Hi. First post here. I am building a C BEAM X, a 500 x 500 in the XL pattern. I have a good handle on the mechanicals but choosing the control bits and pieces is confusing. I'm asking for those who have working systems to share what they have assembled. If you will, include gcode sender to motors. Thanks in advance, Mark.
I run my C-beam with a Protoneer Pi CNC hat and a Raspberry Pi 3. I bought stepper drivers from Panucatt Devices, I think I am using the SD6128. I run the CNC on a 24-volt power supply, the Pi gets power via an adapter for now, but I have a buck converter that I'll use to drop the voltage down to 5V. The Protoneer hat has been upgraded since I bought it, but I have had no problems with the older version. This is still very much a work in progress, but I am using the machine to cut parts. Software is Raspbian on the Pi3, with BCNC used as my controller and gcode sender. I have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse connected to the Pi3, it is a standalone controller. I generate my gcode with EstlCam.
They're imported NEMA23s, 179 oz-in / 2.8A / Bi-polar if I recall. Got them on EBay. I'm not running them at anywhere near their rated amperage, the drivers are all set to about 1.75A. These provide plenty of speed and power on a stock C-Beam. Motors run nice and cool, no stalling, no missed steps. I cut mostly aluminum plate, but I have done a few V-carves in wood. The limit to speed and feed comes down to the machine's rigidity and bit flex, not the power of the steppers. I can flex things enough to where parts are out of tolerance with the motors and drivers that I have, so I need to focus on rigidity improvements, not motors and drivers. I do like the Panucatt drivers. I do have heatsinks and cooling in place. Only warmed the drivers up when I locked all the axes and left them cooking. They've been very robust and are easier to adjust when compared to the cheaper knock-offs. I learned on (and let the smoke out of) some inexpensive 8825s. I have some Panucatt 8825s for a machine that is still under construction, but haven't tried them yet.
My C-Beam XLarge* is more than 90% complete mechanically, and I hope to use: 4 high-torque NEMA 23s (two on the Y axis) * 24V / 14.6A Power Supply * (I need to find a power cord for it) Arduino UNO (dirt cheap and I had one already) Arduino CNC shield, and 4 A4988 Stepper drivers with Heat Sinks ($10 via eBay) misc wiring and connectors (not sure yet) an old laptop computer with a USB port to feed G-code to and power the Arduino * (from the OpenBuildsPartsStore) I will eventually update this post when I get it working (or I upgrade to something else). I am interested in hearing what works for other people.
