[R08ert209cali]

parallel port signal led would be nice. An easy way to see if the g540 is getting a signal from the pc.

[Scramjet]

CHANGE COLOR ON THE G540 CASE...

[Scramjet]

A beep beep sound when a home/limit switch is triggered

Some blinking ligh when an axis is moving to see what axis is moving

Some back screws for easily add a heat disipator or some fan

Some small panel with arrow keys to move each axis manually, active relays outputs (sort of hand pendant)---dream is easy

[Scramjet]

-Incorporate an small cell phone to call Mariss inmediately when a question or trouble

[atxguitarist]

There are already a lot of great ideals posted.
All I can say is add a bottle opener.
:P

[joshendy]

I like all the ideas so far, I wonder about all the case modification ideas probably would cost them quite a bit to change the case design and I think they're after some cheap minor additions to make to the motherboard.

In saying that I've got some quite trivial ideas I thought I'd throw in:

- Put the Gecko G540 revision number closer to the connector so its easier to see when looking down there with direct light or a flash light / or put it somewhere a little more easier to see

- Perhaps do some fancy stuff with the fault light, make it blink a certain number of times to indicate the error its experiencing.

- Indicate on the case the max and min positions of the trim pots.

- Place a large square on the silkscreen of the motherboard around the fuse to better highlight it

- Put an easter egg type thing on the motherboard like some text saying "These are not the droids your looking for"

[Galtor]

Put a current set potentiometer that adjusts the current from 0 - 3.5A. on each motor output. That way the user could set the current easily with a small screwdriver based on which motor combination they choose.

[dfurlano]

Biggest issue I have found is there are not enough inputs into the 540. Having 4 is very limiting.

[Galtor]

My biggest issue is the location of the screw connectors. When mounted in a controller box. I have to "unmount" the G540 to gain access to the screw connectors.
Thus, either move the screw terminal connector to the "top" of the case or 180 degree your case labeling.

Ken Serdar

:banana:
1 vote for this suggestion!

[Pplug]

Put a current set potentiometer that adjusts the current from 0 - 3.5A. on each motor output. That way the user could set the current easily with a small screwdriver based on which motor combination they choose.

How would you measure the resistance to get the correct value? You would need a volt meter and would have to place the leads from the volt meter in a hole to contact the pads. -Just like putting the screwdriver in the holes for the trimpot we have now and they are redesigning that.

[alufly]

Make it work from a USB port .

[FantomMfg]

Return back to the G540 EZ , with the motor resistors already installed from the factory. Have heatsink fins machined on the back cover with fan. UsB control for new laptops. RJ45 connections or a long shot, make all connections wireless.2nd the idea of relays for coolant,etc.Speed sensing for Mach3 spindle rpm/spindle speed.Have ports for water cooling/air compressor air cooling of G540.

[Galtor]

How would you measure the resistance to get the correct value? You would need a volt meter and would have to place the leads from the volt meter in a hole to contact the pads. -Just like putting the screwdriver in the holes for the trimpot we have now and they are redesigning that.

With a multimeter. You could plug a male db9 in and probe the pins. Also you could screenprint hash marks for various ohms like a clock face. want 3.0 ohms just line up slot on pot with that hash mark. Easy simple and eliminates all the other solutions out there that ALL involve soldering which is far more complex than a screwdriver and a multimeter.

[Galtor]

Screw holes on the back used to mount a heatsink would be great.

A 12 volt power outlet for a common computer dc fan would be a help as well. With the high powered steppers people are selling in kits, these modifications would make things much easier. I know they would have helped with my two installs!

A rs232 to rs485 convertor would be cool so we could run a vfd from modbus instead of the analog signal.

More negative power terminals and a ground would help cut down on the mess in back of my machines and help simplify wiring for noobs.

As evidenced by Gecko's own testing there is no change in temp using a heatsink. So why add a feature that has no value?

Sorry but my plasma dose not need the vfd so I do not want to pay for the addition of convertor I dont need.

Not sure why you would need more negative terminals just mount a terminal strip and wire off that.

[LeeWay]

I did buy a 540 once that I intended to use, but wound up selling it instead. I went with 201's instead.

What I would like to see is perhaps some 609 V's and 812 V's. Three and 4 axis systems that utilize 203V's instead of the 250's. Same format as the 540's, just larger of course and include heat sinks and fans. Now that is a system like I need. Much larger size motors are possible with those. I am using mostly 1200 oz motors now with 6 amp rating. Incredibly powerful. Absolutely no worries about missing steps with these. I get plenty of speed as well. Though I would just try them out and if not strong enough, move up to servo's. That was not needed.

[Pplug]

As evidenced by Gecko's own testing there is no change in temp using a heatsink. So why add a feature that has no value?

Sorry but my plasma dose not need the vfd so I do not want to pay for the addition of convertor I dont need.

Not sure why you would need more negative terminals just mount a terminal strip and wire off that.

I know for a fact that a heatsink helped cool a 540. On my build in school we had a g540 that was overheating. It would trigger a fault and registr an e-stop in Mach. It was a very hot day (97 degrees f) and with 4 3.5 amp motors running at the same time for over 4 hours straight. The g540 was too hot to touch, it was even hotter than the steppers! That night, I milled out a heatsink from some 6061 plate. The next day I used 2 C-clamps to put slight pressure on the heatsink and g540. The temp went up to over 100 and the g540 had a heavier load that day. We had no stops and everything functioned well. The g540 was cooler and could be touched.

The storal of the mory is:
A heatsink a day keeps the e-stops away!

[ger21]

As evidenced by Gecko's own testing there is no change in temp using a heatsink. So why add a feature that has no value?

You better read this again. Support

Gecko's own testing measured a G540 case with no cooling at 85°C

With a Heatsink, it was 48°C

With a 12V fan, it was 49°C

What they do say, is that using both a fan and a heatsink won't cool it anymore. You need to use either a fan or a heatsink, but using both isn't any better than either one.

[ger21]

Besides, there was a big thread a few years back about setting the current values and this method goes with their current product lineup.

Their newest drive, the G201X uses DIP switches to set the current.

[Pplug]

I did not know that! Thanks for straitening me out.

[762x51]

Why not leave the G540 as-is for now and get the GM540 finished and in production?

(GM) Product Line Feature Request