CNC Fusion kit questions

[Hellbringer]

Hi,
i am going to be converting a harbor x2 mill (hopefully this weekend) and i have some questions about the cnc fusion kits.

1. kit #1 comes with the mouts for the x&y steppers and then a ball screw for the z axis and kit #4 comes with ball screws for all the axis. what is the advantage of having ball screws for all 3 axis?

2. where is cnc fusion located?

3. is there a better/cheaper kit out there for the nema 23 steppers?

4. (nothing to do with cnc fusion) how many wires are there on a stepper that have to be hooked up to the controler board?

Thanks Mike

[ViperTX]

Well, here we go...opening up all sorts of opinions.

So, generally an ACME screw has better accuracy then a rolled ballscrew. Ground ball screws are generally as acurate or more accurate then an ACME screw.

A ballscrew requires less torque to turn then an ACME screw and vice versa torque from the cutting and movement is reflected back to the motor.

Now, regarding the Harbor X2....I have no idea how accurate the ACME screw and nut are.

CNCFusion is located in Texas.

Bolt-on kits like the CNCFusion....well, I haven't seen any that are cheaper.

Wires on a stepper....well it depends on the number of windings...which depends on how the stepper is designed to be driven.

Hope that helps.

[BrassBuilder]

Originally Posted by Hellbringer Hi, i am going to be converting a harbor x2 mill (hopefully this weekend) and i have some questions about the cnc fusion kits. 1. kit #1 comes with the mouts for the x&y steppers and then a ball screw for the z axis and kit #4 comes with ball screws for all the axis. what is the advantage of having ball screws for all 3 axis? 2. where is cnc fusion located? 3. is there a better/cheaper kit out there for the nema 23 steppers? 4. (nothing to do with cnc fusion) how many wires are there on a stepper that have to be hooked up to the controler board? Thanks Mike

Hi Mike,
1. I just did installed this kit a few weeks ago. I went with kit #4 and the pre-loaded ballnuts (another $120). This setup is tight! My set came without any backlash by the time I got it installed (or so little, that I could not measure it with my dial indicator anyway). The broad scheme of things is to get rid of as much backlash as possible. With the stock screws (if you use kit #1), you will most likely have some backlash...but I have no idea how much, although I understand it could be significant. If you are using Mach3, you can account for the backlash in the program.

2. Appears to be TX.

3. If you make your own mounts, you could probably save a little money. See Hoss's website for plans. Google search Hoss CNC to find it. As far as kits like the CNCfusion kit....I could not find anything cheaper.

4. The wires....I used the Keling motor kit. There were 8 wires. According to the wiring diagram that I had, I had to pair the wires up into four sets. It was all marked out on the diagram as far as what went where.

Left click my name and take a look at my previous posts. Go back to the beginning. I had a lot of questions that might be answered already.

I am very happy with my setup. I am glad I got the pre-loaded ballnuts while I was at it.
Mike

[DonF]

Originally Posted by Hellbringer Hi, i am going to be converting a harbor x2 mill (hopefully this weekend) and i have some questions about the cnc fusion kits. 1. kit #1 comes with the mouts for the x&y steppers and then a ball screw for the z axis and kit #4 comes with ball screws for all the axis. what is the advantage of having ball screws for all 3 axis? 2. where is cnc fusion located? 3. is there a better/cheaper kit out there for the nema 23 steppers? 4. (nothing to do with cnc fusion) how many wires are there on a stepper that have to be hooked up to the controler board? Thanks Mike

1.You want ball screws! ....Read th posts on the x2's that dont use them!

3. Nope CNC Fusion is about as cheap asit gets but look here - no kits but plans. http://www.hossmachine.com/cnc_conversion.html

4 It depends 4 or 6 or 8 - look around here ->
http://www.cnc4pc.com
http://www.kelinginc.net/

[Smitty911]

I went with the KDN Tools conversion, 23 nema 425oz, precision rolled screws with the over sized balls in the nuts, (that sounds really bad ) I can crank up the speed to almost 300 ipm just moving stuff around. I set it in MACH 3 to 100 ipm so the math was easier while I learn stuff. The support from Ken at KDN Tools was incredible, I had issues with my precision X-2 from China and had to send some items to him for mods. He took care of me.

No Backlash that I can measure.

The Keling 425oz NEMA 23 had 8 wires, bundled per supplied diagram.

Just another conversion option.

Smitty

[mrcodewiz]

I am converting my X2 using Hoss' plans (www.hossmachine.com). He is now selling the stock to create the mounts along with the hardware (and the plans are all on his site). I originally wanted to use his plans but coming up with the stock was a little difficult for me unless I went through onlinemetals or something so I started leaning toward the CNCFusion stuff. With their minumums, I ended up with a bunch of left-over - which is fine but I didn't want to spend the extra money. Since he now offers the stock for sale, I bought that from him and the 3-axis stepper kit from Keling. I still need to get the ballscrews and nuts and other miscellaneous stuff but I am getting started creating the mounts now. I hope to document everything as I do it but it looks fairly straight forward.

[Hellbringer]

ok thanks guys, one more question what do you think about the driver and nema stepper kit from stepper world? i dont need to cut he parts fast per say (just for a hobby) but i dont want to wait all day. also what IPM do you think i would get with that kit cuttin 6061 alum.

Thanks Mike

link to kit from stepper world

http://www.stepperworld.com/FET3dynamo.htm

[hoss2006]

Hey Mike,
forget the stepperworld kits. That's what I used for my initial cnc conversion but
quickly realized how inferior it was to what other people were running.
it's a unipolar driver and only runs at 5 volts with the stock kit,
You can upgrade to 12 volts but you have to higher voltage resistors and the heat sinks
to dissipate heat.
It still ran very slow with low torque.
Any bipolar driver would be better(You get more torque from the same motors)
I would avoid Xylotex now too, they are tooooo easy to ruin with a wiring error.
Keling has great kits for the X2 that actually cost about the same as the stepperworld kits
but are far superior, bipolar drivers with current protection and high microstepping capabilites,
High voltage (40 volts minimum with the KL-4030)
You can read more on my site here with links.
Hoss

[Hellbringer]

yeah thanks hoss..... when i looked it up by going to google and typing in keling and went to the website for some reason i found a setup that was 950 bux and that was to much but i was reading your website and clicked on you link and found the right setup. so forget that i asked about the stepper world kits....