DIY CNC 013 - Configuration & Basic Testing

Welcome back for another update of my DIY CNC build series. Today, I'll bring you up to speed with everything I’ve been up to over the past 3-4 weeks. I took some time between this update and the last to familiarize myself with the machine and build trust in its performance capabilities.
In this update, I'll showcase the brand-new baseboard and spoil board. We won’t be surfacing the spoil board in this video; that will come in the next update when we start conducting some real test cuts. I'll then demonstrate how I created the extension cable for the motors and proximity sensors, designing them for quick-disconnect from the control unit. Additionally, I'll show you how I installed the NEMA 23 motors and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various couplers I've tried. Following this, I'll give a live demo of the Auto-homing process for the machine.
Next, I'll provide a demo of the spindle water pump and explain how I plumbed it in, running it through corrugated tubing for protection along with the power to the spindle. I'll also discuss how I configured the spindle to be controlled via the Mach3 software. Although I couldn't achieve speed control, I managed to enable clockwise and counterclockwise control, including start/stop and spindle disable functions. I'll give a Mach3 software demo, explaining how I configured the ports and pins for successful spindle operation. Additionally, I'll demonstrate the relay board and wiring from the Mach 3 breakout board. I'll also show you how to program your VFD to use external pins for control rather than the onboard front display controls. Another crucial aspect I'll cover is configuring the DIP switches on stepper drivers to set pulses per revolution, explaining the trade-off between speed and accuracy for NEMA motors.
Finally, I'll demonstrate the machine running some G-code. I've decided to run the ‘roadrunner’ G-code that comes pre-built with Mach3. While simple, it's a safe option for experimenting with your machine for the first time.
In the next video, I'll focus on further calibration of the machine and surfacing the spoil board for the first time. Then, we'll dive into some real cuts! I'm looking forward to having you back here again. Take it easy!
#cnc #cncmachine #cncrouter
00:00 Intro
01:22 Baseboard and Spoilboard
06:04 Wiring and Quick-Disconnect
15:40 Proximity Sensors and Auto-Home
20:47 Controlling the CNC Intel NUC with VNC Server
27:34 Motor Installation and Coupler Problems
33:00 Spindle Plumbing and Water Pump Demonstration
36:13 VFD Spindle Control via Mach3 Demonstration
39:00 Mach3 Spindle Relay Configuration
47:30 Mach3 Breakoutboard and Relay Connections
51:24 VFD Programming
55:43 Pulses Per Revolution - Speed vs Accuracy
1:08:49 Running some Test Gcode
1:13:23 Outro
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▶ Useful videos that helped me setup Mach3:
• MACH 3 CNC Router Trai...
• Mach 3 Soft Limits & O...
• Mach3 USB Controller O...
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▶▶ Watch the whole series of videos:
▶ Part 1: • DIY CNC 001 - Introdu...
▶ Part 2: • DIY CNC 002 - Specific...
▶ Part 3: • DIY CNC 003 - Tools fo...
▶ Part 4: • DIY CNC 004 - Drilling...
▶ Part 5: • DIY CNC 005 - Y-Axis F...
▶ Part 6: • DIY CNC 006 - Gantry A...
▶ Part 7: • DIY CNC 007 - Z-Axis A...
▶ Part 8: • DIY CNC 008 - Linear ...
▶ Part 9: • DIY CNC 009 - Surface ...
▶ Part 10: • DIY CNC 010 - Closed L...
▶ Part 11: • DIY CNC 011 - VFD and ...
▶ Part 12: • DIY CNC 012 - Electric...
▶ Part 13: • DIY CNC 013 - Configur...
▶ Part 14: • DIY CNC 014 - Motor Tu...
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[@thehardwareguy]

▶Carveco: store-us.carveco.com/?ref=thehardwareguy ▶DISCOUNT CODE: HWG5OFF

[@cvicracer]

I’m impressed I learned so much from all your videos. Thank you very much! I’m going to build my own machine now.

[@thehardwareguy]

00:00 Intro 01:22 Baseboard and Spoilboard 06:04 Wiring and Quick-Disconnect 15:40 Proximity Sensors and Auto-Home 20:47 Controlling the CNC Intel NUC with VNC Server 27:34 Motor Installation and Coupler Problems 33:00 Spindle Plumbing and Water Pump Demonstration 36:13 VFD Spindle Control via Mach3 Demonstration 39:00 Mach3 Spindle Relay Configuration 47:30 Mach3 Breakoutboard and Relay Connections 51:24 VFD Programming 55:43 Pulses Per Revolution - Speed vs Accuracy 1:08:49 Running some Test Gcode 1:13:23 Outro

[@kenf2662]

I would like to see a full detail of the spindle tuning.

[@jeffdeluca1153]

Great info. Glad I stumbled on your channel! I'm coming over for coffee! Lol. Question... if I want to use a rotary axis, do I need a 5th stepper driver or do I utilize the Y axis driver? Do I need a different control board also? Also, why did you use Mach 3 instead of possibly the Arduino board. I want to build my own also as the retail packages seem to always miss the mark in features for all the money they want. Thank you for your help! Jeff in the USA

[@nemesis851_]

Good for you. Have fun. Observation, when you open the Windows for fresh air the horizontal blinds will move away from the window and may get caught by the motorized horizontal gantry. Also a bungee from above to suspend the cabling

[@thehardwareguy]

Thank you. Yes, the bungee is a must. As for the windows, they can't physcially open so I should be okay :)

[@user-cb4vv4yw4q]

شكرا

[@designtechone2518]

Thank you for such detailed and clear instructional videos! I’m a technician in a school retrofitting a 6090 cnc machine that’s been dormant for 8 years. Following your videos I’ve been able to get my head around the components and update the machine to get all the axis working via Mach 3, so thanks! Regarding the PWM converter and relay board - is the current ‘stop, start forward reverse, Mach 3 control’ working separately to the PWM converter? Or routed through the PWM converter from the Mach 3 board?

[@thehardwareguy]

Hi mate! glad to hear I've been able to help you out. The Stop/Start and Forward/Reverse are separate from the PWM board. They wire directly from the Mach3 Breakout board straight to the relay and then to the VFD

[@designtechone2518]

@@thehardwareguy thank you! I’ll give it a try when I get to that point. Keep up the great work!

[@Cybernetic_Systems]

I’m really impressed with your build, the quality and effort is premium! Puts my little home built 3030 machine to shame. I am curious as to why you selected Mach 3? The parallel port requirements are a non starter for me, same with Linux CNC. I’m running grblHAL on an MKS DLC32 ATM, but I’m currently looking for something better. The E5X MCS T4.1 looks really good, but is not cheap, although at least I won’t need to buy separate software license.

[@mikeuk7774]

Hi did you made that video about PWM module connection and configure with all settings in mach (port setting for this rnr board)

[@saisagar8512]

Inspire me a lot thank you for all of your effort. Even iam also building a CNC machine your videos helped me lot . Can you please post the CNC drawing file(fusion 360 file)

[@IceCreams62]

Hi. When you are jogging the X axis with the Right keyboard key the carriage go to the left. It seems wrong to me !!! You need to refer from the front of machine, not from the back.

[@DogSerious]

@41:26 who whispers "Hi"?

[@stagecoachmechanic]

how much would you sell this for? or at least value it for?

[@thehardwareguy]

I will be updating the BOM spreadsheet very soon. All in it will be less than £3000 GBP

[@xyzspec82]

Bro, those axis are very loud and do not sound good. Check the alignment before damage happens. Also, install some drag chains.

[@thehardwareguy]

It's not that loud, the camera audio might make it seem louder than it actually is. The hollow table amplifies a lot of the motor sound too. The linear rail motion is very smooth, as seen during the build process. I don't want any drag chains for my build, I'm suspending the Z axis cables and the others are going into the corrugated tubes. I hadn't yet done that when I filmed this video

[@pant4726]

can you send me control wiring diagram

[@thehardwareguy]

I don't have a wiring diagram yet, but I did make a dedicated video explaining how to wire the NEMA motors and proximity sensors, and how they interface to Mach3. Check out 010 in this series.

[@cnc_workbench]

those couplers you took off are waaaaaay better then the sping coil couplers you put on.. they WILL break and you will ruin a workpiece or bend a ball screw.. be prepared. Just saying.. the X axis coupler is decent.

[@thehardwareguy]

I agree, I sent them back because I had two break quickly. I have now replaced both Y-Axis coiuplers with the same coupler I showed for the X-Axis in this video. They seem much better!