About to fall down the rabbit hole ??

[Ollie78]

Hello my name is Ollie.

I have come to the preliminary conclusion that I will have to build a CNC router and thus enter the seemingly confusing realm of how exactly to go about it.

I am a Joiner (most of the time) and Cabinetmaker (when I get the chance) and have a small but useful joinery shop at my disposal.
The reasons for needing a CNC router are many. Sometimes I need to make one offs and copies of existing woodwork for listed buildings and stuff, often this will require getting spindle moulder knives custom ground which adds time and money, other times a great deal of hand work. A CNC router would be able to make one offs for this type of thing assuming I can draw it up on fusion 360 of course.
I also have many ideas for small furniture projects and more art based things I would like to do. Also I can see use cases for making simple but accurate jigs for work holding and gluing up. Also advantages if making several versions of one component in different woods for example. Also perhaps some luthiery.
I think a machine of about 1000mm by 750mm cutting area will be plenty for what I need.

My thought process has been as follows. First look around the internet/ youtube etc.

x carve or shapeoko 3 look fun and cheap....Rejected due to the madness of trying to keep a machine accurate whilst running open wheels on an aluminium extrusion. My sliding carriage on the spindle moulder has steel bearings on a steel guideway and it is constantly getting gummed up with dust and sap. Oh and belts look like a nightmare. So nope.

Stepcraft looks better as it has enclosed guides and not just open wheels, also leadscrews for better accuracy, I also liked the fact that it has options for vfd spindle with software control. .... Rejected due to poor reputation from actual owners, slow movement speeds and other reported problems.

Chinese Machines 6090 etc. Look good and cheap, proper ballscrews and supported rails.........Rejected due to being a bit of a lottery and many reported electronics and mechanical faults.

High z Tseries look good at first........Rejected due to the fact that they seem very expensive for what you get.

It was at about this point when I was beginning to think that I might as well just build my own.

Sorotec, cnc router parts and Damen CNC kits. They seem to have nice kits but the price soon skyrockets once you add it all up....... Rejected, too expensive for me in one go.

Other machines from reputable manufacturers. ...........Rejected mainly on cost front. £6k to start with plus spindle etc etc.


Actively tried to gather funds to buy this one actually it was quite close to me too. http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/11610-FOR-SALE-Custom-Built-%28by-JazzCNC%29-CNC-Router-%281050Y-x-640X-x-160Z%29


Then I started looking at the possibility of making my own, found examples on this forum and here I am.

I am hoping to be able to do the build in stages so I don`t have to fork out such a massive wodge of cash at once.

Perhaps.
Stage 1 build the frame probably from Aluminium extrusion and plates.
Stage 2 get ballscrews and hiwin rails installed.
Stage 3 Get stepper motors and drivers installed, Mach 3 etc.
Stage 4 Inevitable faffing about, tuning everything, hair pulling out, wishing I never started and copious swearing.
Stage 6 Make some stuff.

I am not under the illusion that this will be achievable for £1500 and as a joiner I am painfully aware of the cost of tooling.
However I am hoping that for maybe £5500 I will be able to make a very capable machine, better value than if I went and spent £5500 at Sorotec or something.
Also I am prepared to take a bit of time with it maybe a year from start to finish.

Please feel free to encourage or dissuade me as you see fit.

I would like to know if this is a reasonable plan. My main worry is that I could end up with an unfinished project after sinking money into it like many a kit car build, this is not an option.

Cue confused posts about the pitch of ballscrews and if I need closed loop electronics or not.....


Sorry for the enormously long post.
Cheers.

[Neale]

Good bit of background there, but you missed out a big detail - what sort of size machine are you looking at? And if it helps, my welded steel frame machine with a cutting area of something like 1500x750 cost around £3K to build.

Good luck - you've come to the right place, but be prepared for the flood of (sometimes conflicting!) opinions!

[Ollie78]

Good bit of background there, but you missed out a big detail - what sort of size machine are you looking at? And if it helps, my welded steel frame machine with a cutting area of something like 1500x750 cost around £3K to build.

Good luck - you've come to the right place, but be prepared for the flood of (sometimes conflicting!) opinions!



Thanks Neale

It is good to know that it is a feasible goal at least.

I have a (very rough and subject to change or advice) spec list of the following.

Y axis of 1000 to 1200mm
X axis of 600 to 750mm
Z of 200mm

Hiwin profiled linear rails on every axis
Ballscrews
Stepper motors (not sure best size 23/ 34 )

Proper spindle ie software controlled 2.2kw /3hp sort of size with decent sized collet for 12.7 mm router bits and end mills.
Limit/ homing switches.
Some kind of auto height sensor for when changing bits and setting up.
Very good dust extraction.

I think I might as well aim for something that will machine Aluminium even though it will be mostly for wood.I think woods like Macassar Ebony and Snakewood are nearly as hard as Aluminium anyway and sometimes i need to stabilise wood with epoxy too.

I would like accuracy and decent speed.

I am happy to buy parts direct from China (if supplier is reputable or recommended) as I am in no rush. Willing to adapt my size a bit if it is easier to use `standard` sized ballscrews etc rather than having them customised.

I am unsure if I should use a single central ballscrew for the Y or one each side.

I really have little clue about the electronics side of it regarding stepper drivers and the like but would like it to be able to run without being attached to the computer all the time if thats possible.
Very much open to suggestions regarding the electronics.

The machine must not be too enormous as I may need to move it, I am thinking a sort of `desktop` type with a Separate frame underneath maybe with wheels.
I have been thinking of using heavy duty alloy extrusion and plate as I have no welding skills but can probably manage to cut and shape alloy with some of the kit I have.


Thats all I have so far ?

Cheers

Ollie

[JAZZCNC]

Hi Ollie,

Welcome, First good job on rejecting those that you did and you were spot on with your reasons.

Provided you have the skills and patience then it's possible to build quite a nice machine with the budget your thinking. However, it does take time and careful prep/design along with will-power not to rush out and buy stuff premature. From what I've seen so far with your research and decision making you seem to have the makings of successfull builder so with little help from us chosing the right components I'm sure you'll be fine provided your confident in your abilty's regards the actual building. Be honest with your self here because like most things which look easy there is more to it than appears.!

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask any questions you have, no matter how stupid they feel and DONT BUY ANYTHING WITHOUT ASKING or knowing it's 100% correct for your needs.

[Ollie78]

Hi Ollie,

Welcome, First good job on rejecting those that you did and you were spot on with your reasons.

Provided you have the skills and patience then it's possible to build quite a nice machine with the budget your thinking. However, it does take time and careful prep/design along with will-power not to rush out and buy stuff premature. From what I've seen so far with your research and decision making you seem to have the makings of successfull builder so with little help from us chosing the right components I'm sure you'll be fine provided your confident in your abilty's regards the actual building. Be honest with your self here because like most things which look easy there is more to it than appears.!

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask any questions you have, no matter how stupid they feel and DONT BUY ANYTHING WITHOUT ASKING or knowing it's 100% correct for your needs.



Thanks JAZZCNC, for the encouragement and words of warning.

I will ensure I don`t go on a spending spree without checking first.
My plan is to design the machine on Fusion 360 until it is going to definitely work as intended (this will take a while i think as I am new to the software). Once design has been finalised (and checked over on this forum) I will begin to gather parts and then get cracking on building it.

And now let the stupid questions begin.......

When beginning to draw up a design, is it better to find the sizes of linear rail and ballscrew that are readily available and size the frame to those existing components. Or just draw the machine out to the desired size and worry about those after?

Are Nema 23 steppers a good fit for a machine of this size, 1200mm maximum assuming a twin ballscrew design on the Y axis?


Is there a best practice order of design? Z axis first, gantry (X) first or any other methodology?


Enough questions for now I think.


Thanks

Ollie

[Neale]

When beginning to draw up a design, is it better to find the sizes of linear rail and ballscrew that are readily available and size the frame to those existing components. Or just draw the machine out to the desired size and worry about those after?

Are Nema 23 steppers a good fit for a machine of this size, 1200mm maximum assuming a twin ballscrew design on the Y axis?

Which would you like to do? I started my machine around 3 years ago, and at that time I was nervous about ordering from China. I designed my router to the size I wanted, worked out rail/ballscrew dimensions, found a uk supplier who sold standard sizes, and redesigned to use the next off-the-shelf size up. Hiwin rails cut easily with an angle grinder but ballscrews need fiddly end machining which is beyond most people at home. These days, I would probably spec exactly what I wanted and order from someone like BST Automation in China.

Nema 23, 3Nm or (better) 4Nm, would be fine for X and Y for this size machine. Important parameter is motor inductance, so check back before buying! But at least you have a frame size for planning purposes.

[JAZZCNC]

When beginning to draw up a design, is it better to find the sizes of linear rail and ballscrew that are readily available and size the frame to those existing components. Or just draw the machine out to the desired size and worry about those after?

Design the machine you want then have the components made to size. It's highly likely because of budget you'll buy Rails and ballscrews from China and they will machine ballscrews to your spec. Same with rails, they'll cut to your exact size or like Neale says just buy little longer than needed and cut your self.
The important part is choosing the correct diameter and pitch to suit your machine. Depending on length you'll also take into consideration end bearing type but don't worry about that yet your still some way off worrying about those things.


Are Nema 23 steppers a good fit for a machine of this size, 1200mm maximum assuming a twin ball screw design on the Y axis?

Yes perfectly fine but need to look closely at the spec because not all steppers are equal and come in various flavors ie: 4 wire 8wire.
Like Neale indicated the inductance rating is important but this rating changes depending how the phases are wired so you'll need to understand this to get full picture. Without getting too technical I'll explain quickly the differences and why one type/setup suits Router better.

The phases of Steppers can be wired in 3 ways depending on how many wires motor come with. These are Bi-polar series, Bi-polar parallel, Uni-polar. With Modern drives only the first two of those are used so won't explain Uni-polar.

Series Wired motors generaly provide high torque but require high voltage to achive high RPM. This is because the inductance is much higher.

Think of inductance like pushing car with sticky brakes and the people pushing being the voltage. The more sticky the brakes the more people needed to push car the same speed.
So lower the inductance the less voltage will be required to achive same speed as high inductance motor, or put another way, with same voltage the motor will spin faster if inductance lower.

So series wired motor are generaly best used for machines like Mills or Lathes which don't require high feed rates(rpm) but do require more torque due to heavy design.
Also because series wired motor uses roughly half the current of Parallel wired motor smaller lower cost drives can be used.

Parallel wired motors are pretty much the opposite. The inductance is half that of series wired so require less folks to push, down side being when going uphill those folks will need to be stronger. In real terms what this means is that double the current will be required when wired parallel.
In performance terms what this allows is that higher RPM can be achieved and they hold the torque further up the RPM range, down side being there is less torque at lower RPM.

Now this is where it gets little confusing to people because motors come in 4 wire and 8 wire(often called Hybrid).
4 wire motors are fixed by the manufacturer and can be wound either series or parallel, often they are series wound.
8 wire motors can be wired in either way by joining wires in certain order. (they can also be wired Uni-polar)

So cutting to the chase for Router builder your better using 8 wire motor with low inductance when wired Bi-polar parallel. This setup when combined with correct voltage(65-70Vdc) gives best performance.


Is there a best practice order of design? Z axis first, gantry (X) first or any other methodology?

Like any good structure it all starts with solid foundations. Design from the bottom up and each will form the other.

[routercnc]

In terms of the machine design process it is fairly iterative and you need to go around the loop many times as every choice has a knock on effect that ripples through the design.

Assuming you are building a fairly standard machine with moving gantry and raised X axis then I'd suggest you draw the spindle with your favourite tool in the collet and place the tip about 150mm above the top of the bed plane.

Draw the Z axis plate that holds the spindle and make it say 300-350 mm tall by 150 wide. The bottom of the plate should not be lower than the main spindle body. Add the Z rails to the back of this plate making them at least 300 mm long and ideally matching the height of the Z plate.

Add the lower carriages to the Z rail placing them no lower than the main body of the spindle. In the CAD program slide the Z axis (spindle, Z plate and Z rail) down until the tool hits the bed plane. The lower carraiges should remain in place.

Add the upper Z carraiges near the top of the rail, leaving 10mm or so if you want a bit spare to face the bed.

Draw the Y axis plate which hold the Z carraiges on the front side. On the rear of this plate add the Y carraiges making sure they do not clash with the Z carraiges and that it can be assembled!

The Y rails can then be drawn to fit the Y carraiges and the gantry drawn.

Add horizontal plates on the ends of the gantry and fit the X carraiges to the underside. This dictates the X rails position.

Draw the frames to hold the X rails and then add vertical supports under these frame sides to connect down to the bed frame.

Add the steppers, ballscrews, ballnuts, and ballscrew mounts and the fun starts. Things get tweaked and moved to get it to work. I would say this bit takes the most time so hang in there.

Finally plenty of advice on hand on this forum to guide you. Best of luck!

[Ollie78]

Thanks for the great responses to my questions.

I was thinking of starting with the Z or the spindle as you suggest routercnc. I can see what you mean about everything affecting everything else which was partly where my difficulty starting.
This gives me a good start.
Great tip about setting the height from the bed to the tool straight away.
I will remember Jazzcnc`s comment about starting with the strong base too....

Do you do suggest sort of rough drawing on fusion (or whatever software ) first just using plain rectangles etc, to get the shape and then do a proper one with the profiles of the extrusion and the carriages etc, or just go straight in with the full detail.

I have been attempting to gather dxf files of aluminium extrusions and the Hiwin stuff. does anyone have a source to a library of this sort of thing.


Thanks

Ollie

[routercnc]

I went to the Hiwin website and they have a selector program where you can select the carraige type the rail type etc and it will output a solid model in a range of formats. These are 3D models in a range of formats (e.g. step) not dxf which I believe are only 2D line drawings and not what you want.

When I used the Hiwin tool the model it exported was one entity and the carraiges could not be slid around once in the CAD program. I was Ok with that as I used simple surrogate rectangles and cylinders for the design and only added holes and details at the end. Saying this you do need to think about where the bolts will go so they don't clash when you model the holes at the end and have to make changes.

CAD for extrusions are usually on suppliers website but for initial design just use a rectangle with outer dimensions to match a commonly available size.

If you use steel rectangular hollow section in the design make sure you model the outer corner radius as leaving them square makes it look like you can bolt things right up to the edge.

[Ollie78]

Hi everyone, and thanks for all your advice so far.

Whilst planning my build I have still been checking on the used machines on ebay etc. One came up that looked sturdy and was about the size I wanted (actually a bit bigger than I was planning). Anyway I made an offer and now this lives in my workshop.


http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd473/ver_fc3s/CNC%20Machine/20180608_144357_zpsheny4a08.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/ver_fc3s/media/CNC%20Machine/20180608_144357_zpsheny4a08.jpg.html)

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd473/ver_fc3s/CNC%20Machine/20180608_142459_zpsfpcsg7ct.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/ver_fc3s/media/CNC%20Machine/20180608_142459_zpsfpcsg7ct.jpg.html)

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd473/ver_fc3s/CNC%20Machine/20180608_144418_zpsekbcevrm.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/ver_fc3s/media/CNC%20Machine/20180608_144418_zpsekbcevrm.jpg.html)

I put those wheels on so I can move it on my own, I might leave them on but if it causes problems then I can take them off once its fully installed. They are just sort skates that slip on to the frame.

It has Hiwin 15mm on the Y axis with central 25mm ballscrew
Hiwin 20mm on the X with 25mm ballscrew
Hiwin 15mm on the Z with 16mm ballscrew
Motors are nema 34 size not sure about strength of them
There is homing or limit switches on the x and z but none on the Y.

The electronics live in an old PC case
A Breakout board uniport from diycnc
2 leadshine SPS705 power supplies
3 Kimco stepper motor drivers

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd473/ver_fc3s/CNC%20Machine/20180608_142847_zpsvqu357hi.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/ver_fc3s/media/CNC%20Machine/20180608_142847_zpsvqu357hi.jpg.html)

The frame is mostly 45mm by 90mm extrusion and the x and z plates are all 20mm.

The spindle is 2.2kw chinese watercooled, it is controlled by this thing.

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd473/ver_fc3s/CNC%20Machine/20180608_144432_zpsir0g6mxz.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/ver_fc3s/media/CNC%20Machine/20180608_144432_zpsir0g6mxz.jpg.html)

However it only seems to be controlled by the small dial and switches at the bottom which adjusts the speed but reads in hertz so I will have to do some maths on that. The other buttons on the removable control bit don`t appear to do anything.

So now my new mission is to get this thing working perfectly so I can learn about everything and get productive, I would still like to build my own but this might be a better use of my limited time at this point.

I got the machine running with the PC that came with it mach3 was installed as well as Vectric aspire (which i never got a chance to use). I managed to get everything jogging nicely using mach3 so I know that the power supplies and stepper drivers are all working at least.
However before I managed to get much further, I was trying to establish a home position etc. The Machine stopped jogging and didn`t want to respond. The only evidence of an issue was a red light on one of the sps705 power supplies. So I rebooted everything and then I got this unhappy sight.

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd473/ver_fc3s/CNC%20Machine/20180608_095045_zpsedhvdzbb.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/ver_fc3s/media/CNC%20Machine/20180608_095045_zpsedhvdzbb.jpg.html)

So I am a bit stuffed for now. However when I turn on the system all the LEDs in the control box are green again (not sure exactly what this means but I am looking at it positively).
I will try to recover the system with a usb boot recovery if I can ( it is running XP I think). If not its new pc time.

This leads to a question (first of many) .
Should I stick with an old system with parallel port and 32 bit or go for a more modern and thus hopefully reliable windows 8 or 10 system ?
I am thinking of a small media box type pc with maybe fanless design for less dust issues or even a laptop.
As I understand it this would require another board to communicate with the PC via ethernet or USB and the parallel port on the breakout board.
Any recommendations on best method for this?

Computer problems aside I started cleaning up all the ballscrews and tracks etc. I cleaned up the x axis ballscrew and track with some boeshield and it came up nicely.

What is the best grease to use for the ballnuts and carriages ?
The bigger 20mm carriages have grease nipples but the 15mm ones don`t have any. How do you grease these ones.

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd473/ver_fc3s/CNC%20Machine/20180608_142455_zpse4rxtsot.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/ver_fc3s/media/CNC%20Machine/20180608_142455_zpse4rxtsot.jpg.html)

Also I have noticed that the bearing on the drive end of the X axis is a bit clicky and needs changing the same bearing on the Y is suspect too. Z is fine.

The blocks are these ones

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd473/ver_fc3s/CNC%20Machine/20180608_143423_zpsofzyplob.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/ver_fc3s/media/CNC%20Machine/20180608_143423_zpsofzyplob.jpg.html)

The shaft has been turned down to 12mm just after the bearing before the coupler, the bearing block is 26mm wide and about 70mm high. does anyone know the name or type of this block bearing?

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd473/ver_fc3s/CNC%20Machine/20180608_144022_zpsjy4wkhfs.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/ver_fc3s/media/CNC%20Machine/20180608_144022_zpsjy4wkhfs.jpg.html)

Can the bearing be replaced easily (ie without a press) or do I need to get the whole block?

What water/ coolant is best for the spindle, it has a small fishtank style pump. I am just using the same water (demineralized apparently) that was already in it. But I will be making a better tank arrangement before i use it again.
Oh and can you buy those green grommets for the rails separately? the holes were filled up with dust.


Thanks for reading all that.

Ollie

[Clive S]

I think you have done well if you bought it right. Now re the pc. first I would re-seat the cables to the hard drive and re-seat the ram as well. Before you start loading a new operating system try putting the drive (as a second drive) in another pc to see if you can recover any data from it like the XML file from the Mach3 folder as that will contain all the settings ect.

Bearings blocks you can buy the bearings (they should be AC bearings 2 No.) they should come out quite easily notice which way are fixed in there (ie back to back or front to front) the bearings will have numbers on one side to identify them. They also might have a shim between them.

The bearing block is known as a BK type It looks like a BK15 and the other end of the screw a BF type if it is floating.

[Doddy]

What water/ coolant is best for the spindle, it has a small fishtank style pump. I am just using the same water (demineralized apparently) that was already in it. But I will be making a better tank arrangement before i use it again.


My own system is a PC water cooling pump with integral tank, and a fan cooled radiator (also PC cooling). The story goes that a bit of car coolant/antifreeze will inhibit algae growth, which looks to have held true on mine for the last couple of years

[Doddy]

The bigger 20mm carriages have grease nipples but the 15mm ones don`t have any. How do you grease these ones.


https://www.hiwin.com/pdf/lubricating_instructions.pdf

Add a grease nipple.

[Ollie78]

Doddy, great link, thanks.
I think I should be able to add grease nipples to the end of the blocks as shown in the manual which looks the simplest method.
However I have not been able to find anyone who sells them separately yet. Found a company selling loads of different ones but couldn`t see the thread size of them in the hiwin document.

Clive S, thanks for the info on bearings, I think they are BK17 as 25mm screws. Glad to know you can change the bearings without getting new blocks which may save a few quid, I will take one off when I get time and have a look.
As for the computer I have had a wiggle with the connectors etc and blown all the dust out with an airline. Tried a CD with the recovery part of XP only ( no original disk) but it wouldn`t have any of it. I will see if my brother can help as he is very good at IT stuff.

I am thinking of getting a UC300ETH-5LPT ethernet motion controller which I hope could be installed with everything else in the control box remaining the same. ie between the PC and the BOB .
This means that it wont matter what computer I use in future.
I am planning to use fusion 360 for cad/cam (its free and powerful ) but it will only run on 64bit systems. Also moving forward more and more software is going to be like that.

It seems like the uc300 eth was made for UCCNC initially and has a plugin for mach3/4. As I will need to learn from scratch anyway (assuming the pc is dead) might it be better to just get UCCNC and learn that. I know mach 3 has huge user base and more history so might get easier support. Any thoughts?

Thanks

Ollie

[cropwell]

Can you remember the operating system ? e.g. Windows XP Home, Windows XP Pro etc etc. Do you have a sticker on the computer with the operating system details and product key ?
If so I am sure I can get you a Windows setup CD-Rom. If you don't know what you are doing get the computer to a specialist.


If you have these then the system can be rebuilt, but it is essential that you have a clone copy of the hard drive before you start. There a a number of essential files you need to secure.

Cheers, Rob

[Ollie78]

Cropwell

Thanks for the reply. I think it is definitely an xp system, though I can`t say if it is pro or home etc. No licence sticker or anything is on the chasis.
I tried a basic download of the recovery partition but I didn`t want to go any further. I was thinking of trying a usb bootable linux version to try and recover the files but it has been ages since I did that sort of thing.
I will get my brother to see if he can rescue the system or at least the drive, he has access to some rescue software for this sort of thing.

Longer term though I think a more modern system might be in order.

Ollie

[Ollie78]

It looks like the hard drive is dead. We tried various ways to get it sorted but no luck.

So I guess I will start from scratch with a newer PC which will hopefully offer good future proofing and reliability.

I have purchased a UC300 ethernet motion controller and a 5 volt power supply from CNC Drive so I will attach this to the existing control box setup.

Not sure what PC to get at this point. Obviously I don`t want to spend loads of money.

The choice I need to make is do I just get a lower powered PC to run the machine or get one at least capable of editing in fusion 360.
My workshop is 20 minutes away from my house and I could see it being a problem if I couldn`t just make a quick adjustment to a file or something without driving back home.

Apparently the Ryzen 2400g apu`s will run fusion quite well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHWwcStt868 (I have a Ryzen5 1600 in my home PC, it is fast and cheap)

Does anyone have any thoughts about this?
What Computers are you running?

And finally, if you were starting from scratch at this point in time, with no experience of either. Would mach3 or UCCNC be the best choice ?

Thanks

Ollie

[cropwell]

It looks like the hard drive is dead.
Not sure what PC to get at this point. Obviously I don`t want to spend loads of money.


I would rebuild the system on a new hard drive (That is because I have all the OS and software disks and several spare hard drives and no money)

I run Mach3 on a very old machine - a 32bit Pentium 4 2.4GHz with 896MB of RAM with Windows XP home installed. Mach3 doesn't need wizzy wizzy power. It is connected up to my home network, but the Internet Gateway is disabled as there is no virus protection. I regard Microsoft in the same category as malicious software. Apart from a couple of hard disk failures (crappy old drives !) The machine is stable and all my data and essential files (xml and licences etc) are copied on to the NAS drive.

As my new main machine, I have a 64bit Windows 10 installed on an Intel i3 3.6GHz processor, it runs Fusion better than my old machine, which limped through it like a pig on stilts. I have only been seriously using Win10 for a couple of weeks and I now seriously loathe Microsoft. My old machine is a Win7 machine which I intend to use by remote desktopping, but I need to set up a control panel to switch it on and reset it, when the machine is tucked away. All my files are on it at the moment and I am in the process of moving them onto the NAS drive.

If you are wanting to use Fusion in your workshop, you will need t'Interweb there. Maybe I am stating the bleeding obvious :grumpy:

That's the way I am set up and it works for me (apart from the process of change which is in progress).

Cheers,

Rob

[AndyGuid]

. . . . . . I regard Microsoft in the same category as malicious software. . . . . . . . I have only been seriously using Win10 for a couple of weeks and I now seriously loathe Microsoft. . . . . . . . My old machine is a Win7 machine which I intend to use

Rob, although some might say the opposite, I have no doubt that the two of us great minds think alike. :smile:

Your antipodean twin. :semi-twins: :beer:

[Ollie78]

Hello CNC people.

I have made finally made some small progress with my machine, however it is a case of two steps forward one step back.

After the old PC died completely, I bought a second hand PC with an i5 and a basic graphics card with a fresh windows 10 install.
Then I managed to get the UC300eth all set up with UCCNC (after getting the correct ethernet lead, DOH !!). The software registered with the uc300 and it did an update and I checked the ports were working etc.

However I now have 2 issues, the first is that one of the leadshine sps705 power supplies is behaving oddly. When I turn on the power to the "control box" where the power supplies and stepper drivers are along with the BOB, everything turns on great green lights on both power supplies and all 3 stepper drivers. (the bob is powered by 5v off usb)
Then after a period of time (can be 10 minutes or 45 minutes) the bottom power supply will show a red led instead of green and all the other green LED`s turn off.
I have checked all the wires are physically tight and connected on everything I can see (one wire was a bit loose so I re-did it with a new spade connector). The problem persists and I am wondering if the power supply might be dead.
Any ideas how to test it ?

My other issue is the initial setup of the machine with the software.

I understand that I must find out the PIN OUTS from the BOB. This is listed on the uniport v2 pdf and seems to tally with what is physically attached. So when I am in the configuration/axis menu of UCCNC I see the pin section has Step pin/ Dir pin/ Enable pin. (I will not worry about limit and home pins yet.)
I can find the step and dir pins on the BOB but which one is the Enable pin ?
Also in the next column it has an option for POrt number next to each pin section. Does the port just refer to the one I have plugged the parallel ribbon in to (ie port 2) on the uc300eth ?

Sorry for the dumb questions but it has been frying my brain a bit today. I am sure it will be simple once I "get it".

Many thanks

Ollie

[Ollie78]

Quick update

Getting some progress. I switched the position of the power supplies as they are both identical and the same one was giving me the red light so I was more confident it was a Knackered power supply not another short. So I bought an identical one and installed it this fixed the problem with that bit anyway.
Next managed to sort out my pin outs. With some very good assistance from the cncdrive forum I found out I had the charge pump signal pin in the wrong area so I removed this pin out from the axis menus and put the value in the I/O configuration page. So now it jogs in all axis nicely and I can move on to the E stop and limit switches.

Woohoo

Ollie

[Ollie78]

IT LIVES !!!

After a lot of what can be described as confused problem solving I have got the CNC router working.
I have managed to surface the Spoilboard and make several successful test pockets and a bit of engraving.

There is a way to go until it is up to the standard I want but for now I can make some stuff and get used to the machine and the software.



Woohoo.

Ollie

[routerdriver]

All of us who have had the satisfaction of seeing a machine make it's first move will understand your elation.Congratulations!

[Ollie78]

Cheers routerdriver.