Anyone using CNCdrive products?

[gatesy]

Ok thanks.

I did think that given the price I'd just go for it and try it. Most people I know use MACH3, and seem to like it but all say it is a bit slow to respond when jogging manually.

Just need to find an expert on AC servo motors now, as to keep and use the Fanuc ones, or buy some from cncdrive

[JAZZCNC]

Just need to find an expert on AC servo motors now, as to keep and use the Fanuc ones, or buy some from cncdrive

What model number are the servos.? Doubt they will be any different to any other servo. Will just be 3 phases on one cable. Encoder on other.
You'll just need to know what type of encoder ie Incremental or Absolute. If absolute then you may need to change for incremental.
If incremental but single ended signals ie: common Gnd then you will need to either buy or make a line driver to turn into differential signals.
Older Single ended encoders tend to be low count so may want to change for differential encoders with higher count and save the hassle of line driver and increase resolution.

If Inc and Diff encoders then it's just case of knowing the pin outs and line count and your sorted.!

[gatesy]

they are A06B-0521-B042 3ph 8 pole, 2000rpm, 1Nm stall torque, 3 amp stall torque, 47v. 2500 pulse incremental encoder.

As you say can't imagine any different to any other servo, but I can't find a datasheet giving details like inertia and how much power is generated when braking

Having looked at the offering on various trade sites such as alibaba they have new 200v ac servos and drives for not a lot of money direct from china, which do not need a separate power supply, and should I wish to upgrade in the future they accept a 10v supply rather than step/direction. Buying one of these should be a plug and play setup, whereas trying to get the Fanuc servos up and running without the relevant info could be a lot of hassle.

Alternatively I could get some AC servos and drives from CNCdrive for not a lot of money, which are also 48V.

I have tried contacting CNCdrive twice about their servos and drives, as to if they offer a 2500 line encoder instead of 1000 line, and if their drive will support this, or if they know if it will run a fanuc servo but have had no response. Doing the calcs though with a 1000line encoder which is their standard fitment it still gives me a resolution of 0.0025 which is more than enough.

Is there any advantage going to a 200v servo over 48v, apart from not needing a separate power supply? The 10v input is not important at the moment, as I have another machine that I could fit the step/dir input drivers too, and upgrade this machine at some point in the future

[JAZZCNC]

Having looked at the offering on various trade sites such as alibaba they have new 200v ac servos and drives for not a lot of money direct from china, which do not need a separate power supply, and should I wish to upgrade in the future they accept a 10v supply rather than step/direction. Buying one of these should be a plug and play setup, whereas trying to get the Fanuc servos up and running without the relevant info could be a lot of hassle.

Yes given the fact of not knowing the spec's etc then it would make sense given the prices. Not sure if you saw my Mill post where I recently bought some of these Cheap chinese Servos if not it's here take a look. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW8knRAOr7s
So far just on the bench I'm very happy with them considering the price but time will tell when on machine.

Alternatively I could get some AC servos and drives from CNCdrive for not a lot of money, which are also 48V.

I have tried contacting CNCdrive twice about their servos and drives, as to if they offer a 2500 line encoder instead of 1000 line, and if their drive will support this, or if they know if it will run a fanuc servo but have had no response. Doing the calcs though with a 1000line encoder which is their standard fitment it still gives me a resolution of 0.0025 which is more than enough.

Reading the Drives data they are more than capable of handling 2500ppr encoders so can't see why not. But to be honest I'm not a fan of those plastic encoders they use(if used on there AC motors.?) and by the time you have bought decent encoders then the motors and drives you'll be at more money than the Chinese setup's delivered. For instance £250 will get you 200v/400W servo drive and motor with Encoder cables deliverd to Uk.!!

Is there any advantage going to a 200v servo over 48v, apart from not needing a separate power supply?

Honest answer is I don't know to what or if an advantage.!! . . . I would imagine they make for a stronger motor because the higher voltage will allow more push so to speak and the obvious advantage of not needing separate voltage source. But honestly I don't care provided they work and are easy to fit which they clearly do and are.!

The 10v input is not important at the moment, as I have another machine that I could fit the step/dir input drivers too, and upgrade this machine at some point in the future

Not sure what your meaning here because if you have Step/Dir drives fitted already then surely your Controller must be Step/Dir output.?

Most Modern Servo's allow Both Step/Dir and Analog inputs but the controller must support them and provide +/-10v output that servos input use.!

[gatesy]

No I'll take a look. But to me pretty much all the cheaper servos look the same! Quite a few UK based companies are selling cheaper servos and they all look the same as the chinese ones to me, and I expect they are the same thing.

That was my thoughts as well, I didn't like the look of the plastic encoders either, and with 48v would mean I'd have to buy a power supply for them as well, which all starts to add up.

At the moment I have no control. My intention was to go with MACH3 or UCCNC, and use the CNCdrive BOB and motion controller, and at some point in the future as and when funds allow, might upgrade to a Centroid CNC control, which outputs +/-10v to the servo drives.

I'll have to have a look at the chinese offerings I think and go from there, with CNCdrive motion control I think

Many thanks for the help and advice

[JAZZCNC]

At the moment I have no control. My intention was to go with MACH3 or UCCNC, and use the CNCdrive BOB and motion controller, and at some point in the future as and when funds allow, might upgrade to a Centroid CNC control, which outputs +/-10v to the servo drives.

If this machine is decent size and quality then I'd go with something better than Cncdrive Controller. If you watch the servo video you'll see Cslabs Analog controller which gives +/-10v and doesn't require a pain in the arse Bob plus it's ethernet based so much stronger connection. If you still have the Fanuc Servo drives which are+-10v then this is what you need and nothing else.
It's commonly used for retro fits because of it's quality and expandabilty. It's industrial strength with 24v I/O and plenty of them has standard with expansion modules if more are required. There is also a Spindle Encoder Module for accurate threading and spindle orientation.
The Centroid will offer little more than Mach3/4 or Linux Cnc can and will cost much much more money.

[gatesy]

Had a look at the CS labs stuff, think it's a bit out of my price range at the moment!!!

I originally looked at the CNCdrive products as they seemed very reasonably priced, so think I might end up with some of their products, and servos probably from china if they have decent encoders on them.

The machine I have is a Denford Triac, which I would like to have something like a Centroid or CSlabs control set up for, but at the moment can't justify the expense!! I'd rather be using the mill rather have it sat there another year or so while I try and save up!!

I have another CNC machine I'm building which only needs to index between cuts being taken, so my thoughts were to go with a budget set up on the Triac, and then as and when funds allow upgrade the control system on that, and transfer the budget set up to the new machine.

While I would like to be able to go straight for a CSlabs set up, there seem to be plenty of machines in use that use cheaper parts and perform perfectly well

[gatesy]

Looking at Linux cnc, is this compatible with MACH3 products, or do I need parts specifically for Linux cnc?

Could I buy the CNCdrive setup, load Linux cnc on my pc and it integrate together, or do I need to do a bit more setting up of the system?