Again Pokeys57CNC problems, anyone using it?

**yaakovKatz** · 11-05-2018

hi
im also start use pokey with mach 4 ,im also from israel
call me we can advise
yaakov
tel 972 50 4242775
[email protected]

**kjetor** · 11-05-2018

I have been using it for more than a year, what do you need to know ? perhaps i can help

**yaakovKatz** · 12-05-2018

i now plan use it first time with mach 4 with new cnc from china
i already bought all parts and take them with me to china
next month ill be there to test on machine
first question is about stability, i use spindle ,3 axis ,magazine with servo motors ,drill head with 12 tool s on it
i plan use the pokeys57 with 5 relay cards and use all optional inputs
most i fried is from noise and stack machine
second is very strange to me is that there no input for encoders to controller ,that mean even i use servo motors ,the encoder input only to the servo motor driver ,and not any conection to mach4 to see real position
thks
yaakov

**Ger21** · 12-05-2018

Originally Posted by yaakovKatz

second is very strange to me is that there no input for encoders to controller ,that mean even i use servo motors ,the encoder input only to the servo motor driver ,and not any conection to mach4 to see real position

The only low cost controls that can run in true closed loop are LinuxCNC, and Dynomotions KMotionCNC.

**yaakovKatz** · 12-05-2018

do you have experience with Dynomotions KMotionCNC?
do you think its batter then mach4?
is it so flexible and can manage like mach4?
thanks alot
yaakov

**kjetor** · 13-05-2018

think i have read somewhere that pokeys57cnc can use encoders on servo's.. but not sure

**m_c** · 13-05-2018

As Ger says LinuxCNC and KFlop are the only two reasonably priced options that can handle encoders.
However, unless you're running analogue servos, then there's not really any benefit to feeding back encoders.

The only real benefit of having encoder feedback on a step/dir (or CW/CCW) system, is for tuning, as it allows you to know exactly how the servo is responding to moves. But once the system is tuned, there is no practical difference between the controller stopping things because of following error, or the servo drive disabling things because of a following error.

KMotionCNC itself is pretty basic, but it'll do everything you need to control a CNC machine, and the new screen editor does let you alter quite a lot of things. The source code is also provided for KMotionCNC, so you can even modify it if needed (if you want to use non-simple kinematics, then you need to be able compile the required configuration files)
The real benefit of KFlop is that it is highly configurable, and can be programmed to handle pretty much any configuration of machine with up to 8 axis. And the KMotion configuration software has lots of functionality for tuning servos, along with being able to see encoder/axis positions, In/Out statuses, and a C program editor/compiler for creating the required files to configure the KFlop.