difalkner Posted September 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2016 I thought it would be good to see how much current draw I had before connecting the stepper motors. Everything is now wired inside the panel except the VFD and connections for the E-Stop switches. Current draw at this point is about 0.5 amp and after 10 minutes of running everything was cool inside the box (as I expected it to be). The E-Stop switch connections will be next and then the VFD. I'm debating whether to pull the stepper motors off the machine and bench test them all at once. I'll probably do that because I mounted them just to make sure everything worked correctly for rack & pinion tension and that everything lined up for the mounting. They all need to come back off so I can use thread lock on them anyway so I'll probably bench test them. That will be a good opportunity to begin setting up the ESS and Mach4. Here's the short video of testing the current draw - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 I had a little time tonight after church to begin cleaning up the wiring and started with the door, hopefully I'll get the rest of it tomorrow. The incoming power lines to the switch and ground are temporary and will be similarly secured when the time comes to run those lines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Well, it didn't take long for me to decide the first cleaning up of wiring on the door wasn't up to par, so I redid it this morning. I think this looks much better and doesn't have the couple of wires hanging loosely around the switches. One thing I did was to replace the connectors on the start button with right angle versions so they don't stick so far down into the enclosure when the door is closed. They weren't in danger of hanging on anything but I just didn't care for the way they looked. Also, I cleaned up the wiring on the panel so except for the 240V and VFD it looks like the wiring is complete. Just for curiosity I powered this up and let it run almost two hours so I could check the temperature of components and there's wasn't enough rise in temp to even notice - about 2° in some places. I'm certain this will change when I connect stepper motors and the spindle to the VFD, though. Improved door wiring - Completed wiring except for 240V and VFD - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 Keep all of these pictures and descriptions cause someday when it breaks you will have " as built " documentation. Covering your ass in advance is always prudent ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 1 hour ago, wdwerker said: Keep all of these pictures and descriptions cause someday when it breaks you will have " as built " documentation. Covering your ass in advance is always prudent ! Steve, I not only have hundreds of photos but I also drew the schematic in CorelDRAW! When I finish and know that everything works then I'll post the schematic for all to see. My plan was to use a 5-pin connector for the spindle cable so that if I needed to disconnect it then it would be easy. As I began to prepare for doing that this evening I quickly got to the point where I no longer liked that solution for several reasons: 1) lots of extra work trying to make that large cable fit in the tiny 5-pin connector (which is actually too small - the aviation connectors are just right for 18 AWG wire and this is 14 AWG), 2) extra opportunity for noise to enter the picture, and 3) I planned to use the 5-pin connector in the event I need to disconnect the spindle from the enclosure. The likelihood that I'll need to disconnect the spindle often is low so if I have to then I'll undo the connections at the VFD or on the connector at the spindle. Fortunately I didn't have to remove anything to enlarge the hole. It was already drilled 5/8" for the aviation connector so I just centered my Greenlee punch and made a larger hole. In the end I think this will work much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 8 hours ago, difalkner said: Wiring looks really clean. If I can make one suggestion, and it's probably not needed. However I'm super anal about wire insulation rubbing on metal. Even though the wires will probably never move, I would suggest getting some plastic bushings or thread caps to go on those threaded fittings. They sell things like this at home depot that you can put on those threads to keep the insulation from being chaffed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FineLineAutomation Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 Looking good David. Almost there I think. I am anxious for you to fire it up and start making parts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 Great suggestion, Tom! I'll pick some up today. When finished the full cable sheath will protrude into the cabinet so no wires will actually touch the metal but this is still a good idea. 1 minute ago, FineLineAutomation said: Looking good David. Almost there I think. I am anxious for you to fire it up and start making parts. Thanks, Nate! Soon, very soon... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 I had originally planned to pull the motors off and just hook the leads directly into the drivers for testing but decided instead to go ahead and make up the cables with connectors and that way I can test everything – electronics, system, software, motors, and my cables. I’ll still pull the motors off for bench testing but now I’ll be using the actual cables to which they’ll be connected (I have to pull the motors off anyway to put thread lock on the mounting bolts). At the pace I work and as detailed and OCD as I am that means most of the day soldering and shrink wrapping connections but it has to be done anyway so might as well be now. 120' of 18/4 shielded cable cut and ready for connectors and soldering onto motor/sensor lead wires (I borrowed the kitchen floor for measuring) - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 12 hours ago, Tom Cancelleri said: Wiring looks really clean. If I can make one suggestion, and it's probably not needed. However I'm super anal about wire insulation rubbing on metal. Even though the wires will probably never move, I would suggest getting some plastic bushings or thread caps to go on those threaded fittings. They sell things like this at home depot that you can put on those threads to keep the insulation from being chaffed. Here ya' go, Tom. See, I can follow directions! LOL! ++++++++++++++++++++++++ I've been making up cables for a good part of the afternoon but started by mounting the enclosure on the stand so I could get the proper lengths of the stepper and proximity cables. So the enclosure is mounted temporarily but will come off later so I can configure the VFD, the Ethernet SmoothStepper, and Mach4. It'll be so much easier to program the VFD with it on the bench (table saw) instead of having to squat down and manage this. Getting closer - 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Well, it was a LOT of work to arrive at this point of completing the stepper motor and proximity sensor connectors but I managed to finish this in one day - fast for me! Lots of soldering and shrink wrapping; tomorrow I'll double check each connector for continuity to the end of the cable and to the drivers and relays on the inside of the cabinet. It'll never be easier than now to fix something that isn't making good contact. Stepper motors, red; Proximity sensors, blue - 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Well, like so many other times in the shop I started out intending to test all of the cables I made up yesterday but instead ran the power lines so I could test the 240V side of the electrical system. While I had the enclosure mounted on the stand I measured for the 120V cord and cut that because I have 120V on my test bench for power but left the long remaining cord for running over to the 240V plug on the wall. I'll trim that to the proper length when I have everything mounted on the machine. This doesn't look like much progress but it took a while to get the cords run correctly inside the box such that nothing hit or rubbed when the door opens or closes. Either way the cords needed to be run but I still need to test the cables for continuity and shorts, of which I don't really think there are any, and then connect the stepper motors and proximity sensors for testing and initial setup. We have band practice after church tonight so I probably won't get a chance to do much more when I get home. Completed wiring on door - Powered up and VFD on - VFD closeup - 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 Short video of powering up with both 120V and 240V – 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 In checking my cables I found a problem with the very first one I tested - but it wasn't the cable. Rather, it was the connector on the side of the box. I had already checked these when I put them in and before I cleaned up the wiring inside the box. But it had a broken solder joint and I just couldn't see how this would have happened until I fixed it and put the connector back in; turns out I probably broke it loose with the 3/4" open end wrench when I tightened all of these down after cleaning up the wiring. Because it's so tight right in that area I noticed that the wrench, if I'm not careful, will apply pressure to the terminals. Fortunately it wasn't that difficult to remove and repair and get back into place, tightening carefully this time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 It's about time this looked different!! I'm ready to begin programming the ESS and connecting stepper motors and proximity sensors for testing and setup. I'll start fresh tomorrow and see how far I get before reaching out to someone for assistance although several people have already sent me files to get me started and that's a great big help! The photo on the screen is one I took of Tenaya Lake in Yosemite NP in 2009 - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted September 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Finally labeled the side panel so I can put things in their proper place - can't tell the players without a program!! Now I need to figure out how I want to label the cables... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted October 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 Tomorrow I hope to get far enough in setting up Mach4 to be able to test the motors. Here's my 'bench' setup for testing - 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted October 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 The motors are spinning!! I ran the Roadrunner program that comes with Mach4 so these varied in how much they ran. You can see the tape is blurred on three of the motors; the Z axis motor wasn't moving when I took the shot. Current draw during this time was about 2 amps. I'm spinning motors but not moving anything so I expected it to be low. After 20 minutes of running the X axis motor, closest one in the photo, got up to 119°, the two Y axis motors made it to 100°, and the Z axis just made it to 90°. Video coming soon - 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted October 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 Here's the video of the motors spinning - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 Nice Dave, looks like you're almost ready to start moving some axes. I'm assuming that the 2 steppers on the right are for your Y axis as they spun opposite each other. It did look like there was a variance in stepping however, could also be the angle of the video, but it seemed one spun more than the other. I assume you still need to configure your controller to account for gear ratios/etc to get accurate movement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted October 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 1 hour ago, Tom Cancelleri said: Nice Dave, looks like you're almost ready to start moving some axes. I'm assuming that the 2 steppers on the right are for your Y axis as they spun opposite each other. It did look like there was a variance in stepping however, could also be the angle of the video, but it seemed one spun more than the other. I assume you still need to configure your controller to account for gear ratios/etc to get accurate movement. Yes sir, it looked like it to me, as well. So I lined up both pieces of tape to 12 o'clock and then started the program again. I just arbitrarily stopped it around the 1 minute timeframe and they were in sync with each other but I'll certainly have some fine tuning to do once I get everything mounted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted October 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 Modbus and relay control wires on the VFD, programming is next - 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisG-Canada Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 Looking good! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 I have to admit that most of this is WAY over my head, but I've learned more about high end CNC reading your posts than ever before. Thanks so much for sharing @difalkner! One day, one day... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted October 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 3 minutes ago, Bart said: I have to admit that most of this is WAY over my head, but I've learned more about high end CNC reading your posts than ever before. Thanks so much for sharing @difalkner! One day, one day... Thanks, Bart! Then it's been worthwhile to post all of this if you've gotten something from the build. I enjoy the 'posting' part almost as much as the build itself, which is new to me, as well. 1 hour ago, ChrisG-Canada said: Looking good! Thanks, Chris! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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