Hello everyone !, Thanks for reading... I Assume I have 4 motors, 1 on Y, 1 on Z, and 2 on X which of course is the gantry. Would this still be a 3 AXIS CNC machine? If so and I buy a 3 AXIS controller would I buy 3 or 4 drivers to connect to the X AXIS? Or, do I buy a 4 AXIS controller and 4 drivers? Thanks,
Actually, normal installation is two on Y, one on X and One on Z. In any event, this is three-Axis control and requires four drivers, one for each motor.
Steve is right, you'll need four drivers. But I understand your confusion with the two motors being on the X or the Y axis... I'm now building my second DIY CNC. During my first go, I made the gantry move on the X axis. This is because some of the references I used to build it described it this way. My CNC worked fine, even though my gantry movement was in the Y direction. My new CNC will be built with the gantry moving in the Y direction. My advice to you though is to set it up with the gantry in the X direction.
Because the Y axis has the two motors it is heavier. Depending on the type of projects you build, one axis will move much more than the other. For instance, I make 3-D wood panels. For each line, the X-Axis moves completely across the material and the Y-Axis only moves .06" or so. Since the X-Axis moves so much more, it only makes sense to make it the lighter Axis to reduce wear and tear. If you will mostly cut out parts, it makes no difference. If you watch some CNC videos, you will see what I'm talking about. In the end, you can make it whichever way you want. Most software packages allow you to pick which Axis you want to have the most movement and which is the X-Axis is irrelevant. In addition, changing Axes only requires switching a few wires.
I have decided that I will be building a Tall Blue OX that is 1000 x 1000. It will be doing mostly guitar bodies and necks, but there will be some metal cutting too. So I would assume that configuration would be moving in all three axis quit a bit. I will be starting out with a Dewalt DW660 but eventually I will upgrade it. And I assume that will add quite a bit of weight to it. The DW660 is 5AMPS but it is small and light.
That's the router I have on mine. I drive the Z-Axis with a Nema 17 motor with no problems as long as I don't try to raise it too fast. Right now it's set around 2500 mm/min.
Oh cool ! I was going to run a NEMA23 on it, just a smaller one. Have you run into any issues with the DW660 itself? Also what about speed control?
I haven't had any issues. I only have around 40-50 hours on it, but it still runs like it did when I got it. The speed control works as intended, but there are times I wish I could slow it down a little more. If I could change anything, I would make it quieter, but it isn't louder than any other similar router.
Ah ha ! LOL... that explains it. The DW660 is a perky little router @ 5amps. There is a company, which off of the top of my head I cannot remember the name, that sells a pwm speed control for the DW660. However they want $150 for it. Kinda steep right now when I can buy a generic manual speed control for $20.
I have several that I purchased from eBay for less than $5 each. I had a problem with one, it was rated at 120v, but when I hooked it up, the capacitor blew. Found out the cap was rated at 50v. The seller said it was his mistake, but would only give me a refund if I mailed it back... for $20 in postage. I filed a complaint with PayPal and they gave me a refund. Other than that one, all have worked as advertised. For that amount of money, it's worth it just to try, as long as it is Pulse Width Modulated. You do have to connect the wiring with these, but if you can build an OX, you can wire a speed control. Finding one rated at only 5amps isn't a problem. You should probably go with at least 7.5amps to be safe. Steve Fox
