Woohoo ! ................ another WorkBee no doubt from Ryan at Ooznest as you're in the UK.

You won't be disappointed mate, very good choice I for one can't wait to see some of your guitar designs on the WorkBee. After our last chat I've been seriously contemplating that spindle you bought, looks OK that ................. price ain't too bad either actually.

I think I really aught to buy some milling bits first though, as I've only got two at the moment !

And welcome to the DIY CNC builds my friend, I'll be following this thread


TURK

 

Hi,
Good luck with the WorkBee, I'm sure Oozenest won't let you down! I bought a C-Beam XL from Ooznest last year and it's been great, but I can see some benefits of the Workbee / OX design. I've also recently bought a Chinese VFD spindle from Germany; 1.5kW but water cooled, so I'm waiting for a few bits to arrive before I can go ahead removing my Dewalt Router from the XL. I'll be interested to hear how you get on with that, are you planning to program spindle speed from the motion controller, gcode file?
Cheers, Geoff

 

I found this which matches my system exactly, so I'm - I'm also pleased to see a Workshop that's more scruffy than mine
Cheers, Geoff

 

Hello All.

Looking to get a build (hopefully workbee screw 1000 x 750 with a watercooled spindle and appropriate VFD so it's been great to look at these posts, including http://ooznest.co.uk/3D-Printer-CNC-Kits-Bundles/WorkBee-CNC-Machine/WorkBee-CNC-Full-Kit. Also https://openbuilds.com/threads/chinese-spindle-vfd-setup.8094/#post-65214, which has a lot of useful information. Today I email Ryan at Ooznest, who cautioned that a 1.5kW spindle, such as this, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253422720756?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true, might be a bit too heavy for the workbee. The spindle in this link is 4.3kg and am unsure about the weight of the included bracket, plus need/implementation of a mounting bracket and offsetting this into the settings.

Anyway keen to keep up to speed with the developments and thoughts of others. Is 1.5kW needed for cutting aluminium or would 0.8kW suffice? Are watercooled spindles much heavier than air cooled ones for same power? Can a 4.3kg spindle (plus bracket) be accommodated and create accurate cuts on a workbee?

Am also following T4Concepts and his build. Many thanks for your supportive comments on that build thread - he's created a very useful hub of knowledge.

Stephen

p.s. Not sure whether these URLs will become links...

 

Looking forward to your build @fwm891 and especially keen to see how things turn out with your spindle. I've been looking at the Kress spindles for my build, though not as powerful as what you have shown.

 

SketchUp is a steep learning curve that's for sure as I'm finding out Francis, and SketchUcam can be quite 'clunky' shall we say, and as you say Cut2D is probably the best option for new cnc users. I took a brief look at Cut2D on Ooznest's website when I bought my WorkBee Cut2D Desktop & Pro CAM CNC Software By Vectric but didn't know what the difference was between the 'Desktop' and 'Pro' versions, so I decided I would go back and take another look when I'm more familiar with my machine. I've since then discovered the superb YouTube videos made by Vetric Software, looks like a pretty user friendly package.

D'you know if that sort of software package is purely limited to shaping, forming or carving flat materials only, or could you feasibly use it to shape or form thicker materials ? I don't think I'm quite understanding the differences between 2.5D and 3D ......... Basically, I'm wanting to 'form' shapes ( using Polyurethane Foam ) for making moulds, I'm thinking I may be able to 'form' these shapes in 'layers'. Each layer would be about 30 to 40mm thick, then I could bound them together to get my final shape. But the big question is, as the name of the software suggests, is it purely for flat stuff !? Is there a maximum limit that you can set the plunge depth at ? Sorry about the silliness of the question mate, but I'm often confused !!!

I for one can't wait to see what you come up with Francis now that I've seen the superb guitars you make .......... and my all time favourite guitar, the Fender Telecaster !



TURK

 

Just to show you how individual perception is!

I found Sketchup to be SOOO easy to learn. I had no problem at all with it. I used it for both 2d planing for my router and 3d planing for my 3d printer. SketchUp is not really meant for the 3d printing cadding (a new word?) so I migrated to Fusion360 for my 3d stuff. Now, that was a steep learning curve!!!

 

'Cut3D' .................. What a brilliant tip that was Francis ! I had no idea ( nor did I check ) that they ( Vectric ) made that version of the software. I just found a price for it over at Vectric Cut3D - Arc Euro Trade and at UK prices of £270 including tax, I think that's absolutely superb.

I know what you're saying Justin, as individuals we all think and work differently, I find certain things to be lets not say 'difficult' but different on SketchUp as I spent an extortionate amount of time learning Blender 3D and got used to using it, another OpenSource gem I just looked at 'Cut3D' import/export file formats and they both support both STL ( SketchUp ) and OBJ file formats I just took a look at Vectric's website and it says that Cut3D supports 'Slicing', no doubt that's the term I was looking for when I mentioned I needed to use 'Layers'.

Here's a quick example of what I'm currently working on, it's a prototype quad headlight cover designed in Blender 3D. I simply used 'MadCaps' to cover the mesh design to give it a plastic look and feel to it >>



And yes, Francis, I will be raising my WorkBee to give me more depth on the Z axis So my part won't actually be on the spoil board but 'inside' my cnc machine.

Apologies if I've spoilt your thread Francis ................... But now that you've mentioned 'Cut3D' I think it's only fair to elaborate on it a little further as it really does look promising.



TURK

 

Glad you got the workbee safe and sound!

Looking forward to seeing the build.

Ryan

 

Its been sometime coming, Fwm891. Looking forward to your build as well.

Bill

 

WooHoo ! ................... another 750x750 WorkBee So happy for you mate.

You'll find the entire process so easy Francis, Ryan has really got a winner on his hands here, and with those two user assembly manuals that he produced, even a dim-whit like me found it easy !

One thing I never mentioned on my build thread was just how solid those aluminium plates were, once the machine is fully assembled you'll notice just how rigid the actual design is. No doubt we'll all find your build thread interesting ....................... even the cat is interested ! Many thanks for taking the time for taking pictures, no doubt they'll come in handy for other newbies thinking of buying a WorkBee.



TURK

 

Sorry to hear you're having an issue Francis ........................ couple of things, if I can help, can you post a copy of your GRBL file settings please ?

Did you take a look at my GRBL file settings in my build thread ? I'm no expert but I'm sure I'll stand corrected if I'm wrong here.
First of all, in the manual it says '$21=0' ( Hard Limits ) that's probably the default GRBL setting ................... if no limit switches are installed.
But I saw this as 'activating' my limit switches, so set it to =1 ( $21=1 )

I didn't encounter that error, so maybe that's the solution.



TURK

 

Glad you got it sorted Francis I'm also glad I got it right! wouldn't of wanted to send you on a wild goose-chase.
It's quite exciting watching your WorkBee going through the motions of your first GCode file .................... I would recommend using a pen or pencil as your first 'tool' though, as judging by those tiny end mills you bought, one wrong move and you could end up snapping quite a few before you get the gist of it.


TURK

 

Glad you got it sorted

Ryan