These motors I’m testing are also available on Amazon UK:
My motors seem to be running in the opposite direction.
What should be the normal procedure in this case? Swap positive and negative together with signal A and signal B from the encoder?
Do they run in the same direction?
Along Y axis they run opposite but when I press up they run in the direction that would move the sled down.
Along x axis they run in the same direction but when I press right they run in the direction that would move the sled left.
1 Like
Oh wow, was hoping for something more easy :-/
Exceeds my skills, but your precise description of what is happening will help someone jump in fast.
All I can do is keep an eye on the post and bump it up if it seems to drown 
Edit: Not that I’ve seen a post like this ever drown
Edit2: Can I suggest to open a new post in https://forums.maslowcnc.com/c/troubleshooting ?
If you do, pick a title better then “Where to obtain the main motor”, ‘motor connection pinout’ or along the way.
1 Like
Which side of the motor sprockets do the chains go to the sled on your setup? Inverted action might be caused by rigging the chains one way and selecting the other in Advanced Settings.
Another possibility is having the motor leads swapped in one end of the motor cable. If the Actions/TestMotors-Encoders passes currently, you would need to swap the encoder pins when you swap the motor leads.
2 Likes
Test motors encoder passes. This is just something with the connectors pins as these are not standard motores.
I suppose it’s OK to just swap the configuration in Advanced settings. Is it?
I’m not sure which settings in Advanced you’re talking about, but all those settings are meant to be available for change, so give it a try.
That said, the “Side of Motor Sprockets That Chains Go to Sled” one changes some of the math, so it should truly reflect the way you’re set up.
Let us know how it goes 
2 Likes
Yes, changing the the parameter you referred corrected the problem.
So I would say it has the same effect as swapping motor leads and encoder signals, without all that work. 
1 Like
it also changes the math, so you won’t be cutting accurately if you use it as a
way to avoid switching the plugs on the controller.
2 Likes
I see what you mean. I will change the plugs instead.
2 Likes
I’m developing a Maslow variant using backward compatible hardware and am looking for motor solutions going forward.
1 Like
Hi!
Find this motor:
12V 37RPM 35KG/sm
what is the trick?
what do you guys think?
Artherbu,
I have not had time to be involved with this excellent project for a while but do have time coming up to play with my Maslow. Anyway, as I was the one that started this thread a long time ago because I had just about everything to build the project and was trying to source similar motors so I could help with the development process.
I will tell you the original design is built to pretty hard to source specifications, as far as the motor goes (although I believe more options are available since then). I looked long and hard and experimented with a couple different solutions. I even got some tiny (ok I did not know they would be that tiny) motors because they matched up well for a lighter setup. The surprising thing was how good these small motors worked. I eventually was able to purchase some from Bar so I had the same as others.
Read the thread as I believe all the info required was touched on and summarized. Just know that you want (if using the control board as speced):
- Worm gear motor with 8 mm
- The balance between volts / Amps / encoder pulses / rpm is the hard part.
- If you go with a more capable controller you will have much more freedom of choice of motors.
- When looking, narrow down to 12 volt with quadrature encoders on them.
- To determine the pulses per revolution (ppr) you take the gear ratio x ppr x 4(Quadrature Encoding) = target (I do not know if anybody did any expanded testing on how many pulses could be sent x3 without issue). My tiny motors had rates over 14,000 pulses per revolution without issue - one note, dont know if it matters but control lines were separate from power lines and ran far away from the motor and power and crossed at 90 degrees. This is just from experience with running control lines for home automation and they were never parallel to power. But, the kit supplied cables that came with the motors I got from the project store have all the lines together and no problems, but these max out around 8,500ppr.
What will become evident as you search is that the Amps (STALL) have to be within the capabilities of the motor driver chips(that’s the limit with using this shield). You can find motors that meet all requirements Except the stall amps will be twice what the controller can handle.
Also, I found trying to target the same rpm was good because finding motors with the desired rpm and gear ratio is hard enough and I have had very little luck going to far outside either rpm spec.
Good luck and feel free to ask anything, but I warn you I have not been able to keep up due to work. I do have a working maslow with home built linkages and it works great.
I was really happy with the general direction the project took as far as the sturdier frame because I knew that the top rail would be one of the major factors in success. I made my first one out of an old bed frame with wood as well. I can hang off either side and bounce and it will not flex more than a tiny bit.
Have fun,
Todd
4 Likes
Wouldn’t the motor just stall anyways due to the lack of current? The new controller can handle more amps in theory so it wouldn’t burn out either.
I think that if/when the motor stalls (stops turning) the windings draw as much current as is available from the source. It wouldn’t matter whether it was a mechanical bind or an amped-out source, if the motor stops turning and the source is tapped for all the current it can provide.
The new controller chips can pass more current and are internally protected as well - if the current demand rises above the chip’s limit the chip shuts off the circuit to protect itself. The power supply upstream must also be able to provide the required current, and will need some protection for over-current demand.
it will stall, but when it stalls it will pull as much current as possible,
which can burn out the controller chips and power supply.
the controller chips used by some of the new cards (I don’t know about the one
that is a direct reproduction of the kit Bar shipped), will shut themselves down
to protect themselves. But it’s best not to depend on that.
David Lang