Hi all,
I am currently in the process of reviewing the capabilities of DC
Stepper Motor Controller/Drivers and was wondering what other labs are
currently using and what they like/dislike about them.
I have read Matthew Pearson's summary from 8/2010 regarding the Delta
Tau VME Turbo PMAC 2, Delta Tau Geobrick LVM, Newport XPS.
From his description, I assume the Delta Tau Geobrick LV is a
significantly different device (at least physically) than the Geobrick
LVM. At the very least LV is MUCH smaller (15.4" x 4" x 7.2"). It is
still a PMAC2 based controller, but they make a point of the
elimination of analog signaling:
"The absence of analog signals – required for typical motion
controller/drive interfacing – enables higher gains, better overall
performance and tighter integration, while significantly decreasing
costs and setup time."
This may explain how they managed to make it so much smaller the the
LVM model (which, as near as I can tell, they no longer make). It
might also help avoid the noise problem that Matthew mentioned
regarding the LVM model.
From reading various other Tech-talk postings my impression is that
the Delta Tau PMAC controllers are very capable, but complex and
require a lot of effort to get set up correctly. However, that may be
mitigated to some extent by using the synApps tpmac module (and BNL's
page regarding setup and configuration).
What other controllers are being used? What are the advantages,
disadvantages, and problems that have been encountered?
Mark Davis
NSCL/FRIB
[email protected]