[Trulsen]

Hi guys.

I just pulled the trigger on the Carving CNC 6040 kit with stepper motors included. I choose not to buy this with the electronics because of all the problems/troubleshooting i have read on this forum.

I will probably buy the Gecko 540 and a 48V PSU. I have found a couple of interesting combos on ebay and on some other shops around the world.

An example is this combo: G540 Stepper Controller Package (No motors included) [CC-01] - US$350.00 : Homann Designs!, The preferred CNC Component Supplier. It doesnt say if this is a 110 or 230 voltage package, but i can see a mark on the photo stating 200-230V i think so I bet im safe there.

The spindle I want to use is the Kress 1050W, and i have found a couple of these as well on ebay. Also found a clamp for the Kress and i hope I can manage to make a fastening point on the Z axis for this one. It should not be an issue.

For me, as far as i can see, the Kress will be a easier solution not have to think about water cooling and such things. The minus is that i am not able to set the speed for an accurate RPM. But I guess it will work reasonably good for a hobby-artist like me!

So, there my knowledge stops so far.

Will also try to find an old PC, not a laptop, to use with this machine. I will use the Mach3 for running the machine but for CAD and such I am not sure what to go for but thats a minor worry!


I have also read something about bad cables to the steppers? Are the cables winded, or is it possible to change them out to shielded ones?


As you can see, i have a lot of challenges to get this to work since my knowledge is on a minimum stage at this point. But, with a little help from the CNC community, and some reading and studying i WILL get this to work! Thanks in adcance for any help provided.

[Trulsen]

No hints or tips regarding my machine? Any suggestions or improvements before buying more components?

What about the shielded cables, are they necessary to upgrade? :-)

[Qubert]

I can't speak specifically to the Carving-CNC machine, but I did buy a very similar 6040 off of eBay.

The mechanicals seem to be quite good. Like you, I use a Gecko G540 and a 48V power supply. I bought mine with the control box but never even tried it out as the reputation of the electronics is poor and the quality looks marginal at best.

I did use the supplied stepper cables and had problems with jerky steppers due to interference. I switch to shielded cables and the problem went away.

I have a water cooled spindle which I cool via a small radiator designed for computer cpu's.

All in all, I'm very happy with the machine.

[Trulsen]

I can't speak specifically to the Carving-CNC machine, but I did buy a very similar 6040 off of eBay.

The mechanicals seem to be quite good. Like you, I use a Gecko G540 and a 48V power supply. I bought mine with the control box but never even tried it out as the reputation of the electronics is poor and the quality looks marginal at best.

I did use the supplied stepper cables and had problems with jerky steppers due to interference. I switch to shielded cables and the problem went away.

I have a water cooled spindle which I cool via a small radiator designed for computer cpu's.

All in all, I'm very happy with the machine.

Thanks! Is it any special cables I need, or can I use someone like these? 22 AWG Four Core sheilded Stepper Motor Cable [CB-09] - US$3.70 : Homann Designs!, The preferred CNC Component Supplier
Are they soldered to the steppers, or are they screwed? Have never opened a stepper motor so I am just asking so I dont get any surprises when I receive the machine.

Will also buy a cable from the Gecko to my computer, and i hope this will be sufficient. Havent read something about bad cables needs to be of a special type between those: 3 metre DB25 Male to DB25 Male printer port cable [CB-14] - US$19.80 : Homann Designs!, The preferred CNC Component Supplier

Emergency switch: Auxilliary Latching Emergency Stop Switch [SW-09] - US$13.90 : Homann Designs!, The preferred CNC Component Supplier


Have also been thinking about limit switches but there I am totally new so that require som reading before I start with that project


Is there anything I have forgotten now?