when you have time, can you get a parts list up? I love your design with the ACME screws for better rigidity. I plan on making a table to accept a full size sheet of wood (4x8) so the ACME screws would help alot.

 

yes I do have solidworks, let me know how you would like to send it to me

 

great, thanks again. I'll go thru them and ask if any questions.

 

GREAT looking build.
Could you please provide a little help on how to get the files into solidworks ?
I've only done a few parts from scratch with it, but have NO experience trying to get it to take in a whole set of parts and sub-assemblies, which I assume your folders are.

 

Yeah I use one of those on my Dewalt 611 router, it's a really great piece of gear. You will have to do some modification to your router which can be tricky, but once you are set up and running, it's just awesome. It gets you great performance from a cheap router without springing the big bucks for a spindle/vfd setup and all.

 

are you using Stepper Motor Drivers with your NEMA23. Is it mandatory for Large OX- 1000x1500mm and beyond

 

Im a newbie, for some time now I have been observing various builds and I noticed some of 1000x1500mm and above had DQ542MA Stepper Motor Driver while on the smaller build only a TinyG controller and the steppers. So I was wondering that that was added to improve efficiency or it was mandatory for large OX machines. Please shed some light on the purpose of the DQ542MA Stepper Motor Driver.

I wish to build a 1500x3000mm. Can you advice me on my electronic BOM.

 

So here is the deal with stepper drivers.... all steppers need electronics hardware to feed them power. The bigger the stepper, the more robust the electronics will need to be to feed the proper current and voltage to them. Different drivers have different specs as to what sort of steppers they can power and at what voltages. With a TinyG controller, the board has 4 integrated stepper drivers. As with all drivers, are limits as to what they will drive though, and once you go past that with larger motors, you will need dedicated drivers. Generally speaking, the drivers on the TinyG will work just fine for the motors you will need to build an OX router, which is what makes it such an attractive controller for the likes of us... it is simple.

So bigger machines require bigger motors. Bigger motors require more power. Thus bigger machines usually mean more robust electronics.

As far as a bill of materials go, this is the setup I used and it worked really well:

TinyG controller
24V power supply : http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/NES-350-24/?qs=/ha2pyFaduhxfhzsenBkIkgMfhBr0hSVdTJWNZMLFL2wp6eI7VH7oQ==

270 oz/in stepper motors: High-Torque Stepper Motor, Stepper Motor, Driver, Stepper Motor kit, DC Servo Motor, DC Servo Motor kit, Stepper Motor Power Supply, CNC Router, Spindle, and other Components. Stepper Motor | Stepper Motor Driver | CNC Router | Laser Machine | 3D Printers For Sale

bear in mind these steppers being 3Amp are at the outside limit of what the controller will run. The TinyG documentation recommends a 2.8Amp max motor. I used them and they were really good though. If you can, shoot for a 2.8A stepper, it's a bit safer probably.

If you want some serious power, you could also go with these steppers which the TinyG should run perfectly well and will be more than powerful enough for the build you are talking about:
High-Torque Stepper Motor, Stepper Motor, Driver, Stepper Motor kit, DC Servo Motor, DC Servo Motor kit, Stepper Motor Power Supply, CNC Router, Spindle, and other Components. Stepper Motor | Stepper Motor Driver | CNC Router | Laser Machine | 3D Printers For Sale

Bear in mind: All these recommendations I make come with the caveat that there is a rational limit as to how big you can really make an OX router to be (anything around the 3-5' range is probably okay with a TinyG) At a certain point though it just doesn't make sense, and some other design and electronics setup would be better. With the size you are talking about, you will need a very big and heavy machine with very big motors. In this case a Gecko G540 would probably be a better option.

Hope this all answers your questions and such.

 

The power supply you suggested, is it sufficient to run four 420 oz. In terms of stepper sizes how does it affect the project cutting run-time or it has nothing to do with run-time?

I will stay within the size limit you recommend (3'-5').

 

Yeah I wouldn't go past 4' or so myself. Once you go bigger than this, the linear rail/wheels is really not the mechanical setup you will want, and something else more robust would work better. It kinda becomes an entirely different machine.

For the steppers, depending on how many wires they have (4, 6, or 8,) there are a couple of different ways you can wire them up for different power supplies. The ones from the link I provided have 8 wires which means you can run them on 24 or 48 volts- Each having subtle benefits at different performance points, but the 24 volt supply will run them just fine. (there is a spec sheet on the product page that will provide a diagram on how to wire them up properly for the voltage of your power supply.)

In your case however, using the TinyG I would stick with the 24V supply, you have more than enough juice there, and it's the one they recommend.

The speed of your cutting cycles really won't be affected by the power supply stuff so long as you give the steppers the juice they need. As long as your motors are powered properly... which they would be with this setup, you will probably be worrying about a lot of other factors that affect the performance more. Such as: machine rigidity, power of the spindle/router, tool quality/sharpness, toolpath strategy etc...

 

[QUOTE="
If you want some serious power, you could also go with these steppers which the TinyG should run perfectly well and will be more than powerful enough for the build you are talking about:
High-Torque Stepper Motor, Stepper Motor, Driver, Stepper Motor kit, DC Servo Motor, DC Servo Motor kit, Stepper Motor Power Supply, CNC Router, Spindle, and other Components. Stepper Motor | Stepper Motor Driver | CNC Router | Laser Machine | 3D Printers For Sale
[/QUOTE]
I ordered The NEMA23 you recommended, but I found it strange that I didn't received a confirmation email for my purchase. You have any idea how long is there processing time.

 

I ordered The NEMA23 you recommended, but I found it strange that I didn't received a confirmation email for my purchase. You have any idea how long is there processing time.[/QUOTE]
hmm yeah that is strange. I would give them a call and touch base about that. Their customer support is usually pretty good from my experience.

Best of luck on your build... It's exciting stuff, especially once you get it together, there is just something magical about watching your machine move for the first time!

 

hmm yeah that is strange. I would give them a call and touch base about that. Their customer support is usually pretty good from my experience.

Best of luck on your build... It's exciting stuff, especially once you get it together, there is just something magical about watching your machine move for the first time![/QUOTE]
Yeah the customer support is good. I email them the said night of the order and it was resolved. I recieved my order yesterday.

 

[QUOTE="
If you want some serious power, you could also go with these steppers which the TinyG should run perfectly well and will be more than powerful enough for the build you are talking about:
High-Torque Stepper Motor, Stepper Motor, Driver, Stepper Motor kit, DC Servo Motor, DC Servo Motor kit, Stepper Motor Power Supply, CNC Router, Spindle, and other Components. Stepper Motor | Stepper Motor Driver | CNC Router | Laser Machine | 3D Printers For Sale
[/QUOTE]

Here is TinyG-wiki
Wire Color Winding
Green Winding A1
Black Winding A2
Red Winding B1
Blue Winding B2

Automation Technologies NEMA23
I am using the Bipolar (Parallel) Connection. Please correct me if I am using the incorrect wiring configeration for the TinyG board.
Is the (A+ & A-) & (B+& B-) the same as Winding (A1,A2 & B,B2) in the tinyG Wire Color (Wiki).