And as for almost everything you get what you pay for usually. Reliable suppliers include but are not limited to Gecko, Mesa, Pico etc...
John
And as for almost everything you get what you pay for usually. Reliable suppliers include but are not limited to Gecko, Mesa, Pico etc...
John
Last edit: 29 Apr 2010 12:30 by BigJohnT.
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29 Apr 2010 17:23 #2755
by efret
Replied by efret on topic Re:advice on drivers and stepper motor purchase
I'm planning on building a plasma table. Do you think that 24V will be fast enough to keep the cutting head from over heating?
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29 Apr 2010 23:51 - 29 Apr 2010 23:56 #2758
by BigJohnT
Replied by BigJohnT on topic Re:advice on drivers and stepper motor purchase
No. I built a plasma cutter table with steppers and used Gecko 203v drives with Automation Direct steppers and used a 64v Antek power supply. I used a Mesa 5i20 with their THC card to control the torch height and drive the Geckos. For thin materials you need 300IPM cutting speed. With that setup I get in excess of 450IPM.
Cutting head overheating is not the problem with slow speeds but crappy cuts and fast wear on consumables is a result of going too slow.
Do you have a CNC ready plasma cutter?
John
Cutting head overheating is not the problem with slow speeds but crappy cuts and fast wear on consumables is a result of going too slow.
Do you have a CNC ready plasma cutter?
John
Last edit: 29 Apr 2010 23:56 by BigJohnT.
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30 Apr 2010 05:06 #2761
by efret
Replied by efret on topic Re:advice on drivers and stepper motor purchase
Yes, I have a CNC ready plasma cutter.
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30 Apr 2010 11:16 #2763
by BigJohnT
Replied by BigJohnT on topic Re:advice on drivers and stepper motor purchase
What kind of frame are you building?
Some pictures of my plasma here:
s47.photobucket.com/albums/f163/johnplctech/Plasma%20Cutter/
John
Some pictures of my plasma here:
s47.photobucket.com/albums/f163/johnplctech/Plasma%20Cutter/
John
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01 May 2010 10:15 #2768
by Rick G
Replied by Rick G on topic Re:advice on drivers and stepper motor purchase
Hi John,
What size plasma cutter do you use? Except for thin material do you find the THC necessary?
Rick G
What size plasma cutter do you use? Except for thin material do you find the THC necessary?
Rick G
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02 May 2010 18:27 #2781
by BigJohnT
Replied by BigJohnT on topic Re:advice on drivers and stepper motor purchase
Hi Rick,
I have a Hypertherm 1250. For all materials the THC is a plus. It does the final tuning of the height to maintain the voltage needed to get the cleanest cut. Can you run without one? Yes, and I did for a year. You just have to be careful that your material stays flat and you can get acceptable results most of the time. If your already using a 5i20 then for $70 the Mesa THC is all you need hardware wise to add a THC to your plasma cutter.
John
I have a Hypertherm 1250. For all materials the THC is a plus. It does the final tuning of the height to maintain the voltage needed to get the cleanest cut. Can you run without one? Yes, and I did for a year. You just have to be careful that your material stays flat and you can get acceptable results most of the time. If your already using a 5i20 then for $70 the Mesa THC is all you need hardware wise to add a THC to your plasma cutter.
John
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03 May 2010 16:42 #2789
by efret
Replied by efret on topic Re:advice on drivers and stepper motor purchase
For the frame I'm going to be using a modified pattern torch set up. I would post some pictures but unfortunately I'm building this about 200 miles away from where I currently am.
Thanks for the advice John you have been very helpful, but I think I'm going to try and go the cheap route and try the 24 volt set up and if that doesn't quite cut it it should work fine for a small CNC mill application and I'll have to save up for the good stuff.
Thanks again John.
Thanks for the advice John you have been very helpful, but I think I'm going to try and go the cheap route and try the 24 volt set up and if that doesn't quite cut it it should work fine for a small CNC mill application and I'll have to save up for the good stuff.
Thanks again John.
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