HobbyCNC Drive

Pictures of the HobbyCNC drive and power supply

Note: HobbyCNC now sells a 305 oz.in. system which works with the machines on par with the Xylotex 269 oz.in. system.

The top images are of a power supply for the HobbyCNC system; it uses the components supplied in the HobbyCNC 3 axis package (switches, rectifier, fuses, capacitor etc.) as well as the transformer recommended by HobbyCNC.
HobbyCNC lists a supplier and part number for the transformer; it costs around $50 delivered.

There is more about power supplies on the Power Supply page.

This power supply unit was wired together according to the HobbyCNC directions; the directions are thorough and straightforward.

There are minor alterations to power the additional fan since separate boxes for the drive and power supply were used.

The HobbyCNC set-up is designed to be put in one box which holds both the power supply and the drives. This keeps things simple.

However, in this shop power supplies, steppers and drives play musical chairs; therefore, the power supply was built independently of the drive box.

A jack from the drive box plugs into the side of the power supply box, and D-Sub plugs and receptacles are used to attach the steppers. See image below left.

The boxes for the units are made of scrap plywood, counter-top laminate, 1/8" tempered hardboard and yup, those are old speaker grills used as the vent covers.
 Though not obvious in the photos, there are vent holes at each end of the boxes so air can pass over the components.

The boxes are not going to win any awards but they do not look too bad considering the cost, and they do protect the components.
Boxes, however crude and simple, are definitely a worthwhile ounce of prevention.

This HobbyCNC drive board, like the Xylotex board, combines the three drives onto one printed circuit board.
It is a kit which has to be soldered together, but it costs less than Xylotex, which is not a kit.

The board has proved to be a good product.
It includes the necessary pull-up resistors for using the other parallel port pins from the computer; Xylotex lacks these resistors.
The HobbyCNC board does not have a disable function for each axis unlike Xylotex which does. This feature is missed in this shop since it is sometimes easier to physically move the axis to position by hand, rather than by using the jog function.




The HobbyCNC three axis board (kit, soldering required) is around $85.
The Xylotex three axis board is approx. $160.
Geckodrives are approx. $115 per axis, that's $345 for three axes.
Temperature of StepperHobbyCNC driver’s amperage is set by the user. On test runs here in June with the shop at 80 degrees F, the 305 oz.in. steppers heated to over 145 degrees F. after a half hour run with the drives set to 2.5 amps.
The same steppers on a duplicate run heated to just over 120 degrees with the drives set to 2 amps. Right photo.
The difference in the stepper's torque was not noticeable; there were no lost steps with the lower setting.
A temp of 145 degrees is pushing the limit of what steppers can handle without damage, so the board has been left at the lower 2 amp setting.

The documentation with the HobbyCNC drive board tells how to set the current for each axis. It is a simple process that uses a basic voltmeter.

HobbyCNC has a Yahoo group where those who have purchased their products can share info and help each other. Dave of HobbyCNC is very active on the site; the site is used as the support forum.