SOC Robotics MK4 MM160 Stepper Motor Controller

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MK4 MM160 4-Axis 3.5A Bipolar Stepper Motor Controller

Documents:
   Datasheet
   MK4 Technical Manual
   MM160 Technical Manual

Description: 4-Axis 3.5A Bipolar Stepper Motor controller/driver with PC parallel port interface, limit switch inputs, aux outputs and four bipolar stepper drivers

Price:

MK4-MM160

$95.00

Click on photos to enlarge

Dimensions:

3.85x3.00 in

Overview | Layout | Description | Related Products | Downloads

Overview
The MK4 MM160 is a 4-axis bipolar 3.5A per phase stepper motor controller/driver combination. The MK4 routes a PC's parallel port to four bipolar stepper motor drivers (MM160). The MK4 accepts five limit switch inputs and has four auxiliary open collector outputs. The MM160 is a bipolar stepper motor driver based on the popular TB6560 driver. Each of the four MM160's can be individually configured with an onboard DIP switch that selects step, decay and torque mode. The MK4 is powered by an external DC wall adapter. The MK4 MM160 is available as a 3-Axis controller.

Features
    o Bipolar Stepper Motor Controller
    o 3.5A per phase continuous
    o 4-Axis X, Y, Z and A
    o Wave, Half and 1/8th and 1/16th Microstepping
    o DIP Switch selectable torque, decay and step mode
    o Limit switch detection on each axis - routed to Parallel Port
    o Stepper motor input voltage 7-35VDC
    o Transient Voltage Suppression (TVS) on each driver output
    o 4 Open NPN outputs from Parallel Port
    o PC Parallel Port Interface
    o Logic power supply 8-10VDC
    o I2C TWI Communications Port
    o ISP Programming Port
    o Small form factor (3.85x3.00in)
    o Optional features:
              o I2C TWI Communications Port
              o ISP Programming Port

Component Layout

Description
The MK4 MM160 is a parallel port based controller with four 3.5A bipolar stepper drivers attached. The MK4 is powered by a 9V DC wall adapter while each MM160 requires 24-36VDC to drive the stepper motor.

The MK4 is a four axis controller that routes step and direction signals from the DB25 connector to four individual inline connectors. Five limit switch inputs, one for each axis and an eStop input are routed to DB25 connector inputs. Each limit switch input is pulled high by a 10K ohm resistor. An external limit switch is a normally open switch that closes when contacted by a carriage assembly pulling the limit switch input low. The eStop input is also pulled high by a 10K ohm resistor so an external limit switch is typically open although a normally close switch can also be used. Four open collector transistors energized by input from the DB25 can be used to control low current external relays.

Each of the four MM160 stepper motor drivers accept step and direction signals from the MK4 that are translated into appropriate drive voltages for the stepper motors. Each MM160 requires stepper motor power in the range 24-36VDC. Step mode, decay mode and torque is set individually for each driver. Four step modes are supported: full, half, 1/8th and 1/16th microstep. Four decay modes are supported with 100% decay recommended for most applications. Four torque settings are supported to handle motors with less than 3.5A/phase drive requirements. See the MM160 Technical Reference Manual for additional information.

Software Tools
A desktop utility is available to test operation of the MK4 MM160. The application is called GStepPP.exe and is available as a free download below.

Expansion Options
An embedded G Code processor option is under development that attaches to the MK4's parallel port and converts the MK4 into a standalone G Code controller.

Related Products
The following products can be used with the MK4 and MM160.

    MK4 Options:
       MP10           Mounting Plate        MK4 Base Plate.pdf
       SAM58GC   G Code Processor with USB 2.0 and ARM7 Processor (beta product)
       MM120          Smart 2A Bipolar Driver
       MM130          Smart 3A Unipolar Driver
       MM165          Smart 3.5A Bipolar Driver
       MM220        Smart 6A Bipolar Driver

MK4 Options:
CK10 Cooling Kit for TB6560

Downloads/Revisions
The following technical datasheets, hardware and software downloads are available.

      MK4 Technical Reference Manual ->           MK4 Technical Reference Manual.pdf
      MM160 Technical Reference Manual ->      MM160 Technical Reference Manual.pdf
      Parallel Port Status Monitoring Utility ->   parmon.zip
      MK4 Test Utility GstepPP.exe (V0.98) ->     GstepPP_V0.98.zip
      MK4 Mach3 XML Configuration File ->      MK4 Mach3 XML.zip
      MK4 Mounting Plate Hole Locations ->      MK4 Base Plate.pdf

webmaster@soc-robotics.com Last update: April 10, 2014