[LazyRiverStudio]

I purchased the CNC Mogul and am having an issue now. Power supply is smoking. I tried reaching out to Mike / CNC Mogul, but it appears he's in a wee bit of "trouble". He wont return my calls / texts.

Anyhow, I'm embarrassed at how little I know of CNC. The power supply started smoking during a long run. I need to replace and quickly. The power supply says AGT S-350-24. The motors are NEMA23H276 and NEMA23H2100 Single Shaft Stepper Motors. Here are my questions:

1) Will Genssi be a decent replacement: Amazon.com: Genssi 24V DC 14.6A 350W Regulated Switching Power Supply: Computers & Accessories. If not, can you recommend?

2) The controller is not described. I just read about a bunch of folks having trouble with their controllers, and wondering if I should get a back up just in case. Does anyone know what controllers would be compatible with the CNC MOGUL?

Thanks in advance.
Scott

[ger21]

1) I don't know what your original power supply was, but that one should work. Based on the number, it would appear to be similar.

2) Just about any should work, but the G540 is your best option.

[LazyRiverStudio]

Thanks Gerry!

If anyone can share their experiences with CNC MOGUL and specific replacement parts, I would appreciate greatly.

And here is one last question... do you know if the writer of this blog has an account here on CNC Zone? cncmogulsucks.com . If so, I would love to connect with him about my similar problems.


Thanks
Scott

[ScaleBirdScott]

Hey another Scott with a CNCmogul machine! I assume you using one of the older orange units that came with electronics?

I just purchased one very recently (it just shipped today actually) so maybe Mike has been busy working kits and not taking time to answer the phone. That's unfortunate situation to be in, but having experience running small operations, it's an unfortunate fact of physics, so it comes down to where to put the priorities. But I spoke with him last week before placing the order and he seemed more or less on top of things, so it's not like he's been 'having trouble' for long. (I did try to call again this week and got nothing, I would have to see more than a 50/50 pattern to make any kind of claim though)

That all said, he's no longer offering electronics on the kits (but may again in the future.)

He's referred me (and I presume others) to Automation Technologies to do the e-parts, and they're advertising a G540 CNC Mogul 'kit' so I would say going to a G540 makes sense based on that. I have currently chosen that kit as a starting point, I don't know how suitable NEMA23 381oz motors will be over the long term, seems on the low-ish side for a machine of size; but it's not unheard of. I'll be ordering everything once the frame kit arrives and I verify that it all looks in order.

I was not sold on the idea of their all-in-one ready to go machine, but I'm somehow more enthused by the idea of their kits which don't include the electronics; I can judge the machine based purely on the mechanics (as dubious as they may be, that's a different discussion.) and it puts the onus on me to find the setup I want and deal directly with a place that supplies these parts day-in and day-out. Then, if a driver or motor or PSU blows up or lets out the magic smoke, you know a large(er) company will be on the other side to take the calls/returns/anger/frustration/sadness as a result of problem electros.

[LazyRiverStudio]

Hello Scott. Thank you very much for the reply! And thank you for that link! That will come in handy.

I did get the full, orange kit with 36" x 72" cutting area. Best wishes with your new CNC machine! A lot of folks seem unhappy with the machine, but for me, it does the job. I use it only for rough cutting (I finish everything by hand).

Did you see his website prior to his downsize? His store was significantly larger. He really reduced a lot.

I have been calling and texting him for the last week. He just doesn't do customer service. My last text, "MIKE, I WANT TO GIVE YOU MONEY... PLEASE CONTACT ME". Still nothing. Oh well... you get what you pay for, even in customer service.

Best wishes with the CNC Mogul. Considering the price, it has been a great investment for me.
Scott

[ScaleBirdScott]

I'm glad I could be of any such help. This is the specific kit I'm looking at: CNC Mogul Special Kit: G540 4-Axis kit (115V/230VAC), NEMA23 381oz in, PSU 48V/12.5A | Automation Technology Inc but I'm also thinking if there's ANY reason to get motors with more torque/power/amperage or whatever other thing, then I can put together all the same parts with stronger motors and let it be what it will be.

And yeah I have been doing research for a few months on and off and had seen the older site. I was impressed then by the clean lines and design, and the low cost: but wasn't sold on the idea I couldn't put it all together myself from the same or better components for less: You can buy makerslide (or regular extrusion and aluminum v-groove) for very cheap, and if going DIY and spending more, going with steel beams and steel V-groove and steel rollers, in a similar layout, would probably run through the toughest jobs.

But now with new extrusions that do seem a bit stronger than makerslide, that I can't source on my own, the prospect of making a clone with enough time and effort and monetary savings to justify the total DIY method was no-longer there. I don't yet need to run the toughest jobs, just simple 2D work in light materials. And I was prepared for a DIY method already so... if customer support is not available then I can make something work, damn the 'warranty'

So yes, it seems you get what you pay for and at $1500-ish for a finished machine it's not much it seems. But it doesn't seem like it's $1500 flushed down the drain if you know what you are getting

If you have any information on how your machine is setup, and what kind of work you do with it, I'm in that anticipation mode where I want to learn whatever I can so I'd love to see pictures, videos, or descriptions of what is being done if you care to share. These machines, good or bad, have minimal information out there. I'm planning to do a series of youtube videos once the machine arrives (even ordering some equipment to help get my camera setup for the task) that will hopefully be useful for someone interested in knowing more about real entry-level maker-grade CNC on a larger scale than desktop machines. Figure I'll be covering the build and the results and hopefully giving people the good detailed views that they really need.

In any case good luck getting the machine back up to speed, hopefully it is just a simple fix of the PSU

[LazyRiverStudio]

Hi Scott. I will send you some messages about my set up. I would definitely like to stay in touch, especially since we have the same machine.
Here is what I do... I CNC only for the main shape and main recesses. I also outline the lettering with the CNC. I mostly use larger router bits for hogging on the CNC. Here is an example of the completed CNC segment. This is 4' wide X 4.5" thick, Cedar.
Attachment 248698

Attachment 248688
So for the amount of roughing I do with larger bits, seems the Mogul does a decent job. The cutting above took about 6-7 hours. The center point probably moved by 1/8" from start to finish. to be expected with the Mogul, but for me, that is fine.

I hand carve the finishes. I mostly make custom wood signs. Here are some samples of what they look like when done. these are all in the range of 4' width and 4" thickness. And some of these are pine, which is really rough on the bits and routers (because of the pitch).. but the mogul worked:
Attachment 248690

Attachment 248692

Attachment 248694

Attachment 248696

Thanks and will message you... anyone else that has a CNC mogul and stumbles across this thread... please feel free to message.
Scott

[brianbonedoc]

Funny this thread is happening now. I ordered a 3x4 on Aug 8, 2014. I spoke with Mike on the phone and he assured me I would get the new machine with electronics. Well that's the last I've heard from him. I've called many times, and emailed. No response. So I had to call the credit card co and dispute the $1000+ I had paid him on the website. I am kind of dissapointed because I really like the design of the machine, but if he can't even touch base with his customers, forget it.

[LazyRiverStudio]

Wow Brian. Man, I'm sorry to hear about that. Did you get your money back?
Ya, its really unfortunate that Mike is this way.

[brianbonedoc]

Yeah Amex credited the $ back already. I really wanted to give cncmogul a chance but I had no way of tracking the order, or communicating with them at all. So I had to pull the plug.

[smutboy420]

Tho I dont know of any one else being able to ever get there mogul to work with any cheap plasma cutter that uses a high frequency pilot arc to start the torch. Because of all the interference and electrical noise it the pilot arc makes will cause a lot of havoc with the mogul. I tried two cheap plasma torches on mine with more then horable results. Even with out the plasma cutter hooked up to the machine in any way it not only would cause the machine to move any time the torch was fired even if i was using it to hand cut stuff out side my shop and 30 feet away. It also ended up frying the controller from the interference any time the pilot arc was fired. I tried every known method to shield and ground the mogul and it did very little to stop the interference. Then one day I had my milling machines controller turned on when I was still trying to get the mogul to work and the cheap plasma cutters interference caused one of the axis's in that to burn out and I had to replace the controller in that to. I also wonder how many old people with pace makers around my neighborhood died any time either of the two cheap plasma cutters were fired. I eventually ended up getting it to work but only after I went and bit the bullet and bought a hypertherm cutter. Which cost as much as both the cheap POS plasma torches I bought combined. THO in the long run it was money well spent and wish I had just gotten it in the first place. Being I also didnt save any thing on trying to go with a cheap made in china cutter that also caused other equipment and electronics to get fried and needed to be replaced. luckily tho I was able to get my money back on one of them and sold the other one to someone 2 towns away so there interference would not bother my machine any time they use it for hand cutting. lol The hypertherm cutters use a completely different type of system to start the arc. They use whats called a blow back system that causes no electric noise or radio frequency to be created like the high frequency arc pilot systems do. Which even on very good plasma systems a HF pilot arc can cause all sorts of problems if every wire and every pcs of metal in the system is not shielded and earth grounded.

But with that all said. and using the hypertherm cutter I was able to get the mogal to work for a plasma table BUT i have a different THC then yours so I cant offer any advise on how that hooks up to the controller. But it will need to use some of the moguls pin inputs on the controller to be able to tell mach3 to move the torch up another pin input to tell it to move down and one more pin for the ark ok signal (that tells it the torch is fired and ok to start moving) you also have to use the one out put relay on the controller to be wired in to the wires on your plasma torches trigger so that it can fire the torch.

But the way mike wired all the e stop switchs on the mogul I had to rewire them all differently to even be able to have any of the 5 inputs free to be able to wire my THC controller to the mogul. Mike had them so each switch used its own input that used up all 5 inputs. So what i had to do was wire all the switch to be all wired in to one input instead of 5 separate ones. But they works because any time one of the switch trips it tells mach3 that a switch has been tripped. But you also have to reconfigure the pin inputs in mach3 so it knows what pin each input uses. Which is pretty easy if you use the auto detect. you just pick that the input is going to be for. such as the limit switch. and then hit auto sence. then manually trip the switch with your finger and then it will make a ding sound and say what pin number it was. then hit ok and do that for all the x y and z limit switches in the list. or manually enter the pin number the first on uses in the lists on pin inputs. Then you have to set the pin inputs for the torch up signal. and one for the down signal input. on mine THC there is a test function that will send a up or down signal. So what I do is use mach3 auto sence for each on and pick it in the list and tell it to auto sence it and for the down I tell the thc to send a down signal and mach will auto sence what pin input that is on then i do the same for the up signal to set that pin input. and for the arc ok I tell it to auto sence then fire the torch to set that pin. and then save them all. If your thc dont have a way to send a test signal you can also use a paper clip to jumper from the pin ground common to each of the inputs you have your up down and arc ok wires hooked to on the moguls controller. and use the auto sence thing in mach for each on as you jumper from ground to each input for the corresponding inputs.

You also have to open up your plasma cutter and find the 2 wires that go to the trigger on the torch and tap in to them and run a set of wires that can be used to fire the torch then them to wires are jumpered. and one wire also goes to the negative on the input spot on the moguls controller. and the other wire goes on the relay out put spot. NOT THE one that says 5vdc. and then you need to set up the out put pin in mach3 to trigger the torch threw the on board relay in the controller. That one took some trial and error to find what pin out mach uses for that. BUT there are only like 3 pins for out puts and you can try each pin number intill you have the right one. and to see if its the right one you can just hit the torch on button in mach3 and see if it fires the torch or not. i not try another pin number on the out puts till you get the right one and the button on the mach3 will fire the torch and shut it off if you hit the button again.

and then once you get all that crap figured out THEN you can start learning how to use the mach3 to run as a cnc plasma cutter. YOU also may have to go to the screens and tell mach to use the plasma.set file to load a screen for plasma. instead of a screen for milling. You also are going to have to do a lot of test cuts to find the best speed to cut at and and the best voltage to set you THC to cut at for each type of material and thickness. But thats all going to depend on the cutter you are using and the amperage.

What I do for a test cut is i have a gcode for cutting 2 inch squares and then I start out at a recommended speed for my inches per minute and volts. from a chart i have that came from hypertherm for my cutter which is a power max 30. But the mogul cant move as fast as it needs to make a clean perfect cut with out vibration So i have to cut at a lower amperage and slower speed then the chart recommends on some thickness of metal. So i have to mess around to find the best speed and the best voltage on my thc to get the right height for the torch to ride at as its making the cut. Then once i find the sweet spot I write it down so I know were to start for any thickness and material

Here is a video I made of some of my first successful plasma cutting when I first got every thing set up and running right.

[Shelby5041]

cnc mogul went out of business after just 1-2 yrs i think 2014 they went under

my mogul cnc runs like crap..its old v1..pos design


the stepper motors are odd too ..;if i run continuous mode and jog a
few feet you can see the axis going slower and faster..herky jerky
motion...

not sure if its bad driver board or what...even with machine not
connected you can see the stepper motors dont run smooth...they go
faster and slower..very odd...the z seems a bit smoother but the x and
y are horrible...i would say maybe a setting issue however a setting
should not cause the motor to run fast then slow during a step
move...the electronics are crap on this machine so that could be the
issue. or just worn out stepper motors..it does have a crappy
underpowered ps also so...lots of factors involved.

bottom line is the version i have is is worth only scrap metal price.

[Shelby5041]

see my thread https://www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-c...ml#post2382144

i know not many of these crappy machines were sold but im looking for someone who actually still owns one if there is anyone out there that does