Crash:
Ask Nathan about the G540 Gecko drive package he's putting together. It's a plug and play setup.

 

johnbernard36, I like that controller with the built-in SmoothStepper! Did you order it that way, or add in the SmoothStepper yourself? Indicator lights, switches and all?
And where did you get that BIG Estop switch?

 

And he is extremely talanted! Quite a guy.

Oh by the way, you should see his planes!

I have to tell you this little side story. It has nothing to do with CNC or planes whatsoever, but is an interesting coincidence.

A little over 2 years ago, just before the housing bubble burst, I had put my home on the market with intentions of downsizing. Too much yard maintenance, pool, yadee yadee, you know. So my wife and I picked Scotish Highlands as a potential subdivision we were interested in.

When John read about my demo of the Phlatprinter he contacted me and came over to see it first hand and invited me to see his workshop afterward.

When I pulled up to his house my jaws about dropped! He was living in the home my wife and I had driven by and said, "Gee I wish that one was for sale!". At the time, it was not, but shortly afterward, John became the owner after it did go on the market.

We had looked at the houses next door which were for sale (and still are) and loved the view of a small pond behind the house. We are still in the same house by the way. It never sold so we took it off the market.

Little did I know that one day John and I would meet, share so many common interests and it is no wonder he liked the house, as his interests so parallel mine it is really facinating. By the way, we belong to the same AMA club if you had not gathered that.

 

Thanks for the kind words!

Dorsal, The controller is something I put together using a PACTEC box, a simple power supply made from components that are readily available from surplus, and of course a smoothstepper. I have a couple of these, one with an EasyCNC controller, and one using Probotix OOB and SideStep modules. I've got a HobbyCNC controller laying around as well, but typically configure all my steppers as bipolar.

I can dig up the sources and the schematic for the power supply if you would like it. It's a common supply with many variants posted on several CNC forums. It puts out about 32V at 10A.

Crash: The G540 will accept up to 50v, but 32-35 volts from a standard supply would be fine. The real issue is current. Depending on the steppers, load, and what you're doing (I'll assume with 3d carving, all 3 axis will be moving at once pretty constantly) you need to make sure the current provided by the supply is adequate or you'll start dropping steps. I think I can come up with a power supply that will deliver 20-22A at 32v with off the shelf parts pretty cheaply (less than $60 I would guess) unless there are surplus supplies out there that can be had for less. Most of the forums seem to say to stay away from switching power supplies. Probably has to do with the heavy inductive load of multiple motors. Plus a basic linear supply is easy to build and fix.

John

 

I just paid Joe the $$$ for the Hybrid 4X4 kit - No word yet as to wait time.

Update - Joe already contacted me, the kit will ship early next week.

 

Wow you guys, that is a fantastic deal for a solid machine. Just curious, what rapids are they getting with this machine?
Dan

 

Crash,
I'm beginning to understand a little more about feed speeds. 1000ipm is cool but even fast acceleration settings take 6" to get up to that speed ~ so you will never see that speed unless you are going in a long straight line or have fancy constant velocity in your control software (which messes with accuracy). It is nice for big machines for fast rapids (going from one end of 4' to the other at 40ipm takes 1.2 minutes while 300ipm takes 10 seconds, 1000ipm takes 3). Foam fusses like crazy at 900ipm. I'm trying to figure which control software handles arcs the fastest. A G02 even at 900ipm goes real slow with TurboCNC, faster with EMC and I haven't tried Mach yet.
Dan

 

I spoke with Nathan at length last night (Tues), and I agree, what a knowledgeable gentleman! He's working with me to provide a customized bundle for a 3' by 4' machine. I say customized, as I'm using two screws, a higher gantry for the Y axis, and don't need drive or screw parts and already have the carriages and complete Z axis. He's drawing/modifying the original plans to incorporate 3030 8020 sides for the x axis to give it the rigidity needed for a 4' plus rails (about 60" rails to give over a 4' travel).

Crash, it looks like we'll get our kits around the same timeframe. We can compare notes and post the individual builds to show similar base machines with slightly different executions (plus share hints/tips and ideas). This may be the subject for a few podcasts!

 

You'll need the eDrawing viewer from the Fine Line Automation site to look at the eDrawings...

Natan supplied the drawings for my custom machine. It's the basic 2 x 3 machine scaled to a 3 x 4 dimension, with heavier sides and gantry, an extra lateral support, and my 2 screw setup.

He's putting together the aluminum and rail package for me as I have all the other pieces (carriages, screws, bearing blocks, steppers, Z Axis) already.

John Attached files FLA100-00 Modified 3x4.zip (1.6 MB)Â

 

johnbernard36, I could use some of your intellect about building a power supply. My research shows I'll need a 48-50Vdc, 8-10A ps for my Hybrid 4X4, running (4) Keling 425 steppers and a Gecko540.
When might you be available that I could Skype you?

 

Crash, Ooooooo! Me likey!
Can I touch it mister, can I , can I, huh? :mrgreen:

 

Dennis,
I have about 6 48V 7.3A power supplies available now that I have used with the G540 and 4 motors with nearly identical specs to the Kelings. If you want one, I can give you a deal. I'm not on Skype at the moment, but you can email me through my website. I'd give you my phone number, but we just had our first child, so I'm a little out of it at the moment .

I get a big shipment of these power supplies (along with NEMA 23 stepper motors pre-wired with resistors and DB9 connectors) in about a month or so. They'll be available both through CNC Router Parts and FLA.

Best regards,

Ahren
http://www.cncrouterparts.com

 

Crash... Ohhh.... Nice Aluminum! (drool..)
I can't wait for mine to show up!

Dorsal, The ps Ahren has sounds like it would do fine. I run around 34v at 10A, with 460In/Oz steppers, and only pull around 4-6 A peak. The 48v ps should give you a bit more speed. The G540 will handle 18-50v, so this looks good. I use a simple 10A supply (transformer, bridge and BIG cap) that would probably cost about $40 to build.

 

Crash,

I know that you are probably locked away in a hole building your MkII and the modified FLA100-00, but I am itching to find out the progress you have made.

Regards,

Nate
www.finelineautomation.com

 

ahren, Just wanted to report the power supply arrived in good physical condition a couple days ago. I haven't taken time to check out its output, because of my computer rebuild issues, but I have no doubt it will work perfectly. Thanks again for the great deal.