LinuxCnc with Copley controls-Stepnet ST3-055-04?

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04 Dec 2012 01:49 #27148 by varun0421
Here are a few boards that i have short listed. Will all of these boards be compatible with the stage that i have?
Also will they be able to run Linux CNC without much problem? Just want to make sure before i go ahead and buy.

www.geckodrive.com/geckodrive-step-motor-drives/g540.html
www.intellidrives.com/powered-series-p-71.html
pico-systems.com/univstep.html

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04 Dec 2012 03:16 #27152 by andypugh

www.geckodrive.com/geckodrive-step-motor-drives/g540.html
www.intellidrives.com/powered-series-p-71.html
pico-systems.com/univstep.html


The G540 is definitely useable, and has been used for many LinuxCNC installations. There is a bit of a quirk with the charge-pump needing rather more current than it should. It can be disabled if your parallel port is weedy.
I don't know anything about the intellidrive
The Pico USC is definitely LinuxCNC compatible, but does not, itself, drive stepper motors. It is an interface / step generator board that goes between the parallel port and stepper power drivers. (It moves the step generation task into hardware, so can create step pulses orders of magnitude faster than a parallel port).
The following user(s) said Thank You: varun0421

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04 Dec 2012 03:27 #27153 by varun0421
ThaNks a lot Andy!

"There is a bit of a quirk with the charge-pump needing rather more current than it should. It can be disabled if your parallel port is weedy."
Will this be a major problem? Also is it a straightforward thing to disable it?

Are there any other drives that may be better suited for my application?

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04 Dec 2012 03:39 #27154 by andypugh

Are there any other drives that may be better suited for my application?

It depends how price-sensitive you are.
One of the cheap three-axis boards from eBay might do all that you need at a much lower cost.
www.ebay.com/itm/251169172145
As a randomly-chosen example.

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04 Dec 2012 03:52 #27155 by varun0421
Thanks again! :)

Will these boards from ebay pose a threat to the stage and the stepper motors in anyway? I heard somewhere that these boards might fry the stepper motors.
My budget is around 300$.
Is it advisable to then buy one of the ebay boards and see if everything works out fine and then go for a new costlier board?
Any boards in my budget range that you can suggest?

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04 Dec 2012 04:01 #27157 by andypugh

TWill these boards from ebay pose a threat to the stage and the stepper motors in anyway? I heard somewhere that these boards might fry the stepper motors.

They are quite good at frying themselves, but I have not heard of them managing to damage a motor. (you need to set the current-limit jumpers correctly, though)
Getting started with something like that will hep ou work out what you need, and might well be perfectly adequate.

My budget is around 300$.

The G540 is a good set of boards, but individual drivers might make more sense. Finding out if you are step-rate limited might inform the purchase decision.
I think that the Pico USC would eat too much of your budget, but a Mesa 5i25 + individual stepper drives might work. Do you know the current rating of the motors?
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04 Dec 2012 04:09 #27159 by varun0421
Thank you!

I do not know the current rating of the motors.
Is there a way i can find them or will i need to contact the manufacturer?

I guess this is also one of the boards from ebay

www.ebay.com/itm/3-Axis-TB6560-CNC-Stepp...roller-/270549461424

Any preference on between this and the one you suggested or are both the same?

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04 Dec 2012 04:36 #27161 by andypugh

I do not know the current rating of the motors.
Is there a way i can find them or will i need to contact the manufacturer?

There is not an easy way to tell if there is no label on the motor.

www.ebay.com/itm/3-Axis-TB6560-CNC-Stepp...roller-/270549461424

I have no preference. That one looks slightly better quality, but more expensive.
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04 Dec 2012 04:45 #27162 by varun0421
Thanks a lot for all the help Andy.

I have gone ahead and ordered one of the boards from ebay.

Hoping that you will continue to help me out in configuring the board once it arrives. :)

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02 Jan 2013 04:56 #28286 by varun0421
Happy new Year Everyone :cheer:

I have finally got the board that i had ordered - www.ebay.com/itm/3-Axis-TB6560-CNC-Stepp...roller-/270549461424

I had a few questions with regard to how to go configuring the controller/board.
What will the first step that i would have to take before connecting the controller and beginning the configuration process?
How should i go about in configuring the controller with linuxcnc?

Looking forward to your help guys... :)

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