Setting up Auto/Tech hybrid steppers in the Wizard?

[DocsMachine]

Several weeks ago I put a set of Automation Technologies "hybrid" steppers on my Logan conversion, and while I haven't had much time to play with anything due to other calls on my time, I'm hoping to be able to do some fine tuning over the long Christmas weekend.

My main question is how do I set the Wizard for these motors. From the videos, it sounds like I would put 4000 in the "Steps/Rev" box, is that correct?

I have that set now, and have slow-jog set at 10IPM in the wizard, but when I try jogging it in 'turtle' mode, the carriage moves way faster than 10 IPM- it was more like 10" in 3 or 4 seconds. And that's that fast even with the 3:1 belt reduction I have to the leadscrew. I got several drive faults while trying it, presumably because the motor is having to turn much too fast.

The drives have a set of DIP switches, and a chart on the case that gives me a list of microsteps. They're on "default" right now- whatever that is, as it doesn't specify, and neither does the rather minimal paperwork that came with them- but I have the option of going to "800", "1600", and so on.

What, if anything, am I doing wrong, and what, if anything, can I do to sort it out?

Doc.

[cncman172]

Doc,
First thing to do is run the Wizard and then go to the Axis Configuration Page.

Steps/Rev is populated with the number of steps required to turn one revolution. Most steppers have 200 Steps/Rev, however when you add micro-stepping you need to take that multiplier into account. When you have a driver that uses micro stepping you need to know where it is set. For example if it was set to 1/8 then you take 200 * 8 = 1600 steps/revolution. Some where you should find a little chart on the driver or a manual that tells you how to set the micro stepping using the little dip switches.

The next step is to set the Overall Turns Ratio. This is how much linear motion you get per revolution. If your belt reduction of 3:1 is driving a ball screw you need to figure out the pitch of the ball screw and do a calculation. For example for a direct drive situation where the motor was turning a 10mm ball screw directly the turns ratio would be 2.54. Post the pitch and the actual reduction and we can help you get the right number for that ratio.

The next thing is to check the Fast Jog, Slow Joy, and Max Rate... This is the turtle rate, the rabbit rate, and the G0 rate.

Also very important at the top of the Axis page make sure you are in the correct units, either Inch or MM. If you set that wrong you will get confusing results as well.

Russ

[Dave_C]

Doc,

Your post does not say which Hybrid Servo you are using. The Nema 23 version does not have switches to set the steps per rev, it is fixed at 4,000. The Nema 34 has many choices and I set mine to 2,000 steps per rev which seems to be the smoothest and quietest.

I've had great results with these motors and given that they have a 1,000 line encoder keeping the steps per rev as a multiplier of that number seems to work the best.

Just look at the documentation for the drive controller and set the switches to whatever you like then put that in the acorn setup wizard under turns per step.

Dave C.

[midy]

I'm just doing a build with these nema 34 8Nm hybrids. And have them running but not really sure on how to connect/use the enable,alarm and pend connections? I noticed franco's were not connected on one of his videos. To be honest I don't even know what the PEND connections are? The alarm and enable i'm more familiar with. Anybody have these connected?

[cnckeith]

take a look at the Installation Video series sticky. viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1085
Marty has a video on hooking up closed loop leadshine.. not much different than hookup up of open loop leadshines.


viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1085&start=10

[midy]

I looked at this Keith, however that driver is slightly different to mine. It does'nt have the PEND connections and has some that mine doesn't.
I'll find it in the blurb eventually...

[DocsMachine]

Most steppers have 200 Steps/Rev, however when you add micro-stepping you need to take that multiplier into account. When you have a driver that uses micro stepping you need to know where it is set. For example if it was set to 1/8 then you take 200 * 8 = 1600 steps/revolution. Some where you should find a little chart on the driver or a manual that tells you how to set the micro stepping using the little dip switches.

-Therein lies my problem. The motors I was sent are three phase, not two, so they're 1.2 degree, not 1.8 degree, which means they're 300 step/rev. No problem so far, except the drivers have a set of DIP switches on the side, and a chart silkscreened on the top, to set microstepping. They came set for, and are still set for, what the chart calls "default"- but it doesn't specify what "default" is.

The next setting down from that is 800 steps/rev, then 1600, so 'default' would logically be 400, right? Except these are 300 step/rev motors- meaning the machine travel will be about 1.3 times faster than intended.

But that doesn't make sense. These motors have encoders, so you'd think the drivers would "know" if the motor were 1.3 times out of position.

Then again, Marty's video, if I understand it correctly, suggested I should but in the encoder count number in the step/rev box in the Wizard, not the motor's inherent steps/rev.

Which is why I have to ask. Neither my motors nor my drivers are quite the same as the ones shown in Marty's video, despite the fact I ordered them straight from Automationtechnologies.com- they're close, but not quite.

If it helps, at the moment, I have the encoder number in the Wizard steps/rev box- that is, 4000. I have 15 as a turns ratio, since it's a 5TPI screw and a 3:1 belt reduction. When I jog it manually, the carriage moves roughly three times further than it should- the DRO shows something like 0.315" or so, while the carriage has actually moved about an inch.

I'm sure this is all terribly simple to those of you that have more experience than I do, but at the moment, it's kind of frustrating.

Doc.

[martyscncgarage]

I looked at this Keith, however that driver is slightly different to mine. It does'nt have the PEND connections and has some that mine doesn't.
I'll find it in the blurb eventually...

You do not need the PEND output. Just a signal that says the move is completed.
It wires up just like the one I did in the video. You have to provide +5VDC to the +PUL and +DIR and appears the +ENA inputs, then the -PUL to Acorn Step, -DIR to Acorn Dir, -ENA to Acorn Enable
Alarm should be wired the way I wired the Automation Technologies drive as well. Issue here is you only have so many inputs so if you want to use the alarm signal from your drives, I believe you will have to series them together so that anyone will place the signal. Best that they are all setup for NC operation. The only way to reset the drive is to remove and reapply power that I know of.

Manual here (please post the manuals so we can review to help in the future)
http://cncdrive.com/datasheets/2HSS86H.pdf

As far as the value for Acorn, whatever you select for microstepping is what I would put in steps/rev is 200xmicrostep value setup on the drive.
For example if you setup the drive for 10 microsteps, then it would be 200x10 or 2000 steps/rev

[762x51]

The spreadsheet in this post may be of help in setting the microsteps and ratio.

viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1132&p=5905&hilit=excel#p5905

[DocsMachine]

Your post does not say which Hybrid Servo you are using. The Nema 23 version does not have switches to set the steps per rev, it is fixed at 4,000. The Nema 34 has many choices and I set mine to 2,000 steps per rev which seems to be the smoothest and quietest.

-I can't link to the one I ordered right now, since it seems Auto/tech's web page is borked. But I do, in fact, have DIP switches on my drivers, and a chart on the case telling me how to set them for microstepping. here's the only photo I have of them online at the moment:



The grid pattern is the chart of DIP settings, and the lines to the right side indicate the DIPs themselves. The drivers, obviously, look nothing like the blue one Marty just linked a picture of, nor do they have the same markings as the one in Marty's video. Did I get the wrong drivers? Should I have received some 2-phase motors in place of these 3-phase ones?

Doc.