New Machine Build- First cnc

[stekke_stim]

Hi all

I'm Stijn I’m 18 and I’m from Belgium and I'm going to build my first CNC router.
I want to build one because buying one is much too expensive for me.
First I’m going to build the structure so I can decide when It is finished witch motors I’m going to use.
But I already have been watching at several online shops for the best quality/prize.
And for my project I think THIS is the best one.I have a budget from 500$ (+- 330 euro) for motors, drivers, … including shipping.

I chose Joe's model because I like the design.
I'm going to build it from 18mm thick mdf panels, this means I’m going to make some slight changes in the design.
I need to cut all pieces by hand.So this project is going to take some time to accomplish because I also got a fulltime job.
Because today I don’t need to go to work I’m going to try start cutting the first pieces from the Y–axis torsion box.
I will try to post some photo’s when finished with the first piece.



Here we go....

Greetings from belgium

[stekke_stim]

Hi all me again

Yesterday I took some pictures of my temporary workshop our workshop is in the backyard but there is no heating in there so my temporary workshop is in the garage now



I also finished 3 ribs from the y-axis torsion box and i did +- 7 hours over those 3 pieces (pictures from this: tomorrow.)
I'm cutting these by printing the piece, putting it with tape on the mdf panel and going with a knife over the black lines. Then i take a pencil en draw a black line against the outside of the cutting. Afterwards i take the large router and grind around the lines, and finally I take my dremel for the details.

[stekke_stim]

I have found a seller on ebay with a nice stepper kit:



3x NEMA23 2ph 22kg.cm Step Motor

Maximum Holding Torgue 308 OZ / INCH

Size : Dia 56mm X 81mm Long

Double Shaft : Dia 1/4 Inch X 3/4 Inch Long

3x Turning Knob for Manual Control

3x 4.2A Industrial Grade Mirco step Drive

Mirco step form 400 to 25000 step per Revelution

1x 36v 10A Power supply

DC:24 to 50V

AC Input: 90 to 240V

Power Can Supply up to 4 Axis

1x CNC SOFTWARE BREAKOUT BOARD

Build in 5v 1A Power Supply for Control Signal

IDEAL FOR CNC PARALLEL PORT SOFTWARE

TURBOCNC, KCAM, MACH3 etc

1x PARALLEL PORT CABLE

1x PANIC STOP BUTTON

Weight About 6.5 KG

http://cgi.ebay.com/Cnc-Mill-3axis-P...item5ad43684ef

Does this seems interesting?
525$ including shipping to belgium

[lumberjack_jeff]

Those drivers look like mine.
So far, they work well.
http://www.driver-motor.com/ProductContent.aspx?ID=59

I used a PMDX breakout board
http://www.pmdx.com/PMDX-122

For power supply, I built my own sized to match the needs of the stepper.
http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56

The voltage of the power supply should be 32 times the square root of the motor inductance. So, for a stepper with a published inductance of 1.5 requires 39 volts (32 x √1.5 = 39 Volt)

I rewound a microwave oven transformer.
http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1185

Check out the mechmate forums for some good DIY power supply advice.

Other than the breakout board, I don't see anything in the Ebay kit that I'd consider questionable, but you might be able to get the stepper drivers cheaper by ordering directly from Hong Kong.

[stekke_stim]

Originally Posted by lumberjack_jeff For power supply, I built my own sized to match the needs of the stepper. http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56 The voltage of the power supply should be 32 times the square root of the motor inductance. So, for a stepper with a published inductance of 1.5 requires 39 volts (32 x √1.5 = 39 Volt) I rewound a microwave oven transformer. http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1185 Check out the mechmate forums for some good DIY power supply advice.

i'm not an electronics genius to build my own power supply

Originally Posted by lumberjack_jeff Other than the breakout board, I don't see anything in the Ebay kit that I'd consider questionable, but you might be able to get the stepper drivers cheaper by ordering directly from Hong Kong.

the breakout board is considerable but if it isnt working ; a breakout board isnt that expensive.

And what do you mean by ordering directly from Hong Kong?

greetz

[lumberjack_jeff]

I'm certainly no electronics expert either, but the posts on the mechmate forum enabled me to do it with no sparks at all.

A basic PS is simply a transformer, a rectifier and a capacitor.
http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=350

It was actually quite a good learning experience.

The driver-motor link is to a Hong Kong distributor.

I really like the PMDX BOB;
a) the documentation is good
b) the device is proven
c) BOB problems are difficult to diagnose, and documentation is critically important.

It's really the only thing I didn't "cheap out" on.

[yngndrw]

I'd suggest just using the supplied power supply as it's a switched mode power supply. A switched mode power supply has a few benefits over a linear power supply:
1) Power regulation is usually better, although in this case it doesn't matter.
2) Size, they are much smaller.
3) Weight, they are much lighter.
4) Sometimes cost, depends.
5) Running costs, they waste a lot less power.

Of course, it's always fun to build stuff.

For the creation of the ribs, from what I can see I think you are cutting each one out by hand. For any parts which are the same, you should think about making a template out of thin wood then using the router to follow the template. If you're already doing this then sorry, I misread it.