[jalessi]

Guys feel free to flame me.

Jeff...

[cyclestart]

Guys feel free to flame me.

You're expecting to get flamed ?

Of the 3 products listed, I only have experience with the Xylotex. It's an honest product from an honest vendor and worked well on my X2 until blowing an axis after 1+ years of use. And that's the thing. The g540 will not only outperform brand X but is also much less fragile. All this plus the g540 has built-in extra features
Win-Win.

[CNC74]

Guys,

Gecko 540 it is!

Next questions are:

1. What is a reasonably priced yet good power supply to match the 540 with?

2. I was thinking of purchasing the Nema 23-425's. (I could go smaller ???) Where can I get them at the best price?

Is there a place to buy everything at the same time at a good price?

Many thanks,

CNC74
:rainfro:

[Crevice Reamer]

Bigger is not always better. You are all but certainly buying the wrong motors for X2 and G540.

I recommend Keling $39 60V KL23H276-28-4B 270s for X and Y and Keling $49 65V KL23H284-35-4B 387 for Z, along with Keling $60 KL-350-48 48V/7.3A PSU.

Keling has all of this (Including the G540--and 425s if you are that stubborn) and a discount on Mach3.

CR.

[CNC74]

Thanks for the heads up onn the motors.

I have read many posts about the Z axis needing more torq that X and Y and all of chatter about going with the 425's to oleviate the issue which was where I got that idea.
If I am sacraficing speed and acuracy for torq (unnesasarily) then I will run the other way.


Keling is in the Chicago is it not? (??Local pickup??)

You guys are the best!

[Crevice Reamer]

Yes, Keling is in West Chicago--And one of the BEST dealers for price/value. You will have to email about local pickup:

http://kelinginc.net/index.html

CR.

[CNC74]

Crevice Reamer,

I took your advice verbatim. Although I probably could have saved the shipping with a pickup I put the order thru for delivery with the parts you specified with an additional motor for my 4th axis project.

Now I have to work myself up to spending another $300 on the Gecko540. LoL

Thanks again,
CNC74

[Crevice Reamer]

YW! Keling 387s are out of stock until 2/10. You'd better email him for NO SUBSTITUTIONS or you may get something else shipped today.

If you can handle installing new DB9 connector screws, you can get a brand new G540 right now for only $225.

http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72628

CR.

[CNC74]

CR,

You are very tuned in to whats going on with this stuff. Sales, stock levels, tech info..etc

I emailed Keling on the subsitutions issue and jumped all over the G540 @ $225 like it was a naked super model!!!!

I am trying to compile the list of "dodads" I will need to finnish off the electronics for this project.
I read that I will need:
1. ESTOP switch
2. Resistors (2 types)
3. Relays
4. Motor wire
5. ???
6. A good set of instructions!!!! LoL

Regards,
CNC74

[Crevice Reamer]

You will also need some other stuff:

You can use THIS wire for motor cables and home/limit switches. Ground the drain wire ONLY at the driver end.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Servo-Motor-Wire...3286.m20.l1116
You won't need any db9 motor connectors with the G540, as they come WITH it. The G540 also has circuitry for simple spindle speed control and outputs for dc relays to turn coolant pump on or off.

These inexpensive relays are very good :

http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...tname=electric

You WILL need 2.8K and 3/5K 1/4 watt current limiting resistors, one for each motor. You can get them here:

http://www.digikey.com/

If you don't already HAVE them, these are excellent home switches:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...%3D4%26ps%3D42

They are NO, so only for home switches. Limit switches need to be NC. the whole set of 6 switches costs less than ONE switch would cost at Radio Shack.

These simulated roller limits from Enco will do fine and only cost $2.95 each. Now you know what a deal the home switches are.

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?P...MITEM=317-6325

You will also need an estop switch. This one from Keling only costs 10 bucks and works fine:

http://kelinginc.net/CNCPackage.html

On that same page are helical connectors. These are best for low backlash. I haven't tried Keling's, but they LOOK good.

The G540 is so small that many are mounting theirs INSIDE the computer case.

Camtronics has a case MADE for the G540:

http://s120220635.onlinehome.us/stepper-components.asp

CR.

[Crevice Reamer]

Somewhere on this forum there are some neat instructions for using angle iron to make cheap but good mini mill X/Y motor mounts that use existing Acme screws. There also is a thread for Z drive through the quill fine feed.

I can't find them. Does anyone have these links? Please post them if you do.

Thanks!

CR.

[acondit]

Thank you all for your detailed and guided input.

I asked about other less expensive options to draw comparison to the Gecko product. If you want to jump down my throat for asking about other products I would rather you not reply at all.

Is there a detailed comparison chart of the different controllers that can handle an X2 in 4 axis configuration floating around somewhere?

If not

Would anyone be willing to draw a comparison between the gecko 540 and any of the other less expensive boards?

Thanks to all!!

(nuts)

CNC74,

I responded to the statement that you made about G203 drives being very expensive for what they do (even that is debateable) after several of us had suggested that the G540 was a cheaper solution. It seemed as though you were not reading what people had written before asking another question.

I am glad you finally got the info that you needed to make a decision.

Alan

[CNC74]

Now that I am sorted out on the electronics for my X2 build the attention is turning to the mechanical converion equiptment.

I am told the the #4 kit at CNCFUSION is a real good choice but at $550 I have to do some more cost comparison before spending the funds.

C.R. mentioned another solution that I had not heard of previously that involved fabricating a few parts and the possible use of more "original equiptment" to asumably make it a far less expensive option. If anyone has further information on that topic please share.

I also read that there are benifits to going with a belt drive system but dont know any more than that at this time.

Lastly it would be very nice to maintain MANUAL FUCTIONALITY on the machine if its not to much of a trade off for price/performance with the avalible conversion solutions.

Regards,
CNC74

[sansbury]

You can make the conversion parts yourself. The hardest part is turning the ball screws, it is very hard to do on a small (7x) lathe, but you can get the work done by a machine shop pretty cheaply. Cost me $60 for all three and could probably get it done cheaper now given the times.

Other than the screws you don't need a lathe for anything. A boring head would be needed to make the seats for the bearings but it's a good tool to have. It's a good project if you want to improve your manual machining skills. It will take some time though so you can hold off ordering all the electronic stuff for a while. If you choose to do this, you might want to order Hoss's videos since they might save you time. I didn't by them and ended up spending a lot of time on parts that didn't need to be anywhere near as precise as I made them. I'd also recommend tearing your mill down and reassembling it just to be familiar with how it all goes together.

OTOH, CNCFusion has a good name. If I was doing it again and had the money, I'd be tempted to buy the kit. But I think the 100% DIY build is a good exercise for newbies like me.

[Crevice Reamer]

You can only have manual control with the original lead screws. Once you go ball screws, There is no friction to hold the axis in place anymore. (The motors lock the axes when powered) The cutting force will move it.

CR.

[CNC74]

Good to know about the manual vs ball screw trade off.

Is there a "prefered" DIY specification/drawing or are they all the same thing?

Regards
CNC74

[hoss2006]

Ballscrews are typically right hand thread which means you'd have to turn the handles the opposite of normal and
with .200 pitch you'd get 3-4 times the movement per crank versus the stock screws.
You'd have to have power to the steppers off so you won't be able to use the DRO's in Mach either.
About the best you could do is mill the edge of a part by hand if you still have the locks in place to keep the other axis from moving.
Once you're cnc'ed, you'll find it easier to mill "manually" with the jog keys, MPG, MDI, etc.
It's more fun anyhow.
Hoss

[cyclestart]

Somewhere on this forum there are some neat instructions for using angle iron to make cheap but good mini mill X/Y motor mounts that use existing Acme screws. There also is a thread for Z drive through the quill fine feed.

I can't find them. Does anyone have these links? Please post them if you do.

You're probably thinking of members chukkie or blades. A member search here will find all their posts. An example;
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51449

I can remember this stuff but not where I put the car keys ??

[Crevice Reamer]

Here you go:

http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50277

http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51449

http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68199

http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58908

Bracing X2 column:

http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57540

http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54743

cheap belt drive:

http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55239

CR.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Ballscrews are typically right hand thread which means you'd have to turn the handles the opposite of normal and
with .200 pitch you'd get 3-4 times the movement per crank versus the stock screws.
You'd have to have power to the steppers off so you won't be able to use the DRO's in Mach either.
About the best you could do is mill the edge of a part by hand if you still have the locks in place to keep the other axis from moving.
Once you're cnc'ed, you'll find it easier to mill "manually" with the jog keys, MPG, MDI, etc.
It's more fun anyhow.
Hoss

Actually, ballscrews and nuts are readily available in either LH or RH thread, for the same cost.

Regards,
Ray L.