The great advantage of using the Masso is quality. If you couple the Masso with Clearpath servos, you ll have a very reliable, very accurate system. (Full disclosure) I don t have a Masso controller, but I will purchase one soon to replace my controller that was recently lost in a lightning strike.
Yes, the Clearpath servos provide great advantage over steppers. First, you don t need stepper drivers like Gecko. And you don t need signal conditioning like smoothstepper. With the Clearpath the Gecko and smoothstepper go to the trash. There are fewer hardware components to fail. The servos also have a lower operating temperature. This is a great advantage for unconditioned shop space.
The Clearpath servos operate in step direction mode. You ll have to calibrate each servo using the Clearpath calibration software. But the software tool is documented well and is very easy to use. Then you ll have to perform axis calibration for the initial setup just the same as the steppers.
Each Clearpath servo receives DC voltage and a digital step direction signal. The onboard controller converts the DC voltage to AC for a motor power source. And, the onboard controller processes the step and direction signal to motion. Since the onboard controller has a built in encoder, the processor has the ability to always know its position. So you can set these servos up so they always know where home is.
Finally I d like to say they work very well with plasma cutters. Since all the control, drive and processing functions are handled onboard at the servo; the servos are more immune from electronic noise than most systems.
I m not associated with Tecknic. But I have been using their servos for five years and they have never failed. I have their least expensive nema 23 s on my large router. I have their nema 34 s on my Bridgeport knee mill conversion. And I ve recently replaced my Bridgeport 3phase spindle motor with a Clearpath Integral hp servo motor.
I can t say they are perfect for all applications. There are too many variables to make that kind of statement. Some may say, But look at the initial cost to get into the Clearpath . After I moved to a Masso type quality controller and the Clearpath servos, all my control problems vanished. Two years of troubleshooting nightmare controls, all gone
BillT
