My new router will have two X axis motors - Nema23/SY60 from Zapp - driving ballscrews via HTD belts and pulleys. I'm thinking now about two aspects of this setup. I shall be using a CSMIO-IP/M, and I know about its limited support for this kind of dual-axis setup.

1. I shall be using EM806 drivers. These have an autotune facility for setting various internal parameters. I'm not sure how this would work in a dual-axis setup. You will only be able to tune one drive/motor combination at a time. I presume that this has to be done in the final hardware configuration (i.e. with ballscrew connected) but if the driver tries to move the gantry, the other ballscrew will be fighting it. However, if the other ballscrew is disconnected, the gantry will be driven by just one ballscrew and while I know that the gantry will move happily in this situation, it's not quite the load that the driver and motor will see in normal operation. Does this matter? I'm quite keen to get this right, as I have taken on board all the warnings about using the stall detection features to feed back and stop the machine if there are problems and I am assuming that the autotune will also help set the right parameters for the stall detection feature. Which brings me to the second question:

2. I can wire the fault outputs into the e-stop circuit so that the Pilz safety relay will trip. This will be wired to send a stop signal to the CSMIO as well as dropping the ENA signal to the drivers and switching off mains power to the driver/motor power supply. However, in the case of a fault, there will be some slight delay (10-20msec?) while the relay operates. I could wire the fault signals directly to the CSMIO (I believe) for much quicker response, but in this case I am relying on CSMIO firmware for correct operation, and there seems to be a feeling on this forum that you don't rely on firmware/software for safety-critical operations.

Am I worrying about nothing? My first router is a machine with so much flexibility and built-in weak points that none of this matters, but this new machine with welded steel structure and so on looks like it could do serious damage to itself and anyone in the vicinity if something goes wrong.

Comments welcome!