Usb smooth stepper

[JAZZCNC]

Any feedback on this below,theres not that much chat about em on the web...,im not sure how long they've been around.

http://cncdrive.com/UC300.html

Don't know anything about these UC300 but do know plenty about other USB based motion control cards SS USBCNC etc and I would advise you to go with Ethernet based cards as they are much better regards handling noise which plagues USB cards. They also allow much longer cable runs and can be connected to networks etc. They appear to give a cleaner signal as well which translates into faster smoother motion.

My Favorite (and I have most common cards) by a very long margins is the CSLABS CSMIO-IP-M or IP-S and while the IP-S is expensive nothing comes remotely close in it's class.

[dazza]

cheers,i know the Ethernets favourite over usb, I cant do it this time round,this lathes got to help stock up on a bunch of components,then I will move it on in favour for an emco 220p.id go for the ss usb from the uk seller but its still twice the price of that uc300.

[JAZZCNC]

.id go for the ss usb from the uk seller but its still twice the price of that uc300.

Yes it's a very good price and this leads me to think that with the amount of time it's been around that maybe it's not that good.? . . . Why because if it was good then at that price I'd expect to see a lot more folks using it and I don't.!

That said I never discredit or promote anything unless I have personal experience of some kind and tried to kill it. So I'll just say give it a try and let us know.!

To be honest I may even give one try my self as I have couple of small Boxford lathes i need to convert so if I do I'll report back.!

Edit: Let me just say that with Motion control cards it's often the Plug-in for Mach3 and how it's supported that lets the card down. The SS being a prime example, Warp9 are RUBBISH at updating plug-in's or bug removal so if your system does have any issues with the plug-in or Mach3 is updated and breaks your plug-in it can take an age to get fixed.
The better more expensive cards have the software very dialed in and with relatively little to no bugs and if you are unlucky enough to have any issues then they sort them out quickly.
So believe me if you do have any issues you'll be glad you payed that bit more.!

[blim]

Yes my machine is driven like this and it's actually using the Csmio-ip-M at the moment.
I've had all the motion control cards on it at one point or another and none of them can match the Csmio-IP-M. It's much smoother and actually increased max feedrates with no change other than the controller and plugin.
I was very surprised to be honest just how much better it performed to the others and that's dispite it having a much lower frequency. I mostly put this down to the fact there's less bottle neck from not having an external BOB in between with the signals being much cleaner and more closely controlled.

I am really struggling to figure out which controller to buy, and whether it should have support for gantry squaring or not. My original plan was to run the machine with grbl controller, which does not support separate limit switches on a dual motor axis. So I used a timing belt over a center mounted motor, but the timing belt teared apart quite fast due to the high load (2 x 10 mm pitch ball screw, 30 kg gantry).

Can you help me with these two questions?

1. Which timing belt and pulley size do you use if you run with one big stepper?
2. I plan on buying AM882 drivers. Would you go with CSMIO-IP-M + belt or PLCM-E3 with slave stepper if you were to build a new machine now?

[JAZZCNC]

Can you help me with these two questions?

1. Which timing belt and pulley size do you use if you run with one big stepper?
2. I plan on buying AM882 drivers. Would you go with CSMIO-IP-M + belt or PLCM-E3 with slave stepper if you were to build a new machine now?

Yes no problem. If your tearing belts apart then something was very wrong. 2 ballscrews and 30Kg is nothing for belt drive. I use this method all the time with 2 x 20mm 10mm pitch ballscrews and never have any trouble with belts tearing.

Q1: 15mm HTD belts are what I use. Pulley size depends on machine but often I use 18 or 20T. Try to keep the pulley size small possible to lower inertia but keep in mind shaft size so don't go too small.!

Q2: Simple to answer because I've just built two identical machines using the same setup.
IP-M and with belt drive using 4.5Nm Nema 34 motors turning 20mm dia 10mm pitch screws with 1.25:1 ratio (16T on motor 20T on screws)

[blim]

Yes no problem. If your tearing belts apart then something was very wrong. 2 ballscrews and 30Kg is nothing for belt drive. I use this method all the time with 2 x 20mm 10mm pitch ballscrews and never have any trouble with belts tearing.

Thank you for your help.
I used some old XL 10mm pulleys and belt I had from another project, the belt reinforcement teared from the inside. Will buy some HTD5 and give that a try. Do you use pulleys with set screws? If so, do they keep tight over time, the ball screw ends are Ø12, or do you use keyway connection or flatten the shaft where the set screws sit?

Regarding gantry squaring with dual motor drive - I understand that is a feature controlled from within mach3. Wouldn't it be possible to use mach3 to perform gantry squaring on CSMIO-IP-M also?

[Ger21]

No, gantry squaring is handled by the motion controller, and the IP-M doesn't support it.

It tells you that on this page, right below the comparison chart.
http://www.cs-lab.eu/en/produkt-18,2...onnectors.html

[blim]

Ok, thanks. Will go with belt synced dual screws on a single stepper. I use 2 screws Ø20 with 10mm pitch, length 1900. Will use the machine for plywood cutting. Plan is to use AM882 drivers on 70V. Any recommendation on stepper motor that will handle this setup allowing high feeds? Also read somewhere about stepper drivers running from mains power supply, should I consider that? - any examples on these kind of drivers?