5 axis milling control system

[mile990]

Hello everyone,

I'm mechanical engineer trying to build my own 5 axis cnc milling machine, but i lack of knowledge in electronics i controlling system.

I though of purchasing Mach3 software, and Fusion 360 as CAM, and as far as i have learned, in that case i need to have parallel port on computer, controller board that supports Mach3, power supply, stepper motors and drivers for each of them.

Are those all of components i need to have for successful control system? Do you recommend purchasing controller with USB port, and what are disadvantages in that case?

I read about breakout board in found that its role is to prevent motors and components from burning down? Do i then need also breakout board along with micro controller? Which of them sends signal to steppers?

Also i don't know how to implement power supply, should each stepper have its own power source, or power source goes into controller or breakout board?

And my last question, how can i know is choose controller strong enough to govern motion of steppers ( exactly NEMA 34 )?


Please if you can help me, i would be really grateful
Best regards

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[hanermo]

We are happy to help.
Many ask about this .. but almost no-one new usually makes a 5-axis machine at the end.

It is quite hard in work-hours, hard in cost of pieces, hard in total cost.

The bigger the machine, the less success in terms of really making a working machine.
5 axis is hard.
A lot of the components are expensive.
A lot of the needed pieces are not what You would think.

A minimum small 5-axis machine, for working in easy materials like wood, will still be several thousands overall cost.

It is not so much hard, but that you really do need many components that are expensive, and heavy rigid pieces to make it work well.
You need a rigid trunnion of 2 axis of zero-backlash, and high resolution and repeatibility and rigidity.
This is the easiest/cheapest option.

Look for zero backlash planetary gears / transmissions.
You will need 2, 1 for the 4 th and one for 5 th axis.
Expect to spend about 600-1000€ import on these.

Everything else is easy.
About 2-300€ / axis on motion control, 1500 for 5.
Cheapest.
Nema 23 steppers (40€) with cheap excellent 2M542 drivers, 40€ each, cables, connectors, boxes, stuff- x 5.
Pokeys CNC ethernet as controller. 100€ delivered, +/-.
1 (48V PSU say 200W or so.

All above is a good minimax choice today, for routing woods in 5 axis, small envelope, and machining some alu with a tiny endmill, hsm toolpaths, small 2-3 mm endmills.
The cost goes up as power-of-five for bigger machines,
and for machining steel ,
and for machining fast (like making stuff commercially).

Note.
A 5-axis machine gets really expensive really fast, if You want it bigger, faster etc.
A tiny machine to engrave jewellery might cost 3500-4500€ in parts, decent not great, with a so-so spindle.

[Jim Dawson]

Hello everyone,

I'm mechanical engineer trying to build my own 5 axis cnc milling machine, but i lack of knowledge in electronics i controlling system.

I though of purchasing Mach3 software, and Fusion 360 as CAM, and as far as i have learned, in that case i need to have parallel port on computer, controller board that supports Mach3, power supply, stepper motors and drivers for each of them.

Are those all of components i need to have for successful control system? Do you recommend purchasing controller with USB port, and what are disadvantages in that case?

I read about breakout board in found that its role is to prevent motors and components from burning down? Do i then need also breakout board along with micro controller? Which of them sends signal to steppers?

Also i don't know how to implement power supply, should each stepper have its own power source, or power source goes into controller or breakout board?

And my last question, how can i know is choose controller strong enough to govern motion of steppers ( exactly NEMA 34 )?


Please if you can help me, i would be really grateful
Best regards

A big project for someone new to CNC.

In a simple system using Mach3, you need: A computer, parallel cable, breakout board, power supply, stepper drives, and stepper motors. No microcontroller is required. Mach3 does all of the motion controller functions. Do not confuse the breakout board with a motion controller.

The breakout board can also be USB or Ethernet, both are supported by Mach3. These breakout boards also have more connections available than the parallel breakout board and many will support 5 or 6 axis.

The signals are sent to the from the breakout board to the stepper drives.

A 60V 20 Amp power supply will run 5 NEMA 34 stepper motors


This should get you started.