DIY CNC Electronics - RatRig KillerBee #4 feat. Mach 3, NVEM, Closed Loop Steppers

[@hippie-io7225]

Great advancement in your lab! One of my best engineering instructors, many decades ago, taught us to look out for errors in datasheets, even from big semiconductor companies. Good work spotting those errors in that documentation, and correcting them.

[@GregsStoneYard]

Nice build. One thing though, theoretically your E-Stop should be going to a contactor that kills power to the drives and VFD. Then to the controller to notify it of the estop. Controllers shouldn't be relied upon to do the right thing under EStop (Especially noname Chinese specials :) ).

[@DarkArtGuitars]

Fair, there are in a way two kinds of e-stop. The way this one is wired, it's more like a feed hold, where I can simply resume the program after without having to rehome the machine or anything. This is convenient and gives an easy way without consequences to stop the machine if anything unexpected happens. What you're describing would be much more of a real emergency stop, cutting power to everything, but then there is also no way of easily resuming, as the controller has lost track of where the motors are. In a true emergency this is certainly better, but if I just want to quickly pause the program because it looks like it's going to run into a clamp, hitting that e-stop would be a bit overkill. Ideally there would be both, the feed hold one close to the controller and the other one somewhere else easily accessible on the machine.

[@kristianhorsager2968]

I just bought the Rat Rig killer CNC - I will copy your electronics and set-up 1 : 1. Thank you for this video !!

[@iforce2d]

Interesting stuff, thanks. Next up for me is to set up the electronics and enclosure, but my build is stuck going nowhere due to stupid lockdown.

[@meeloo0]

Beware that a VFD emit very strong EMI that will interfere with the low voltage components and wires. The VFD should be as far as possible from the other components to mitigate that.

[@laszlofabian]

Nice! And i was not aware of the ratrig, i will definitely check them out trough your links.

[@DZMech]

Awesomeness! thank you! I was wondering how to connect the vfd

[@Ale_Lab]

Nvem gave to some of my friend quite some trouble with homing cycle and other small operation. In case have a look at UC300ETH or similar for Mach3. They are more stable than ESS. If you wnat the metric version of that screenset with some more small features let me know.

[@DarkArtGuitars]

You mean the PA screenset? If you have something that looks similar and has more features, I'll gladly take a look.

[@Crite68]

That sounds very interesting to me as well….

[@coro64]

Good job! Are you planning to put a tool zero probing system? Thanks for your videos, they are helpful :) Regards from Barcelona.

[@laszlofabian]

Forgot to ask, did you had backlash issues due to the leadscrews? I had for a few weeks a sainsmart cnc, the bigger model and it had a horrible play.

[@DarkArtGuitars]

They are using two nuts that you can tighten against each other to eliminate most backlash at the cost of slightly more friction. I have not had any issues in my testing and I think that properly adjusted there are other aspects of this machine that will be more inaccurate than any small amount of backlash there might still be.

[@jonasa97]

I would really like to see this machine in action (with aluminium in particular). Have you had a chance to perform any test cuts yet? What kind of material removal rate is reasonably achievable with adaptive clearing? Looking forward to your next video on this system!

[@DarkArtGuitars]

I haven't gotten around to testing yet, as I'm still waiting on the screws to bolt down the waste board, but they should arrive soon. There will, of course, be a video showing what this machine can do once it is ready.

[@FaraidunHawramy]

so so Great tutorial . thanks so so much for your support

[@MakerMeraki]

That VFD is surprisingly noisy. The watercooled version is much quieter.

[@DarkArtGuitars]

The VFD just has a noisy fan, but it's not too bad if the microphone isn't pointing at it. The spindle though does get quite loud at high rpm, which is certainly a downside of the air cooled model, but for me the convenience of not having to deal with water cooling outweighs the inconvenience of the noise, at least for now.

[@Joshua-kr5fq]

Could you please go into detail about the power supply?

[@DarkArtGuitars]

It is just a generic switching power supply from aliexpress, not much to talk about there.

[@doglao1236]

what about the alarm signals? is important to connect this output from driver to the breakoutboard inputs to stop the machine when some problems takes place.

[@TheESS1]

Great set up, and it looks very neat as well! ✌️ I especially liked the x-stepper motor reposition hack. I may copy that idea on my Queenbee later. I have some EMI issues with my limit switches triggering while the spindle is running that I am stuck with. How is your approach to mitigate EMI? And how did you wire the cables shieldings?

[@DarkArtGuitars]

I haven't really had many issues with EMI. The shielding that I have connected just goes to the common ground of my electronics and motors, noting fancy.

[@AR_Aero_Engineering]

Do you have wire diagram ? Currently struggling !

[@silenttraveler2710]

Total Awesomeness… 😉

[@Crite68]

Thanks for yet another really interesting video. I have a 1510 Killerbee on order, and will also be running Mach3, as I will be switching from my older Openbuilds Ox. How is the 2.2KW spindle working for you? Not too heavy? I have the 2.2 KW watercooled version, and are hoping it will be OK with the Killerbee.. Will definitely look into upgrading the old Parallellport setup I am running.. Not sure if i will go with the Novosun though..

[@DarkArtGuitars]

I quite like my setup so far, but since you're going with one size up, I'd recommend a 1.5kw spindle (if you're buying a new one), as the machine will be inherently less rigid, so you won't be needing the extra power as rigidity will be the problem before lack of power.

[@Crite68]

@@DarkArtGuitars I just love the ER20 collets on the 2.2…. Will look into it.. The sturdy fastening of the aircooled one looks good too..

[@DarkArtGuitars]

@@Crite68 True, that is something I didn't consider but an important point. I mean the increased weight is not gonna make it flex too much more, so it doesn't really hurt to have more power, you just might not fully utilize it.

[@dave_the_bartender4904]

Do you still run the nvem V2 i just ordered one , to Play IT safe i bought a shielded Ethernet cable

[@graveurgraveur2691]

Thank you!

[@AR_Aero_Engineering]

What are your dip switch settings 1-8?

[@Levisgil47]

Hello, Why did you not choose the DDCS controller like the V3.1 or EXPERT which offer closes loop motor drivers controls. It's got High efficiency micro controller and FPGA inside. It's not PC dependant. Built in screen + handwheel. It's what I've chosen for my queenbee cnc. I'm about to receive it soon.

[@DarkArtGuitars]

I have never tried them, but I am always slightly skeptical of inexpensive closed options. The great thing about Mach3 is that it is very customizable to exactly what I want it to do and look like.

[@Levisgil47]

@@DarkArtGuitars it appears to be not a cheap solution. 500 euros.

[@DarkArtGuitars]

@@Levisgil47 For a CNC controller that has everything integrated 500 euros is quite cheap. The professional ones start at 2-3000 euro.

[@dd_Dedsec]

What happens when the motor looses step,

[@fehmiatas]

[@makosharkcnc7730]

how do you like the NVEMV2.1 motion control? i was thinking about buy it for mind but went with c11g

[@DarkArtGuitars]

It is a pain to get working, but once it is configured it seems solid so far, but I don't have any long term experience yet.

[@vagnerabreu]

Has anyone tried successfully running on modified gcode nvem novusun v2 ethernet with g-code ripper? In my case with mach3 it just stops working. I've already tested it with a normal Rnr Ecomotion procedure, but I would like to use it on Nvem Novusun.

[@ennaiarindhal3141]

Can you share wiring diagram

[@shaunbastin8456]

Whens the next video coming?

[@DarkArtGuitars]

soon... (maybe two weeks or so)

[@flippingwoodforcash9130]

I have not showed this in my videos

[@kthobbycncmillingmachine9250]

which windows do you need for your Mach 3

[@DarkArtGuitars]

It works fine on Windows 10, just doesn't support parallel port operation with anything current or 64bit. Using an ethernet board you're perfectly fine though and I'd imagine it'll even work on Windows 11.

[@marcosotero6180]

That breakout board nvosum.. is piece of shit... i tried 2 times in 2 machines.. .. one with v1 and other v2.. and it have ramdom bugs in midle of work ... 1 time each 30 jobs maybe.. but enought for be shit for me.. xhc mach3 2000khz.... (400kh per axis) is really a beast for price.. a bit more money .. u can get smootstepper 4Mhz... my english is SHt I know.