DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
I am considering the CNCRP 4x8 Pro or a machine with a 5 foot gantry with a 4 foot length and am trying to determine my options for the Electronics:
I have 25 years experience assembling computers, networks and working on large format printers so putting this together should not be an issue, but this is my first time putting something like this together and I have a small business that will depend upon its operation.
My options are the PNP that is ready to go, the DIY kit or just self sourcing the parts.
- What are the differences between the PNP parts and the DIY parts?
- What will I gain or lose by choosing one vs the other?
- What kind of problems can I expect to have with the DIY kit?
- If I try to self source the parts am I really going to save some money?
- Are there parts I could use that would be better than those in the DIY kit or equivalent but lower cost?
- Does anyone have a list of vendors and parts that might be a good alternative?
- If I self source the parts is there a reason I should not go with the Leadshine MX4660 drive
I really would like to save as much money on this project as possible but not sacrifice the reliability of the machine.
Thanks for the input!
BG
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
If you can afford it I would highly recommend the PNP option. I built my first CNC as a kit and was comfortable putting the Pro together, but decided to get the PNP and I'm very happy I did. The quality is top notch, the stuff just flat works out of the box, and any questions I had were answered quickly by their super support. All I had to do was follow the instructions, hook up the wires, and everything came up working and calibrated ( they have pre-built profiles ). Took me maybe an hour vs lots and lots of hours and I have support.
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
Quote:
What are the differences between the PNP parts and the DIY parts?
The P&P uses a custom breakout board, and I think Leadshine digital drives. It also comes with an ethernet Smooth Steppper (ESS)
The DIY kit uses Gecko drives with a PMDX breakout board.
Quote:
What will I gain or lose by choosing one vs the other?
You save a lot of time with the P&P kit. It can take a considerable amount of time to put a control box together yourself.
You lose flexibility with the P&P system. With the DIY it's easier to add features.
Quote:
What kind of problems can I expect to have with the DIY kit?
Depends on your abilities.
Quote:
If I try to self source the parts am I really going to save some money?
You can save some money sourcing everything yourself, or get better components for a similar cost, when compared to the DIY Kit.
Quote:
Are there parts I could use that would be better than those in the DIY kit or equivalent but lower cost?
With DIY CNC, you generally get what you pay for. You can probably get better compnents for the same cost, or get similar components for less money.
Quote:
If I self source the parts is there a reason I should not go with the Leadshine MX4660 drive
A couple reasons. One, if yougo with 7 amp Nema 34 motors, the MX4660 will not give you full power. And you are limited to 60V. Individual drives will let you run higher voltages, which equals higher speeds.
Second, going with a good breakout board will give you a lot more inputs and outputs, if you need them.
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
Hard question to answer since it is really a subjective thing that is up to you. But for reference, I'm pretty handy with those types of things as well. Knowing what I know (and realizing what I don't!), I appreciate that there are tons of little things that have to be figured out as you go, problems to find a solution for as you build, etc. That's why I chose their setup. I have very limited shop time and I would rather use that time making stuff rather than building the machine. Hard to make that decision as I love to learn and tinker and enjoy the rewards of figuring things out and making them work...hopefully! And I am just a hobbyist, so that's a different perspective too. I have no regrets. Actually, reading some of the posts about folks building their own make me darn glad I didn't try it!
I will admit that I am still not thrilled with the ESS. It seems a little flaky. The other day, I got the dreads "Run out of data" message just when I was running my PARK script! But then a couple of days ago, it ran an engraving code for three hours perfectly! Go figure.
Tony
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
I would highly recommend a UC300ETH and UB1 breakout board over the ESS. This works with Mach3 as well, but also gives you the option to use UCCNC, which is better than Mach3 imo.
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
Looks interesting. How hard would that be to hook up to a CNCRP setup?
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
Depends on how much you know about electronics. You'd need to get rid of the breakout boards from CNCRP, and rewire everything to the UB1.
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
Im a fan of the DIY. I did my research and decide on what components I Like such as motors, controllers , drives, software etc. I Have no problem soldering and finding my way around a schematic. I too like the UB1 even though I dont own one. A nice feature it has is led's for everything, that will help you troubleshoot very easily. When I built my controls I did one thing at a time and tested it completely and in software and kept going till done.
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
On my Benchtop PRO 2436 I used Leadhine 86HS45D and Leadhine MX4660
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
275 IPM my power supply set at 52v
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
I chose leadshine as they are a real brand. Their products are copied, cloned and sold on ebay , so far no issues, the drives appear to be well made, good documentation. the first drive I purchased was a DM856 for testing a few years ago And I liked it. I have not tried any other drives only gecko and leadshine
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
And for Power supplies I use and like Mean Well. limit switches I use N/O cheap proximity sensors from ebay
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
I think one of the major benefits of the DIY route is that you'll learn quite a bit more compared to almost nothing with a PNP setup. It's really not that difficult to assemble, set up and wire the components. When something goes wrong or you have an issue (and you will at some point), you'll be much more knowledgeable and likely to be able to troubleshoot it yourself. If you're new to CNC machining and CAD, then the CAD CAM learning curve will be the steeper challenge. I agree with the UC300 or UC400 recommendation. Ethernet is the way to go and having more than one port for another breakout board can be beneficial, even if now you think it isn't necessary. I've used Mach for years and since changing to UCCNC am glad I did.
Take a look at some of the DIN rail components like the 5v, 12v, & 24v power supplies, terminal blocks etc. They can really make things cleaner, neater and very easy to mount, wire and work on. Price wise, not much difference. Once you get into the larger DC power supplies (48v 10amp and up) the DIN rail mounted ones can start to get a bit pricey compared to the others but not unreasonably so.
Re: DIY Electronics vs PNP vs self sourcing
The PNP has better protection built in for the controller, (as opposed to using the leadshine controller) so you don't have to worry about burning it out if there are problems.
Don't ask why I know this.
