Hi Gray,


I will try and get a diagram drawn up next week.


I think most just rely on software E-Stop (stopping the running GCode program etc.) but my setup is such (e.g. a laser fire is an ever present risk) that in a real emergency I do need to ensure that absolutely everything on the machine is turned off as quickly and as easily as possible.

It is perhaps not for everybody but using a contactor in this manner provides me with the highest level of safety should the worst ever happen – it is possibly also a peace of mind thing as well.


Tweakie.

 

Hi @remco I recently, within past 6 months, built a machine from what was then listed on the BOM (I don't think it has been changed) and I was missing some significant pieces. Just curious, did you buy any 20x40mm pieces of open v rail? I hope so, the machine does in fact call for it. Don't fret if you did not. I was able to build a routy variant without the 20x40mm and instead used 20x60mm in its place. Doing this changes a lot of things most notably the Y/Z axis. So your machine will not be what is drawn there in sketchup if you decide to go the 20x60mm route like I did. There will be quite some trips to the hardware store though but it is a good deal of fun. I've learned quite a bit as a result of building the machine not quite to what is in the plans.

I thought I was getting off cheap by not buying the 20x40mm but it did end up costing me more money by not buying it. Just a FYI.

Good luck and look forward to seeing the machine you create.

 

Hi Ceiling Cat,

There should be two 1500mm long extrusions. One 20x60 that becomes the two 750mm pieces the gantry runs on and one 20x40 that becomes the two ~710mm pieces that connect the front and back 400mm wide 20x80 pieces under the table. I think 20x60 instead of the 20x40 or even 20x80 would work here. I will use whatever I can get locally.

There are some 40/45mm M5 screws missing from the bom, and who knows what else... BTW the 1500mm 20x60 was actually 1505mm. Even with the kerf of my saw I can have two 750mm pieces

 

For the missing parts, I started a list of stuff that I found. Keep in mind I was focused mainly on the build instead of keeping a missing parts list but here are the things that I found. (Hopefully this will post well)

QtyPart NamePart LinkComment Cost
2V-Slot 20 x 40mm - 1500mhttp://openbuildspartstore.com/v-slot-20-x-40mm/2 x 200mm, 1 x 452mm, 1 x 170mm, 1 x 88mm, 2 x 710mm$15.5
1V-Slot 20 x 60mm - 1500mhttp://openbuildspartstore.com/v-slot-20-x-60mm/2 x 750mm sections, 1 x 412mm$23
2R4-ZZ Ball Bearing - 5/8" x 1/4" x .196"http://openbuildspartstore.com/r4-zz-ball-bearing-5-8-x-1-4-x-196/ $2
8M5 cap Head Screws - 40mmNA
52 Hole Joining Strip Platehttp://openbuildspartstore.com/2-hole-joining-strip-plate/5 @ $1.95, 2 are used as spacers behind Z motor$9.75
5Tee Nuts (25pack)http://openbuildspartstore.com/tee-nuts-25-pack/3 packs required @ 4.50$13.5
124V Power supply rated for Minimum 10 Ampshttp://openbuildspartstore.com/24v-20a-power-supply/ $50
2Lock Collar (1/4")http://openbuildspartstore.com/lock-collar-1-4/ $1.8
3Double Tee Nuthttp://openbuildspartstore.com/double-tee-nut/ $2.55
2Precision Shim - 10x5x1mmhttp://openbuildspartstore.com/precision-shim-10x5x1mm/2 @ $0.25$0.5
1Threaded block for lead screw that attaches to extrustion??????1 @ ????????

Some things worth mentioning. Start thinking about what your going to use for a power supply. I would recommend 24V that can deliver at least 10 Amps. In the list above at the time I was putting together my machine the parts store did not have the ball bearings for the Z axis or the M8 lead screw and screw blocks. It was a source of frustration for me that you shouldn't have to deal with anymore

That seemed to be the case with my extrusion too. I was glad it was a bit longer to allow for the width of the saw blade. Just a tip for cutting it, make sure you don't use a chop saw blade.

 

hey
i have another question(groan)
how solid should i be expecting this thing to be. have been having problems cutting plywood
feed @ 900mm/min
toolspeed have varied from around 12000rpm - 25000rpm(which burned up the wood a little)
1.8mm endmill
problem is on some moves for flattening the wood my tool seems to be forced over to the side, then the next line will be ok, leaving a line around a tool width wide in the middle. in material the tool feels solid, in air, the tiniest movement can be pushed/rocked.
do i want more amps to the steppers or am i suffering from a wobbly axis somewere.
can provide pics
any help is very much appreciated
cheers
mevo

 

Mevo,

I am currently doing my theory homework. What I got away with was that apparently there is a window for the parameters of tool diameter, number of flutes, spindle speed, feed rate and work material. If you are not hitting this window you are going to be frustrated by tool breakage, machine wear, bad work finish and bad breath.

There are calculators on the web for these things. I have been disabused of the notion that one can wing it, go by gut, or trial and error.

I don't know about your machine, but if you are not sure that your parameters for the given task are correct, there is no need to look any further.

Cheers,
Remco

 

Too late! After a lot of cleaning up I was back to my trusty table saw with the "many teeth". What a difference. I wish I had payed better attention...
To be sure: My table saw set up for hard marine plywood cut he extrusion like butter and with minimal cleanup. No fatal mistake, just some wasted time.

 

Hi guys, hopefully someone out there has some experience that could help me out. I purchased and 1/8th in. upcut spiral end mill for my machine for cutting acrylic. A really nice end mill to be sure. I have tried other bits for cutting various things: plywood, acrylic, MDF, etc. The best end mill I have found for anything so far has been this single flute upcut O. I love it. Well I stuck some acrylic under my machine tonight and it didn't yield the beautiful cuts I am used too anymore. The end mill isn't near as shiny as it used to be and the acrylic was melting. Molten plastic started orbiting the bit once again.

Has the end mill "BIT" the dust (Phun intended)? Anything I can do to maybe recondition it? It still feels really really sharp, but maybe I need to sharpen it somehow? The bit was rather expensive and I'm afraid that I should only cut acrylic with this thing from now on because I'm wondering if the other materials may have ruined it somehow. But they were all softer materials than acrylic so it shouldn't be a problem should it?

 

MDF is bad news, it can dull cutters in no time - if you used it with MDF perhaps that was the cause ?

Also, not all acrylic is the same. Cast acrylic machines a lot better than Extruded acrylic.

Tweakie.

One additional thought (my apologies for insulting your intelligence). If the material you are machining is Polycarbonate (looks like acrylic) that is notorious for melting onto cutters and is pretty awful stuff to machine without using coolant.

 

Try using a bit made specifically for plastic like the Onsrud 61-000 series.

http://www.zoro.com/g/00075687/k-G1...hopping_Feed&gclid=CO6Hv5Slib8CFQWTfgodp1sAbg

Important: Do not cut into wood (including spoil board) with this bit. If cutting on top of wooden board, place a thin 1/8" piece of polystyrene or abs etc, so that when you cut through the plastic, your cut finishes in plastic. This will retain the fine cutting qualities of the bit. For acrylic see the 56-000 0r 66-000 series . They're all high quality bits for plastic cutting.

 

I have recently battled my Arduino Grbl controller. After only a few commands the controller hung, and even a reset would not get it back. A power cycle was needed. Turns out the USB chip on the board got hung, so communication was dead. Connecting to the rx and tx pins directly works. Using the on board USB to serial converter does not work... Maybe some kind of power problem. I now provide external power to the Arduino.

I am marginally happy with this setup, but would prefer a bigger Mega2560 with the RAMPS controller board. I have not been able to find firmware for that combination that would work without major hacking for a CNC router. Marlin, Repetier, TeaCup, ... they assume a 3d printer with extruder and thermistors.
They do not know what a spindle is... I am sure I could hack one of them, but hate living on an island. I would rather use something that many other people use.

I don't do Windows, so Mach3 is out. As much as I like LinuxCNC, the whole real time kernel bit is crazy. The correct solution would be LinuxCNC in sim mode with an external motor controller. HAL2Arduino / EMC2Arduino would be cool, but it seems it's not really used/supported by anyone.

Grbl with GrblController works for now, but I am really looking for something better.

What are you guys using?

 

I have decided to build an Ox instead of a routy as first planned. I am a distributor and have placed the parts I bought for the routy on my site www.opensourceluthiersupply.com. Check them out I have four stepper motors a power supply and other various parts.

 

can anyone tell me what gcode im getting from cambam(default) im really struggling to get working code from anything else
thnx
mevo

 

@Rick 2.0 I think you were right about the glue. Here is what I did to clean up the bit, which I might add is cutting like new again. I first put the bit in my vice and hit it with a Mapp torch. Got it glowing red hot for about 3 mins. This incinerated whatever was there. I let it cool down naturally and then cleaned it with some Ajax and dried it. Then I applied a little carnub wax and cleaned it off much like you would a car.

No more melted acrylic.

 

Currently I have a Arduino Uno AT328 chip flashed with Grbl and a Grbl Shield on top. This is connected to a windows 7 mini I bought just for the CNC machine. It all sits enclosed in a case attached to the front of my machine made of sheet metal. I got it to play my music in the shop/garage via blue tooth streaming to a speaker and I RDP into it from my phone to control it. All in all I'm pretty happy with the hardware, its the software that I don't like and have issue with. I would much rather use mach3 but after all the time/effort/money I have put into this machine I can justify spending more cash on new controllers just so I can run mach3 or linux CNC. I would like it much better if there were a mach3 plugin that would allow you to use a grbl shield, and I have been going through the grbl source and mach3 sdk to achieve that end.

 

sorry i think i worded this poorly.
what post proccessor does cambam use by default(trying v-carve, cant get at my toolpaths) had similar problems with hsmworks, but a user on their forum kindly built a post for me(totally unexpected result of asking how i could use the software)
afaik i need a v-carve specific post(like i couldnt use my hsm one?)
but cambam "just works" apparently im using default post, but i dont know what this is to use elsewhere
sorry for the confusion
thnx
mevo

 

remco:
first off sorry i dont know how to quote
"I am marginally happy with this setup, but would prefer a bigger Mega2560 with the RAMPS controller board. I have not been able to find firmware for that combination that would work without major hacking for a CNC router. Marlin, Repetier, TeaCup, ... they assume a 3d printer with extruder and thermistors.
They do not know what a spindle is... I am sure I could hack one of them, but hate living on an island. I would rather use something that many other people use."

i use ramps on a 2560.
i use sprinter firmware
and i change spindle speed via m106 (pwm setting(0-256)) and m107(spindle off) plugging spindle into socket D9
this is the only firmware change needed. all e commands are available to routy, but not used(eg the firmware can read it, just routing software will never send it)
hope this helps/let me know if you want to know anything else about using printer electronics/toolchains to mill(i like to mill from S/D started from pronterface ect)
PS: im still having post proccessor selection problems, but can use a few programs by default so know this works, now we just find posts for different toolchains
cheers
mevo

 

have found some posts for aspire, cambam, and hsm. let me know if anyone needs

 

Can anyone answer this question for me? I wonder if the Solid V wheels might work just as well as the specked out Dual V wheels on the Routy? I see that they are recommended on the OX and don't understand why this would be any different than that. It seems like the Solid V wheels might be more durable and don't fully understand the belt routing underneath the Dual V wheels.

 

Parts list left out the ACME rod and it does have a 5mm x 6mm coupler which would tell me the acme must be 6mm but the store doesn't yet carry the ACME nut part. From what I saw in the video the 8mm one looks like it but that is too big for the coupler. Another thing is that I have no idea how long that ACME threaded rod is supposed to be.

Is there a set of detailed build instructions yet because just a few pictures and an almost finished BOM is just not going to work for me.

 

I built my own Prusa I3 (rework version) and have numerous models, and upgrades, to it on Thingiverse so I completely understand what you are talking about. I do have that file but Sketchup is a rather horrible format to have it in and frankly I can no longer open sketchup files since it went paid when it was sold off. STL would have been most awesome.

I looked at the OX and I plan on making an OX but I need a Routy to make the parts for the OX, or so the video on the OX said, so that is the only reason I even looked at the routy as I never even heard of it before but heard it mentioned as part of the chain to get to the OX on its video.

My needs are 6061 aluminum, wood, and plastics.

 

I just found some bad links http://openbuildspartstore.com/motor-mount-plate/ as the links to the open source models and the solidworks models go to dead links.

I just went to another part and it had dead links to the models as well.

 

That link does but, as I said, the link to the actual files does not. Example -> https://store-itwgldve.mybigcommerc...Solidworks_Files\V-Slot_parts_Solid Works.zip

Another Example -> https://store-itwgldve.mybigcommerc...ds for Store/VSLOT Plates/VSLOT Plates_30.zip