Hello all.. Im new to the cnc world. I have my machine mostly built not onto mounting the motors/setting them up. Im using a bb and have downloaded ob control (maybe going to ugcs later). I will be using f360 for design/cam for now. is there an easy calculator for figuring out steps per mm? im using 1605 ball screw on my x/y and a t8 lead screw from ob on my z. my motors are 200 steps/rev. i left the bb at the default setting 1/8micro step. any help would be great. also can i change the units to inch? and another thing. with having two motors on the y axis how do i ensure they are both getting the same voltage so they run parallel?
Hi @baum welcome to OpenBuilds and to the CNC hobby - Check out the super handy axis calculators built right into the grbl settings of OpenBuilds Control - Also be sure to fine tune your machine with the awesome axis calibration wizards - The BlackBox comes with a Y2 axis (slave) along with the Y axis this allows two motors to be connected to the same Y axis output driving signals, so no worries there. BlackBox Docs
The built in calculators doesnt cater for ballscrews but the math is easy Steps per revolution = Steps per rotation (usually 200) * Microsteps (8 by default for Blackbox) = 1600 Screwpitch = 5mm (16mm dia, 5mm pitch for a 1605): = 5 Calculated steps per mm = Steps per revolution / Screwpitch: = 1600/5 = 320 steps per mm Then use the Calibration Wizards under Wizards and Tools menu to fine tune if needed. Each step pulse moves each motor one microstep. No need to match current settings, just follow the standard current setting procedure on docs.openbuilds.com/blackbox (too little current and it will stall under load, too much current and things start overheating) Inch modes are supported throughout CONTROL and Grbl
Thanks for the info Sorry when i said voltage. i guess i meant adjusting the screws for the amperage (if needed). Do i need to adjust both the y and the y2 screws or just the y one?
Both, but again, not nearly as sensitive as you think both don't need to be exactly the same either BlackBox has better engineered current adjustment (adjusted scale) and better drivers, no need to overthink that In fact, the default setting as it comes out of the box is good for most NEMA23s already
