Hi everyone,

New to the forum and new to CNC. I recently bought a used HY-6040 5 axis CNC mill with a 2.2kw water cooled spindle off Craigslist here in Clearwater. Complete with PC and Mach3. It's fairly new, about 5 hours on it with the 4th and 5th axis never used. I won't use it either and will post it on eBay or in here for sale.

The machine works with Mach3 and functions very well as is. I plan on using it regularly for cutting carbon fiber and thin (up to .1875) aluminum. So I want to upgrade all the electronics now rather than later when I'm using it all the time.

My plan is a G540 and some 381 oz/in, 3.5A steppers from Automation Technology. The KL23H2100-35-4A model with .9° /400 steps per rev. A bit more accuracy as stated on the page. These motors I want to use have a fairly low inductance of 2.8. I've read the 6040 machines have high inductance motors on them and of course the rest of the electronics and not the best. Automation Tech also has a 48v 7.3 amp power supply that seems to fit the bill form all the reading and calculations I've done over the past week. A better choice than the one currently in the machine.

The machine currently has 282 oz motors on it according to the specs but there are no stickers on the motors so it's impossible to say exactly what they are. I'm looking for a bit more power, accuracy and reliability with the new setup. The z axis is very heavy with the 2.2 kw spindle. It has all 1605 ball screws and limit switches on each end of all 3 axis.

I also plan on replacing all the wiring with shielded wire and grounding everything. This machine does not even have the earth ground being used from the A/C line coming in. Go figure.

I've read many great posts about the G540 and think it's the best route for me and my parallel port mach3 pc that came with it. I want to start this out right and not have to upgrade later. I also plan on building a larger machine in the future and can use this machine to make the parts.

Looking for any suggestions or input as to my new setup choices.

Also looking forward to this new adventure.

Thanks,
Shawn
Clearwater, Fl