Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: 4lowie on February 28, 2016, 08:05:58 AM
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Hi guys
I've just had 3 Chinese motor controllers delivered , first one ran hot even with no load but then failed. The second ran cool but not as it should, i tried changing the micro step options then it failed as well. The third is running sweet, nice and cool and doing everything as it should.
Are these things a hit and miss item, is it a matter of buy cheap and take your chances?
Thanks, appreciate your thoughts.
Dave
Driver,
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CNC-Single-Axis-TB6600-0-2-5A-Two-Phase-Hybrid-Stepper-Motor-Driver-Controlle-CA-/111780488193?hash=item1a06a2e401:g:o9AAAOSwEetWA--a
Breakout board,
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Axis-CNC-Mach3-USB-Motion-Controller-Card-Interface-Breakout-Board-/121704699350?hash=item1c562a55d6:g:cZ0AAOSwjVVVpgFn
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Hi Dave,
Ashamed to admit it but I buy a lot of electronic stuff from China and I always allow for a 20% reject rate (it's cheap but still comes out on the plus side).
Tweakie.
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Are these things a hit and miss item, is it a matter of buy cheap and take your chances?
Yes, buying cheap often costs you more, as you have to pay for the cheap stuff, as well as the better stuff that you should have bought in the first place.
There's a reason the better stuff costs 5x more.
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Further thoughts…
Those TB6600 drivers have a bad reputation, probably because there are a number of sub-standard clones being sold, but I have used 8 of them recently without issue. You have to open then up to check for solder blobs etc. and adequate heat sink goo and it is also good practice to fit an insulator between the back of the pcb and the heat sink but other than that I have found them to perform well.
Tweakie.
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Can't remember where I saw this now but I read that the actual Toshiba driver chips themselves are apparently very good. It's the circuit design and implementation of (some?) of the boards themselves which is at fault. Like I say - can't remember the details but it was something about ignoring/mis-implementing the manufacturers power up sequence resulting in shorting the H-bridge. OUCH - that's going to make something very hot very quickly I think. This may have been on older boards using the 6560 though - I'm not sure about the newer ones using the 6600.
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Thanks guys, can anyone please recommend a better driver? Not looking for full professional just something usable.
Thanks Dave
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The Gecko G540 comes to mind http://www.geckodrive.com/geckodrive-step-motor-drives/g540.html
Tweakie.
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I have a number of leadshine drives purchased through Primopal and I am very happy with them.
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Putting all Chinese drives in one basket is a bit simplistic.
The sample above is little more that a chip (genuine or otherwise) in a case. I have one in a non demanding application. Doing fine.
Other drives are much more complex. Designed from the ground up.
Ridiculously small sample I know, but I personally have never had a Chinese drive fail.
I have four or five non operative drives in a box, which are from a very well known USA manufacturer.
I only use Chinese drives now.
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I only use Chinese drives now.
Can you state model, brands?
Thanks
olf20 / Bob