[MRM RCModels]

In this thread I plan to complete the CNC conversion using the cncfusion kit, build an 8020/plexiglass enclosure, and build a combination PC/driver tower.

I've had my X3 for about 3 months now and have manually milled myself into a stupor. Issues with backlash in the stock lead screws and not having enough time to concentrate really bit into "fun" time. CNCing the mill just seemed right .

Here's a shot of my present set up: mill, dual head fogbuster-best money I've ever spent, and the custom made stand (figures 1 & 2). Here's how the kit arrived (figures 3 & 4). I was surprised how nice the precision ballscrews were. I was expecting the black roton type screws but these are up a notch :cheers:.

First step is to break the mill down and remove all of the stock motion components. I found that doing this while singing "ding dong the lash is dead (The Wizard of Oz)" made the process go a lot quicker (neglected to take pics).

More to come

[tauntdesigns]

Congrats,

How messy is the fogbuster? Looks real nice!

I'm jealous, your shop is way too clean.

Are you going to build the enclosure on the current bench?
I'm going to have to build me another bench when I get around to building an enclosure for it. It seems I didn't allow for the motors and mounts. oops:withstupi

Cheers,
Jack

[MRM RCModels]

Congrats,

How messy is the fogbuster? Looks real nice!

I'm jealous, your shop is way too clean.

Are you going to build the enclosure on the current bench?
I'm going to have to build me another bench when I get around to building an enclosure for it. It seems I didn't allow for the motors and mounts. oops:withstupi

Cheers,
Jack

Thanks, you caught the shop on a good day.

Mess? The fogbuster leaves very little mess. I don't even have a drainage system; don't need it. At most a small 1" puddle of coolant may develope on the part so I just soak it up with a shop rag :wee:

Yes, I will build the enclosure on the current stand. To clear the motors and extra equipment I'll have to arc out the sides 45 degrees. I'm CADing the plans now, but I need to finish the conversion first to take measurements.

Want to see something cool? Wait till you see the electronics case!

[kanton]

Are you using the $949 "Small-Mill Deluxe CNC kit with PREMIUM BALLSCREWS"?

Thanks.

[MRM RCModels]

Are you using the $949 "Small-Mill Deluxe CNC kit with PREMIUM BALLSCREWS"?

Thanks.

Yep, that's the one. I also purchased the upgraded helical couplings.

__________________________________________________ ____________

The first time I broke down the mill for cleaning, it took almost a week. This time it only took 3.5 hours. Here are a few shots of the breakdown (figures 1-3). All the parts on the floor are never going to see the light of day again. The parts on the bench will be re-used.

Started buying my electronics today too. Who knew $900 bucks could go so fast . Here's what I ordered so far:


Kelinginc

a) Gecko drives 203V (3) @ $139.00 ea
b) 425 oz Stepper Motors (2) @ $54.00 ea
c) 640 oz Stepper Motor (1) @ $89.00
d) 1000W Power Supply w/ 12v & 5V outputs (1) @ $189.00

CNC4pc

a) C11G Break Out Board (1) @ $109.00


More to come

[MRM RCModels]

Lets try it with the pictures this time.

[CROSSHATCH]

Looking good, Love these types of threads!


-Jason

[MRM RCModels]

Looking good, Love these types of threads!


-Jason

Thanks. Love what you did with the Taig.

__________________________________________________ _____

Something I didn't expect to encounter....

The cncfusion kit requires you to re-use the original Z axis thrust bearings. These are sub-par IMHO (figure 1). For one, the entire leadscrew was rusted therefore the thrust bearings were rusted onto it. Took many well placed taps with a hammer to get them off. Also in the middle of the angular thrust bearing there's a dent. This slightly restricted rotation when I tested it. Never could tell when it was on the mill though. Looks like I'll be shoping a mcmaster-carr today too .

Also found these really nice limit switches from honeywell: Link

[MRM RCModels]

Again with the pic

[CROSSHATCH]

MRM- Ah so you have seen it Still so much work too be done. So much fun, setting up everything, trust me, I have A LOT!

I'll be looking closely at this thread. Keep it up!


-Jason

[tauntdesigns]

Started buying my electronics today too. Who knew $900 buck could go so fast . Here's wheat I ordered so far:


Kelinginc

a) Gecko drives 203V (3) @ $139.00 ea
b) 425 oz Stepper Motors (2) @ $54.00 ea
c) 640 oz Stepper Motor (1) @ $89.00
d) 1000W Power Supply w/ 12v & 5V outputs (1) @ $189.00

CNC4pc

a) C11G Break Out Board (1) @ $109.00

Yea, $900.00 doesn't go as far as it use to........

A couple of 'heads up' (fyi type thing)!
That power supply's 5v supply doesn't have enough amps to run the BOB. It has 1amp regulated and the BOB requires 2amps. I ended up buying the A4 power supply from CNC4PC. It comes with a panel mount plug.
http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/inde...5670ef07367b3b

Something else about the BOB.. Arturo said it was on the older Revision boards, so it shouldn't happen with yours but just in case here's a description of my BOB problem.
"My charge pump doesn't work, unless..... I start up mach3 before I
power up the BOB, then it works fine. If I re-start mach3 without
turning off the BOB first, the charge pump stops working properly
until I turn off the BOB and re-start it too."

I wired my motors (425's bi-polar parallel and 640 bi-polar series) That way both motors fit the power supply better.

Looking good,
Jack

[MRM RCModels]

That power supply's 5v supply doesn't have enough amps to run the BOB. It has 1amp regulated and the BOB requires 2amps. I ended up buying the A4 power supply from CNC4PC. It comes with a panel mount plug.
http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/inde...5670ef07367b3b

Something else about the BOB.. Arturo said it was on the older Revision boards, so it shouldn't happen with yours but just in case here's a description of my BOB problem.
"My charge pump doesn't work, unless..... I start up mach3 before I
power up the BOB, then it works fine. If I re-start mach3 without
turning off the BOB first, the charge pump stops working properly
until I turn off the BOB and re-start it too."

I wired my motors (425's bi-polar parallel and 640 bi-polar series) That way both motors fit the power supply better.

Looking good,
Jack

__________________________________________________ ___________

Thanks for the heads up. I decided to go with the 1440W/20A & cnc4pc 5V/12V power supplies instead. I did this because my next machine will be much bigger with 640 oz NEMA 34s on all axis’s (sp?) and I plan to run both machines from the same electronics station on a parallel port switcher. Matter of fact, I'm making this machine for the sole purpose of cutting parts for the big one .

On the thrust bearings hunt, I've come to the conclusion that the X3 uses regular ABEC-1 skate type bearings on the Z Axis. I visited several stores trying to find Angular Thrust Bearings (ATB) to fit a 12mm diameter shaft with an Outer Diameter (OD) of 28mm (the bearing holder is 28mm). All the stores had ATB for a 12mm shaft, but the outer diameter was a minimum of 30mm :boxing:. I then tried looking at regular bearings and they all were 12mm shaft and 28mm OD. I'm not happy, but not surprised either. ATB are 2-3 times the cost of the ABEC-1s. Looks like my first project will be to machine wider bearing holders to accept the superior ATBs.

The ones that came with the X3 weren’t all that great to begin with (rusted, dented, and old), so I'm going to change them out with new ones of the same type. VXB had the Thrust Bearings, mcmaster-carr had the ABEC-1s: part# 2337K122.

More to come

[tauntdesigns]

I'm glad it (heads up) helped,

Thanks for the info on Z-axis bearings.

With that power supply you'll want to wire the 640 oz/in motor series or it (could/will) burn up. At least that's what the G203v manual says: Quote from manual:
In all cases the power supply voltage should be no less than 4 times or no more than 20 times the motor’s rated voltage. The motor may not run as smoothly as possible if the power supply voltage is less than 4 times or more than 20 times the motor’s rated voltage. A power supply voltage greater than 20 times the motor’s rated voltage may overheat and damage the motor.

On the BOB make sure and set the jumper on the board for COM to be ground.(not +5v)
G203v (TERM. 10) COMMON Connect this terminal to the controller ground output
The G203v differs from all the other geckodrives on (term 10). Not sure about the new G250 & G540 products.

If this is stuff you already knew, please excuse me... it's just fresh on my mind. It kinda' stuck with me. I bought all my stuff and then had these OH S___ moments.

Can't wait to see more,
Jack

[tauntdesigns]

Oh yeah..... my 5v/12v power supply from CNC4PC didn't come with a AC power cord. The picture on their site doesn't show one. I had an extra PC power cord that worked so, if you don't have an extra power cord laying around......................

[MRM RCModels]

I'm glad it (heads up) helped,

Thanks for the info on Z-axis bearings.

With that power supply you'll want to wire the 640 oz/in motor series or it (could/will) burn up. At least that's what the G203v manual says: Quote from manual:
In all cases the power supply voltage should be no less than 4 times or no more than 20 times the motor’s rated voltage. The motor may not run as smoothly as possible if the power supply voltage is less than 4 times or more than 20 times the motor’s rated voltage. A power supply voltage greater than 20 times the motor’s rated voltage may overheat and damage the motor.

On the BOB make sure and set the jumper on the board for COM to be ground.(not +5v)
G203v (TERM. 10) COMMON Connect this terminal to the controller ground output
The G203v differs from all the other geckodrives on (term 10). Not sure about the new G250 & G540 products.

If this is stuff you already knew, please excuse me... it's just fresh on my mind. It kinda' stuck with me. I bought all my stuff and then had these OH S___ moments.

Can't wait to see more,
Jack

Thanks for saving my stepper motor. I read the gecko manual but didn't comprehend the limitations of the 640 oz stepper. Now that you mention it, I do have a extra pc power cord laying around......

__________________________________________________ ______________

Today I installed the X and Y Axis for the mill. First, I roller the base on its side and removed the original ballnut mounting block. Then, grinded down Y Axis the alignment pins on the base (figures 1-4). I thuought about modifying the cncfusion kit to use them, but decided that it would take too much time. On the other hand, it would make aligning each axis so much easier .

[MRM RCModels]

Continued:

Little bit of locktite in the right places goes a long way. I then mounted the Y Axis ballscrew assembly onto the base (figure 1). Now it was time to remove the locknuts and mount the table to the base. Here is my biggest qualm about this kit: WHY DID THEY NOT INCLUDE "C" SPANNER WRENCHES WITH THE KIT!!!!!!. These are not as common as I thought so I hade to imagineer way to get the locknuts off. My solution was to use a set of vice grips with a shop rag around the teeth to loosen the nut. This way I wouldn't destroy the nut in the process (figures 2 & 3).

[CROSSHATCH]

Looking real good, love the photos.


-Speed

[tauntdesigns]

Yeah, I like looking at pictures too.

Keep up the good work,
Jack

[cjdavis618]

I just went through the same thing with the bearings. I wasn't able to find anything remotely close to the 12mm bearings, but I did find some needle bearings from MSC direct that did the trick. Much smoother operation and it was about $18 for the complete set of washers and bearings.

03380904 Thrust - Bearings Outside Diameter: 0.9380 In. Thickness: 0.078 In. Inside Diameter: 0.5000 In. Material: Steel Style: Needle Cage

03381076 Thrust - Bearings Outside Diameter: 0.9370 In. Thickness: 0.032 In. Inside Diameter: 0.5000 In. Material: Steel Style: Flat Race


Worked out great! You'll need 2 flat race washers for every 1 Needle cage.

[kanton]

What is the expected accuracy gain in using the $949 "Small-Mill Deluxe CNC kit with PREMIUM BALLSCREWS" rather than the $569 ballscrew kit? Are there any other benefits in using the more expensive kit?

Thanks