188 replies to this topic

[Darrin]

Hi John, I use turbocad which you can pick up for $45-$75 depending on the edition. You can draw in cambam but it doesn't have a lot of cad functionality. It may be fine to get started with but you may end up wanting more. When you get a moment, I'd enjoy seeing photos of your machine.

[John Cutburth]

I use Rhino 3d to model does it output gcode or will I need another program?

[John Cutburth]

I am looking at getting nema 17 motors is 1.8 deg ok or do I need 0.9 deg?

[Darrin]

I am looking at getting nema 17 motors is 1.8 deg ok or do I need 0.9 deg?

1.8 is perfect, that is what I'm using. With microstepping you can have 0.9 or less.

[Darrin]

I use Rhino 3d to model does it output gcode or will I need another program?

I don't know anything about Rhino, but my guess is that if it isn't CAM then you'll need another program that will let you create your machining profiles.

[Darrin]

I made a few wooden gears with my machine over the weekend and shot some video of the process. Here is a 5 minute clip showing the capabilities of my Netduino powered CNC Machine!

CNC Video - Making Gears

[John Cutburth]

I made a few wooden gears with my machine over the weekend and shot some video of the process. Here is a 5 minute clip showing the capabilities of my Netduino powered CNC Machine!

CNC Video - Making Gears

That looks good. How much time did it take to cut all 3 gears?

I wonder if the drill mount could take the strain of the vacuum hose mounted to it?

[Darrin]

Thanks John. The large gear took 12 minutes to cut (with tool changes) and the smaller ones took around 4. Yes the mount will support the vacuum hose. One of my next upgrades will be a built-in dust extraction hood around the cutter.

[John Cutburth]

Darrin What is the size of your machine?

[Darrin]

Darrin
What is the size of your machine?

It has a working area of 12 x 14 x 4 inches.

[Fred]

Interesting work, guys. I'm about to build a CNC mill but have chosen to adapt a Proxxon MF70 (for PCB milling, etc.) Not the largest work area, but looks like a popular conversion. I'll start by using Mach3 on a PC to control it so I can get it up and running and test the rest of the build. Then I'll definitely be looking at ditching the PC for a microcontroller.

[John Cutburth]

I ordered my motors and drivers so I can start playing with the code. After seeing the videos posted by Darrin I am starting to think the shapeoko is too small. What issues will I have with a bigger working area over a small one?

[Darrin]

I ordered my motors and drivers so I can start playing with the code. After seeing the videos posted by Darrin I am starting to think the shapeoko is too small. What issues will I have with a bigger working area over a small one?

More expense of course, and maybe a bit more difficulty achieving full rigidity. But overall it should be the same as working with a smaller machine.

[John Cutburth]

I have my Motors and the drivers and breadboards are on there way. So is it just a matter of wiring them together or is something else needed. looking at the Stepper Driver Arduino Shield there is some extra capacitors in there. This design has almost the same pin out as you have other than the 4th axis is where you have you Limit's

[John Cutburth]

Also what are you using for the relay switch?

[Darrin]

I have my Motors and the drivers and breadboards are on there way. So is it just a matter of wiring them together or is something else needed. looking at the Stepper Driver Arduino Shield there is some extra capacitors in there. This design has almost the same pin out as you have other than the 4th axis is where you have you Limit's

Congratulations, that's exciting! I have just wired them together, there aren't any other components involved in my setup other than a few parts for an external LED (resistors, transistor and LED).

I use one of the netduino pins to drive the "enable" pins on the drivers to keep them cool when they're not in use. 2 pins for Step/Dir for each driver. I also have 2 pins for stepper resolution, wired in parallel to all 3 drivers. A pin for an Emergency stop button, the other side of the button goes to ground. Same setup for 3 limit switches.

I'm not yet using a Relay for the router, but that will come soon. I plan to just use a transistor, resistors and a relay, and maybe an opto-isolator (in place of the transistor).

[John Cutburth]

So what is a good power source? Looks like you are using a Computer power supply.

[Darrin]

So what is a good power source? Looks like you are using a Computer power supply.

Yes I'm using a computer power supply and it works great. If you need more power you may want to consider something bigger.

[John Cutburth]

Yes I'm using a computer power supply and it works great. If you need more power you may want to consider something bigger.

Looks like you are connecting to a floppy connector so are you using the +5v or the +12v and are you sharing one source with all your Drivers?

[Darrin]

Looks like you are connecting to a floppy connector so are you using the +5v or the +12v and are you sharing one source with all your Drivers?

I'm using the 12v line to drive the steppers and the PC fans. The 5v power for the drivers is coming from the Netduino board