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Buildbotics taking preorders

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2021 7:24 pm
by Doug
As many of you know, we have been out of stock on our Buildbotics Controllers recently. I'm happy to report that we plan to have our stock replenished in October and are now taking pre-orders.

Our new controllers will have a few hardware differences. They look the same, but have some exciting hardware improvements that open up lots of new possibilities.

Accepts 24 - 48 VDC
5V I/O improves compatibility with external devices
Digital inputs are now protected from overvoltages
New inrush protection for internal power circuits
Step and Direction lines are now exposed allowing the use of external drivers.
Now provides 0-10 volt analog as well as PWM and RS-485 Spindle Control.

Click here to order one now.

Re: Buildbotics taking preorders

Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2021 7:46 pm
by texwoodbuilds
Awesome, Doug!

Forgive me if this is obvious, but does the increase input voltage translate into more voltage to the stepper motors?

Thanks!
Kyle

Re: Buildbotics taking preorders

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 1:13 pm
by Doug
Yes

Re: Buildbotics taking preorders

Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:23 am
by Chilly
Hi Doug,

Can you elaborate a little more on this new feature please:
"Step and Direction lines are now exposed allowing the use of external drivers."

Re: Buildbotics taking preorders

Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 4:25 pm
by Doug
One of the great features of the Buildbotics Controller is that it has some really powerful motor drivers built in. This eliminates the need for users to purchase and integrate motor drivers between the controller and stepper motors.

As good as these drivers are, some users want to use different drivers. Reasons for this might include the desire to use closed loop stepper motors, or use motors that are simply too big for the built in drivers.

To accommodate users that want to supply their own drivers, we have exposed the 'step' and 'direction' control lines on a new 15-pin connector on the back panel of the controller. There is one 'step' and 'one' direction line available for each of the four motor ports. The 'step' lines provide a pulse for each motor step and the 'direction' lines change between high and low signals to specify the direction that the motor should turn.

Hope this helps.

Re: Buildbotics taking preorders

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 6:38 pm
by Amos246
That's great Doug. Great work.

Re: Buildbotics taking preorders

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:30 am
by johannes
Doug wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 4:25 pm
There is one 'step' and 'one' direction line available for each of the four motor ports. The 'step' lines provide a pulse for each motor step and the 'direction' lines change between high and low signals to specify the direction that the motor should turn.

Hope this helps.
I have a large gantry CNC, which means I currently have to use two motor outputs to drive the Y axis.
Does this new feature mean I could drive two external (closed loop) servo drivers for the Y axis off the one output? Thus giving me back the 4th motor port for e.g a rotating chuck or similar?