Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: Looking for help with a spindle motor.

« on: April 10, 2022, 03:00:41 PM »

Well, I'm a happy camper.
 
I finally got time to give it some serious attention and it's now running just the way it should. Smooth and silent from 30 to 3000. I didn't try going over the design rpm but I'm sure it would.
Right out of the box the acceleration and deceleration seem quite acceptable.  Once it actually is moving the spindle rather than just sitting on the floor it will be easier to tune it in.

The gory details:  My first problem turned out to be the way I had been checking for a signal. My VOM has a frequency function and I had been using that.  I finally realized the computer doesn't push a signal out, it offers it up.  If the motor isn't accepting the signal, no sinking occurs and there is nothing for the VOM to read.  Once I realized that, I went back and took a much closer look at my setup.  I had plugged the motor into the wrong power supply so it was not getting adequate voltage.  So much for doing things according to memory.  Once it had the proper supply, things got turning and from then on, it was just a matter of sorting out the settings to get it spot on.

Now I finally feel comfortable with ordering the rest of the stuff needed to complete the installation.

2

General Mach Discussion / Re: Looking for help with a spindle motor.

« on: April 09, 2022, 07:08:35 PM »

Can you program such features into your servo?

Yes, but I'm hoping that it works in Mach3 since it's more convenient.

Fortunately, it's one of the parameters that's actually documented.

There are literally dozens of parameters that come with no explanation.
I guess you're supposed to just know this stuff.

3

General Mach Discussion / Re: Looking for help with a spindle motor.

« on: April 09, 2022, 10:34:40 AM »

You guys are trying to drop a V8 into a go kart.  Good as conversation starter but you're really not gaining anything.  Power plants need to be sized to fit the rest of the machine.

That massive pile of chips you see in the picture is from that equally massive .043 drill.  Face, chamfer, drill to a depth of .260. That's 6D to save you the trouble of getting out your calculator.  No coolant, no pecking, 80 parts.
I could do that all day long with a 30 watt motor.

That sewing machine motor starts so violently it has snapped a 3/8" belt, not to mention what that does to the bearings.  That's why it has that 1/8" belt, it has more stretch.

The servo motor was simply selected because it's sized correctly and is controllable without having to stand around and babysit the machine.

4

General Mach Discussion / Re: Looking for help with a spindle motor.

« on: April 08, 2022, 04:57:56 PM »

Good idea.  I probably won't have time to try it today.  I'll check back and let you know what happens.

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: Looking for help with a spindle motor.

« on: April 08, 2022, 04:34:58 PM »

It's a home built.  Built around a pair of Parker 404XR linear actuators.

Made for light, precision work.  Jewelers lathe type stuff.
The specs will make you kinda giggly.
8 um (.0003") accuracy over its entire travel.
1.3 um (.000051") repeatability.

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: Looking for help with a spindle motor.

« on: April 08, 2022, 01:02:30 PM »

Why use a stepping servo motor to drive a spindle?

It's small (nema23). 
It's very affordable.  Well, it was until it became apparent the ESS would be an essential ingredient.
It has great torque for its size and the torque curve is flat over its entire rpm range.
The rpm will be spot on and stay there if the power demand increases.
It's controllable for soft start and end.
All of this assumes, of course, that I actually get it to work the way its supposed to work.

Right now I'm using a sewing machine motor.  It has good rpm and torque but the rpm is manual and is really vague.  I have to use ipm rather than ipr.  The rpm has to be changed manually between tools so it needs to be constantly tended.

7

General Mach Discussion / Re: Looking for help with a spindle motor.

« on: April 08, 2022, 12:54:28 AM »

I don't have a signal generator but I do know the motor turns. 
It was working with the printer port up to 600 rpm.  After that the computer just couldn't handle it.  Fell flat on it's face.

You told me that.  Go back and refresh your memory at the initial post and your reply.
Somehow I'm missing one of the basic fundamentals with the ESS.

In my defense, I've been working on this two and three minutes at a time in between the work I'm supposed to be doing. 

8

General Mach Discussion / Re: Looking for help with a spindle motor.

« on: April 07, 2022, 09:53:43 PM »

Well, you're absolutely correct.  I'm not sure how I missed it but the spindle will indeed match the axis frequencies. That should not be an issue.

Now all I need to do is figure out why the motor isn't moving.

9

General Mach Discussion / Re: Looking for help with a spindle motor.

« on: April 07, 2022, 08:37:46 PM »

Hi,
note also that you have selected PWM as your spindle control mode? Is that what ypou want? I thought you wanted to run Step/Dir, in which case uncheck
the PWM box and check the Step/Dir box.

Craig

I should have clarified that picture.  That's not my setup, that's the example given on the Warp9 site.

10

General Mach Discussion / Re: Looking for help with a spindle motor.

« on: April 07, 2022, 08:36:31 PM »

Hi,
click the drop down menu, you can use vastly more than 32kHz.

My new servo driven mill runs 416kHz to each of the three axis servos and 466kHz to the C axis....so yes you can use way more than 32kHz.

Craig

Nope.  Like I said, all of the axis motors will go up to 4mhz.
The spindle only goes to 32mhz.