Kyo published a new build:

Read more about this build...

 

@Anthony Bolgar Thanks, I look forward to following your build as well. I do not recall hearing of the Super Gerbil board. Thanks for the heads up I will be looking at it in more detail tonight. I do enjoy playing around with different controllers. From a quick glance it looks like a nice option. I still need to order my Dewalt router ( so glad to see this at Open builds now ) some plastic cable trunking, Limit switches and misc cable / wire and connectors. I am planning to start on the frame this Sun or Mon depending on my schedule.

@Tracy Ranson Definitely, I have built a number of controllers using steel nema enclosures. it really is the way to go I tend to pick them up as I find good deals. Automationdirect, Amazon, Ebay, Galco, Auction warehouses ect. While I don't mind old enclosures I do stay away from boxes with prior life's and hole cut outs as they tend to be a pain to work around. Here is a good deal on a new nema enclosure (with free shipping to boot) the same size I am working with now 16x20x6. No matter where you find your enclosure always make sure to grab a back plate as well. It is often sold separately.

 

Thanks, yeah the boxes have so many uses and are great for organizing. Definitely much cheaper to go to your local HF if you have one. They have coupons for $4-5.99 sometimes as well. Most of the time I just order it, or plan a day trip to hit up the store in a bigger town. #1Kpopulationtownssuck lol

 

It depends on if you sourced your 1M leadscrew from openbuilds. If so you should be good to go as openbuilds provide a bit of extra length to the leadscrew. With a screw that is exactly 1M long you have a couple options depending on what you want to do. You can shorten your base and X-axis extrusions to the needed length or leave the X-axis at 1M long and mount the motor to the plate using 6mm stand offs. This will place the coupler on the inside and leave that end of the screw supported by the motor/coupler..

 

Awesome, I will make sure to take some good photos / videos of the controller progress. I just placed my order for the cable track and other misc. Items I was missing for the control cabinet. Those are some 16mm Aviation Connectors I will be using for limit switches and probe input.

 

I hope everyone had a great holiday and happy new year ! Not much progress on the build front. I have tried ( unsuccessfully ) for the last couple of weeks to remove a nasty bend in my X-axis lead screw I did not notice till after assembly. So my machine has been torn apart and put back together a number of times as of late. In the end I ditched the 8mm leadscrew. I mostly got tired of trying to fix the bend lol.

Here is what I came up with. I still need to tear the machine apart and reassemble everything, however I needed it to be at a certain point for prototyping the new parts. Original x-axis Nema 23 now with a 20 tooth 3GT pulley, two smooth idler wheels mounted to a new custom rear x-axis plate. I am using a 3d printed drop in place belt clamp that is mirrored for left / right placement. The one side gets mounted secure to the y-axis side plate using default mounting threads. The opposite side requires the belt to be clamped in place first and then the same mounting points are used to tension the belt. Belt in question is a 3GT 9mm wide belt. Everything mounts cleanly inside the center track of the c-beam linear actuator.