Re: Stepper power supplies, unregulated or regulated? Switched or linear?

Hi,

Bob, it makes no difference. You can use a single supply if you want
or use individual ones; it is mostly a question of price and space.

A single big supply should be a little cheaper per Watt than several
supplies that add up to the same wattage.

However with multiple supplies you have the ability to tailor the
voltage to the paricular motor rather than having a one size fits all
situation.

The drives are perfectly happy to run from an unregulated supply,
coincidentaly the cheapest as well.

Use a regulated supply if your operating voltage will be near the
maximum voltage limit of the drive. Unregulated supplies "track" the
input voltage and thus can exceed the drive limit if your electric
company is feeling particularly frisky on any paricular day. Your
115VAC voltage is +/- 15%. Watchout for the +15%!

For regulated supplies, it makes no difference if a supply is a
switcher or linear. Go with the best deal. Do use a large (10,000uF)
capacitor on the output though. Regulators tend go crazy when current
gets returned to them. Think of the big cap as Prozac for a power
supply.

Low cost suggestions. Roll your own. All it takes is a transformer,
bridge rectifier and filter capacitor. The drives love it and it is
simple and cheap.

Mariss
Geckodrive Inc.



--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@egroups.com, Robert Allen & Marsha Camp
<mcamp@t...> wrote:

> Can anyone tell me what the ins and outs of power supplies
> are? I am planning on buying a couple of Gekko g201 stepper
> drives and 720 in. oz. motors.
> Should I get a power supply for each drive or one big power
> supply? Unregulated or regulated? Switched or linear?
> Any low cost suggestions?
> Bob