Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: hutchison on March 10, 2008, 07:07:36 PM
-
i'm having trouble deciding what type of control to use for my spindle. The spindle takes an analogue +/- 0-10VDC input. Mach can output either a pulse width modulated signal (pwm) or step and direction control. I cannot fathom which is better to use? or are they comparatively equals? my spindle will run up to 3000 rpm, and has feedback from a tachy generator, I have a 1.4ghz pc running it. There are a number of convertor cards/boards out there, some convert PWM to analogue volts, some convert step and direction to analogue volts, any advice / opinions greatly appreciated ;D
-
Get a digispeed (Australian) - look it up on the web - very good service by post - worked first time - you only need the cheaper one - the DC01.
This connects to the PWM output of the computer - and converts the signal directly to a voltage. The voltage depends on what voltage you want - so if you put 10 volts in, the output will be between 0 and 10 volts - depending on the pwm.
The two parts of the board are electrically isolated, so there is no danger of anything going wrong.
Only uses one output pin.
-
Different arrangement here, 4hp 3-phase motor driving the spindle through an expanding-sheave continuously variable drive system. A stepper driving the sheaves would be a tasty upgrade later in life, has anyone tried this before?