3-Axis Stepper Controller

[kb7cga]

want try to make a 3-Axis Stepper Controller but the UCN5804B is discontinued

Guess its time for a new model and pcb. :-\

 

[GreekPIC]

Hi all, dont know if people still post to this but i need help. I have built the board, tested it and connected it, when in operation the motor is either 1 of 3 things:

1: Jumpy and just vibrates
2: Has direction but very slow and not much torque
3: stationary but with strong holding torque

Could someone please help

Thanks

Ryan

p.s

When i tested it, i tested for signals from the parallel port and the 5V from the power supply, both of which work!

What s/w are you testing with? As MP say, the pulsewidth is the most important thing to set.

 

[ryanstewart86]

Hi guys

the s/w im using is TurboCNC & JalaCNC, i also tried changing the states i.e. one phase, step inhibit, half step etc, for some reason it doesnt like it, stalls or vibrates.

p.s

do you know if you hav 2 change the step to phase in TurboCNC?
Ryan

 

[gogo2520]

Hello kb7cga
  You can find the UCN5804B, heres a link http://www.futurlec.com/Others/UCN5804Bpr.shtml
  also if you want to makle a board with out controllers check this out http://pminmo.com/3axis/3axis.htm
                      have fun
                        gogo

 

[GreekPIC]

Hi guys

the s/w im using is TurboCNC & JalaCNC, i also tried changing the states i.e. one phase, step inhibit, half step etc, for some reason it doesnt like it, stalls or vibrates.

p.s

do you know if you hav 2 change the step to phase in TurboCNC?
Ryan

It's been a while since I last played with TCNC but a few pages back I've posted my config file. Take a look and see if it helps.

Nikolas

 

[ryanstewart86]

Thanks guys for the help but i am still having a problem, i am using the half step mode, the motor only works at a certain speed, it also has direction clockwise but counter clockwise just vibrates or  jumps counter clockwise. im using

12V 1A power supply

unipolar stepper motor:
200 steps per revolution
Step angle  1.8

 

[MP1]

If you have checked the time for delay on the pulses and you are confident that this is not the problem, I would check over the connections to the board and just make sure you did not miss something.

Next, are you sure your 1 A power supply is sufficient? Depending upon the stepper, you probably have 4 coils per stepper. 3 steppers? That would be 12 coils at 160 mA. Seems like you need a minimum of 2 Amp. As a general rule, you do not want to run at the minimum. Most devices are engineered at 2X the minimum.

I have always used an old computer power supply for running steppers. If you have access to one, you might want to connect the 12 volt connector to your project to see if you get better results.

MP

 

[ryanstewart86]

Hi MP,

SUCCESS!!! finally got the board working correctly, i found out that the wires from the stepper motor were round the wrong way, i am only running one stepper at the moment!

Thanks for everyones help!

Ryan

 

[MP1]

Good to hear you are making progress!

MP

 

[ryanstewart86]

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if it were possible to increase the output of the ucn5804b by using a low resistance pull up resistor to increase the ampage in order to run larger motors?

At the moment what is the largest motor oz/in the chip can run?

Thanks

Ryan

 

[MP1]

You could use the UCN5804 outputs to turn on and off power transistors, but then you could also do this without even using the UCN5804 chip.
It would be hard to relate the rating to oz/in. since the current ratings of the motors are what you actually calculate. Different gear ratios, etc. would give you different results.

MP

 

[HaItllNeverWork]

I'm glad to see this project still has followers. I've read the whole site and felt a little disappointed to near the end and see posts like the main chip is no longer made. Still I'll have a go and try and find one.
My Project = I want to make a wood cutting router table to cut up to 5mm ply but be able to cut 8' by 4' sheets (probably a little bigger than the average project posted on here). I'm thinking of directly coupling steppers on the end of threaded bar to move a trolley around that has the router mounted on it. Any suggestions as to what size steppers I'd need for this or what I could use as guides to keep it accurate. I envisage an accuracy of 0.1 of a mm to be more than enough. Any plans anyone knows about on the net I could get inspiration from? Anyway excellent site...Thanks.

 

[MP1]

This chip would not power steppers needed for such a project. You need something like a L297 and L298 combination to get enough power. Steppers are rated in torque. You should be able to calculate the motors needed from the torque rating if you know what it is. Actually, this is something you will want to figure out before you start this project. Otherwise, you might end up with a completed project that stalls when feeding the wood into it.
As far as keeping with accuracy, I would suggest a lead screw connected to the stepper and a couple of rods with brass bushings to keep alignment. The tolerance of the bushings and looseness of the thread would be your maximum tolerance.

MP

 

[HaItllNeverWork]

Thanks for that. I guessed as much. The control circuitry should work all right I'm thinking maybe just a high power buffer on the end of it to power the steppers. I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to calculate what size stepper I'd need. I have access to some that are 3.1A per phase max 70 V but can't seem to find anything similar on the net to gauge if this is big enough or not. I'm not too fussy about the speed of cut Ie if need be I can do multi passes. I don't need to cut the ply in one go. By lead screw do you mean a proper machined screw or a piece of say M10 threaded rod. I'm obviously hoping the threaded rod will be ok but slighly worried about sag or twist over the length. I like the look and the reports on this project and the fact it interfaces directly with dnacam or something similar is just what I'm after.

 

[twistedfuse]

Hello All,

I have recently been browsing non stop to find a great CNC stepper controller so i can build my first CNC milling machine for my PCBs to make it slightly easier to make double sided PCBs.

I was just wondering if anyone here from Australia could point me in the right direction to find the UCN chips or similar. I read in this forum that the 5804s can be replaced by the 3967 or3977 chips(not pin for pin) is this correct? I dont mind making heaps of off board connections. Such as im too lazy to order in the resistor network and have way too many 4k7 resistors so ill probably use veroboard with wiring to make similar.

Also just to verify. My motors have 0.66A stamped onto the XY motors and i need another do i need to find another similar motor for the Z axis? I also wanted to know some calculation confusions. Say i had 3 of the 0.66A motors, My current draw would then be something like 4 coild times by 3 motors = 12, therefore 12 x 0.66A = 7.92A. Is this correct? Also if this is correct for the different motor on the z axis could i just figure out the 8 * 0.66A (xy motor) + 4 * (new motors current draw)???

Also with the programs i will be running an old computer with 98 on it.I like the sound of turboCNC but would like to know what people think is best suited for this OS.



Thanks in advance.
Daniel

 

[MP1]

I run mine on Win98. Also, I use an old computer power suply for the power source. I felt there was no point in re-inventing the wheel since I had a few old computers sitting around not in use.
What software will you use? I wrote an X,Y type program that I can use for making my own drill files, but it does not optimize the run nor does it read gerber files. Just curious what everyone is using these days. I built my CNC a number of years ago. It does not use the UCN chips. Uses L297 and L298 combinations.

MP

 

[twistedfuse]

Hello MP,

Thanks for the quick reply. I didnt really expect it to be that quick. As for the power supply ill be using an old ATX power supply retrofitted to be a lab supply with a 10w 10ohm resistor for load. I'm pretty sure i remember that computer supplies only give the neccisary current needed but i would just like to know how to figure out the steppers surrent usage anyway as i like to know for future projects and knowledge. As for the computer i was lucky enough to get a free toshiba laptop from way back (one of the first satellite series) and it has 98 and was thinking of running it on that with turboCNC.

As for the controller i have seen some of the l297,298 chopper controller but it seems to be a bit more difficult to make where as i like the UCN5804 because of the simple layout and size. I have actually sourced the chips finally from an aussie dealer ($22 each) bit heafty compared to the $5 each l297/298 price. If the xyz chopper type controller is better which is the best design cause i have seen a few. Also is anyone willing to do some boards up if im too lazy to etch them myself (of couse ill throw money their way).

Cheers,
Daniel

 

[Thiokol]

Hi Twistedfuse  ,
                          i am australian as well , i was wondering if you could post a pic of your controller ? i would like to see one complete  kinda of a visual guide  .
did you build it exactly the same as the one  on this page :
http://www.electronics-lab.com/projects/pc/008/
i am about too attempt too build this project myself i have managed to source all my parts from Wiltronics here in ballarat ,victoria .

cheers  Thiokol

 

[averagejoe1]

hello, i'm making my own CNC mill and i was wondering where the schematics for the  UCN5804B motor controller. i saw the schematics but there a litttle scetchy and i was wondering if anyone has pictures of there pc board layout. and i just saw a picture posted on this forum of the bottom of a pc board where he drew i the limit and home switches and i wonder where he got that. thanks ahead

 

[GreekPIC]

hello, i'm making my own CNC mill and i was wondering where the schematics for the  UCN5804B motor controller. i saw the schematics but there a litttle scetchy and i was wondering if anyone has pictures of there pc board layout. and i just saw a picture posted on this forum of the bottom of a pc board where he drew i the limit and home switches and i wonder where he got that. thanks ahead

On the project page you'll find the schematic, pcb layout and parts overlay in *.ps format.

Here is my modification, I changed it a bit to suit my needs.

Nikolas