Parker vs. Gecko

[FeldWill]

Getting frustrated with HobbyCNC board and Ebay used garbage.

I'm ready to buy either Gecko drive or Parker (OFS 350-DRI) but I want to keep my HobbyCNC motors (#23-205-DS8). Can somebody advise which drive is better and if it'll work with those motors.

Thank You

[Torchhead]

Those motors are 3A rated at 285 ozin in biplolar. They would run well with either the Gecko 540 unit with a 48V power supply or the G251 individual drives. Larger Geckos on those drive would be over kill. You should see a lot better perfomance with the Gecko. The whole g540 (4 axis) only costs $299.00. The G251 would be more but offers more flexibility.

TOM CAUDLE
www.CandCNC.com
Totally Modular CNC Electronics

[PoolQ]

My HobbyCNC board is still sitting on my desk. Supported by users but nothing from "factory", never got it working and I am an EE.

Bought Gecko's and have been running them since with no problems. Using the HobbyCNC motors and their power supply.

Tons of support from Gecko, not that I have ever needed it.

There is a reason HobbyCNC only lets you into their forum AFTER you buy.

[asuratman]

Do you think Hobbycnc and Kellinginc have the same brand motor.

[PoolQ]

no idea. I doubt that my system is finely tuned re motor and drivers.

I know that Kellinginc has motors specifically for the Gecko drives, but I had the others and so I use them. for what I do (CNC lathe) they work fine

[Chris D]

I have a HobbyCNC board which is the first board I used for CNC since I started tinkering in this hobby. It assembled fine and easy and works fine to this day. Not being an electrical engineer, or even someone that has a high level of electronic understanding, I guess that should say something for the HobbyCNC product!

As for Parker or Gecko - obviously a step up in quality, performance, and price. Sometimes you pay more and you get more in return. I have Geckos on two different machines. I have the 203s on a lathe and the new, little 251s on a small desktop mill I have been tinkering with. Both drives serve me well from Gecko.

Parker is solidly in the industrial markeplace - you willl see parker drives (and other products) in MANY industrial machines. I have not used their drives, but many of thier other products and generally speaking they are good products.

Chris

[Crevice Reamer]

Hi Will. Welcome to the Zone!

Those motors are electrical similar to (And probably are) the Keling KL23H276-30-8B.

http://kelinginc.net/KL23H276-30-8B.pdf

I wouldn't BUY these motors for this, but they will run okay with a G540. These motors are rated in UNIPOLAR for 3A 2.2 mH. Wired Bipolar Parallel (as they SHOULD be) they draw 4.2A. With a 48V PSU, they will deliver 237 Oz in of torque when derated to 3.5A.

Definitely go with the G540, it will run your motors faster than anything but a Gecko can.

$299 G540
$060 One KL-350-48 48V/7.3A power supply.
$010 Estop switch
$007 3 Home switches
$009 Straight thru parallel computer cable.
-----
$385

All available from Keling:

http://kelinginc.net/

CR.

[thkoutsidthebox]

I started with a HobbyCNC kit and had great support. I'm intending to move to Geckos for my next build, but am not familiar with Parker.

If anyone has trouble with their HobbyCNC kit, try following this thread to go through it step by step. MY HobbyCNCPro Package Step by Step

[PoolQ]

I am sure the HobbyCNC parts, design, and material are top notch.

The problem I had was lack of support when things don't go correctly.

With HobbyCNC I received one response from the "factory" people "you burned it out". I did get great support from other customers on the forum.

After switching to Gecko I burned one out with a chip falling onto the driver. I emailed Gecko and they said send it in and they would try and fix it. No luck, totaled.

They sent me a brand new one, NO CHARGE, as a one time oops.

Now that is customer service!

The choice is yours. If you build it and it works first time, you have saved some money. If you have problems and can't get it working you have a brick and wasted money.

[dertsap]

i would agree with using gecko but i would suggest getting the 201 202 203v , the difference in money compared to the smaller driver is there but nothing too big , it will be something that you will always have ,it will give you the freedom to run larger motors and not be confined to using low amp motors or have to shelf some drivers if or when you upgrade

[sansbury]

The choice is yours. If you build it and it works first time, you have saved some money. If you have problems and can't get it working you have a brick and wasted money.

What specifically went wrong? I'd think you'd have to do something pretty bad to fry the whole board beyond repair. Worst case is usually that you cook one axis and have to replace $20-$30 of parts, not the whole thing.

[FeldWill]

I got hobby CNC board 4+ years ago and put it together despite some things being mislabeled the board worked fine with 80ozin motors but I needed beefier motors. So I have ordered 200+ oz in motors and hoked them up. The chips crackled and smoked. I thought that I lacked heat sinks so I have ordered new chips and made heat sinks. I have replaced chips (no easy task) and ran one motor at a time which worked, as so as hooked up all 3- the same effect pops and smoke. So I'm done with being an electrician. My machine mechanically is being complete for 4 years. Right now I just need to get something out of the box so I can work the machine even if it's a bit more $ then HobbyCNC Save myself time, headache, and no more soldering iron.