[MikeRenz]

Ok...i posted before with my problem:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52032

Since then i spent some time on the phone with Keling, and he offered to just take all my stuff back since i think he was sick of me not being able to figure it out since according to him i'm the only one to ever have a problem with it and everyone else gets it to work.

I didn't want to just return the stuff and be done...so we agreed that i would send him my cnc controller/steppers, and "upgrade" to the preassembled/tested kit. Well this proved to not be a "assembled and tested" kit as advertised...becuase whenever i hooked everything up and powered it up, the motors didn't even lock. So immediately i'm happy with my new upgrade and smaller bank account.

I cracked the case open, and the wiring wasn't complete! Rather than splicing wires into the small controller boxes, whoever built the thing just tried stuff 2 wires into a hole meant for 1...it didn't clamp...and just fell out. So this had me concerned so i went through the rest of the wiring and found another instance of this.

So i fixed that and re-power up...and now 2 axis lock at least. So now i move on to seeing if this will talk to my computer since the last one that i assembled would not. I go through all the steps carefully checking everything...and to my surprise when i tried to jog an axis is worked! for a second anyway.

The problems are:
1. the steppers step wherever they want...not taking even sized steps
2. the steppers will stop working after a few seconds...and i have to power down the controller and power it back up for them to work again.
3. only x and y work
4. the power of the steppers is slim to none. If i hold onto the stepper shaft and tell it to jog, the stepper can't overpower my holding it. There is no way it'd be powerful enough to move the mill table.
5. when i sent back my steppers, my new kit came with three nema 23's...instead of 2 of them, and one larger one. The motor mount kit i bought is for 2 23's and the one larger...so even if i get this thing working i guess i'll have to yet again buy another stupid stepper.


so anyway...any help/suggestions you may have would be great. I'm about ready to just sell the entire setup and be done with it...as its basically about a $3k paperweight at this point and it laughs at me everytime i walk past it.

[Crevice Reamer]

Hi Mike. Welcome to the Zone!

It sounds like you have traded one set of problems for another.

Are you sure that your computer cable is "straight thru?" Have you tried it with a different computer cable?

CR.

[project5k]

man that sux, i'm sorry to hear about anyone having thoes kinds of issues...

i'm not 100% sure, but i cant imagine how a cable wiring issue would reduce the torque of the motor, i would think it would be all or none

[MikeRenz]

Are you sure that your computer cable is "straight thru?" Have you tried it with a different computer cable?

i specifically bought a "straight through" cable...and i double checked it with my multimeter.

[Crevice Reamer]

What exact Keling drives, motors and PSU are in the latest kit?

CR.

[MikeRenz]

man that sux, i'm sorry to hear about anyone having thoes kinds of issues...

i'm not 100% sure, but i cant imagine how a cable wiring issue would reduce the torque of the motor, i would think it would be all or none

thats what i thought too. My only take on it is that the power supply for the motors is too weak. My original kit had 2 big power supplies, one for the larger nema 34 and one to run both the nema 23's.

This one prebuilt controller just has a single power supply inside to drive all 3 axis. Basically i think i've wasted about $650 on keling crap, and about 2yrs. I do not want to deal with him anymore as he wasn't exactly polite the last time we spoke. Plus there is a language barrier issue that just doesn't help matters.

This is the kit i bought:
http://www.kelinginc.net/ControlSystem.html
I got the gray one, not the blue one. I don't know why he sent me three NEMA 23s, but the last thing i felt like doing was call him and complain and have some guy tell me i'm stupid in his non native language.

[Crevice Reamer]

There are several kits on that page. I can't tell which one is the gray one. Please count down from the top. Which one do you have?

CR.

[MikeRenz]

What exact Keling drives, motors and PSU are in the latest kit?

CR.

i'll run home and go open the thing up and get the part numbers off of it. It's such a headache at this point. :devious:

[MikeRenz]

ok...guess it's been a while since I looked at this stuff....becuase i DO have two NEMA 23s and one NEMA 34. Dunno why i misremembered that. But anywho...here is what i have:

(2) KL-4030 (x/y axis driver)
(1) Leetro DMD605 (z axis driver)
(2) KL23H276-28-4B (x/y motors)
(1) KL34H280-55-4A (z motor)
(1) KL-320-36 ps (36v, 8.8a)

and i couldn't tell what kind of controller is in it since there were no apparent numbers on the side of the board that is visible.

[MikeRenz]

so in looking at the Keling pre-assembled kits...mine matches none of them. So I don't know if he's changed what comes in the kits, or if mine was just thrown together with what was sitting around...or what.

[Crevice Reamer]

Never mind! It's plain to see that you are fed up with what you have. I can suggest a clear way out of this mess, but it will cost you a little more money.

You did some really nice work on this mill. And you did a very nice job wiring up all of the "crap" electronics. Had you spent just a little more in the beginning, you would have been happily making chips for a long time now. You need a 'BULLET PROOF" solution now, that will get you up and running quickly.

MOST of this is available from Keling, so hopefully you can return what you have and trade for the GOOD stuff. What I'm suggesting is tried and true, mostly American products that should work right out of the box and are backed by solid customer support. You get what you pay for though.

Keep the KL34H280-55-4A

I'll be back in a minute with a solution for you.

CR.

[Crevice Reamer]

Okay, here is your lifeline. Send back all Keling products but the large N34 motor. Trade for these:

$417 3 Gecko G203Vs @ 139 ea.
$098 2 KL23H284-35-4B 387 Oz motors for X and Y
$089 1 KL34H280-55-4A 637 Oz motor for Z (You already HAVE this so keep it)
$189 1 KL6515 PSU.
-------
$793 From Keling SPECIFY NO SUBSTITUTIONS!

Order this breakout board from PMDX:

$183 PMDX-132 Breakout/driver board http://www.pmdx.com/PMDX-132/
------
$976 Total (Plus shipping) for a working mill.

CR.

[MikeRenz]

its not that i'm fed up with what i have...it's that i'm fed up with it not being used. I've had to farm out lots of small projects that i could have just done with this setup had it been working, over the last 2 yrs.

I'm not going to spend any more $ with Keling. And the reason why i worked with him already was becuase others had good luck and the reviews seemed fine on his stuff. He was helpful, or tried to be helpful to me..but the last time i spoke with him he was just fed up with my ordeal, and me apparently. I don't blame him for wanting it to be over, but i do blame him for being rude to me on the phone when i'd spent hundreds of dollars and wanted all of 30mins of his time.

[MikeRenz]

CR...do you have some insight for me on why the keling stuff you list is better than the keling stuff i have?

[Crevice Reamer]

Keling motors and PSUs are top notch value for the money. I know of no complaints about THEM, and I personally have not had any problems. He does not always put together the best components in his kits however.

The motors and PSU I have put together for you are the EXACT combination that you need.

Gecko G203Vs are probably the BEST drive available. They are made in California and backed by a tremendous warranty and wonderful customer support. Once you go Gecko, you will not have to deal with Keling any more. I'm sure that will make you BOTH very happy.

John is actually a good guy. He has brought us some great products and tries to do his best to be helpful. He may be just as frustrated as YOU are with this problem and the language barrier. I'm sure he will do right by you on this trade.

CR.

[MikeRenz]

do you think just getting new drivers will make this thing work? Part of me wishes i'd have just perservered with my original build your own kit from keling instead of assuming the preassembled and tested kit would work.

part of me just wants to ship the damn controller to someone with some $ and get them to get the thing working. heh. I wonder if there is anyone near me geographically that knows this stuff well. I'm not the dumbest person ever...but this thing sure makes me feel stupid.

[Crevice Reamer]

Obviously you can do as you please. I have offered you ONE solution that IMO will work for you. There may be other solutions that will work as well.

When one is using a tool to generate business income, the lesson is eventually learned that Quality and Reliability are necessary, and usually do not come cheaply--But are worth every penny in the long run. And the LACK of these, can cost much more than was saved on a low budget purchase.

CR.

[MikeRenz]

oh..and where else are Gecko drivers available for purchase? I'm googling it without much luck.

[MikeRenz]

Obviously you can do as you please. I have offered you ONE solution that IMO will work for you. There may be other solutions that will work as well.

When one is using a tool to generate business income, the lesson is eventually learned that Quality and Reliability are necessary, and usually do not come cheaply--But are worth every penny in the long run. And the LACK of these, can cost much more than was saved on a low budget purchase.

CR.

i agree with you here. I'm not trying to be stand offish or anything...just evaluating everything before i just drop yet another $750 on this thing.

[KTP]

oh..and where else are Gecko drivers available for purchase? I'm googling it without much luck.

OMG

google search query: gecko drive

first link given: http://www.geckodrive.com


I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest you take up a less demanding hobby...like walking and chewing gum or something (chair)