Or as they say, first loser, lol. 
Here’s my setup:
DDCSV3.1 4 axis controller
Gecko G540 stepper driver
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Bill, I have read most of your posts as far as I know, is there anything that your controller doesn’t do?
If you had it do over, what would you do differently?
David, I have to say I’m really happy with the controller, does everything I need it to do (very basic, nothing other than basic machine controls). If I had it to do over again, I may have looked at the Masso Touch, which looks really nice. Although it would have been a lot more $$. I used this same controller on my x-carve for 4 years, and I liked it well enough to build another one.
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Hey Bill,
Does your setup allow you to run a rotary axis? Did you have to add prox sensors for homing in place of the onefinity stall homing?
Bill,
Very nice. Would you mind sharing what you did and how you did it for those of us that aren’t familiar?
It’s capable of running a rotary axis since it’s a 4-axis controller. I didn’t add home switches, in favor of manual homing. I don’t home often… only when I’ve inadvertently jogged an axis when the motor power was off. Otherwise, it holds machine zero very well.
Brian, that’s a really general question and can’t really get into all the specific details. There are 3 major components to an aftermarket controller: the controller itself, the stepper drivers, and the power supply. The outputs from the controller connect to the inputs of the stepper drivers, and the outputs from the stepper drivers connect to the stepper motors. That’s a really high-level overview of how things are connected. I’m using a 24v power supply, so the same power supply feeds my controller and the stepper driver.
Bill,
Thanks. That much I understand, I guess what I should have asked was can you share what are good components to use that won’t completely break the bank.
Brian
I have been looking into components for a while. For drivers I have found Gecko and Leadshine to offer a range of product at various price points. For power supplies I have had good success with Mean Well.
I believe AVIDCNC, which is thought to be a reputable company, use Leadshine (MX4660) and Mean Well in their electronics packages. Although I am more comfortable using products that come from established companies offering good warranties, there are many people who use lower priced components from overseas and have been very happy with their quality and performance.
I plan to get the Masso G3, which has a max step pulse frequency of 110Khz. This is lower than many other controllers (DDCS V3.1, Acorn, etc). I have been learning about this parameter and its relationship to drivers and motors, and ultimately the functioning of the CNC. From the math, I do not see that for the current 1F hardware, that 110Khz/axis will be a limiting factor. I would appreciate any insight you have to offer.
The ones I have listed in the first post of this thread are components I’ve used for the past 4+ years (the Gecko G540 even longer than that). These 2 play really well together.
Not much to offer (nor much technical knowledge at that level) other than to say that Masso is a very highly regarded controller, so I have to believe that the lower operating frequency would not be an issue.
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I thought this question would be best placed in this section. For those of you using end stops/limit switches, which deo you prefer, and where are you attaching them to the 1F? Do you prefer mechanical or other? Are you using them just to avoid crashes, or to also home your CNC? From visiting other forums it seems many do not use them, and if that is your case, I would appreciate understanding why for your particular workflow you have chosen not to use them. Thank you.
I’ll weigh in by saying that I had full limit switches on my x-carve because it was so easy to mount them to the extrusion. On the 1F I opted to not go with them. I figured I’d give it a go without mostly so I wouldn’t have to mess with mounting them & running the wires. Operationally, I’m fine without them, and with soft limits it’s not like I’m going to hard-slam against one of the stops unless multiple things go wrong at the same time.
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I am still a few months from receiving my CNC, but already am thinking the effective attachment of limit switches will not be as straight forward as I would like - one of the reasons I was floating the question in this topic.
Looking at limit switch options.
Is there anyone who could tell me the following:
- The diameter of the openings that accept the through bolts for mounting the display.
- Confirm that the openings in #1 above are not threaded.
- If a plunge probe is mounted inside these openings, would it be lined up in such a way that the plunger would hit (is in line with) the x rail block.
- Approximately how long would the plunger need to be - what is the distance between the x and y rail blocks when the x rail is as close to the y support blocks as possible?
I ask because I wish to see if I can fix a cylindrical plunge-type switch body inside the bolt opening, and have the plunger contact the x rail block.
I appreciate the help.
Hey TM,
If I understand the question correctly, you are talking about the same holes that the motors mount to, correct?
- These are ‘C’ shaped holes, 5.3mm dia.
- No, not threaded.
- Yes, the hole is located such that any of the 4 holes would just miss the bearing. See edit note below.
- The bearing sticks out .750", so anything longer than that to engage a plunger against the block.
Edit: you have approx. .530" working diameter from the center of the ‘C’ hole to the outer diameter of the bearing, if that makes sense.
Thank you so much - I really appreciate you taking the time to provide the information! I found a company, Metrol, and they have one that is M5 OD, stainless steel body, non-threaded, NO switch, but it has a short stroke length of only about 3mm. It has a long cable attached and has 5 micron repeat accuracy. At least I know such a thing exists, and I may be able to find one that meets all the criteria from a different company. When I reviewed the pictures of the 1F I thought these openings might provide the ideal location. I also saw a video where someone used ‘pogo pins’, put them in a through hole put into a nylon bolt, and added a wire lead. Their CNC was fully grounded so they only needed one small wire from the back of the pogo pin housing. Very innovative and inexpensive. He showed a video proving its micron level repeatability.
That sounds pretty promising! I just edited the last post to let you know you have about .530 dia. to work with around those holes, so there’s plenty of room to work with.
For your interest - I found another model as well:
Also, the pogo pin DIY: