Anybody using Rutex servo drives?

[simpson36]

Curious about the performance of Rutex servo drive and particularly these new ones:

http://www.rutex.com/us/index.php?productID=123

[simpson36]

Is it possible that nobody uses these drives?

I keep digging up negative opinions, but so far NONE are accompanied by any specifics or even what model drive is at issue.

[tripleblack]

i had used the 2020 drives  2 years ago.the ratings were way inflated.l blew 4 before i threw in the towel and went with larken viper drives.Tom at rutex usa repaired or replaced all. i installed on another project but derated them from their advertised 40 amp 200v capacity to 12 amps. never had a problem again. the one in your link looks like a new version.

[simpson36]

Tripleback,

I'm not a fan of Rutex or any other brand, I'm just trying to sort thru the available products and select one that will do the job for me, preferably for under $200. The Gecko is a nice drive, but severely limits the motor speed and the fixed following error trip results in the drive faulting constantly. Gecko is coming out with a new model G320X, but so far, I have been unable to get the specs on it. I just sent the Viper95 back to Canada so I'm still in the hunt for a servo drive. Rutex is one of about 4 or 5 that I'm looking at.

IF the Rutex does what they claim, it would be perfect, but that's what I though about the Viper too, so it ultimately gets down to testing the products in-house, but that is very expensive time wise . .  not to mention international shipping costs.

I am reading some issues with the current Rutex, but those are all interface/wiring problems that get quickly sorted out. The 'blown' Rutex problem was common it seems a couple years ago, but nothing lately. I have not been able to determine what component blew out on the drives. If it was the MOSfets, they are easy to replace with larger ones, and a lot of the newer drives are no longer using MOSfets. An advertised feature of the Viper is 'replaceable' MOSfets, so one might assume this is a common problem.

Other than the amp rating, did you have any other problems with the Rutex? How did the drives run the motors? Was there windows tuning software at the time? How did that work?

[simpson36]

Update:

With Gecko and Viper out of the running, and some of the other alternatives shot down by volt/amp rating or input speed, I'm down to three possibilities (that I know of)

Rutex is $148 and the other two are over twice that, so today I ordered the Rutex. Fingers crossed.

I'll post back my results.

[tripleblack]

the tuning software was buggy, for me anyway. although to see a graphical representation of the following error when tuning was helpful. i installed the drives on a bridgeport r2e4.

[simpson36]

With the notable exceptions of Gecko and Viper (just my luck, the two I tried so far), the rest of the drives all have graphing software interfaces for tuning.

Particularly nice for those of us who do not have an oscilloscope handy.

I'm anxious to see what I can do to talk to these drives from inside of Mach. For starters, I guess I'll just try to read something from the drive and display it.

Some of these drives monitor load, so the potential exists to have a macro (or a brain) monitor the drive and slow the feedrate if the load on the motors exceed a certain level, ore pick up the pace if the motor is kickin back on the beach sucking down a MeiTie.

Maybe a pipe dream, maybe not . . we shall see.

[simpson36]

Update: Reviews and/or opinions on the latest Rutex drives is almost nonexistent on the web, so I'm posting my initial experiences here. After I have the drive in service, I will write a more comprehensive review and comparison of the 3 drives I have tried so far, and post that on my web site. For now:  

So far, so good with the Rutex 2010. I was able to get the drive ordered with minimal hassle. You cannot do a complete order from the web site, but rather you enter an order and they respond via e-mail (promptly in my case). They provided a paypal invoice which was convenient for me and after payment the items were shipped promptly out of Missouri and arrived in a few days. Rutex does not send shipping notices or tracking numbers, but will provide the tracking number if you ask for it.

Pros thus far: The product is high quality. The anodized aluminum heat sink is thin, but otherwise the product looks sturdy and well made. The documentation is complete and accurate and following the wiring diagrams and instructions netted a working setup in minutes. The included Windows software makes tuning a piece of cake, including oscilloscope like graphs of the motor behavior. Very slick. The drive is extremely responsive to all of the settings and getting the servo motor running acceptably was a matter of a couple of clicks in the software GUI. I have not figured out the "I" part of PID yet, so there is more tinkering ahead.

Cons thus far: Before you can do anything else, you have to locate and purchase special connectors and fabricate a cable. The one oddball connector is about 49 cents and should be included so as not to become an initial aggravation and stumbling block to getting the drive going. My choices were to order from Mouser and pay $5 in shipping or drive 45 minutes round trip to Frys electronics.
An adapter plug for the power and motor connections is included. This adapter plugs into the socket on the drive and has screw terminals for connecting the wires.

The encoder wired up exactly as shown in the diagrams and worked first time. The drive will not accept a direct connection of a single ended encoder, but Rutex sells an interface for $17 that converts a single ended encoder into differential. The interface goes on the encoder and has convenient screw terminals. From there, a standard RJ45 network cable connects between the interface and the drive. Again, very slick setup. The software interface make it very easy to see in real time what the encoder is sending so you know immediately if you have a working setup.

More later . . .

[ptpz]

I have been using the older 2020's & so far no problems.