G320 Setup Help.

[thosj]

I am new to all this and am doing my first knee mill conversion. I have my Keling power supply wired and working. I'm working on the bench, testing and setting up. I have three G320's. I am trying to go thru the Geckodrive Installation Notes. So far I have hooked up the encoders (US Digital 200 CPS) and the 72 volts from the PS. I have tested the encoders with a Tektronic 2235 'scope and they behave just like the Installation Notes. Now I am at the step Control Input Hook-up section of the Installation Notes. I have the Dir/Step/+5v hooked up from the BOB to the Gecko's. I now read where I need a step pulse of 40 pulses per second to start setup/tuning. I'm guessing I need to use Mach3 to do this, but I'm not sure what to do or how to do it. I have a SmoothStepper and a CNC4PC C23 BOB. I have Mach3 installed and SS drivers and plugin installed, but have NOT gone thru any further setup. Can anyone help me with the next steps I need to do with the setup/tuning and Mach3, or point me to somewhere that tells me how to setup/tune with Mach3 specifically. I don't know what to do next, try and setup Mach3 for the SS/C23, or somehow figure out how to get the pulse generator part some other way so I can continue with Gecko/motor tuning.

I've bitten off more than I can chew here, for sure, but I'm hoping I can get a nudge in some direction to keep me moving. I'm OK with the mechanical part of this, but this electrical part has me bothered!!

[LUCKY13]

Dont let it overwelm you because its all pretty simple if you take your time and read a lot (I am sure your doing that already).

Just go ahead and work with Mach3 unless you have a signal generator which most of us do not. Just use the jog buttons from Mach3 and you will be able to tune it with that. This is how I did and I had no problems doing so.


SOme of the common misstakes with this setup are the "ports & pin " settings and the servo power polarity. Also the "Common" wire for the G320 needs to be 5v instead of ground as common would imply. Most BOB's have a jumper for setting this.

Get one motor & driver hooked up at a time. In other words hook one up and test it before going on. When you get one holding torque at a idle and tune it you will look back at the system with much more understanding. Plus if you have something wrong you dont want to stress or take a chance of burning more than one motor/driver so starting out with only one hooked up is safer.


Double checking your wiring is a must. This is a lot of power and it want give you a chance to back up if something is shorted. Dont forget the reset jumper wire for the Gecko or it want come out of fault when you fire it up ( the info about this is in the Gecko manual).


Taking your time and not getting in a hurry is most important. Firing the system up with Mach3 instead of using a signal gen to check the drive/servo just adds more to worry with but if you double check everything you should be OK. I think most of us fire our systems up this way. Gecko just wants to offer you the safest way of getting going to help avoid problems and test each section as you go. You cant always do that but you need to be sure all is right if you dont. Power going to the drive and then the motor is easy to get mixed up, the 5v common, and getting "ports & pins" setup right are some of the most common mistakes. Also be sure and use the USB cable to power the SS at first even if your going to power it with something else. There are a few power & ground jumpers on the SS to really pay attention to also. I think they come set the way you need them but read and be sure. Also be sure & set the ajustments on the Gecko right before adding power. I just set them all three to 1/4 of a turn to start with. It tells you to set the current ajuster all the way back but sometimes it doesn't give any power like that and it will need a little tweak up to get it going . The Gain & Damp are fine all the way back if you wish, and it might even be a little safer to do so.


Just go slow, take your time, and double check everything its not as bad as it seems. It is a lot to take in on your first time though so you cant read to much about each of your products.


There is a lot of good info at the CNC CookBook website. Bob Warfield documented his build on that site and he gives a lot of info that is helpfull. You can do a google search and it will come right up. He did not use a C23 but G320's & SS are wired in his system. Plus he goes through ever step of his build very good. The Mach3 section here & Mach3's own website has a lot of great info about settings . They have a SmoothStepper section there to. The SS is quite easy to work with.


Jess