Running Bigger Stepper Drivers from a CNC Shield

[Bertus Kruger]

A few people have asked how to run bigger stepper drivers like Gecko's and MA860H's from the CNC Shield.

The breakout pins next to the X axis stepper and below the reset button is where the connection is made.

The pin-out is as follow:

Enable : Ground
X Step : X Direction
Y Step : Y Direction
Z Step : Z Direction

External drivers need only 4 signal pins to work. The pins are Ground , Enable , Step , Direction.

Take care to make sure the external drivers run on 5V logic voltage like the Arduino that is running GRBL.

[dzzoner]

Bertus,

I was trying to test an external motor driver with one of your boards. I have it hooked up like this (Does this look right?)...


EN/GND connected to PUL(+5V)/PUL-(PUL)
X.STEP/DIR connected to DIR+(+5V)/DIR-(DIR)


Motor connections
A+, A-, B+, B- hooked to my 4 wire motor

Power
24V supply hooked to DC- and DC+ (Driver is rated for 24V - 50V)

[Bertus Kruger]

No,that does not seem right...

What External driver are you trying to hook-up? Do you have some datasheets for it?

[Bertus Kruger]

This topic might might be of help to you... viewtopic.php?f=10&t=44

[dzzoner]

Bertus,

The other discussion you noted and linked was perfect. I wired to the instructions and it is working perfectly.

Summary from other post (Thank you Leo!!!):
Wiring
From the CNC board,
- Each axis (X, Y, Z, A) Dir goes to the (+ dir) of each controller
- Each axis (X, Y, Z, A) Step goes to the (+ step or +pul) of each controller
- The (+ enable) goes to each stepper (+ enable) of each controller. Thus 1 board output goes to 4 controllers
- The (- enable) goes to each stepper (- enable) of each controller AND to (- dir) of each controller AND to (- step or - pul) of each controller. It is the shared ground. Thus, 1 board output goes to 4 controllers in 3 spots and the ground is shared. I just used jumper across the grounds on the negative side.

Note: I am using a SainSmart CNC Microtep Driver ST-M5045 (Which seems to be the same as the 2M542)
Amazon Link
http://www.amazon.com/SainSmart-Micro-S ... 1_1&sr=8-1

Doug

[Bertus Kruger]

Thanks for the update. Those stepper drivers seem to be OEM'ed. (Lots of models and brands with the same internals.)

[solidsteak]

If these pins are connected, that means the CNC shield bypasses the onboard stepper drivers right?

[Bertus Kruger]

If these pins are connected, that means the CNC shield bypasses the onboard stepper drivers right?

Yes and no. The on-board connected stepper driver will still receive the stepper signals. I would suggest running one or the other...