Even the Vendor advises caution!

[c131fr]

I am building my very first CNC mill. The purpose of the mill is to cut pieces out of 1/2" aluminum plate. I am making simple parts that have been made by band saw and belt sander to date. It takes me a day to get the part perfect now, and it's just not efficient enough.

My mill design is: X=24", Y=36", Z=12" I'm using four (2 pairs) linear bearings on chrome shafts that flank a quality ACME screw with anti-backlash nuts for Y and Z axis, and parallel chrome shafts on each side of the machine with twin pillow bock bearings for the Y axis, and a single 36" ACME screw down the centerline of the machine under the table. For a spindle, I have a 2.25HP Porter Cable router with a 1/2" chuck that destroys aluminum with a carbide 2 flute end mill already (I tried in vain to cut my parts by hand with the router instead of the band saw, but the sanding needed after to clean up the cut still takes most of the day).

Now, I was about to purchase this 4 axis setup on Ebay, and using 3 270oz motors for this project (I want to build a 4th axis on a rotary table later).

I wasn't sure the 270oz motors were powerful enough to properly move the machine around to get fairly accurate parts, so I emailed the vendor to ask his opinion. Surprisingly, he said "it would work, but you would be better off with the kit on this page with the same motors." They seemed to think the controller board used in the kit on Ebay was the weak link.

Now, since I am new to this game, I want to purchase something reliable and pretty much plug and play with my laptop and Mach3. I see there are quite a few posts in this forum about the TB6560 board, some folks modifying and using them, some complaining about them. Money is tight, so to buy the kit they suggest is outside my budget, however, I don't want to spend months getting the dang thing to work.

So I'm here asking your expert opinion. First, are 270 oz motors up to the task? Second, is the TB6560 board up to the task? If not, I'd like to hear your opinions on what you think I should do. Z axis is pretty heavy with the big router on it, and the screw is 10 pitch, and the whole reason I asked the question was to find out if the 270 oz motors would hold the heavy axis in place, but now that I've read what I've read, I'm not sure of anything anymore. Your help is greatly appreciated.

[ger21]

The motors might work, but you'd be better off with a G540 package with 381 oz motors from Keling. The TB6560 is not what you want, unless you want to replace it right after you buy it.

Also, Laptops are not supported by Mach3, as there's a pretty good chance it won't work. If you must use a laptop, you'll usually need an external motion device like a Smoothstepper.

And lastly, if you're using round unsupported shafts, you're probably not going to get high quality cuts, as they aren't rigid enough.

[c131fr]

Thanks for the reply. The G540 kit is way out of my price range, unfortunately. What about their NEMA23 425 oz kit with KL-4030 Bipolar Drivers and 36V /9.7A Power Supply? Will the KL-4030 driver burn up immediately also?

Mach 3 works just fine on my laptop. Not sure what you mean about that. Could you explain? Thanks so much!

[c131fr]

I have an old desktop that I forgot about. It has a parallel port already, and was running windows Vista. The graphics card and hard drive are gone, but I could go get some cheap replacements and use it for control. I'd rather keep the laptop out of the garage anyway. Still worried about which motors and drivers to get, however. Thanks for your input.

[c131fr]

I found a breakout board in my "stack of stuff". I was going to turn my drill/mill into CNC about 8 years ago, but never got around to it. I started buying stuff, but went on a job overseas and forgot about it.

Is this still a good board? I could just buy 3 drivers and 3 motors and use this board. It's 4 axis also. It says on the top corner:

DB1 v2.0
CNC Parallel Interface
C2001
AXXUS Technologies

[Khalid]

G540 is the best for your purpose than those chinese TB ones. I learnt from experience "GET QUALITY PRODUCT". "Buy once for ever" strategy is good in CNC too.

[doorknob]

I found a breakout board in my "stack of stuff". I was going to turn my drill/mill into CNC about 8 years ago, but never got around to it. I started buying stuff, but went on a job overseas and forgot about it.

Is this still a good board? I could just buy 3 drivers and 3 motors and use this board. It's 4 axis also. It says on the top corner:

DB1 v2.0
CNC Parallel Interface
C2001
AXXUS Technologies

I have no direct experience with that breakout board. So my comments are based on guesswork.

Apparently, the manufacturer, Axxus Technologies, has been out of business for 4 or 5 years.

The board does look like it will support 4 axes, plus some auxiliary inputs and outputs.

It looks like the board requires a separate 12 volt power supply, so you will have to provide that. It looks like the 12 volt power supply is converted to 5 volts on the board with a 3-terminal voltage regulator (attached to the heat sink), and so that regulator will probably get hot, but will probably work OK.

The board does not have a lot of flexibility (compared to a board such as the CNC4PC C10 breakout board), but it does not sound like you need anything more than simple functionality. If you wanted to replace it with a newer and more capable board, however, they're not all that expensive, so it shouldn't be a major decision to make.

[LUCKY13]

It sounds like you would not be able to get the machine to a productive level if you cant afford more than the TB6560 driver board. If the parts you make will not support more than this then IMHO you are in trouble all ready.



Maybe what you need is a good sander. The right sander can eat through a job in minutes with the right belt. How about some pics of what your making and others might be able to give suggestions on how to get them made much quicker with simple tools.



Even your router might could do a better job with something like jigs made to help get much of the work done for you. You have to remember people have been getting by without CNC for years & most of the time there is a way. You would be surprized what you can do with a good bandsaw & the right blade. Throw in a purpose built sander and you have parts.


BTW all the Keling products hold up, so no burning up with there boards/drivers.


Jess

[jharvey407]

What about their NEMA23 425 oz kit with KL-4030 Bipolar Drivers and 36V /9.7A Power Supply? Will the KL-4030 driver burn up immediately also?

I have been using this kit for over a year on my router. I do light commercial work cutting hardwoods, MDF, plywood and aluminum. Make sure you buy the kit with the 36V power supply. They offer one with a 24V power supply, which works, but your motors will have more power with the 36V power supply.

Do you have pics or drawings of the types of pieces that you are cutting? I've cut quite a bit of aluminum with my machine, up to 1/2" thick with good results. I am using the PC 690.

[jasminder]

hello friend,
i think you better buy this kit
3 Axis Nema 23 stepper motor 425oz.in CNC Router / Mill WWW.LONGS-MOTOR.COM on eBay!
they are powerful, useful and cheap. They have built-in thermal protection, heat sink and short circuit protection and they are bipolar that means more power and rapids for you .Don't but that single board tb..something something.
Also, you can put a bigger PS if you want more rapids out of it since the driver allows it.

I had a monster stepper kit from probotix USA but these chinese things are better than probotix even. I threw my probotix driver out of the room when they keep failing due to over heat (i had a heat sink on them but they kept failing but i admire the support and replacements from its owner)

jasminder singh

[c131fr]

Thanks for all the replies. Jas, I see that breakout board has a USB input. Does that mean Mach3 can run this board with the usb, or is that just for power? Thanks!

[H500]

I see a parallel port only.