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Author Topic: 2 steppers driving the Y axis  (Read 8342 times)

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Offline TomR

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2 steppers driving the Y axis
« on: April 21, 2012, 12:37:31 PM »
I am experiencing a racking problem on the Y axis gantry and looking for some ideas on how to correct this problem.  I am new to the blog (my first post) and assume this is a common problem which has been previously addressed.  Thus, sorry if I am kicking a dead horse.

Specifically, what I would like to do is have 2 stepper motors, each driving lead screws on either sides of the gantry.  Also I would like to have 2 homing switches such that when running a homing routine the gantry is squared to the X axis in the process.  I know Mach3 has a “slave” feature for such stepper configurations but not sure how this works or how to wire the motors and limit switches.
 
As background, the router has a table size of 24” square.  The hardware consists of Probotix boards (PBX-RF breakout, 3  Probostep VX drivers) and unipolar steppers.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Offline ger21

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Re: 2 steppers driving the Y axis
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2012, 03:59:41 PM »
You'll need an additional drive for the second Y axis motor. Set up the additional motor as the A axis, and go to config > slaving and check the box to slave the A to the Y ( I think that's what you're saying). That's it. Both the Y and A axis should have their own home switch set up, and in General Config, make sure "Home Slave with Master" is NOT checked.
That's about it. Just make sure the A and Y axis have identical motor tuning and home speed settings.
Gerry

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Offline TomR

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Re: 2 steppers driving the Y axis
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2012, 06:18:07 PM »
Thanks for the quick reply.  I think I understand what you are saying but I'm sure I'll be back with additional questions once I purchase the hardware.