So I'v built a 1500x1000mm OX, my question to anyone else who has built one, is anyone having issues with belt slippage?
I mean I cant run my machine over 10ipm with out the belt slipping on the gears for the y axis. Now I'v tried all sorts of tension from moderately tight to extremely tight, and nothing prevents the belt from slipping. If anyone has information on this I would greatly appreciate it, because I put alot into getting this built, and a bit diappointed that I cant solve this problem. Thanks

 

Well, I've finally took the plunge ! I have most parts ordered over the last couple of days to build myself a modified OX CNC... It will have a 1000 x 1500 mm foot print, thinking I could then work on 4' wide by however long (as in 8', full sheets of whatever) in overlapping sections by just sliding the work piece through my OX. One can always look far far ahead ... How about getting some nice engraving on those doors eh ? There is so many things one can do with a CNC router/engraver/...

I suspect I will need to reinforce the double beam X-axis since it will be 1500 mm. I will see soon enough, right ? The V-slot is not expensive, it's just so hard to get a hold of. Going with the alternatives, such as 80/20, etc. is substentially more expensive taking into account all aspects. Just the extrusion alone is more expensive. Yet, one could think of doing a 15+' long CNC with those )

I still have to order some of the screws and such, but the one piece I'm having trouble getting hold of is the 8 mm ACME leadscrew. Seems a tough item to find. Any one have a suggestion on where to find a piece long enough for the OX's Z-axis (at least 8" long) ? I'll take a chopped piece you have left over (I have a Detroit, MI address to ship to and a PayPal account, if it helps). I might go with 'regular' threaded rod just for testing out my OX ... hopefully not breaking anything in the process.

I have parts coming for OpenSource Luthier Supply (best prices by the way for v-slot related items), a bunch more parts from the Openbuilds Partstore, although it always seems to be out of stock for OX related items. It must be a real popular build... Then, of course, I got the gantry plates from Chris (Laidlaw). He's working on them right now. Since he appears to be out West, he might actually sneak them out the door by day's end... As for the stepper motors, I ended up getting them from StepperOnline, an outfit from China (!) with fast, remains to be seen, but expensive shipping (already proven by the invoice !) They do have an almost endless choice of steppers at "reasonable" prices, I am new to all this, so I might stand corrected by some of you on that last one. Hopefully I picked the right ones : 1x 17HS24-1206S and 3x 23HS30-3006D.

I might have enough parts arriving in the next few days to start building this weekend ! Of course, being Mother's Day weekend, I will carve something for the wife ... if I actually get a chance to get the OX running. I better start looking for some scraps of wood to carve, eh ?

What will I do with the OX if I can get it running ? Well, there's the odd sign, do fancier frames than just slapping pieces of 2x4 together - laugh, but I have large ones done years ago and they are holding up quite nicely AND I get compliments ... it's just a coat of black paint !!! I also want to work on some molds to do some thermoforming of polycarbonate for my RC side (especially for the 1/10 scale monster truck)... Then there's all sorts of ideas coming to mind from looking at all those photos and YouTube. The possibilities are virtually endless. Let's hope they don't drain the budget too fast, eh ?

I better order them missing screws !

 

Can't find it, do you have a link to it?

 

I *should* have some left over this weekend, If all goes well.

I am also a fan of 1/10 monster trucks. I'd like to see what you come up with for shells. http://i.imgur.com/I8Zke8b.jpg

 

Hi Travis,

I am not an OX builder but...
Perhaps check that you do in fact have the correct type of belt for the drive pulleys that you are using (sounds daft but it can happen).
Perhaps fit additional wheels, or move the existing inner wheels, so that more belt is in contact with the drive pulleys.
Also try reducing your axis acceleration setting (to allow for the mass of the gantry).

Tweakie.

Addition. What value microsteps are you using ?

 

Got it now, thanks!

 

That would be great. Let me know if you end up with at least the 'regulation' 8" piece, although I'm thinking of going at least 10" so I could work on RC molds.

I've smoked my ESC in the E-Maxx, transmission jammed and ... Well, it sits on shelf waiting for a few parts to make stronger, faster, ... (weird, I'm hearing tune: bionic man). Had started the work but didn't think the drive shaft would go that fast on me ... Only in RC for about a year. So still a newby there too.

The OX might pay itself just with keeping my other interests going, especially on rainy days like today. Saw this sweet looking table top ... inlayed poured 'metal'. Gave me all sorts of ideas the OX could help with, especially at 1500 x infinity . Proper bits/tooling and cost might slow me down. I will figure something out...

Got a UPS tag at door coming home last night. The parts are starting to flow in... Better start clearing space in the garage. Do you think the wife will mind leaving that beautiful car of hers outside ? ;d My OX will end up nearly 3' x 5' x 2'with all steppers and such overhanging frame's foot print !! Oops !

 

Hey tweakie, thanks for the response, yeah they are matching belt and pulley both are the gt3 series here from openbuilds parts store.
I'v aligned the y axis by moving the gantry to one end of the chasis frame, which is known to be perfectly square. Clamped the gantry in place, and tensioned both belts with power off, to remove any and all slack, the belt alignment is also tracking perfectly center, no rubbing anywhere.
So I thought I fixed the problem by aligning perfectly, and tensioning the belts in unison with each other. But my issue now which I found last night, is that the GT3 pulley (gear) is now slipping on the shaft of the motors. I'v checked for set screw positioning to make sure I was on the flat side of the shaft of the motor, and I am on both y axis motors, and the x axis motor. But the pulley is rotating around the shaft now that I have proper tension. The set screws are not holding, also my acceleration is set at 4 in mach 3, and I am running my maching very slow. I also have my driver settings set at 1/8" micro stepping. All in all, with the belt system, I was first getting failure with the belt tensioning, followed by pulley failure on the shaft of the motor.

 

Has anyone purchased from StepperOnline ? how was there service?
Thanks

 

Web site, Order processing and Shipping : EXCELLENT (it better be at price paid with no options for 'slow boat')
Product quality : unknown at this time (I won't be a good judge either, being new at this : if it all works : "great !")
Price : seems very good (substantially less even compared to OpenBuilds offerings, but high shipping cost voids that advantage)

I ordered, May 5th, a NEMA 17 and 3 NEMA 23 steppers along with a power supply. May 6th got email with tracking number for DHL. Checking status right now, May 7th, and ... package is in Cincinnati, OH since about noon ! Now comes the fun part: clearing customs, travelling to a port of entry to Canada (probably Detroit, MI), one more customs to cross into Canada and getting all the way to my door. Technically, it is just a few hours drive. I hope customs will be painless (as in just paying sales taxes, if anything ... can always hope).

Total material cost (1x 17HS24-1206S, 3x 23HS30-3006D and 1x switching 400W/12V/33A) : 95$
Total shipping (DHL Express was cheapest option offered) : 65 $ (Ya, I know ... about 66% of material cost !!!)
Total landed cost (at front door) : ??? (I'm afraind a carrier will likely add brokering fees, customs and taxes)

 

Keep us updated!

 

Tracking says items are in "Ontario Service Area - ON - Canada" since early this morning and have "Departed Facility" a bit before lunch. It could mean the door bell is about to ring ... Paying 65$ to get something from China certainly seems way quicker than the free shipping via "slow boat" which takes several weeks (... oh ... 3-6 weeks for me, when items don't get back ordered).

The rest of the parts, minus ACME lead screw and odd ends (all screws in fact) are also arriving from the various suppliers from East to West coast, USA. I should be getting a 'damaged' OpenBuilds spec'ed lead screw"real soon now" (as long as at least 8"-12" of it is good I'm ok with that as I don't have any plans for the rest of the 1000mm/3') and the screws I will probably get from local wholesalers/distributors.

Just realized a little problem - I have no brain : I forgot to order the electronics and drivers !!! I have an Arduino on it's way from China (thru good old BangGood slow boat). It was ordered weeks ago for much smaller project, so it should be getting close to my front door by now. But without the drivers, it will be difficult to do anything useful with the rest of the parts. It will give me time to build it ...

Without a single driver, I won't be able to even test the steppers ? I will Google on that so I could at least do a quick test.

So, if you are interested, I'll probably open a 'build' here in the next little while. The SKP of my planned OX is almost ready.

 

We certainly are interested @Serge E. and I look forward to seeing the details of your build.

Tweakie.

 

Hi Serge, I'm ready to pull the trigger and start ordering parts to build the OX. I'm curious to see how things go for you. Which board did you order? You said the Arduino, but can you give some specifics (model, cost, where you got it from, etc...) Can the board support a controller (as in "game" controller) to move the machine, is that even something that is desirable? Do you need to buy Mach 3 software or I see that some boards do not require the software, what's better? Sorry for so many questions. Thanks in advance!

 

Well, first batch of parts came in by mid day Friday. The steppers went to my front door, but I was at work. So they are in some hidden warehouse for the weekend to return Monday. Second and last batch of parts should be in early next week, including drivers, a piece of leadscrew, ... I might have the rig the mini Arduino (if possible) until the real one gets off the slow boat.

Unless I missed anything, I should be able to assemble my OX next weekend - three days for us. Maybe do an "Hello world" with it at that point ?

Tomorrow is mother's day and the weather is finally nice enough to use the pool. Got all the in laws coming for brunch pool side. Let's enjoy the sunny weekend.

 

Still working out some of the details on the electronic side. For at least short term, I went for the Arduino CNC Shield and 4x StepStick DRV8825 Pololu drivers from ProtoDrake here on canadian side of border. They should arrive Wednesday. It allows for 4 axis or one of x/y/z to be cloned.

The Arduino itself will be an Uno R3, but I'll see if I can do a few basic tests using a Arduino Micro R3 even if just one axis at a time to test them one by one. This was one of lowest cost options, thus not a high worry if I somehow manage to get a bit of smoke. There are several Arduino based options ...

Software wise, I'm still reading up, but first run will be to generate bits of g-code to pass to the Arduino GRBL and exercise my OX. Lots of open source options available.

Of course, once I get confortable with the machine, I might need/want to go "better".

I'll set up a build once I get a few pictures going, so probably next weekend, after I get the rest of my parts (around mid-week).

 

Glad things are coming together Serge. Hope the stuff from me came safe and sound. Shipping is a killer I think UPS has raised it's prices you can send things priority mail for the same as UPS ground and they give you a box. Bill www.opensourceluthiersupply.com

 

Can Someone please tell me the specs of the "acme"threaded rod from the openparts store? It appears that they list it as a Tr8mm ,8mm lead, with a 2mm pitch and its 4 starts. Can someone please confirm this? I want to source it from another company but have not been able to get a response from the openparts store in about a week. I know they are busy but I would hope they would get to emails a little quicker.

 

@chip_breakin

You are correct, the TR8*8 is 8mm Diameter, 8mm Lead, 2mm Pitch, 4 Start, Acme thread form.

Tweakie.

 

Tweakie, thank you!

It is right hand thread correct?

If anyone else wants I can PM or post a link to the alternative source. They are based in the US and have a 10 day lead time. They can custom roll any thread.

 

Correct - Right Hand thread

Tweakie.

 

Can someone tell me what I need here,

In between the two xz gantry plates there are two 1/4in aluminum spacers, some 1mm precision shims and then another spacer, it measures in the skp file to be 5.3mm or .20in, but what spacer is this? It does not appear to be listed in the needed items list.

 

I want to build a 1000x1500 oz cnc. i live in denmark so as i can sse the nearest place to by is im the uk. but they have a 6 weeks lead time and that i cant wait for as i have got a order in that needs to be delivered i 5 weeks. any of you dealers have a complete kit in stock somwhere. regards. thomas