Do I need drives for my motors?

Yes, MASSO interfaces with both stepper and servo motors using STEP/PULSE and DIRECTION signaling. 

I have 2 motors on my Y axis, will it work with MASSO?

• Yes. MASSO can do both hardware and software slaving.
• Please see the link below for slaving options
• https://docs.masso.com.au/wiring-and-setup/setup-and-calibration/slave-axis

I have a NEMA 23 or 34 motor. Will it work with MASSO?

• NEMA defines the motor mounting only.
• MASSO does not interface directly with motors. The motor connects to the drive and the drive connects to MASSO. If your servo or stepper drive uses STEP/PULSE and DIRECTION signaling then it will work.

Will a particular drive work with MASSO?

If your drive is designed to work with STEP/PULSE and DIRECTION signals then it will work with MASSO. Please consult your drive manual for signal requirements. If you have an older motor drive that uses analog or PWM signals, this will not work. You may be able to upgrade the drives to modern ones using STEP/PULSE and DIRECTION signaling and use these to drive your existing motors.

How do I wire my motor drives?

• It is not possible to provide diagrams for every drive however there are only 2 basic methods of connection. Differential and common ground modes.
• Example drive connection diagrams are provided in the MASSO documentation.
• https://docs.masso.com.au/wiring-and-setup/setup-and-calibration/axis-servo-stepper-examples

I want to use Servos with MASSO, how do I connect the motor encoders to MASSO?

When connecting servos the encoder connects directly to your servo drive which monitors the position and will send an alarm to MASSO in the event of position loss, the drive is then wired to MASSO using STEP/PULSE and DIRECTION signals. There is no need or option to connect the encoder from motors to MASSO.

What size motors do I need for my machine?

Motor size depends on a number of factors. Type of machine, required maximum speed, the weight of the axis being moved. This is outside the field of the CNC controller. Please consult an engineer who specializes in this field of machine design.

What motors and drives do you recommend?

MASSO does not recommend any specific 3rd party equipment. 

We can supply closed loop stepper motors in sizes 2Nm & 3Nm

Is EtherCat supported

MASSO does not have an Ethernet interface port built in for connection to a network and does not support the Ethercat communication protocol for stepper motors and servos.

Only Step and direction can be used for Stepper motors and servos.