motor mixing and matching...

[charleyy]

i have read a bunch of posts here, and don't recall this subject being raised or answered; s-o-o-o, i am *guessing* there are problems with this approach, but i'll ask anyways...

in searching for motors, drivers, etc, i have run across some apparent 'bargains' for stepper motors, but they only had one of a particular make/model; so if i get an 'ABC' brand 120oz motor of some electrical characteristics, an 'XYZ' brand 200oz motor for another axis, and a '123' brand 100oz motor, can i successfully integrate them in one machine *without* jumping through many/any hoops, fabricating custom circuits, etc ? ? ? (my electronic skills don't go much beyond knowing which end of a soldering iron is hot...)

further -assuming it is possible/practical to mix/match motors of differnt brands/capacities and electrical specs- would there be a preference for making the most powerful motor for the ? axis, the next most powerful for the ? axis, and the least powerful motor for the ? axis ? ? ?

(my machine being a moving table design along the lines of JOHN CONRAD KLEINBAUER's seventh sojourn...)

thanks in advance for your guidance...

charley
charleyy@alltel.net

eof

[ger21]

You can use any size motors in any combination you like, as long as they will work properly with the drives you'll be using. The only thing you might want to consider is the voltage rating of the motors. If the voltage rating is very different, the lower voltage rated motors will perform a lot better if you're using the same power supply for all the motors (which most people do).

I'd use the most powerful motors where you needed the most power. Wherever you need to move the heaviest load, or the axis you want to move the fastest.

[sendkeys]

[High Seas]

I'll just add; make sure you match the type, bipolar or unipolar, to the driver (board) as well. Some unipolar drivers will run a bipolar - some not, and vice versa.
Balsaman's recommendation a while back, was if he was to do it again he'd go bipolar. But when you're shopping on ebay - sometimes its buy what is available!
Jim

[ger21]

All 4, 6, or 8 wire motors will work with a bipolar drive. 6 and 8 wire motors will also work with unipolar drives.

[Graham S]

The main thing is to set your axis up correctly in your CNC drive program (max speeds and acceleration) as some axis may not be able to run as fast as others, but that is true anyway.

[joq]

Hello there!
I have arrange 2 motors with 1.8deg/step 6v and 1.2 a /phase, and one mottor with 7.5 deg/step 5.4v 12ohm /phase.
what is the better configuration?

[joq]

Can anyone guive a answer to my question??
Another thing could anyone explain the relacions in a gearing(eg. 2to1, etc...)
tnks

[chuckknigh]

If it was me, I'd go for direct drive coupling to the lead screw...forget about gearing unless the motors are just way undersized.

As for the arrangement, I'd keep the X and Y motors the same, and put the oddball on the Z axis, perhaps with a finer pitch screw, to compensate for the lack of resolution you'll be getting with the 7.5 deg stepper.


As for the relationship is gearing, 2:1 means that for every 2 revolutions of 1 shaft, 1 revolution happens on the other one. Depending on which way you're going, it means your assembly would deliver double the torque at half the speed, or vice versa.

-- Chuck Knight