Does any one know about this stepper motor controller

[starCNC]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...813279204&rd=1

[pminmo]

Looks like it uses a 5804 driver IC with the output drive boosted with FET's. It's not a chopper driver, so if your running heavy amperage steppers, your going to need big ballast resistors and fans. There nothing wrong with that as long as you understand you have to get the heat away from the FET's, board and ballast resistors.

Phil

[trubleshtr]

Looks like a homemade driver board complete with I/O. Can't vouch for the product it's self though.
But considering the 175$$ price tag for a four axis stepper with I/O........well you can't buy four geko's or rutex driver boards for that price!

[starCNC]

Originally posted by trubleshtr Looks like a homemade driver board complete with I/O. Can't vouch for the product it's self though. But considering the 175$$ price tag for a four axis stepper with I/O........well you can't buy four geko's or rutex driver boards for that price!

Do you have a link to their website? i'll love to take a look.

How about the FET3 stepperworl.com? Are they any good

thanks

[ynneb]

http://www.dtllc.com/products.html Is the link to the web site and also a data sheet on the driver card.

The site looks like they are trying to start up a bussiness.
I am not so sure about a bussiness that only has a Hotmail addy for contact details though.

If any one does buy one, it would be good to see how it performs.

I have sent the manufactures the link to this thread to see if they wanted to add to this discussion.

[ynneb]

I wrote an email to this guy and this is his responce.

Hello Ben, I could not get the messege board to take a post from me this is what I tried to post. I designed and build these Driver Boards. I currently have 25 in process. You can buy them directly from me for $200 + $8 shipping via cashiers check money order or credit card via paypal or you can bid on my promotional auctions on ebay and maybe get a steal. The drive boards are not chopper drives and do not require resistors but will have better performance with resistors running as a L/R drive above the reated voltage of the motors. I have had people run them without resistors because they can be expensive they simply run the motors at thier rated voltage and have good results. The Fets are over rated so that they do not need heat sinks. If you are running over 5 amp motors you will need a fan blowing on the fets. If you would like to know anything else feel free to contact me my info is below: David Delagrange, Owner Delagrange Technology LLC. 4605 Craftsbury Circle Fort Wayne, IN 46818 260-557-9280 www.dtllc.com P.S. Hotmail is cheep

[jfirey]

StarCNC,

[jfirey]

StarCNC,
I have a FET3 setup, actually the 4 axis version, the FET4. It is similar to the one you are looking at, using 5804s and FET ouputs without current control or chopping. I run 36V, unregulated to a set of Powermax II motors. I can achieve 10,000 pulses/second, or approx 1500 rpm on the steppers. The performance is very good for the price, and I'd bet this board would perform similarly. I use low inductance 100w Arcol resistors. The power supply is a linear supply good for about 15Amps.

[garagefela]

Hello all,
I would just like to say that Dave Delagrange has been an extremely helpful person over several E mails sent back and forth from myself and him and they were not short e mails either, very informative.
I do not have any comments on the board itself as I have not purchashed one yet. I had found them on ebay up for auction but with a buy now option of $175 ( it was several months ago)

Just wondering, is there anywhere on this forum or has there been a comparison/roadtest/shootout done on any/all driver boards?

It would be great to look at one spreadsheet with all the popular drivers to see things such as stepper/servo driver, volt/amp ratings, compatible software, price, standard options (relays, limits) and any other applicable info.

I realise that a lot of the specs can be sought out from the manufacturer but a lot of the pros/cons that are experienced by the end users could also be on the "fact spread sheet"

[dsdcnc]

garagefela,

It would be very interesting to me to see how my boards stack up against the competition. I know my board will not out perform a chopper drive but I do not think the performance differance will be great. I have been working on a chopper version of my board and have not seen all that much improvement in top speed and torque. As for other 5804 to fet drives I dont think they have I/O and I dont think any can handle 10 amps of constant current. This is 10 amps through each hex fet not over all or per motor. Is there anouther drive advertised as being capable of 10 amps? If so i would like a link so i can have a look. Thanks so much for the kind words.

Dave

Delagrange Technology LLC.
4605 Craftsbury Circle
Fort Wayne, IN 46818
260-557-9280
www.dtllc.com

[F & K Designs]

I am in the process of having a prototype built of an all aluminum cnc machine that I designed that will have an x axis cutting area of about 36+ inches and a y axis cutting area of 24+ inches, with 7 inches of z axis travel which I plan on marketing within the next few months. It will be sold as a simple to assemble kit. All the parts are fully machines and ready to assemble for you. Dave Delagrange of Delagrange Technology has been working very closely with me over the past several months to put together a customized package of cnc controls for my machines. I can tell you this, my prototype is running on his unipolar controls and breakout/relay board and I am very happy with his product. You can not beat his technical support either. He is one heck of a nice guy to deal with and never hesitates to answer any and all of your questions. When I contacted him, I was not sure if I wanted to go with bipolar or unipolar. Dave offered that if I brought my motors to his shop he would hook them up to both types of his drivers and give me demonstrations of them running. I was there over 3 hours and got a very thourough education in stepper motors and stepper motor controls. How many other people would do that for you on a Saturday? As far as I am concerned he is top notch and an excellent choice to deal with especailly if you feel you may need LIVE over the phone support

[lovebugjunkie]

Originally Posted by F & K Designs I am in the process of having a prototype built of an all aluminum cnc machine that I designed that will have an x axis cutting area of about 36+ inches and a y axis cutting area of 24+ inches, with 7 inches of z axis travel which I plan on marketing within the next few months. It will be sold as a simple to assemble kit. All the parts are fully machines and ready to assemble for you. Dave Delagrange of Delagrange Technology has been working very closely with me over the past several months to put together a customized package of cnc controls for my machines. I can tell you this, my prototype is running on his unipolar controls and breakout/relay board and I am very happy with his product. You can not beat his technical support either. He is one heck of a nice guy to deal with and never hesitates to answer any and all of your questions. When I contacted him, I was not sure if I wanted to go with bipolar or unipolar. Dave offered that if I brought my motors to his shop he would hook them up to both types of his drivers and give me demonstrations of them running. I was there over 3 hours and got a very thourough education in stepper motors and stepper motor controls. How many other people would do that for you on a Saturday? As far as I am concerned he is top notch and an excellent choice to deal with especailly if you feel you may need LIVE over the phone support

F & K
Any update on the router kit you are planning on selling. I'm looking to get one in the next 3-6 months and your specs are what I am looking for.

I'm still trying to decide if I will build one from plans I have bought or go with a pre-built or kit. Once I add in all the "upgrades" I am getting in the range of a low end pre-build so I leaning that way right now.
Can you give the approx price yet?
Thanks for any info.
george