Been making great progress on my OX build (thread to follow) but have run into some electronic problems. I have 3no Nema 23 motors and a Nema 17 for the Z I have one of these power supplies: and one of these controllers: Until I got the dreaded scalextric burning smell that you never forget as a child. Inside the controller, I now have burned out components: This appeared to happen on the Z only. So I check all connections with the meter and there are no shorts. Anyone have any ideas why this has happened? Is it the combination of components that are incompatible? Thanks
I'm really not sure that nema17 are made to accept 36V... You can try to replace the burned out component if you have some soldering skills. Those are really easy to replace normally
I'm afraid your a the victim of the dreaded Chinese quality control standard with all of the all in one cnc solutions. "MTC" Look close at the IC and see what the driver chip model is. The old boards used tb6560 New ones some the same chip and the newest use tb6600. I leard the hard way myself when I first started building cnc's
Opened it up and this is what I got. I can't see any mention of 6600 or 6560. Thanks both for your replies.
In the first image you can see four sets of screws, they hold the IC's to the alui housing. You can't see the model number because it's covered. From what I can see they didn't change much and I see 2 IC's that are voltage regulators in the top left with a cheep heat sinking job, this tells me they are taking your input voltage feeding a 12v reg then feeding a 5v reg for logic. This was another failure point in the boards older tb6560 design, so I'm leaning to them being tb6560 and your controller being trash now Sorry if I'm right
Hi @offtrolley I love your description of the dreaded scalextric burning smell that you never forget as a child. From your photos it is evident that you have drawn far too much current from your motor circuits (looks like two axes are affected). First thing is to check (with a multi-meter, set on continuity) that you have in fact connected the motor’s A, A and B, B to their correct terminals on the controller. Obviously it would also be wise to check again that you have no short circuits on your stepper motor's wiring As dddman says if you have (or know someone who has) soldering skills, replace the affected components and it would also be wise to replace the associated TB6600’s while you are at it. Failing that a new controller board may still be your best and cheapest option. When connecting everything back up to test it out make doubly sure of you’re A,A and B,B connections and set your stepper motor current selection switches to their lowest current settings before switching anything on. (As Robert has mentioned, none of this may be your fault - it could just be a poor quality Chinese controller board or rubbish quality stepper motors in the first place). Tweakie.
A further thought regarding this issue… You may well have fried the associated stepper motors. Carefully remove the motor’s end cover (don’t take them apart, just remove the end cover – we don’t want to risk destroying the magnetic field) a sniff and visual inspection of the windings and connections should tell you if they are still OK. Tweakie.
Hi Tweakie Tell me, how do I set the individual motor current on this board. Is it the dip switches on the board itself? Also, how will I know what the actual motor current is? Thanks
Motor current is usually set by the dip switch positions - you will have to refer to the manufacturer's instruction documents if the position information is not marked on the board or casing. Tweakie.
Hi Offtrolley Do you know which Nema 23's you are using? Different models draw different Voltages and Amps. If you know which model, then you can look for a similar one on the relevant sites, and see from their Spec sheet what Volts and Amps it is drawing, or could be, drawing. Are they 4, 6, or 8 wire motors, and how are you using them with regard to Bipolar settings? Different wiring chooses different values and powers. I realise I might be telling you how to suck eggs, in which case, please forgive me, but the information is relevant. Cheers Gray
These are the instructions that were supplied to me for the TB600HG www.thanksbuyer.com/download/A953A.pdf The Nema 23's and Nema 17 on the Z appear to be "billy no make" if you know what I mean. There were no instructions for them. They are 4 wire motors with no connectors, just 4 wires coming out. This is the wiring diagram supplied: Gray - no worries, I can take it For non English Language viewers please see this link for a description of the meaning "Suck Eggs" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching_grandmother_to_suck_eggs
Well, your PDF shows that the Stepper can "draw up to" 5A, and they say the driver can "take up to" 5A peak, so there should be no problem there, if, what they say is true. I'm sure they wouldn't have sold you steppers that would burn out your drivers! It says "Adjustable" current. I don't know how, but if that is so, then I would think to try to run them at a low Amperage first. If you had six or eight wires you would have had a degree of choice there for trials etc. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. I'm sure someone with far more knowledge in this department can help here. Gray
@offtrolley What are the yellow dots on the wiring diagram? What purpose do they serve? Are they needed on all setups or only in specific electronic configurations?
I initially thought they might be limit switches, however, seeing as how some of the wires change colour, going in, and out, I'd say that they were just jointing blocks.
As Tweakie mentioned, I believe these yellow things are simply crimp wire joiners. Gutted now, because my build is currently on hold until I can try and get this solved.
@offtrolley , Looking at your third pic. and reading your instructions your driver has been set to drive the motors at 2.5Amps - as said earlier this may be too much for your (unknown spec.) motors so change dip switches 4,5,6 (for each axis) to limit the motor current to say 1.2Amps. When running, if the motors do not get warm to the touch (after about 15 min.) then increase the current setting to the next level. (Stepper motors should run warm to the touch but not so hot that you cannot hold your hand on them with comfort). Hope this helps. Tweakie.
Just Google the center line. http://www.ldomotors.com/eproducts/prodetail.php?proid=169 or https://www.openpart.co.uk/download/LDO-57STH51-2804A RevA.pdf for the one on the left. The one on the right is a bit more elusive.
Well all the 4 lead motors are showing just 2.8amp draw. With a rated 2v to 3.2v overall. So that doesn't look too bad.
In rationalizing a pattern from the first link above, I have a feeling the 1684A part of the number in the second motor is 1.68(Amps)4(wires)A(single shaft). All their motors seem to follow the same pattern.
a person could check the resistance and inductance of the windings as well (assuming he has access to an lcr)
