Single TB6560 Drivers+Breakout board?

[Zeppelin1007]

Hey guys. Ive seen ALOT of threads on the TB6560 controller/driver combo.

Being an electrical engineering major, i don't know it all, but from what I've seen...I don't trust it. Kinda too poor for a gecko setup...so before i decide to say heck with it all and spend the next couple of weeks coming up with my own design, how are the single TB6560 controllers in conjunction with a breakout board?

say this one:

CNC Router Single Axis 3A TB6560 Stepper Motor Drivers Board axiscontrol | eBay

I ask, because i see some say that using 1 motor for testing, the 3 Axis board works fine, but when you start adding others, the thing acts up, misses steps (that clock issue for starters...ugh!)

Any experiences? Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Similar Threads:

• Need Help!- Motors, Drivers & Breakout Board Wiring
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• Need Help!- 5 axis breakout board and 3 single axis drivers tb6560, not working
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• Newbie- Single Axis TB6560 driver and breakout board wiring

[109jb]

I have just got my mill running using a Chinese BOB and single axis TB6560 stepper drives. The drives I used look exactly like the ones you linked, just from a different vendor. Like I said I just got my mill running and setup was no problem and operation is good. I am running 24V and 3A on the drives. I know there are a lot of people that poo poo the TB6560 drives but everthing I heard was problems related to the multi-axis drives with the BOB and 3,4, or 5 TB6560 drives built into the same board. I never liked the idea of the integrated board anyway because a failure of one component on one drive or the BOB basically makes the whole thing useless. I'd rather have them separate so that I can replace one drive, or just the BOB.

Like I said, setup and operation so far has been fine. Right now I am using them stock right out of the box. I just hooked them up and went to town. I do plan to make one modification to the TB6560 drives though, but it is an easy one. If you read the threads about the TB6560 and the datasheet, you find that the TB6560 is supposed to have a specific order for powering up. Logic first, then motor power. It appears that the Chinese boards ignore that and they have a 5V regulator on the board that provides logic power, but it gets its power from the motor power, so there isn't really a way to power it up the way the datasheet says to. In the picture below you can see the mod I plan to do. Like I said it is a little mod that just eliminates the 5v regulator from the circuit and feeds 5v from an external source. That way the logic side can get its power first. I just plan to use a 5V wall wart to provide the power. That wall wart will be on the same switch as my CPU, with a separate switch powering the motor power supply.

Like you, I am on a tight budget for my project and decided to give the single axis TB6560 drives a try. I can buy 10 of these drives for the price of one Gecko. I would like to have Gecko's and some day hope to, but it will have to wait until I can afford it. So far so good with the TB6560's. Keep in mind though that my actual run time so far is measured in minutes, not hours, days or years. I did however set up 2 motors and ran a really long g-code many times. What I did was I took the g-code supplied with EMC2 and I deleted the M02 end of program line, then copied the entire code and pasted it in at the end, then pasted it in again and again and again. I then just put a M02 at the end and ran it with the motors sitting in my home office on a piece of wood. I don't remember how many times it goes through the g-code program but it probably ran for about 3 hours or so at a time. I ran that many times as a burn-in/test without problems.

If you want to see how they run, there is a video of my machine at this link:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bencht...ml#post1112783

This is the link to the drivers I bought http://www.ebay.com/itm/230767094420...420%26_rdc%3D1

This is the BOB I used http://www.ebay.com/itm/260992117859...859%26_rdc%3D1

[Zeppelin1007]

Man i like what you did with that harbor freight mill! Thats great!

Movies aren't loading for me. On my outdated linux box, running updates. Will check when done.

Your success gives me some confidence, and yea, i recall reading about the startup issues. I was thinking of just pulling off of the 5V line on a USB/Molex connector. Obviously create a startup sequence using relays or something. Then again im sure an atmel/arduino is going to make it into my controller for extra buttons, LCD readout of coordinates, etc etc

Im glad to hear your success. Nothing about the 3-5 axis single boards made any sense to me. The heat alone! And trying to regulate the same power down to 5V that shares the motors? I know from experience, man you really have to smooth out that line cause you will get tons of noise from the steps.

I think im going to go your route, n again, glad someone has had success this way. I probably still will end up designing my own board down the road, but i'll be more than happy to share with the community. the BOB was one i was actually looking at. Did you mess with any of the LCD output on it yet? Also, did you simply split your 24v supply to all boards? Or did you create a circuit? Im looking to use probably one of the generic chrome rectangular supplies. Had great luck with em for my 3D laserscanner. 9V at 15A. I run...2 beefy steppers (one geared at 99.5:1) small laser diode, regulated...Arduino board, lcd, tons of little blinking indicators...Holds the motors perfectly..no issues. THen again im drawing nowhere near the 15amps, id say under full load about 3-4A.

[109jb]

For my power supply I used one like this:

Universal 24V 15A Metal Low-cost Switch Power Supply | eBay

I have separate feed wires from the power supply to each stepper driver.

As for the LCD on the BOB, I haven't used it yet. Not sure I ever will. I bought that particular board because I though I might want to do the pendant and digital displays. I kind of doubt that now.

For the 5V, I think I'm going to use a wall wart power supply because I eventually plan to have the BOB and stepper drivers in a box by the mill, and the computer located separate. One wall wart will supply the logic power for the BOB and all the stepper drivers.

Hope this helps.

[ger21]

Kinda too poor for a gecko setup

Once the TB6560 goes bad, and you replace it, you'll have spent more than a G540 setup and have 1/3 the performance.

[109jb]

Once the TB6560 goes bad, and you replace it, you'll have spent more than a G540 setup and have 1/3 the performance.

This assumes that they will go bad. I have never read anything bad about the single axis TB6560's and getting them to where everything works as the datasheet describes is simple on the 1-axis boards.I believe that this is the key to making these last. It also doesn't matter if another product is better if you can't afford it. A Mercedes is a better car than my Hyundai, but the Hyundai still gets me around for a fraction of the price. I personally went with the TB6560's for this reason. I am up and running now for less than $300 including my ballscrew conversion. I would be at $500 if I used a G540 and even more if I used single axis Geckos. I also would not go with a G540 personally simce it is another all-in-one solution. I prefer something where I have a separate component for BOB, and each individual axis for maintenance/replacement purposes. For that reason if I were going to buy more expensive drives, I would go with the Keling drivers or the single axis Gecko's before the G540.

I have to ask. Do you have any direct experience with the single axis TB6560 drivers, or for that matter the multi-axis boards?

[ger21]

I have to ask. Do you have any direct experience with the single axis TB6560 drivers, or for that matter the multi-axis boards?

No, I've just seen countless members here buy the cheapest option and have to buy again later, negating any savings they may have made.

Fwiw, the G540 contains 4 individual G250 drives, which can easily be replaced.

[ImagineRobots]

....... how are the single TB6560 controllers in conjunction with a breakout board?

say this one:

CNC Router Single Axis 3A TB6560 Stepper Motor Drivers Board axiscontrol | eBay

I ask, because i see some say that using 1 motor for testing, the 3 Axis board works fine, but when you start adding others, the thing acts up, misses steps (that clock issue for starters...ugh!)

Any experiences? Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Stay away from buying single TB6560 boards from this site:

CNC Driver ARM Ulink 5-axis BDM Keil Mill - CNCGeeker.com Univelop Tech. LLC, CNC

I bought their BOB and five TB6560 single controller boards from Ebay. First board resulted in smoke @ 24V and 3A (pin 8 vaporized and burnt the track). Another board was DOA. Sent it back to them but never got the replacement. I didn't even bother to follow up since it's a junk design. I thought it was an American design but the delivered packaging was in an undersized box with Chinese labels so it's a bit suspicious.

I also bought a TB6560 4 driver board from Ebay. It was one of the infamous "blue" boards that many people are having problems with. My steppers were hissing like crazy and I didn't want to screw around with a bunch of modifications to fix the problem.

According to the TB6560 data sheet VCC must be powered up before the stepper motor power on start up. During power down, stepper motor power should be removed before VCC power. Most of the board designs don't control this sequencing. Also, the Toshiba datasheet recommends a fuse for the input power and none of these boards have fuses (unless you count the PCB traces!). It wouldn't be hard to design a BOB with a 50 cent PIC micro and a cheap power relay to control this power sequencing and thus meet the datasheet specs.

[109jb]

No, I've just seen countless members here buy the cheapest option and have to buy again later, negating any savings they may have made.

Fwiw, the G540 contains 4 individual G250 drives, which can easily be replaced.

I was not aware that the G540 had separate components. This is good to know.

According to the TB6560 data sheet VCC must be powered up before the stepper motor power on start up. During power down, stepper motor power should be removed before VCC power. Most of the board designs don't control this sequencing. Also, the Toshiba datasheet recommends a fuse for the input power and none of these boards have fuses (unless you count the PCB traces!). It wouldn't be hard to design a BOB with a 50 cent PIC micro and a cheap power relay to control this power sequencing and thus meet the datasheet specs.

Post number 2 in this thread covers how I believe the single axis boards can be simply modified so that you can manually control the power up sequence. I plan to have a wall wart providing the logic power for the TB6560 boards and my BOB. This wall wart will be controlled a switch, and a separate switch will provide the motor power. Th motor power switch will get power from the first switch. Worst case scenario is that you leave the second switch on and turn on or off the first switch. In that case, the logic and motor power go on or off at the same time. Just be disciplined and this won't be a problem. That's my plan anyway.

Obviously there appear to be some problems with the design of these boards as documented by other posters. The multiple axis boards in particular have many documented problems. The problems I have read about though aren't in the actual TB6560 chip, but in the implementation, opto-isolation, power-up, etc. In the case of the single axis boards, I have examined the circuit of the ones I bought and the only thing on those boards that violates the TB6560 datasheet is the power-up sequencing. As far as I am concerned I have this aspect covered.

A couple things to consider when looking at posts about problems is that people tend to mainly post problems with products, not successes, and then people that have no direct experience tend to repeat the problems someone else had creating an artificial impression that the problem is more widespread than it really is. This is true on any forum. I myself usually only post about problems that I am experiencing on the various forums I belong to. I hardly ever start a thread that says "I bought XYZ company's widget and it did just what I expected." It is only when something unexpected happens that most people post. That is human nature. When I post, I also try to make clear my own personal experience when I am relaying a problem someone else had. For example, I might say "I don't have any direct experience, but I have read that widget A is unreliable because..." Am I 100% successful in making it clear that it wasn't my experience? No, but I try.

Now this is not to say that there are no problems with these boards, because others have documented violations of the TB6560 specs, and the auxiliary circuitry. In regard to the single axis boards, I believe the deficiency in power-up/power-down can be overcome simply and easily. Time will tell.

[ImagineRobots]

.......

Now this is not to say that there are no problems with these boards, because others have documented violations of the TB6560 specs, and the auxiliary circuitry. In regard to the single axis boards, I believe the deficiency in power-up/power-down can be overcome simply and easily. Time will tell.

It's actually good news that you've managed to get the TB6560 running without failing yet. I'm going to experiment with powerup/powerdown sequencing by adding a 50 cent 8 pin PIC micro and a $1 power relay to my boards.

[doorknob]

It's actually good news that you've managed to get the TB6560 running without failing yet. I'm going to experiment with powerup/powerdown sequencing by adding a 50 cent 8 pin PIC micro and a $1 power relay to my boards.

Never mind - I see that you recognize the need for powerdown sequencing - I'm "slow" before I've had my first cup of coffee...

[aSma1986]

Hello I´m new here. I know that this blog is a little bit older.
I´ve buyed this this controller in ebay. But it is unbelievable frustrating to find the chinese faults in the board.
This video will help people with the same problems.

[drstation]

say this one:

CNC Router Single Axis 3A TB6560 Stepper Motor Drivers Board axiscontrol | eBay

I ask, because i see some say that using 1 motor for testing, the 3 Axis board works fine, but when you start adding others, the thing acts up, misses steps (that clock issue for starters...ugh!)

Any experiences? Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

I have exactly the same probem
Did you fix it with logic sequence powerup
Or any other way pls
Ahmed

[A_Camera]

Once the TB6560 goes bad, and you replace it, you'll have spent more than a G540 setup and have 1/3 the performance.

I know you know this, but the G540 is actually 4 axis driver plus BoB, so not really comparable. Never the less, there are other, better options, between the 6560 and the G540 as well, and for much less than what a G540 would cost.

[A_Camera]

I have exactly the same probem
Did you fix it with logic sequence powerup
Or any other way pls
Ahmed

It's a two year old thread...

The TB6560 drivers, single axis or dual axis, all crap. Even if you compare with other, cheap alternatives. The very fact that you must be careful how you switch off and on the CNC is horrible. Even if you fix the power on sequence, you can NEVER really fix the power off sequence, since unexpected power loss can happen in ANY part of the world, even with the most reliable net. If you want to make sure you follow the power on AND power off sequence, apart from whatever fix you implement, you must get a reliable UPS as well. Adding that to you kit makes ANY TB6560 based drivers EXTREMELY expensive compared even with a very expensive and thousand times better alternatives.

So, if you not already have that driver get a better one, like the DQ542MA for example, or if you already have it then you can use it as long as it works and you are happy with it. Once you see the blue smoke, get a better driver, not one based on the TB6560.

[A_Camera]

Hello I´m new here. I know that this blog is a little bit older.
I´ve buyed this this controller in ebay. But it is unbelievable frustrating to find the chinese faults in the board.
This video will help people with the same problems.

In your video you are saying that: "The Chinese are sheep-like. They can not read the data sheet." I think that apart from the fact that such comments are simply stupid, and very wrong, but in that case you should call yourself sheep-like as well since you didn't read the manual, just selected parts of it. The 6560 specs clearly say that: "A power-off sequence should be the reverse of this sequence." on page 28 where the "Power-on Sequence with Control Input Signals" is described.

[aSma1986]

In your video you are saying that: "The Chinese are sheep-like. They can not read the data sheet." I think that apart from the fact that such comments are simply stupid, and very wrong, but in that case you should call yourself sheep-like as well since you didn't read the manual, just selected parts of it. The 6560 specs clearly say that: "A power-off sequence should be the reverse of this sequence." on page 28 where the "Power-on Sequence with Control Input Signals" is described.

Servus,
in my decription I take some app notes from toshiba. Everbody who wants can read the datasheets.
Bytheway the 5V regulator cap is very big, so you can save a power off sequence.

You have to understand I can´t and I won´t read for everybody every fu** word.

I can´t understand why the people give me negative points. I´ve more infos or this stepper driver, but I will take this knowledge in grave.

[drstation]

I can´t understand why the people give me negative points. I´ve more infos or this stepper driver, but I will take this knowledge in grave.

Can you share some of this knowledge with me before you die

[A_Camera]

Servus,
in my decription I take some app notes from toshiba. Everbody who wants can read the datasheets.
Bytheway the 5V regulator cap is very big, so you can save a power off sequence.

You have to understand I can´t and I won´t read for everybody every fu** word.

I can´t understand why the people give me negative points. I´ve more infos or this stepper driver, but I will take this knowledge in grave.

You don't understand, do you?

First you write off ALL the Chinese because they don't (can NOT) read the manual and shortly after that you show your own negligence...

BTW, I know how to fix those crappy cards... also know how to read AND understand the specs.

There is so much information about the 6560 all over the world, but especially on this site, so I hardly think there is need for more fu** of it. Crap is crap. One more than the other, but the heart of it is that 6560, which is out of production for a very good reason... but I leave you to figure that out.

No, the capacitor is NOT enough to follow the power off sequence, but why should I care, I use better drives and very happy with them. No need of fixing, works out of the box at higher current and voltage and only a little more expensive.

[aSma1986]

You don't understand, do you?

First you write off ALL the Chinese because they don't (can NOT) read the manual and shortly after that you show your own negligence...

BTW, I know how to fix those crappy cards... also know how to read AND understand the specs.

Sry, english is not my native language. I dont have the wish to see for every word. The next video I`ll made will be in russian or ger. I promise you.

In one point u are write: Crap is crap.You get what you pay for.

I use better drives and very happy with them. No need of fixing, works out of the box at higher current and voltage and only a little more expensive.

Don´t speak in fairytale. Do u mean tb6600 for 7$?