Plasma cnc drivers from hobbycnc

[lamicron]

Hi, I am new in cnczone,and in cnc machines, I have been doing a lot of reading in this forum.

I'm looking for the best drivers for plasma and flame torch cnc. I have seen many good coments on the package of 3 axes (200oz/in motors)is this package suitable for a 4'x8' table?
Also want to know what software can I use,
Thanks
LUIS

[lamicron]

The package i've seen is the one from hobbycncn, 3 axes, 200oz motors,

[Torchhead]

Asking if 200 oz-in motors are big enough for a certain size table is like asking if a sedan is the right car to drive 100 miles.......maybe, maybe not. Depends on your drive train (type, ratio, gearing, coupling) and the weight of you gantry and the type of linear bearings. Top speeds VS torque have to be thrown into the equations.

Best combination of software I have found to do decorative plasma cutting is CorelDraw for artwork, SheetCAM for Toolpath and part layout and MACH 3 to take the g-code from SheetCAM and spin you motors. We use this combo in production plasma cutting where time is critical to make a profit.

Tom Caudle
www.candcnc.com

[lamicron]

Tom, thanks for your quick answer,
I am planning to build the table with gear racks, as it willnot have contact with the material..., the frame will be aluminium for the bridge. Then, you think it will be fine for this one to work with thwe 200 oz motors?
I know you are a cnc products dealer, but understand me, I want to try it cheaper the first time.
My purpose is to produce this kind of machines in my country, but want to make a simple one at first.
i already own a cuting co2 laser chinnesse machine, and have a mechanical shop ( flexo presse builder)
Thanks for your colaboration,
LUIS

[steve323]

The HobbyCNC board is a great unipolar driver board. www.kelinginc.net has some 425 oz-in motors for about the same price that have 300 oz-in when wired unipolar. They have higher inductance which will limit the top speed torque, but they would have more power at the low end. They only draw 2A in unipolar mode, well below the 3A limit of the HobbyCNC driver.

Steve

[lamicron]

Thanks for your help Steve, I was at keling site, he has also a 3 axis drivers package, but it is for parallel port, I want it for usb as I have seen in many posts the usb is faster to send data, is it correct?
LUIS

[steve323]

I do not have a computer hooked up yet, but a top speed of 1200 RPM in half stepping mode is only 8000 pulses per second. The parallel port can keep up with that. The OS is the limiting factor.

[Torchhead]

You will find that if you go down the USB route you will (currently) be on a journey of limited choices, beta level products, and mostly out of the hobby mainstream. It's way too early in your planning stage to make decisions about communications protocols. Read as much as you can from the people here that have built machines. Find out why a popular parallel port software like MACH has 7,000 users. Know what things like microstepping do (and don't do) and the difference between the torque ratings of steepers and servo's and what are the advantages of bipolar drives. Learn also the balance between speed and torque and why raw speed is not always the best. Build your project from knowledge and others experience; not from marketing slicks or rumor.

Tom Caudle
ww.CandCNC.com

[lamicron]

Ok, thanks both answers, Im going to try with hobbycnc package with the motors from keling, 425 oz. About the torque, as there is no contact with the plate like in the router cnc the only matter is the weigth of the gantry, I think these motors will do the work.(??) But there is another question, if I use it for flame torch ,i'll have to wait till the plate gets the heat needed. Do the software has this delay option?(any software?)

[massajamesb]

I built my original flame cutter table using the Hobbycnc kit. I also used one of those 425 ozin motors on X with the Hobbycnc. It worked fine, but I still upgraded to Geckos later on.

The hobbycnc board does not run under USB, it is a parallel port driven board, like Xylotex and others.

For the preheat delay you need, you can either insert the code by hand (typing) or get www.sheetcam.com which will pretty much do it all for you.

[lamicron]

Thanks massajamesb, I'm curious about geckos, how you configured yor machine? Geckos and hobbycnc drivers? What you get better torque and speed ? The price will rise but maybe is better option, can you recomend me some brands, please.
Thanks again
LUIS

[massajamesb]

Originally Posted by lamicron Thanks massajamesb, I'm curious about geckos, how you configured yor machine? Geckos and hobbycnc drivers? What you get better torque and speed ? The price will rise but maybe is better option, can you recomend me some brands, please. Thanks again LUIS

I was happy with the way it ran using the Hobbycnc driver, but I must say that I think the switch to Gecko's was a good one. They are a very nice, smooth running driver and worth the money.

I just had the 3 axis HObbycnc package, and only used 2 axis of output, one for X, one for Y. Now I just use a Gecko on X and one on Y.

What would you like to know about the configuration? I am not sure what you are asking?