Workbee CNC Bulkman3d Kit - Mach3 Setup

Time to get the mach3 software setup so we can move on with using this machine. This might be a bit of a long one but my hope is that it helps someone due to there being next to no documentation for this setup.
Link to the New UltimateBee by Bulkman3d: s.click.aliexp...
The exact plugin I used for mach3: drive.google.c...
------------------------------
Adventures by A Himitsu / a-himitsu
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported- CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/2Pj0MtT
Music released by Argofox • A Himitsu - Adventures...
Music promoted by Audio Library • Adventures - A Himitsu...
------------------------------
Electric Joy Ride - Origin [NCS Release] • Electric Joy Ride - Or...
/ electricjoyride
/ electricjoyride
/ electricjoyride
Music promoted by Audio Library • Origin [NCS Release] -...
------------------------------
Music at 08:12 by @ikson
------------------------------
Song: Jarico - Landscape (Vlog No Copyright Music)
Music promoted by Vlog No Copyright Music.
Video Link: • Video
------------------------------

[@zmalzubair]

Great video. I had hoped that BULKMAN3d would have made similar videos for all their products to help buyers setup their CNC machines. Appreciate all the hard and excellant work.

[@stevecleverdon-reed4611]

Thank you so much for this video. I had such a frustrating time trying to set up my Mach3 with the Workbee until I found your instructional video. Amazing that you took the time to help us, shame Bulkman couldn't do something like this to help their customers.

[@perro0076]

Many thanks. Super happy I have come across your posts. I must admit, support from Mach3 is a whole lot less than impressive!! I am about to embark on retrofitting my WorkBee with closed loop steppers (Stepperonline variety) and the Novusun v2 NEVM controller with Mach3. So your videos really are invaluable!! :-)

[@danballarin]

I would like to thank you many times over for your video.... This video set was the only way I could confidently get my machine set up. I am still having spindle issues (not changing RPM with mach), but I wouldn't have gotten there. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

[@IllDoItMyself]

Thankyou very much for this comment it means a lot! Jump on the Workbee China group on Facebook book and I'm sure one of us can help you out!

[@tuannobick]

Thank you so much ! Are you using TB6600 Stepper Driver? Can you share your Micro-Step Setting? I'm using setting MicroStep (4) - Pulse/Rev(800). I have all my settings exactly like yours but all my axis just move fews cm and very noisy, thank you.

[@Salman.h57]

Hi there sir.. I’ve got the same workbee but it’s 1500x1500 I’ve got it all set up and wiring done and I downloaded Mach3 to test it I can’t get it to run , I hope you can let me know what did I do wrong .. thanks

[@dayzmelttogether]

same issue here all the lights are on i hear the zaxis motor do something once its powered on, i dont get it

[@ro0ter88]

Thanks again for the help setting things up. I would love to watch a video of you running a job. I would also like to see your workflow from design to Gcode. I'm having a bit of trouble going from Illustrator and DXF all the way up to the Mach3. I would love advice on bits too. Thanks!

[@abbeyyards9282]

Firstly many thanks for your videos it has made it so easy to set up. I bought my 1500 x 1500 workbee from bulkman 3d and just did my mach3 setup using the supplied 24v power supply but I have had stalling issues with the Hi-torque motors stalling and losing steps with minimal load. I have heard of others using a 48v power supply for the motors and use the supplied 24v for the nvum controller (controller can only take up to 32 volts). Have you had any stalling issues with your motors?

[@IllDoItMyself]

Hey Abbey, the 24v with the high torque motors will be plenty powerful enough. Yes you can up the voltage but honestly you will have machine rigidity issues before you max out the motors if they are configured right. Check your dip switches I recommend running 3amps with 1/8 stepping. If your stalling the motors you should loosen the Delrin nuts and let them set into place don't out pressure on them when you tighten them down.

[@richalencat413]

Hola! tengo una máquina CNC Bulkman de cuatro motores y spindle refrigerado por aire con sistema Arduino uno y Shield de Arduino y el HuanYang VFD. ¿puedo controlar la máquina con el software de Mach 3? Creo quees más intuitivo y completo para manejar la máquina. Muchas Gracias por su amable respuesta y gracias por sus videos, son muy didácticos y útiles. Hello! I have a Bulkman four motor air cooled spindle CNC machine with Arduino uno system and Arduino Shield and the HuanYang VFD. Can I control the machine with Mach 3 software? I think it is more intuitive and complete to handle the machine. Thank you very much for your kind response and thanks for your videos, they are very educational and useful.

[@justinneumann1492]

tossing up between this and the gbrl model. Would you recommend mach 3 over gbrl?

[@IllDoItMyself]

Honestly both will do the job just fine!

[@atech9020]

How are you getting the digitize button to light up in Mach 3? I have been trying for three days to get this thing working and I can't figure it out. I have tried every plugin file I can find and every setting in the book. The only thing I see that is common to the working machines is that the digitize button is lit, which mine doesn't. I am using a laptop, is that the issue? I get ZERO communication from Mach 3 to the exact same NVUM as you.

[@ccchicken8889]

Newbie question here. I'm looking at a Workbee kit that has a few controller options from Mach 3 and a GRBL option. Do you have and basic advice for choosing? Is it mostly based on software compatibility? Or maybe how advanced or user friendly certain softwares are? If it matter, Fusion 360 along with Universal GCode Sender are the programs I'm looking at.

[@IllDoItMyself]

The mach3 option is required if you go the high torque stepper motors as it has external stepper drivers that can handle the required current. There are ways of thing with this grbl but not with the controller from bulkman. The difference is just software yes. Mach3 is more professional in my opinion and has been around for a long long time. There are some advanced features in mach3 most of which people with this machine will never use. If your not going high torque stepper motors you will be fine with the grbl option. Otherwise I'm having great success with the mach3 setup. Mach3 will require a licence which is around $200usd so keep that in mind. Grbl there plenty of free options.

[@foadyousefi]

@@IllDoItMyself Great video. I am planning t o buy the exact same setup. I have a noob question, Does this controller need to be useed with mach3? None of the other programs work with this? Isn't it a matter of sending gcode to the CNC? Can this setup be used with something like Linux CNC?

[@IllDoItMyself]

@Foad Yousefi yeah the nvum will only work with mach3. Everything else will work with other controller like grbl or Linux CNC or even uccnc. I would recommend even just getting the nvum and if you find your not liking it swap it out for one of the others they are relatively inexpensive.

[@dw2763]

I appreciate your videos. Wondered if you have any tips for A axis slave to Y axis issues? I have been sure to follow your directions to check "Home Slave with Master Axis" in General Config screen and in Slave Axis Selection I've checked A Axis under the Y Axis. My A axis does not turn. If I leave the motors connected to the same drivers but swap where they connect to NVUM board (A for Y) then the A motor turns but the Y does not. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm really stuck.

[@PoshtaFFXI]

Awesome work. I spent days trying to figure out just the Estop setup. Got anything coming up for Spindle controls?

[@IllDoItMyself]

Thankyou. Yes I'm working on a spindle setup one now.

[@ro0ter88]

Thank you thank you thank you!

[@KaminapechLv]

Hi, I have such a problem, when you turn on the mach3, writes "select the bin file" , and then when you try to make the machine move "the device is not ready". I tried 3 PC and Laptop, 4 different Windows OS (32bit). I bought Workbee full kit 1500x1500(Novusun v2 NEVM usb controller). I did all the settings of the mach3 as you did, but nothing works, what should I do? Thank you.

[@zmalzubair]

Hi, I just changed over to the same Novusun TB6600 mach3 setup and followed your video setup. My motors dont work. I see the signal from the mach3 to the TB6600 AS THE INDICATORS LIGHTUP but motors dont turn. I have the DIP switches on off off off on off. Any advise. Thanks

[@tyrellforeman119]

Thanks for the great video's. Just wondering if you setup your soft limits. When I tried to setup my soft limits the Mach3 error came up "Machine out of limits for softlimit activation", this error prevents the soft limits from going active. I've homed/zero'd the cnc and reviewed the limits to ensure they are in correct direction and range. Read every blog and cannot seem to correct it. Are you able to set your soft limits? Have you encountered this error as well?

[@usmansukaimi]

Hi. Can u share diagram. How to connect the cnc controller (nvum) and VFD. Tq

[@eric94610]

googled but no luck finding the novusum.dll that you reference at 9:02 - how to get a copy of that?

[@IllDoItMyself]

Hey it's linked in the comments below. It's a rar file so to extract it you might need to install WinRAR

[@IllDoItMyself]

I have updated the link to a non Rar'd version. drive.google.com/file/d/1tDfbOe4RMRNWcTu-14hHL5OBgP28oRYh/view?usp=sharing

[@eric94610]

Much thanks!

[@kylehaffenden7257]

When setting your home Ref (15:10 ) when i click x axis , instead of it travelling to the right, mine travels to the left. What could this be? safe to move the limit switch to the other side for the X axis or is there a setting that is incorrect? any help would be greatly appreciated :)

[@IllDoItMyself]

You can move it to the other side but it's likely more than that. Are you saying the arrow key moves it the wrong way?

[@randymartin7072]

Thank you for your fine videos. Would you please tell me what your DIP settings are on your stepper controllers? All my axis are working, but they are choppy and loud. Won't keep moving, but whine and they stop. And then I have to push the arrow key again in small increments to get them to go anywhere.

[@IllDoItMyself]

Sure I won't give the dip switches positions as they vary on the stepper drivers. But I run 3amps and 1/8 stepping. Often the nut blocks need to be loosened so they can seat and not bind. You can also try lower your max speed and acceleration.

[@randymartin7072]

Thank you for your response, DJ. All three of my axes do the exact same thing. Whether I hold down the up, down, left or right and arrows, it will only last one second before the motor squeals highly and it quits moving. It even does that on the Z axis. I don't think all of them are binding every direction in exact time frame. Anything in the software will do that? I will try to figure out how to lower the max speed. Also, I already got the 4-6 DIP switches set for 3 amps. I am very much looking forward to your video on Mach 3 settings!

[@randymartin7072]

@@IllDoItMyself BTW, I have the exact same machine as you. Would you mind telling me what the 1/8 stepping would yield on the first three DIP switches?

[@Tommy-io3tb]

Can somebody help me? I've got the 1500 X1500 Workbee 3D, Nema 23, TB6600 stepper drivers, Novusun V2 and Mach 3. When I start cutting everything goes well for a while and then the machine just goes crazy and damage the whole project. I've replace the driver motors 4 time and the Novusun twice. All the wires are grounded. Sometimes it will finish a project. Can anyone help with advice?

[@mikeprestigiacomo5420]

I have the same issue as the guy Cannot get y and a axis in sync

[@IllDoItMyself]

Hey Mike, did you slave the axis together in the Config -> Slave Axis menu. Select Y Axis and Slaved Axis should be A. Then save settings and restart mach3.

[@mikeprestigiacomo5420]

@@IllDoItMyself I finally figured it out. I had a stepper motor control burn out. ( Defective ) I purchased 3 from amazon . Different manufacturer. As it turns out they are different. So I changed the Y axes controller to the same manufacturer. That was the issue.

[@IllDoItMyself]

Ah good find!

[@mikeprestigiacomo5420]

@@IllDoItMyself Ok I am setting up my limits , following you video exactly. There I must be doing something wrong because when I get to the part where everything is zeroed out and then go to the actual Machine cords to set the soft limit activation, as soon as i hit the ref all button to tell mach3 that Zero is home my Z axis starts going up or down

[@IllDoItMyself]

Hey Mike, Ref all is actually supposed to tell the machine to find machine home by moving toward the endstops. You want to click the Zero buttons to set your work coordinates instead.

[@marlenmadsen391]

Thanks so much for sharing, was a little scared about purchasing from aliexpress. and not understanding the mach 3 setup, Question, all your mach 3 settings, can they be saved as a template file and exported for others use? I was favoring the black box setup for simplicity but really see the need for a spindle as i can't see running a palm router an hour at a time.

[@IllDoItMyself]

Hey Marlen, I can export the settings but there are things during the setup process that could be reversed depending on how you have done your install so there is no one setting suites all. That being said if you follow the video I go through everything needed and try to explain why so that you will know what to reverse in your setup.

[@IllDoItMyself]

Also make sure your on the workbee China Facebook group there is a whole mess of us on there that enjoy helping others build.

[@marlenmadsen391]

@@IllDoItMyself Thank you so much for the help, looking forward to doing cnc, I do a lot of wood working, cnc is the next step

[@zmalzubair]

I have been trying to setup my Bulkman Lead CNC with the STB5100 MACH3 controller. Following their instructions which are different than yours, and refering to your video ref the slave of A to Y, i still cant get A to slave (setup all slave settings as instructed). Please advise.

[@IllDoItMyself]

I'm sorry I don't have any experience with the STB5100.

[@IllDoItMyself]

Jump on our Facebook group called "CNC Router Workbee from China"

[@shelby50411]

Im looking for opinions on the overall design and performance of this chinese made knockoff workbee 1515 diy cnc.....visually it looks decent for the price.

[@CharlieSolis]

Hi so Mach3 keeps freezing just a few lines into the gcode whenever I run any gcode. even when I try to run the stock Roadrunner gcode it does this so I know it’s not my gcode. I’m running this on a newly built DIY cnc router with a 2.2kw water cooled spindle and 2.4nm “high torque” NEMA 23 steppers with a STB5100 controller with a usb connection to my 2015 MacBook Pro running windows. I have done hours of trouble shooting and online forum reading, I even made a KZbin video to get help from people online. At first it looked like none of my shielded cables were grounded and that it was em noise interference causing the issue. But I went and checked and made sure that no point on the frame or anywhere in the wires has less than a 5 ohm resistance to the ground prongs on the main power supply plugs going into the wall. I’m very confused at this point as I haven’t been able to find anyone having this same issue. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled the program like 5 times at this point. I’m not having license issues as my name clearly shows up at the top of the screen. All the axis jog fine and the spindle works fine and can be controlled by mach 3 computer. I tried to attach a video of what’s happening when I try to run the stock Roadrunner gcode file but it says the file is too large. But this is the link to the KZbin video I posted with these issues so you can see. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aorXhJVsnpyUeNk Can you please help me figure this out? I’m at my wits end at this point as I’ve spent so many hours futzing around and trouble shooting this. I have these electronics from bulkman 3D that I have: Mach 3 5axis stb5100 usb motion card and TV6600-t4 4 axis stepper motor driver board. This is the bulkman link to what I purchased. bulkman3d.com/product/mach3-usb-5-axis-stb5100-motion-controller-bundle/ What can I do to remedy this? Thank you!

[@IllDoItMyself]

Are you using a legitimate version of mach3. I have seen this with people using demo and pirate versions.

[@IllDoItMyself]

Also are you using Windows natively it in a VM on your MacBook?

[@CharlieSolis]

@@IllDoItMyself thank you so much for the quick reply. I downloaded Mach 3 from artsoft and I got my license through them too.

[@CharlieSolis]

@@IllDoItMyself I’m not sure I follow what you are asking in your second comment. Could you elaborate? I’m running boot camp windows 10 on my laptop. So the windows is partitioned with plenty of storage and computing capabilities. the windows partition has nothing else running on it except Mach3

[@IllDoItMyself]

Ok that should be fine. I actually run like that. The next thing to check is. Is mach3 actually crashing or hanging or is the cnc just stopping? Do you see any status message down the bottom depending on your screenset?

[@RobertWoolford]

Excellent videos, thank you!! Any advice on the optimum Windows setup for running Mach3 (Version + PC). I have read a lot of stuff online, but as always, it's all over the place. Thanks.

[@IllDoItMyself]

Honestly I'm having no issues with latest version of mach3 on latest version of Windows 10. I think the issues in the past are due to serial ports and windows patches.

[@RobertWoolford]

@@IllDoItMyself Thanks for the feedback. I'll let you know how I get on :-)

[@soorenaaslani7491]

Thank you so much for making these videos they have helped me greatly. I just have one problem I cannot figure out. My Y axis refuses to move properly. It appears that both Y and A are spinning in the same direction as they should but they are not in sync. Also I noticed that when I am trying to move positive or negative it has a mind of its own. It will rotate a little to the right then the opposite direction, even though I am not telling it to change direction. I have all my settings exactly like yours and connected everything the same way. If you could help me out I would greatly appreciate it!

[@IllDoItMyself]

Hey, make sure the Y and A axis both have the same steps count configured in the motor tuning Tab. And also that the micro stepping switches on the driver's them self are identical. As for the reversing direction is this only on one axis of all of them?

[@ro0ter88]

Did you get this figured out? I am having the exact same issue.

[@soorenaaslani7491]

@@ro0ter88 The steps count was wrong for me. I switched my dip switches and also changed the Mach3 settings. You also have to set the A axis as a slave axis in two areas inside Mach3.

[@ro0ter88]

@@soorenaaslani7491 The step count was wrong for both or you accidentally set them differently? I have a full kit from BulkMan and all my switches are set to 010000 for all 4 motors. Is yours different? I have the config => slave axis area set up. Where is the other setting? I am currently mirroring the A-axis as the Y and the A motors are facing each other. Thank you so much for any help.

[@soorenaaslani7491]

@@ro0ter88 Off On Off Off On Off is the switches and I have 200, 4000, 100, and 5s, 5s. Make sure you set Y and A to slave in Slave Axis menu and you checkmark home slave axis in General Config. I'll double check the acceleration for the motors I am pretty sure it was 100 but I could be wrong. Key thing is 200 as the first setting with those switches.

[@PaganWizard]

Great video, but Windows sounds were a lot louder than your mic volume was. I had to turn up my speaker volume A LOT to understand what you were saying, and them Microsoft chimed in and WWWWOOOOOWWWWW was that LOUD.

[@IllDoItMyself]

Haha sorry audio is much better in recent videos!

[@GrumpyHeadDesigns]

@I'll Do It Myself I am banging my head against the wall over here and maybe making things seem worse than what they are.. I am using the exact setup as you (NVUM w/Mach3) and if my movements are correct with button presses, it will be opposite on mach3 viewing window and vise versa.. I home my machine right rear and have front left as my G55 fixture 0,0,0. How do I get everything to match up to what the movements are mechanical and visual? I have also noticed that when I pull a job in from Aspire, it will also be opposite as to what direction was selected ie; climb is conventional and vise versa. Any and all help is greatly appreciated! -TIA!

[@IllDoItMyself]

Hehe it's all learning don't get too frustrated. The first step is getting the arrows going the correcte direction. Do this by flipping the dir pin setting in your motors page. This essentially reverses the motor direction. Then you need to go to your homing and limits page and set home negative. This should give you thing working on the correct direction. Then move your gantry to where you want your work zero and set x y and z zero. Not your machine zero don't get them confused.

[@GrumpyHeadDesigns]

@@IllDoItMyself TY. I finally got all of that figured out but why when I design in Aspire for conventional and import the .txt file to Mach3, it does the opposite and climb cuts O_o. All of my movements are correct in Mach and my spindle is moving in the proper rotation just my cutting is reversed.

[@IllDoItMyself]

Not sure why that would happen it must be something in aspire. The mach will only do what it's told in the gcode so no setting in Mach 3 will affect that

[@GrumpyHeadDesigns]

@@IllDoItMyself I was thinking since things are "reversed" in Mach3 in order to get it moving properly then if Aspire tells it to move left, with Mach reversed, it will move right?

[@IllDoItMyself]

Sure that could be the case. When moving the gantry right the x numbers should go in the + direction. When going away from the front of the machine y numbers should go in the positive direction. And z moving upward the numbers should go in the positive direction

[@NatureBricolage]

How found Novusun.dll please?

[@IllDoItMyself]

Link is in the description my friend.

[@chrisdebeer713]

Thank you for the informative videos, my friend has a 1000x1000 Workbee 3D, Nema 23, TB6600 stepper drivers, Novusun V2 and Mach 3 all set up completed, I battle with noisy- rough steppers steps per: 5( Mach Calibration) X-Velocity 3500 and X- Accel 270 with Y -Velocity 3500 and Y-Accel 270 I will greatly appreciate if anyone can share their settings with the same hardware setup. Can you also share your average feedrate (F) in mm/sec or mm/min, say for instance cutting a circle in mdf with 6mm twoflute upcut end mill

[@IllDoItMyself]

I will do a video on this shortly but as for the noisy machine try running in 1/8 stepping and upping your steps to per should be around 200

[@chrisdebeer713]

@@IllDoItMyself Thank you for the reply and i do have issues with the settings, With the X-axis your settings for motor tuning works fine, If I use the arrow key or hold down shift + arrow for max speed the X motor function very well, had to lower the steps per to 50 as calibration suggest in Mach3 Settings page. The problem is Y and A-axis, Noisy movement with arrow keys, when I attempt to calibrate the axis on the Settings page the two stepper motors spin like a F1 car standing still just wheels spinning and both axis dont move at all, how would I go about making sure it is in 1/8 stepping mode? as you suggested above, how do i go about finetune the motor axis tuning?

[@lljulezjay]

Volume is too low

[@joeadams1236]

Your volume is too low

[@zmalzubair]

Hi Problem solved.

[@perro0076]

So what was the problem and what did you do to fix it?

[@bentebrunsvelt319]

No macht3 i wil grbl 👍👍🇳🇱

[@lljulezjay]

Or u talk too soft