Saturn 2x4 NEMA 23 Plug and Play

[BasementEngineer]

Hello everyone!
I'm new to the forum, and been loving all the information available here. It helped me to make this purchase decision in the first place.
Some quick background, I'm a student about to serve a mission, gonna study aerospace engineering afterwards. My school had a Legacy Maverick 5 axis, which I got pretty good at. I have a copy of Aspire, and can't wait to make more here at home. Hence this decision. The Saturn appears to be the only machine in my price range with a rack and pinion setup, looks to be of similar quality to the Maverick. I'm great with electronics, but time is of the essence, so decided to go with the NEMA 23 plug and play system offered through FLA. I know it may not be the best, but just trying to get up and running as quickly as possible. From all appearances it looks like it's sourced from CNCRouterParts.
I've been hurriedly collecting everything I need, and getting the small garage organized so I'll have space for it. Went with a spindle/vfd from china through Amazon, set it up and it appears to work well. And thanks to difalkner, I had a pretty good idea on how to make a stand for the cnc.
Can't wait to share with all of you, perhaps give some good info, and get some help when needed.

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[BasementEngineer]

Also, didn't have 220v in the garage, and seeing how it's a rental, couldn't do much about it. I now introduce you to the sketchy outlet box.
Yes, it has two extension cords from two separate outlets, and yes, there is a 220v side and a 110v side. It works. I needed two outlets for each voltage and this is the only way I could think of to do it without having two separate boxes.

[FineLineAuto]

Regarding the plug and play box, we do source them from CNCRouterParts.

I am excited to see your build

[difalkner]

Sounds like it's going to be a nice build and I'm eager to see what you produce. Glad the stand info helped and I can say it's worked great for the last two years.

On that outlet, I would definitely change the receptacle to a NEMA 6-20R so nobody can accidentally plug a 120v tool or cord or appliance into it. I think you're asking for an accident waiting to happen with that receptacle.

David

[BasementEngineer]

Thank you for the advice.
I'll pick one of those up eventually. The pump that came with it runs off of 220v as well, but had a 110v plug.
Man am I lazy
Here's a quick shot of the coolant bucket setup, submersible pump inside. I used water and green antifreeze.
And here's a shot of the shelf, got around to that today. The CNC is coming tomorrow, can't wait to really get to work!

[wmgeorge]

Very nice, my machine shipped but do to my schedule can't pickup until Monday.

On the cooling. If you use RV anti freeze in a open container it will turn sour or bad. In my sealed laser cooling seems to be ok. Real anti freeze will kill your pets so be careful. Looking forward to seeing your build.

[BasementEngineer]

Thanks for the advice! I made sure to seal the container well.
The machine is here, and on the table. Been routing cables. Waiting for word from Nate, but otherwise all is going well. Don't have limit switches, so gonna configure soft limits in Mach3 until then. Can't wait to have this up and running! Fingers crossed for the end of the week...
Pictures to follow tomorrow.

[wmgeorge]

Thanks for the advice! I made sure to seal the container well.
The machine is here, and on the table. Been routing cables. Waiting for word from Nate, but otherwise all is going well. Don't have limit switches, so gonna configure soft limits in Mach3 until then. Can't wait to have this up and running! Fingers crossed for the end of the week...
Pictures to follow tomorrow.

You need the limits.

[BasementEngineer]

Dang it. I was hoping to get away without them for a bit, trying to keep to a budget. Do I just need 5 then? X and Y +-, and Z+? And where do they mount? My machine didn't come with any documentation, and appears to be missing some things... Really hoping to get in touch today.
Anyways, still a lot to do. Gonna get the ESS to communicate with the computer, and setup Mach3.
Here's some pictures so far...

So, one of the etrack screws bent in shipping. Picked up a new one for a few cents, wasn't a big deal. The rest of the machine looks beautiful. The dumb Chinese spindle I picked up was a couple mm too big in diameter, so got a cylinder hone and widened the bracket just a hair. With a little prying, managed to get it in. Just running cables, and getting familiar with ESS and Mach3. Gonna be looking more at difalkner's thread for help with that.

Thanks for following along with me!

[FineLineAuto]

Dang it. I was hoping to get away without them for a bit, trying to keep to a budget. Do I just need 5 then? X and Y +-, and Z+? And where do they mount? My machine didn't come with any documentation, and appears to be missing some things... Really hoping to get in touch today.
Anyways, still a lot to do. Gonna get the ESS to communicate with the computer, and setup Mach3.
Here's some pictures so far...

So, one of the etrack screws bent in shipping. Picked up a new one for a few cents, wasn't a big deal. The rest of the machine looks beautiful. The dumb Chinese spindle I picked up was a couple mm too big in diameter, so got a cylinder hone and widened the bracket just a hair. With a little prying, managed to get it in. Just running cables, and getting familiar with ESS and Mach3. Gonna be looking more at difalkner's thread for help with that.

Thanks for following along with me!

You’ll need 4. I’ll get in touch with soon.

[difalkner]

Gonna be looking more at difalkner's thread for help with that.

Holler if I can help.

David

[BasementEngineer]

Actually, help would be quite nice. I don't yet have motors, but trying to configure Mach 3, and also see it I can get to control spindle speed via the breakout board in cncrp's plug and play box. Anyone who could point me in the right direction, please do
Any tips for configuration? Are there profile xml's available somewhere, or do you have a list of settings...?

[wmgeorge]

Actually, help would be quite nice. I don't yet have motors, but trying to configure Mach 3, and also see it I can get to control spindle speed via the breakout board in cncrp's plug and play box. Anyone who could point me in the right direction, please do
Any tips for configuration? Are there profile xml's available somewhere, or do you have a list of settings...?

Yes, go to CNCRouterParts they have diagrams and preset up files for Mach3 or 4 I will try to get back with a Link for you. You do need to purchase a license for Mach3 and it needs to be in the Mach3 Directory.

> Everything you need for info is on this page be sure to download the Instructions & Configuration | CNCRouterParts XML file for your setup.Mach 3 XML Files | CNCRouterParts

[BasementEngineer]

Nate gave me a call, and ended up setting me up with his xml config. And helped clarify a lot of other things as well. Good customer service.
I got some wire loom, as one cable for the slaved y axis will be laying outside the cable track. Still looking for input on how to control spindle speed via mach3, any help would be appreciated.
The machine should be up and running by this Friday!

[FineLineAuto]

Nate gave me a call, and ended up setting me up with his xml config. And helped clarify a lot of other things as well. Good customer service.
I got some wire loom, as one cable for the slaved y axis will be laying outside the cable track. Still looking for input on how to control spindle speed via mach3, any help would be appreciated.
The machine should be up and running by this Friday!

Glad you got the file loaded and things setup.

[BasementEngineer]

Got the vfd/spindle connected, after a fair amount of research. It turns on just fine, however speed control shows 10% slower on Mach than the true VFD speed. Anyone know how to make a permanent speed override in Mach?

[BasementEngineer]

Alrighty, update on everything. X and both Y motors are mounted, and have been appropriately tensioned. Just gonna keep to the 400 ipm rapids Nate set in that handy configuration file. It all works well. Parts have been trickling in, as not everything shipped with the CNC. Nate has been good at addressing concerns as they've come up, but it would have been nice if I didn't have to chase after missing parts... Still missing the z axis motor coupler. The bottom third seemed to have already been on the ballscrew, but the spider and other piece never arrived. Still more waiting before any cutting can happen I guess.
Solved the spindle issue by changing pulley values incrementally until the rpms matched. Everything is ready to go...

[FineLineAuto]

Alrighty, update on everything. X and both Y motors are mounted, and have been appropriately tensioned. Just gonna keep to the 400 ipm rapids Nate set in that handy configuration file. It all works well. Parts have been trickling in, as not everything shipped with the CNC. Nate has been good at addressing concerns as they've come up, but it would have been nice if I didn't have to chase after missing parts... Still missing the z axis motor coupler. The bottom third seemed to have already been on the ballscrew, but the spider and other piece never arrived. Still more waiting before any cutting can happen I guess.
Solved the spindle issue by changing pulley values incrementally until the rpms matched. Everything is ready to go...

Sorry. The full Z-Axis motor coupler should have shipped with the initial shipment. I suspect it was jarred loose in transit. Anyway, I will get one out to you shortly.

[wmgeorge]

Nate I sent a email but my 4x4 34 Plug in Play has 4 prox switches, which of the 6 or so connections on the box do I use? I have 2 mounted on the X and 1 on the Y , 1 on the Z. Do you have a special setup file for Mach3 other than the one on CNCRouter parts website? You have my email, thanks.

[BasementEngineer]

Still waiting on the coupler, but now absolutely everything appears to be in place. I've attached pictures of how I did the wiring for the Huanyang VFD, to the CNCRP plug and play box. Four wires was all that was needed, and decided to add another aviator plug for it to look nice. Can't wait...