am I being ambitious?

[kingcreaky]

Hi All.

Ok, being meaning to have a crack at building on of these for a while. so here goes.

I intend to make a table using round metal bar, & linear bearings (for all three sepeate axis), ive got it all weighed up in my head, and now just about to start buying materials...

Control wise, i think im going to go for one of these 'kits' off ebay, in particular this one... (can i link on here?)

CNC Kit 3 Axis TB6560 Stepper Motor Driver Mill Router | eBay

well ebay number 250872166687 anyway

my first question to you guys, is I intend my cutting area to be around 30cm/30cm (er about 12inches by 12 inches for my new american friends )

would you say the motors (linked above) are designed for a smaller bed? / smaller scale adventure or would you say they look about right? I cant seem to see any suggested bed sizes relevant to any of the kits for sale, so I just need to get an idea of scale before I build something too ambitious for the size of the steppers!

thanks in advance, and with keen anticipation

Matt (leicester UK)

[Gaz.]

Welcome to the world of cnc building buddy. It's addictive I must tell you, I'm on my 6th lol.

It depends on what you want to cut with the machine. I had a 600mm x 600mm machine with 270 oz before which was fine, light ali work etc. So 175 oz with a small pitch leadscrew should be good.

Remember to make the achine bigger (rails etc longer) than the actuall 300mm to allow for the gantry which will lead to lost working space (i forgot this on my first one)

This kit may be iseall for you:

Linear Rail & Bearing Kit

What are you going to use for the frame? I know most people start off with M.D.F for it's ease and cheapness and then upgrade when you got the idea.

p.s I have used the TB6560 on a few machines, I think i even got it from that ebay seller. So easy to setup and from what I can tell work an abselute treat. I've never had any problems.

[kingcreaky]

wow, that was quick, thanks for all the advice

As the control part of it is the expensive bit (in relative terms) Id rather spend the money now for steppers that are too big for this incarnation knowing like you say il probably have several attempts at it anyway and I may end up just re-using the same steppers.

Assuming the actual cutting area (I understand the gantry issues) will only every be lets say about 45cm by 45cm it will mainly be used for cutting wood but inevitably il have a crack at metal can you spare me the time to advise a motor/controller kit. id be eternally greatful...

thanks for the kit link... however, im really fortunate in this area as the company I work for (cromwell tools) sell all this kind of thing... its more the controllers and motors im left scratching my head with!

[Gaz.]

If I was you I'd go with a 270 oz kit. That ebay company sell a 263oz kit for £173 quid, or on that link they do them dor £160, which I didnt know they did when I ordered.

Any bigger than 270 oz and the TB6560 boards arn't really meant to be used for then you need seperate drivers for the motors and breakout boards etc, which all add up. So i'd say spend the extra 30 quid and get the 270 kit.

Are you going to be using mach3 as controll software? If so they are really easy to setup with the software <5 mins. You do need to wire them though, but thats about a half hour job.

Do you have a design in mind for the frame?

[tskguy]

Kingcreaky,

First off I wish you the best with this hobby is very fun and very challenging as well!

I actually went down a similar road when I first started and I can say I would stay away from those cheap boards. They are all over ebay and are super cheap buyer beware!! My board died in a matter of months and there was zero support from the vendor. I have sense gone with a G540 from Gecko. Not only has it been bullet proof but the customer support is outstanding! Do a search on here for the TB6560 and then do a search for the Gecko G540. If that doesn’t sway your decision nothing will!! It is worth every penny! I also have their steppers and they work perfectly.
Eric

[Gaz.]

Originally Posted by tskguy Kingcreaky, First off I wish you the best with this hobby is very fun and very challenging as well! I actually went down a similar road when I first started and I can say I would stay away from those cheap boards. They are all over ebay and are super cheap buyer beware!! My board died in a matter of months and there was zero support from the vendor. I have sense gone with a G540 from Gecko. Not only has it been bullet proof but the customer support is outstanding! Do a search on here for the TB6560 and then do a search for the Gecko G540. If that doesn’t sway your decision nothing will!! It is worth every penny! I also have their steppers and they work perfectly. Eric

I would have to agree and dis agree with you here. I also have the G540 board and steppers and they are fantastic, probably the best you'll get without spending thousands. But for a 300 x 300 machine I think i would rather spend £160 on cheap steppers and driver than £500 on Gecko units. It turns from a cheap machine to an expensive machine.

I've had 2 TB6560 boards running 4x4' machines with no issues, they are run everyday in a business inviroment.

If you do a search for tb6560 of corse you will get alot of bad reviews just because of the amount of people buying them that have no idea what they are doing, if they have a problem where will they go when they can't get support - a CNC forum. Not to mention the amount of people I have seen here not connecting them up properly.

IMO Gecko units are way overkill for a 300 x 300 machine first time around. Just my opinion of corse.

[tskguy]

Gaz,

To each thier own I guess. I personally wouldnt waste my time with one again.
Complete waste of money.

Eric