[Devastator]

Are these pins being used by the board? I know they are not connected at the motor connections but I need to know if they are connected to any circuitry of the G540.

The reason for this is because I need to know if I can wire my motors to use my backup driver board which is unipolar and I need to find some unused pins to hook up the two extra wires. So I can use the G540 as a main, but be able to plug in my backup without rewiring the cable ends.

I asked this on the geckodrive forum a couple days ago, but it appears there is nobody monitoring it.

[Devastator]

Discuss all Gecko drives here and get direct support! LOL

[Devastator]

Bump. Been over two months.

[Mariss Freimanis]

The DB-9 pins 2, 3 and 4 go to ground. Don't use them for what you planned to do.

[Devastator]

The DB-9 pins 2, 3 and 4 go to ground. Don't use them for what you planned to do.

Thank you for your timely response. I figured it out on my own by disassembly. I couldn't wait any longer.

[Mariss Freimanis]

"Thank you for your timely response"

Sorry about that. I and our engineering department had to go 'total tunnel vision' on a major design effort during October, December and half of this month which is why these posts haven't been given the respectful treatment they deserve. Geckodrive is a small company so when resources were diverted to this effort, it left the support side neglected for which I apologize. The project is behind me now and I can return to handling questions again.

When I looked into your question, I noticed the G540 manual shows pins 2, 3 and 4 marked as 'NC'. That is an ambiguity that needs to be clarified since 'NC' can mean 'Not Connected' and ' make No Connection'. I'll have the manual changed to 'GND' for these pins.

[Devastator]

When I looked into your question, I noticed the G540 manual shows pins 2, 3 and 4 marked as 'NC'. That is an ambiguity that needs to be clarified since 'NC' can mean 'Not Connected' and ' make No Connection'. I'll have the manual changed to 'GND' for these pins.

Thank you for explaining your situation, I have always heard good things about your customer support so I was a bit perplexed.

FWIW, I took it as "Not Connected", but wanted to be absolutely sure.

[Mariss Freimanis]

"I took it as "Not Connected", but wanted to be absolutely sure"

I'm glad you checked and verified. I run into this all the time when it comes to IC pin designations. I err on the side of caution and assume the prohibitive meaning unless the datasheet expressly indicates the "pin not connected" definition. The error in writing a manual is in assuming a familiar convention translates elsewhere and carry the same interpretation.

Your original question was regards to "parking" unused unipolar (6-wire) motor wires; please leave them unterminated and insulated at the motor end. While I'm at it, I'd like to just mention a few other things may have already taken care off:

1) If you run a 6-wire motor in the 'half-winding' mode, set the current to the motor's rated current. If you run the motor in 'full-winding' mode, set the current to 1/2 the motor's rating.

2) Use 18-gage wire for the motor cable. Any wire-gage substantially less than that will cause the cable to overheat. Do not use manufactured connector and cable sets marked 'serial port cables'. They are intended for milli-amp loads like mice and use 28 gage wire.

3) Use the mating DB-9 connectors we supply with the G540. DB-9s come in 1 Amp and 5 Amp per pin flavors and you can't tell the difference by looking at them. The 1 Amp ones will overheat (3.5A being pushed thru a 1A pin) and damage the mating G540 DB-9 connectors.

4) Place the current set resistor on the G540 end DB-9 cable connector. Putting it at the motor end results in noisy motors because the motor wires in the cable inject noise into the current set connections.

5) Do not use a power 'On/Off' switch the DC side from your power supply. Put the 'On/Off' power switch on the AC side going into your power supply.

6) Have the power supply near (1ft or 300mm) the G540. If it must be further away, Place a 2,200uF to 4,700uF capacitor rated at 63VDC across the G540 power input terminals. Mind the capacitor's +/- voltage polarity.

[john-100]

Hi Mariss

when you update the G540 manual to show the 9 way D-type pins 2 to 5 are all connected to ground

can you also indicate the maximum safe voltage between the VFD terminals (7,8,9) and any other terminal on the G540

the reason I'm asking is in my part of the UK the mains voltage supply voltage is 248V RMS



prompted by another post where the VFD was incorrectly wired to the G540

is the 3 way screw terminal blocks that make up the G540's green 12 way terminal block available from Farnell , Mouser or Digikey ?

replacing the section for the VFD with an another colour will make them distinct from the others and could help people not to miss count the terminals !

John

[Mariss Freimanis]

John,

1) I designed the board layout in that region to 250VAC rules for dielectric breakdown and creepage voltages because the modular connector block is CE certified to 250VAC.

2) The important specifications for you are the connector has a 5mm pitch (pin spacing) and mating pins are 1.3 mm in diameter. Any modular connector block that meets those requirements will fit.

Mariss

[john-100]

Thanks Mariss for the quick reply

I expect I'll be doing my initial testing of a G540 and 4 stepper motors in 2 or 3 weeks , ( only ordered the motors today)
I'll take my time with the VFD

John

[Devastator]

2) Use 18-gage wire for the motor cable. Any wire-gage substantially less than that will cause the cable to overheat.

That got my attention for sure. I've been using 20 gauge for the past two years to run 3A motors. In addition, a couple of the cables are 12 feet long. Haven't noticed any cable heating even on cut files of 12 hours or more. That doesn't mean it is not happening, I just haven't noticed it. I'll shop around for new cable.

Thanks for the info on the DB-9's, I had no idea there were different versions. Where is the best place to order extras?

[john-100]

Hi Devastator

I've just had a quick web search


looking at digikey this connector looks OK -

DE09P064TXLF FCI | 609-1524-ND | DigiKey


another D type plug to look at is this from RS components - (Allied Electronics - Electronic Components Distributor in US)

Buy Solder D-sub Connectors RS Straight Panel Mount Solder D-sub Connector, Plug, 9 Way, 750 V ac/dc, 5A RS DE-9P1 online from RS for next day delivery.


John


PS

I think this is the connector I will try for the G540's VFD connections -

CamdenBoss CTBA1301/3A 3 Way 10A Pluggable Terminal Block 5mm Pitch | Rapid Online

http://www.rapidonline.com/pdf/21-2640.pdf