What is your opinion of MaxNC mills?

[awerby]

The MaxNC rotary table is made by Sherline; MaxNC just supplies their own mounting plate and stepper motor. The G-540 has 4 drivers in it, so you can power all 4 axes. I'd suggest ditching the MaxNC software as well as their controller and buying Mach3. They have a MaxNC xml file that will set all the ports and pins correctly, although I had to fiddle with the velocity/acceleration settings to get a MaxNC 15CL moving correctly.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[cyberXena]

Thanks for the info that is good news - a couple of follow ons - the stepper for the 4th axis has an encoder hooked on the end, what do you do with that just ditch it? Also the plug and/or wiring needs to be changed somewhere there should be a wiring diagram no?

[Fixittt]

un plug it and forget about it. Look for the PDF on the steppers. It will tell you how to wire them. or do like I did and go a little bigger steppers.

Here are a couple pics of the maxnc 10 I am working on for a friend. G540 , custom spindle the whole 9 yards.

[cyberXena]

Thanks again- first I could get a 230 OZ stepper that is already wired for the DB9 Gecko plug and that would be that. Otherwise I might take you up on the wiring advise. As for encoders let me understand - The CL system by MAX doesn't work too well so if you ditch it for a more precise and better controlled stepper/controller, it comes out OK. Right? As for what i'm seeing in the pics - It looks like a different motor on the spindle with a single belt and pulley. So is the motor speed controlled? Manually or Computer hooked?
Dayton makes a 1/2HP brushed model that is spec'd the same as the Model139 1/5th HP that came with the MAX15. It has a speed control.. So maybe I could mount it directly on a bigger spindle like the ER-16. An upgrade that is available from a couple of vendors and bypass the belt altogether ?
So to push this to that wall...
In the box of MAX stuff I got,was the digitizer and a pump for flood coolant. The old MAX controller has plugs for those things G540 doesn't as far as I can tell. What happens with that?

[Fixittt]

I do alot of very fine detailed machining in wax. The lower half of the spindle shown is a $400 NSK spindle. Typically there is a brushless motor that drives it. These systems typically run $2500 to $4000. I just made an adapter that screws the the lower spindle and a drive shaft. So I get all the benefits of the precision spindle at a fraction of the costs.

As for speed control, It is on a router variable speed controller (Think volume knob that controls RPM) It can be wired into a relay that will start and stop the spindle thru g code.

Your little probe can be used with the G540. All it is a open/close switch that is wired to a pin on the printer port. All it takes is configuration.

I have done many open looped machines. I can tell you this, if the machine is setup right, you wont need the closed looped setup. I can run my machines with no worries of missed steps. because I have my machines tuned correctly. It does take a bit of time to proof. but once your there. You dont have to worry.

As for the stock spindle on the maxnc. Mine was junk on my maxnc15. It had horrid amounts of runout. Same on the maxnc 10 that I am retrofitting. If I had to suggest a spindle for general use. It would be the ER collet used on the taig or sherline machines. But then again, I need higher accuracy, which is why I did the NSK conversion.

Hope this all helps.

[Trenes choochoo]

As the MAXN in the stainless steel chassis would work with a thickness of 2 and 3 mm? As one would behave with copper and bronze?
Miguel

[Fixittt]

if your asking if the frame of the maxnc will handle stainless steel and copper/bronze. Im going to say NO. not only no, but hell no!

The maxnc construction is light weight, it flexes very easy. The lead screws are very small and will bend under load. That is if you dont strip the plastic backlash nuts out first.

[Trenes choochoo]

Originally Posted by Fixittt if your asking if the frame of the maxnc will handle stainless steel and copper/bronze. Im going to say NO. not only no, but hell no! The maxnc construction is light weight, it flexes very easy. The lead screws are very small and will bend under load. That is if you dont strip the plastic backlash nuts out first.

Thank you for your response. Definitely will have to think in a RF45 or a WMD30 at least.
Miguel

[cyberXena]

anyone have an update about the MAXnc company? Don't seem to be on the web anymore.

[MichaelHenry]

Looks like they went under, unless their host is having problems.

Mike

[awerby]

They're baaack! The original owner, Otto Echevarria, sold it to a guy named Chris a few years back, but Chris couldn't make a go of it. So Otto started it up again with a new website - I guess he lost "maxnc.com" in the deal, so he's now at http://ximotion.com/ (Note: this is not an endorsement of them or their products).

Andrew Werby
ComputerSculpture.com — Home Page for Discount Hardware & Software

[Fixittt]

all I can say to that is EYE ROLLAGE!


When I got mine, it was probably the best mill in the price range, but now there are so many! I keep the maxnc around as a test bed for new electronic and different hardware. With all the mods I did to mine it can now do descent work. Still flexes like a pretzel though. In its stock configuration, nah, its a toy.