Gecko G540 4-Axis Stepper Motor Drives
Overview
A 50V 3.5A 4-axis stepper motor driver that is meant to be driven by a PC over a parallel port. The newer version also features an isolated VFD PWM output for speed setting.
NOTE: there are at least two major hardware revisions, and the pinouts are different.
Specifications
| Input Voltage | 18 - 50VDC |
|---|---|
| Motor Current | 0 - 3.5A |
| Power Dissipation | 1 - 13W |
| Short Circuit Trip | 14A |
| Motor Inductance | 1 - 30mH |
| Step Frequency | 0 - 200kHz |
| Step Low Time | 2uS |
| Step High Time | 1uS |
| Direction Setup Time | 200nS |
| Direction Hold Time | 200nS |
| Signal Voltage | 3.3 - 5VDC |
| Charge Pump Frequency | 10kHz |
Wiring Diagram
DB25
| Pin | REV-1 | REV-3+ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Output 1 | Output 2 |
| 2 | A-Axis Direction | X-Axis Step |
| 3 | A-Axis Step | X-Axis Direction |
| 4 | Z-Axis Direction | Y-Axis Step |
| 5 | Z-Axis Step | Y-Axis Direction |
| 6 | Y-Axis Direction | Z-Axis Step |
| 7 | Y-Axis Step | Z-Axis Direction |
| 8 | X-Axis Step | A-Axis Step |
| 9 | X-Axis Direction | A-Axis Direction |
| 10 | Input 0 | Input 1 |
| 11 | Input 1 | Input 2 |
| 12 | Input 2 | Input 3 |
| 13 | Input 3 | Input 4 |
| 14 | Output 0 | VFD PWM (50Hz) |
| 15 | Fault (out to PC) | Fault (out to PC) |
| 16 | Output 3 | Charge Pump (>10kHz) |
| 17 | Output 2 | Output 1 |
| 18-25 | GND | GND |
Screw Terminals
| Pin | REV-1 | REV-3+ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | +5VDC (from PC) | Input 1 |
| 2 | Input 0 | Input 2 |
| 3 | Input 1 | Input 3 |
| 4 | Input 2 | Input 4 |
| 5 | Input 3 | Output 1 |
| 6 | "Disable" Input | Output 2 |
| 7 | Output 0 | VFD GND |
| 8 | Output 1 | VFD Output |
| 9 | Output 2 | VFD +10VDC |
| 10 | Output 3 | "Disable" Input |
| 11 | +18-50VDC (for motors) | |
| 12 | GND | |
DE9
| Pin | REV-1 | REV-3+ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | current setting resistor | |
| 2-4 | GND | [NC] |
| 5 | current setting resistor | |
| 6 | Motor B+ | |
| 7 | Motor B- | |
| 8 | Motor A+ | |
| 9 | Motor A- | |
Sources
Page 2 of the REV-1 manual shows the connector pinouts.
Page 2 of the REV-3 manual shows the connector pinouts.
Page 5 of the REV-4 manual shows the connector pinouts.
Page 7 of the REV-8 manual shows the connector pinouts.
Page 3 of the REV-1 manual shows the suggested wiring.
Page 3 of the REV-3 manual shows the suggested wiring.
Page 6 of the REV-4 manual shows the suggested wiring.
Page 8 of the REV-8 manual shows the suggested wiring.
Online Resources
G540 Multi Axis Digital Stepper Drive | Geckodrive
Gecko G540 4-Axis Drive REV-1 (August 5th, 2008)
Gecko G540 4-Axis Drive REV-3 (September 10th, 2008)