Do you have a 3D file that you mind sharing? We haven't gotten to 3D yet.... but I’d like to have one to see how you are designing/manufacturing in fusion. You are doing a bed head board?

we have been messing around with the laser some, but I have been unable to figure out how to get any kind of markings on metal with our laser. It is really neat in wood, leather, etc. though.

 

No, he Blackbox won't run 48v. None of the controllers will run 48V, it's the external drivers. Mine run from 36 to 90v. I also have the 6 pack controller. As for your power supplies, are they designed to be run in series. I am using 2 (soon to be 3) 12V 40A HP server psu's in series, and then using a DC booster to boost the voltage to 60V. Took a big hit in the current (increase the voltage, the current decreases, and vice versa), it maxes out at 1500W total, but will only take up to 20A. in theory I should be able to max out the current to the full 7A my drivers use at 50V.. but for some reason I am only pulling 2A on the big steppers and drivers... Not sure why, whether its a problem with the booster, it's pretty basic, using pots to change voltage and current. When I add the third psu, to up to 36V, the boost to 60V should result in increased current.

FYI.. Voltage = speed, Current = Torque.. find a good in between balance for good torque and speed.

 

Adding some pics. this is my temp mount till I get a box to put everything in.

 

Wow. I haven’t seen any co2 laser close to that price. Can’t wait to see it.

 

Are you on the discord channel?

It all depends on the PSU you are using. Some can be connected in series.. some cannot without modification. I had to modify mine, and float the PSU (isolate the internal circuitry ground from the chassis ground to avoid short circuiting everything and burning down my house.. That is the blue marker on the PSU make sure I know which ones are not grounded like the others. The chassis is still grounded via the plug, the circuitry is grounded in the regular way. I had 6 extra PSUs from the servers I run since I only run 1 per server which has 2 PSUs in them.

The 6pack is pretty slick, and relatively cheaper than many other controllers, although the cost goes up when you go external, or the higher end trinamic drivers, has a bit of a learning curve, and is very finicky. The TMC5160's don't work for most.. which disappointed me as those were the ones I wanted to run. I had issues with the 2130's as well, ultimately decided to go with external drivers. I plan on going larger at some point, so I went with the DM860s, they work with the bigger Nema 23's, but are really designed for 24s and 34s. and 8 wire uni/bipolar steppers, currently wired for bipolar parallel (5A/phase 7A peak).

 

Yes, it's your best resource. It is run by Bart (the guy who created the 6 pack) and some of the other grbl_esp32 developers. Best place for help.

 

I don't understand how the controller/drivers work. Is there a way to use the dm556 drivers that I have and connect them to the blackbox? Instead of using the internal drivers?

 

I don't think you can use the Blackbox with external drivers.

 

What causes the bits to flex? I know the cutting speed, depth of cut, and Step over will directly effect the bit flexing, but I guess my question is: why will some machines run an 1/8 flat end mill faster than others if the settings are the same? Bit quality?
Also, if the machine getting off is bit flexing (which I believe 100% is a problem bc like you said you can see the bit flex) wouldn’t this still have to cause either a slip in belt or a stall of steppers in order for the cnc to “loose track” of where it should be?

 

Great info. I am saying mine gets off and has the wrong start/end position. If I am cutting a perfect circle and it starts and ends each pass at the top of the circle, when mine messes up, (not that often, but it does happen when I push) the location of the path of the circle would be off. It would not go back to the original starting point of the cut. I just assumed it was because the belt had slipped, but I guess it could be because of the motors stalling... IDK

I always try to use the larger bit if possible and they definitely to better. It makes sense what you are saying about more material in a larger bit. I have only cut in wood, and I am running 1/4" at about 100 in/min and 1/8" at 50 in/min. However, I am using a about a 40-50% step over. I guess I should look and see if I can increase speed and decrease stepover to get better faster results.

We have taken longer bits and cut them down to prevent flexing as well, I think it has to help.
I am a little confused about what you are showing in your before and after picture?

 

Just poking in. I'm hoping to build a mini version of this in the next couple of months!

 

Daaaang! Don't shoot your eye out!

 

Sam, looks awesome! You know I've got questions though..... Hope you don't mind.
1. Where did you end up finding your laser tube? ebay?
2. Estimated cost for co2 laser setup? Do you have a list of items you purchased? It looks like you added a c-beam linear rail across your x axis to mount the tube?
3. How does it compare to your diode? It is obviously much faster engraving, have you cut anything? what thickness can you cut?
I have been overall pleased with the diode I added to my machine. I haven't tried to cut anything with it really, but I have done some engraving and then cut with the router....wish there was a way or program that would combine the tool paths to engrave with laser and then cut with the router. I have been doing it manually via lightburn and then fusion/openbuilds. I am thinking more about adding plasma cutter to mine, but who knows when or if I'll ever get to it. I kinda ran out of stuff that I could think of to laser pretty quickly.
I still want to play around with doing some 3d carving, but don't know where to start. If you ever get a chance, could you post one of your 3d carve fusion designs/files for me to check out. I'd like to see what you did. Thanks and good job!

 

Sam, is the CO2 tube mounted on the gantry and goes along for the ride when the

 

Thank you for continuing to share your progress and I really appreciate your BOM lists. It really makes a difference!

 

I think technically all you need now is a cute little plush toy to ride on the gantry as a mascot and as something to blame when there's a failure.