OK Thankyou for clearing that up Rick, I will go back to the supplier & see if I can get them exchanged then or will just buy some more lead screw the correct lengths.... I might use what I have for another project maybe, It's all part of the learning I guess.

Cheers Glenn.

 

Wheel spacing query.

I was working on an original C-beam when the XL came out so I am now morphing the small one to take up some of the features of the XL e.g. double Y actuators and flipped beams. Effectively a narrow XL with upgrade path if space allows.

I noticed that the Y plate assembly instructions are slightly different in that on the XL the wheels are one 6mm spacer off the plates and the nut blocks are one 3mm spacer off the plate. However on the regular cbeam the wheels are one 6mm spacer AND one precision shim off the plate but the nut block is still only 3mm off the plate. One or other of these feels like it must be putting a bit of bow in the leadscrew or is there enough give in the wheels for it not to matter that much because both are actually only 0.5mm off a theoretical exact position. One basis that both machines work maybe it's a non point given the 500m length of the screw.

As a follow up why does the XL use 2 regular nut blocks as opposed to 1 or 2 anti backlash ones?

Cheers

Ian

 

Great question on the antibacklash nutblocks Ian, I was thinking the exact same thing as I was assembling the Y actuators last night.... it would have meant a few less parts and what I reckon is a more sensible antibacklash nut block with much easier adjustment.

Glenn

 

I am guessing that it is because of the use of 2 nutblocks but maybe someone with more experience can step in and give a better answer

 

Have been watching Brady each night doing the Build, unfortunately I cannot tune in Live due to time difference here in Australia but have been doing the catch up TV thing each evening here, Thankyou Brady, have been really enjoying the broadcasts..... and I thought learning Ukulele as a musical instrument was fun and cool.... Now I want to buy a Banjo & have a go at some Bluegrass !!
Great background music there Brady.

Something that was really interesting was that exactly the same thing happened to me with the Anti backlash nut blocks on the two Y Axis.
One went together fine with no binding and no play, then the other one kept binding every time I tightened it up, couldn't work out how to fix the problem really so I just put it to one side for later but Brady came up with the solution on that problem so I will revisit that once I get the correct size lead screws.... This brings us back to the question why is there a difference in the Antibacklash system for the X/Y Axis to the Z Axis, it has me intrigued.

By the way Steve at Makerstore has not returned my calls as of yet, so here we go, so far I have given him the benefit of the doubt despite some unhappy customers on here.... I will keep readers posted, cause I don't put up with bad customer service/support, I am in the support field too and it is very important to return a call at the very least.

His business hours on his web site indicate 9:00 - 5:00 but he has not returned my calls since lunch time today, it is now 9:16PM Friday night here in Australia, anyhow time will tell, I may just re-order my lead screw from openbuilds instead if he can't be bothered calling me back.

Glenn.

 

I think the solution that Brady came up with was actually mentioned in the build manual and I also mentioned it in the chat, not sure of he saw my comment before he figured it out or not. Which that is one good thing supposedly about the twitch recording is that it records the chat and plays it back.

 

@lord_drachenblut ha, didn't see it in the build manual and didn't see it in the chat but that was because I had it on full screen so I couldn't see the chat, mmm I better RTFM a bit more LOL.

I might keep an eye on the chat messages next time, as he is often replying to the messages and it's like you are only getting half of the conversation.

Glenn.

 

Hey guys. Sorry if this was already answered somewhere else but i dindt find it.

How is it possible to have the C-beam and the Acme screw with the same length? Dont we need to have a little screw on the motor side for the coupling? The size i was aiming was C-beam size + 2x end plates + 7.5mm for flexible coupling (measured this part on Solidworks) + 2/3mm gap between coupling/endplate.

Thanks for this awesome build.

 

Hi Joao, I am currently building this design at the moment and have run into almost the exact problem you are talking about during the physical build. I purchased my Leadscrews from Makerstore here in Australia and they DO NOT account for the thick 12mm C-Beam end plates that are used in this build so my leadscrews are too short.

Quoting Rick 2.0 a few posts back:

Lead screws sold in the OpenBuilds parts store are all 40 mm longer for this reason. While the nominal lengths are 250, 500, & 1000, the actual lengths are 290, 540, & 1040.

So the OpenBuilds Lead screws are cut to allow for the extra length you need to make the coupling connections.

Cheers Glenn.

 

Hi Glenn, thank you the reply.

Look like i will need to check that with my local store, thank you for the info. =)

Im still finishing the model in Solidworks before ill start buying parts.

 

So I currently own the original c-beam. Would like to upgrade to the XL. Would I be able to use most of the parts from the c-beam, or will I have to buy all new parts for the XL?

 

Lots of renderings in the build manual! http://www.openbuilds.com/attachments/c-beam-machine-xlarge-mech-manual-pdf.18679/

 

Okay folks I'm slowly coming out of being knocked low from a combination of surgery and other physical issues so I'm trying to get things finished up on my c-beam machine xlarge.

I was provided a xPro v2 and powering it off a atx power supply.

I have it all temporarily wired and tested with universal g-code sender running on a Linux system.

During my down time I have picked up a cable chain and a friend picked up the Bosch Colt router.

Things I need to do at this point and would appreciate advice from the more experienced amongst you.

I need to extend the leads coming off the nema23 high torque motors on the machine. I am considering these wires for it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0154LFKUO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_BqA5xbRCQ1VH5

I plan on the permanent machine to run this to be a raspberry pi 2 running either universal g-code sender or bcnc. I am uncertain after some looking will these programs allow me tweak the settings for the machine or will I have to do it from the CLI?

Any recommendations of settings from anyone running a similar setup would be appreciated

 

My limited experience but extensive reading of wiring and 'power', leads me to think that shielded wiring is essential - the one you have linked does not seem to be of the shielded variety.
I do agree going 18 gauge - those who go 24AWG might have a few little anomalies in terms of interference and current load that may need to be dealt with.
All the best!

 

Could you contact me via a direct message so I can speak with you? Tried sending one already and it wouldn't allow me

 

VIDEOS ARE POSTED!

@KirkwoodWorking Fusion360 CAD NIGHT and FIRST PROJECT on the C-Beam Machine XLarge!

 

Mine is up and running! Anyone have a cad/cam file for a dust boot I could use?

 

I've started working on calibrating my machine finally. Currently I'm using a xPro v2 to drive the machine. In time I hope to upgrade this setup possibly but for now this seems to work.

For a starting point I used the same settings as used in cbeam plate machine, minus homing settings as I'm not fully sure what they do yet.

The xPro v2 is currently set to 1/8 micro steps

My X axis currently using these settings is currently off 4mm across 500mm travel.

Y axis is off 2mm across 200mm travel.

Would I be better off using the same travel distance to measure how far off the machine is currently or does this work?

 

Thanks for the advice @Moag and @Mark Carew

I ended up going back and starting over with $100,$101 & $102 set at 200 and using the information in Howto calibrate your cbeam to get to my current settings which seem to be almost spot on. The Z travel is so short currently that 200 seems to work for now.

And here is my hello works cut in a piece of foam using a 1/4" bit

 

I'm going to be working on designing one soon. I'll be sure to share it to get feedback

 

Thank you for posting your settings.

 

Moag, You promised a good machine, bu this one is GRRRReat!! but I have a question re assembling gantries. Why do the eccentric nuts always go on the bottom?
They are often very difficult to get at. Will it make any real difference if I put them on top?
By the way, your build instructions are superb. I've not seen better!

 

No problem. Hope it helps someone out.

 

It comes from me being so heavy into the Free and Open Source Software community. I love seeing how that ideology is spreading beyond software into hardware as well