Slave axis

[alexwis]

Hi all.
So i'm pretty new to CNC - 1st time Masso. I am making another CNC plasma table. I just got and wired my Masso 4 axis but have a question on the slave axis on my gantry. My current table configuration has a slaved Y axis. When I set up the masso it seems to only let me slave the X. Am I missing something ?



Thanks in advance

alex

 

[wbodie37]

G'day Alex.

I had the same issue on my router build, and asked the same question, I only have 3 axis software so I didn't have A or B activated, however A channel is slave to X axis and B Channel is slave to Y axis so if you really need to slave the motor to Y you will need 5 axis software. Masso Tech informed me that I only need to slave the axis if I have limit switches on both motors. I have two motors on either side of the gantry moving the Y axis, I have a gecko 540 motor contoller and simply reversed the black and green wires on channel A at the motor drive socket, this way both motors work in unison.

regards,

Lyndon.

 

[masso-support]

Hi Alex, welcome to the MASSO forums.

A axis can only be slaved to X axis and B axis can only be slaved to Y axis. So the reason that you might not be able to see the option on the screen is that you might have only purchased a 4 axis version of the controller software and will need to upgrade to 5 axis version.

 

[jcoldon]

so what your saying is if I have a plasma table with 2 motors on the Y and mot 1 and mot 2 slave then mot 3 on the X and mot 4 on the Z

I need a 5 axis controller that's only 4 axis with 4 motors please explain

 

[masso-support]

its 4 in total but the MASSO software will only allow to slave A axis with X and B axis with Y

 

[jcoldon]

ok I got it one question I see the technic clear path servo can be wired together in parallel with - + reversed on 1 motor

to use on the y axis for plasma gantry so that would not need a slaved axis just a 4 axis controller 1 for XYZ correct

and this is ok to do via tecknic do they recommend this

 

[masso-support]

I think there is a bit of confusion, so the first thing is that on the axis that you need to salve, do you need two separate switches/sensors for both motors to be homed separately.

If you only have one switch/sensor to home the axis with two motors then you can simply wire the STEP and DIR signals together and dont need to use the slaving option on the MASSO.

 

[jcoldon]

ok thanks I just do 1 home switch other wise it needs the switches in perfect alighnment my gantry does not move I would order the 5 axis any way

thanks for the input

 

[alexwis]

Thanks for the info. I actually ended up paralleling the Y motors, which i'm not a fan of. It is a draw back for the system. I purchased a 4 axis due to the 2 Y motors. I wanted to be able to set up additional limits and homes to help "auto Square"the gantry. I also didnt want to put 2 motor draws on 1 driver. Had i know this limitation I still would have bought the Masso but I would have chose a 3 Axis and saved a couple dollars. It seams to be a little silly that i would need to buy a 5 axis for 4 motors because i want to slave the Y instead of the X. Anyway I do like the Masso so far beside that little disappointment.

 

[masso-support]

If you are connecting the motors in parallel then please use two separate drives, one for each motor and then connect the STEP and DIR signals together because two motors on one drive might overload the drive.

 

[flytyree]

The "B" axis does not show on my screen. Is this because I only have the 4-axis option?

I have two stepper motors on the Y axis. Is there an advantage to having each stepper driver on separate axis; that is, one on Y and one on B?

Currently I have both stepper motors on the Y axis.