What do you think about Gecko steppers?

[RicknBeachcrest]

I'm just about to pull the trigger on buying 3 of these steppers from Gecko. They have 280 oz-in of torque. My machine will by 24" X 24" so I think they should be just fine.

G723-280-4 Stepper Motor

Does anyone have any experience with these steppers?

Thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge and experiences.

Rick

[mactec54]

RicknBeachcrest

Have you thought about servos, they are way better than a stepper system & easier to set up, Take a look at Dmm

Motion Control Products - DMM Technology

[maspeir]

Try this instead: CNCRouterParts

[privastoday]

I bought the package deal from DMM and I've very happy with it. It was easy to setup even for a new guy like myself that only knows the basics when it comes to electronics. I'm a welder, metal fabricator and more mechanically inclined. I did have a little trouble with the settings but all it took was a quick phone call and they troubleshooted the problem.

DMM provides in-house developed Dyn - series AC servo drives,
along with motors, and 14 bits absolute encoders. Also CNC control
breakout board.

Please click on the following items for the product details.
Dyn drive, and 250W AC servo motor position control demo:
Download (.avi)

Mach3 Break-out Boards
Peak 7.2Nm(1015 OZ-In) high torque AC servo motor, 3 Axis CNC kit for MACH3
- 3 x Peak 7.2Nm(1015 Oz-In), rated 2.9Nm(408 Oz-In), Peak power 900W, AC servo motors
- 3 x Dyn2-H AC servo drives for very smooth,quiet,very high efficient driving
- 1 x DMB4250-8B breakout board, fully buffered Opto-isolated I/O, isolated PWM analog output
for spindle speed control,and charge pump. Hardware generated X secondary X' for CNC Gantry with
jump selectable motor turning direction.
- 1 x 6ft DB25 parallel port cable
- 1 x 6ft USB cable
- 2 x 120 or 220Vac input, 350w,+48Vdc, 7.3A output DC power supply
- 3 x 1ft cables between breakout board and drives
- 3 x 10ft differential signal encoder extension cable
- 3 x inductive, non contact , LED indicated proximity Home/Limit Switches
- 1 x Emergency STOP Switch
- Necessary Cables, DMM software for tune up servo

[mykrowyre]

Originally Posted by RicknBeachcrest I'm just about to pull the trigger on buying 3 of these steppers from Gecko. They have 280 oz-in of torque. My machine will by 24" X 24" so I think they should be just fine. G723-280-4 Stepper Motor Does anyone have any experience with these steppers? Thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge and experiences. Rick

I am using the Nema 23 from cncrouterparts on my 55"x24" machine, and they are $25 cheaper and 100oz stronger (is that right?) than the ones you linked.

CNCRouterParts

I purchased the 4 axis kit from cncrouterparts.com which includes the Gecko, cables, power supply, and the steppers.

No problems at all.

YouTube - Cnc machine

[maspeir]

Originally Posted by mykrowyre ...snip...[/url]

That's what I posted.

From what I have read, Gecko makes an excellent controller, but you can find motors with more power cheaper.

To those hawking DMM, maybe I'm wrong, but I believe he was asking about steppers? Servos are nice, but ungodly expensive. Even though I'm new to CNC, I know that a servo with that kind of power is overkill for a 24"x24" machine. Reading up on matching screws to motors leads me to believe that the power and speed of the servos will require quite a bit more time, effort and money to make everything work together. Why do I get the feeling that these are shill posts?

[Hyrum R]

I'm sure the Gecko steppers are excellent (made in the USA, even). However, the ones from CNCRouterparts are probably a better bang for your buck. Plus, it's prewired for the G540. I have one that I bought to play around with, and it's a very nice motor. I'll be using it for my Z axis on my next build. I swapped out the X motor on my current router(a 269 oz.in Xylotex motor) with the one from CNCRouter parts, and it's hard for me to stop it when running under about 400 ipm. I'd guess I have to put about 60-70 lbs of force on the gantry before I can get the motor to stall. Very impressive.

I've heard that the DMM servo system is actually a very nice system. If I were building me a ballscrew machine, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. However, with the rack & pinion build I'm planning on, it seems that going with some nice nema 34 steppers is the best route, and I'll be about $600-$700 cheaper overall.

[mactec54]

maspeir

Nobody is hawking the Dmm system, we are using it,using steppers when this is available is a joke, A 24x24 is perfect size for the small Dmm servo system, & the over all cost is not much different from a stepper system

[mykrowyre]

I just glanced at the pricing and it looks like a 3 axis servo kit is $1053.00.

The 3 axis stepper kit is $519.

I guess it depends on how one would be using the machine to decide if the extra cost is worth it.

[maspeir]

Originally Posted by mactec54 maspeir Nobody is hawking the Dmm system, we are using it,using steppers when this is available is a joke, A 24x24 is perfect size for the small Dmm servo system, & the over all cost is not much different from a stepper system

It is not my intent to start a fight. However, when the question is about steppers and a 3-axis stepper system can be had for less than $1000, it does seem odd for someone to post a link to a 4-axis servo system for over $1600. Even the 3-axis stepper system from DMM is over $1000. You'll say "You get what you pay for!", but there simply are not $1000 worth of parts in that set up.

I know servos are far better than steppers in many ways, but what you are suggesting is like putting a motorcycle engine on a riding lawnmower. Who cares if you can go 0 to 60 in 3 seconds on a city street if you have to go less than 5 MPH in a tiny yard?

All that being said, thank you for posting that link anyway. I was looking to DIY a servo system for a future large router, and that system is cheaper than what I could do. It just seems odd that I find it in this thread.

[Torchhead]

Beware of blanket statements about Servos being "better" than Steppers (or vise versa). It is akin to saying "Diesel engines are better than Gasoline engines". Each technology has both pro's and con's and to not take into consideration the application is poor engineering. Calling steppers a "Joke" shows a level of ignorance about the technologies involved.

We can have technical discussions all day about the merits of servos over steppers but that needs to be a thread for that level of discussion not on one with a builder asking specifics about a stepper motor.

To address the original post: I concur with the answers about finding motors from other vendors. I love Gecko Drives (we use them by the hundreds) but they don't make those motors. Those are not even a really good match for their G540 unit or any of the larger 7A stepper drives. All new motors seem to originate from China now days. As with most imports you can buy at any quality level you want. The motors from CNCRouterParts are good quality and better priced (and probably come from the same factory). Another vendor that has a good reputation for quality is HomeShopCNC.com. If support is not at the top of you list then there is Keling....

TOM caudle
www.CandCNC.com

[mactec54]

Torchhead
Quote
Calling steppers a "Joke" shows a level of ignorance about the technologies involved.

The only ignorance is your thinking, Steppers have been great, but when you can get systems as good as the Dmm servo system for the price, it makes steppers redundant

I have built/designed & used Hundreds of stepper systems, They have there place, But today Servo systems are the best choice for anybody, wanting to do a new build, companys like Dmm have made that happen, were the DIY builder can get the best for not much more money than a stepper system