Newbie- Tuning motors

[squeegie]

ok I got my electronics working, now I'm just trying to get all the motors tuned in Mach3, from the book they said while using the 13 TPI 1/2" threaded rod, you need to have 10400 steps per 10 velocity and 7 acceleration. but moving the axis with these inputs is so slow I can barely see it move, when I increase the velocity then the pulse starts separating and it jumps and stops, I'm not really sure how to fine tune the speeds, any information's is greatly appreciated.

Heres the hardware I'm using:

KL23H286-20-8B stepper motor
Keling KL4030 stepper motor driver
Keling C10 breakout board
Keling’s KL-350-36 36V/8.8 power supply

[rock4xfab]

I just Tuned mine, try this link it takes the math out of the equation..
YouTube- Improved Mach 3 Axis Calibration

[squeegie]

I'll try that out, YouTube- My cncs first movement heres a video of my cnc almost done, will fixing the calibration steps fix the hitches? when I used the arrow keys to move it, there are no hitches, it runs smooth, but when I input the exact location to move to ie G00 X2, it hitches in increments. Thanks.

[Crevice Reamer]

Hi Squeegie. Welcome to the Zone!

What microstep do you have the 4030s set for? Anything above 10 is wasted. What current are they set for? The 425s need 2.8A. Are they set for 1/2 current?

CR.

[squeegie]

hey Crevice Reamer,

the book called for using microstep setting of 1/4 and a current of 3 amps on all three motors, I'm extremely new to this, I haven't really messing with any of the settings on the motor drivers.

[Crevice Reamer]

Originally Posted by squeegie hey Crevice Reamer, the book called for using microstep setting of 1/4 and a current of 3 amps on all three motors, I'm extremely new to this, I haven't really messing with any of the settings on the motor drivers.

OK. Let's set up the switches for 1 microstep and 2.7A.

1 microstep= M1=1, M2=1, M3=1

2.7A= M5=1, M6=1, M7=0

With switches set that way, your steps per inch will be 2600.

Try that and see how it performs. Also, Do you have separate wires from PSU to each driver? NOT wires from PSU to first driver, then wires from that driver to next etc?

CR.

[squeegie]

I'll try that setup, as soon as I can, and no right now they are daisy chained from the power supply and the breakout board, should I try doing all straight connections?

[Crevice Reamer]

Originally Posted by squeegie I'll try that setup, as soon as I can, and no right now they are daisy chained from the power supply and the breakout board, should I try doing all straight connections?

ABSOLUTELY! Daisy chaining is a big NO-NO. Rewire that PSU immediately.

http://geckodrive.com/upload/stardaisy.jpg

Q.) What is daisy chaining? A.) This is when you hook all of your drives power cable up in series. If an input has a (+) and a (- ), it needs its own wire going to the source. This is called a star formation. Let’s say you have three drives: Drive 1 is hooked up into the power supply, Drive 2 is hooked into Drive 1, and Drive 3 is hooked into Drive 2. The only drive that is actually hooked up into the power supply is Drive 1. If Drive 1 were to blow up or short circuit, it would take Drive 2, and therefore Drive 3, with it. The correct way would be to have Drive 1 plugged into the power supply, Drive 2 plugged into the power supply, and Drive 3 plugged into the power supply, all with separate cables. Q.) What gauge wire should I use for wiring my drives? A.) For terminals 1 and 2, the power terminals, use either 14 or 16 gauge wire. For all others, we recommend using 22 gauge wires. Q.) Can I use twisted pair wire for my step and direction signals? A.) You may use twisted pair wiring, but you can not run step and direction through the same twisted pair. Use one pair with STEP and COMMON, use another pair with DIRECTION and COMMON. Connect both pair's COMMON to the G203V COMMON terminal.

The following courtesy of Tony Jeffree:

Photo 13: Three axis drive in box mounted on the back plate

Photo 13 shows the drivers mounted in place with the 74V supply connections wired up. Note that I have "star wired" these from the smoothing capacitor of the power supply - it is not a good idea to "daisy-chain" the supply wiring from one drive to the next, as current drawn by a drive that is nearer to the power supply can effectively "starve" drives of current lower down the chain. In fact, if the wiring from the power supply to the drive is likely to exceed about a foot (300mm), it is advisable to fit local reservoir capacitors of 470 microfarads across the supply terminals of each drive - these must have a voltage rating at least 25% higher than the supply voltage.

CR.

[Crevice Reamer]

Your formula for SPI is: 200 x 13 x microstep. 2600 is FULL step--This may resonate at low speed. After you rewire the PSU and get it running at 2600, you can then try each subsequent microstep to get the desired performance.

For example: 1/2 microstep= 200 x 13 x 2 or 5200 SPI.

CR.