Need Help!- Mach 3 with Compumotor Servos, what drives?

[M3ocd]

Hi everyone,
I have aquired some large Parker Motion Linear actuators that I want to turn into a CNC router. The controller and drives were disposed of before I had a chance to claim them, but were probably of no use to me since they were anolog torque/velocity drives. I am now trrying to figure out what I need to run these with Mach 3. My first machine was stepper based so I am new to servos. I contacted Parker and I told them I needed a driver that would take step and direction inputs from a PC and they gave me P/Ns for Compax3 drives. According to the specs for these drives, communications are via RS232/RS485, and the command sinal is +/- 10V, Step & Dir, or Encoder. Will these drives work with Mach 3? If so, is there anything alse I need between the PC and the drives? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

M3ocd
Beau

[mike_Kilroy]

they shud work. anything else needed? do they have power supply built in? if so prob not/.

there are a couple companies on here that advertise and have similar that prob will work, prob for 1/2 the price too. one i heard of is gecko? another similar too.... check with them if u want options....

[Mad Welder]

Originally Posted by M3ocd ..........I have aquired some large Parker Motion Linear actuators that I want to turn into a CNC router............... Will these drives work with Mach 3? If so, is there anything alse I need between the PC and the drives? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! M3ocd Beau

As you didn't suggest what size the actuators actually are, and as you're starting from scratch with this project you have a vast supplier range to choose from. Here's a couple of links to suppliers which I myself have sourced products from and personally I was extremely happy with the prompt delivery and backup service I recieved from them as a new customer.

And to answer your question " is there anything alse I need between the PC and the drives" you will need from start to finish....PC (running Mach3)-breakout board-driver-motor and in that sequence....

Have a look at these links for informative purpose and a starting point, have a look at the pdf specs of the motors and drivers and you should find a suitable product to output the required torque you need....CNC Stepper Motors: Stepper Motor Distributor in USA
http://http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/index.php
Warp9 Tech. Design - Home of the SmoothStepper - Home

Good luck with your project

[M3ocd]

Thanks for the info. The actuators are Parker HLE100 series actuators with about 8 foot of travel, and the z axis if a Parker actuator with about 23 inches of travel. The servo motors are quite large, I think (2) of them draw a little over 6amps and the other one draws almost 15 amps.

Again, thanks for the info, and I'll post what I find out to help others.

M3ocd
Beau