High Torque NEMA 23 Stepper Motors

@Refactored how did they work out!? Pricing my build for the Workbee 1010 now and inquiring minds want to know!

 

I have a 1010 for about a month now. Chose to go with the regular motors. One already junked out last week already. Sent an email & am awaiting a reply to that and some other problems I’ve run into. Had to order a replacement motor plus I ordered another for an onhand spare. If any motor motors “go south”, I’m going to look for another brand.

 

thats no good man. whats your setup? think its something there, or ****** motors?

And how do you like the kit? I really like the concept of it, but what are your first impressions?

 

I think it’s a cool & awesome machine. I chose it because it’s a lead screw design, which I read is better than belt drive. I dunno as it’s all new to me. Build time took me @10 hrs. Hey....it was a football Saturday, lol.
1) The inside wheels that run on the Y axis free spin & don’t sit on the rails...on either Y axis rail. Only 1 inside wheel on the X axis rides on the rail. I’ve adjusted the eccentris on the underside wheels numerous times with same results.
2) I was short a couple screws. I drive RC trucks for another hobby so I have extensive collection of allen headed metric screws.
3) Due to years of RC trucks, don’t use ball ended allen drivers as they can strip easy due to the tips being rounded. I used a good quality set of allen drivers to avoid this. Just use the ball ends when you’re having to work at an angle to access the screw.
4) Not a biggie but the gentlemen in the video refers to the wrong sizes of drivers: i.e. the M5 screws take a M3 driver but he refers to it as a M5 ball driver.
5) The homing cycle hasn’t worked from day one When I ordered mine, Openbuilds was out of stock on the X Pro controller so I ordered it from Circuit Specialties. Not sure if this makes a difference or not. My laptop says the controller is up to date on firmware. Openbuilds had the controller back in stock the following week.....along with “Black Friday” pricing & I could’ve save a few $100.
6) The wiring kit showed up a couple days after the main parts. I have 8 links on the drag chain that have broken clips.
7) I failed to order the power supply with the CNC & had to wait a couple more days for it. There’s a diagram on one of the pieces to build the “power center panel” but you better have trifocals to read it. I have bifocals & it was tough. The build video for the power supply came out a week after I got it done.
8) Last week, I started to have weird results when doing a cut. A lot of my cuts weren’t lining up meaning, if you were drawing a circle.....the end point wouldn’t stop/line up with the start point. If you kept going with the circle, you’d end up with a “@“ type drawing if you catch my drift. I’d sit there and watch the machine run and it appeared that the Y axis would shift when changing directions. Sure enough, the more I watched it, it was “shifting”. After checking wiring, controller and whatnot (wiring was doubtful cuz I checked it a million times trying to diagnose the failure of the homing cycle), the Y axis motor was inop. It “sounds” like it running but won’t turn the lead screw. I moved the inop motor to the Z axis and the problem followed the motor. I ordered 2 motor, 1 to replace the inop one & 1 for a spre just in case.
9) The screws that are sent to secure the spoiler board are self tapping as stated but they’re self tappers for sheet metal or aluminum. Due to this, they”re harder to drive into a MDF spoiler board unless you predrill the holes. Also be very carful not to overtighten as they strip out very easily. Also, the screws are a shade too long and created dimples in 3/4” MDF. You’ll need to shave the spoiler board so you can have a flat workspace.
10) I sent an email last Thursday to the support team. I have yet to get a reply but patiently waiting. The replacement motors are to be he tomorrow so I’ll have to ball halls to get some Christmas gifts done
Outside of this, the machine was awesome to build since you learn how it works and it’s captivating watch (I’ve never watched a CNC work outside of videos)

 

A, thanks for the write-up!

B, kind of concerning about the wheels not touching...that's a problem. Has @OpenBuilds said anything about that?

C, has anyone else had motor issues? Seems like the controller may just not put out enough amperage to run the motors properly, especially the high torque

 

I am waiting on a reply from Openbuilds to the email I sent. It makes me guess that the rails have a twist to them & the wheels don’t touch, I dunno. I’ve read places that stated the X Pro doesn’t operate the high torque motors to the full potential. I was going to order the high torque one til I read all that. Not sure if it was here or elsewhere though. As always, there’s a certain percent of “failure” due to man made products. I’m hoping the 6 month warranty on the CNC will cover the motor. I had to order motors to finish products so I couldn’t wait for a reply to find out about the warranty.

 

hmm...ive read about some issues with squaring the machine (ends of the rails not cut square) and saw a couple shipping issues where people got bent or broken rails...so that could definitely be it.

also the xpro doesnt put out enough amps to do what the higher torque motors ask of it. on paper it doesnt really put out enough amps to push a standard nema 23 (from the amps/winding rating). you can, however, hook it to external drivers and boom goes the dynamite (which is one of my potential builds). Let me know what they say back in that email; curious to hear.

 

Received replacement motors today but no reply to email sent, ALTHOUGH, someone must’ve read it cuz I received the 2 motors I ordered plus a 3rd. THANK YOU. Replaced the motor and the Workbee was humming away.

 

Update on email sent to Openbuilds support: I haven't received any correspondence from Openbuilds.....at all. Was hoping for "try this, try that", especially when it comes to why some of my wheels not make contact with the rails. Are the rails twisted? Is the black powder coating or whatever is used, not on evenly? Are the holes lined up for the bolt that holds the wheel assemblies on? I'm open to suggestions. The Openbuilds team did forward the section I wrote about the homing cycle not working to a gentleman at Spark Concepts. He asked some questions and for some information to which I obliged. Unfortunately, I haven't heard anything back either.

 

Openbuilds support has contacted me. This was done after my initial email and my email system sent it to spam. Thanks Yahoo!! Anywho's......we'll get 'er fixed.

 

What'd they say?

 

By my understanding, they’ll send some links to replace the broken ones & sent my questions about possible odd circumstances on why some wheels aren’t making contact with C beams to the tech dept & we’ll go from there. Cool beans. Also understood that they’re in the process of repackaging the screws that hold down the spoiler board. Get them changed from sheet metal self tappers to wood screws.

 

4 month update:
ZERO REPLIES FROM SPARK CONCEPTS on why my homing cycle doesn't work. I keep emailing them but...........................NOTHING. Numerous updates have been done to the controller and ZERO, ZIP, ZILCH, NADA. Homing cycle doesn't work. The "public beta" program crashes......................CONSTANTLY. Won't calculate toolpaths..........unless you're online at 3am. Any good suggestions for a gcode program substitute?? The crashes have ruined WAAAAY too many projects. The Y axis threaded rods started to vibrate so I added some speedo cable lube (oil graphite) and the vibration quit. Due to these problems........................2 stars out of 5

 

@Spark Concepts any thoughts?