I'll add the BOM as soon as I have made a couple more changes. I haven't had a chance to start playing with the skecthup file yet, but have a few ideas and tweaks in mind.

I am actually thinking of just using the low profile M5 bolts. With a standard M5 washer they slide nicely in the slot. It's then a case of drilling a clearance hole for the allen key in the correct place, so they can be tightened up from the outside. The front slot can by tidied up with some slot cover.( I have used a similar method with Motedis profile and it works great)

Yes I knew I would need at least one. Two of my current motors are 56mm long and the other is only 40mm. I am guessing the 2 bigger ones are similar specs to these basic Nema 23's. Not sure if the smaller one would be any good. I think the crappy stepper drivers I have only go up to 2.5A current, so it limits my motor choice for now.

Well I don't want to hjack your thread with it too much, but if you can't sleep and want something to read you can find some details on my blog. The LCD is controlled by a Teensy 2++, which is connected to the PC via USB. A custom Mach3 plugin handles communications between the 2. (You can also see part of the charge pump circuit in the following pic, which shuts of the 24V to the motors and power to the spindle relay in case of a PC crash or Estop event)



Regards,

Les

 

Great work, awesome documentation. I am new to this and your giving the part numbers of the components has lead to a lot of research and answers. Thank you.
Ok, Gone through your build, I am now very interested in building a (your) cnc machine for automating my work that I do by hand. I have a few questions and quite honestly you seem the person I would ask.
1. Tension or compression of the lead screws? Since the screw, while working the nut back and forth has both tension and compression how do you load it for one and not cause a greater effect of the other? Does the anti-backlash nut remedy both? Is the actual flex caused by this really a problem for this size of machine using an 8mm screw? Perhaps you can recommend a book that would reflect on this?
2. Why use a Z axis reduction belt? Are not the speeds regulated by the controls? Would there not be less accuracy under load verses a direct coupling? Is it for greater stability on the X & Y axis' with a lower center of gravity? Maybe the same book?
Sorry if these are inane questions but I can't find any answers on the internet and you seem willing to share your knowledge.
Again, I would like to thank you for posting a fantastic project.

 

Thanks for the reply. Kyo.

 

I just got all my parts and started cutting the c-beam. Slight problem though. I ordered 1000mm Cbeam and if I cut it in half (need 2 500mm cbeams) it it will be a little short because of kerf... My bad. Should of asked for a tad bit more when ordering or just order 2 500mm cbeams. Just thought I'd give others a heads up.. May want to put a note in cut-list/bom.

Anyway, Thanks Kyo for the awesome design!

 

Hi Kyo.

I've received my 'Phoenix' board from Bulgaria, was there anything special you had to do to get GRBL uploaded and running. It's just that when I tried to upload GRBL onto it I get a bunch of error messages and refers me to the Arduino website, one of which there might not be a 'bootloader' installed.

Any chance you can share your experiences please.

Rich

 

Doh!!

Plugged it back in, started up UGS, selected relevant com port, connected to it and GRBL boots up [GRBL 0.9j] , lights all flashy flashy, done a 'shift 44' now need to change my settings.

How much of an idiot do I feel now.

Old age and stupidity is my only excuse.

Cheers
Rich

 

Hi there,
it is now a week that I am studying your build and try to find the different parts around me (Johannesburg) without success. I will have to order the recommended retailer.
Could you please post the last version of the plates (all) because for some reason I have experienced some trouble to open those I downloaded.
Is the material aluminium 5 mm ?

Very nice build, thanks a lot for sharing.

 

Kyo
Would it make sense to turn Cbeam around on Z axis so the C beam travels and the plate is fixed if that makes sense to you. I was wondering if I could get more Z travel that way.

 

Thanks a lot.

 

Thank You.

 

Hi Kyo,
I was going trough the BOM to order the components and comparing with the instruction manual I picked up a couple of differences.
The lead screw is listed as L500mm in the BOM but in the assembly manual is 530 mm. Which one is the correct length?
I also noted that you have only 4 bearings 688Z but to assemble the machine you need 8 if I am not wrong.

Thanks a lot for your great work

 

Hello,

Very nice design ! Thinking about making my future own design, about the CNC plates that make the interface with the motors, I was wondering if they could be replaced by standard V-wheel rails (like the structure) and the plates fixing the frame structure replaced by standard openbuilds plates. That would require adaptation of the rest of the design but that could also avoid to use custome made plates. Do you see any drawback to this approach (maybe you considered this idea during your design).

For your custom plate, do you have some proposition where they could be procured ? I don't have easy access to CNC manufacturer.

Thks

 

I'm trying to order the 688-2z bearings and all I can find are F688-2z bearings. I'm guessing the F stands for flanged, but could you offer any incite? Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

Thank you very much! Buying the bearings through ebay sure is a lot cheaper. I was wondering how much an advantage it is to use the higher torque motors. I have a couple for the z-axis (two machines) and I still need a couple more motors, and use them on the x-axis

 

Kyo,
Your build information is phenomenal! I've been looking through different plans for CNC routers for the past few weeks, was almost ready to pull the trigger on the original C-Beam plate maker... and then I found the sphinx! I'm in the process of procuring parts and I'm looking at the plethora of 425 oz-in motors out there and was wondering if that size would be overkill? I see your sphinx cutting through aluminum using the OB 345 oz-in motor and I'm wondering if I'm overthinking it and just adding a lot of extra weight/power consumption/heat to the system. What are your thoughts on it? I've got a habit of using a 20 lb sledge where a 19 oz hammer would work!

 

Kyo,

Thanks for the great build and documentation. Do you have a opinion on using a 1.5KW spindle? I don't know the weight but he size is 65m x 200mm or there a bouts. I am wondering if it would be to heavy. I want to cut mostly aluminum plates.

Thanks

 

I thought that as well but was looking for a little bigger collet size not so much the HP. Since the reduction plate is no longer in the OBP store could Chris add that to the plate package?

 

Hey Kyo,
How/where are you attaching your drag chains?

 

Just waiting for a the last couple of parts to finish the hardware portion. Somehow, my wife hasn't given me an explanation, the bearings I ordered from McMaster went into the trash. The parts store was out of the c-beam end mounts so I will be fabricating those tomorrow. I also need to devise a mount for my spindle.

I've been fairly lucky on the plates. I managed to talk my way into auditing a maintenance machinist course at the local community college and have been using their equipment. It forced me to learn how to use CAM with Fusion 360. I put tags connecting the pieces to the stock and I need to spend a little more time sanding the edges smooth, but I wanted to see how everything fit.