Bulk-Man 3D Ultimate Bee CNC Mechanical Kit Preliminary Review

[@TH2007TH]

Had to cut the audio the music is anxiety inducing. Other than that great video thanks for sharing!

[@kickpublishing]

It's absolutely horrible chaos isnt it.

[@VSongu]

Hi @Travis MItchell! Could you say what is the acceleration you have set of your CNC?

[@Arek_R.]

You can replace those straight grease nipples with right/45* angle ones. You possibly could get away with greasing the rail itself but I would imagine that much less grease gets in and you would need to grease it much more often. OR You could create your own grease gun nozzle. At work I have those industrial sensors that are 12in long SS tubes with ID of only 4mm, and I needed to add thick conductive silicone at the very bottom of the tube, so I got a 4mm OD, 2mm ID 13in tube and attached it to the grease gun. And because of the massive pressure the grease gun generates, I needed to use SS compression fitting, the thread that the generic grease gen used was BSPT 1/2" I believe.

[@DEtchells]

Looks like a great, very complete kit, but I share your disappointment/concern about the 12mm ballscrews. As you noted, because the ball nuts have to fit within the C-channel, it’d be very difficult to upgrade to something heavier without completely re-engineering the whole assembly 😕 I’ll be interested to see how the system works at-speed, especially with the speeds you’ll be able to get from the AC servos. I just found your channel a little bit ago, then my jaw dropped when the algorithm served up your DIY fiber laser intro vid this AM. Following closely now, can’t wait to see how it goes!

[@perro0076]

I also have the Ooznest 1500x1500. I cured the screw wipping with SAE10 oil, but i found the plane of the base is really not even close to being parallel with tool path horizontal plane. When i flatten my spoilboard there's a good 5-6mm difference. Next one i think i will build it on a stone/kitchen top base .... and use the stone to sit my spoilboard on afterwards.

[@chrisdurand4966]

Thanks for the build and info. I have an ultimate bee 1500x1500 on the way so it's helpful to see your build and understand it's limitations. I don't expect amazing results from a budget machine, so I need to keep the speeds in check but that's not an issue for my needs. It's my first CNC build (though I've built two 3D printer kits so I'm not a total beginner) so wish me luck!

[@diyfiberlaser]

Good luck! the build will be fun and you will have a very capable CNC!

[@splinterfingerswoodworking8995]

Did it come with the 80mm spindle mount?

[@Levisgil47]

Hello , could youtell the length gap between the ballscrew rode total length and the allumium profile. Thanks for the video

[@budde7971]

What are your thoughts on the rubber gaskets that go under the ball nut mounts? Seems to me to be a quick fix for a misalignment problem. It might fix their vibration issues, but it sure doesn't help with accuracy. I have never seen rubber used on ball screw mounting. Thanks for video.

[@Eric-vq9nq]

Great videos. Since you said you're in the Chicago area, I manage the prototype shop for a large consumer goods company in Milwaukee. If you're ever in the area and would like a tour just let me know. Our machinist and I also do retrofits on the side as a hobby. Mostly with LinuxCNC but we did a couple with Centroid a while back before we switched over. We've looked into Masso but never pulled the trigger. Still might try one as they're clearly a lot less work to set up than LinuxCNC and look super clean. Cheers!

[@diyfiberlaser]

That would be really cool, I would love a tour! I'm actually on the north side, so Milwaukee is just over an hour away. If you want to email me at [e-mail] and we can make arrangements...Thanks!

[@Engineering_Science]

You have a video of this CNC engraving wood?

[@andrewlozinak273]

How do you like the rigidity of this machine? Do you think it would be able to handle aluminum pretty easy.

[@rampage5275]

Thanks for the detailed vid

[@brunofonseca9686]

@13:56, when you mention the flex with the 2.2kW spindle. I'm about to build my Queen Bee Pro unit, 1500mm x 1500mm, can I already expect a considerable amount of flex on the X axis? Thanks, excellent video by the way.

[@diyfiberlaser]

It shouldn't be too bad since the Queen Bee has the linear rails...my kit was older and had the v-groove roller wheels. Good luck with the build!

[@mtnjak]

I'm looking at picking up an Ultimate Bee unit. I can't find much information about them online as far as reviews. You and one other KZbin guy is about all I can find. I'm wondering overall what are your thoughts? Does it seem like a good machine for the money? I'm just getting into this part of my woodworking hobby and don't want to buy something I'll regret later.

[@jessethomas2042]

Look at the queen ant pro V2, it's a little better I'm y opinion

[@jakehartley391]

@@jessethomas2042 could you elaborate why?

[@bernieinsaudi]

I’m considering pushing the button to buy either the QueenBee or the Ultimate in 750 x 750… what would your view be Travis on which would be more rigid and which would be a more capable general CNC machine?

[@keffer69]

I'm waiting on my 750 x 750 Ultimate now. I purchased with the 18% off price. I plan on doing mostly aluminum so I'm hoping the smaller size is stiff enough.

[@bernieinsaudi]

@@keffer69 let’s compare notes.

[@diyfiberlaser]

Their rigidity is probably identical...I think the only difference that you might notice if you ran them side by side, is that with the 10mm pitch ball screws on the Ultimate, you could run the rapids a little faster than with the lead screw machine. Good luck with the build!

[@bernieinsaudi]

@@diyfiberlaser thanks mate.

[@pietrobecqtattus4762]

Hi, Thanks for your video !! I was about to but the Ultimate Bee 1500x1500 3000rpm servos motors but I’m not a bit concerned about it.. Do you think it would eventually worth buying the queenbee 1500x1500 instead ? Thanks !! Hope you’re still glad of the CNC !

[@diyfiberlaser]

It is not an easy question to answer....I know they put tension on their lead screw machines to help keep them from whipping, but I'm not sure what pitch the lead screw is compared to their 10mm pitch ball screw, so I'm not sure which will ultimately allow for higher speeds? What application are you going to use it for? If you are using it for a CNC router machine, even the 300mm/s speeds I am achieving, is faster than any cnc machine I've ever used. I am just being really particular about it because I am using for a fiber laser cutter and even 500mm/s speeds seems to be at the low end of what typical machines are running their rapids at. I emailed Bulkman 3D last week, telling them my disappointment of the whipping and asking if they offer 1610 ball screws (thicker than the 1210) instead to combat the whipping, but I have not received a response yet. I will certainly add an update to my comments if I hear anything....hope that helps

[@thedude6650]

@@diyfiberlaserdid bulkman ever reply about the 16mm ballscrews? I plan on cutting strictly aluminum sheets with it. 1/8” and thinner. 95% of the time 2D cuts. Do you think this is the machine for me? Have to have the 1500x1500 size and will get the servos they offer as well.

[@diyfiberlaser]

I wrote them about my whipping issue and they said "it is not recommended to run the machine faster than 15000mm/min to preserve the life of the ball nut." even though on their website they say you can reach speeds of 30,000mm/min. You may get some chatter, but I've cut out 1/8" aluminum on worse machines.@@thedude6650

[@thedude6650]

@@diyfiberlaser have you looked at the Queen ant pro V2? 16mm ball screws and a super beefed up x axis. It’s 2 pieces of C Beam with a piece of 40x40 extrusion sandwiched in the middle. Looks super strong.

[@diyfiberlaser]

@@thedude6650 Unfortunately, I didn't learn about it until after I had already purchased this kit...I would definitely buy that instead for the beefier ball screws if I could do it again.

[@spaikersnc]

This CNC kit si valid for laser cut?

[@diyfiberlaser]

It works for me, but not ideal. I can’t run the rapids as fast as I want, which wouldn’t be a big deal except that the Ultra High Purity nitrogen im running through the fiber laser is very expensive and the slower speeds is wasting gas

[@patrickmckinley1238]

So how do you like it so far?

[@diyfiberlaser]

I have not done any further testing yet...still waiting on some gas components to finish the laser first.

[@mac_ito]

thank you interested in getting a feedback

[@diyfiberlaser]

I was finally able to do some max speed testing of the ball screws and my concerns were real, anything over 300mm/sec caused some whipping....bummer. My AC servos (and even the ones that they sell with the kit) can do 3000rpm, which makes their top speed 500mm/sec, but the ball screw whip is limiting this. If you get the 1500mm kit, I'm sure your top speed will be even lower. I contacted Bulkman 3D about the whipping and they replied that they would not recommended to run the machine faster than 250mm/sec to preserve the life of the ball nut. I told them to change the verbiage on their website, because they are marketing it as a 500mm/sec capable machine, which is extremely misleading. Here's a short video showing the whipping: kzbin.infoJZkpWOAcE9M

[@anthward1972]

Hi Travis. Do you think that there is a possibility to upgrade the ball screws so you don’t get any whipping, or is it just a matter if it is what it is?

[@diyfiberlaser]

​@@anthward1972 I will have to do some more research to see if I can find some 1610 ball screws that are the correct length and aren't too expensive to try, otherwise I will just have to live with it.

[@PLASTICWORKSdotCA]

Why is that a problem exactly? Some whipping is probably ok for rapids, if high rapids are that important. 300mm/s and even 200mm/s is about as fast as I would expect this level of machine to go given the rest of the components (w. any drive system). Carving work is the only aspect that I could see possibly being both suitable for this machine and able to be machined faster. I would think actual machining would usually be limited by the power of the spindle or the rigidity of the machine. Having owned a Techno-Isel Gantry 3 model that used a similarly pitched screw (but way beefier overall), I never considered running it faster than 150mm/s or so. Genuinely asking if this is a real problem for the intended use or just a case of one component able to go faster than the ball screw can handle.

[@diyfiberlaser]

@@PLASTICWORKSdotCA For me, it is a problem because they are selling it as a 500mm/sec capable machine....this is the text on their website "Our ULTIMATE Bee CNC has options to have its motors upgraded to achieve high-speed operation similar to industrial machines. Very few machines can match the rapids speeds of up to 30,000mm/min like the ULTIMATE Bee can with servos." Maybe you missed it in the video, but I mentioned that I am using it as the gantry for a DIY fiber laser cutting machine that I am building and from what I've seen 500mm/sec is on the slow side of what commercial fiber lasers are capable of. I just want to get what I paid for : ) Also, I hoped to inform anyone else expecting to reach those speeds, that it is probably not going to happen.

[@PLASTICWORKSdotCA]

@@diyfiberlaser I did miss that, I though you were putting a separate fiber laser below. Laser (I'm sure you know) would normally use belts for the speed and accleration and the less mass the better, I guess why I assumed it was a separate machine underneath. I saw another video (smaller frame size) where the user said they were 1000mm/s but it didn't look it to my eyes. That is indeed a disappointment to have the machine not fit your needs but I do think some belts would solve the issue (maybe just across the gantry, I assume you don't want to contour cut that quick with all that mass). Good luck on the project, sounds like the end result will be nice.

[@design8studio]

Nice

[@jorditrevole272]

In the begining there was no ligth...omg

[@RoboArc]

For the money you can design and build a better cnc.

[@morgan79347]

Any links for the source?

[@shifty1016]

No doubt. But there is value in buying a package with everything included, all the research and planning done, etc.

[@Hermonage]

For some people, less time spend is worth the money.

[@Dave-zj1zj]

use a 90 degree angled ZERT

[@diyfiberlaser]

Yes! ...that is exactly what this kit needs. It should ship with them.