China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.


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Thread: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

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    Default China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Anyone out their have a China 50W 500x300 with the power Z axis option?
    that can look at their Z motor and possible get a model#

    I was hoping to forgo my interwebs search for the ideal motor.
    My machine is several years old and has an adjustable Z axis but it manually operated. via the lower right vertical shaft.


    TIA!
    -S

    Similar Threads:


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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    I have a motorized bed on mine and will try to send you photos of the motor tomorrow.



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Here is my Z motor. I am in the process of replacing it with a stepper so that I have precise Z height control, but this motor seems to work fine for now.

    China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-shenhui_50w_zmotor-jpg



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Quote Originally Posted by robertk925 View Post
    Here is my Z motor. I am in the process of replacing it with a stepper so that I have precise Z height control, but this motor seems to work fine for now.

    China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-shenhui_50w_zmotor-jpg
    wow thanks for the post up. Curious 1: if you do go with the stepper. are you interested in parting with this one? (would/could save me lots of locating time). 2: I was too considering just adding the 3rd axis stepper.
    perhaps thats the real way to go. in my case I'd like to get similar steppers and drivers. Im guessing If I asked you would say. go with the stepper (I think I just answered my own Q2). 3: what DSP are you running?
    -S



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Hi Sniper:

    Sure, I would be happy to sell the motor if I can get the stepper working.

    My DSP is the RuiDa RDC644XG laser controller (I think, it is hard to confirm the exact part number). It looks like this.

    China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-laser_controller-jpg

    I hooked up a M542 stepper controller like this 2/4 phase Nema 23 Stepper Motor Driver 24-50VDC 1.5A-4.5A 256 Microstep M542T: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific to the DSP and can spin the stepper (a NEMA 23 motor) from the front panel of the laser. However, I haven't physically attached the stepper to the belt since I have been using my laser too much to take it out of commission!

    If you can swing it, I would just go to a stepper system. For $80 ($40 for the controller, $40 for the stepper) you will have a much more controllable and useful system. I would assume the motor with this type of gearbox would cost around that new.That is, of course, if a NEMA 23 stepper has enough torque to raise the bed, which I hope to find out soon.

    Or keep the manual crank. I know it isn't sexy, but it is probably a lot more precise than the current motor system. The current motor system moves in big jumps. It kind of drives me crazy as I have to gently tap the switch to get it to move a little bit, and it will overshoot, so then I have to tap the switch again to make it move down, and back and forth until I get the height I want.



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    RobertK925:
    Thanks for the info. I suspected I should just add the stepper. my LO-X7 look similar. Im sure you seen plenty pics of it.
    I cant really see steppers clearly. but Ill have to get in their to see if I can match up. my Stepper drivers are.China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-stepperdriver-jpg
    I know I dont have to run this driver but I have several machines driven by different steppers and controllers etc. keeping track of documentation and replacement parts compatibility etc.. gets to be
    nightmare-ish. So I suspect Ill try and source the same parts but if that proves to be to complicated or expensive I'll find suitable replacements. In my case I dont have the gear set up either and unless I replace the belt I'll have to find an alternative solution to integrate the motor.



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    As follow up to my previous post I finally made some pictures of the parts.

    Here are the links to the album:
    Message - My Photo Gallery
    Message - My Photo Gallery
    Message - My Photo Gallery
    Message - My Photo Gallery
    Message - My Photo Gallery

    best regards,
    Walter


    Edit:
    it seems my previous post that was supposed to be check by a mod before it's published is still not available ?

    Edit2:
    As it seems my previous post is lost, i try to redo it as good as possible.

    In December last year i got a cheap 50w 500x300mm china laser from ebay. What i immediately noticed was that the z axis should be motorized in some way. After doing a research on the laser itself i thought i should be fairly easy to modify it having a motorized z axis.
    I ordered new timing belt wheels for the 4 spindles, plus one smaller for the steppermotor, a new longer belt from meadler and a drive system (stepper and stepper driver) from ebay.
    Nema 34 Stepper Motor 4.5Nm 34HS31-5504S
    MA860H Stepper Motor Driver Max, 7.2A 110VDC
    and a power supply with 6A and 60V DC

    For the new belt system i decided to go for a HTD type with a 5mm spacing and 15mm width as on this type a over 2.5m long belt was available from the shelve.
    As timing belt wheels on the spindles i decided to choose big ones with 40 teeth for getting more teeth on the belt at the 90° touching angle and to have more options for testing different gear rations by changing the motor pulley size.


    When removing the original parts i immediately recognized that the original spindles was not sitting correctly in the ball-bearings. The spindle diameter was much to small (7mm) for the 8mm inner diameter of the ball-bearing.
    I fixed this by getting the ends, where the ball bearings sits, down to 6.5mm (on a lathe) and made small bushings with inner 6.5 and outer 10mm diameter, where i then swapped the original ball bearings with types that has 10mm inner diameter.
    With this modification the spindles are running a lot more defined then.
    What got me struggle in the beginning was, how to remove the original pulley from the spindles. But it turned out to be quite easy. I simply heated them up using a hotair gun (set to 600C°) and where then able to simply pull them off the spindle, they where just glued to the spindle.
    The new big timing belt wheels also had to be modified, i got them down on the width using a lathe for having them fitted onto the spindle and having enough room for the self made bushing.

    At the moment i awaiting the drive system parts now (Motor, driver, and power-supply) to go further on the modification. Next step is to make a motor mount and a special mount for a new ordered adjustable tensioning roller. If this is done and all mounted inside the laser the only thing to do is to get the wiring up and running.

    Check my pictures above to see some details on the mod.

    Last edited by Labmaster; 01-11-2016 at 07:29 AM.


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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Hello again,

    just a quick update, as right now a couple of minutes ago i received the drive system.

    Check out the pictures here:
    Message - My Photo Gallery

    It's quite amazing how huge this stepper motor is.
    The shaft of the motor i as thick as the original pulley of the z axis spindle.

    Now it's time to think about a proper mounting for it :-)

    Additional i received the mA Meter also ordered on ebay, this will go into the lase housing above the emergency knob to display the Co2 laser tube current.
    Message - My Photo Gallery

    best regards,
    Walter



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Hi,

    i made some good progress in getting my china laser z axis motorized.

    Here are some pictures:
    I changed the screws of the bottom table mount frame, so they cant rotate anymore, i also made some spacers as everytime, when locking up the screws, the metal of the frame has bent.


    More picture of the spacer and screw


    Pictures of the assembly of the bottom table mount frame


    For having the belt tension roller at the back where the motor will sit, i turned the whole bottom table mount frame 180°


    I milled a motor mount for this big NEMA 34 Stepper, drilled some holes in the bottom of the laser housing and mounted it there.


    A picture of the whole assembly


    Another picture of the whole assembly


    The stepper motor with the Timingbelt Wheel mounted


    Here with stepper already mounted


    A slightly modified spindle topend, with a changed diameter of 6.5mm and the bushing for it to fit the 10mm inner diameter of the new ball bearings


    I opened up the front side of the original 90° mounting bracket and put two thread holes M4 on both sides.


    This is the new bearing mount that i made (bottom side), this one gets mounted on top of the original but modified mounting bracket
    The bearing itself is slightly clamped by a small m3 setscrew


    The new bearing mount from the top side


    The whole top spindle mount.



    Best regards,
    Walter

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp1-jpg   China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp2-jpg   China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp3-jpg   China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp4-jpg  

    China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp5-jpg   China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp6-jpg   China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp65-jpg   China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp7-jpg  

    China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp8-jpg   China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp9-jpg   China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp10-jpg   China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp11-jpg  

    China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp12-jpg   China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-lp66-jpg  


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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Very nice! I need to get off my tail and order my stepper and driver.
    -Sam



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Nice work Walter! Have you fired it up yet? If so, does the NEMA 34 have any problems raising the table?



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Quote Originally Posted by robertk925 View Post
    Nice work Walter! Have you fired it up yet? If so, does the NEMA 34 have any problems raising the table?
    No, not yet.
    as i ripped out all the electronics for getting it arranged in a different way, otherwise it would not fit all inside the available space.
    There is a additional power supply (60V) what is bigger then the original 24V one, also the M860 stepper driver is a big beast with big heat-sink and fan.
    Additionally i will install two 24V /230V relays for switching the fume extractor and the air assist.
    Last but not least i want to install a third M524 stepper driver for having the rotation fixture on a own dedicated driver, instead sharing it with the y axis.
    In the future i might also replace the CO2 tube with a big one (120W or more) what will require a much bigger power supply.
    Tomorrow i will prepare a new and much bigger electronic mounting plate (made of PS) and see how this all might fit.

    Back to your question,
    due to all the mechanical improvements the table moves very smooth now, so i guess the big NEMA 34 (80mm x 80mm x 80mm) with a torque of over 3.5Nm@60V and a belt wheel ration of 1 to 2 should get the table up and down very easily.

    best regards,
    Walter



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    .

    Last edited by Labmaster; 01-21-2016 at 10:18 PM. Reason: double post


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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Here is a update on the project.

    I finally made the decision to rip out all the electronic components and to rearrange them to have a cleaner installation of all the additional components that involved with the z axis motorization and additional compnents like the two 24V / 230V relay for switching the fume extractor and the air support on/off.
    First i made two new mounting plates from shiny white 5mm PS boards, one for the bottom and one for the backside wall.
    For the future i planned to replace the original CO2 Tube with a Reci 80W and a Reci Power-supply, so i already reserved and prepared the installation place including the correct thread holes, for it. This is why the original Tube Power supply looks a little bit lost at the big empty place at the moment.
    I also replaced the two original 110V US mains connectors (for the air compressor and the water pump) with european 220V standard connectors (IEC C13).
    Additionally i added a third M542 Stepper driver as i hatted to have the y-axis disconnected when doing a round engraving job, so the external round engraver jig connector gets a own driver that will be connected to the U axis of the controller. (all 4 axis of the controller are used then, i hope this will work as expected :-) )







    Next is, to rewire the whole thing. Solder Iron already heated :-)
    When this is done i will go further building a new laserhead mount that is adjustable in height and y-axis to get the laser beam aligned perfectly.
    After this i will go further with a adjustable tube mount, any progress will be posted here.

    Right at this moment i'am thinking of adding switches to all flaps and doors and connecte them to the door Protect input and the laser power enable input.
    Would this be enought to reach a lower Laser Class rating on the whole machine ?

    Best regards,
    Walter

    Last edited by Labmaster; 01-21-2016 at 10:38 PM.


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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Another day and more progress:

    Today I finished some already started tasks.
    Above the pictures I explain what i have done

    The lower limit switch of the Z-axis (lower table switch)



    The upper limit switch of the Z-axis (upper table switch)



    Modified the Y-axis limit switch to have the switch-point adjustable by a screw



    Finally installed the ammeter (for measuring the mA of the tube current)



    Removed the original Laser-head mount and made a new one that is now adjustable in height and Y-axis, this is the easiest way to get the beam from the second mirror to the center of the nozzle



    Thanks to the user "Bratan" i had not to design a own proper tube mount, instead i downloaded and printed a ready to use design (printed on a Ultimaker II).
    By using some pieces of the original mount foam the size fitted the original tube perfectly.

    Maybe someone may ask what this small dots on the base-plate of the tube are ?
    They are rivets, i have build a construction of aluminum U-profiles that went under this base-plate to make it stiffer.
    On the sides, instead of using washers, i put big and stiff aluminum blocks on top of the mounting screw holes.


    Best regards,
    Walter



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Very nice work so far. I like the tube mounts and I really should move my ammeter to the outside of the laser



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Had some time to go further on the Laser:
    I decided to rearange the IO Panel a bit.


    First i used a dremel with a millbit inserted and made some metalmess on the laser housing :-)
    I put some sticky tape to the back to have all the small and dangerous metal particles collected and prevent them getting into the electronics.


    I designed a new layout and milled it from a black 2mm fiberglass plate



    The D-Sub connector on the bottom is the 24V control output for the Fume Extractor unit that we finaly bought (a BOFA AD Oracle)




    I even made some progress in rewiring the whole unit and so had the first chance to get the Z axis stepper up and running.
    After fiddling around with the parameters (speed, acceleration, distance per steps ....) the Z axis runs smooth as silk now.
    The big NEMA34 stepper driven with 60V and the 2:1 gear ration was the right decision. The drivesystem is not oversized but the setup was even not critical.
    Autohoming (Autofocus) works, the 3 relais for switching the aircompressor, the internal Fan/external fumeextractor and the waterpump/chiller even works as expected.

    Next step is getting the Co2 Tube running again and to setup all the mirrors. Readjusting should be a piece of cake now, as on all important parts i made some modification to have better and easier alignment options.
    I now can shift the whole mirror units to get the beam to center and use the mirror tilt adjustments for getting the beam parallel to the corresponding axis.

    We will see, i will post results when it is done.


    best regards,
    Walter

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.-1978-jpg  
    Last edited by Labmaster; 02-12-2016 at 01:41 AM.


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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Quote Originally Posted by Labmaster View Post
    Had some time to go further on the Laser:
    I decided to rearange the IO Panel a bit.


    First i used a dremel with a millbit inserted and made some metalmess on the laser housing :-)
    I put some sticky tape to the back to have all the small and dangerous metal particles collected and ot prevent them form getting into the electornics.


    Then i designed a new layout and milled it on a black 2mm glassfiber plate



    The D-Sub connetor on the bottom is the 24V control output for the Fume Extractor unit that we finaly bought (a BOFA AD Oracle)




    I even made some progress in rewiring the whole unit an so had the first chance to get the Z axis stepper up and running now.
    After fiddling around with the parameters (speed, acceleration, distance per steps ....) the Z axis runs smooth as silk now.
    The big NEMA34 stepper driven with 60V and the 2:1 gear ration was the right decision, the drive is not oversized but the setup was even not critical.
    Autohoming (Autofocus) works, the relais for switching the aircompressor, the Fumeextractor and the waterpump/chiller even works as expected.

    Next step is get the Co2 Tube running again and to adjust the mirros. Readjusting should be a piece of cake now, as on all important parts i made some modification to have better and easier alignment options.
    I can now shift the whole mirror units to get the beam to center and use the mirror adjustments only for getting the beam parallel to the corresponding axis.

    We will see, i will post results when it is done.


    best regards,
    Walter
    Great job ! I need to do a similar hack to mine. My chassis is an older one and lacks lot'0'switches. BTW where did you source your finger troff? I found the smaller stuff almost impossible to find. Im in the states.-Sam



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    With "finger troff" i guess you mean the cable duct ?
    I bougth these from a germany supplier

    something like this:
    https://www.phoenixcontact.com/online/portal/us?uri=pxc-oc-itemdetailid=3240278&library=usen&tab=1

    but i guess there are plenty of US brands available.

    best regards,
    Walter



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    Default Re: China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

    Yes, precisely. thanks for the link.
    -Sam



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China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.

China 50W laser Z Axis motor setup.