Advice please on 100cmx60cm CNC router

[bigal999]

Hi I am going to build a 100cmx60cm router and have lots of questions.
The budget is very tight
The frame will be 40x80mm aluminium profiles.
The questions are as follows
1. Will NEMA 23 motors be big enough
2. Can I get away with one motor on X axis
3. What size spindle or router do I need
4. Can I get away with out using closed loop motors
The ball screws are 1605s
The guide rails are 20mm
The machine will be used mostly for wood and venner work.
But would like to be able to do aluminium to 6mm occasionally
Thank you
Albert

[JAZZCNC]

Hi I am going to build a 100cmx60cm router and have lots of questions.
The budget is very tight
The frame will be 40x80mm aluminium profiles.
The questions are as follows
1. Will NEMA 23 motors be big enough
2. Can I get away with one motor on X axis
3. What size spindle or router do I need
4. Can I get away with out using closed loop motors
The ball screws are 1605s
The guide rails are 20mm
The machine will be used mostly for wood and venner work.
But would like to be able to do aluminium to 6mm occasionally
Thank you
Albert

Hi Albert,

#1 NEMA23 is just the frame size it's the Nm rating and the motor spec along with the voltage you run them at and how the phases are wired ie series or parallel which matters most. For a router parallel wiring works best.
For a machine this size look for an 8 wire motor rated 3Nm+ with an inductance around 3Mh when wired in parallel. Run them with Digital drives rated around 70-80Vdc with a PSU that outputs between 50-60Vdc, most of us build our own using a toroidal transformer and capacitors/bridge rectifier. This gives the best value and performance and it's not difficult to build.

DONT BUY CHEAP DRIVES like the TB based drives you see on Ebay.

#2 Yes

#3 That's very dependent on what and how you want to cut but personally I wouldn't use less than 1.5Kw and if you want to use large tooling then 2.2Kw is best.

#4 Absolutely, Closed-loop are nice but they work just the same as normal stepper and provided you choose the right motor, drive and use the correct voltage they perform perfectly fine.

Regards the ball-screws then if you haven't bought them yet then I strongly suggest you buy a 10mm pitch, 5mm is a little slow for a router.

Hope this helps, just ask if your unsure of anything.

[bigal999]

Thank you for your reply you have cleared up a few of the questions I have.
I have ordered the motors drivers will have till next month to buy more bits.
I have some more questions if that's ok
1.which controller do you recommend I would like one that's able to run on windows or a MacBook Pro. I believe ethernet is the most stable way to run but I am not sure.
2. Can you point me in the right direction to a circuit diagram for the power supply.
I will start a build log once I start
Thank you again
Albert

[Clive S]

Thank you for your reply you have cleared up a few of the questions I have.
I
2. Can you point me in the right direction to a circuit diagram for the power supply.
I will start a build log once I start
Thank you again
Albert

Joe on here as done a nice vid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?<br />...zD30sZjtp_VyqY

[JAZZCNC]

Thank you for your reply you have cleared up a few of the questions I have.
I have ordered the motors drivers will have till next month to buy more bits.

I strongly advise you to hold off buying anything untill you know exactly what your buying and why.! . . . Rushing to buy is THE single biggest mistake new builders make and perfect way to turn low budget into wasted budget.

What have you ordered.?

1.which controller do you recommend I would like one that's able to run on windows or a MacBook Pro. I believe ethernet is the most stable way to run but I am not sure.

Yes Ethernet is the way to go, avoid USB. The controller I'd use is a UC300ETH but this requires a good breakout board to get the best from it which adds to the cost. However the AXBB-E is a good choice if you don't need lots of I/O as it's got a built in breakout board in a nice neat little package.
I'd run both these from UCCNC rather than Mach3 but both will happily work with either.

2. Can you point me in the right direction to a circuit diagram for the power supply.
I will start a build log once I start

Follow Clive's link to Joe's setup.

[bigal999]

Thank you again for your answers I agree I may have been a bit too fast to buy some of the parts but am stopping now till I have built my frame.
I am having doubts about my frames design at the moment so if you could please answer these questions.
1. X axis will be 40x80 profile 100cm X 60cm. Will I need a center brace at the 50cm point or not. I was planing to brace all the corners with 10mm plate.
2. Y axis will be running in 20mm supported rails.
Would 40x 80 be ok for the side legs to hold up the carriage.
The carriage that z axis will be running on will be 2 40x80 profiles with a 50mm gap for the ball screw to run in-between them . Will they be ok if I put a 10mm brace in the centre between the 2 rails. z axis will run on 2 20mm supported rails one mounted on each rail.
Z axis is still in design stage.
Albert

[JAZZCNC]

Thank you again for your answers I agree I may have been a bit too fast to buy some of the parts but am stopping now till I have built my frame.
I am having doubts about my frames design at the moment so if you could please answer these questions.
1. X axis will be 40x80 profile 100cm X 60cm. Will I need a center brace at the 50cm point or not. I was planing to brace all the corners with 10mm plate.
2. Y axis will be running in 20mm supported rails.
Would 40x 80 be ok for the side legs to hold up the carriage.
The carriage that z axis will be running on will be 2 40x80 profiles with a 50mm gap for the ball screw to run in-between them . Will they be ok if I put a 10mm brace in the centre between the 2 rails. z axis will run on 2 20mm supported rails one mounted on each rail.
X axis is still in design stage.
Albert

Hi Albert,

Well depends on the usage to be fair and with such a vague description of the design, it's not easy to give good or meaningful advise. But again like the components, I suggest you do some research before building or ordering stock and if possible create a Cad model of the machine or at least a detailed drawing. This will help you visualize the machine and potentially catch any gotcha's that nearly always bite you when building the first machine.

I'd also recommend you start a build thread and start asking your questions and show your design ideas. This way you have one source for reference to go back to later as it can take many weeks or months before you actually get to the building phase.

[joe.ninety]

However the AXBB-E is a good choice if you don't need lots of I/O as it's got a built in breakout board in a nice neat little package.
I'd run both these from UCCNC rather than Mach3 but both will happily work with either.

Dean,

I've seen this said a lot but I think what a lot of your seasoned CNC guys forget is that beginners, myself included, have no idea how many IO's they are likely to need? Or really what they're even needed for? I'm kinda guessing homing/limit switches and the like but can't think of much else.
If you get the chance (and I know you said in another thread you were very busy at the moment) could you just do a post about IO's and what the main needs for them are. I think it would help a great deal of people, the OP included.

Cheers

[bigal999]

Hi I have been thinking and getting more confused by the day. I like the idea of a build log if I put in the specifications I want and the bits I have already do you think I would get help with the design and build
Albert

[JAZZCNC]

Hi I have been thinking and getting more confused by the day. I like the idea of a build log if I put in the specifications I want and the bits I have already do you think I would get help with the design and build
Albert

Yes absolutely, we do this all the time. You may get conflicting advice at times as we all have slightly different ideas and experience but usually, the builder will take from these differing opinions and use what suits the build or his needs.

My Advise is to don't buy anything else and start the build thread ASAP. Then when you have a better idea of what you need for the machine you intend to build start looking to buy.