Hi John First, if you haven't already, you should read the "step motor basics" document here <http://www.geckodrive.com/photos/Step_motor_basics.pdf>.
I haven't used the Automation Direct hardware, but the stepper motors should be pretty standard. They're 3.1V motors, so you should be using a 60V or higher power supply to get good high speed performance. You may want to take a look at Gecko drives instead <http://www.geckodrive.com> They can drive motors up to 7A / 80V, and are very highly respected. The basic drive (the G201) is less expensive than the AD drive, and the Gecko G203V is the same price, but is basically impossible to kill. You should probably make or buy a single power supply for all 3 axes - it'll be much less expensive. It's quite easy to build your own power supply - a basic supply is 3 parts - a transformer, a bridge rectifier, and a capacitor. If you want to buy, there's Antek <http://toroid-transformer.com>. I haven't used them, but they look good. I think the 63VDC 500W or 600W units look nice (though they may be overkill - check the step motor pdf) - they're $100 and $110 respectively. That's one supply for all 3 motors, so it represents a significant savings. You should also consider any other devices you may need to power, such as contactors, relays, parallel breakout boards, indicator lights, etc. Antek has options for unregulated and regulated outputs on their supply - the PS-6N63R5R12 is a 63V/9A + 12V/1A regulated + 5V/1A regulated, for $125 (I think this may be a misprint in the price list, and it's actually $140). Hope this helps (and isn't too confusing :) ) - Steve John Thornton wrote: >I'm looking at the most cost effective way to set up a >small 2'x4' or 2'x2' portable plasma table. > >Has anyone used the Automation Direct steppers with EMC2? > >http://web4.automationdirect.com/adc/Shopping/Catalog/Motion_Control/Stepper_S >ystems/Motors_-z-_Cables > >Drive Specs >http://web4.automationdirect.com/static/specs/surestepdrive.pdf > >Motor Specs >http://web4.automationdirect.com/static/specs/surestepmotors.pdf > >The drive input signals needed are: >Logic Low pulled to 0.8 VDC or less >Logic High 4VDC or higher >Motor steps on falling edge of pulse with a >min width of 0.5 microseconds >Direction change for at least 2 microseconds >before a pulse is sent. > >Is this standard stuff? > >Can I run this from my parallel port or do I need >another board? > >The steppers vary from 83 oz-in to 434 oz-in from $20-$100... > >If I went with the biggest motor $100 and the drive $150 >the power supply $100 and the cable $13 I would have $363 per axis >at the most and $283 at the least... > >I also see the motor RPM falls off as the torque rating goes up. > >I buy a lot of stuff from Automation Direct so I trust the quality and >the service is top notch... > >Sorry for the long winded post... >I'd just like to get some hardware so I can make a motor spin... > >Thanks >John > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
