[ww_kayak]

Alright, I wasn't even going to post my "build thread" until I finished everything because I take so long finish stuff. But, the controller came out pretty good, even though I know It'll need a complete rebuild once learn enough to know what I forgot. Also, every build thread I've read has benefitted a ton from the exchange of info with other forum members. Besides that, maybe posting, will make me finish quicker too

I started with the controller because I just had the concrete for the new shop poured a couple weeks ago, and I need to get the garage semi-finished before I start the mill.


So anyway: G0704, Keling 8056Ds, KL-480-48 PS, C35 BOB, 570oz all around, linearmotion2008 (ebay) ballscrews (1605 XY, 2005 Z), Hoss's prints.

I had an old pump house switch enclosures with contactors, transformers, disconnects, lights, buttons, etc... I also had a 7" car-puter touchscreen that I hadn't used (although I bought a 10" eventually). So, I figured I'd add a mini-PC and throw it everything in one enclosure. I've read a ton of the threads about noise and grounding and my conclusion was to keep it well grounded in ONE place and it should be fine. So far it is.

I'm using a 32 GB solid state drive with a dual boot LinuxCNC / Mach3 setup. LinuxCNC was installed from the liveCD and took some hacking to get the touchscreen working. Mach3 work fine in Windows7 32bit.

Here's where I'm at:

G0704 PC CNC Controller - YouTube

[Mystichrome]

Nice setup. I did the carputer thing myself. Oddly enough it was one of the numerous hobbies that ultimately led to me deciding I wanted a CNC. Once upon a time, I spent a lot of time on the mp3car forums. BTW I love how you labeled your e-stop. I believe I'm going to have to borrow that idea. :cheers:

-Kevin

[Fastest1]

Sweet

[ww_kayak]

Well, I finally got around to making some parts(from Hoss's plans) to convert the G0704. It's impressive how long some seemingly simple parts take to make... without CNC

Nothing earth shattering, i'll just post some pics. I can never find enough of them myself...

[mduckett]

Awesome control box and great pix of the parts.

[ww_kayak]

All three axis and steppers are mounted. I had a couple gotchas and one screw-up. The X-Axis was too long for the standoffs as shown in the plans. I read a couple other threads, and it looks like "it happens", even with shims and bearings properly installed. I was out of 1/2 round bar, so turned the ballscrew locknut thread down by 1/4 inch and cut 1/4" from the end.

The Y-Axis wouldn't install with the ballnut because of the webbing in the casting. It looks like some runs/versions of the mill don't have the webbing across the opening in the base, which would have made it easier. So I turned down a chunk of delrin to 14mm (13.5 was too small for me) and installed a couple cotter pins so I could slide the nut on and off multiple times.

I got a little lazy on the X-Axis end plate and tried to drill it with a hand drill... it drifted alot and led to 2 hours of fiddling around and breaking taps, etc.. Once the mill is running I need to make replacement endplates

Other than those it was as expected: grooving, grinding, filing, massaging, ...

[ww_kayak]

G0704 CNC Conversion:: It's Alive, boring, yet awesome! - YouTube


So the table is zipping along fast enough that I need to wire up my limits/home sensors. I have a couple questions related to the sensors:

1. It looks like LinuxCNC now supports combining of all limits and home: "combine all limits and home". Does Mach support this as well? I see a bunch of threads saying you can configure all different combos, just not the "everything combo". I'm trying make sure my wiring works for LinuxCNC and Mach3.

2. This is BOB specific: I'm a little confused on how the CNC4PC C35's RJ45 INPUT pinout maps to the sensors. I bought the CNC4PC A61 sensor adapter which is just an RJ45 punch-down block and a pullup resistor with 5 proximity sensors. I pulled it apart because I only want to use 3 sensors. OK here's the deal:

CNC4PC's wiring diagram, for the A61, shows pin 2,3, and 4 being used for Z, Y, and X limits/home. Indeed, when I pulled the A61's RJ45 adapter apart it was wired this way.

The pinout that confuses me is the INPUT port on the C35:
The A61's pins(2,3,4) don't seem to map to the signal pins for C16(RJ45_7) of the C35 BOB?

What am I missing?, I thought I would just wire 3 sensors in series and connect them (via RJ45) to pin 11? Does the A61 work "out of thebox" and why?

Thanks

[dnepr0mike]

heh, i'm working on exactly same conversion.
currently stuck on Y-spacer.
milled one pocket, flipped and now can't find a center to mill second one
don't have much experience nor centering gauge. i'm at loss.

any suggestion. anyone here wants to help brother out. i'll pay!

[ww_kayak]

Depending on how accurate you want it. It's not a press fit so "close" is good enough...

1. Square up the part, use an edge detector, and move to the same location you drilled the through hole.

2. Use the drill you used to drill the through hole with to re-center the part. wrap it in paper or tape to make it a tight fit.

3. Lots of other, better, ways I'm sure

[BIRDTOOL]

The diagram shows (2) sensors in series for each x & y and (1) for z . Not familiar with prox switches, but can you wire (3) in series and connect to RJ45_7 PIN 4?

[ww_kayak]

Yes, they assume 2 limit switches for the X and 2 for Y, and an upper for the Z. I'll only use 1 per axis.
RJ45_7 is the problem, if you look at pinout of the RJ45_7 (second picture), it shows "No Connection" for pin 4. That's why I'm confused how their A61 can work without connecting to Cat5 pins 5,6, or 7, especially since they explicitly mention the C35?

Don't get me wrong, I know I can just run a couple wires to pin 11 (or pin XX) on the BOB and make it work, I'm just trying to understand how the "easy" RJ45 method works

[BIRDTOOL]

You must have an out of date manual, the one on their site (rev 1.2) shows rj45_7 pin 4 is PP port 11.

[ww_kayak]

SON OF A ...!. When all else fails RT(Correct)FM!
I guess that's what happens when you take too long to finish a project.

Thanks, now I can use the easy method, LOL

[hoss2006]

I'm liking this build very much for some reason.
Keep up the great work.
Hoss

[Mad Welder]

Yeppee another build thread, love the progress and excellent photos too.....well done and keep posting those photos.

[ww_kayak]

OK, so I got the Y and Z hooked up and started the process of learning how much I don't know
Hell, I spent an afternoon getting the axes configured properly. They all moved up & down / back & forth fine, I just kept messing up whose perspective I should be using when setting the direction of travel. At first I thought:

"obviously X positive is to the right, so the '+' button moves the table to the right. Done"

...Wait that means the '+' button moves the tool negative with respect to the part.

"DUH, ok got it. reverse them all. Done."

...Wait, for the the Z-axis, the tool IS actually moving, so, reverse it back.

"OK, done"

...Wait, the live plot on the PC shows the tool moving up when the spindle is physically moving down.

"OK, found a way to reverse the graphical depiction of the Z-Axis, done."

...Wait, everything is moving in the correct direction, but the numbers on the DRO are reversed?

"OK, I'm lost, time for dinner"
... In the end, it was a typo. Even though I knew to set up the Z-Axis Max @ 0.0, I typed in the opposite. Once I reset all my previous changes, everything was fine! But as usual I learned a ton.


The limit switches were much less painful. I just machined some aluminum mounting brackets and mounted them to the saddle. I bought the pre-wired RJ45 bundle from CNC4PC because I'm using the C35 board, and they were out of the individual sensors at the time I ordered. The bundle has 5 sensors, because they assume 2 for X, 2 for Y, and 1 for Z. I'm only using three: 1 for each axis, wired in series to a single pin, and combining all home and limit functionality. I took it apart and removed the extra two sensors from the RJ45. I'm sure I'll use them later when I start to add upgrades!
The only "issue" was another brain fart. I was trying to use an indicator to check accuracy of the table movement... and it was terrible? Oops, forgot to tighten the gibs!

Oh, and the piece of copper coated filler rod for my homing switch is temporary

Video:
http://youtu.be/WmvS9HuXvCs

MORE PROJECT PICS

[ny_racer_xxx]

OK, I was wondering how you machined the G0704 saddle in a G0704 machine..... You have another G0704 mill!!! I thought maybe you bought an extra saddle...

Nice clean build.....

[ww_kayak]

Well, it's a good thing I have two machines. Now that I have taken a couple weeks to read the "CNC Programming Handbook", I figured it was time to cut some parts...

Even though I bought this mill last spring, it hadn't been run at all. So, I started the "break-in" process: 600 RPM (10 min.)... 1000 RPM (10 min.)... 2000RPM (10 min.). I used LOW for the 600, HIGH for the 1000 and 2000. The motor got really warm at 600 RPM, too hot to touch @ 1000 RPM, and started to burn off oil residue at 2000 RPM within 2 minutes!

This is one reason I bought two machines. I read too many posts about motors, and controllers, smoking. I didn't want any down time for RMA's, back orders, and shipping delays. Both machines have recent manufacturing dates: 3-bolt mod, unused sight window, hot motor warning label, etc. I was hoping Grizzly had fixed this? I did take the motor apart: bearings seemed OK, no smell of melted windings, brushes and armature "looked" OK... Crap, just typing that made me realize I should run it without a load for awhile...

That being said, maybe it's not the motor?

The other issue was that the spindle got really hot too. I would guess that a bad spindle setup would cause the motor to work too hard? The spindle seems to spin freely by hand, but not AS freely as the other head. Anybody have bearing/spindle issues right out of the box at stock speeds?

[Kevinj308]

Awesome thread! G0704 with Linux is what I'm planning as well. Thanks for the great pics!
Kevin

[ny_racer_xxx]

What's the punch down tool for?

CR