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View Full Version : 1 axis tb6560 any good?



lazzymonk
31-01-2012, 12:45 PM
Hi all

Has anyone tried one of the single axis tb6560 boards? www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290664490692 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290664490692)

I know there has been many problems with the 3 axis ones based on the same chip but have not seen anything about theses.

boldford
08-07-2012, 10:21 AM
I've looked at then and was hoping someone here had tried them. The 3 axis ones seem to be a nightmare. For low current application I'm toying with trying http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/pololu/a4988-stepper-motor-driver or http://proto-pic.co.uk/big-easy-stepper-motor-driver/ with a possible addition of opto-isolation.

Any thoughts folks?

bobc
08-07-2012, 12:08 PM
The Allegro driver boards are widely used with Reprap 3D printers, they seem to have a good rep. I think a few people burn them due to miswiring or inadequate heat sinking.

AFAICT the problems with TB6560 are related to requiring a relatively slow pulse rate, and with modern controllers that can create fast pulses, you get missed steps. The Allegro drivers work down to 1us pulses, which should be fast enough for anything you can throw at them!

It would be good to find a 3/4 axis board with Allegro drivers, might be cheaper than buying separate modules.

boldford
08-07-2012, 09:09 PM
I'm inclined to prefer separate driver boards for each axis. If one does suffer a premature demise its far cheaper to change out the single module; moreover it may be easier to trouble-shoot by swapping modules around. Has anyone tried these http://www.quasarelectronics.com/3158-computer-controlled-bipolar-stepper-motor-driver.htm 5 amps max makes them seem quite attractive; and a UK distributor.

Jonathan
08-07-2012, 09:32 PM
Has anyone tried these http://www.quasarelectronics.com/3158-computer-controlled-bipolar-stepper-motor-driver.htm 5 amps max makes them seem quite attractive; and a UK distributor.

If they did micro-stepping that wouldn't be too bad...if you're keen you could attach a PIC to it and program that to do microstepping (pretty easy to code), but by the time you've done that you might as well make the whole driver, especially since they've released the schematic. Athough that leaves a bit to be desired - back-emf diodes for instance!

For a few £ more though:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CNC-Micro-Stepping-Stepper-Motor-Driver-2M542-Bi-polar-2phase-4-2A-Switch-/170846930771?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item27c7454753#ht_7002wt_1270

You're unlikely to need more than 4.2A since most Nema 23/24 motors fall in that range when wired in bipolar parallel.

boldford
11-07-2012, 09:21 PM
Hi all

Has anyone tried one of the single axis tb6560 boards? www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290664490692 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290664490692)

I know there has been many problems with the 3 axis ones based on the same chip but have not seen anything about theses.

Taking a step into the unknown and a gamble of £15.29 I've just ordered one of these.
When it arrives and I've had chance to play with it I'll report back here with my findings (for what they are worth).

boldford
06-08-2012, 08:44 AM
Taking a step into the unknown and a gamble of £15.29 I've just ordered one of these.
When it arrives and I've had chance to play with it I'll report back here with my findings (for what they are worth).

It arrived today. So now to unpack it and check it out.

John S
06-08-2012, 09:20 AM
I have 3 of these but not tried them yet.
They were bought for a very simple application so I'm hoping they will be OK.

Only problem I can see at the moment is they need 5V and return step and direction to the controller.
My application sends step and direction out at 5v and returns to ground.

Being a big hammer man as opposed to MiG welding IC's onto circuit boards i believe you can reverse this with pull up / down resistors ?

irving2008
06-08-2012, 09:41 AM
I have 3 of these but not tried them yet.
They were bought for a very simple application so I'm hoping they will be OK.

Only problem I can see at the moment is they need 5V and return step and direction to the controller.
My application sends step and direction out at 5v and returns to ground.

Being a big hammer man as opposed to MiG welding IC's onto circuit boards i believe you can reverse this with pull up / down resistors ?

Sadly John, no you can't, you need something active to provide a pull down rather than a pull up. However all is not lost, is it possible for your application to invert the sense of the signal, i.e. be normally high and go low for the pulse? If not, you need a simple Inverter circuit. If you need something like that drop me a PM.

John S
06-08-2012, 09:51 AM
Irving,
No idea about inverting the signal, the controller is an Arduino and a 3rd party has written the application.
It's not actually written in stone that I use this driver, may go onto the 542's when sorted.

boldford
06-08-2012, 03:03 PM
I have 3 of these but not tried them yet.
They were bought for a very simple application so I'm hoping they will be OK.

Only problem I can see at the moment is they need 5V and return step and direction to the controller.
My application sends step and direction out at 5v and returns to ground.

Being a big hammer man as opposed to MiG welding IC's onto circuit boards i believe you can reverse this with pull up / down resistors ?
Yeah. I hope this one's going to be OK too.
This one seems to repeat the error of deriving the 5v supply from the motor supply. It appears the TB6560AHQ is easily smoked if the motor voltage is applied before the 5v has settled or removed before the 5v is removed.

I suspect the design may be using the optos connected active low to alleviate their slew rate problems rather than using a Schmitt Trigger. At this stage it seems the I/P and driver are completely opto-isolated.

More to follow after I get some juice on it.

cropwell
06-08-2012, 10:34 PM
Hi John,
If you have the source code for the arduino, I could mod it for you. If not I would need to know what the Little Bugger does and I would have some idea how long I would need to code and test from scratch. I have three Arduinos of varying strengths sitting a box and the arduino community has a lot of code and functions available. Give me a call in a week if you wish to discuss. At the mo I have a bloody awful cough and cold and feel as rough as a badger's arse.

Cheers Rob

PM me if you need my phone number.

John S
07-08-2012, 08:56 AM
Rob,
The guy was able to invert the signal and get the driver working. Works OK but a lot of noise from the driver, very much like the cheap 3 axis board I have in my small engraver.
Been running the application using this single axis TB driver, one of Roy's System3 drivers and a 542 driver.
No contest, the 542 is head and shoulders above the other two

boldford
07-08-2012, 08:57 AM
. . . . .It appears the TB6560AHQ is easily smoked if the motor voltage is applied before the 5v has settled or removed before the 5v is removed. . . . . . . ..
Important Typo Alert
What I should have typed is as follows "It appears the TB6560AHQ is easily smoked if the motor voltage is applied before the 5v has settled or remains after the 5v is removed

irving2008
07-08-2012, 09:18 AM
Rob,
The guy was able to invert the signal and get the driver working. Works OK but a lot of noise from the driver, very much like the cheap 3 axis board I have in my small engraver.
Been running the application using this single axis TB driver, one of Roy's System3 drivers and a 542 driver.
No contest, the 542 is head and shoulders above the other two


Thats because the m542 has proper sinusoidal current control and not a chopper controller, the result being less harmonics and less noise (mechanical and electrical). I don't know what you pay for them John (probably less than most of us) but at £28-ish each in set of 4 off eBay its only a tenner or less more than the TB solution and well worth that difference...

boldford
08-08-2012, 07:58 AM
I have 3 of these but not tried them yet.
They were bought for a very simple application so I'm hoping they will be OK. . . . .Having begun my investigation I must give my first words of warning. This tip may apply to any of these monolithic drivers from any vendor; domestic or overseas.
To check out the reverse side of the board it was necessary to remove it from the (reasonably proportioned) heatsink. Unfortunately I found just the barest smear of heat conductive compound where the TB6560 is fixed to the heatsink. I would recommend anyone buying ready made drive units to check this and, if necessary, apply enough to get maximum thermal bonding. The thermal compound costs pennies yet might save you pounds and all the hassle of down-time.