wow thats a nice build ,
i'll need to digest this and read the discussions

for sure i'll have more questions after that , but i hope i'll reach to a full part list , also covering the electronuics.

one option that i saw in my friends cnc, was the z level probe/calibration.
it touched a preset plate , then calculated the zero for the Z.
which controller do you recommend to have this option

thx again

 

The probe and auto leveling are a function of GRBL and your software, not the controller itself. Most software has a probe function, auto leveling can be done by Chilipepr and bCNC that I know. There are likely others as well. In facthe, you don't even need the software to probe for you. A G38.2 command does the same thing.

 

ok...this is me being my impatient self but Mark, do you know what the lead time is on these machines are? I sent an email to the store but haven't heard anything back and am looking to see when I am no longer going to have weekends!

Also has anybody successfully used an Android tablet/phone to use as an interface with the CNC xPro V2? I like the idea of not having my computer out in the workshop and have a couple of tablets I could use for this that aren't doing much else.

 

I plan on putting it in the projects section and hope to have pictures of it as well.

 

so here is a total newbie question. When you use GRBL panel (or any other software) with the xPro, does it send the entire gcode to the controller or does it stream it? if it just dumps all the code and then the controller processes everything then I don't see why a loss of connection would be an issue. If it streams then definitely it would cause problems.

in my perfect world, I would be able to do all the design work in my living room, generate the gcode and put that out on either a network drive or the cloud, pick up my table to get and push the code to the xPro and be able to use something like GRBL panel to control things.

 

looking at electronics options,

TinyG, CNC xPRO, and SparkFun Stepoko are GRLB tyype boards

Stepoko board comes with access to Carbide Motion , and Carbide create software

Sparkfun - Stepoko activation - Carbide 3D Knowledge Base

any recommendations between these boards , i'm leaning to Stepoko
and
do i need other controlling boards / interface boards for the cnc to work.

thx

 

kudos to Openbuilds on their packaging on the C-Beam. I got mine yesterday and everything was well packed and more importantly..well marked though I did have inception flash backs with bags within bags within bags

it's probably overkill but I got my base plate last night too... a chunk of 5/8" 6061 that's currently 13x17 and I will trim that down to 12x12. the down side to my 'exuberance' is the base plate will be about 9 lbs! The up side is it isn't going to flex at all!

 

Question # (!@#*. So I got the 24V power supply from the openbuild store and one thing I noticed is there is a GND, N and L line for power in. Do I have to use a grounded plug for this or is it just recommended?

 

I thought it would be needed and thanks to my WONDERFUL wife I don't have all my old computer parts. Time to scrounge at work!

 

You can usually pick up appliance cords from most hardware stores for a few bucks. Home Depot usually has 14awg and 12awg cords.

 

hehe...IT had a HUGE box of power cords. Every time they upgrade a computer or display, they come with the power cords and they usually just use the existing ones so he said come by any time and grab some!

I like free stuff

 

Mark I am in the middle of my C-Beam build and just noticed the examples were taken down. Now, I see this post was updated to reflect that. I need the examples to finish my build. A parts list/bundle would be great for this machine. As I had to stumble through the BOM for this build and trial and error ordering and assembly. I guess the early bird doesn't get the worn in this case.

 

Finally I completed my build with slight modification. I turned the X-axis front-to-back so that the acme rod is now on the back and I used a dual plate to mount the Z-axis with 8 wheels. Everything runs with xPro V2 but I noticed that at low feed rate the machine "groans" (all axes). Is this normal? I am running steppers with 1/8 microsteps and calibration on all axis is correct. GRBL version 9i. Is there anything that I missed in configuring the firmware - I have checked all parameters to be correct.

I feel that there is vibration in the structure. I have gone over all the screws to insure they are tight. I have a very light pre-comp on the rods. Any lubrication needed? I did apply a very thin layer of Lithium Grease on the lead-screws and wiped it with lint free cloth. With delrin nuts is this advisable?

Any help would be appreciated. Forgot to add that I have NOT turned on the spindle yet (Bosch 1HP variable speed).

 

I noticed my machine did that when jumped down to 1/8 microstepping from 1/16. Its just noise, nothing harmul as long as your machine is still moving. Move up to 1/16 microstepping if it really bugs you. Some googling shows that steppers have a sort of resonant frequency range that they make a lot of noise in. Usually you machine accelerates past this frequency before you can really hear it but when you feed low it stays at that frequency and makes lots of noise.

 

Hey ,i was looking at this spindle: 1.5KW AIR COOLED SPINDLE MOTOR 1.5KW VFD COOLE MOTOR MILL GRIND MILLING GREAT

Anyone has any experiance with thisone? It sounds awfully cheap xD

 

I just bought this exact spindle/vfd. I'm in the final throws of rebuilding my C Beam in a cabinet with a few additional bells and whistles. One of which is a control panel pictured. This was done with the new spindle. In acrylic, MDF and for isolation milling a quick circuit board it has been brilliant. Very stable and well balanced. However i have not hit anything heavier (ALU, Hardwoods) with it yet and it's only seen about three hours of service in total so i guess time will tell...

 

It will be a while till i fully build the machine, would like to know how it handles alu. When you try it please let me know.

 

Evan, I was worried about using higher micro stepping thinking it would reduce the available torque.

Then I saw a warning by Mark about using GRBL controller with xPro V2. I switched to UGS and tried running the machine. My unit had also jerky motion especially doing G02 or G03 commands with GRBL and guess what UGS version 1.09 seems to run it much smoother (Thanks Mark).

I am going to redo the build once I make some plates for all the axes with what I have - I am planning on using 1/4" 6061 and keeping the mounting holes to the bare minimum instead of using the OB multi-purpose 1/8" plates. I also want to mount the steppers using all four screws and avoid the spacers altogether.

hope things work out for the better.