2023 Pass Around Box Mega Thread

[tweinke]

Will make sure to not do that! Thanks!

 

[Shotgun]

that's a thing? Did you let the smoke out?

No smoke. They just die, and you sit there wondering why the steppers won't run.

 

[WobblyHand]

No smoke. They just die, and you sit there wondering why the steppers won't run.

I've heard that one shouldn't turn steppers with the power supply off, due to the back emf blowing up the drivers. Haven't heard about not powering up the drivers without motors attached. Have to file that in the grey matter for future reference.

That sounds like a bad electronic design to me, as a retired EE, but I didn't work a lot designing motor drivers. In the old days we put in all sorts of protection in the circuits to prevent damage from things like that. Guess nowadays designers only worry about cost. I'd think an industrial grade driver would have that protection.

 

[Shotgun]

All the Arduino stuff is hobby grade.
Looking for a reason my circuit wasn't working, I found a video of things he wish he'd known about these drivers. The first was not to power them without a load.
The second was to make sure the current was set correctly. Start by turning the adjust "screw" fully clockwise. Connect a volt meter to your screwdriver, power it up (with stepper connected), and increase the voltage between the top of the screw and ground, then turn counter-clockwise until you have 1/2 of the desired current.

 

[WobblyHand]

All the Arduino stuff is hobby grade.
Looking for a reason my circuit wasn't working, I found a video of things he wish he'd known about these drivers. The first was not to power them without a load.
The second was to make sure the current was set correctly. Start by turning the adjust "screw" fully clockwise. Connect a volt meter to your screwdriver, power it up (with stepper connected), and increase the voltage between the top of the screw and ground, then turn counter-clockwise until you have 1/2 of the desired current.

I'd agree with you on the general Arduino stuff!

For my stepper driver, the factory setting was set to the lowest current, so I had to change it so my NEMA-24 motor would move under load. But I chose a closed loop driver for my application, (ELS) so perhaps the driver was more sophisticated. The all analog drivers (as well as the digital ones) need to be set up to match the motor.

 

[tweinke]

The box is on its way again.

 

[ErichKeane]

Got the box in last night, did an unpack and repack. Took more than I put in as the box seems to need it Here is my take!

PM'ed @Just for fun who is the next on the list!

 

[Just for fun]

I got the box today, I'll go through it tomorrow.

 

[Just for fun]

The box is enroute to @DiscoDan !

Here is my take. I'm not sure what the bit on the far left is, it kind of looks like a drill bit by yet considerable different. The tap on the right is a 1/2 x 28 UNEF, I don't have one and I'm pretty sure it was in the box last year so, I thought I would change it up a bit.

 

[DiscoDan]

I didn't take too much out of the box this time around. Here's what I took. It will be on its way to Matthewsx as soon as I get his address.