[Fastest1]

It is Crown. I started drinking heavily after purchasing my first QU-BD extruder for my printer. They are garbage extruders...did I say that out loud? I keep the bottle of Crown near the printer and usually take a swig before I start a print. It took a lot of blood, sweat, tears and modification to make it work.Attachment 221502Attachment 221504Attachment 221506

This is all a disease.

First its the CNC mill from parts assembled by novices (referring to me in this case) and plans or ideas from places like this. Then we spend most of our time and frustration building parts to improve its operation.

3D Printing brings in so many variables too. I have tinkered with a SEEMECNC hybrid a few years ago. I converted my A2ZCNC mill to a RepStrap for a while and now am furious with a Thingomatic that I bought from a father whose son had purchased for him but never assembled. I got it running in 2 days. I do understand you regarding the effort to get and or keep them operating well.

Your prints look good.

[Turbo442]

This is all a disease.

First its the CNC mill from parts assembled by novices (referring to me in this case) and plans or ideas from places like this. Then we spend most of our time and frustration building parts to improve its operation.

3D Printing brings in so many variables too. I have tinkered with a SEEMECNC hybrid a few years ago. I converted my A2ZCNC mill to a RepStrap for a while and now am furious with a Thingomatic that I bought from a father whose son had purchased for him but never assembled. I got it running in 2 days. I do understand you regarding the effort to get and or keep them operating well.

Your prints look good.

I think the key for me is to not get too many projects going at once. I am trying hard not to have 13 half finished projects laying around the shop. Some times I need to take a deep breath, pick a project and solve one problem at a time. Sometimes I get bored or frustrated and need to walk a way for a day, week or month. I have enough projects right now to last me for a while. Luckily I don't depend on my shop to make a living and can just walk away like many of us on here. If anyone sees or hears me mention starting a new project, please stop me. I started the ORDBOT printer a couple of years ago thinking, oh I will build a printer, how hard can that be? Well, let me tell those that don't know, 3d printing can be a bumpy ride. The only saving grace with a printer is that you can sit it on your computer desk and fiddle with it for the most part using Allen wrenches, screwdrivers, wire cutters and software. The printer has helped me grow in many areas. Its forced me to learn Solidworks. Solidworks by its self can be a big hobby for people. Previous experience with steppers and stepper drivers will help the printer building experience. Printing has also helped me look at materials differently. Now I stop and think, should this part be made out of plastic or aluminum? I think in the past many parts were made out of aluminum when they didn't need to be, but that was all that was available.

I agree that for many of us the hobby is building the machine, not turning out parts so much. I fall into this category. I do have a greater plan though. I am using my time to learn CNC, CAD, CAM and machining in general on these hobby level machines. Then when the time is right and I find the right deal, I plan to move up to a used commercial CNC mill and lathe. Something newer with modern tool holders and some mass. I have been watching CraigsList for a few years and am getting a feel for pricing in the NW US. I have made a few friends with local machinists. I learn so much from them its not funny. My projects have helped me understand the differences between a hobby machine and a commercial machine, what size, condition and age I should be looking for.

[Turbo442]

Also I have been working on the lathe quite a bit. The electronics are a lot of work. Doing some testing, at the moment. Will clean things up once I get the wiring completely figured out. Got the lathe moving around the other day. Wiring up the 3 cat5 connectors. One for the VFD, one for limit switches and one for index pulse. I also have a few pins left over for an E-stop. This 48V 25 amp commercial power supply from work is running on 240 input power. It takes about 30 seconds to stop running after I kill the power. I put in a contactor for the 240V power and 48V power so it all shuts off immediately. Once I get the design finalized I am going to have my electrical engineering buddy look it over for any flaws and noise issues. The Estop stuff is pretty complex, but I will work on that at the end.

E-stop considerations.

1. Estop switch triggers Estop
2. VFD fault triggers Estop
3. Charge pump triggers Estop

I had to switch to a bigger controller box. My earlier one was just too tight. Found this one at an electornics surplus store.

[Turbo442]

I have had a few people PM'ing me electrical questions. I am no way connected with CNC4PC but their website is a great resource for schematics. Here is an example for a lathe schematic that should help people out. CNC4PC just released a small lathe package with enclosure and most of the parts I have used for around $400. You can order it with the 48v PS, 5056 digital drivers and such. They will even build it and test it for an extra $200. That sounds like a friggen bargin to me. When you do this stuff your self you get nickle and dimed to death. My setup is a bit different since I am using 240V input.

[Turbo442]

Also received some questions regarding the VFD wiring. Here are the cat 5 wiring colors as they go into the VFD. That might help someone out a bit. You still obviously need to setup the VFD settings and the Mach settings for it to work. I will try and document this later after the dust settles and my shop gets cleaned up. I do suggest reading the manuals and trying to figure this stuff out yourself first. Its going to be hard to troubleshoot otherwise when you run into problems.

[Turbo442]

Got the electronics cleaned up a bit more. Did some test running with the lathe. Needed to add a choke to the signal cable between the C41 board and the VFD as you can see in the photo.

[Turbo442]

Ran a few test cuts with the lathe yesterday. Pretty happy with the finish so far. This is using a insert designed for non ferrous materials, from Shars. Works much better, I cound not come close to this finish using the power feed and the stock lead screw. Still need to set the acceleration and deceleration on the VFD more agressive.

G0602 CNC G96 test - YouTube

[Turbo442]

I was considering replacing the spindle bearings with something that may run a little quieter. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Any recommended bearings? I know most G0602 lathes sound the same and I am pretty sure the noise comes primarily from the spindle bearings. I have read a few people mention their G0602 got quieter after a spindle bearing replacement with higher quality bearings. I was using the highest speed pulley in the above video. The toothed drive belt was not installed. I think the RPM was around 2500 max.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

That does look like a nice tool. Do you have the Shars part number for it, and the insert you're using?

Regards,
Ray L.

[Turbo442]

That does look like a nice tool. Do you have the Shars part number for it, and the insert you're using?

Regards,
Ray L.

Ray,
This is 5/8" shank 7 piece set I am using from Shars. They sell 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4" shank sets.
shars.com - 58quot Indexable Carbide Turning Tool Set

These are the inserts for aluminum I was using in the video.
shars.com - DCGX 3251 LH YD101

also this one for the other tool.
shars.com - CCGX 3251 LH YD101

Catalog page.
http://www.shars.com/files/products/...13B/page62.pdf


Matt

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Matt,

Thanks!

Regards,
Ray L.

[Turbo442]

CNC4PC came out with a new C11 board for those that still run parallel port. Like me. Its called the C11GS Its gut a bunch of LED's for inputs and outputs. Should be pretty to watch. Push lock terminals as well. Should be a lot more reliable. No more wires working loose like the screw type terminals. I picked one up for a different project.

[Fastest1]

And 3 onboard relays?

[Turbo442]

And 3 onboard relays?

Yeah looks like it, I guess good for 10 amps. They also have a C11S that is optosiolated.

I sit here wasting too much time building an enclosure and panel and then find something like this...

http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/prod..._id=679]CNC4PC

Crap they have a ton of panels now...

http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/inde...h=58_91]CNC4PC

[Turbo442]

Made some progress tonight. The VFD, limit switches and index pulse are now wired between the lathe and controller with RJ45 connections. I was able to get the coolant relay working as well. I was lazy and used a c37 relay board. Couldn't get it to work through the RJ45 connection so I wired it through the provided terminals.

output 1 = Motor forward 'M3' command
output 2 = Motor reverse 'M4' command
output 16 = Coolant pump 'M8' on, 'M9' off. Using Mach Turn 'CTRL-F' does not seem to work like it does in Mach Mill.
output 17 = Charge pump

The braking resistor is not working. It just gets really hot really fast. I think this VFD requires the braking module which probably has a resistor and some FET's.

[Turbo442]

Made a few changes today. Re-located the Ergo-tron arm to a better location. Mounted the controller underneath the bench. Did some testing under load and received a few random e-stop errors. Put a choke on the VFD power leads close to the VFD. Problem solved.

Here is a groving/part off test. Still trying to learn the Mach Turn wizzards. Using a cool mist spray setup in the video.

G0602 CNC grove test. - YouTube

[Turbo442]

Went to look at a Bridgeport Interact 412 the other night I can get cheap. Around $1000. Its a big project though. Not sure what to think. I see a few conversions done on them. Its a lot of hardware. The monitor went out during a power glitch about 8 years ago. It has a full enclosure, its off right now in the photos. I think its BT40.

[Turbo442]

The Teco braking unit arrived today from WolfAutomation. I think it was $130 shipped. I ordered TBU-203. Will see later tonight if it works.

[fw541c]

Hi my name is Andrew. i have been reading your build for some time now. I got my G0602 comming, got my bench all setup with computer, moniter, ect, Draining system build into the bench for coolant.
I was wondering if you wouldnt mind giving an updated parts list, with part numbers if possible? I would really appreciate it. I really like how your setup turned out and i will be trying to clone your build.

Oh also in an earlier post you mentioned that you got a few of the monitor/keyboard/mouse swivel setups. Did you have some extra ones you wanted to sale? Thank you.

Edit: what i mean has your parts list changed from the first post you listed the parts in? thanks again

[fw541c]

Would it be possible for you to give dimensions on the block with the T slot in it also please?
I never asked but do you mind that im trying to replicate your setup?
It just seems to work really well and your a lot smarter that I so i need to use a great guide like the one youve made here.

Thanks!