# Electronics advice



## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

Hey everyone, new to this site and this is my first post!

I bought a cnc router table a couple years ago, all of the mechanicals and none of the electronics. I am a cnc machinist by trade and am making the fre extra pieces I need to finish up the build.

Im starting to look into the electronics and have it pinned down to 3x 425in/oz steppers with either a gecko 540 or tb6600's and an arduino uno. Smooth stepper is still an option I suppose, but for the price I think I'd go with the gecko.

Any advice, or pros and cons with any of this? Which way would you go?

Thanks in advance! Excited to get this sucker moving!

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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Welcome to the forum, Kid! You might post some photos of your machine when you get the opportunity. What size is your CNC, what kind of drive does it use - ballscrew, rack & pinion, belt, etc.?

I built a CNC router last year, build is on this forum, and used the ESS and it has worked just fine for a little over a year.

David


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## BalloonEngineer (Mar 27, 2009)

kid_sublime said:


> Smooth stepper is still an option I suppose, but for the price I think I'd go with the gecko.


Welcome to the forum!

The ESS and the Gecko are not interchangeable- the Gecko 540 is a stepper driver (and I believe a much better one than the tb6600). The gecko actually is 4 separate stepper drivers in a single package. A stepper driver receives step and direction signals from the computer, and provides the power signals that actually make the stepper motor turn. 

The ESS (Ethernet Smoothstepper for those of you not familiar with it) is a hardware step and direction generator, and allows you to connect your computer to the CNC via an Ethernet cable instead of a parallel printer cable. It actually emulates 3 complete printer ports. It does not connect directly to the steppers, but supplies signals to the stepper driver. 

My machine has an ESS connected to a Gecko. Very good way to go.


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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

difalkner said:


> Welcome to the forum, Kid! You might post some photos of your machine when you get the opportunity. What size is your CNC, what kind of drive does it use - ballscrew, rack & pinion, belt, etc.?
> 
> I built a CNC router last year, build is on this forum, and used the ESS and it has worked just fine for a little over a year.
> 
> David


Thanks for the reply difalkner! I will be posting pictures in a few days, as I get it out of storage. It has a usable size of approximately 16x16. Has Thompson rod rails and Kerk lead screws. Single drive on X and Y. Just waiting for the last of the T Nuts to come in and the extrusion base will be finished. 

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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

BalloonEngineer said:


> Welcome to the forum!
> 
> The ESS and the Gecko are not interchangeable- the Gecko 540 is a stepper driver (and I believe a much better one than the tb6600). The gecko actually is 4 separate stepper drivers in a single package. A stepper driver receives step and direction signals from the computer, and provides the power signals that actually make the stepper motor turn.
> 
> ...


Thank you Mr. Engineer! I had no idea I was able to connect an ESS to a Gecko. The way I understood the Gecko was that its an all in one, breakout board with four drivers in one package. How did you handle the output from the ESS to the Gecko? Very possible I am misunderstanding the capabilities of the two. Thanks for the info!

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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

kid_sublime said:


> Thank you Mr. Engineer! I had no idea I was able to connect an ESS to a Gecko. The way I understood the Gecko was that its an all in one, breakout board with four drivers in one package. How did you handle the output from the ESS to the Gecko? Very possible I am misunderstanding the capabilities of the two. Thanks for the info!
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


Ah, is it not a gecko 540? You got those Vampire drives??  

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## BalloonEngineer (Mar 27, 2009)

kid_sublime said:


> I had no idea I was able to connect an ESS to a Gecko. The way I understood the Gecko was that its an all in one, breakout board with four drivers in one package. How did you handle the output from the ESS to the Gecko? Very possible I am misunderstanding the capabilities of the two.


In some ways the Gecko 540 can be considered to be like a breakout board, as it does supply some extra input/output pins. It connects directly to a parallel port cable, and many machines just have the computer’s parallel port directly connected to the Gecko g540 as the main machine electronics component. With this setup there are just a few pins worth of additional I/O however, so you can connect 3 home switches for example, but not enough to handle limit switches on each end of each axis. 

When connected this way (computer to Gecko 540 via parallel cable), the computer is doing all of the very time sensitive step and direction generation (it takes many thousands of pulses per second being generated to coordinate the movement of a cnc). Trying to do this and simultaneously update the screen, translate the gcode into steps, read data from the gcode file, etc. is a lot going on. On the older (slower) computers that still have printer ports, this could lead to issues. In addition, there are limitations on how long of parallel cables can be used. 

As I stated above, the ESS connects to the computer via an Ethernet connection instead of a parallel port. It is a small circuit board and contains its own micrcontroller. This means that instead of the computer generating all of the tens of thousands of individual step and direction pulses, this function is offloaded to the dedicated hardware on the ESS board which was specifically designed and programmed for this, and doesn’t have to do anything else. In fact, it is so efficient at this ask, it actually pretends to be 3 complete parallel ports. One parallel port can be used to connect directly to a Gecko 540, leaving two parallel ports worth of pins for additional i/o, if you look at the build of @difalkner you will see that he controls relays for his cooling pump, all his limit switches and more, using some of those extra I/O pins available vis the ESS. 

The are separate devices, but can work together to make an effective cnc control system, but the ESS is not required to use a Gecko 540, and cannot be used instead of the G540. 

There are other available components that are alternatives to both of these parts, a UC100, UC300 or UC400 are similar to an ESS. There are other stepper drivers than a G540 such as the Leadshine mx3600 or 4600 or you can use separate, individual drivers for each stepper. Lots of options.

I chose to use both the ESS and G540 and have been very satisfied.


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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

BalloonEngineer said:


> In some ways the Gecko 540 can be considered to be like a breakout board, as it does supply some extra input/output pins. It connects directly to a parallel port cable, and many machines just have the computer’s parallel port directly connected to the Gecko g540 as the main machine electronics component. With this setup there are just a few pins worth of additional I/O however, so you can connect 3 home switches for example, but not enough to handle limit switches on each end of each axis.
> 
> When connected this way (computer to Gecko 540 via parallel cable), the computer is doing all of the very time sensitive step and direction generation (it takes many thousands of pulses per second being generated to coordinate the movement of a cnc). Trying to do this and simultaneously update the screen, translate the gcode into steps, read data from the gcode file, etc. is a lot going on. On the older (slower) computers that still have printer ports, this could lead to issues. In addition, there are limitations on how long of parallel cables can be used.
> 
> ...


Awesome info Engineer! So are you making your own parallel cable that connects to the pin out on the ESS?

Thanks
-Josh

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## BalloonEngineer (Mar 27, 2009)

You could make your own cable. The 3 parallel ports on the ESS are 26 pin headers like on a PC motherboard. I purchased a short cable using flat ribbon cable that went from the header type connector to a female 25 pin centronics connector (like a printer cable). I used a male/male gender changer to plug this into my G540. 

When I built mine I bought the parts from Soigeneris, they had the best price at the time.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

You guys are talking way above my intelligence level. Glad I bought a plug and play. Ya'll got my admiration!!


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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

Just looked into the Centroid "Acorn" and think I've found a winner!

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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Never heard of them but that doesn't surprise me. I don't get out much - LOL! I just looked over their Acorn and it's a pretty neat looking complete package. 

David


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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

Picture time! She a little dirty, been sitting in a friends shed for a year or so...









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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

honesttjohn said:


> You guys are talking way above my intelligence level. Glad I bought a plug and play. Ya'll got my admiration!!


I dont know what im talking about, John lol im just repeating the stuff ive read 

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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

Feel like my last attempt at loading pictures didn't work. Forgive me if this has already been put up!









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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

Having trouble posting pictures from my phone, excited to share my progress! I'll keep trying.

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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

kid_sublime said:


> Having trouble posting pictures from my phone, excited to share my progress! I'll keep trying.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


Test









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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Not sure what happened, Kid. They were flagged for some reason but they're up now.

Is that oxidation or just dust? That's some healthy looking aluminum - nice!

David


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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

difalkner said:


> Not sure what happened, Kid. They were flagged for some reason but they're up now.
> 
> Is that oxidation or just dust? That's some healthy looking aluminum - nice!
> 
> David


Oxidation, im going to bring them in to work abd get everything cleaned up nice!

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## BalloonEngineer (Mar 27, 2009)

Interesting design.  Is it a commercial unit, or was it a DIY build? Looks like it might have been a DIY with parts cannibalized from some other machine. Will be interested seeing how it works with a gantry driven only from one side. Do you know if it was ever running, or was it only completed to this level?

Do you also have any Z axis parts? Are you planning on mounting a spindle or using a router?

What is your plan on providing features for clamping your stock? Add a grid of tapped holes, or attach some T-tracks and MDF strips?

Be careful cleaning the guide rods - you do not want to scratch them (although they should be pretty hard). Hopefully it is only light surface rust and no pitting on those. On some bearings, the balls will fall out if the bearings are removed from the rods, some are caged and will remain in place - be careful until you figure out which you have.


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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

From my understanding this was commissioned by Tyco Electronics (local plant to me) and ran as a special purpose machine which is unknown to me. It was then picked up by an engineer who had the intentions of turning it into a router, but was never completed. I picked it up for $700 as is.

I have Z axis parts that I need to go through, I'm going to have to machine a lead screw to length and turn the ends for bearings and stepper drive. I have a few boxes of parts to go through and need to finish machining the Y axis motor mount. I plan to use a 2.2kw spindle at some point, my plan is to get the machine functioning before I purchase a home in the next year or two because I'm thinking $ will be much harder to come by then!

I would like to add a grid of tapped holes for the hold downs, it's just what I'm used to using. I would like to cut mainly aluminum and carbon fiber with this, although if I can make some money making wooden trinkets, I'm all for that also!

I'm hoping some WD40 and some white scotch bright pads will clean up the rails, the aluminum I'm not too concerned with, although it will get cleaned up.

Forgot to mention, I received a bunch of blueprints and solid model files when I bought this. Will help fill in the missing pieces trying to get it built.


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## Gary Salisbury (Apr 11, 2014)

difalkner said:


> Welcome to the forum, Kid! You might post some photos of your machine when you get the opportunity. What size is your CNC, what kind of drive does it use - ballscrew, rack & pinion, belt, etc.?
> 
> I built a CNC router last year, build is on this forum, and used the ESS and it has worked just fine for a little over a year.
> 
> David


David, you can't just let it sit there! They worked fine for a year but what happened? Are you not recommending them? What would you recommend? Please don't make us drag the info out of you.


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## Gary Salisbury (Apr 11, 2014)

Nice looking rig. I would disassemble and polish every part then clear coat them. Aluminum wheel polish might work well here.


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## Gary Salisbury (Apr 11, 2014)

The biggest problem here is that it is only 16"x16". The Z-axis looks pretty small too. You are already into it for $700? ....... hummmm. 

Not to discourage you but if it was me, I would rethink this one. Just sayin.....


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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

Gary Salisbury said:


> The biggest problem here is that it is only 16"x16". The Z-axis looks pretty small too. You are already into it for $700? ....... hummmm.
> 
> Not to discourage you but if it was me, I would rethink this one. Just sayin.....


A Chinese 6040 chassis is $800... this will make a fine machine.

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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Gary Salisbury said:


> David, you can't just let it sit there! They worked fine for a year but what happened? Are you not recommending them? What would you recommend? Please don't make us drag the info out of you.


Haha! Sorry, Gary. That was poor wording. I put it into service after building the CNC and it has worked for just over a year without issue and continues to work just fine and hopefully well into the future. I'm usually better at proofreading my entries than that! :nerd:

David


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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

Well, after a clean up and reevaluation of the parts I have and the assembly print, I have gotten the Z axis figured out. Everything fits nice, so tonight I need to make some locating dowels and machine the lead screw to length and put a bearing journal on.

Cheers!









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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Looks like it cleaned up nicely - good job.

David


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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

Revised travel now that I've got a better handle on it.

X- 26"
Y- 22"
Z- 6"

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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

Turned lead screw for Z axis and made a couple locating pins last night 









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## kid_sublime (Dec 16, 2017)

Bellows in place, getting close!

Even got the boy to turn some screws 









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## BalloonEngineer (Mar 27, 2009)

kid_sublime said:


> Just looked into the Centroid "Acorn" and think I've found a winner!


Saw on another forum that centroid has announced price increases for beginning of 2018. May want to buy now if you haven’t yet.


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