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101

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cold Snap & The Geckos (not a new punk band)

« on: December 10, 2006, 04:06:26 PM »

Thanks, Chip,

I am looking into gathering all neccessary parts to Build My Own

psu (scary thought-hope I don't fry motors,geckos,and such

) I am

looking at Bob Campbell's site on how to build one.

Chip, do you know a site that simply has a detailed

grocery list of all components needed, or are there too many variables

and size considerations to throw all the parts in one bag?

I am definately not a schooled man, and what I do know about wiring

I have been gleening from sites like this one (this site is tops!).

I appreciate your help!!

Thanks,

Glenn

102

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cold Snap & The Geckos (not a new punk band)

« on: December 07, 2006, 01:14:34 AM »

Well, here's an update:

My supplier was great about sending another psu - no charge!
Bad news, after a few good and strong hours of use, rapids of 45ipm's,
cuts of 20 ipm's, I put it to bed, only to have it die the next day
upon first turning it on! No smoke, no nothing, it just wouldn't light up the geckos
and the psu's led light is half lit.
Could I have a bad resistor? You know, the one that jumps over 2 of the gecko's
terminals?

Mariss (Gecko email) initially looked at my motors and psu and suggested I
use a 33k resistor for this task-ok but how many watts? All I could find at
radio shack were the 1/2 watt, 5% tolerance size. So that's what I used.
Did I get the wrong size? How does the resistor affect the psu and / or
Geckos?

Thanks ,

Glenn

103

General Mach Discussion / Re: Setting feed rates

« on: November 20, 2006, 07:16:42 AM »

Hi technicrdd,

the maximum speed the motors can run are set up under config, motor tuning,at least that's the way I set mine up in mach3.
So if you set up your x motor to go 30 inches per minute, then even if your g code is f50, the motor will max out at 30ipm's.and mach will keep track of the correct distance it travels, even if the program wants to run faster.
If the unit/min set to 1 , the feed rate will be 1 inch per minute, (very slow.) When trying out new motors, start at 5 or 10 unit/min and keep increasing it until it starts faulting (missing steps) , then back that speed back 10%, to give you a reasonable speed that doesn't keep faulting every time you rapid across the mill.
Hope this helps,
Glenn
Ah, Chaoticone beat me to it, while I was typing but here's mine for what it's worth

104

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cold Snap & The Geckos (not a new punk band)

« on: November 07, 2006, 09:28:10 PM »

Great advice gentlemen!
I unhooked the psu from geckos to eliminate all possibilities, and hooked up the voltmeter, and the 24volt psu
only gives 3volts dc... I'd say you guys have solved another mystery without even breaking a sweat!
At this point, I will contact the seller of this psu, and see if it's still warrented.

Again, many thanks to all,

Glenn

105

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cold Snap & The Geckos (not a new punk band)

« on: November 06, 2006, 04:10:37 PM »

Hi Marcoose,
The amperage rating of the power supply is 4.5,
and the motors are 282oz/in, the axis weigh very
little, (sherline lathes are tiny-but should do until I
can move up to a heavier lathe)..the motors don't
seem to bog down under motion, but the red light
on the geckos always dims when the motor is
activated. Is that an indication that the motors are
starving for more power?

Thanks,
Glenn

106

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cold Snap & The Geckos (not a new punk band)

« on: November 03, 2006, 04:52:16 PM »

Robin,
Thanks for such a fast reply,
I double-checked for loose connections,all seem fine,
the ac voltage going into the psu is correct, but I don't
know how to get at the ac output from the transformer,
it is on a circuit board, and any contact points seem to be buried.
More info...it has one green led that doesn't seem as bright
as it was before. It is lit when unit is plugged in.
When I took the lid off, I saw a fuse, but it is in tact.
Would bringing up the speed of my motors burn up the
psu?, or is this impossible?

Thanks,
Glenn

107

General Mach Discussion / Cold Snap & The Geckos (not a new punk band)

« on: November 03, 2006, 02:03:04 PM »

Hi guys,
The temperature took a dive in the shop last night, and today, my geckos won't even light up.
Everything was working fine for the last 2 months, in fact, I've been slowly turning up the rapids
from a comfortable 25ipm's to 49ipm's just to see what they will consistantly do, so did I maybe break the geckos? or
possibly just the power supply?
The voltmeter on the output gives about 3 volts dc,should this be 24?( It is a 24vdc power supply).

Gecko G201's
24vdc power supply
282oz/in. motors

Thanks,

Glenn