Gecko 203, or 320 which one ?

[CNCZONERAMICO]

I am looking to retrofit the following, what Gecko drive will I need?
Also is there a good schematic of a controller board with Gecko drives
that someone can share?

My current Setup:

MAXPATH 42 Router (2x3 Ft) from MAXNC with original Controller box (Have had so many issues with this controller, basically no good! and poor support from original company)
Motors on Machine: Powermax II 1.8Deg /Step 2.3 A 65 Volt 71W Bipolar With Optical encoders mounted over the rear shaft of the motors.
Software: Upgrading to Mach 3 from original MAXNC (DOS/WINDOWS)

What I do: I do lots of 1/16 thick Fiberglas sheet pattern cutting and recently had been running the machine the whole day, until problem s with inacurate cuts stated surfacing. I have retuned the complete machine nechanically, but I am still having the same issues, when I say inaccurate cuts, I mean the machine taking a path of its own in some parts of the cutting program, I know it is not my programs because they run clean in another system, so things are pointing to the controller, this has in the past been the culprit of troubles and I am just too tired too deal with this controller anymore. So I need a good stable Control system.

Can you recommend:
1) Proper Gecko Drives for my existing motors, if you feel I could use better motors (with good speed and torque) please indicate which ones work best with Gecko Drives.
2) Company that sells, Power Supply, Cap, Rectifier, Cabling Size, Protection Fuses or Circuit Breaker, which Rating.
3) I want to drive the spindle and coolant via Mach 3, so I will need Solid state relays. I use a 2HP 30K RPM router.
4) I am not sure on the connection with the encoders, have done previous installations Step/Dir only with no encoders, simple 4 wire setups. Please indicate how I can do this with Geckos and my present setup?

Do I ned the 320? with Encoders and 203 with only step and direction?

I was readin up on the 203s and I like these, because they seem to have some very attratvie features in particular on the protection area and current morphing to keep up with differences in motor speed and torque.

5) Recommend cabling adequate for the Gecko drives.

Finally a good schematic of an already proven controller that I can use with my setup. WOuld love to see other home built controllers using the Gecko drives, If you have pictures or reference links etc, please share. I am desperate to get a controller built in the next 3 days as my shop has slowed down and I relly want to assemble my own controller so that I know what to fix when things go wrong. TIA.

[ger21]

That's a lot of questions.

The Gecko G320 is for servos, not steppers.

You won't be able to use your encoders with mach3.

How many wires do your motors have? Do they say 2.3a bipolar series? Do you have a model number for them?

[CNCZONERAMICO]

Originally Posted by ger21 That's a lot of questions. The Gecko G320 is for servos, not steppers. You won't be able to use your encoders with mach3. How many wires do your motors have? Do they say 2.3a bipolar series? Do you have a model number for them?

The steppers have 8 wires at the Motor end and the encoders 5 I believe this is correct, but the motor is wired at the controller for 6 pin connector, you can see this in the attached pictures.

Please don't judge the pictures.. THe one with the encoder and connector attached with a screw is the work of MAXNC (original ownership), pretty crappy supporting an encoder connector with a screw right through the plastic connector , but It worked for me so long as I tied wraped the cables as the pictures shows. The controller connector end pic, I had to remove the heat shrink tubing to expose the wires for an understanding on the pinouts... the motor windings are (series/paralell) not sure at this point I have not yet traced the cable connections to the motor itself to find out.

Another thing is the lack of good documentation that came with this machine and the info I have gathered on it over the years, has been like trying to pull teeth and feelling as if I was asking the original company to do me a big favor! I am extremely PO at the old ownership, at this point, and unfortunately this is carrying on to the new ownership, which BTW I Have spoken to and find them more helpful to deal with but, I suspect it will be long before they fix many of the problems that the older ownership left for them. So I will not be buying any more products from MAXNC in the near future, unless they come out with a killer product.

Many of of my frustrations may have surfaced on some recent threads in this and in other forums and I am just desperate to get something better, so please forgive me if i sound in a hurry.

[CNCZONERAMICO]

This picture is of the crappy controller that came with my router. The light went out in the power switch and since I already had a gree AC indicator light I simply installed that in the box, the only mod I made to it and the writings on the box. For folks who are familiar with this controller, I don't need to go into specifics about it, we would all agree of the infamous quality for the very same reasons! When it worked it worked fine but many times it was very erratic and has givem me heaches lately, I don't even want to make it work anymore. Reason for looking for a more stable and proven alternate controller system.

I am just wondering if I really need the encoders with a more stable controller, I don't want to loose steps in the cutting paths, this can be a pain also, I've been there with a Sherline Mill, retrofitted with the same steppers as on the Router but without the encoders.

[elozada]

I would also like to know the afore pre-recommendations for changing my maxpath42. It's total crap right now, and i think a complete retrofit is in order.

[snoopy27]

Originally Posted by CNCZONERAMICO I am looking to retrofit the following, what Gecko drive will I need? Also is there a good schematic of a controller board with Gecko drives that someone can share? My current Setup: MAXPATH 42 Router (2x3 Ft) from MAXNC with original Controller box (Have had so many issues with this controller, basically no good! and poor support from original company) Motors on Machine: Powermax II 1.8Deg /Step 2.3 A 65 Volt 71W Bipolar With Optical encoders mounted over the rear shaft of the motors. Software: Upgrading to Mach 3 from original MAXNC (DOS/WINDOWS) What I do: I do lots of 1/16 thick Fiberglas sheet pattern cutting and recently had been running the machine the whole day, until problem s with inacurate cuts stated surfacing. I have retuned the complete machine nechanically, but I am still having the same issues, when I say inaccurate cuts, I mean the machine taking a path of its own in some parts of the cutting program, I know it is not my programs because they run clean in another system, so things are pointing to the controller, this has in the past been the culprit of troubles and I am just too tired too deal with this controller anymore. So I need a good stable Control system. Can you recommend: 1) Proper Gecko Drives for my existing motors, if you feel I could use better motors (with good speed and torque) please indicate which ones work best with Gecko Drives. 2) Company that sells, Power Supply, Cap, Rectifier, Cabling Size, Protection Fuses or Circuit Breaker, which Rating. 3) I want to drive the spindle and coolant via Mach 3, so I will need Solid state relays. I use a 2HP 30K RPM router. 4) I am not sure on the connection with the encoders, have done previous installations Step/Dir only with no encoders, simple 4 wire setups. Please indicate how I can do this with Geckos and my present setup? Do I ned the 320? with Encoders and 203 with only step and direction? I was readin up on the 203s and I like these, because they seem to have some very attratvie features in particular on the protection area and current morphing to keep up with differences in motor speed and torque. 5) Recommend cabling adequate for the Gecko drives. Finally a good schematic of an already proven controller that I can use with my setup. WOuld love to see other home built controllers using the Gecko drives, If you have pictures or reference links etc, please share. I am desperate to get a controller built in the next 3 days as my shop has slowed down and I relly want to assemble my own controller so that I know what to fix when things go wrong. TIA.

Take a look at the USB driven smooth stepper board from. don't have the link handy, but you can do a search and should find their website. Also EAS has a good opto-isolated breakout board that may work well with the smooth stepper.

[TOTALLYRC]

Hi guys.

I have a 42 x 42 router running Gecko 201'and I am very happy with them.
I run it on the deskcnc controller board and software. It works very well by the way.
I also do fiber glass and carbon fiber. I am adding a larger cutting head to be able to do some wood working.

If you machine ran well with acceptable rapids and enough power for what you are cutting, I would just keep the motors and power supply. It might also be possible to use the existing relay to turn the router on and off.

Going from you the specs you gave I would go with the G540 if your dc voltage is 50v or less. It is easy to verify with a volt meter.It will do all that you want and be very easy to setup
Just ignore the encoders or remove them. Gecko at the moment doesn't use steppers and encoders at the same time, only the servo drives use the encoders.

If the machine ran and you are just having trouble with the controller going bad, I would suggest that you use the existing wiring as much as you can. I mean it worked and didn't burn down or anything. Just ignore the encoders and their wiring and you should be fine. The instructions for the Gecko's layout all the wiring needs for their drives but remeber that 2.3 amps/motor isn't a a whole buch of current so you won't need large wires.

If the dc violtage is over 50v then it would be the 203v's or something similar.

By the way let us know if you have already fixed it or if you need more help.

Mike