Altering Z Axis Homing

[CSM (Darren)]

I have a woodworker which I love using, I have a Huanyang 1.5kw WaterCooled Spindle installed 65mm diameter body, which i am really pleased with.
In order that the top of the spindle does not hit the underside of the Z stepper motor i have to have a large amount of the spindle protruding beneath the spindle clamp, this gives me some issues with vibration.
Ideally i would like to lower the spindle in the spindle clamp to make things more rigid but am worried that banging the top of the spindle into the stepper motor will damage the spindle and or the stepper.
Has anyone else got a similar issue and has anyone managed to overcome it?
Is there a config setting that can be changed so when the machine boots and the home dialogue boxes appears that the homing position of z can be altered?

Thanks
D

[Aiph5u (Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))]

Hey Darren,

@CSM

In order that the top of the spindle does not hit the underside of the Z stepper motor i have to have a large amount of the spindle protruding beneath the spindle clamp, this gives me some issues with vibration.
Ideally i would like to lower the spindle in the spindle clamp to make things more rigid but am worried that banging the top of the spindle into the stepper motor will damage the spindle and or the stepper.
Has anyone else got a similar issue and has anyone managed to overcome it?

I think you can limit the Z travel in the Onefinity controller. Since the Onefinity uses stall homing, you could also limit the Z travel by a mechanical obstacle, like shown here for Y axis.

But this problem can be solved without sacrificing Z travel by lifting the Z stepper cage using taller stepper mounting blocks (see pic 2) and extending stepper axle with another coupler. Couplers can be found here.

Another more complicated solution of the same problem was imagined by Bill @Machinist that is shown here where you entirely move the stepper out of the way to get maximum clearance.

For all those who have not yet bought a spindle, it is easier to buy the additional 80 mm mount which avoids this known disadvantage (shown here) because with the 80 mm mount, the spindle clears the stepper cage.

[CSM (Darren)]

Aiph5u thanks for the reply and info
Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to exprement.
I cut 2 pieces of 20mm plastic electrical conduit 50mm long
I then cut a slit along their length, i sprung them open and slid them onto the Z slider rails
Rebooted the machine pressed the confirm button on the home dialogue box
Z stall homes against the 2 plastic pipe sleeves then X & Y as usual
Seems like a result
I will report back when i have tried a few cuts

D

[Aiph5u (Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))]

Hey Darren,

@CSM

Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to exprement.
I cut 2 pieces of 20mm plastic electrical conduit 50mm long
I then cut a slit along their length, i sprung them open and slid them onto the Z slider rails
Rebooted the machine pressed the confirm button on the home dialogue box
Z stall homes against the 2 plastic pipe sleeves then X & Y as usual
Seems like a result

a simple and effective approach! Could be a solution.

A more technical way could also be retrofitting a limit sensor to the Z axis:

@Aiph5u

proximity sensors are supported. The Buildbotics and the Onefinity controllers support them as limit switches. You can wire them to the 25-pin I/O Port and enable them in the Motors Tab and of course their status will show up in the Indicators Tab. Cylindrical Proximity Sensors would look like this on the Onefinity:

@TMToronto