Xylotex Drives
Pictures
of
the Xylotex drive and power supply  The
image on the right is
of the Xylotex
package; the steppers are not shown. The power supply on the left is plugged into a 115 volt wall receptacle, and the drive assembly is wired to the low voltage side of the power supply. This one printed circuit board has three drives on it. The ribbon cable attaches to the computer's printer port, and the three sets of wires leading from the drive board in the top of the image are each attached to steppers. The fan shown next to the ribbon cable should be pointed to exhaust over the top of the heat-sinks that are on the drive board. |
 On the left is a picture of one end of the Xylotex board with a pair of limit switches and a pull-up resistor. One end of the 10kΩ resistor is connected to the +5vdc terminal on the Xylotex board and the other is connected to the same terminal as one wire from the limit switches; in this image it is terminal 10 (the red wire). The other wire (black) from the switches is connected to the ground terminal on the Xylotex board. There is more information about this on the Limit Switch page. |
Xylotex sells a number of stepper options including 269 and 425 oz.in. motors. The 269s work well with the inexpensive leadscrews used in these tables. The 425s work well with the belt drive table and the rack and pinion machine. The 425s have more power at lower speeds, but less at higher speeds, so rapids with the threaded rod leadscrews are slower than with the 269s. Dampers and Acme rod improve the performance of the 425s above that of the 269s. Here is more information about Drives and Steppers. ...........................
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 These last two images are of the cheapest drive and power supply box you will find. It is a plastic shoe box with the components fastened to the lid, now the base of the box. Holes were drilled in the side of the clear plastic top to allow air to be inhaled and exhausted by the fan which blows directly over the drive board. The steppers are plugged into the receptacles that are mounted on the lid. The entire assembly hangs off the back of the computer station or the machines by the keyhole hooks made of hardboard. |
 This hanging orientation keeps dust from falling into the fan holes, and permits the wires to hang without the potential for bending fatigue. A set of boxes for HobbyCNC is here. The cases from old VCRs and the like are also good raw materials for drive enclosures. Their vented metal clamshell covers are usually large enough to hold drives and power supplies. |