[kronick]

Hey all,
I recently decided to take the plunge and get myself a small-ish CNC router. I was particularly inspired by this excellent resource: Guerrilla guide to CNC machining, mold making, and resin casting But a lot of the decision to go for the generic Chinese model off of eBay came as a result of reading these forums-- I was much more prepared for what I could expect, both good and bad. So far everything seems reasonably accurate. Below is my beginning experience in case it helps someone else make a decision about whether to get a similar machien or not.

I wound up buying the CNC 6040 from eBay seller industry-village. I bought it for $1769 (a steal! It's listed at $2099 now), with free shipping-- I chose them specifically because they shipped from California. I live in San Diego and received the machine in about 3 days! That right away made buying from "China" all the more appealing. It came in two boxes that were at least 50% bubble wrap. Everything appeared undamaged as a result. I put it together the next day-- there were no instructions, but everything seemed to fit only in one place so it wasn't too hard.

When I opened it all up, I was impressed by the heft and apparent quality of the aluminum frame. It looks like the YOOCNC and all the others available from various places, though mine is completely unbranded. I was also pleasantly surprised that everything came as 120V electronics-- I purchased a large 1500W step up transformer that I hope I can return.

At first I thought I got lucky with the stock electronics, as everything seemed to work fine when I plugged it in, fired up Mach3, and used the pin/motor settings from their manual. I even fired up the VFD spindle and didn't have any immediately apparent noise issues (electronically or acoustically-- this thing is super quiet) in spite of all the cables being unshielded. But working fine isn't the same as working reliably-- first, the steppers would lock up if I left their speed at the default 2000mm/min, so I turned that down to 1000mm/min. Then I zip-tied a pen on the spindle and tried drawing some circles. This worked OK at first, but in maybe 30 minutes of operating it spontaneously lost its place and shifted a few cm to the side, then continued on as normal. At $20/endmill I figured this was going to get expensive fast.

Fortunately, I had also purchased a Gecko G540 based on the advice of many people here. I wired it up using the stock 24V power supply (though what I read says I could go higher?) and put it in the stock case. I banged my head against the wall for a while trying to get it to respond to the charge pump signal until I realized I could just disable this. I am using a [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SR2H4W/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i01"]PCMCIA parallel port card[/ame] in a circa 2006 laptop, so that may be part of the problem, but all the stepper signals work great, so I'm not worried about it too much. I hooked it up to my oscilloscope and found that the nice 3.3V square wave charge pump signal turned into a bunch of noise when connected to the G540. (Surprisingly, the 3.3V signal seemed to drive the stock electronics just fine for the most part, in spite of what others have said.) Also, the G540's provided xml file didn't work (no motor response, another couple of wasted hours), so I just used a modified version of the stock setup with the correct pins for the G540.

I'm running the VFD with manual speed control though I would like to get it hooked up via the G540 for automatic control. Haven't looked in to this yet, hope it's possible. Did I mention how quiet the spindle is? I've only seen these machines with standard air cooled rotary tools/routers for the spindles and this is a world of difference. The water pump, as others have noted, however is the loudest part of the setup and needs to be replaced.

I built a dust/sound enclosure out of one 4'x8' sheet of MDF. I also built a table/shelf system with 1" aluminum square tubing. Pictures of the whole thing attached. If anyone wants details on my enclosure, I'd be happy to make some drawings or at least provide more detailed pictures (you can probably figure it out by looking at it). I put some LED strip lighting on the top cover (which is removable, separate from the whole enclosure box which just lifts off if needed). They are four 12V strips wired in pairs in serial, so I can power them from the stock 24V supply meaning they turn on whenever the G540 has power.

I've milled a couple of tests in MDF but I'm just getting going. I have a set of small endmills (Niagra Cutter tools from Amazon Supply-- seems like reasonable prices with free 2-day shipping. I like stuff to come fast so I can replace things quickly when they inevitably break). I have a CNC drag knife from Rockcliff on the way as I want to try cutting some stencils. I probably need to mill a flat spoil board for that first (will report back with some measurements on TIR and the squareness of the spindle when I do that).

So, in other words, :wee:!

Pictures (higher res on Flickr):

[cookie28b]

Hi, I'm new here and hoping to learn a lot.
I just bought one of the 6040Z-S65J routers, paid AU$1520 delivered which I'm pretty happy with. I have just set it up with Mach3 using the parameters given. I downloaded a few G code files to run and everything was working fine. I had no tool in so nothing could break if I did something wrong. It executed the program very well. I ran a couple more programs and all went well.
The problem I have is for some reason, whether I did something or not, when I run the same programs again the actual x, y, z axis only move a tiny amount. To explain simply the first few times the Smilie face was about 5-6 inches dia but now the movements make it about 3/4". Any ideas what may have happened?
Thanks,
Steve.

[aarggh]

The problem I have is for some reason, whether I did something or not, when I run the same programs again the actual x, y, z axis only move a tiny amount. To explain simply the first few times the Smilie face was about 5-6 inches dia but now the movements make it about 3/4". Any ideas what may have happened?
Thanks,
Steve.

I replied to your other post on this issue Steve.

Cheers,
Ian

[port_huon]

Hi kronick,

I like the enclosure, consider the design stolen for my 6040 !

Does it have much effect on noise? What are you using for dust extraction?

[Ryadia]

Hey Cookie28b...
Sounds like you did some setting change and forgot to save it. All of these things need to have the distance calibrated to be accurate. I don't use Mach but somewhere in the setup dialogue you'll find how to calibrate the distance traveled. My new Masso controller uses distance traveled Vs 1 rotation of the motor. Another program by Planet CNC uses 100 mm as the calibration distance and re-adjusts it based on how far it actually traveled. Hope you get that figured out.

[KH0UJ]

Too bad your stock cnc board got replaced, that's the usual symptoms on a stock chinese board, if the temp on the heatsinks of the chips rises 60c that's where problems of offseting and axis jittering appears, but if you install just one fan on it or modify the heat sinks to a bigger one, all the problems will be gone, by the way all our china cnc machines in the shop uses only stock boards came from the unit and it's a rock solid steady and accurate, but of course i modded it with bigger heatsinks and some I only install 80mm 12v fans.

[Ryadia]

According to my exchange with Planet CNC, the Mk 1 board of theirs the Chinese copied simply cannot handle the power required to drive the stepper motors. When you add to that the pirate software most of the Chinese routers have, It's just asking for trouble and there are plenty of buyers getting it. Even the Yaskawa stepper motors used on them that are designed in Japan but made in China cannot live up to their specifications.

In hindsight, (We all have it) buying just the physical machine framework and building your own electronics would be a far better idea. At $1200 AUD for the framework and $800 for a Masso controller, $150 for steppers it is a way better machine you'd get... And you could buy a 1.5k spindle instead of replacing the 800 watt one when you find it can't handle much in Aluminum. But then as I said... Hindsight is something we all posses. I just wish I'd found this forum before buying a machine.

[KH0UJ]

According to my exchange with Planet CNC, the Mk 1 board of theirs the Chinese copied simply cannot handle the power required to drive the stepper motors. When you add to that the pirate software most of the Chinese routers have, It's just asking for trouble and there are plenty of buyers getting it. Even the Yaskawa stepper motors used on them that are designed in Japan but made in China cannot live up to their specifications.

In hindsight, (We all have it) buying just the physical machine framework and building your own electronics would be a far better idea. At $1200 AUD for the framework and $800 for a Masso controller, $150 for steppers it is a way better machine you'd get... And you could buy a 1.5k spindle instead of replacing the 800 watt one when you find it can't handle much in Aluminum. But then as I said... Hindsight is something we all posses. I just wish I'd found this forum before buying a machine.

Im pointing my comment on the OP sir because he replaced his board with a gecko G540 >>>G540 4-Axis Motor Control | GeckoDrive, another $300 expense instead of just putting a fan on it or modifying it with bigger heatsinks to stabilize the machine like this in the picture

Attachment 360230

Attachment 360232

The only thing I did to it is putting an 80mm fan then changed the motor wiring harness to bigger AWG #16 flatcord wires, so $3 for the 12VDC fan + 5W 82 ohm resistor to be able to connect it to a 24VDC power supply, then $1.50 on the wires used, im converting the currency to a US dollar, $1=50 pesos. the total cost would be under $5 with the same stability and reliability of a $300 board.

[falacncrouter]

It is amazing that you bought a mini cnc router at price of $1769, even incliuding shipping fees. Now in China the price of 6090 cnc router is at least USD4400

[Creevy7]

It looks like I have the same cnc as you, I was wondering if you have been able to find the replacement parts for it? I have been looking for stepper motors just in case mine go out and I don't know which ones to replace them with. Also I have a problem with my fan in the controller box, we just moved and when I set it up at the new garage the fan goes really slow and makes a funny sound. As I'm sure you can tell I don't know much about fixing this type of stuff please anyone help.

[Creevy7]

where can I buy the fan from?

[KH0UJ]

where can I buy the fan from?

You can buy the 80mm fan on ebay I guess, if you are not really into electronics better to buy the fan with voltage identical to your power supply thus it`s a 24VDC 80mm fan, or you can scavenge a 24VDC fan (80mm) on some old plotters, old printers,

[Creevy7]

Awesome thanks for the info on the fan. Do you have any advice on where to buy the stepper motors for backups?

[KH0UJ]

Awesome thanks for the info on the fan. Do you have any advice on where to buy the stepper motors for backups?

I never worry about my steppers, it can last a lifetime on me I guess, it can easily be rewinded too if it burns, but on my opinion as long as you dont exceed the voltage required on it it can never be toasted, on a worse case scenario I can rewind it under an hour, it had only 4 poles with very minimal magnet wires, right now we have 24 stepper motors working simultaneously on a daily basis, non of them got burned since day one, and it`s been almost 3 years

[Creevy7]

Great, do you know the best website or somewhere to troubleshoot when something goes wrong with the cnc, like I said I don't know a lot about the electrical aspect, so when something goes wrong it takes me forever to fix.

[Creevy7]

After moving my machine across town, I hooked everything back up and the spindle spins when I turn it on but when I try to use the keyboard arrows it does not move the spindle in the x, y, or z directions. I cant figure out what to do, any suggestions?

[borgsteam]

Im pointing my comment on the OP sir because he replaced his board with a gecko G540 >>>G540 4-Axis Motor Control | GeckoDrive, another $300 expense instead of just putting a fan on it or modifying it with bigger heatsinks to stabilize the machine like this in the picture





The only thing I did to it is putting an 80mm fan then changed the motor wiring harness to bigger AWG #16 flatcord wires, so $3 for the 12VDC fan + 5W 82 ohm resistor to be able to connect it to a 24VDC power supply, then $1.50 on the wires used, im converting the currency to a US dollar, $1=50 pesos. the total cost would be under $5 with the same stability and reliability of a $300 board.

If you have someone not quite as knowledgeable on electronics, another solution is to use a 12v fan but use an external powersupply for just that fan and just turn it on as soon as you plan to turn on the rest of the system, so it is running constantly while the unit is on, maybe leave it running after the fact a little while too. bigger heatsinks can also be swapped out instead for liquid cooling with far greater efficiency in a much smaller package too, thus allowing you to keep things the same size, and spacing, I looked and it seems there is plenty of room to expand upward though, and putting the fan down below with a small riser to sit the whole controller box on, so it is pulling air from inside the case out of the vents on the bottom through those heatsinks would be a good way to go too. Right now I am working on my mill to get it using a laser and later a 3D printer head assembly, as well as using a breakout board to hook up step and direction input from another source, as I have one of the 15w blue laser cutters and its electronics, have put water cooler on a block behind the little UV laser (2500mW) for now, that I hooked up to my 2nd relay, by punching two holes in the back and installing banana jacks through, and made a wire to connect the power of a DC 12v wall supply, that when the relay is on, it supplies power to my laser but no PWM like I need for that bigger more powerful blue. additionally I have 3 azteeg pro 3x (name? its the controller that lets you control 8 motors from for a 5 filament printer head) and want to allow it to supply power for printer extruders, and inputs as well as outputs for controlling the cnc mill's motors using the supplied driver board thus the need for that breakout board,

also this lets me use repetier host which is actually free unlike their hacked together package of limited planet CNC controller software and copied board. (dont need the dongel either, but if anyone knows of a way to use it with other software, I am all ears, a good way to send data to it, via repetier host would be nice, but I would need to know what the USB to parallel port pint converter chip is in there to find drivers for it.)