Anyone kill a G203V yet? - Page 5


Page 5 of 8 FirstFirst ... 2345678 LastLast
Results 81 to 100 of 149

Thread: Anyone kill a G203V yet?

  1. #81
    Registered
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    111
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dimaker View Post
    yes i killes a 203v. i was converting an old bandit mill attempting to use the original steppers. when the feedrate aproached about 35-40 ipm the drivers would fault. i talked to you on the phone marris and you suspected the steppers were old and bad. you said something very bad was happening. i tried to swith motors from the x to the y to see if the same motor would trip. and i finally killed it. when you power it up you can see and hear a spark jump across what used to be some kind of electrical component. ive since put all new stepper motors on the mill and it seems to work great. i can get about 175 inched per minute before it starts loosing stepps. i guess this is normal? anyway i ordered a new driver and the lady at gecko said to ship it back and they may try to repair it. i should have initially listened to marriss but was trying to avoid spending money.

    What size were your resistors?



  2. #82
    Gold Member LeeWay's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    6618
    Downloads
    2
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    When I think of killing, I think unrepairable. I have stalled some 203V's by simply switching the DC side from the PS. I did screw something up, but Gecko fixed or replaced quickly. I have sent about 5 of these drives back to be repaired. Only one was replaced due to manufacture defect. Switching the DC side of the PS lead to these faults. Mariss found that out and I have had absolutely zero troble with the 6 203V's I have in service. These run just about every day including weekends.

    Lee


  3. #83
    Registered
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    usa
    Posts
    14
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    i did not need a resistor as the motor was over 6 amps.



  4. #84
    Registered
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    111
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    That might be the problem.

    The 203v maxes out at 7 amps IIRC.


    The steppers on my machine are actually rated at 9 amps while paralleled and I was having similar problems with one axis when I would try running at higher rates. I installed 270K resistors to limit my output to 6 amps and now the machine flies and no more driver overloads.

    Yes, I know I'm not developing full torque but I haven't noticed any missed steps and I can generally hold .001 or better when making a cut.



  5. #85
    Gold Member LeeWay's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    6618
    Downloads
    2
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    ....and a resistor would be needed to regulate flow regardless.

    Lee


  6. #86
    Registered
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    usa
    Posts
    14
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    i wish i would have talked to you sooner, as ive already replaced all stepper motors. it sounds asif there similar in amps to yours.



  7. #87
    Registered
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    111
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dimaker View Post
    i wish i would have talked to you sooner, as ive already replaced all stepper motors. it sounds asif there similar in amps to yours.
    Your motors might still be ok and quite possibly are, but you are more than likely better off with new ones anyway. But hey, you have a set of motors to start another project with now..



  8. #88
    Registered
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Jakarta - Indonesia
    Posts
    99
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Switching the DC side of the PS lead to these faults. Mariss found that out ...
    Why?

    Does it mean that it can not be powered by a dc power source?

    -ichan



  9. #89
    Registered
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    usa
    Posts
    14
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    i just purchased a sound logic board and when i hooked it up the stepper motors only move in one direction. they work fine when i switch it back to the old simple breakout board. has anybody seen this problem?



  10. #90
    Registered
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    2
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Mariss, I have not killed a G203v yet as I have not yet bought one
    I do have a question, in the hope I do not kill one.
    In your "Step Motor Basics" guide you mention the use of a zener diode to clamp the PSU voltage to protect the drive, from the decelaration energy of the motors, by using an 82 or 91 volt zener across the PSU.
    1) The max voltage of the drive is 80v, would this not cause the internal fuse to blow?
    2) Is there a way of calculating the power rating of the zener? I understand the voltage will be the difference between the rated value and the peak but am not sure what the current would be or what the possible peak voltage would be.

    If it helps, I have 3 7.5V 2.5A 8 wire steppers and am looking at a PSU with a 50V AC secondary. Not yet settled on drivers but will probably get the G203v on the basis of reliability and the good support shown on this forum

    I'm new to this, only started looking into it a month ago, but learning fast



  11. #91
    Gold Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2839
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    FreeFlight,

    I wrote that when I was just a little dumber than I am now.:-) A zener does absolutely no good as a motor power supply clamp. All zeners have a specified impedance; think of it as a built-in resistor in series with an ideal zener diode. Let's say it's unrealistically low, 5 Ohms perhaps, in series with an ideal 80V zener. At very low currents, you have an 80V zener. At 10A you have a 130V zener! Why? 10A through 5 Ohms is 50V plus 80V for the zener. This makes zeners useless as power supply clamps.

    Mariss



  12. #92
    Registered
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    2
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Thanks for the info Mariss.
    Is the issue with the voltage due to decelaration still valid?
    If so would I need to protect the driver, or is the G203v already protected?

    Mike



  13. #93
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    306
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    I've got 4 of them and have just started using them on my cnc router... tonight something weird. I went to move the Y axis (two steppers Y to A slaved) and only one stepper on the gantry moved. The Horror! I looked and one of the geckos had a red light on (green too I think)....turned off the power supply (ac side) then back on and all were green and working. The only thing I was doing different was switching the power off on the AC side a few times to check an issue I was having in Mach. I might have cycled the power too quick? Maybe there is some flakey wiring? Weird that it worked fine after powering off and on without touching anything else. Do the geckos do some kind of initialization on power up and maybe it got stuck?

    Brendin



  14. #94
    Gold Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2839
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    There is a power-on reset circuit but it can't get stuck because it's level actuated. A red LED indicates the G203V in question saw a short on the motor leads and shut off. Check that motor's wiring.

    Mariss



  15. #95
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    306
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mariss Freimanis View Post
    There is a power-on reset circuit but it can't get stuck because it's level actuated. A red LED indicates the G203V in question saw a short on the motor leads and shut off. Check that motor's wiring.

    Mariss
    I double checked the wiring...It was good. But the first thing I tried before touching or disturbing any wiring was to turn it off and on which worked. Geckos are heat sinked with a fan. Once it sees the short does it stay red even if it isn't shorted anymore? Here is a pic of my controller.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Anyone kill a G203V yet?-cimg0790_small-jpg  
    Last edited by Xnaron; 04-03-2009 at 09:41 AM.


  16. #96
    Registered
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    64
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Besides the gecko spooking, why don't you use one BOB output to drive two gecko's (the fan out of the BOB is large enough to do that.) And then just switch the coil lines on one of them to have it turn the other way if needed by the hardware setup. That eliminates another problem (Mach); which could be a future source of bendage and mayhem.
    Cheers
    Rainer



  17. #97
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    306
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Lemo View Post
    Besides the gecko spooking, why don't you use one BOB output to drive two gecko's (the fan out of the BOB is large enough to do that.) And then just switch the coil lines on one of them to have it turn the other way if needed by the hardware setup. That eliminates another problem (Mach); which could be a future source of bendage and mayhem.
    Cheers
    Rainer
    I didn't know that you could do this...so the bob would be connected to the two geckos in parallel?



  18. #98
    Registered
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    23
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Hi Xnaron,
    I am seeing the same problem with a 203V and a Homeshopcnc 1200oz-in stepper. If I set Mach to drive the stepper really slow ~2 in/min the motor will run without fault. Faster speeds will bring on the red Gecko light. Powering off the power supply resolves the issue until next time I move quickly. Do you have a current set resistor? I am running the 203V without a resistor because the motor can handle it. BTW, the power supply is 50V at 20A. I'm very pleased with the Gecko products, but a bit confused by this one issue.



  19. #99
    Gold Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2839
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    I hate to tell you this but the only reason you will ever see a red LED on the G203V is when it 'sees' something that is bad enough to make it shut off and protect itself. "Bad enough" means a short-circuit on your motor. You may have a motor that's arcing inside or you may have sketchy wiring; I don't know. What I do know is something really nasty is making it shut down. A red LED is just one step below the G203V blowing its internal fuse. It is seeing a major malfunction with what it's attached to.

    Mariss

    Last edited by Mariss Freimanis; 04-04-2009 at 12:58 AM. Reason: syntax


  20. #100
    Registered
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    23
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Mariss,
    I don't mean to be too stubborn here I just tried installing a 500k resistor on the 203V. Wow, now the stepper and driver are working at up to 75 in/min without any faults. There were no changes to the motor wiring or the rest of the system. Just adding the resistor. Hope this helps.



Page 5 of 8 FirstFirst ... 2345678 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


About CNCzone.com

    We are the largest and most active discussion forum for manufacturing industry. The site is 100% free to join and use, so join today!

Follow us on


Our Brands

Anyone kill a G203V yet?

Anyone kill a G203V yet?