PrintNC Electronics Enclosure!

[@nedgligich]

@ 7:01 the VFD extension cable uses IDC connectors, instead of filling/cutting the key of the connector, you can simply unclip the cable hold down bridge then peel back the cable of the pins. Cut the original pin perforations of with a sharp blade or shears, then reposition the connector pins over the ribbon cable correctly and hold down with the cable bridge. Place the IDC connector in a vice and squeeze the connector forcing the pins to punch the cable and secure the bridge connectors. hope that helps.

[@somerandomguy8564]

Great job explaining how everything is wired and why you did things the way you did. Very neat wiring as well. You've got a ton of components in that case and it's all logically laid out.

[@PhoKingLitMedia]

I have the same VFD I added a 40c thermal switch to the fan curcit. I used a little thermal glue connect the switch to the heatsink located just under the fan. It works great, the fan only comes on when the spindle is under load, otherwise its nice and quite lol.

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

That's a great idea. Yeah, the VFD fan is definitely the loudest fan in the control box haha.

[@jimbmakin7975]

Looks fantastic! Very clean with the wire duct, reminds me of the inside of an elevator controller. I did something similar using a steel backing plate to lay out everything, doubled as a ground plane and additional heatsink for the drivers with the added advantage of being able to run the grounds for all the shields short as possible behind the plate without looking too messy.

[@keffer69]

Very nice panel. The only change I would suggest is that the green button light be wired to a normally open contact on the contactor so it only lights when the contactor is in. The red button light should be wired to a normally closed contact on the contactor so it lights when there is power to the panel but the contactor isn't in.

[@Trainwreck1123]

Hey, very nice looking enclosure! I hope your VFD doesn't cause you EMI, I had to deal with that and it made me move mine out. If you want to quiet down your VFD fan (especially since your system seems completely silent otherwise!) it's a pretty easy task. Grab a thermal switch from amazon (I went with 40C) and wire it in line with one of the fan leads, then thermal epoxy to the massive heat sink in the VFD. You don't even need to open up the VFD at all to do it, the fan cover has a little clip for easy access!

[@Trainwreck1123]

@@ProjectsbyBrian Sure thing, enjoy watching your machine cut stuff for you :D

[@charltonwang]

Looks fantastic. You are fast!

[@evanlane1690]

That Amazon list is great. Thanks man. I'll buy from your affiliate links when I get around to it.

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

Glad it helps! I appreciate that!

[@MuddFlappRanch]

Looks good my friend. I just finished my X Gantry tonight, need to get going on the Z-Axis.

[@DZ-gj6qz]

Thats looking good man, thanks for the amazon list. Very handy, I will source some materials from there!

[@MrDereBear]

Good job Brian! You definitely took your time and put some thought into this. That’s a great looking panel! I really like the printed din rail adapters for the drivers and boards. Can’t wait to see what you do with this machine!

[@AryaNakh]

Looks fantastic! Does the red button (Not estop) just turn off or how does it differ from estop the way you have it set up?

[@AryaNakh]

@@ProjectsbyBrian That is good to know! I know you talked about having a switch at the main when you put the new outlet in the wall... so that will be your real full estop I guess... aka you flip that switch and all power no longer flows into the enclosure all together. That is what Im thinking of doing....a latching on and a estop for my cisco... and then a full estop at the mains 220 and 110 outlets for full power cut :)

[@charltonwang]

@@ProjectsbyBrian I know there was quite a bit of discussion on Discord about abruptly cutting off power to the VFD being a bit of a no-no. I'm assuming those concerns are ameliorated by the contactor, right?

[@charltonwang]

@@ProjectsbyBrian Yeah that's true. I was just curious looking at the wiki and how things are wired up and it seemed as though the e-stop would just cut power to the VFD immediately. I'll have to study this more and maybe hit you up on Discord. :)

[@KS_ChemEng]

looks really neat. just a thought, it may be worth putting in some filter foam in front of the fans as the enclosure is likely to be next to dust and grit from the machine.

[@TheBreaded]

If you use one input for your limit switches you'll have issues auto squaring your Y axis wouldn't you? I'm not sure if people setup the PrintNC to autosquare Y like you would on a MPCNC.

[@mciarlillo]

How did the VFD in the enclosure end up working out?

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

I never had any issues actually. Only "weird" issue that I had was with my parallel breakout board and sometimes my left Y motor wouldn't get the direction bit when homing, so the left motor would home in the wrong direction, essentially tearing the gantry apart. When I switched to the Mesa 7i96 this issue went away.

[@dave_the_bartender4904]

great work on the electronic and on the wiki ! try to use 12-36 v for the limit switch to avoid interference

[@gizmobowen]

Nice video Brian. I really like the idea of using a PC case for the electronics. I have a bunch of old cases that would be good for this. I haven't gotten the VFD yet so I don't think I'll need a large server case like you. I had a question about what current setting you have for the stepper motors? I've bought the AliExpress kit and it only comes with a single 350 W, 36 V power supply. If I'm calculating it right, that gives less than 2.5 amps for each motor which doesn't seem like enough.

[@gizmobowen]

@@ProjectsbyBrian Thanks Brian. I'm assuming that since the kit comes with just the single power supply it will be enough. I guess we'll find out.

[@Neeqone]

Some of the components in your wish list or the wiring diagram on your website were not used in the controller. Any reason for this? Moreover, you have 2 EStop switches on the wiring diagram on your website but only one on the controller. Can you please explain the difference. Thanks

[@JunkWorkshop]

Nice and clean 👍🏻

[@zamanraza9635]

Hey Brian can you please show the wiring of inverter to 5 axis bob ?

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

My inverter isn't actually wired through the bob at all, I'm controlling it through a USB to RS485 adapter that goes right into my LinuxCNC PC. If you check out the PrintNC Wiki (link in the description) and click on the Wiring section along the left side, there is a lot of info there that might help.

[@zamanraza9635]

@@ProjectsbyBrian oh I see .BTW how to control spindle through 5axis BoB ? Do you know or do you know any video reference. ? Thanks

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

@@zamanraza9635 I'm pretty sure there is a 0-10v signal output from the BoB, and then look for a VFD parameter that lets you change the input control to a 0-10v signal. I'm not sure exactly what parameter it is, and I also haven't done this myself, but that is where I would start to look.

[@zamanraza9635]

@@ProjectsbyBrian I have checked it but my Bob is showing output voltage 10 point something but my on off setting In mach3 does not working. My bob continuesley showing 10 voltage..is there any specific settings in mach3 to control inverter?

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

@@zamanraza9635 I'm not sure, I'm not familiar with Mach 3. Sorry!

[@maxdgac]

Hello Brian, I discovered your channel today and I subscribed immediately, I feel very represented by your way of being and the things you are doing, so thank you for supporting the diy cnc world by showing us your projects, I would like to know what experience you have had with with The spindle cable, if it goes well, I would appreciate it if you could tell me which cable it is exactly, it would be great, i'm building my cnc too, so that cable is something that has me somewhat worried, I do not want 220v 2.2kw risks bye !! 🙂

[@JimboJet737]

Useful video, thank you. Are you leaving the wires stranded into the various terminals or are you using crimped pins/ferrules? My understanding is that the stranded cables shouldn't be left bare as it can lead to poor connections or worse, fires due to overheating - I'm not an electrician though so I reserve the right to be wrong :P

[@gizmobowen]

I've heard that terminal connections can be a problem if the ends of the wires are soldered. The theory is that the solder has a fairly low melting point which could lead to the the solder softening and then the connection could get loose. Then the loose connection could heat up and cause a problem. Bare wires or terminals are ok, you just don't want soldered ends in a terminal connection. At least, that's what I've heard with regards to problems with some 3D printers when you have a high current connection.

[@jon9947]

Amazing job with that case! Didnt you say in one of the previous videos that the usb was only there to provide 5v power? Its already done, so I wouldnt change anything regardless, but should have used another buck converter to keep another cable inside the case.

[@jon9947]

@@ProjectsbyBrian Its a beautiful case, and very well thought out layout, and as you said, already have a cable to run to the computer anyway. One day, that nagging little voice that makes me go "but why?" I'll learn to keep to myself lol Really loving your build, always look forward to the next video, and can not wait to see the machine run.

[@okinawajapan1]

FYI. I'm not seeing the VFD ribbon cable in your amazon wish list.

[@Deathwarror01]

Do you have a wiring diagram for the box somewhere?

[@Deathwarror01]

@@ProjectsbyBrian Found it, It does look really close to your setup, Thank you.

[@jezisvole]

Hi. been following your vids now for some time and I'm also going to build the same machine, also with LinuxCNC on a Dell Optiplex with LPT. At the moment, I'm in the middle of purchasing the electronics. Some questions:.. 1) is the 24vdc psu only necessary for the spindle relay output and/or the non-contact type of limit switches you're using? Without any of these, the breakout board board itself will run off 5vdc USB alone ? 2) The 24vdc psu you have is 5a (120w). Is this much needed? Would 2a/3a etc be suitable too? (thinking about normal microswitch style limit switches) 3) Would it be necessary to connect the 24vdc GND and the 36vdc GND together ? (also thinking about 2x 36vdc psu - 1 each for 2 drivers/2motors) Thx. P

[@backyardengineer916]

Is VDF causing any issues being inside the enclosure?

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

Nope, VFD has ran flawlessly since installed.

[@3discnc424]

First of all that is a dam nice clean job on that box ..... But can i ask why you did not go with a usb controller ? and i dont think that the inverter should be in that box! it may have a problem with the drivers you know electromagnetic interference

[@neverlate4524]

Hi. Why you don't use usb board? I have problems with this. Spindle speed is incorrect with usb board.

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

I've since upgraded to the Mesa 7i96, however there are no USB breakout boards that are compatible with LinuxCNC.

[@JonathanAldrich82]

The discord link isn't working. Says invalid.

[@C0RY.M]

Hey Brian, great work as always. Three questions: (1) One, can you share your 3D printed pass-through design for the USB and parallel connectors? I purchased the same ones from your affiliate link, so the printed design should work perfectly. (2) What's the purpose of passing through the USB? Doesn't the USB just go from the controller to the VFD? (3) Do you have a link for the long ribbon cable, or can you add it to your Amazon list?

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

Thanks! The USB and parallel pass through plate should be on my website (link in description). The purpose of passing through USB is just to keep the front panel of the enclosure clean, instead of just drilling a hole. The USB ports go to the parallel breakout board, and the USB to rs485 converter. I will try and get a link to the ribbon cable on my website.

[@C0RY.M]

@@ProjectsbyBrian Awesome, thanks! I've been on your site a few times but missed the mods section. Still a little confused about the USB, but I'll take it over to the Discord.

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

@@C0RY.M No prob! One USB cable is for 5v power to the parallel breakout board, and the other USB cable is for the USB to RS485 converter. Both of which come from the LinuxCNC PC that I have.

[@C0RY.M]

@@ProjectsbyBrian Got it! That makes sense. Thanks again. I didn't realize the small breakout board needed 5v. I was under the impression it was powered by the 24V PSU. But I suppose that is passed for the stepper motors. Still learning my way around the world of controllers/breakout boards.

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

@@C0RY.M woo hoo! No problem!

[@JustDux]

Awesome!

[@bpushkin3457]

Hi, Can I ask if I will use Stepper Motor Nema 23 -2.8A can i use DM556 ? there is not 2.8A in settings

[@bpushkin3457]

@@ProjectsbyBrian Thank you. And one more question there is DM556 and DM556T which one is better ( or what deferent )

[@bpushkin3457]

@@ProjectsbyBrian Thank you any way , will try to search.

[@CryoftheProphet]

Could have wired the two fans in series to avoid the step down, otherwise clean build :)

[@tidesrollin5343]

Not sure I agree with VFD inside enclosure. LOts of possible noise to mis steps. Just my opinion... very nice build otherwise!!!!

[@ProjectsbyBrian]

For sure, thanks! I've been running it like this for about a year now with no issues. So far so good!

[@SupersonicHeart]

LPT это зло!!

[@2010Edgars]

Why such difficult? Take arduino duo/leonardo and ad DM556N drivers. That's all. No need for com ports and other stuff.