Warier,
I may be able to help with the first question, from the bundle packs I found:
This precision trapezoidal (metric) lead screws pitch and diameter are a perfect combination of high torque and speed. This screw fits the bill for most machine designs and will quickly become a standard on OpenBuilds.

Equipped with a large diameter that helps eliminate whipping and a high pitch which provides a quick 8mm translation for every single revolution on the screw.

It's a great power transmition choice for your build!

• Tr8*8-2p (4 starts)
• Lead Screw Diameter ∅ 8 (mm)
• Pitch 2 (mm)
• Lead 8 (mm)
• Stainless Steel

An example steps settings for your control software would be 200 steps per millimeter if you are running the common 1.8 degree steppers and your stepper driver is set to 1/8 step mode.

To calulate different step scenarios for your control software have a look at these handy steps calculators

Common setup example



NOTE: Because this lead has 4 starts with 2mm pitch between each this means the pitch will be 8. So 8 is what you would use for the pitch setting in the steps calculators..

Hope it helps.
Chuck

 

Thanks, Chuck. I did not realize that the lead screw was 4 start - hence my confusion! Now that I know this, isn't it possible that with 1/8 ustep the torque also is low. I bought the stepper also from the OB store just to be safe. Since so many units are running perfectly well I should move on.

By the way I saw a G-code path viewer that also doubles as a control panel for the xPRO controller. The software is JCNC by jtronics (www.jtronics.de/151-steuersoftware-jcnc-v1-03.html) It is developed in Germany and has both GRBL and Tiny G panels. It gives you a simulation screen and the control of the machine - the two seem totally independent but can be run simultaneously. Has anyone used it here?

 

Hi David, Thank you for the explanation. I still have not connected any motor driver to the unit and doing all initial move test by turning the motor coupler by hand!!! I have a few Pololu 8825 module (got them cheap from you know where) one of which I will mount on a solderless breadboard and run it with Uno loaded with GRBL 8c and check out all these properly before mounting the xPRO. I hope to use a Gigabit BRIX (Celeron 2GHz) fanless PC for the host as it is a tiny unit that runs off 12V/30watt.

Since I am not an engineer of any description, I am also trying to use Sketchup and SketchUcam. All the videos I have watched so far seems to fly over my head as to how to combine the SketchUcam plug in with Sketchup Thanks in advance for any SIMPLE instruction(s) on how to go about it. - Warrier

 

@Gopal: To answer your other question, as far as I can tell, $14 is not used in the latest GRBL. It is not present in the $$ output.

 

Yes I noticed that. But in the setup in the software section (C-Beam Machine GRBL Settings.jpg) it is listed. Hence my concern. Thank you for letting me know that $14 is no longer needed. - Warrier

 

Hey evryone ,i'm looking at ordering this Plate maker and i have a question abaut the collets.

I'm looking at getting DeWalt 618 motor and see it only has 1/2", 1/4" and 3/8" collets on their site: Accessories for Routers, Planers, & Joiners | DEWALT ,I'm from slovenia and mainly use metric values and would like to get 3mm collet(i acidently ordered 3mm bits withought checking what collets the motor has) ,would any collet fit like these: 12PCs Precision ER20 Spring Collet Set 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 mm or would i need to use the inch bits in order to use the DeWalt 618?

 

@Rick 2.0 Thanks i have sent them an email and waiting for their replay. If there isnt know any good motor that uses 3mm collets? and might fit the Plate maker

 

@Rick 2.0 Thanks for that ,i will probably order thatone then ,is it capable of cutting aluminium no problem?
@Mark Carew **** will see if my calculations will add up and see if i can order it by 16th xD

Ouch 53$ shipping from precise bits ,guess i'll have to settle for higher diameter bits.

 

Says on store you are out of stock ,will you be back in stock by Saturday? and Do you accapt paypal or credit cards?

 

ok...question for the C-Beam Gods....I am looking at this and the XL (that hasn't been bundled yet gggrrr) and wanted your opinion on the stepper motors. I just saw the high torque NEMA 23 and wanted to know if they were worth the extra $50 over the standard ones that can be kitted with the C-Beam?

I am going to be doing mostly wood with this but am also going to need to be able to do 6061 as well so it isn't going to be a HUGE deal but if I would rather do it right the first time!

 

Does anyone have an issues with the z-axis flexing axially? I just tuned my acceleration and max speeds based on the grbl wiki reference and it seems like I found structural weak point. Does anyone else have similar issues?

I was performing a boring action with a feed rate of 941 mm/min with a 1/8" carbide bit in 6061 T6 aluminum.

 

well I didn't hear back from anybody here about the steppers so I just went with the standard NEMA 23s and I am going to assume that is fine for what I will be doing. I am a little disappointed that the CNC xPro was out of stock?!? I would think somebody would have thought about that before the sale and made sure there were plenty in stock. Oh well. trigger has been pulled and I will have to see about the electronics at a later date

 

Yes the axis does flex in my experience. Doubling up the wheels helps immensely. What spindle rpm and DOC were you cutting at?

 

Hello everyone,

I am new to all of this and decided to pull the trigger on purchasing one of these machines for my home maker space. I have purchased the Bosch Colt Router that the machine was built for and also ordered the precision 1/8" collet from Elaire. I ordered my machine early in the morning so I hope they did not run out of stock on anything. If that will be the case, I will wind up cancelling my order. I just got done reading all 41 pages of this forum and want to say thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences. I'm looking forward into learning more of what this is all about.

I wasn't sure if I should start a new post or just add my question here so as you can see, I chose the latter. I bought the router as mentioned above and saw a few people mention using a CNC Spindle instead for the cutting tool. Has anyone found a good, reliable, air cooled CNC Spindle to use with this machine yet and wouldn't mind providing a link to where I might be able to buy one? Thanks.

Peter

 

Max RPM on a bosch colt using a helical pattern generated by fusion 360. I can't seem to control the plunge rate of that so I can't really give a doc. I decided to just back down on the feed rate for helical boring.

 

You can control the helical ramping rate with F360. In your speeds and feeds it should be labeled as 'Ramp speed' or something like it. (Rereading your post makes me think you already knew this) You can also adjust the helical entry by modifying the ramp angle in the 'Passes Section'. I use 10 degrees for Mdf and 1 or 2 for aluminum. A combo of these two should help a lot.

 

just in case anybody is in the same boat as me and the xPro was out of stock...check Amazon...I just found it from Spark and they now have 6 in stock!

 

hi everyone,

new here and looking forward to learn,

my main objective is to build a cnc , and during that process i get to learn more about the parts and systems that make it work

i'm interested in this model , but was hoping if some one can help me to list out the parts for building one with a bigger area of 1m x 1m (other size recommendation is appreciated , based on experience of available parts).

 

from what I have read, if you are looking for something that sized, you may want to look at the OX instead of the C-Beam as it does have a larger build area. It's a different design but I have seen good things on it

 

thx

i was interested in building the cnc machine using the Linear Actuators,

had an experience building the tevo 3d printer, which depended on the wheels, and was challenging to balance and adjust all the parts to get an accurate print

relating to that experience , i'm seeking advice on if its better to use the Linear Actuators for the CNC and going at a 1m range size

 

If by linear actuators you are referring to linear rails/guides, then yes, they are more accurate. They are also more expensive.

It's a slippery slope. I am in the process of designing/building a replacement for my OX. I started by looking at ballscrews eliminate backlash from belts. Then my next source of backlash is the use of wheels instead of linear rails and bearings. The resulting design gets stronger and more accurate, but much more expensive.