[Ozinus]

Well the first CNC Router that I built was Ugly, out of alignment and adjustment, Slow and flexed too much.
But now since finding this site I have a renewed urge to build one that is more acurate and more asthetically pleasing.

I have Jgro's plans and I am using them as a guide (Thank you Jgro).

Parts:
24v 12a Power Supply
Dave Kush (Buildyouridea.com) Arcsin Controller
270 oz nema 23 Steppers
Lead screws are 3/8-16 (Temporary)

I will try to post some pictures as I go, as you will see I am not much of a wood worker but I am getting better and I am enjoying it too.

[Jason Marsha]

Good start. Keep the pictures coming. After running 1/4" - 20 threaded rod on my JGRO I am considering changing to 3/8 - 16. Let us know how it works out.

Jason

[CJL5585]

I have followed the design of Dave's controller. Keep us posted as to how you like it etc.

Jerry

[Ozinus]

Got a Chance tonight to cut some more MDF for the Gantry, Also won some THK linear rails on e-bay which I am going to use on the Z axis.
Jason- I am using the 3/8-16 just to start I may try 1/2-13 if the steppers are powerful enough.
Jerry - I like Dave's controller though I have only spun the motors using the joystick so far, I am hoping that it will spin up the motors fast enough to get reasonable speed

Mark

[Ozinus]

Got a bit more done today X axis runs quite freely and I am happy with it, of course the rails will have to be adjusted so they a parallel with the cutting table. The Gantry seems to be fairly rigid however I am going to add some bracing vertically on the outsides of the Gantry sides (Just to help).
I am still waiting for the THK Linear rails to come from e-bay that will hold up building the Z axis.

Photos Below are just work in progress (Excuse the mess didn't clean up before I got the camera)

Ozinus

[mvaughn]

Parts:
24v 12a Power Supply
Dave Kush (Buildyouridea.com) Arcsin Controller
270 oz nema 23 Steppers
Lead screws are 3/8-16 (Temporary)

Oz,

I don't think you'll have any trouble with a larger lead screw. I'm running 1/2 -10 Acme with 100oz steppers and a 24v 4.5a power supply. I'm able to get 60 ipm reliably.

How do you rate your experience withe the Arcsin Controller plans? I built his original pikeresque plans and it seems to work great so far. However the plans weren't detailed. All I got was a PCB layout and a parts list when I ordered it. Your contoller box looks very nice. Did the plans describe how to build it?

[Ozinus]

The Arcsin comes completly assembled and tested from Dave the quality and workmanship is first rate, Dave aslo sells a kit which contains the joystick and logic power supplies, The manual that comes with it is quite detailed and Dave is also quick to respond to any e-mails if you have questions.

I have mocked up the X & Y and I am in the process of stripping it back down to glue and paint it, once my linear rails arrive I will finish the Z then I will be able to test the Arcsin and evaluate it, as I had said I spun the motors using the joystick and it seemed to work flawlessly.

Ozinus

As for the box I just assembled it out of a steel electrical box that I had laying around, once the machine is up and running I will cut out a new one that looks a bit more professional.

[Ozinus]

Oz,

I don't think you'll have any trouble with a larger lead screw. I'm running 1/2 -10 Acme with 100oz steppers and a 24v 4.5a power supply. I'm able to get 60 ipm reliably.

How do you rate your experience withe the Arcsin Controller plans? I built his original pikeresque plans and it seems to work great so far. However the plans weren't detailed. All I got was a PCB layout and a parts list when I ordered it. Your contoller box looks very nice. Did the plans describe how to build it?

I tested the speed of my y axis before pulling it apart and I measured 32 ipm at max speed of the steppers with Daves controller using the manual joystick so I am assuming that if you are getting 60 ipm with 1/2-10 your motors are spinning faster than mine and I also think that I will have to cut at a much slower speed than the 34 ipm so I can maintain torque on the motors, I will be more informed once I have the controller hooked up to the computer.

Still waiting on linear rails from e-bay he finally answered my e-mails and said he has sent them today (1 week after I paid for them) some people are just slow I guess.
I found that my y axis bearing trucks are not quite parallel with the rails so I have shimmed the narrow side with some brass shim and they are now aligned much better, I will definatly be cutting out my next machine with the cnc to avoid these misalignment problems.

Ozinus

[mvaughn]

Oz,

For me, a boost in voltage with a better quality power supply made all the difference in the world. I started with a PC power supply from a scrap computer that could barely spin one motor at 15 ipm speeds with the 1/2 - 10 tpi leads.

Hooking up more than one motor would trip the internal overload protection of the power supply and shut it down.

I purchased a 24 volt PS rated at 4.5 amps and have gotten much better performance and speed. I don't think my current MDF machine could handle cutting at 60 ipm, but for rapids it's no problem.

Have you checked to see what voltage and amps are reaching your steppers. They should be able to spin a steeper lead screw at lower RPM to get better speeds. The torque will drop off at higher RPM's, if you lowered the RPM's and went with a 10 tpi lead screw you might have good results.

-Mark

[Ozinus]

Mark

My power supply is a Condor 24v 12amp on my amp meter it draws about 2 amps while running the motor and the voltage stays at 24.

I will try it out with the allthread and the next I will try to get some ball screws

Ozinus

[spalm]

Looking Good!!

Just a few comments.

You are already set up for 3/8 inch lead screws. Why not switch to 3/8 inch 12 turn ACME? You will get a 25% increase in speed and they are more efficient. Speed is always great to have when you need it; (just like a car) you don’t have to use it, or don’t run it fast but it keeps the lead screws from whipping because the RPMs are lower. It is pretty cheap from MSC and they have nuts too for the bearings. You will have to make new anti-backlash nuts though. I was getting burn marks on some cherry when making rosettes until I cranked it up.

I noticed that you have a modification with the side bars running the length of the machine. These would be a great place to add a center support (or more) for the long pipe.

Keep it up,
Steve

[Ozinus]

Painted and partially assembled X & Y moving under stepper power, The guy I have bought the linear rails for my Z is super slow, He said he sent them Thurs and would send me a Tracking # on Friday but he did not, I will definately not be buying anything from him again.
I do hope that they are sent and that I will get them this week so I can finish my Z axis.

I have attached a couple of photo's, Not very good quality because of the light in my Garage and the clouds from Hurricane Dennis.

Ozinus

[Ozinus]

Finally got my Linear rails today can't wait to get out in the garage and fit them one hold up I didn't think about is the metric treaded holes in the slides a trip to lowes in the morning will solve that little delay.

Happy to be getting closer to completion.

Ozinus

[Jason Marsha]

The machine looks great in that color. Post some pictures when you get the linear rails on.

Jason

[Ozinus]

I am just a boy at heart I couldn't wait to make dust so it is assembled however I have not trued the axis yet nor painted the last few parts, But I did set up TurboCNC and cut out the sign in the picture the cutter that I used was a cheap Harbor freight item that flexed bad so the resulting cuts are not very smooth, new routing bits should change that, it's now time to true it all up and cut out some braces to strenthen and align the Y axis rails as they do flex even under the light cut loads that I did today.

As for Dave Kush's Arcsin Controller I cannot fault it at the moment after I have used it more I will be able to pass better judgement on it.

Ozinus

[Jason Marsha]

You still got a fairly decent cut in terms of the start/finish point of each letter being aligned.
What speed (ipm) did you cut at?

While using the small spiral cutters (1/32" to 1/16") I had to reduce my speed from 30 ipm (750 mmm), while cutting designs in pine and plywood, to less than 12 ipm (305 mmm) in order to cut purpleheart (a dense tropical hardwood which burns the bit if the router's rpm is too high)

Keep in mind a downcut bit will leave a smoother top edge than an upcut bit but it does not clear the bottom of the cut of sawdust like the upcut bit.

Jason

[Ozinus]

I think I cut at 8 imp but the long 1/8 cutter was just HSS which flexes pretty bad today I bought a 1/4 up spiral carbide bit and hope to give it a try today sometime, Bye the way my test piece was MDF and I am guessing that the rpm was too high for it, so I will try some other settings for rpm and travel speed to find a happy medium. (So much to learn so little time)

I set the machine to drill a 3" X3" grid of holes which I have tapped for hold downs I measured them with a tape measure and they appear to be right on.

I have now hooked in my Router speed controller so I can now vary the spindle rpm, however the harbor freight cutout tool is not overly powerful but should be ok for some light cuts.

Ozinus

[Jason Marsha]

The carbide bit should give a better cut. If you can, get a downcut bit and see the difference. Solid carbide is the only way to go when cutting mdf as it just eats up HSS bits.
Keep the cut pics coming.

Jason

[ger21]

Downcut bits will run hotter and get dull quicker, because the chips have no where to go. They will give a cleaner top edge on the cut, though.

[Jason Marsha]

That's right ger21, I forgot to mention that.
In order to extend the life of my bits when cutting purpleheart I have been using the inhibit feature of mach2 to to make a shallow initial cut instead of pushing the bit too hard and then end up burning it with high rpms.

Jason