Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Rutex drive opinions needed

tig415 wrote:

>Hi
>I have a BP clone with westamp servos and a blown control and a bad
>X axis glass scale. I've been hemming and hawing on what is the
>best direction for me to take.
>
>

What is wrong with the scale? Could it just be dirty? It is worth a little
investigating.

>Option 1
>Pico systems card and EMC, replace the glass scale. Well that's a
>no-go as I'm hooked on Mach2 and have no plans on using any other
>control program and it's the most expensive of my three options.
>
>

But, I hope to eventually support Mach 2 as well. I'm waiting on Art
Fenerty to give me any tiny piece of information on what I can do to
help this happen. I think he really has no intentions of ever opening
his program up to outsiders, and will insist on writing the driver himself
to keep it all secret. But, a gentle poke from a customer wouldn't hurt.

>Option2
>Use Rutex R991H Pulse to analog drive. Keep my servo amps and
>replace the glass scale with a rotary encoder .
>
>Option3
>Use Rutex R990H or the R90H if the 990 is too small. Use a rotary
>encoder and sell the amps on ebay.
>
>I'm starting to like option 3 as there are less components to go
>bad. Are there any advantages to using the pulse to analog drives
>and servo amps verses the others.
>
>

Does your machine have handwheels? (Many of the 'clones' keep them.)
With any of these other solutions, they are useless. If you keep the servo
amps, and fix or replace the scale, and use my PPMC board set with the
encoders and amps, you get a machine that can effortlessly flip back
and forth between manual and CNC. To go manual, punch E-stop.
To go back to CNC, reset the E-stop button and hit the estop-reset, and
it is back to CNC, without losing the axis alignment. This is the one
thing you can't do with the Rutex and other step/direction servo systems.

Jon