ChadRat6458 published a new build:

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I got the sphinx Y axis plates from chrisclub1 on ebay.

The Y axis is the sphinx using 1000mm c-bean and lead screw.

The X and Z axis is the C-Beam XL stuff. 1000mm c-beam and lead screw

MDF from home depot. I cut into 2 squares bigger than 1000mm each side. Glue them together. Cut them into 1000mm squares.

 

Playing around with the electronics.

I got the Longs motor kit off of ebay. 3 Axis Nema 23 Stepper Motor 425oz-in 3.0A& Driver DM542A CNC Router kit. I also ordered a 185oz nema 23 for the Z axis and an extra DM542A for the Z.

I got a cheap Dell pc desktop. I got the Mesa 5i25/7i76 plug and play kit for LinuxCNC. This guy has a couple of good blogs on how to set it up.

Mesa Setup Part 1: Hardware | CNC Table Build

Install the mesa 5i25 card in the Dell. I wiped the hard drive and loaded LinuxCNC.

It was pretty easy to get things moving. My last build, I used a regular BOB c10. It took a week of troubleshooting in the LinuxCNC forums to get it to work right.

Here are some pics and a video. Also in the pics is a step down card. It is used to supply 12 volts to the field power of the Mesa 7i76.

Next step is to mount the motors.

 

Got some work done on the control box.

 

Someone commented on this on the facebook page

"I'd be moving those drivers further apart with individual fans for each as they're going to get pretty hot and a surefire way to create issues within your system is to overheat your drivers. Also, I'd be grabbing some EMI Ferrite Filters with 2 per wire over 12 inches to stop interference from affecting your system."

Do the drivers really get that hot? I don't think I have ever seen a fan on each driver. I do plan to put a one fan on the box. I am not sure what a EMI ferrite filter is or if it is needed.