Gecko 214 Wiring Diagram To Acorn

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tuffduck
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Re: Gecko 214 Wiring Diagram To Acorn

Post by tuffduck »

I changed them because of one a suggestion you made 4 months ago when trying to sort out some issues. I ended up replacing the beagle bone, all of the wiring, drives, two motors ended up frying due to new part issues, some covered under warranty but no parts available. Trying to figure why one 214 drive I have works great on all of the motors I have alone but none of the new 214''s do.
With only 10 micosteps form the 201, I get a serrated edge with Corian but with the 214 set to 256 microsteps, I do not.
tuffduck
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Re: Gecko 214 Wiring Diagram To Acorn

Post by tuffduck »

How long do you think it will be before you get a 214?
Richards
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Re: Gecko 214 Wiring Diagram To Acorn

Post by Richards »

I've found that it's best to work systematically. The first step is to understand each component.

I would start with the Acorn. Review the DB25 connector and assign DB25 pins to the G214 stepper drivers. LIMIT the step rate using Wizard to 100,000 steps per second. You may be able to set it to 200,000 later on, but start with a conservative setting.

Review the coil wiring for the stepper motors:

A four-lead motor has four wires. The A-phase wires go to the A-phase terminals on the stepper driver. The B-phase wires go to the B-phase terminals.

A six-lead motor can be wired either series or unipolar. Wiring in series gives more torque but it severely limits the speed and the ramp-up/ramp-down times. I always wire my six-lead motors as unipolar. Wiring it unipolar reduces the inductance to 1/4th of the inductance of a motor wired in series.

An eight-lead motor can be wired as series, unipolar or parallel. I wire my eight-lead motors either unipolar or parallel. Inductance is the same whether you wire them unipolar or parallel. Inductance is 4X greater if you wire the motors as series. You don't want high inductance. Current draw is 2X higher if the motor is wired parallel compared to unipolar.

The GR214 documentation contradicts itself. I don't have one of those drives in my shop. The manual states that CN1-2 can be used to set the current drawn from the drive. The drawing in the manual shows that CN1-2 is the Phase-A terminal. The drawing shows CN1-7 as the current-set terminal. If the drive has silk-screen labeling, the labeling might show the proper connection. Be aware that dip-switches MIGHT have the opposite polarity from what you assume. Some dip-switches are labeled On/Off on the switch itself. I've been caught many times by assuming that On was Up and that Off was Down.

I would set the step-resolution of the drive to 16 until you have a successful bench test. After you know that the motors are responding properly to the Acorn, then you can adjust the step-resolution to match your requirements. Keep in mind that setting the step-resolution to 256 will give you only a very small fraction of the motor's possible torque.

Make a list of connections. Check off each connection after you've verified the connection. Make a list of Wizard settings. Check off each item on the list after you've verified the Wizard setting.

One last thing. The drive limits the voltage to the motors. If the drive's maximum voltage is 80VDC, then you must use a power supply of 80VDC or LOWER. I use drives that have a maximum voltage of 50VDC. I've used power supplies ranging from 24VDC to 48VDC with those drives. Lower voltage works, but it limits the stepper motor's speed.

When building a DIY project, you have to wear a lot of different hats. One of those hats is that of an electrical engineer. You don't have to have a degree in electrical engineering (I don't), but you have to understand each term used for the motors, drives, and Acorn terminals. Google is your best friend. Before Google, I had hundreds of manuals in my shop that I had to consult to get needed information. Now I just use Google. Take you time. Enjoy the journey. If you are methodical, you will find the problem and you will understand why the problem occurred. Once a problem has been defined, solving it is easy.
-Mike Richards
tuffduck
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Re: Gecko 214 Wiring Diagram To Acorn

Post by tuffduck »

Thanks for the wisdom and encouragement.
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Re: Gecko 214 Wiring Diagram To Acorn

Post by cnckeith »

we created a GR214 to acorn schematic here is the link.

https://www.centroidcnc.com/dealersuppo ... 113.r2.pdf
Need support? READ THIS POST first. http://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1043
All Acorn Documentation is located here: viewtopic.php?f=60&t=3397
Answers to common questions: viewforum.php?f=63
and here viewforum.php?f=61
Gear we use but don't sell. https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... _gear.html
tuffduck
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Re: Gecko 214 Wiring Diagram To Acorn

Post by tuffduck »

I installed all 3 new 214 drives today. Discounted one motor entirely. I managed to get all 3 to run smoothly but when Powering them up, they thud and rotate. Also when homing the axis, z will start, then y and art way while x homes z will move and stall the machine. Any ides what would cause this. This did not happen with the 201. Could be be something with the com wire or another of the motors are bad? Thanks.

Also looking at the motors from automation technologies, would 1200 oz be sufficient?
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Re: Gecko 214 Wiring Diagram To Acorn

Post by Nigelo »

I had similar concerns a couple of years back with my G203v drives and reached out to Marcus at Gecko who replied as follows:
This sounds like what you are hearing is the drive moving the motor to the nearest full step location. Depending on how far the drive is from a full step location the noise can be unnoticeable (if it is already on one) or a sudden jolt (if it is half way between locations).

Once the drive is on a full step location it will likely not make any noise on the next powerup, depending on how the windings shut down on power off. You can soften this sound by putting a 1uF 16V capacitor across the current set resistor terminals to ramp up the motor current more slowly.
I installed the cap suggested and it did soften the thud a touch. As you are using a different drive, I suggest reaching out to Marcus who was extremely helpful in my case
"You can lead a horse to water but you cannot force it to drink"
Hope this helps
Nigel
martyscncgarage
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Re: Gecko 214 Wiring Diagram To Acorn

Post by martyscncgarage »

tuffduck wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 8:31 pm I installed all 3 new 214 drives today. Discounted one motor entirely. I managed to get all 3 to run smoothly but when Powering them up, they thud and rotate. Also when homing the axis, z will start, then y and art way while x homes z will move and stall the machine. Any ides what would cause this. This did not happen with the 201. Could be be something with the com wire or another of the motors are bad? Thanks.

Also looking at the motors from automation technologies, would 1200 oz be sufficient?
You will hear a thud when the drives energize and lock the motor rotors.
Please post a spec sheet on the motors you are considering
Tell us what you plan on cutting on the router
Tell us what size power supply(s) you are using for the drives

The more information you provide the better suggestions we can make
I tested the GR214V Drives with a 4 wire NEMA 34 stepper and a 48VDC power supply with Acorn and it works fine. Centroid just created a new schematic, it can be found here: https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... browse.php#
Use the search function and enter GR214V

Are your motors running as mine is in the video clip I sent you?:

Disregard my comments on the flashing LED's. Awaiting clarification on dipswitch settings. This drive has new firmware in it for testing.

If not, please post a fresh video showing us what you are experiencing.

Marty
Reminder, for support please follow this post: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=383
We can't "SEE" what you see...
Mesa, AZ
drdennis
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Re: Gecko 214 Wiring Diagram To Acorn

Post by drdennis »

I have been getting "roughness" in the operation as well as rotations of the motors on power up.
The latter must be diagnosed first. No point in trying to tune your motors if they grossly misbehave. They should not be turning when you power up. Disconnect the Acorn from the controllers and make sure power up does not result in any motion.

The first thing to try when motors run rough is to slow them down.

Cheers
tuffduck
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Re: Gecko 214 Wiring Diagram To Acorn

Post by tuffduck »

Hello,
I am considering the KL34H2120-42-8A for Automation Technologies. I cut solid wood, mdf, baltic birch plywood, acrylic, Corian (solid surface materials).

When one motor was connected to the drives the worked fine. It wasn't until all three motors were attached that problems arose. I could not home the machine because in the process of the last axis homing, the z-axis would move upward and trip the home switch again. I tried to see if the motors would run smoother at lower speeds, that did not help. I tried 24 combinations at different microstep settings as well.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rpP232Fxf4KuJFjj6
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KL342120-42-8A-KEY (2).pdf
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KL34H2120-42-8AT (1).pdf
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