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View Full Version : open source drives g540 equivalent


lolailando
Wed 09 January 2013, 15:48
Hi all,
i have been doing a few searches and thought I share a few links:
this one is claimed to match the gecko540 specs:
http://opencapitalist.org/store/steppernug-ose-v1-1-developer-edition/

this one has 6 motors but only 2 amps per phase
http://www.indiegogo.com/rumba

this is not open source but $39 shipped from china 4.2 amps
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CNC-Stepper-Motor-Driver-2M542-4-2A-Controller-24-50V-DC-for-Router-Mill-/261150375096?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccdc67cb8

bradm
Wed 09 January 2013, 18:57
None of those are even close to a G540 equivalent. They're all missing something. The first has no BOB functionality, no spindle control, no heatsinking, and really couldn't drive a MM reliably without a lot of extra work.

The second doesn't have sufficient amperage. It's probably great for it's designed task, which is moving around a plastic printhead that weighs a few ounces. It won't move a large steel machine.

The third might work, or work for a while, but you'll need four of them, plus a BOB, and then you'll have something that isn't necessarily as conservatively engineered as the G540. The G540 is designed to provide more than it's specs under harsh conditions. And Gecko will stand behind their products to an extent that will amaze you.

So, I hate to sound like a shill, but this is an apple to prunes comparision here.

lolailando
Wed 09 January 2013, 22:28
thanks for the reply,
i wasnt really trying to say they are the same. I was just doing some research on what is out there opensource..., and I thought I share it for people whole like to have the tinkering opensource option open. I guess MM are not so looking to tinker on the electronic side of things.

with the support and price the geckos seem to have everywhere it seems like a no brainer for the few dollars I could save.

bradm
Thu 10 January 2013, 06:26
Tinkering is fine. There's a balancing act here between being open to new ideas, and making sure that we stay focused on solutions that work well. So we challenge new ideas based on our experience.

Based on my experience, it seems a no brainer that you will lose more time (and likely dollars) trying to save a few dollars by going with the solutions you have proposed. Two of them are non-starters at the moment, and the third one saves you $140 compared to the G540, and that's before you've bought the rest of the electronics to come up to equivalency. It's a false economy, and I'm trying to save you, and others from misery.

If you look around the forum, you will find people who have successfully used other drivers, and occasionally saved money. There are other solutions, but the solutions above aren't it.

darren salyer
Thu 10 January 2013, 07:02
Guys like Brad constantly prove to me how much I don't know about this stuff.
Thanks for posting your thoughts Brad.