Sherline mini mill issues... im missing something

[drifted89notch]

so.... i have a 3 axis sherline mill with a 4, or 5 axis bob(tb6560? pretty sure{its red}). tried to run linux, computer hated it, switched to mach 3 which my bob is most friendly with. had the most luck at this point, but also fried my x and z on my initial trial. y was the only axis to try to move. x and z immidiately popped and snapped and smoke followed. gave up for a couple weeks, then tonight plugged in my power supply and it would just smoke. pried back and forth on the fairly sized black chips that were obviously burnt till they broke off and removed them(x,z). then y fried as soon as i plugged the power supply in. pried that chip out as well... leaving me with "A"... so i hooked my x stepper to the A output on my bob. i had very little movement with console commands and erratic sound. id type a.5 in console and it would move maybe 5/1000(estimate). i messed around with this for some time then i just assigned keyboard buttons to move the axis... as soon as i touched the newly assigned buttons, it fried my last axis on the bob.... I have a feeling im overlooking an important step in the set-up process. im not new to cnc machines or g-code... but i am new to setting up a machine for myself..... any input is greatly appretiated... btw i need to buy a new bob before i can do anymore damage...... lol

Similar Threads:

• Mini mill tramming issues...
• Need Help!- New LMS Mini Mill Issues
• Problems with my Sherline 2000 series CNC Mini MILL
• Looking for some suggestion on my setup (Sherline 2000 Mini Mill)
• Sherline or mini-mill spindle?

[awerby]

Your experience is fairly typical of people who go to ebay and buy those ultra-cheap Chinese driver boards based on the infamous TB6560 chip. Just throw that junk away and get a new control system. You can get the control box from Sherline that's intended to run your machine: Sherline CNC Driver Box . Or if you want to put a control box together yourself, you can get a G-540 board from Geckodrive, a 48v power supply and mount them in a fan-cooled enclosure. Yes, either of these solutions will cost more than the thing you have now. But on the other hand, they'll actually work...

[lens42]

Another option might be a board called "TinyG" and free CAM software called ChiliPeppr (spelled like that). I'm considering that for my Sherline, but haven't jumped yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[drifted89notch]

i appreciate the input guys, thanks

[arloG]

I have a Denford mill that is based on a Sherline. The electronics were shot when I got it at auction. Because I had no idea what I was doing, I bought inexpensive components to see if I could do something useful with it. I replaced the Denford drivers with CNC M335 drivers. They are similar to these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/360896183803 and cost about $25/axis. The drivers I have require differential inputs so I built a simple interface board with a couple of 7404 inverters on it. I used a 12volt power supply I already had. I had to replace the Z axis motor but X and Y are the originals. According to my notes, they are Sanyo model #103H7123-0440 DC steppers. For software I use LinuxCNC and the default Sherline mill configuration with a little tuning.

I've been using it for about a year and a half. The only shortcoming has been that the Z axis isn't as powerful as I'd like and, when I tried drilling a 5 by 5 array of 1/8" in al, I found that there was some vertical slippage that resulted in the drill failing to penetrate on the last 8 or so holes. I blame the cheap Z stepper motor I bought.

The limited table movement is the biggest problem I have but I still have been able to build a number of items that have turned out very well. Mostly oak but some aluminum (X and Y seem to perform better so some planning helps here).

I've had no issues with the electronics and if I build a bigger machine, I intend to use similar drivers.

[DICKEYBIRD]

Hi Arlo,

Did you happen to save the controller board from that Denford? Most likely a "Smartstep3" or one of its variations? If so I'd be a buyer.

[arloG]

DickeyBird:

I think I trashed the unneeded Denford parts. At least, I can't find the controller board in any of the usual places.

Do you have the Denford software or are you using an alternate approach? One of the projects I've been neglecting is a Denford lathe. Here is what it looks like internally

I've read that I can drive it with RepRap but I haven't looked into the details of how to implement it. Have you tried this?

[whateg01]

Why not just buy a kit from HobbyCNC or CNC4PC which includes all of the motors, power supply, and controls?

Dave

[DICKEYBIRD]

I went with a method I found on the Denford forum. You remove the top proprietary serial interface board and wire your P/Port B.O.B. directly to the 96 pin header on the SmartStep board and use Mach3 (or LinuxCNC I suppose) It's a standard .100" pin spacing & there's a pinout on the Denford site. I used Futaba r/c servo connectors to plug in to it. It's old tech & is only 2 amps but works fine for this 'ol cheapskate. Yours is a little later model than mine as it looks like it has 2 rectifiers instead of one.

[arloG]

That sounds like a nice approach, DickeyBird. Thanks for the advice.