They are 570 ozin motors from Automation Technologies Inc. Way overkill, but those are what I had in stock from a previous build. Will be powered by a G540 & 48v/7.5A power supply.

 

Looks good there @Tyler Harney

 

Im thinking about building this. I was looking at the x carve but seems like there are a few issues that keep coming up. I like the idea of lead screws instead of belts for one. But im stuck on the 12x12 cutting area. 16x16 would be better. I would have to redesign it to get that.?

 

You could substitute just the parts that you need larger - such as the C-Beams (and components).

 

right but id have to go with 1000mm then right for one of the axis. what would that give me? 12x24

say i replaced the x axis with 1000mm actuator. left the y alone.

no that wouldn't work the y would need 2 actuators then?

 

Any idea when the C-Beam bundle will be back in stock? Naturally today was the day i was going to order it . I have signed up for the notification but naturally i want to know now!

 

Hi Fred....is that SketchUp model avilable online or here etc..??? Thats the mod I would like to go with myself... I recieved my 1st order of parts ok last week, from the OpenBuilds store....I expect to have the $$ at the end of next month to buy the rest of the parts in one go etc FYI Mark....although I do want to source some parts locally here in NZ...supporting local shops...Rgds....Laurie

 

If anyone wants my C-beam, I'm going to attempt to sell it - almost completely built.

Edit: Sold it.

 

Congrats to Tyler for the fast build! And the steppers should handle the water cooled spindle. When I built my first Shapeoko, it was 800x1000mm and I put a 1.5kw water cooled on it. I beefed up the x axis of course, but I ran it for a couple months before deciding to build a super sized Ox that fit the spindle. If I were going to put a water cooled spindle on the "Beam", I think I'd reinforce the gantry a bit. Perhaps bolt another rail to it, anything to cut down on twist. This is one place that the fixed gantry really should shine and handle the weight far better than a Shapeoko or even a Ox.

I think the Beam is a great machine and I can't wait to build one and will be ordering my kit soon. My only concern with the Beam is the placement of the power supply and controller board. If you are cutting any conductive material or using coolant it seems to me that you are asking for trouble. If the designers are following this I hope they can address my concerns. Anybody running coolant could run a very real shock hazard.

 

@stargeezer brings up a good point about the open electronics, and the proximity to flying debris (dust, chips or coolant). I had been worried about this exact issue when he posted on my build thread.

I don't plan on running coolant (at least not initially), and running new wiring would take a while, so have opted for a quick fix for the dust/chip protection.

3D printed a mount/cage for the fan/TinyG which will enable me to get some computer filter material over/around the fan/TinyG and I'll tape some over the intake to the PS.

This will obviously not be a perfect solution, and will need frequent attention to clean the filters, but hopefully will prevent any magic smoke

 

Hi Joe, Certainly they can and should be moved. I'll absolutely do that to the one I build. My question is being posed for a couple reasons; first of all, many who might buy this kit may be new to this hobby/craft/profession/obsession and just might not know differently than to put the electronics where "the picture says it goes" and end up blowing up the electronics or worse, getting shocked if they aren't using a GFI circuit for power. Secondly, in this overtly sue happy society we live in, I'd hate to see the company get tied up in court by some person not employing the common sense God gave the rest of us and injuring/electrocuting themselves because they didn't understand that electricity and metal chips/coolant don't mix.

 

Absolutely Mark, anything to keep the smoke inside is a good thing.

When you were testing this and cutting aluminum was there any problem with getting chips in the electronics, or did you folks have the controller and power supply in a case?

I'm just trying to understand your testing procedures and learn a thing or two. OK, I'm just being nosey.

 

I have an order in, but I have asked for it to be held until I decide on a board.
The xPRO looks attractive and supposedly will be back in stock TOMORROW, but it doesn't have what I consider to be a very useful feature, the ability to run from an SD card.
That has been a GREAT thing for me with 3D printers, so that is why it is high on my "wannit" list.
First time making a piece, fine I'll watch it all the way through, by the 3rd time it is debugged and by the 12th time it is worse than boring.
I'm not yet ready to devote a computer to a C_Beam machine, so what are my options ?

 

Well, this: http://openbuildspartstore.com/cnc-usb-controller-mk3-4-4-axis/
and this: http://openbuildspartstore.com/cnc-usb-controller-mk2-9-axis/

both "claim" to be able to run g-code from SD card, but I don't see any display panel or control knobs/switches for all the things I think I would want/need to do manually if there is no computer in the chain.
Stop, start, pause, Home to 000. selection of which file to run from the card, jog x,y,z. etc.

Also, without actually SAYING that there are no motor drivers on these cards, it seems implied that there are no motor drivers on them.

Right now I am wondering how portable my 3D printer solution would be, it is an arduino with display panel and knob for scrolling that is pressed in for selection of menu items. SEEMECNC Max 2 delta printer.
Seems G_code is G_code is G_code... though I wouldn't need the translation from cartesian to delta

Mayhap ANY 3D printer solution that prints from a SD card should be portable, cartesian printer solutions should be ready and able, software wise - - howeverrrrr, they typically drive nema 17s so may be a bit light on motor driver power.

 

I'm not sure about the first link (led me to a dead page), but the second link has this line in bold:

I built the SeemeCNC max 2. Great machine for me so far. I would imagine if you found the controller you liked you would be able to rig up something similar to the panel on the Rostock.

 

changed out the mdf for the tool plate finally.


too much flex with the black gantry plate though, so i am going to see if i can mount the wheels and eccentrics directly to the tool plate.



used it as a manual mill yesterday to help clear out some cast iron for my G0704 double ball nuts, very handy!

 

If I read his post correctly, he was speaking specifically to the drivers. It's a little confusing about the software - but truncated or not that definitely points to no stepper motor drivers, no?

 

WOW !!! adding separate motor drivers (times three) certainly adds to the co$t.
I have an ASUS EeePC that I had bought for $85 about a year ago to use as a dedicated music MIDI computer, I think my best alternative would be to pick up another one of those for around $75 and get the xPRO board if/when that becomes available.
It is a 10 inch notebook, 900MHz, 2 Gig memory, 160 Gig hard disk, Ubuntu Studio and/or Windows XP.

 

Just buy a CNC Shield, it's a GRBL Shield clone. $38.50 and comes with the arduino, shield and DRV8825 drivers. They had some on Amazon with prime, but looks like it's out of stock. I ordered a couple from the link below and had them the next day. I live in Ohio tho but shipping was faster than I expected. Those DRV8825 will run the Openbuilds nema 23's fine. I recommend running them at 36v as 48 is too high for these electronics.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNO-R3-NEW-...T-SINKS-USA-/251770412948?hash=item3a9eaf9f94

He also sells the shield and or all the pieces separately if you already have an arduino etc.

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If you already have or decide to get a 3d Printer controller, like a ramps board, I recommend
looking at Estl, this software is super simple and easy to use. Watch some of the videos. It's great for a beginner. This makes using a 3d Printer controller incredibly easy for CNC milling.

http://www.estlcam.com/

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If you want Amazon for prime or something, you can order the pieces for a CNC shield since the kit is out of stock.

http://www.amazon.com/Board-Atmega328p-Atmega16u2-Cable-Arduino/dp/B00OBSD202/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1440538557&sr=1-5&keywords=arduino uno&refinements=p_85:2470955011

http://www.amazon.com/Diymall®-Expansion-Arduino-Engraver-Printer/dp/B00VDNZMG0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1440538523&sr=8-7&keywords=arduino cnc&refinements=p_85:2470955011

http://www.amazon.com/StepStick-DRV8825-Stepper-Driver-Printer/dp/B00S3Q9YZA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1440538710&sr=8-2&keywords=drv8825&refinements=p_85:2470955011

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If you want to use like LinuxCNC or Mach or something, get a parallel port based break out board, some bread boards and DRV8825 drivers. I recommend the C10 board from CNC4PC.com or automation technology. But you can just as easily use one on Amazon or even no break out board at all if you look up the pin out and know what you're doing.

http://cnc4pc.com/product_info.php/...e-card-p-45?osCsid=2v1mrf392bbtn7qr60f485cj53

These are the same board, different format

http://cnc4pc.com/product_info.php/...-card-p-696?osCsid=2v1mrf392bbtn7qr60f485cj53

http://www.amazon.com/SainSmart-Breakout-Board-Stepper-Driver/dp/B0093Y897A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440538988&sr=8-1&keywords=cnc breakout board&refinements=p_85:2470955011

Watch these videos for an understanding on how it all goes together.





Here's a wiring diagram for the C10 board and DRV8825 drivers, you could use another break out board, they all mostly do the same thing unless you're spending more money.



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If you want something beefier and don't mind soldering, seriously it's so easy. Buy the kit below, these drivers are incredibly affordable for what you get. There's a video walkthrough on the entire soldering process. You can use these drivers with any controller, or if you buy the kit he sends a breakout board that can be used. Best affordable setup would probably be a C10 break out board with 3 of he THB6064AH drivers. But there's nothing wrong with using the one from the kit. IT just might be a little bit more confusing. These will power 4+ amp, are nearly bullet proof, up to 50v. This is the budget setup I'd do if I wasn't going to use GRBL or a 3d printer controller.

http://techref.massmind.org/Techref/io/stepper/THB6064/index.htm#



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Last but not least, a Smoothie based controller. Google it, can be controlled via network.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRE-ORDER-N...moothieware-/191669104256?hash=item2ca05e6e80

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Printer-...-compatible-/261971482214?hash=item3cfeb79666

This ones from china but I hear shipping is fast. You use DRV8825 drivers or other external drivers. Note: This is just the controller, no drivers. No network connection on this board.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AZSMZ-32bit...rd-RAMPS-UP-/261846488815?hash=item3cf74456ef

 

And if you are buying 8825's, don't forget they plug into the shield with the adjustment screw facing the opposite direction of the 4988's (?). If you put them in the same direction you will burn them out as soon as you apply power.

Hey everybody - a very good and useful bunch of data in the last several posts! Well done!

 

Yes, this is important. I snagged a couple pictures and marked it up in....PAINT! See pictures to see the driver direction difference between the A4988 and DRV8825.

Note: Color and look of driver will vary depending on manufacturer

 

Big thumbs up Atomist! This was a hard learned bit of information for me. I cooked two sets of 8825's before I found ONE line about the things that opened my eyes. Oh well. Learn from my mistakes folks.

 

Cook one set of DRV8825's, shame on them. Cook two, shame on you. Heh, yeah the information isn't readily pointed out anywhere really. Kind of important, kinda. I'm surprised I came across it myself and didn't cook a few sets for dinner.

 

I've been more or less happy with the TinyG and chilipepper . Back up and restore of settings is a bit hit and miss so not messing with it once its setup seems to be the way to go or storing a copy you know works.. it'd also be nice if it didn't power up when you moved the steppers by hand otherwise its been great so far. i switched to it from the smoothieboard 5.

 

Mostly, but I've had a couple sets that were not marked or the screen printing placed the needed info in a solder join. The real problem is that the shield markings are blocked from view by the socket. The pin keys are marked on the underside of the shield, but the 4988's are poorly marked on either side. You just have to know which is which.

I've also recently seen 4988 painted the same purple as 4825! Be certain what you have before committing yourself.