Arduino BIG Stepper Motor control. Rotary Axis for milling machine.

NYC CNC did a good vid on the same topic, different application a few years ago: • Use Arduino to Control...
THANKS FOR POINTING OUT MY MISTAKE! "count less than or equal to pulseset" caused it to turn 2401 steps. You can see a little ridge in the part where it goes too far. Fixed by removing equal. "count less than pulseset"
Wiring connections
Arduino Pin 8 to stepper driver pulse +5V
Arduino Pin 9 to stepper driver direction +5V
Arduino Ground to stepper driver signal ground Pulse -ve, Dir -ve, enable -ve
Arduino +5 volts to on/off switch to stepper driver enable +5V
Helpful hints:
1. Pick the size of motor you need for the torque/power you need. Don't know? FIND OUT!
2. Determine the voltage and current of the stepper motor.
3. Determine the stepper motor driver that will power your stepper motor with some extra fudge factor (this stuff is cheap). Big Easy driver or Adafruit motor shield for small stuff. "CNC stepper driver" for big stuff.
4. Determine the power supply you need for the input power, voltage and current your stepper needs. Add extra fudge factor.
5. Get an Arduino. (Like you don't already have 3 of them kicking around).
6. Cut and Paste the code to the Arduino IDE; upload to Arduino.
7. Hook up wires per the diagram on the stepper driver box and the Arduino Sketch.
8. Hook up a switch from +5V from Arduino to the "enable" terminal of the stepper motor.
9. Hook up all 5V signal ground from the stepper driver (negative) to the arduino ground.
10. Set the stepper driver DIP switches for the max current, holding torque and steps per revolution you require.
11. Triple check your work. Cross your fingers and toes. Plug in the power and hit the "enable" switch.
Long term projects here: / ave

[@MatHelm]

To check for A and B wires, just touch them to each other (2 at a time). A- to A+ (or B to B) will put the brakes on the stepper motor when you turn it by hand. No meter needed...

[@jl9816]

Mat Helm or read the label on the stepper.

[@MatHelm]

Your's still have labels? Wow, you must be rich..... ;p

[@carlovani5548]

The label says 红色和绿色是一对黄色和蓝色的b边对 Not really helpfull is it?

[@gillasosaurus]

It has the color code on the motor..

[@pholtaus]

4th line down on the motor label, colour codes in English

[@YorksDashCam]

Three videos in as many days, it's like a dream!! Keep up the good work!

[@Durrdalus]

4 in 3

[@TheBreadboardca]

Must be on a sabbatical :)

[@treynathaniel4075]

Anyone ask him why there are dicks drawn on the "computer" screens yet?

[@mdjpurdon]

That's the watermark for an unregistered version of AveCad. It would be weird it if there wasn't a dick on it tbh

[@Broadpaw_Fox]

That's not as much of a curiosity as is the question "where are the vices??" lol

[@TheWireEDM]

If you want an exact half a revolution, then your code needs some tweaking, as now it goes 2401 steps in your while loop, because 0 to 2400 are accepted conditions. If you start from zero, your compare has to be count < pulseset, so drop the equal sign.

[@lynnwillis441]

I have no idea why I watch these because 99.999% goes right over my head, yet I never not watch. I love the way you take a problem and bust your nuts until you get it to work. Thanks for putting your work out there. Keep them coming, and I shall keep my penile appendage firmly entrenched in the metallic gripping device.

[@abcqer555]

Please do more of these educational videos. I like your tear downs but these are super duper helpful with your entertaining and no nonsense approach. I was struggling to wire one of these suckers up and you helped me understand it (and understand that the PWM signal from a beaglebone isn't powerful enough to trigger it)

[@lorcankelleher5434]

I really like how laid back but also honest you are. Feels like my dad explaining cnc to me. Love it.

[@gravylookout]

I have absolutely no use for the knowledge I absorb from these videos but they are so well done and interesting to watch. thank you!

[@rollin3480]

gravylookout same!!!

[@hbj0123]

gravylookout, I'm glad I'm not the only one. The lingo is worth watching the vidjeo.

[@hunterwilliams2833]

You never know when something will be useful.

[@modrobert]

Thanks for admitting mistakes and not giving up, its what makes this channel so great. Talent means nothing without persistence.

[@CProgrammer3088]

Starting the count at 0 and then using

[@ivanblogs]

Yep. Off by one error.

[@ryankimball6030]

OK 7 7yo. 5

[@CProgrammer3088]

@@ryankimball6030 Hmm, pretty sure I was 20 during this comment, but sure! Hope you are enjoying grammar and mechanics class.

[@ryankimball6030]

@@CProgrammer3088 that was a total accident. I butt-commented. Sorry.

[@CProgrammer3088]

@@ryankimball6030 in that case I apologise sir. Have a good one!

[@fuzzy1dk]

a few points; The current in the stepper determines the torque, the voltage on the driver determines how fast you can reach that current, i.e. how fast you can run the stepper and still have torque. You can run that stepper with 12V you just can't run it very fast. And if you want to run the stepper fast you need to ramp the speed up and down, there's a limit to how much acceleration you can have before you lose steps

[@BerndFelsche]

You can go straight to G-code with CNC. No CAD. No CAM. Look at grbl shield: which STILL won't drive the big steppers directly. But it looks like a simple CNC system, from 1 to 4 or more axes. Doing it with less is fun and instructive, so even if you go for slightly more complexity, then you'll solve problems much faster​. Nice video.

[@TheBreadboardca]

Hi AvE, love the show, i'm in Canuckistan myself just outside Torona :) Re the stepper (Incase anyone else wants to follow along) and to save them blowing up shit unless they want to. The stepper is a nema 23 not a 34. big difference in many ways. the 70V is the controller max, the stepper spec is 3A and 1.6uH (Inductance), The volts that the supply can be is calculated from this but if you put 70V right to the motor it would let out the magic smoke big time as its resistance is only about 1ohm, they operate on reactance. The calc for optimal torque is simple enough to do with the old slide rule 32 * VL = VMAX where VL is the inductance so simple 32*1.6 = 51V, so the limiting factor is the stepper, not the controller. 48 is more than enough though for most cases, 70V will probably cause the stepper to overheat, as would the apparent 4.5A you were pumping into it there :), based on the clamp meter reading. 70V would not produce any appreciable increase in torque vs a 48V psu, either way None of the 70 pixies is applied to the motor in a DC Volts sense, its a pulse so the inductance of the motor limits the current for a very short period, the controller cuts it off at the right time before it fries the motor. lastly, microstepping makes the movement smoother (Changes the shape of the pixies applied to the motor toward a sine wave vs a square wave which is the case with no microstepping. At low speeds it makes little difference, at high speeds it helps alot Microstepping rarely does anything for accuracy though when above about 8 or 10 microsteps The GeckoDrive folks have some great info on how to work all this shit out if you or your viewers are interested... here:- www.geckodrive.com/support.html/

[@jason-ge5nr]

With a little modification you could take that square stock and make it round stock and sell it and make a fortune

[@theomnipresent1]

I think a lathe would be much better suited for that purpose; speed, cost and stock length abilities.

[@davidbrandon4364]

theomnipresent1 really?

[@stevenkelby2169]

@@theomnipresent1 No this would be much more efficient than a lathe.

[@ti3685]

even if I have NO idea what you are talking about in those kind of videos were electronics are involved, I still enjoy watching them.

[@Captain__Obvious]

That while loop will actually do 2401 iterations!

[@h82fail]

Yep, take away the = or start count at 1

[@stanimir4197]

yup, seeing "

[@RickSaffery]

Dude, watching your video automagically has me compelled to expand my machinery like a gas. I've got to add a rotary axis to my kit. That will eventually become two, then ten. Your clips are boss!

[@MrJunkiePlay]

aww waking up and seeing a new Ave Video #GoodSundays

[@2450logan]

MrJunkiePlay aww going to sleep on a Monday morning (1:00am) farking CHOOCH AvE flogging me with another video arggghhh

[@kylewilliams6679]

absolutely amazing :)

[@MrJunkiePlay]

hehe :P well its now 3 pm hey nice sunday i would say

[@kylewilliams6679]

indeed lol

[@patrickbentley4038]

i love the approach of gradually getting up to a cnc like setup its like watching the evolution of mechanical engineering but whith all the gadgets that are currently available not a first there was this then someone added this timeline approach. as someone who loves to tinker but has limited time at home i love your channel as it gives me so many idea's and reduces the learning curve on so many projects the fact that the audrino can do so much at its price point just amazes me but with enough code and the right shield things can happen. keep up the great work

[@donniefiechtner5437]

Old toolmaker tip. If you mount your rotary axis parallel to the spindle axis, you can smooth out that surface finish, rigidity permitting.

[@ProfRonconi]

Good to know! Thanks.

[@DougHanchard]

One of the best presentations of Ardo and Rasputin doin its thing I've seen on the 'net. Hopefully some kids actually watch this, become curious and start doing stuff with it. Seriously, really cool to see this kind of usage of basic computer chips and computer I/O code integrated into our basic machinist world. Stick your pixie in a vice!

[@godfreypoon5148]

It ain't "big" until they have to upgrade the transformer for your street. Yes, a home gamer can feel the need for 60kW.

[@brockbain8656]

Godfrey Poon i seen a dude setup a fab shop in his shed, all them welders and other stuff running

[@kainhall]

sounds like my cars stereo... arnt loud till your running a higher out put alt from a different car you made work...like 4 batteries....... can never have too much powaa

[@SuicideNeil]

Sounds like something PhotonicInduction would do/need... :D

[@godfreypoon5148]

+Bainanaz Ah yeah, that's my scenario also. A plasma cutter, big air compressor, carbon air arc gouging, etc, and then I made an induction furnace. I just wanted to cast some iron, you know. Ain't no such thing as too much powah.

[@treynathaniel4075]

1.21 gigawatts.

[@jobturner7925]

The first 5 minutes of this video gave me flashbacks, to my struggles with the same type of stepper motors and drivers. I ended up in much the same spot. With a bit of chewing gum and bailing wire and a few automotive grade diodes you can tie multiple power supplies together in "cereal" to up your voltage on the cheap. I was only brave enough to go with 2 25V 15 A supplies. Great work, and a great video. Also nice computer graphic.

[@RikkiPitt]

Hey +AvE. A small refactor to your Arduino code and you could specify rotation in degrees - might be easier to update when you come to edit your code down the line rather than having to remember 4800 steps = one revolution. Also, your while loop might have an off by one issue, counting from zero to less-than-or-equal-to (

[@Liberty4Ever]

I bought the same 4th axis from China but had to completely rebuild it. They used tiny little MXL pulleys and belt that had a ton of backlash and no rigidity. To tension the belt they slid the motor pulley farther on to the shaft which is a really crappy way to tension a timing belt because it causes misalignment. I'm glad to see that they are making a beefier version that will actually work for light-duty CNC machining because the version I bought wasn't even robust enough to use as the 4th axis on a laser despite the fact that they marketed it as a CNC 4th axis.

[@grieske]

This is an awesome build. Why didn't you mill with the rotary table axis vertical? I would expect a better surface because the bottom of an end mill doesn't cut flat, but the side does.

[@codyswanson8481]

The fact that you used Erik Satie's Gymnopedie makes me appreciate you all more Chris.

[@brianboni4876]

"AvE creates CNC machine while vehemently denying it."

[@brianboni4876]

That's right, all you made was a Numeric Controller that runs off a Computer. NCC is not CNC at all ;)

[@NGC1433]

He did there, eventually.

[@lpjunction]

Finally it is ONC ordinateur numérique commande not CNC

[@BrianBoniMakes]

@@lpjunctionbéni-oui-oui

[@TankGunner84]

There no G code.... so he’s holding on to that.... or so he says lol

[@dakotaswain5531]

Just wanted to let you know that I have been enjoying the increased frequency of vidjos thank for the laughs in the shop

[@darko3111]

Spends minutes to check which wire is which, while it's right there on the label of the motor. Oh never change AvE!

[@tedjetcassette3002]

likely does'nt trust those labels and need to see it for himself that they are correct. proby been down that path before where incorrectly labelled.

[@forthereg]

I have to say in his defense , I would have given up on the first line where it said A+(chineze font) A-(more chineze font). plus im sure he is trying to teach us about steppers .. that's the point of the video ... aint it ?

[@tedjetcassette3002]

Agree. Teaching us what's inside without a tear-down.

[@bearsbugs]

And not every stepper you find still has a label even if it left the factory with one.

[@spehropefhany]

@@forthereg The wire colors are clearly marked in simplified Chinese and English. 红/绿/黄/蓝 = Red/Green/Yellow/Blue that and 黑/白 (black/white) and maybe 棕/紫 (brown/purple) will get you a ways.

[@mnshp7548]

well done Chris, got up to 400000 subscribers . nice work man, hope to see this channel get to half a milion

[@gregadams558]

That is clearly Dr Evil's rocked on your hand-drawn computer monitor.

[@petermiddo]

Unless rocket is a euphemism.....

[@thesunexpress]

Bit late to the party here, but having recently dove back into Arduino skullduggery, I've found that the "glitching" with the aforementioned DIY electroonics---particularly when return signals are needed---was due almost entirely to dirty signals coming from the Arduino board. For reference: Using the genuine item here, not the any of the myriad of fly-by-night knock-offs of the Arduinos available on the intnerdwebs. Adding some electronic smoothing circuitry to the return signals made my day. This was after banging my head on the table constantly thinking it could only be the dodgy USB cable powering the cobble-rigged-setup.... which, in fairness, was partially to blame as well, switching to better quality USB cable & signal smoothing tweaks did the trick. Resistance test your USB cables! Doing so set a light bulb off, which lead to taking a closer look at input/output signals elsewhere. Making sure your supply voltages are stable is also key. #FocusYouFark

[@nickvenn5453]

God damnit, I need to get myself a mill and a lathe.

[@StormbringerMM]

Nick I just started on this trail... I need to do questionable things to fund it...yolo?

[@chrisbrown18andup]

Jeff Streak "yolo?" yeah, I'm a day trader too. /r/wallstreetbets

[@toysareforboys1]

Depending on where you live and quantity/quality $500 for each shmoo deposit.

[@pwest3732]

Nick, Good place to start is Taig. Mill or lathe. I have the CNC mill, does some great stuff. Can have a super setup for $2200ish.

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

I've been fighting a DC motor circuit w/ feedback for a telescope mount forever. Finally chunked it and went with a geared nema17 stepper. Ain't looked back since. Love the little Uno's.

[@JBFromOZ]

Other pretty cool controller is "smoothieboard" way more capable, onboard stepped drives for reprap 3D printing or nema17 size steppers, but also has breakouts for pulse and direction to use external stepper drives without much more fuckery, also has Ethernet and can host its own website (eg pronterface for 3d printed control from web) I'm working on re-braining industrial embroidery machines with smoothie, some docs off smoothie site

[@1pcfred]

I suppose if you need a reliable supply of hardware a case can be made for Smoothieboards, but most one off hardware hackers can get their mitts on a defunct PC that is at the same time more capable, and less expensive too. I know I have LinuxCNC running on a PC that I picked up for $5. It'll totally piss all over a shit stain Smoothieboard too.

[@JBFromOZ]

Paul Frederick smoothieboard... that word I do not think it means what you think it means. A crapped out PC makes the G-code, it does not drive the steppers. You then need something with enough comms, pins and CPU to turn G-code back into stepper commands. And these days all the cool kids are 3d printing their own custom cases with temperature sensing pink to purple dicks sticking out of the top, so you can stick that dick in your vice whilst still retaining full mobility around your 'shop

[@1pcfred]

JBFromOZ I have 3 TB6600 stepper drives hooked up to a BOB I made. So that cost another $30. My whole CNC machine only cost twice what just a Smoothieboard does. Motors, drives, PC, frame, linear guides, actuators, spindle, all of it. Every nut, bolt, and screw!

[@Boring_Ira]

G code is relatively easy to learn and relatively complex patterns can be made with basic geometry and coding knowledge. Solidworks is not necessary. Code can be written in wordpad and upload via floppy. MasterCam is a pretty lightweight 2.5D CAM package for anyone interested.

[@Cadwaladr]

The Satie music was very relaxing.

[@pmolz]

But also a pain to play haha

[@KipKiperMusic]

This Old Tony is awesome. Glad to see he's getting a larger audience. I binge watch your vidjeos and his

[@GoofyRiot]

quick question, where do you buy the bulk of your electronics from? as in your bread boards, leads, aurduinos and that sort of stuff? thanks

[@sofa-lofa4241]

GoofyRiot He gets a lot of bits from adafruit, check out their YT channel, Chinese fleabay is cheaper but sometimes the pixies fall out and the instructions are painful, the beauty of adafruit is that they have simple instructions and a huge online community to help with the head scratching

[@idahopsycho1261]

I see in your notes you wrote "solidworks". I used to use that. Fusion 360 is the new truth and the the light! Free to hobbyists and start ups! $300.00 american per year if you buy it! So cheap, or free! Go right from modeling to programming and generating (god forbid GEE CODE) gcode. Solid works is $3500.00 for single seat license and $1700.00 per year (every year) to use. Plus you have to buy an external programming gcode generator on top of it. I am not being paid to say that, I have their software and I use it. I just think it is the new hotness based on price and useability. You should check it out. I love the arduino demo. Great job! Great technical breakdown to follow at home!

[@urbanweekendwarrior7238]

It seems like you're using a Computer (arduino), with Numeric input, to Control a milling machine ;) Lets not call it a CNC though ;)

[@tedjetcassette3002]

AvE you must be proud. Awesome vijeo. Three (3) uses of HPHT. Awesome topics, machining, Arduino, electronics, C programming, fun, fun fun! And >400K subs. Learnt so much in a 27 minute YT.

[@slep5039]

Nice Hitchhiker's Guide reference!

[@tdschisel]

I don't want to see polished finish products. I want to see the process, the struggle, the frustration, then the satisfaction of beating the system and getting it to work. great job!

[@SJAndrewbsme]

Weren't you worried about throwing chips into the ICs and breadboard?

[@captcarlos]

Good experiment done in your usual entertaining style. That end mill is trying to cut, unsuccessfully, on its centreline. That's why the job has a ridge in line with the C/l of the cutters path and the mill sounds sick with the table jumping around. I was cringing every time it started to cut/rub again. A ball end mill might have gotten away with it but the actual cutting speed at the contact point is a direct function of the radius. Better to upend the 4th axis and use a spiral fluted end mill to reduce vibration. Thanks again, next a 5th axis.... Mwwwwwwaaaahhhhh, then to rule the world!

[@Not_Whelan]

Now you just need a stepper to drive the knee and the table and you can enjoy your favorite libation while the machines make chips! Just try not to let them get sentient.

[@someguy2741]

Whelan lol. Have you seen the jankiness? I say encourage it to become sentient.

[@bass0129]

Since learning what the fuck an arduino is and how to use one, I have a new appreciation for this channel

[@TerryPullen]

Why is it i've never seen AvE and This old Tony in the same room?

[@Mystickneon]

Some things, if you get them too close together, they will explode...

[@rlrfproductions]

If you're really looking to get accurate timing unbothered by the laments of serial communication, you might want to look into dicking around with setting up the AtMega's internal timers and interrupts. Little more involved and requiring some low level C, but you can do it from within your sketch and have your PWM signals absolutely guaranteed to be solid and unperturbed by anything else going on in your code

[@kanibalhobo]

that bridgeport mill just sounds like it's on deaths' door

[@zedex1226]

his Bridgeport isn't in great shape but it's honestly not real bad. the horrible noises are likely from a lack of rigidity in the overall setup. rotory setup is clamped to the table, I don't think it has a brake, work is held in its chuck, etc etc. that all stacks up. thump thump on it with a big ass EM like that and it's gonna get the whole thing rattling around like crazy. some things that help with that kind of thing (short of a stouter setup) smaller EM, more rpms, more consistent engagement, smaller cuts done faster.

[@kanibalhobo]

Pretty sure the entire table has visible play in it

[@justinhillpac]

I was just waiting for one of those chips to land on the unit and short something out. Glad it didn't happen! Love these videos AvE. We have a two year old and a 1 month old, I know what you mean about free time.

[@jodelboy]

damn next video already? :D this channel is pretty skookum, chooching along nicely

[@jamesjahoda1613]

At 4:12. AMEN brother. Every idea I ever have ever again needs to be prefaced with at least a fleeting memory of those wise words.

[@SkewToob]

My fiance gives me a massage while I watch, as she calls them, "skookum choocher" vidjayoes. So, thank you very much sir for this flurry of content.

[@phitsf5475]

Awesome video. I've often thought I wanted to drive a large stepper motor but I had no idea how to do it. I still don't really have an idea but I feel slightly better about that.

[@TomasSab3D]

GRBL goes into arduino... and you control 3 axis... Teacup in arduino - and you control 4 axis. Even with a UNO... G code converters are free.

[@CatNolara]

Is it problematic to use 3D-printer firmware for CNC? I use grbl and it works quite good, but Teacup seems to have some additional neat features. Does it also run on G-code?

[@TomasSab3D]

Yes, Teacup uses G code. But I am pretty much where you are - tried GRBL on 3 axes, was about to test Teacup, but the machine was very noisy, thus ended up buying a quiet small 3D printer (Davinci mini) instead. Autodesk has some nice CNC software, though. It supports all types of multi axis machines - 3, 4 ,5 axis CNC for free (student license)... it's amazing. And should be compatible with Teacup.

[@CatNolara]

Do you mean Fusion 360? Yeah, that is great, but still not tested with my CNC. I like milling more than printing, you can work more acurate and with different materials. Do you mean the machine was very noisy with teacup or in general?

[@TomasSab3D]

Yup. Fusion 360. never used it though. Not yet. The machine I got is some old 3 axis stand from the lab. They wanted to throw it. I took it. The thin weights 50kg or so... had to carry it 50 meters, open a door and drag it through two tight doors... and it's one loud son of a diddly... weeee woooooglelele wooooo hooooooglelelelle kr kr kr kr kr kr woooo!! it's crazy loud... but sturdy. I love it. The woman hates it, though. We got a small apartment, and the thing is big, like a 50x50x15 cm platform.

[@CatNolara]

Nice, I hope it's tough and rigid. My mchine is relatively light and also mostly made from spare parts I could gather.

[@slavko321]

Incredible timing, I just added 50 Nema23's to the shopping cart today:) The drivers are a lot more expensive than for the little ones. But i need the POOWEEERR!:) 10x for the walkthrough (and the mistakes, so we don't have to repeat them:)!

[@joecoastie99]

thank God for smart people because this stuff is way beyond my comprehension

[@DougHanchard]

You are not alone. BuTTTT - if you take your time, you can actually do this. Don't sell yourself short.

[@charlesihler8199]

I like your shoot from the hip style... I follow the same mantra.. I have kids let’s do it the fast way. If you haven’t already you could stick grbl on your arduino and use some free cad for the next time you find yourself with free time. Of course with the manual mill it probably doesn’t matter. Good content thanks!

[@LMSILVIA]

Loving the Wyle E. Coyote schematics hahaha

[@wylieecoyote]

That was "g-code"? It looked like 'C' programming to me.. probably a hybrid. Well done video that could be adapted for many purposes! I am glad you explained how to check the motor wires in case the label is wrong or missing. It is a big help if we are repurposing something from the junk heap or out of another product. I enjoyed it warts and all! This was like sitting in a buddy's garage drinking a brew and tinkering with stuff. Keep it real!

[@TheWebstaff]

Just get a bloody CNC machine :D Just watched the whole video how is that any easier than CNC? The learning curve of what you have done is is pretty high and you could just make the CNC gcode for that pretty easy by hand. Plus the reward for getting into CNC is much higher.

[@hotfuzz1913]

Dave Webster u mean just build a cnc already :)

[@TheWebstaff]

bryan gorski haha yeah thats what I meant to say! I just rebuilt a 4 Axis engraving machine (suregrave) last month from its dead proprietary controller to gcode and the process of getting upto speed wasn't to bad once you get going.. maybe 50 hours total from start to being fairly competent in the basic operations.

[@TheWebstaff]

***** thats exactly how I did it TBH but I found some hurdles along the way. If i'd stayed with imperial and not hit issues then you could drop that to about 15 hours.

[@softiss]

U have a hypertherm pen. u have the dreamlife in ur ''shop'', and u do cool shit with ur expencive ''free time'', if only we all had 1 min walk to the shop, image how smart and productive we all would have been !!!

[@thomaswilliams]

Congrats on 400,000 Subs AvE :-)

[@TaylorShockey]

Super helpful. Thank you. I'd really like to hear more about your thought process when choosing an electric motor for a given project: (1) Determining the right type: AC brushless, DC brushless, direct drive, linear, servo, stepper, etc. (2) Finding the optimal combination properties at a given price: speed, efficiency, torque, etc. For example, I was toying with the idea of seeing just how powerful I could make my custom shop vacuum system. The optimal combination of motor properties for this project would vary considerably from those best suited for a CNC machine or blender. If you were doing something similar, how would you go about it? PS -- If it doesn't already exist, someone should really make an electric motor flowchart or web app.

[@74_Green]

Congrats on 400K

[@samueljames9342]

Dam, now I have to go back to the dumpster and get the dedicated power supply that goes with the stepper motor and gearbox I found. They pitched some old equipment where I work so I scavenged everything I thought I would need to experiment with a stepper motor. Great video Ave.

[@AverageJoe2020]

Can't beat a bit of Erik Satie. He was a character as well.

[@jerryocrow1]

You sound like A. Einstein in 1910. Its all about the creative process. Great job!

[@MrDedham]

Did you run into any/what did you do about losing steps during operation?

[@jokker03]

so take it easy on the cuts or else you need to add error correction into the program? shit could get tricky fast.

[@MrOllyroberts]

I got given a junked 2 axis CNC mill, the electronics side of it was knackered so I cobbled an Arduino onto it. The arduino reads GCode off an SD card, one line at a time. No confuser required.

[@dorgodorato]

You've got a problem? Yo, I'll solve em. Check out the beat while the stepper's revolvin.

[@nordishkiel5985]

the accelstepper library makes it really easy to ramp the speed up and down at the beginning and end of a move. more better!

[@gregoryaul2005]

u should put your confuser in a container to keep the crap out

[@LiMiTeDxStudios]

In your code you have while(count

[@narebalke]

Very detailed and well. Thank you.

[@johnnschroeder7424]

This was fun video, love the hands on approach to seeing what the electro-pixie powered wonder twister does. What a useful little rig in a machine shop, there is a host of things you can use this for, like milling your own fastener head cutting to using the linear actuator to make a bottle decapper to open your beer.

[@AdamCchannel]

It's not a very good idea to put the arduino so close to where the metal chips are falling. Could ruin your boards/drivers/motors/day.

[@ProfRonconi]

Do you really think the resident Emperor of the Empire of Dirt would have it any other way?

[@AdamCchannel]

Rhetorical question, I suppose?

[@jaywest4102]

Isn't there a big cnc company that can send AvE a great CNC machine just to piss em off and make him smile simultaneously

[@waderedsox]

XD its written on the stepper motor 14:00

[@gorrilamachine]

I can't stop myself from posting this. As a CNC machinist G & M codes are really easy to learn. Each machine is a little different. But for the most part it takes 10 minutes to write a program without using drafting software at all. You're obviously a very knowledgeable guy take a couple of hours and learn G codes. It's the Mcodes that normally do you in. M codes are machine function codes like turn on cutting fluid pump / turn off cutting fluid pump /rotate left / rotate right that type. G codes are the numerical ones that work with the input numbers. G0/G00 =rapid movement to a certain spot (NUMBERS) G1/G01 interpolated movement to a certain spot (NUMBERS). Dude it's easy.

[@PopeCharlesIV]

What song is playing in this video?

[@dannyoktim9628]

Translate . . . .Why cant I hear the song. . . I'm catching on to this UT chatter, he didn't have his volume on , you tubers are so funny.. . .keep it up for the rest of us

[@fredmorton1631]

You should at least recognise the death....sorry, I mean the wedding march. The other tune (piano piece) was Gymnopedie No1 by Erik Satie kzbin.info/www/bejne/iV67nmqpbsp6rrc

[@StormbringerMM]

Man the hobby shop machining trail is almost as expensive as my date nights with El Chapo - you, Tony, Joe, and Abom are a bad influence! Thanks for the vid - from the other side of kanukistan - also congrats on breaching 400 thou

[@apexmike849]

"The confuser." :-))

[@markmorton2519]

Tip for your next not a CNC build ;) - Rather than Ohm-ing out the stepper leads to find the pairs just short two leads and give the shaft a twist, if they're paired it'll be a lot harder to turn.

[@SaintBrick]

I'm getting worried now. You on adderall or something?

[@BiddieTube]

That might miss steps occasionally due to stepper starting at "pulseset". If I were me. I would code a freq start and stop ramp and apply it at the initial start of the motor and at every direction change. You likely would not notice in your finished part a few missed steps, but maybe if carefully measuring it. May not even matter depending on tolerance. Missed steps can accumulate. Reason for missed steps, those motors are engineered to be used with start / stop ramps. This is because of the initial force needed to start / stop rotation the mass of the motor and everything connected to it. Not sure, but may cause additional motor heat too. I am new to cnc also. Recently set up a 3 axis system on my bench (not installed on a mill) using computer, computer interface, stepper driver and stepper motors. I used mach3 to run it. I do not recommend mach3 at this time because even though the software is current and updated, you need a dinosaur 32 bit computer to run it on. It is not compatible with modern computers. I just happen to have a few xp and vista 32 puters on the shelf, used a vista one. I think I have seen on internet that some people have got it running on win7 32. Even think seen some claim they came up with patches that gets it running on win7 64, but with issues. Certainly can not have issues in a production shop. One major thing about cnc, which you bring up (thanks) is the terrible lack of posted info to help someone set up a fully functional system, from cad to finished part. First you need a cad app, then a g-code app to convert your cad model to g-code. Your cam soft uses the g-code to drive the stepper motors. This is the point where I am at the moment, finding software with perpetual license (you are a total fool if you get rental "subscription" software, too much to explain, but eventually it will bite you real hard) or freeware. I suspect at this point, the best options for start up companies and hobbiests, is to go with Linux cnc. Once I select a method to create g-code, then I am installing Linux cnc (need to install Linux os on computer first, recommend Ubuntu for newbs) and get my system testing and running on that. Then will install it on a mill, likely will get another mill (used), recondition it, update it and convert to ballscrews.

[@cakeswithbutterandsteroids7700]

couldnt find a siemens plc and waste less time?

[@franknewling1139]

Where's the fun in that?

[@catsinheat]

Wow, thank you. I have a project in mind using powerful stepper motors and this vid gives me lots of the data I need.

[@0calvin]

Dude, gcode is stupidly easy. Just learn it already.

[@SeaCowsBeatLobsters]

0calvin exactly. you can fit everything on a piece of paper and then use it as a key whenever

[@HaloHunter2552]

0calvin, Gcode may be easy, but it's rarely practical to program by hand, so most people probably just trust a program to translate for them. Makes the most sense to me. I've forgotten gcode for that reason.

[@0calvin]

Generic Name That's true. I actually hand code on my mill about 75% of the time. I still have to glance at a reference guide sometimes, though, I'll admit. I think for the simple, repetitive tasks that AvE has been doing, such as this video and the lapping machine, writing something in gcode would have taken a lot less time than writing the code for an Arduino.

[@datalorian]

Yep this is a bit like reinventing the wheel but ending up with a not quite round wheel in the end. Entertaining though.

[@HaloHunter2552]

Yes calvin, that is very true.

[@kesor6]

To check for A and B wires, just put a LED across the two and spin the motor manually. The led makes blinking sounds. No meter needed.

[@horstkotte6114]

You don't need a controller Board for driving the cnc from the confuser. Just go from parallel Port (aka GPIO) directly to the stepper driver. The hivemind can help in setting up linuxcnc stepgen and connecting speed and directions to some button / dials on the screen acting as hand dials. I'm guestimating around 40 lines of setup/code envolving zero gcode. With minor additions you could also go closed loop.

[@rickyj2013]

As a young guy in the trades I appreciate all this information you put out on this channel. My only question to you is, how the hell do you know so much about so many things?

[@mausball]

AvE, I use the TI DRV8711 at work a lot. External fets mean you can pick your power. It's got a TON of tunability. It's a wonderful controller, and programs over SPI. If I ever get around to building a CNC mill, the NMEA 24 motors will be driven from homebrew 8711 drivers.

[@Fringeless]

One of the coolest dudes on YT. Even if he is from Canuckistan.

[@ROCKSTARGUY141]

handwriting g-code is a lot easier than you might think especially if its only for movement in a single axis. the problem that you might run in to is that you cant keep it in sync with the movement of the xyz axis for more complex movements.

[@niklaswallin9478]

you could even do a jog and a "remember" button ... reasonably easy to program and quite useful..

[@stevendoesburg6555]

A nice trick to be able to pull out of your hat is that you can piggyback an L293D on top of the L293Ds on the adafruit board what for doubling the current output. Just stick it right on top and solder the pins to the chip below., works like a charm. Should work up to a stack of about four, although I haven't tried that many myself.