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Nice build Freeride!

Sorry to dig up an old thread, I just stumbled upon your build and had a few questions:

1. What are the maximum cutting dimensions?

2. How do you tighten the z axis...

Thanks again, I am looking into the g540.

Since it has a parallel breakout, shall I assume that you use Mach 3 as well? I will certainly plan on using it for my next iteration.

Great info!

I had a few more questions while I look:
1. If the spindle is water cooled, what kind of water pump do I need? Would a simple aquarium pump work?
2. If the spindle is air cooled, do...

Thanks for the tips Ian.

Can you recommend one from...eBay? Any brands I should look at? Or maybe other places to buy from?

Thanks again

Hello all,

I have finished my first CNC and had a couple questions about spindles. I am currently using a Dewalt DW660 (30K RPM) to cut wood and some plastic. It seems to work just fine, except...

Hi all,

I am using Pycam to mill out some simple 2.5D profiles. It works, but I am not happy with the order/toolpath. Here is an example.

I am milling out two circles (from a piece of wood,...

Interesting. Well I suppose I will just use it till it dies then.

I chose it because it was not the same layout as the infamous 4-axis-all-in-one with a parallel port. I also wanted to use my...

1. Thanks for the advise. I increased the current to 1A (for the z axis) and that seemed to fix the problem.

2. I used 0.5A initially because the motors seemed to work just fine with it. I guess...

Figured some of the problem, not the solution. I found the issue is with my stepper motor settings. I am moving the post to that forum.

MOVED:...

Hi all. I am having some trouble with the Z-response of my DIY CNC. I initially thought it was a CAM issue, but after some more testing I now think it is the motor settings. I guess my Z-axis...

Hi All,

I built my own CNC and am controlling it via GRBL. I generate my gcode in PyCam and noticed that the safety height seems to change the deeper I cut....? Let me explain. I can cut 1/4"...

Thanks Laurent.

Yes I am still interested, over the past week I have spent several hours trying out various CAD/CAM combinations. I think I have settled on PyCam and a nice program called...

I will look into those. I normally hate using "free" versions of software since it is built with limitations. I may be persuaded to purchase something if it truly removed all headaches (which I have...

Hello. I recently made my first CNC and I am using an arduino+GRBL to control it.

I am looking for a good program or combination of a few programs that allow me to sketch/design something in 2D...

I sat down today to try and GRBL configured properly for my drivers and motors. I think I made some progress, but I feel like it should be smoother and have less vibration than it does.

Here...

Yes my board does have decay modes and various dip switches.

Got some time today to play with the GRBL settings, motors and driver boards.
Recap: Here are the components I am working with:...

Perhaps the movement isn't choppy. I would describe the movement this way: The steps are very pronounced, that is to say that I physically hear the "stepping".

Here are the settings I used in the...

I got a hold of a different set of stepper drivers (some tb6560 singles off amazon) they have a higher current rating, 3.5A so I can run my motors at 2A. First try and they seem to work. Movement...

Bummer, good luck finding them!

After the issues I had, I contacted the vendor and he was more than willing to help me out and take a look at the drivers and shield. I sent them back to him...

Tried your code, though I changed the pins to 3 and 6 because thats what I understood the y to be as shown here:
196588

The motor did not move, just stuttered for a little while. The stepper...

Understood.

I have no problem flashing a different sketch to my arduino, I am simply not 100% sure of the pin settings or the other couple settings :)

Honestly, I figured the grbl would just be...

Well I think one of my stepper drivers died. Previously it made the motor "try to spin", now it does not do anything. I suspect it is dead because one of my other stepper drivers still "works" :(...

UPDATE:

Questioning my wiring, I began measuring the resistance of the coils. So far it appears that my wiring was correct, each half loop measures the same, around 1.6 ohms.

I uploaded some...

I think I will try another power supply. I have a 5V 6A supply that I will try out tonight. It should be enough if I wire up just one driver and motor...right? The motors are rated at 3V 2A.

Thanks for the advice, here are my results:

I unplugged all motors and stepper drivers except for 1 (leaving the yaxis motor and stepper driver).

Switched wiring to half coils.

I loaded the...

I finally got everything wired up. For reference, I am using the following:

Nema 23 motors from Sparkfun:
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10847

GRBL Arduino shield from Reactive substance:...

Sorry to resurrect this thread.

I am finally ready to test out my electronics, my question is regarding the stepper motors and the power supply I have. The motors are rated at 3V 2A per phase, I...

Thanks for the reply Rinthesun.

I cannot say that I "approve" or suggest the Polou drivers or the arduino shield I ordered. I simply preferred the usb approach for a first try and my options were...

Doorknob,

I too ordered that board 2 days ago. I also ordered those Polou drivers from the site (though I did not opt for the super cool black edition :) ).

I had contacted the vendor and he...

If the motors are 2A per coil, and I were to run them as bipolar, then each motor needs 4A? If they were run as unipolar, then each motor draws 8A?

What happens if I limit the current draw to 2A...