[Michaelofburien]

And here is the first axis (Y) being driven with my drill motor. The front bearing fixture is still loose in this video to insure nothing binds.

[hamthis]

Looking good so far

[Michaelofburien]

Front stepper mount.

[Michaelofburien]

Ok so I got the Gantry built and installed. Got the X axis rails installed and squared up and the X Axis lead screw and motor mounted up.

[aarggh]

That's a great job so far Michael, and a really good spread of the rails for your x axis, will help make your z very sturdy! Too often you see very close x axis rails and a z hanging two foot in the air, just doesn't work that way.

cheers, Ian

[Michaelofburien]

X Axis test - YouTube

[Michaelofburien]

All 3 Axis complete.
Z Axis - YouTube

First power on test.
Feel the power. - YouTube

[Michaelofburien]

Wired and all 3 axis run on their own.
It's alive! - YouTube

[aarggh]

Good going Michael, just think, you're now able to destroy stuff with greater precision and much faster! ;-)

cheers, Ian

[Michaelofburien]

Ok so now I've got almost everything wired. Only things left are the limit/home switches. As I understand it, it is preferred to use the NC circuit for the limits and the 3 NO circuits on the Negative side of the Axis as the home. So I've got all the wires coming back to the BOB and need to make the connections.

On 15 I've got the Estop. 13 X Axis Limits NC, 12 Y Axis NC, 11 Z Axis NC, All Home wires go to 10 NO. And then just assign in Mach3 to match. Does this sound right?

Also, is the Jog speed approximately the same as max travel speed of the Axis? Or is Mach 3 just protecting me from Jogging into the hard stops by keeping things slow?

[Michaelofburien]

So I got the limit switches set up to my satisfaction. Things were going good but the spindle I have I don't think is going to be up to the job. First ever cut and it slowed down incrementally to a crawl and let some of its magic smoke out.

Lucky for me I've got a 2hp Craftsman hanging around to make mountings for. Are all the removable sleeve type full sized routers 3.5" diameter?

[Michaelofburien]

Ok I am not going to bore you all with endless hours of cutting MDF. That's right *****es, we're going straight to the ALUMINIUM! 1/4" plate. The face on which I am cutting it is treated and hardened.

Real first run with aluminum - YouTube

[Michaelofburien]

New Faraday boxes for the electronics installed.
Attachment 208862

Got both of these as surplus from work.