Just curious if you guys are going to offer longer cables pre-built as a package? I know myself and some others would like for the controller to be located further away. Just curious before I start splicing these cables longer.
4 Likes
Hey Tim… Yes we are… Hopefully they will be up on our website within the next few days. Hope this helps. Talk soon…
7 Likes
Awesome. Are you guys going to offer the clips/plugs also on your sight incase people want to make their own cables? Im looking to add drag chains with spindle in the future and id like to have the cables shielded. Are the cables you guys offer shielded? If not how would one connect the ground to the machine so everything is grounded.
Thank you.
3 Likes
I would like to know how the grounding of a shielded cable would work as well. Numerous people have mentioned making extensions and using shielded wire but it’s not clear to me where you would run the drain wire to (attach it to any ground or is there a specific ground point you use on the 1F controller)? Also is the end to the stepper motor to be grounded as well?
I imagine someone from the 1F team will also answer, but my thoughts on the questions asked in the last two posts are as follows…
I do not think clips will be offered, as making and installing proper shielded cables leaves a lot of room for user error, and this would be a nightmare for them to try to troubleshoot.
I have not seen shielding on their motor cables.
Grounding and shielding serve two very different functions. To ground the machine, I have seen in numerous CNC forums the practice of bolting a heavier gauge copper cable to the main metal chassis of the CNC (the 1F machines have many locations with bolts/screws), and taking this to a common earth ground point.
I do not have a 1F controller, but the shielded cables I have made and use have the shielding terminate at a single ground point (star configuration) in the controller I built. The shielding is only connected at this one end - I believe the same termination would be true for cables purchased with drain wires.
I would not know how to do this with the 1F controller unless it was opened, and a proper common grounding location found. Doing so for this purpose would almost certainly void the warranty.
I have modified my 1F with new motors and cables that are premade with ground that I terminate at a single star ground point in my controller. From what I have seen on forums, most people do not externally ground their stepper motors. If you do, attaching a cable to an outer non-anodized or sanded surface, and the other end to a common grounding point in a controller is how I have seen it done.
1 Like
Hey Tom, hey @www,
by the way, the circuit diagram of Buildbotics controller is here and of the Onefinity Controller here.
A look inside the Onefinity Controller is here:
Support : Servicing A Faulty Power Switch - Youtube
And a view of Buildbotics Mainboard here.
1 Like
Hey Tom, hey all,
The question whether grounding the chassis comes up from time to time, we had this in Voltage Present the other day.
Did you see what just was the cause of the issue in:
Seems I was right then 
I think this is to note also:
That was a happy ending to an experiment with static charge build up. I was suggesting more of a focus on grounding for safety, versus grounding for ‘noise’ or static. There are many plasma CNC users on the forums I frequent, and to solve the aforementioned noise/EMI/RFI issues several connect their frames and even work clamps to 8-12’ copper ground rods buried close to their machines.
Of course, like on this forum, some users never experience any issues with noise, while others spend a lot of time trying to track down its source(s). That is why I believe these discussions are important - your efforts to both provide and index this information is noted - as the more one understands this topic the better able one is to deal with these issues should they ever arise in a CNC build/setup.
2 Likes