My laser just developed a problem. It is a Chinese system, model E3525, with an American air cooled 30 watt CO2 laser from Coherent, the model is a GEM (the laser is very nice). The support and documentation on the system is very minimal. The problem is: I was using it the other night when the X axis started “stuttering” occasionally, like it would go into fibulation. Now it does it almost all the time, but snaps out of it occasionally. Same result is that it won’t work and I am trying to turn out product here at Christmas, ouch. I switched the X and Y axis on the driver board and the problem switched, so it is the board, not the motor. Okie Dokie, now what? So I went online to give myself a crash course in stepper motors and stepper motor drivers. I have NEMA 42BYGHW811-05, 2.5 anp, 1.8 degree per step motors http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?category=23. The driver board is not obviously marked but it is a two axis driver with a USB connection to the computer.
So I want to find a replacement board. Here is one http://www.phidgets.com/products.php...duct_id=1063_1 but it is out of stock (AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHHHH, so funny) and it is the only one I can find. So my question to the Sawmill creek forum is, does anyone know of a 2 axis driver board (or more axis’s) that can drive a bi-polar (that is what I feel like right now ) 2.5 amp stepper motor? Also it needs to be USB as I am controlling my system with a lap top, not a parallel port from a desk top. And my software is woeful, it is Newlydraw, I am very thrifty (cheap) and am afraid a new motor driver would not perhaps seamlessly interface with my software. I have been thinking about an upgrade anyway and this may force it, what do you think would be a good replacement?
This is my first post, I have been looking for a while and have always found this forum to be very useful. Thank you in advance for any responses you might have.
Bryan Moran