Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi again Mike,

The plan is for me to make the design available, but to also produce a set of videos that show the building process, as well as the setup process.

I have had quite a number of requests from people that have purchased my Guitar machining and design videos, to walk them through the setup process of a CNC, and also things like indexing, starting to cut, flipping a body or neck over, indexing again, fixturing etc. So I am in the works of doing that.

To your point about limit switches: I was playing around with the z-axis two days ago (admiring its speed), and was driving it at about 400 IPM. There is an area on the bottom, where the plate comes very close to the router mount aluminum angle, and I had a dowel on the table, which somehow found its way between the two. When I jogged, it COMPLETELY CRUSHED the dowel...if this was a finger, it would have been broken...in several places....

So suffice to say, the machine is very powerful, and metal makes it unforgiving for mistakes....it can cause damage or injury (like any other power tool) if not properly used and operated.

ALL the axis will have limit switches, and I am also considering homing switches on top of that. This should make it easier to index something, since all one has to do is to tell mach3 to find the limits/homes, place the piece you are machining at that point, and go from there. I am in the process of fabricating/designing the brackets for the limit switches right now, and today, UPS says that I will have my X and Y rails! Obviously, an E-stop switch will be plalced both at the controller end, as well as my hand held pendant.

Another item which should also be noted, and another reason to go with steppers, as compared to servos: If a stepper is working, and say there is no limit switch, and you reach a limit on an axis, it is likely that the stepper will Stall, and prevent the machine from damage. If it is a servo, that might not happen, and on top of that, the motor might be destroyed. You can stall steppers all day long with no adverse effects for the most part.

So it is steppers for me, and 420 Oz/in will provide enough power to machine brass and aluminum even if desired....

More to come guys....

_________________
-CyborgCNC
http://www.cncguitar.com
https://www.facebook.com/CncGuitar

Maybe compile a parts list in the mean time? I would like to start getting the parts over time.

Mike

FlowJet claims their machines can do those sorts of tolerances. I'm not sure that I believe them, though. I think the only companies who ever get called to task on the numbers they toss out are grinder and milling-machine manufacturers; past that, I think a little embellishment is par for the course.

_________________
Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Hi,

Yes, it was a flowjet which was used, and that is what the machining guy claimed (true or not....)

Regardless, for drilling holes, and placing things square where I need them, I am very happy with the machined parts.

I am half the way there in assembling the gantry, and so far, just with a test fit of the rails, and the sides, using a machinists square, it was dead on!

Hopefully with my ball screws coming next week, I will have some x-y axis movements pretty soon!

_________________
-CyborgCNC
http://www.cncguitar.com
https://www.facebook.com/CncGuitar

Well? How is it going?

Mike

Hi All,

Sorry have not been posting, been doing some traveling for the "real" job....

Going quite well actually...just waiting on a couple of more parts...thanks for asking.

My x-axis is done....topped out at about 320 IPM on rapids, I think I can get 360 with some more fine tuning...but plenty fast for me.

-I have also completed the use of an x-box controller joystick which I am using as a jog pedant...man, it works quite well, and it is a very nice accessory to have for the machine. It also has proportional control, so the more you push the stick to say in a direction, the faster the axis moves....should make indexing a breeze! Coupling this with a height control gauge/wizard, and I will be in business!

-Turns out, one of the belts I had for the y-axis was too short, so I just ordered a new one from sdp-si, as well as a bearing which I was missing. I hate it when stuff like that happens, and you need to wait for an order to come in...boy I do wish that Home Depot started selling cnc parts!!

-I also decided to get two bi-polar steppers at about 512 Oz/In for the x and Y axes.....and will stick to 360 Oz/in for the z....should give more power (not that I will need it) but nice to be there. Those are coming in on Wed. Next week. I have another short business trip, but I should be able to have videos for you guys in about 3 weeks time of the machine, basically pretty much completed!

Bye for now....

_________________
-CyborgCNC
http://www.cncguitar.com
https://www.facebook.com/CncGuitar

Hi All,

Finally got sometime to do a short video of my Machine construction so far...

Have a look,and let me know your thoughts

(You need to have Flash 9.x or better installed to see the video...)

http://www.cnclutherie.com/cnc/xaxis-tests.html

_________________
-CyborgCNC
http://www.cncguitar.com
https://www.facebook.com/CncGuitar

I can see that you're having waaaaay to much fun.
Gotta love that proportional joystick!
Nelson

Hey Guys...just wanted to provide an update...

In the words of Dr. Frankenstein...

IT'S ALIVE!!!!

Getting some very nice speeds....I can easily jog at 290-300 IPM on ALL axes....did a mock run of cutting out a Les-Paul Top, at 180 IPM.....worked great!

More to come, in terms of videos and pics, but really very happy with the design, and the overall performance of the machine.

Next on the menu: Building a new controller, as this machine has reached the limits of my old steppers. Got new 500 Oz/In 8-wire motors, which I will run in parallel mode using Keling drivers, that put out up to 7.5A of drive current!...I can't wait to see the speeds with these new puppies....

peace....

_________________
-CyborgCNC
http://www.cncguitar.com
https://www.facebook.com/CncGuitar

Hello all,
I'm still a newbie here, as well as a CNC newbie.

That being said, I would like to ask Mr. Cockrum a few questions about this build. I am very interested in the pendant you are using.

First, are you using a USB type, joy contoller to PC converter, and which one?
Second: what keyboard emulation software?
Third: What, if any drivers for the converter are needed or are you using?

I also follow your work in other places as well. So If I might, may I ask some questions about your Z axis thickness probe?
I currently am building my first CNC Router. Will be using Probotix electronics and steppers. specifically, the breakout board is the PBX-2 , Mach3 processor.

http://www.probotix.com/manuals/PBX-2_manual.htm

It has jumper enabled inputs using built in 1k pullup resistors at +5Vdc. Will this work with your type of Probe? I noticed that you were using 10k resistors as well as 12Vdc. I assume the higher resistor was to step down the +V, as you indicated that you were using +5Vdc at the probe?

Thank you for your time and willingness to share your knowledge.

Sincerely,

Mike

_________________
I'm outside looking in, just farther from the window than most.

Hi..Not sure you meant to post this here?

Not sure who Mr. Cockrum is?

-Anyway, I am planning on probably making a complete video set on the construction and setup of a CNC machine. Leaving no stone un-turned, and basically showing everything from beginning to end. Many folks who have purchased my guitar design and machining videos have asked me for this, and I will probably make it a reality soon. Not sure when, as the amount of work is immense to produce such a set.

-For a "starter" cnc machine, probotix is very good, from what I have heard about them. So I am sure that you will have very good results with it.

Using the touch probe, basically any parallel port break-out board (like the one on your link below) will work, as long as you are careful to map the pin you will use to the software. Now, you MUST configure the software correctly, and for me, that is mach3. There is a very well written script and screen setup for mach3, that makes the process quite easy, once the proper pin is mapped. Are you planning on using mach3 as well? Be very careful during the testing phase, since a wrong move can crash your tool into the table, and make sure everything is grounded! The wat the software detects the touch is by pulling the high signal low, which basically pulling it to ground. If the router bit is not grounded, it will not work (this is why folks also use a banana clip to clip onto their bit, before using the touch probe).

Do a search on cnczone for touch probe, and you will find a wealth of information, but if anything is not clear, let me know, and I will try to clarify further.

-The pendant: Are you referring to my x-box controller in the video?
If so, again, nothing fancy needed with mach3. There is no breakout board, or an interface like i-pac (although you can use one if you want). Mach3, also has a build-in keygrabber, so that basically you can grab any key, translated into a keyboard stroke (like doing it through an i-pac interface) and have it command mach3.
For the x-box controller, there is a plug-in that let's you configure the controller right in the software, with nothing else needed.

-As far as their drivers, they are good as well, but I think they will put out a max of about 3 amps? Be careful wiring your system up, and this is especially true with 8 wire steppers, which can be wired in EITHER serial or parallel mode. The literature will usually show you the amp requirement for each mode. If you do not exceed the limits, the driver will be fine, but for example, if a parallel wired stepper requires 5amps, and you are only giving it 3, it will not function very well. Idea here is to stay within the limits, and later on, when you get more comfortable, you can upgrade drivers and steppers as needed. Start small, and grow from there.

Hope I clarified a few things?

_________________
-CyborgCNC
http://www.cncguitar.com
https://www.facebook.com/CncGuitar

Thank you for the Reply,
I thought that maybe you were Chris Cockrum, as I have seen his posts elsewhere as cyborgcnc, I believe. I must be mistaken. Anyway, thank you for your response. Very much appreciated.

Mike

_________________
I'm outside looking in, just farther from the window than most.

Well just an FYI, I did find Chris and somehow mistook him for you, as he references you and your work on his site as well as other places. So, I guess I still came to the right person to get my answers.

Nice to be known around the world.


Mike

_________________
I'm outside looking in, just farther from the window than most.

No Problem at all,

Yes, Chris has given my work a very nice review, and I thanked him for doing that. Glad I can be off help to bring CNC machining to guitar making.

When I first got started, it was very difficult to say the least to find information all in one place. Took me about 1 year to get all the methods down, and embark on a journey of learning. This is the reason I decided to make all the information available, and so far, I have gotten some excellent feedback from folks using my videos and methods. What has also amazed me, is that truly, the internet is the global marketplace! I have shipped these videos to some very remote corners of the world....

glad to be off help, more is coming!

_________________
-CyborgCNC
http://www.cncguitar.com
https://www.facebook.com/CncGuitar

Hi again all,

My NEW power supply arrived today! All I can say is MASSIVE! This thing will put out over 20A, and has a very hefty and VERY heavy transformer, as you can see from the pic below...

Just need a few more parts from mouser, and the build of my new controller will soon start!

More to follow.....

_________________
-CyborgCNC
http://www.cncguitar.com
https://www.facebook.com/CncGuitar

Hello again Everyone...

Finally put the finishing touches on my new controller....

As you can see, I went a bit "crazy" with it....the meter in the front measures the current going to the drivers (as an aggregate, as my chassis was not large enough to place one for each driver....). Quite useful information to have, especially when configuring the drivers for different size motors. Sure does help to see the exact current being injected.

In addition, the LEDs in the front are for step and direction indicators. Depending on the direction, and LED lights up, and then the LED right below it, blinks to indicate that the axis is moving. There are 4 in a row, since I might add a forth axis in the future. Maybe I will post a video of it soon, so you can all see how it works.

Fans in the back keep the drivers cool (not that they need it) and the front fan creates a very nice airflow through the chassis when the top is on. The intake fans also have filters on them as you can see, to eliminate dust from entering while it is operating.

Figured I would also cut some labels on my Vinyl cutter for the graphics you see...RCA terminals in the back are for optional inputs (like an automatic height control, E-stop etc..). As you can see, used 4-pin screw in terminals for the stepper connections, and I still have to place some labels on them.

Machine is almost completed....400 IPM rapids on all axis, jogging them together, I can get in excess of 1000IPM (as it reads on the mach3 screen...). Again, more to follow, but these kelling drivers have breathed new life into my steppers!!
Now for the video creation....

_________________
-CyborgCNC
http://www.cncguitar.com
https://www.facebook.com/CncGuitar

Hi All,

The machine is just about done!!

As you can see from the pics below: I need to route some channels on my MDF spoil board for t-tracks, and I will let the machine do it. Also, need to create some brackets so that I can mount a dust hood on the router for dust collections, as well as a baffle for air deflection. The router mount is temporary, since I am having the mounts machined out of 6061 aluminum. The one you see is HDPE Plastic, which much to my surprise is a pretty dang good and solid mount....
Steppers are 570 Oz/in from Kelling, wired in Parallel, and these things are powerful! Can't say enough about the kelling drivers and the steppers.

Very happy with the build, and the way this thing is performing...400 IPM rapids on all axis, and can probably push it to 450 with no issues. Here are some pictures of my little "cnc corner" in my shop.....











What do you guys think?

_________________
-CyborgCNC
http://www.cncguitar.com
https://www.facebook.com/CncGuitar

Very Nice. It looks great.

Mike

_________________
I'm outside looking in, just farther from the window than most.

CyborgCNC

Awesome looking machine !

Luc

Nice job on the machine.

_________________
Brad
Avon, OH