Making a Custom CNC Controller Connector Panel | Plasma and PCB

Today we're making a custom CNC controller connector panel with a custom PCB to handle the wiring for an array of M12 industrial sensor inputs. We'll plasma cut a steel panel, and mount everything in the NEMA enclosure.
Tools used in this video:
*This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Knipex Automatic Wire Stripper (Amazon*): amzn.to/3aFM8oF
Ferrule Crimper Kit (Amazon*): amzn.to/30hUfAQ
Dymo Rhino 4200 Label Maker (Amazon*): amzn.to/34LRkDU
Mini Heat Gun (Amazon*): amzn.to/2LVUiNt
Hypertherm Powermax 30 XP Plasma Cutter (eBay*): ebay.to/2JgTrK6
3Dconnexion SpaceMouse Compact 3D Mouse (Amazon*): amzn.to/2TSJ2q9
Wera Kraftform Screwdriver Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/2UzK6CL
Wiegmann 20x20x8 NEMA1 Enclosure (eBay*): ebay.us/UpVh5w
Centroid Acorn Motion Controller (Amazon*): amzn.to/3GboLRU
120mm Fan Filters (eBay*): ebay.to/39J95pS
Noctua 120mm 5V Premium Quiet Fan (Amazon*): amzn.to/3Lu1oa3
Shielded RJ45 Bulkhead Passthru (Amazon*): amzn.to/3GZACD1
1/4" Pneumatic PTC Bulkhead Passthru (Amazon*): amzn.to/3LMbLWK
Milwaukee Brushless Impact Driver (Amazon*): amzn.to/2Xgcjjc
Bondhus Metric Hex Key Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/3eqZzwb
Bondhus SAE Hex Key Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/3h9bJLZ
2" Kant Twist Universal Clamp (Amazon*): amzn.to/2UG76wv
Raw Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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[@airgunningyup]

James has literally everything figured out.. its quite impressive.. His mind is akin to a 1 terabyte sd card , and everyone else is trying to boot a floppy disk in DOS with lines running up and down the monitor

[@ericwolf5874]

Come on.... some of us are running Win 98 or even Win XP. Not to say I am..... Some days it feels like I am running a punch card mainframe and some days a nice stable Linux system.

[@Neptune730]

Well said. Although I'm running Win 3.1 on a 486 though. 😂🤣😂

[@transmitterguy478]

Hey, I resemble that remark! LOL James ends up with good outcome because of good forethought, design and planning. The CNC plasma cutter is the coolest, I never imagined one of those back in the 80's.

[@American_Made]

Pretty standard controller build. Nothing unusual here.

[@neildarlow]

A little tip from my wireman mentor: When terminating wires you should allow sufficient extra length to permit 3 further termination operations. That's effectively an additional three-quarter inches which you can swan-neck within the trunking.

[@g.tucker8682]

Good to know, thanks.

[@timderks5960]

Yes, absolutely. I've been doing electric work (for myself) for years now, and in the beginning I always cut my wires right up to the right length. It works alright on the first install, but then years later I had to change some of that original wiring. You guessed it: wires were too short, had to rip the entire length out and put in a new one. Same story when adding some new things in a electrical system set up by somebody else. They didn't leave any slack, meaning I had to install an additional junction box right next to the other one, only because the original wires were just a bit too short. Since those experiences, I've been leaving at least one loop of slack on every wire. Always take care of the guy who's gonna do the next repair/change, because there's a very high chance that guy's gonna be you.

[@feeseize9569]

We always called it a “service loop” and that’s what the channel is for: to hide it. 😉 I need that wire labeler.

[@squelchstuff]

@@feeseize9569 If you really want some style points, turn the excess into a nice "swan neck". Not only do you get a service tail, but the trunking won't get too congested.

[@Clough42]

Cool. I generally try to leave a little to make it comfortable, but that's a good rule of thumb.

[@emil92056]

I like W H A T ! , shrink tubing label printer..... amazing..... I have been a follower of this channel for a while and I'm for sure picking up tips and tricks here and there. In this video I really had a wow moment when you showed the circuit board for the connectors. I have done multiple test boxes for work and home projects with similar connectors and I always bitch over all wire soldering I have to do at the end. The worse part is that I make my own circuit boards but never thought of this simple solution. This will save plenty of time on coming projects. Thanks James for educating us..

[@jonathonwood4088]

That is hands down the sexiest solution I've ever seen.....

[@g.tucker8682]

Re: the benefits of dialing in your plasma rig - Touché!

[@rgetso]

1. There's quite a bit of electrical engineering know-how going on in these "shop" videos. 2. Your use of multiple cameras is smooth and well planned/executed. After the initial somewhat overuse, you have discovered less is definitely more. Nice balance. 3. Video editing and quality continues to improve weekly! 4. The 3D mouse really makes your Fusion segments shine. That's it, I'm ordering mine now.

[@matthewlee8917]

Agreed, James is a true professional at the this KZbin thing. I really appreciate his content. And you def won't regret the 3d mouse. I've had one for about a year and it's worth every penny.

[@Pest789]

I third the 3D mouse. It's a must have.

[@Clough42]

Thanks for the feedback. Scaling back the multicam has made shooting and editing less work, and also dramatically reduced the amount of data I have to manage, which I immediately undid by moving to 4K. :)

[@jonshank9572]

As a field service tech for the last 20 years I can really appreciate the attention to detail. Properly marked wires make such a gigantic difference in troubleshooting and tracking faults. Never going to go wrong keeping everything labeled. Puts my soul at ease seeing it done even on the smaller scale that'll only you are likely to have to deal with.

[@WillemvanLonden]

You set the standard! It's going to be hard to live up to it....

[@joshuacaylor881]

Insane CAD design. Great job!

[@bltventure]

Very clean and neat. Love what you have so far!

[@billstoner5559]

Got to love a plasma CNC. Very nice work, James.

[@practicemakesbetter7132]

Awesome work!

[@sebastianuchman3145]

Simply superior job!

[@pherdantler707]

Well thought out and nicely executed, class act. Looking forward to fruition.

[@chiparooo]

Great job! Thanks for sharing!

[@nicolat815]

This is really clean !! Great work !

[@jasonh3109]

Great stuff man!!!

[@TomChame]

Beautiful job!! Thanks

[@themikeporter]

Super cool video!

[@Cyan2002]

I'm always impressed with your videos. You do an awesome job.

[@mrdebug6581]

I'm impressed 😮 awesome Job, James🥰🥰🥰

[@justinhillpac]

This has been amazing to follow. I have the G0602 lathe and did your VFD and ELS projects and love it on my lathe. This is a whole new level! Excellent work as always!!!

[@invetech1]

Excellent job!

[@TheRadioShop]

Your skills are just amazing. Thanks for the great video James.

[@JoshIlles]

You're meticulous and precious in all the right ways! Always enjoy watching your videos. Looking forward to seeing whatever new machine you have coming!

[@randytreadwell7369]

I love your work and the videos you have made.

[@samvoelkel2046]

You have set the bar VERY high for home shop projects. Excellent, as always.

[@nvlvdave]

SUPER-Clean...Love it!

[@reddcube]

I will second that mini hot air guns are great for heat shrink tubing.

[@somebodyelse6673]

Such a clean, orderly layout that it brings a tear to my eye. Wish the stuff I used to work on had been that carefully thought out and constructed.

[@theundergroundesd]

You are a genius. Keep up the good work.

[@EZ_shop]

Great work as always James. Ciao, Marco.

[@stephenjohnson6841]

Looking great! Thanks l!

[@paulerenberger1286]

Your attention to detail is unbelievable. I’d get 15minutes into a job like that and wash my hands of it. Amazing work

[@alexcret]

Amazing, everything so perfect, calculated, clean, logical etc

[@robevans8555]

This is why I love this channel, the quality of work and attention to detail is amazing. Custom pcb for the connectors and heat shirk labels are the top tips of the day,

[@KarlMiller]

Nice work and planning. I never knew there was such a thing as a heat-shrink tubing label maker. I am going to have to get one. Beautiful work ethe pcb. I love that implementation. I will copy that for my next enclosure.

[@Sam_596]

Looking forward to the rest of the project

[@DougsMessyGarage]

Impressive workmanship on the wire routing. A clean installation like that will pay you back if you ever have to troubleshoot an issue sometime in the future.

[@stenapproved7684]

I could watch you run wires for hours lol so satisfying and you have so many nice tools to use too

[@cyrusramsey4741]

Nice neat design.

[@NeilRidley1]

very impressive planning, only 2 gripes , not painting plates and cutting cables above a circuit board apart from that excellent

[@Factory400]

Very impressive.....I do this for a living and love how you take such a disciplined and professional approach to a home project. Fantastic to see this.

[@oldcatmech]

Keep taking the time to dial the plasma cutter cut out it is great to see it done!

[@amok42]

That is going to be the nicest control cabinet ever.

[@KennyEaton603]

Your timing is exceptional. I’m starting to get things laid out for a cnc control box and, like magic, you drop a video with what has to be a benchmark in control layout and wiring. Sadly, I don’t have a plasma table. But I have a few 3D printers that should have no issue making panels to accept all the connectors and such. Thank you, yet again, for delivering exactly what I need.

[@slasher102]

The idea of putting all the components on a circuit board is fantastic love that. good job no Great Job

[@ericwolf5874]

As a industrial network installer your wiring and labeling soothes my OCD.... I love it! I am looking forward to seeing you new machine. Looking back in your videos you have been working on the design for quite a while and giving us a little peek along the way. Keep it up.

[@nicolaschampagne8988]

your projects are so nice. I'm jalous. thank you for sharing.

[@crabmansteve6844]

Jesus man, your attention to detail is something to be desired for most of us. You truly have some very well laid plans, watching everything line up beautifully on video really hits the spot.

[@yellowcrescent]

Perfect timing. I'm in the middle of converting my G0704 to CNC using DMM Servos and Mesa 6i25/7i76+LinuxCNC for control. The M12 panel with a PCB for routing is a great idea. Def wish I had a plasma table to do the connector panel, but I think i'll just do the ol' acetone-transfer trick to transfer a pattern and manually drill/mill out the holes. Impressive work as usual.

[@steveu235]

Brilliant what else to say Thanks

[@andarthome142]

Nice job jou dit to the plasma cutter👍👍😎

[@gonefishing5867]

Awesome video thanks. I am making my own router and have started to go thru this process. Very helpful.

[@billcahill4218]

Amazing, professional job. I've been a controls engineer for almost 25 years, and I really enjoy watching your projects.

[@ianrobinson509]

A top of the line manufacturer would be hard pressed to produce a product as well finished as this. You never cease to amaze me with your technical prowess.

[@crashn]

if you had any extra pcb's printed, i'd gladly purchase a couple! This is just what I need for my CNC router project.

[@minskmade]

same here. maybe sell a svg of the hole panels also :). great content as usual james

[@cjtroutt8092]

I like that connector pcb board James very well though out. Let me know if you plan on selling them they would work perfectly for my upcoming project.

[@Gohnna]

Echoing this comment. I would love to purchase one!

Ditto on the PCB and the connectors. Also interested in the 3D printed hardware for the Centroid suff.

[@Gohnna]

@ Allan, I found the connectors as well as the files for the cnc4pc support. If you need those, send me a PM.

[@kevinwassellsr.5646]

Id move all that air business to its own external box. Would leave room for some nice robust relays

[@AdamDaley1]

*jaw drop* - i dont even know what to say. As a former security expert who did cabinet wiring... just awesome work

[@HKCNC1]

very good job very clean thanks for all the videos you make The air solenoid need to bleed outside the box so no moisture inside

[@SparkysWidgets]

Nice build so far really like some of the choices you've made like the connector panel and PCB. I made an enclosure out of some spare 5051 1/8 aluminum sheet and ended up just drilling the holes for the connector and wish I would have went your route. I plan on posting up some videos on my build but no where near as good as your controller so far, it is running a PM-728 so at least it works :) Keep up the awesome videos you have inspired me to start posting more!

[@MurrayC]

Very neat, I didn't realise that you could get heat shrink labels. I'll be getting them for my Brother label printer.

[@RobertBrown-lf8yq]

James…… As us Aussies would say mate… “You are one Ridgy-Didge bloody genius”🤣 👏👏👏 Love watching you work mate, Regards Robert

[@jaimeandrade9973]

Usted nunca deja de impresionarme. Me asombra su capacidad, su cuidado a los detalles, Felicitaciones. You never fail to impress me. I am amazed at your ability, your attention to detail, Congratulations

[@ps3ud0r00t3r]

I look forward to your video silk-screening the labeling for the connectors on the bottom.

[@mocmaniac1571]

Love to see that you are using an EEVBlog multimeter !

[@Chromevulcan]

I haven't finished this series yet, and I know these labels are on the bottom, but I really hope you went back and labeled these like the original metal label on the ELS project. It was so clean and beautiful.

[@ocAToccd]

I need to get heat shrink labels for my Bluetooth label printer! Snapping those sockets and then no play... Well done James! To release stress on your PCB, you could reflow the solders while the connectors are fixed to the panel...

[@rogerfossette2097]

James I have written before with truly not much in value to say...Today is different.... A true diagram of componets and its fuctions with it's value and why is truly a book I would buy.... I in no way want miminize the vedo....But opening up a blue print of your project would be most valuable.... Thanks rog

[@mrsockyman]

There's something really therapeutic about running wires in cases like this, once you have a schematic and have the ends sorted out it is so nice to do

[@Clough42]

I agree. It's oddly satisfying. Since my gym is in the garage with the shop, I did a lot of the wiring during rest periods between sets. :)

[@thallmeister]

At my job in the die shop we use M5 connectors and 10-12mm push to connect hoses all the time. I think the idea of a heat shrink label maker is a great idea, I'll be asking about getting one on Monday so thanks for the idea. We also use very similar prox sensors for detecting part blanks and cam movements in our dies. All of this is very interesting and I like seeing the thought process and implementation. Good job so far, everything is nice and tidy.

[@FesixGermany]

Nice to hear that you will use sensors from the company I'm working for!

[@Clough42]

Was my pronunciation awful?

[@FesixGermany]

No that was totally fine.

[@josepheccles9341]

You do beautiful work. I build controls for Nissan in Smyrna Tennessee. I like the care you take to make your panel look professional instead of homemade. I know what it takes to build a nice pannel........ LOTS of work and time.

[@Clough42]

Thanks! Yes, it would be hard to spend this much time if I were on the clock, and only making one.

[@hullinstruments]

I know you’re a busy man but I would absolutely love it if you made some more troubleshooting electronics videos. You made one last year fixing an amplifier PCB or something like that. I have an electronics repair business, specializing in component level board repair for test equipment and other metrology related tasks. But I really enjoy how you explain things and like how you approach tasks. Would love to see more electronics content from you if you ever have the time!

[@pjcb1111]

Great stuff James, this is progressing into something of a wonder of its own. Here my 5 cents… Just me being me and an overthinking/belt a braces bloke from the UK, I would earth/bond the panels to the mounting plate then to the enclosure and the door. Just to give any fault current a clear path rather than through screws, nuts and bolts and all be at the same potential. Think of it as another excuse to use the beautiful things that are - boot lace ferrules and insulated crimp connectors. Plus green and yellow chunky cables (2.5mm2) neatly spring coiled and routed adds a splash of even more colour and skill👌 Keep this quality production coming James 👍🏻 its top shelf stuff for my eyes 😂

[@realloser0]

Hi James, always a plesure to watch your videos! I‘m sure, you are aware, that Clearpath Servos have an intregrated Homing feature. The Servo moves until it is mechanically blocked on startup. I think are more precise than electrical endstops. This would save you some cables. Only caviat, you have to repower the servos to trigger homing after an error so they home again.

[@jamesreed6121]

Good job! When you turned on power to the to test the x-limit sw. the biggest surprise should have been no smoke, flames or big bangs. Great job! looking forward to seeing everything up and running.

[@Clough42]

The clunk of the contactor was a little startling the first time.

[@larrysmurthwaite773]

Just a suggestion on your panels: I noticed you used steel so painting would be great to inhibit rust. I then use my el cheapo blue laser to burn the labels on to the panel. It works great and very professional results. You employ such great choices it would sure add the finish touch. As always great content!

[@Clough42]

I don't own a laser. Yet. :)

[@Clough42]

Fixed. I now have a blue laser. Are you marking in paint, or with Cermark, or something else?

[@larrysmurthwaite773]

@@Clough42 just the basic rattle can, rust oleum. Of course the lighter the paint color the better contrast.

[@geraldvalk151]

Im going to have to rebuild mine now after seeing that!

[@Clough42]

I'm sorry. :)

[@prototype3a]

That label maker !

[@PeteRondeau]

Been following this on Instagram, nice to get a closer view here.. such a clean look- Love it! If you make another set of those panels and send them to me, along with an artwork file, I can print directly on them with my UV cure ink printer to label all your connectors.

[@billdberger7407]

First time seeing the Dymo shrink tube label printer... My first proper job was a harness shop and the machines we used for that job were pretty old and expensive, they also required a computer. I always missed having that capability for my own projects and I never assumed that there would be a consumer solution at an affordable price.

[@ed_cetera]

Kick ass !

[@josephwilliamcosta]

every time you say "you are not going to make us watch you do something", I ALWAYS think i wish you did show it.

[@subuser9627]

Nice work, with Noctua low noise fan so far I can see. If the tension on the connectors is too high, you can always retouch the soldering afterwards. Just checked it after some time, if it is a problem you will find some cracks in the soldering. Again very nice work.

[@joell439]

Wow 👍👍

[@rpavlik1]

Almost surprised you didn't use a PCB as your connector panel face too (at least for the non-high voltage) like on the els, I figured this was too intricate for the plasma. But I guess the turn around time on the plasma is much better 😁 Man I wish my hobby projects looked that professional... I proudly announced using reverse proxies and CNAME entries to give each of my diy smart home services a domain name and my colleagues laughed and said I was 10 years behind the curve. But hey, that playhouse we built is square plumb and true despite being on a slope, and it's way more sturdy than needed.

[@jimsvideos7201]

Very neatly done. The only thing I could suggest is to not strip wires over the enclosure to make sure a nicked strand doesn't fall in.

[@bobvines00]

James, you can't fool us -- we _know_ that you'll paint the subpanels simply because everything else you've done is so professionally done and you won't want rusty subpanels! ;) This is a fantastic-looking panel. I wish I knew half of what you've forgotten so that my own "electrical black boxes" looked half-decent.

[@Clough42]

Nothing rusts where I live. I saw a small orange spot on a mild steel vise jaw that I left sitting in a pool of coolant once, but it wiped off with a rag.

[@bobvines00]

@@Clough42 It must be nice to have no rust worries where you live! ;)

[@TUMATATAN]

Hello James, I'm a new subscriber. I wanted to let you know that your videos are amazing and very detailed. I am very glad I found your channel. I think the reason you haven't blown up is because you're missing animations. It's great to see all the details but some times adding animations is much better as us viewers can get lost in so much details. Just a suggestion. I mean no offense or in no way devalue your work!!!

[@enigmamotorsport]

Hello, I like your channel really teachfully, I noticed that you mention pneumatic connectors going inside your box in the past I build a few cnc machine and I installed my pneumatic valve same way like you and happened twice on 2 different occasions that compressor went bad and send compressor oil thru the system and oil went inside the electronic box some off the relay and controller went bad costing some money, since this happened with 2 different customers we no longer install pneumatic valve inside controll boxes, pneumatic runs outside electronic boxes. Thanks great channel continue posting.

[@crankfar]

Though it seems like you've already thought this through and have executed it beautifully, do check out the Neutrik Ethercon and Neturik Powercon connectors. They're ubiquitous in the entertainment industry but great for industrial applications too--especially since the range of accessories like sealing gaskets, etc. is so broad.

[@leithjohnson]

There is a lot more potential for high voltage noise on the primary input wiring than you might imagine. You may have noticed that many electronic products have the power switch adjacent to the power input. Sometimes with the power button on the back and sometimes with the button on the front of the product with a strangely shaped plastic extension to the front panel button. This approach limits the volume of the product exposed to whatever might come in on the line. UL (just in case you want to list your box :-) ) has stringent requirements for isolation of line voltage components. There are also stringent requirements for "convenience outlets". While I'm sure you're not going to get a UL listing for you box, I have two recommendations: -Be sure and isolate any line voltage wiring from internal wiring. Especially logic level wiring. -Print up a plastic cover for the line voltage outlet section. Not hard to do. Good safety practice.

[@phrozenwun]

Wiring montage while getting the funk out with a bass groov, you know a lot of us would watch it, right?

[@tadamb1]

That really is impressive work. You should be some kind of engineer when you grow up.

[@Neptune730]

I had to come back and comment again. I think I figured out your new project. If it's what I'm thinking, that's going to be awesome. I think you mentioned that you wanted one in a past video. The only thing I can imagine it being with having the air is a basic Pick & Place machine. You already have the Mill & Plasma table. I don't think it would be a CNC router because you don't do much wood work. I'm looking forward to hearing if I'm correct or not. Time will tell.

[@fladder1]

Awesome video, might be time for one where you specifically go over how to design a pcb board?

[@FixDaily]

18:48 the moment he realized and tried to fix it

[@FrankGraffagnino]

not sure if you are planning on this already or not, but i highly recommend having all of the sensors coming back to the controller go through opto-isolators to keep their voltages completely isolated from the controller GPIO. In my last CNC machine I fought and fought with phantom sensor trips hours into a cut from static and noise and other things on the shared ground lines. If they can be isolated, life is easier. I'm betting you already know all this. Great video as usual!

[@PyroniousIndustries]

That's good advice. Fortunately, the inputs on that Acorn breakout board are already opto-isolated.