Anbody know what steppers are fitted to a Denford Starmill? I am having dfficulty accessing all but X axis and that has no plate on it. Cheers Phil.
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Anbody know what steppers are fitted to a Denford Starmill? I am having dfficulty accessing all but X axis and that has no plate on it. Cheers Phil.
Just done a bit of googling, does this help:
http://www.denfordata.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=2531
Maybe post on that forum?
Yes this may be of some help. I am trying to identify motors so I can get new control 'board/box. I have already posted on Denford site and am getting help there but all is much appreciated. Thanks and happy New Year ( unless you have other Plans) Phil. (Philcraft Steam)Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonathan
do you have the old or new starmill, control panel on the front and electronics underneath, or electronics in a seperate box.
on the newer starmill it's a cetronics dynamics HY-200-2220-210-A8 on the x and y axis, and a cetronics dynamics HY 200-3424-310-A8 on the z axis. They may be the same on the older one.
What's up with the original board?Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Gravett
Attachment 3541Attachment 3540Control panel on front with jog wheel mini data screen stop button ect. Big box at back with main controls as pic one. pic 2 is side of machine with tool changer. Phil.Quote:
Originally Posted by i2i
I was running it quite happily on a BBC. Slow and rather frustrating at times, especially when trying to go between machine control and editing. Then one day I switched it on and it would not establish link to computor. I spent some time checking leads connections etc. I tried several desktops using win98 to XP. and software from Denford forum site all to no avail. I have just assumed that the main board was gone but no way to check. To cap it it all, I converted an emco 5 cnc to Welturn and it worked brilliantly with very little problem and just £300. I wish there was an equivalent board for Starmill. I was hoping to use existing motors' drives and PSU with perhaps Gecko 540. I have been advised that to get Toolchanger and Spindle control working with Mach 3 is hard, and I really wanted machine at least as useful as it was before. I have been putting this off for some time but using my old Victoria for some of the small componants used on my engines is def' a Walnut job! Thank you for your time. Regards Phil.Quote:
Originally Posted by i2i
converting to mach3 isn't that hard and you can still use the original drives and psu's. The toolchanger is going to be the awkward bit, but it can be done. Have you tried another bbc.
No I haven't tried another BBC although I do have one.Quote:
Originally Posted by i2i
To be honest, I think the time has come to bite the bullet and make it a better machine. As I said, the Beeb was frustrating and the software left a lot to be desired. Just two examples were that it always went back to original datum point each run, regardless of where it stopped. And you couldn't edit programs without coming out of machine control and re datuming each time. Regards Phil.
I know what you mean about the dripfed bbc. Mach3 will bring that machine back to life, and i can help you if you go down that route.
Attachment 3543Attachment 3542You are very kind. I will certainly be picking your brains ! Shame you live so far away. I have now got correct info regarding year of manufacture. Feb 1988 serial 280361 24v control .3hp .22kw Dc ph main spindle motor.
The control systems I have been considing are Gecko 540 or something from Alex Mackinnon of Conquerer design as per a recommendation regarding after market support. But I am very open to suggestions. I won't say that money is no object but I want to get this right.
Best Regards. Phil.
I have used a system from Alex Mackinnon, it would be the biggest mistake you ever made to use his stuff.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Gravett
Phil
all you need is a spindle board and a breakout board, and a buffer for each step and direction signal.
Ok. The spindle is for the spindle on/off and speed yes? breakout for going between computer input and stepper drives? what is buffer for? Phil.
Yes the spindle board controls the on/off of the motor and the varaible speed. Most dc spindle drives use a 0-10v signal to control the speed and a board like the v3 by diycnc fits the bill. The buffer is used to convert the 5v control logic of the computer to the 12v control logic of the parker stepper drives.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Gravett
Ok. Been on Diycnc. looked at V3 also looked at OPPBV2 Paralell board. This lookes useful as it has Usb. I assume this takes place of buffer. I should be able to link this to existing driver boards and V3 using existiing psu, plug in a usb computer and suitable software. ? I have Bobcad which I bought in a rash moment and never used. Am I on the right track ? Phil.
The parker cd20/30 drives you have in the starmill have 12v logic circuits, and all modern circuits use 5v logic. So you need a simple circuit to convert the 5v to 12v, this is shown on the denford website somewhere, and is basically an npn transistor and a resistor.
This is the buffer.
here you go, courtesy of DavidIMurray(legend)
Attachment 3545
Thanks for that attachment. I assume I would need 3 of these. One for each drive. I did actually do a search for buffer, 12v/5v converter and kept coming back to Diycnc OPPV2 which seems to provide control of spindle and 12v for drives.
http://www.diycnc.co.uk/html/oppb.html Am I barking up wrong tree or just barking. Phil.
Yes, you would need three of these circuits one for each drive, and no the breakout board does not give you this feature.
It's a simple circuit that you can pop on a small piece of veroboard and connect it between the breakout board and Parker stepper drives.
Componants for 4 boards orderered (1 spare) I'll get soldering when they arrive. Not quite sure how to connect up or what my next stage is though.
here's a link for the drives you have.
http://www.denfordata.com/bb/viewtop...1&hilit=parker
the only sticking point may be the spindle drive, as you'll need to find out what varies the speed and what enables the spindle. Normally there is a relay (SGR, spindle go relay) that enables the spindle, and an isolated 0-10v board that varies the speed.
I will have a look tommorow to see if I can identify which of these drives I have. Thanks for that. Phil
Attachment 3606Attachment 3605I have hard a good look at the circuits in Attachment 3604the back of the Starmill. I can't be certain but out of the two types of drive on that Denford link you posted, the sd range looks closest.
Attachment 3603 I have attached a few pics. On one of the motor boards- PKS Digiplan '87.
The Spindle board is- Jay Electrical DC speed control JE124/1 seriAttachment 3602al 98712407
The tool change psu 122ve.
I have received parts from Maplin to make buffer but haven't got a clue where to connect up. Phil.Attachment 3601
have a look at the end of the stepper drive boards and it will state what type they are, probably a cd20 or sd 20. Page 23 of the digiplan drive manual shows the pinout for the end connector, and pins 26 and 28 of row c are the dir and clock positions. You'll need to find the wiring that feeds these signals into the drives and isolate them from the main board, then it's simply a matter of putting the buffer board between the breakout boards output and these points
with the spindle board, do the red orange and brown wires go to a pot for varying the speed.