Just a follow up. I've been having a ton of weird start up issues; missing keys, out of bounds, no settings menu, and similar. I switch my baud rate to 9600 just for the heck of it, then reconnected. Of course it didn't work, but when I switched back to 115200, the settings popped up. While I actually had access to that window, I switched $10 from 0 to 31 like I saw in the link below. Although it wasn't a direct attempt, I figured it was worth a shot. So far, the program starts every time without issue. I'll check again later today when I get home.
Error reported on 1.0.9.1 · Issue #50 · gerritv/Grbl-Panel · GitHub

 

Kyo,

What is the working area of the finished machine? Trying to see what size material I can cut.

I apologize if that info is here somewhere but I did not see it.

Thanks,

 

I measured out to about 345mm square. That would be the absolute limits. Safe (in my opinion) would be 325mm square.

 

Thank you.

 

Does any one know how much to allow for working parts to determine the total X and Y axis c-beam cuts. I'm trying to have a 16"X16" working area?

 

At 500mm, you will get a VERY safe 12" x 12". Adding an extra 100mm to each cut would get you there, but you're going to have a lot of waste material. You would need a 1500mm and a 1000mm. The 1500mm will give you your Y with 300mm worth of waste. The 1000mm will provide for both X and Z. That's the most efficient way to do it, but then you also have to worry about shipping a 1500mm piece of aluminum.

I think the shop will make custom cuts though. You could go 750mm instead of 600mm. If they can custom cut, then that's better for shipping too.

 

Hi I'm making a new c-beam Ox and I'm also using Chris's tall gantry plates . does anyone know if the Kyo Z have enough reach for the these taller plates?

 

Haha.
Ya I wasn't referring to travel waste. I meant actual build material waste. But keep in mind that longer lengths also reduce rigidity. You should only have what you need.

 

Worst case scenario is to just make your z axis longer. I built mine a bit differently, but the bottom of the z axis end plate is about 85mm away from the lowest possible point on the table. Now start subtracting your actual spoilerboard or table setup. In my case, I have 20x60 running across the top. Then I have a 1/4" acrylic sheet on top of that. That leaves me with a little under 60mm worth of clearance. I only want to cut aluminum which means that I want cutting stock as close as possible to the gantry c beam so that the twisting loads will be reduced. For that, I'll probably build up my spoiler even more as I only need 12mm worth of clearance.

The z axis itself, with the extended plate, has about 85mm worth of travel. Keep in mind that the spindle can be mounted at whatever height you want, and that that factor has no effect on travel.

I hope that helps.

 

Hello Kyo, Amazing work! I'm going to build a Sphinx with tall gantry plates and had a few questions if you don't mind.
1. Will the 2" z axis extension negatively effect aluminum cutting? Or is the design strong enough to take the extra height?
2. Will I need any extra parts or different parts to build the taller version?
3. What is the working area of this machine? It looks like about 12" x 16" or so, but I couldn't find anything definitive on the site or in discussions.
4. I want to mount the z stepper above, no belt, do I need anything other than an extra shaft coupler and stand offs for the z stepper?
5. I read in the discussions that you determined that one stepper per screw was adequate, so then I'd only need 4 total instead of 7?
Thank you again for putting all of this together. The amount of work is staggering!
Cheers,
Tyler

 

Hi there,

First of all congrats at Kyo for the complete build & design, a nice piece of work.
Also I are thinking about making a CNC like yours, maybe a little bit bigger like 1000mm x 750mm

I have some questions regarding the plates and the electronics.

1. I saw you used 6mm aluminum plates for your build.
On eBay I found someone that sells 3mm plates in stainless steel.
Openbuilds Kyo Sphinx C-Beam CNC Router Plates Stainless Steel Extra LARGE
Do you think they are they strong and stiff enough to do woodworking and maybe small aluminum work?

2. Also on eBay I found Nema23 Stepper Motor 270oz-in 190N-cm 3.0A+Driver DQ542MA 50V 627 for only 230 EURO shipping inkl.
[EU&DE]4axis Nema23 Stepper Motor 270oz-in 190N-cm 3.0A+Driver DQ542MA 50V 627 | eBay
What is the big difference between these components and they which I can buy at OpenBuilds or Ooznest?

Regards, Benny

 

Hi
Do you have the 50mm taller plate files for fusion 360

 

I've been researching CNCs for a few months now for my first build, and instantly fell in love with the Sphinx. I'm in the final days of tweaking my design while I wait for stuff to float in from China, and had a few questions/concerns. Hopefully someone (especially Kyo) can offer some guidance.

1. After putting everything together in F360, I noticed that there's at least 170mm of unusable space in the Y axis (possibly more with a larger spindle/mount). Is this consistent with the design? I've noticed that many linear-rails based designs mitigate this problem slightly by adding an offset to the gantry plates. Would this work for an openbuilds design design or would this put too much load on the wheels? See below for a modified gantry that adds 40mm to the Y and Z.
   
   
   
   
2. I'd like to add homing switches (ideally inductive), but there don't seem to be designated places for them in the build and it doesn't look like many of the builds I've seen have them. Is anyone out there running homing switches on a Sphinx and if so, how/where did you put them.

Thanks so much for any advice and thanks for the excellent build/community.

 

Hi Brian,
Good questions. I'd love for Kyo to chime in, but in general, the further back you place your Z load, the more twist torque applied to the X beam. Not sure if I'd do it. And I have the same question regarding the limit switches. It sure would be nice for a neat and convenient way to mount them. I'm probably going to drill and tap a few holes for them on the gantry plates and elsewhere but that's for another day. I too am awaiting a few more electronic components. Also, a mini wheel on the Z shattered shortly after assembly, so it's off awaiting a replacement. Order extra few of everything if you haven't already.
The footprint of my Sphinx is 740mm wide by 650mm deep.
Cheers,
Tyler

 

I haven't mounted the z yet, but here is x and y. They will have cases over them to help aesthetically clean it up. The wires are also tucked with the channel inserts.

 

Agreed, nice way to mount switches. Copying you.... now.

 

Thank you kyo. If you don't think it would be outright disastrous, I think I'll give it a try. Here's a rendering of what it would look like and the difference in the cutting area (the blue line is stock).



Also, I'll rewatch Savvas stuff. I watched his videos a couple weeks ago and loved them, but had forgotten that he used your build as one of his inspirations.

 

Let us know how it goes!

 

I think you'll actually lose a little rigidity since the endmill will have greater torque on the gantry. How much is the question.

I should say that the torque is being applied differently.

 

Yeah, that blue line is at the center of the spindle, but I think the perspective may have just made the improvement look better than it actually is. Here's a better view that shows both the top and side profile with the modified plates:



I've increased the width to 750mm and the length is roughly stock (550ish). I've considered three modifications to increase rigidity, but I'm not sure if they would actually do anything:

1. Add a 20x40 vrail underneath the X axis cbeam. I would join it to the cbeam (likely with blind joints), and then modify the plates slightly to accommodate it. This seems like it would have two advantages. First, it would add rigidity to the longer X axis, and two, it would increase the distance between the wheels on the Z gantry which should (i think) reduce torque a little bit.
2. Add two large wheels to each plate inline with the outer small wheels. I'm 3d printing my wheels in polycarbonate, so cost isn't an issue and it seems like it couldn't hurt.
3. Finally, I've ordered a 12x12 3/8" plate to use for my side plates. It's only $12 more for the materials and the impact to the design is minimal.

I'm not an engineer, though, and any assumptions I've made here are just instincts (likely misguided instincts) more than anything else.

 

You had me worried there for a minute, but there actually doesn't appear to be much waste in the front (at least with a large router):