Gecko 540 to drive nema 17s ???

[NE Brownstone]

Hi everyone,

Noob here. I have a Zenbot 6x8 mini bench-top router that had one of it's axis on the driver board go out. I've been thinking about upgrading to a drive with a 4th axis and everyone seems to love the gecko 540. I don't mind spending extra to get quality, but I don't want to over pay for overkill. The motors are 75 oz/in Bipolar Nema-17 1.8 degrees/step 2.0 Amps 4-wire. I know I can get the individual drives and build up a system that way, but I really am looking for as PnP as possible. Will this drive work, or is it overkill and will I need to look for another solution?

I wish the Zenbot guys would have used the 23's on this machine. End of story.

Just not a bunch of info for the 17s, well, not spoon-fed for this noob.

Thanks, any help would be much appreciated.

Russ

[NE Brownstone]

Found the info on the Gecko site, duh. I must say, it wasn't the easiest info to find, but I did. BTW yes, the 540 can drive the 17's. I's be ready to blast, now.

[rich909]

Hi Russ --

Originally Posted by NE Brownstone Found the info on the Gecko site, duh. I must say, it wasn't the easiest info to find, but I did. BTW yes, the 540 can drive the 17's. I's be ready to blast, now.

Great! I'm glad you got the information needed. I don't know if you have made up your mind to go ahead with this or not yet, but I will be interested in your experiences and any discoveries ...if you do.

--Rich

[NE Brownstone]

Hi Jim,
Shean is sending out a chip for me to see if that fixes the problem, however I did order the g540, the 24v power supply and enclosure from Keling as Plan-B. I plan on keeping the original board as a back-up as long as the chip is the problem. I need to find some double sided thermal tape or get some thermal grease, or epoxy to keep the heat sink on the chip. I've read that heat transfer grease can be used if the corners are retained with a tiny drop of superglue. That way if the chip ever needs replacement I won't have to blast. From what I gather, the grease is much better of a transfer medium than the tape, which may be the reason the chip failed. I don't know.

I've never glued a heat-sink to a chip before and I guess I'll find out real quick. I'll document what I do and upload it to the yahoo group and here for anyone who may need to do the same thing.

Just playing the waiting game right now.

Russ

[dmauch]

I have found that in many cases teh G540 and nema 17 motors don't get along together because the Nema 17's get really hot even if you reduce the current and voltage.
Dan Mauch

[NE Brownstone]

Originally Posted by dmauch I have found that in many cases teh G540 and nema 17 motors don't get along together because the Nema 17's get really hot even if you reduce the current and voltage. Dan Mauch

Oh well, now that's great! Where were you 4 days ago, hmmm? Just kidding, but seriously what's the worst that can happen? Will the motors or the board fry, or will the system just keep shutting down? If the chip replacement doesn't work I need another option. I need something to drive this thing.

Thanks for the input, before I fry $250.

Russ

[mharris220]

I think you have got a very good question, I have a G540 And wold like to use it on the smaller router I will building up later this year that will have some spare 17s
Thanks for the question Mark

[dmauch]

I built an 8 axis system for a robotic arm that used two nema 17 motors.
The motors were good quality. The motors got hot even after reducing the current below what it should have been. Eventually the two motors fried but no problem for the g540.
If youmake sure that your current setting resistor is located on the connector at the g540 it will help. Also use the lowest voltage power supply you can get away with.

Dan mauch

Originally Posted by NE Brownstone Oh well, now that's great! Where were you 4 days ago, hmmm? Just kidding, but seriously what's the worst that can happen? Will the motors or the board fry, or will the system just keep shutting down? If the chip replacement doesn't work I need another option. I need something to drive this thing. Thanks for the input, before I fry $250. Russ

[NE Brownstone]

Thanks Dan, any bit of info helps.
Luckily, most of my routing is very light work (Hydrocal plaster), which is soft compared to most materials people cut on cnc routers. More of a mess than anything. Here's an example of what I've done on the machine so. This was for a model railroad manufacturer I do some work for: NOTE: I only do the stonework. The rest is laser cut by the manufacturer.

I also used it to develop a set of patterns for scale bricks, which came out extremely well. The curve is due to the cheapie camera, not the machine.

I don't make production parts on the router, it is used only for pattern-making. I make a production mold and cast the final product.

Sorry about the pics not being Gecko related. Just wanted to show the nature of the work the machine is up against.

Thanks again and I'll keep everyone updated. The G540 comes in tomorrow.

Russ

[dmauch]

generally, I only vist this web site about once a fweek so sorry for not getting you more info sooner.
Looks great.
The biggest problem most people have is the G540 requires the PC bios to be set to the EPP Mode. EPP+ECP mode will not work. I would go ahead and check your bios seting first before hooking anything up.
If you run into problems you can contact me at dmauch at camtronics-cnc .com

Dan Mauch

[QUOTE=NE Brownstone;978847]Thanks Dan, any bit of info helps.
Luckily, most of my routing is very light work (Hydrocal plaster), which is soft compared to most materials people cut on cnc routers. More of a mess than anything. Here's an example of what I've done on the machine so. This was for a model railroad manufacturer I do some work for: NOTE: I only do the stonework. The rest is laser cut by the manufacturer.

I also used it to develop a set of patterns for scale bricks, which came out extremely well.[IMG]https://nebrownstone.com/images/S-amer-bond-rul.JPG

[k_yarina]

I have a Zenbot Mini with a G540; no problems at all with installation or configuration. It takes a bit of hand-eye coordination to solder the resistors into the DB9 connector, or see Soigeneris's connector board at EZ-G540 - Set of 4

The Mini's were made with a couple different belt pulleys, which affects the step size.

I'm using 1.8K resistors (didn't have any 2.0k on hand, and a 24V power supply. No problems with the motors overheating.

Kirk