Thanks again for your answer I think i misread the tutorial, they use 2 power supply one for the board and the motors and one for the spindle

I have one more question, the belt GT3 should be of 5mm width or 6mm width? or no matter?

 

I haven't been around for a while. Have been busy with a few other things. But I thought that you would like to see my latest creation. I expect it will be one of a series for the grandchildren.

Also, just a reminder for those concerned about the Z-Height - it can be modified, as it my previous post (it's on page 7 of this thread)

 

Amazing!!!! I'm building the cnc, and i hope soon i can make project like that! what bit do you use? have got the file project?

 

I used a 3mm twin flute bit. Cutting speed 1000 mm/min, and 2.5mm per pass. The material is 6mm MDF, and it really is only a test piece, I have a dust shoe attachment that I made so there is virtually no mess in the cutting process.
I think that the finished articles are more likely to be in 5.5mm ply, or perhaps even 3mm for smaller models. Haven' tried that yet.

Now, the "file" is a bit tricky. I have spent quite a bit of time fighting with various bits of software and files downloaded from the internet. I am a retired software engineer, so I HATE fighting with software that doesn't do what I want. So I have started to write my own!!! It does exactly what I want, but unfortunately it is not really ready for release to others. So the GCode for this beast was generated by my software. The original source was a freely available DXF file from somewhere out there - I forget precisely where. There are loads around.

However, in this particular case the DXF is really bad, consisting of thousands of very short straight lines and they are not even joined up. My software - with a bit of encouragement from me, will join up the lines, smooth them out to circular arcs or bezier curves and do various other transformations associated with the slots which have to match the material thickness, which of course varies! It will then generate the toolpaths necessary to give the final shape according the the specified bit size. And there is the issue of how many pieces will fit in the machine area. This particular fellow took three sheets of 300x400 mm , which is a comfortable size for my small machine.

Below is a shot of one of the cutting sheets as portrayed by my software. The black is the required shape, the green is the slots, and the red is the toolpath. It is ordered so that slots and any inner shapes cut first.

So I can't really provide a "file" yet, as it is all inside my code.

 

Thank you very much for the explanation
What spindle did you have?
Have you got a link where i can buy the 3mm twin flute bit? i'm building the machine and at the moment i haven't look at the bits

 

I use the same one that Ryan has. Got it from Ebay. See Ryans post on page 1. He has used the OpenBuilds mount, with a printed insert to accommodate the different spindle diameter. I did initially, but decided that didn't suit me, so I made and aluminium conversion block to use the mount supplied with the spindle. You can see these on my pictures on page 7.

Ebay has Loads of cnc bits, mostly from China. I have bought several types from Banggood. Milling Cutter,Banggood Provide You With A Wide Variety Of Durable Milling Cutter., but there are lots of others.

Just be careful that you look carefully at the shank size to fit the collet you have, the cutting diameter, to suit the work you are doing, the cutting bit length, to suit the depth of material, and the end type (mill, ball etc).

 

Thank you very much

 

Can turn this CNC in a 3D printer? adding just the HotEnd and the hot plate? or is not possible?

 

Why not say that you don't want to share it? there are enough, cheap, ready programs available to do the work with the vectors as you described. AI, Vectric Aspire are some for example. These DXF files are indeed readily available on the web, you have to do some checking about the accuracy though. I had one of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and 3D printed it without any work on it! Perfect results.

Here is a Sketchup file of the Sable Tiger shown above. You might have to do some work on it, but not in the way described before with special homemade software. By the way, that file is for a material of 6mm (look at the size of the slots, 6.4mm), just the same thickness as Mel described for his test cut. I recon you can do the same thing without much adjustment with this SK file. Good luck.

 

@Ryan Lock Thank for your answer, just to know, for the future, a hotted like this:

Stampante 3d j testa hotend con ventilatore per 1.75/3.0mm 12 v e3d v6 bowden filamento wade estrusore 0.2/0.3/0.4mm ugello + vulcano kit in         Si prega di dirci quale filamento che volete, 1.75mm o 3.0mm e dirci che forda Parti della stampante su AliExpress.com | Gruppo Alibaba

would be fine?

I want also another question, if i want add a Laser Cut/Engraver, does it suited for this machine right? you suggest some laser? i don't want cut aluminum with laser but just ply wood or thin acrylic. Thanks

@Paruk Thank you very much

 

I do understand that there are lots of packages out there which could do the job. BUT, I am a retired software engineer and I actually enjoy writing the stuff. It's the challenge of learning and overcoming problems that makes me tick. If I end up doing things the long way round then that's just part of the enjoyment. I can usually write some code to do a job more quickly than I can get into a different package.

And in answer to Paruk's comment "Why not say that you don't want to share it?". This is simply not true. I don't have anything that would be worthwhile sharing, because my code is not readily shareable. It might be in the future but right now it isn't. Please don't accuse me of something that isn't true.

I know that models like this are readily available. There is a thread on CNCZone which has hundreds of them. The original Sabre Tooth probably came from there.

 

I managed to find the original DXF files and accompanying pdf that this was based on.

My model is modified a little because a couple of the slots are the wrong way round in terms of the direction of gravity. They would be fine if the target was a permanent construction, glued perhaps, but not if the intention is for a childs 3D jigsaw where assembly and disassembly is the norm.

 

I prefer this one in terms of stability and fun for the grandchildren. I had to modify it quite a lot because of the gravity problem again. I have also attached the original DXF. It is called BRONTO1, and didn't have any assembly instructions in it or accompanying it. However, after some research, it isn't a brontosaurus at all. It's a triceratops. A skeleton photo from Wikipedia helped a lot in the assembly.



The jaw line probably needs modifying too - to show the third horn above the mouth parts.

 

I have just made the Y-Plate following your project, in a company in my town that has the laser cutting, i have choose the Steel material, because they have only that material, one Y-Plate of 6mm of steel has a weight of 1,6Kg, you think is too much? i have make a mistake?

 

Posting your question in only one thread is enough... No mistake were made, as said in the OX post

 

I reply you here i have just make in both thread in order to have more opinions not to spam

Anyway, I have also made the Y-Brace of 3mm instead, are you sure is good? it's not too much weight? I don't know if i have explained well, ONE Y-Plate is 1,6Kg...

And also the Double Z-Plates front and back are of 6mm of Steel...

 

Strange issue this morning.

Headed to the workshop as normal on a Sunday and fired up the power supply for the cnc / controller etc

Normally I'll hear a 'clunk' as the motors locked but not this morning.

The PC will not talk to the controller (says grbl not finished booting and will not move from there)

Have tried another PC but no change.

I did notice another couple of lights on the xPro that I have not noticed before but unsure what this signifies.

 

Pictures of lights.

 

Following the rapid replacement of my dead CNC Xpro V2 (Thanks Ryan - appreciate the speedy service), is there a way to duplicate the settings i had on the old one?

IE. doe Universal G Coder Sender keep a local copy?, or am i going to have to start from scratch?

 

Oh, well - it was worth an ask.

I presume the faulty unit arrived with you today? Replacement not arrived - i expect it will be here tomorrow, which is good as i will have time tomorrow night to get it installed and start with the fine tuning again

 

No sign of it today

Will have to catch up on some TV and beer tonight (As well as awaiting this machine being collected later - All cut by the Ooznest OX)



Hopefully tomorrow.....

 

Get in touch - i'm sure we could work something out

Head over to www.facebook.com/ChillisArcade

Lots more examples on there, and some more exciting stuff coming up. all courtesy of the OX