New Power Controller announced

[Torchhead]

CandCNC announces a new product for the DIY CNC market. Http://www.CandCNC.com/PSC-650.htm

The PSC-650 is a 68V 10A (cont) modular power supply and control unit that is designed to prevent overvoltage reaching the motor drives. It provides instant shutdown from it's included tactile switch front panel and dynamic (constant current) loading of the DC output (load dump) on any power-down event. Caps are drained in less than 3 seconds while providing a dynamic braking action on the motors. The PSC-650 is designed to support up to 4 Gecko drives and easily fits into a 3U sized rack case. All power connections are made via .25 wide crimp-on fast connects. It eliminates hours of tedious wiring and the rats nest of wires in a controller. If you order the PSC-650 with Optional Geckos from us, we mount and test then as a unit.

For customers that use our MP1000 (Torch Height, Spindle SPeed ,etc) series of products the integration is seamless. The DB25 cable from the MP1000-THC, normally used to connect to the remote AXIS I/O Card, is instead used to connect directly to the PSC-650 and connect the 4 axis of Step and Direction. It also allows the front panel switches of the MP1000 to control the DC power (RUN and STOP). Mounted on a heavy aluminum sub-plate the PSC-650 is easy to access and easy to mount.

The PSC-650 is part of a growing line of cost effective solutions for CNC electronics. For more information on the PSC-650 and other quality products see our website at http://www.CandCNC.com.

[cdifani]

Guys:

Do I understand your PSC-650 to be all that I'd need in terms of a power supply for up to 4 Gecko's? No more miles of tangled wire? Umpty dozen plugs that seem to plug into themselves.....

And how does the PSC-650 integrate into your other products? How "simple" does this make the entire "home shop CNC" problem? Is it worth the money??

Thanks,

Chris
cdifani@pacbell.net

[Torchhead]

Actually the PSC-650 is more than just a power supply. It is a complete controller that seamlessly interfaces the motor drive signals and integrates things like high current AC control, DC overvoltage protection and remote shutdown onto one card. All of the hard work has been done and the final hookup (especially if you buy the Gecko drives from us and we mount and test the drives) is just a function of crimping on a few quick connects and making the connections to the main board.

As for is it worth it? Look at the other integrated controllers and see if you agree a cabinet with punched holes and some connectors is worth $800 more dollars (that's all the PSC650 lacks). I found a place that sells 3U rack enclosures that the PSC650 will fit into for 70 bucks.

Maybe if you compare a simple transformer , bridge and filter cap to the PSC650 it might look more expensive but by the time you factor in the fuses, connectors, Front panel switches and indicators you get closer to the same dollars and you still don't have the over voltage protection, dynamic DC load dump and remote shutdown features.

Sorry but the PSC650 CANNOT be used to purify used oil or refine biodiesel

[ger21]

Tom, just a heads up. The link on your site for the pendant (second from bottom) takes you to the .dxf tool page.

[Torchhead]

Thanks for the heads up. I made the changes. We are working on a modification of the layout that will allow the whole controller to fit into a low cost fiberglass polyester NEMA 4X case. Easy to cut and drill, low cost, and good protection from liquids and dust.

[Torchhead]

CandCNC improves layout of PSC-650

Prior to shipping production quantities of the the new PSC-650 68V 10a Power Controller outlined in the original annoucement, we did some mechanical redesign that changes the product footprint and allows mounting the entire unit in an off-the-shelf fiberglass NEMA enclosure. The new design uses a unique "bridge" mounting for up to 4ea Gecko 201, 320/340 or the larger Gecko 202/210 series. The case is available through any Hammond distributor (part # PJ14126) and single piece pricing is about $70.00

The bridge design allows for a wind tunnel effect and multiple fans can be mounted to blow laterally across the Gecko's and generate maximum cooling for all of the components in the case.

The Hammond case is approximately 14 X 12.25 X 6 with a lift-off lid and oil-resistant gasket sealed cover. It is corrosion resistant and provides outstanding insulation and protection against liquids and dusty environments, It ships with adjustable rear mounting ears and the PSC-650 mounts inside with 4 bolts. Mounting can be Horizontal or Vertical. The fiberglass construction makes drilling and cutting holes and slots easy.

The PSC-650 in the fiberglass case makes a perfect assembly for mounting on your table and the DB25 connector allows for buffering of the Step and Direction from your breakout and total front panel control through any of our MP1000 series interface controls.

Information at http://www.CandCNC.com

[Ed_R]

I'm wondering if this will be too much voltage for my motors. Is the output voltage adjustable down to say 40 volts? I don't want to toast marshmallows over my steppers

[Torchhead]

The power supply can be set to give 48 or 68VDC at 10A. What are the specs on your steppers. If you use Gecko drives then the motor winding is only "ON" long enough for the current to reach the setting on the Gecko then it turns off. They recommended voltage is from 10 to 25 times the name plate spec.

The more voltage you have the shorter the current pulse. The faster the coil charges from the voltage the quicker the step and the faster you can spin the motor. As the source voltage goe up, the average current goes down. That's why just looking at the motor current spec and multiplying by the motors won't get an accurate current spec for your power supply!


Let's say your motor specs are 4.5A and 3.5V. What that says is that running on a 3.5V supply the motor draws 4.5A. Put another way it draws 15.75 watts. If you increase the voltage and shorten the pulse you can provide the 15.75 watts with less average current because the the coils charge faster with more volts. At say 45 volts to be 15.75 watts you only need an average of .35A. If you set the current limit at 4.5A it will cut off the pulse at about 7% duty cycle. Now, the motor needs more power in than you get out, but even at 50% efficiency you only need 14% duty cycle for the same amount of power.

In doing actual measurements the real current drawn by a 3 axis machine running a 3 Axis cut with heavy loads seldom approaches even 50% of the rated current of all three motors. So three 4.5 A motors which would at first look to need 13.5 Amps, will run on a lot less than that at higher voltages.

The inefficiencies of the motor and motor drive contribute to the heating and that is where the higher voltages cause more heat. Most systems run well at 42 to 50VDC but to get max RPM from a stepper you need as much voltage as you can provide that will not overheat the motors.

Since you can run the PSC650 at 46V or 68V you have a choice. It's just one wire moved.