A HobbyCNC Pro kit build 3-axis, Mach3

[TurbineJesse]

I received my kit from HobbyCNC just under a week ago, and wanted to share the progress and some of the ways I did things. I've documented the general progress on my site:

http://www.ivcity.com/cnc

I'll include a few pictures here, but visit my page above for the larger versions and all the detail from the project! (no need to duplicate everything here).

Firstly, while I was waiting for my kit to arrive (which only took 3 days!), I bought the required transformer for the power supply (not included in the kit). HobbyCNC gives a few options for these on their site. However, the first two options are like $58 for just a transformer. The third option, just $18 from MPJA
http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=7846+TR.
I know people all over the world order from them. But fortunately for me, I didn't have to. They're just down the street from me, so I just went and picked one up!




Once my kit got here, I sorted it all out:



It took me a few hours to solder it all up nicely. One of the dip chips arrived with its pins all mangled, so I had to spend some time straightening those out. I also cleaned up the aluminum heat sink for cosmetic sakes.




The recommended enclosure costs around $36 before shipping. I figured I could do much better than that. And I believe I did. I found this at Target for $6.99. It's much sturdier than a rubbermaid container. The best way I can describe it is, it's like a square bucket (you know, that sturdy thicker plastic they make 'em out of?).




I got the holes all drilled out in the enclosure as per the included templates from HobbyCNC. I also went one extra step and cut a square aluminum plate to use as a base to mount everything too. It doubles as a nice big heat sink for the rectifier.




And finally, everything hooked-up for testing! Things didn't all work at first, but once I figured out that I needed to setup the pin configurations in Mach3, everything was smooth sailing!




I have a nice short video of it on my page: http://www.ivcity.com/cnc

[TurbineJesse]

I've been working on finishing the design of the table now that the electronics are done. We've had a basic design in our heads and overall size goal of around 2' x 3'. That will surely change a bit. Here's a SolidWorks rendering of what I've got so far. I won't continue to update this build here (as it's more for HobbyCNC). Follow it here: http://www.ivcity.com/cnc

[ianober]

Jesse, I am curious as to your settings in MAch3 for the setup. I have a HobbyCNC Pro board with their 200 oz steppers and I am not seeing very good performance, like 50 ipm max in Mach3. Wondering if you are seeing anything better and wondering what your settings are?

[TurbineJesse]

Hi,

I actually haven't touched the settings much. I'm still getting the machine setup. I don't even have the limit switches on yet.

But, I do get decent rates on the machine when it's running. The computer that I have Mach3 setup on is not reachable at this time for me, but I would suggest one thing. Hit the "Tab" button on your keyboard to bring up the "MPG Mode" screen, and make sure your feed-rate and "Slow Jog Rate" are both showing 100%.

When I was first testing my machine it had an awfully SLOW rate. I couldn't figure it out. Until I hit the "tab" button and realized that weeks back I had played with those settings not know what they did. Once I fixed that, things worked great. As for my other settings, as I said, I can't view them at this time.

[DeadTom]

Originally Posted by ianober Jesse, I am curious as to your settings in MAch3 for the setup. I have a HobbyCNC Pro board with their 200 oz steppers and I am not seeing very good performance, like 50 ipm max in Mach3. Wondering if you are seeing anything better and wondering what your settings are?

Speed will be a function of the lead screws that you are using along with the stepper motors. What lead screws are you using? Threads per inch?

Jesse, your design looks like it will go tegether really fast but you might want to add some type of supports on the uprights as there will be a rotational moment on the uprights when your router/spindle travels up and down. Also you might want to check for racking along the long axis.
My 2 cents,
Tom