Machsupport Forum

Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: lukevel on June 30, 2020, 03:12:00 PM

Title: Can you run cnc plasma cutter using Mach3 with a 24v dc Z axis motor?
Post by: lukevel on June 30, 2020, 03:12:00 PM
Hello  :) ,

I am a beginner using Mach3 and currently building a DIY CNC plasma controller and I was thinking of using stepper motors for the x and y axis and I have bought a 24v dc z axis motor to move up and down with manual switches.

Can I use this 24V motor directly onto my mach3 compatible board (using relays)? Or do I need to control it using a stepper motor? If I can what settings do I need to modify on Mach3 to set the correct port of the z axis to be the one of the 24V?

Thank you
Title: Re: Can you run cnc plasma cutter using Mach3 with a 24v dc Z axis motor?
Post by: joeaverage on June 30, 2020, 03:53:37 PM
Hi,
Mach3 is a step/direction controller, and that is what makes it ideal fo stepper motors  or servos with
ste/direction input drives.

A 24VDC motor requires an varying voltage, both amplitude and polarity, to control it. Mach3 doe not do that,
you need a drive that can and such drives require a motor position feedback device, an encoder or resolver, to
control the motor position. In short the simple and cheap 24VDC motor beomes a lot more complex and expensive
when it is required to be position controllable. A stepper is a cheaper and easier solution.

Craig
Title: Re: Can you run cnc plasma cutter using Mach3 with a 24v dc Z axis motor?
Post by: lukevel on June 30, 2020, 04:07:15 PM
Hi,
Mach3 is a step/direction controller, and that is what makes it ideal fo stepper motors  or servos with
ste/direction input drives.

A 24VDC motor requires an varying voltage, both amplitude and polarity, to control it. Mach3 doe not do that,
you need a drive that can and such drives require a motor position feedback device, an encoder or resolver, to
control the motor position. In short the simple and cheap 24VDC motor beomes a lot more complex and expensive
when it is required to be position controllable. A stepper is a cheaper and easier solution.

Craig


Thank you for your reply. That is what I will do then I will just replace the 24v motor with a stepper motor and keep the same up/down configuration which I bought