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Rank: Newbie
Groups: Member
Joined: 12/28/2009
Posts: 2
Points: 6
Location: TX
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First and foremost I'd like to say thanks for extending a helping hand to those home shop machinists wanting to take the plunge. I've learned quite a bit lurking around here and wish I'd have found this place sooner. I've been manually milling simple projects for coming up on a year, but my projects keep wanting to get complicated/intricate. You know the drill  . So, I'm hoping to convert my X2 to CNC via Hoss' plans using the X and Y as a bootstrap for making the rest of the conversion. I'd also like to be able to add a 4th axis later down the road. Now for the kicker. I'd like to DIY it, or rather HMBD (have my buddy do) it. He has the tools (and skills) to do pretty much any hardware creation I can throw at him, and is willing to trade time building boards for time on my CNC rig after completion. Being fresh out of college means that cash is a little tight, so I'd like to direct as much money as possible at more tooling and projects. I'm curious if there is a 'gold standard' project out there for the home machinist that includes everything between the PC and the ball screws. The first I ran across was via the link here, to Will's Mini-mill using the Microstep. A DIY kit for ~$50 an axis? I can buy one for that much. Then I ran across the Instructables project (located at http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-build-CNC-Mill-Stepper-Motor-and-Driver-ci/) with a bill of materials at ~$24 for a 3 axis board. This is what I needed, just with support for a 4th axis. Also, I'm curious why there is such a huge difference in prices, or rather parts chosen to accomplish the control. Is there something I am missing? I apologize for the wall of text and thanks in advance!
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Rank: Administration
Groups: Administration
Joined: 6/28/2008
Posts: 202
Points: 515
Location: Follansbee, WV
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If you don't want to just buy drivers from Keling or Gecko, you can build some fairly decent drivers from the following. Hobby CNC, easy to build kits with decent power. Linistepper, pretty popular kits. Electronics lab, complete DIY. Hoss
Gosh, you've... really got some nice toys here.-Roy Batty
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Rank: Newbie
Groups: Member
Joined: 12/28/2009
Posts: 2
Points: 6
Location: TX
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Thanks for the info, the Hobby CNC kit looks like something I could do. I have an extra case and transformer laying around that might be the right size, I'll have to look. However, I'm confused since all three of those kits you linked are unipolar drivers. I did a bit of research and found out that you can run 8,6,and 5 wire motors on unipolar drivers, but is that only in unipolar mode? I was under the impression that bipolar parallel was the suggested mode for benchtop CNC.
Also, if I were wanting to add axes, would it be a wiser idea to hunt for a separate drivers and breakout board? Kind of like the Keling kit?
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Rank: Administration
Groups: Administration
Joined: 6/28/2008
Posts: 202
Points: 515
Location: Follansbee, WV
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Yep, bipolar is better for cnc, you'll get more torque out of the motors, about 50% more. The costs to build the boards with higher amps are higher so it's more economical to just buy some from keling or Gecko that have added features and protection IMHO. But here are a few kits for Bipolar divers. Bi-Polar Stepper Motor Driver KitTHSTEP25 Microstepping Stepper Motor DriverEAS MicrostepHoss
Gosh, you've... really got some nice toys here.-Roy Batty
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Rank: Newbie
Groups: Member
Joined: 1/5/2010
Posts: 1
Points: 3
Location: Utah
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Revelc:
I am following a process similar to what you have described. After looking into the options, it didn't seem cost effective to make my own driver. I ordered a "New 5 Axis TB6560 CNC Stepper Motor Driver 12-36V 3A" from seller Savebase on ebay. It was $110 shipped from Hong Kong. It (as I understand it) is a bipolar driver, at least you only connect four wires, regardless of how many the motor has.
There were posts on Cnczone about people burning up chips when they ran the board at 36volts, but I have had no problem. I am running a 24volt power supply I salvaged from a HP Color Laserjet printer ( the stepper motors too). The driver gave no response until I disabled "enable5" and "enable6" in the Output Signals configuration of Mach 3. I still have no idea why that made any difference, but it works great now.
I kludged together the X and Y motor mounts and am using this setup to make the parts for the Z axis, then I will go back and do the X and Y more solidly. I ordered the Z ballnut mount pulley and X Y ballnut stop blocks from Hoss ( Thanks Hoss, they look great) and am working through the Z axis mount parts.
Good luck on your conversion.
Hoss, thanks for providing all the excellent information. You give so much detail that even an idiot could do the conversion (I hope).
Alan
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Rank: Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 1/11/2010
Posts: 11
Points: 33
Location: Houston TX
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Hey guys,
I wanted to throw in my .02 here.
First, I am new to this board, but not to CNC. Especially the stepper side of things. I have built a HobbyPro CNC controller for my wood router. I purchased it with the 305 motors and sourced all the parts they suggested. After scrapping several attempts to build a reasonably accurate wood router, I mounted the motors on a buddy's CNC machine with a failed controller. The HobbyCNC is clean, strong and easy to do. BUT, it lacks the power of bi-polar, higher voltage systems. Now 305oz motors are nothing to laugh at. They will crank some power, a lot more than people give them credit for. But 425's with 36V will really cook.
When I started to convert my X2, I wanted to take some important lessons from all my other CNC projects. They are as follows....
1) Budget and CNC parts don't mix well
2) You can't afford to buy cheap tools
3) "Kits" have a higher expense (time and money) than prefab.
Yes, most of those are about money, but it is true. Budget CNC conversion kits will generally not work well unless you build them yourself. They cost you time you could be spending on your CNC projects. Cheap tools break, and ruin good stock. There are exceptions to cheap tooling, but start with some reasonably quality tools and save yourself many hours of frustration. And after building many, many stepper controllers, all I can say is buy the KL-4030. If you crater one, and I doubt you will, you can just replace it. No soldering, no meter chasing, just plug and play. The Keling packages are only about 100 more than the HobbyCNC or other kit prices, but are quality and expandable. You will be happier working with them in the long run, and you will be up and running faster.
Sorry to kinda tangent, and ramble, but I think I got it out. Save a bit longer, and get a Keling or Gecko package.
John
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Rank: Administration
Groups: Administration
Joined: 6/28/2008
Posts: 202
Points: 515
Location: Follansbee, WV
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I just found some excellent looking bipolar drivers from China, up to 36V and 3.5 Amps
with 3 4 and 5 axis boards that include inputs for limits etc, a relay for flood or whatnot
and spindle control output.
About $72 (3 axis) $91 (4 axis) and $112 (5 axis) shipped to the US.
I'm gonna pick one of them up to use for the lathe or something.
The Ebay store Quality-Gadgets carry them as well as others.
You can find others by searching for the TB6560AHQ Toshiba stepper driver chip it uses.
They all claim to work with Mach 3 too.
Hoss
Gosh, you've... really got some nice toys here.-Roy Batty
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Rank: Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 1/11/2010
Posts: 11
Points: 33
Location: Houston TX
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Hoss, Any update on those Chinese stepper controllers? I am thinking of picking one up to drive the motors on the ATC. Some additional breakout would be nice too. I have a pile of 200-300 oz motors, will those be strong enough for the ATC? Also, do you want me to drop one of my extra key capture gizmo's in the mail to you? I have 10+ of them and a ton of arcade arrow and rectangular buttons. I can throw in a set of those as well. The buttons have 5v lights in them (I don't remember if they are LED or not), not that the lights are terribly useful, but kinda cool. Here is the link. (Sorry for the thread detour) http://www.vetra.com/312txt.htmlModel: 3130dhh1 John
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Rank: Administration
Groups: Administration
Joined: 6/28/2008
Posts: 202
Points: 515
Location: Follansbee, WV
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I read that those chinese boards work great at 24V and 2.5 A but going higher is iffy, can blow up at 36V if the motors stall. a 300 oz/in would be fine for rotating the toolrack but you'll need 495 min to use for rotating the swingarm, bigger is better in this case. I'm all for getting free stuff  email me for my address. hoss@hossmachine.infoThanks, Hoss
Gosh, you've... really got some nice toys here.-Roy Batty
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Rank: Newbie
Groups: Member
Joined: 2/3/2010
Posts: 1
Points: 3
Location: Houston
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First post here on Hoss's site. Been a fan for a while on various forums/ Youtube. I have a little experience with cnc, just enough to constantly want to mess with things. I built the Hobby Cnc 4 axis board and converted a Sherline mill and lathe. This has mostly created frustration as I want to cut at reasonable speeds now. Sherlines are wonderful for what they are, I just want more. Anticpating a cnc conversion of a LatheMaster or similar.
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