4'x8' RouteBot

[RouteBot]

Y axis proximity sensors mounted to the top of the gantry.

[RouteBot]

Design error! I should have modeled the pulleys and made the spindle mounting plate to get the correct center distance. I made it work but I had to sleeve one of the pulleys and add set screws.

The other issue is that the brake shaft needs to come up and the ballscrew shaft needs to come down. They will not line up as designed. So I will have to machine pockets into the underside top plate of the Z and in the top of the ballscrew mount.

[hacker7]

Dang !!! Oh well such is life!!! Can't think of everything. HAHA
I can't wait to see that thing fire up and RUN!!!!!!!

[RouteBot]

Dang !!! Oh well such is life!!! Can't think of everything. HAHA
I can't wait to see that thing fire up and RUN!!!!!!!

It sucks. Every time I feel like progress is being made something has to stop it in it's tracks! When I designed the router I didn't worry about the pulleys and e-chains. I figured I'd deal with it later. However, getting the pulleys ahead of time and designing around them would have been the way to go. Trying to find pulleys with the correct ratio, center distance and shaft size is almost impossible. The e-chain mounting may be an issue too.

[RouteBot]

Got the pulleys on after some machining some pockets in the mounts to get them lined up. The Z axis assembly is done. Next step is e-chain supports and wiring.

[RouteBot]

Here is a picture of the energy chain support.



I ended up using 4" x 4" x 1/4" angle. The supports are bolted to the frame and the long piece will be welded when I figure out exactly where the chain will go relative to the support. Then I'll unbolt the assembly, clean and paint it.

So now I'm trying to figure out the correct cable gauge. The issue I'm having is that it's a 50 ft' run from the Z axis (longest run) to the control box. According to some charts I would need 8 AWG and on other charts I need 12 AGW. That's with minimum voltage drop. The motor drivers (CNCdrive DG4S-16035) will be connected to a 75 VDC supply. What gauge cable would be heavy enough to run this servo properly:

KL34-180-90 (NEMA 34) Dual Shaft, Front Shaft 1/2" Rear shaft 1/4"
1125 oz-in Peak 90V/40A
Green is Ground, Red is +, Black is Common)
Constant Torque: 226 oz-in
Peak Torque: 1125 oz-in
No load Speed: 3200 R.P.M
Terminal Voltage : 90 VDC
Continuous Current: 7.8 A
Peak Current: 40 A

If I'm designing to the continuous current of 7.8 amps it looks like I'm going to be spending a lot on money on flex cable. Also, most flex cable I see out there is 4 conductor and I only need 3. What cable is everyone using for DC servos? I'm also using AMT encoders. Is there a servo cable cable that includes the 22 or 24 gauge encoder wires?

I am now in a big push the get this thing running. Getting this cable and energy chain will finally get me to the electrical box. Then it's go time!

[RouteBot]

Here are some progress pictures.



X axis energy chain and track welded, painted and mounted.




Y and Z axis proximity sensors mounted.



Y and Z axis energy chain mounted.



VFD enclosure for spindel power mounted. Holes drilled in bottom and top for heat venting



Delta VFD mounted with fan.



X anis proximity sensors mounted.



E-stop mounting strips. Needed something to attach plate to. Plastic strips do the trick!



Finished E-stop assembly mounted to frame.

Now it's time to do the wiring. I'll soon find out if it was worth it . . .

[hacker7]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!! You are soooooo close. The wife just threw me a roll of paper towels to wipe the drool off the computer screen. HAHA
Can't wait!!!!! Looking Great as usual!!!!!

[RouteBot]

I'm finally getting to the electrical part of the project after a setback with the 10:1 gearheads from Automation Technology. I already sent one of the gearheads back because it would bind up when mounted to the servo. Automation Technology sent a replacement. I thought the other two were okay. I was wrong. Basically they're all junk, including the replacement. Two of them run rough and one would not turn at all, as they are not machined correctly. The input collars are out of center and cause the servo to bind. After spending $600.00 on gearheads it was hard to junk them. However, using them would destroy my servo motor bearings and cost more in the long run. My router was designed around these gearheads. Finding replacements was not easy. 2" Shaft length and M8 mounting bolts are not common. So I was lucky to find 3 USA made replacements. All I had to do was tap the mounting holes to M8.




KL-34GH101 10:1 Planetary Gearbox - JUNK!


New gearhead getting tapped for M8 mounting bolts.




So now I'm back on the electrical stuff. The servo drives need to be mounted in the control box. Before that could happen I needed to build a heat sink. Hopefully this will do the trick.


Servo drive heat sink built and ready for action!


Servo drives mounted to the heat sink assembly.



As I work on the electrical stuff I've been thinking about what software to use. Dell had a Christmas overstock sale on a mid-grade Intel® Core™ i5-4460 Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz) computer. So I bought it just for the router. It is a 64 bit windows 7 machine with a Windows 10 upgrade license. So the question is what to load on it? Windows 10 with Mach4? Will it work?? I have a CNC4PC C32 BOB with a Warp9 ESS . I see that Mach4 plugins are now available for the ESS . Has anybody had issues? I hate to go back in time and run Mach3 with XP. However, I also don't want to to be a new product bata tester. This is all new to me and I'm going through enough hell already!

Also, are the VistaCNC pendants any good? They have a P4-SE for mach4 that looks nice.

[ger21]

You can run Mach3 on that PC with the ESS.
You'll definitely be a beta tester if you go with Mach4, imo.

Did you find the new gearheads on EBay? Or did you have to buy them new somewhere?

I was going to buy a gearbox for a 4th axis the other day, and I'm still mad that I forgot to bid on it. $200 for a 15:1 gearbox to mount on an AC servo, with <1 arcmin backlash.

[RouteBot]

You can run Mach3 on that PC with the ESS.
You'll definitely be a beta tester if you go with Mach4, imo.

Did you find the new gearheads on EBay? Or did you have to buy them new somewhere?

I was going to buy a gearbox for a 4th axis the other day, and I'm still mad that I forgot to bid on it. $200 for a 15:1 gearbox to mount on an AC servo, with <1 arcmin backlash.

There is still plenty of time to see how things are going with mach4. Given my pace on this project, mach5 will be released by the time it's running! I'll wait till the last minute before I make the ultimate choice.


It took a lot of searching but I found a close match on eBay. My old gearheads had different specs than most. I was happy to find the correct servo mounting and a shaft length that would work. No more junk. Quality gearheads are expensive, even if they're used! $200.00 would have been an excellent deal . . .

[RouteBot]

Starting the electrical control box wiring. Drilled and tapped the electrical plate for 1/4" standoffs to hold the control board. Glad to have a large box to work with!

[ducati955]

Also, are the VistaCNC pendants any good? They have a P4-SE for mach4 that looks nice.

I really like the VistaCNC pendant. I am running Mach 3 on my knee mill and router.
I swap the pendant back in forth because it is so easy to use.

[RouteBot]

Also, are the VistaCNC pendants any good? They have a P4-SE for mach4 that looks nice.

I really like the VistaCNC pendant. I am running Mach 3 on my knee mill and router.
I swap the pendant back in forth because it is so easy to use.

Thanks for letting me know how that pendant is working! I recently contacted Mach support about my situation. Here is what they said:

"Hello Allen, we are finishing up the router specific screen set for Mach4 that has many router specific features that you may be interested in. Mach4 is still being developed to meet specific machine types but I understand that you want a solid proven performer. With that in Mind perhaps Mach3 is the right choice for you. Win 10 is still being tested so it is still not officially support as of yet but we are not seeing any compatibility issues. Win7 is a proven OS that works well with Mach3. I have that same Vista pendant and fully tested it with both Mach3 and Mach4 I like it very much. If you have more questions just let me know. Best regards Jim.

James Dingus Jr.
Tech support staff"

So it looks like I will go with Mach3 running on Windows 7 pro with the VistaCNC pendant. It's nice to have a solid direction to move forward.

[ger21]

I would take a look at UCCNC. It's been proven to run smoother, and more accurately than Mach3, especially at higher speeds.
The downside is that it's still being developed, and there are a few minor bugs. But a new version that should address those issues, and some new hardware are due out soon.

[RouteBot]

I would take a look at UCCNC. It's been proven to run smoother, and more accurately than Mach3, especially at higher speeds.
The downside is that it's still being developed, and there are a few minor bugs. But a new version that should address those issues, and some new hardware are due out soon.

Just when I thought I had it nailed . . . I'll look into it. Thanks!

[ger21]

Oh, I forgot that you already had an ESS. Although you can probably sell it if you don't need it.

[lifeisriding6]

Hello,

Love this build! Seriously. Such an inspiration!
I am coming over here from the Openbuilds community having built an over sized Ox a year and a half ago and now looking to build a "real" machine.

Quick question.
-Your gantry is heavy I think I read 200lbs somewhere in this thread.

Does having the weight towards the back of your gantry plates effect the performance of your linear rail?

I assume it would really load the back bearing block and "unload" the front one pulling up on it almost.

Here is a picture incase I am not being clear enough with my newbie question.

[ger21]

I think that the spindle hanging off the front balances the load somewhat.

Linear rails can usually support several thousand lbs, so it's not a big deal if one is loaded slightly more than the other. In a DIY application, they should easily last the life of the machine.
Also, this is only the case when it's not moving. When the gantry accelerates to the right in the picture, the weight will be on the left bearing. When it accelerates to the left, the weight will be on the right bearing.

Most linear rails can also handle loads in all directions, so it doesn't matter if the weight is pushing down on them or lifting them.

[RouteBot]

I think that the spindle hanging off the front balances the load somewhat.

Linear rails can usually support several thousand lbs, so it's not a big deal if one is loaded slightly more than the other. In a DIY application, they should easily last the life of the machine.
Also, this is only the case when it's not moving. When the gantry accelerates to the right in the picture, the weight will be on the left bearing. When it accelerates to the left, the weight will be on the right bearing.

Most linear rails can also handle loads in all directions, so it doesn't matter if the weight is pushing down on them or lifting them.

I agree with Gerry. I have heavy duty bearings so it should not be an issue. That said, the weight ended up pretty close to being centered between the bearings. Maybe I'll get it going someday and I'll find out if it's a paperweight or a CNC router! Still lots to do and no time to do it . . .

- Allen