Why Upgrade
I had purchased my Foreman in 2021 and based on my space, I decided on wall mounting. Every time the machine lost power (estop), my 80 mm spindle would lose the fight to gravity and slide down (breaking 1/8 bits in the process). Another bother was having to switch the tool from my spindle to my Atomstack M100 laser. I started to look into replacement boards that could support an external driver with stepper brake support. Additional features such as feed rate and spindle rate were icing on the cake
Things that changed along the way
Originally I was going to use TMC5160 external drivers, but ended up having issues with the 6Pack Mobo which delayed me. I thought the issue was with the drivers which drove me to purchase a closed loop stepper/driver. Also I was able to find a QCW Rolling stand on Facebook marketplace changing the axis I needed to have the stepper brake on. I was also having issues figuring out which gcode sender I was going to use and what device I wanted to run it on.
Before considering buying equipment listed in this post, see the REDO section below. As with most things, plans don’t survive first contact. Learn from my mistake and either avoid them or implement(and maybe improve) the fixes I used to remedy them. I also have added a TODO tag to things that I have yet to implement, but are on the radar for future improvements.
Near Final Setup
6 Pack Universal Controller
- 2x Inputs V2
– NPN Proximity Sensors
– Probe(Onefinity and Sinci Labs[TODO])
– Toolsetter [TODO] - 10v Spindle Controller
- Outputs 5v
– Laser - Outputs MOSFET(24v)
– Laser Air Pump
OMC Closed Loop Stepper Kit
- X axis
– NEMA 24 CL57T v4.1 kit - Y axis’
– 2x NEMA 24 CL57T v4.1 kit - Z Axis
– NEMA 23 with brake
– CLT57T v4.1 Driver
– I also ordered a dual 24v relay to control the brake from the stepper driver - I ended up going with the 3.7m 18 AWG extension cables for all axis ad I didn’t know where the final mounting spot for the controller would be
TODO
- Figure out how the program the stepper drivers
- Hook up the 24v relay for the brave vs having it wired up the controller 24v input
Extra/Notes
I ordered an extra NEMA 24 w/Brake for potential future wall mounting
Other Items
48v PSU [TODO]
– Currently using a 24v PSU, but the drivers are rated for upto 48v, so why not take advantage of the extra speed that comes with the increase in voltage
Stepdown(Buck) Converters [TODO]
48v->24v (DIN Rail Distribution Block)[TODO]
-
Controller uses 24v
-
Laser uses 24v
-
Output MOSFET uses 24v for common
-
NPN Proximity Sensors
– didn’t want to use physical switches
– Dust, Repeatability
– Wanted to find something that was already 80% designed/complete
X Mounts -
Used link from other thread[TODO Link Thread]
Y Mounts -
Prusa Printables Links[TODO, Create Account and upload]
Z Mount
– Used previous upload from other thread.[TODO Link Thread]
G Code Sender
- MFF(Micro Form Factor) PC
– Bought one of reddit hardware swap for ~$100
– Running Ubuntu and Universal GCode Sender
— VNC/RDP and Network Drive Mounted - Touch Screen Display(Reuse from Onefinity BB Setup)
– Would buy one with a VESA Mount in a redo - USB Extension Cable
– Helps reach across to 6 Pack Controller
– Second cable+Hub can move the Keyboard & Gamepad Reciever location - Logitech K400 Keyboard
- Logitech K700 Gamepad(Reuse from Onefinity BB)
Notes: Started with Raspberry Pi, but had issues testing out GSender, CNCJS, UGS and bCNC. If you are already set on a sender and its supported on the PI, you could easily sub that out.
Other Non-Controller Related Items
- Drag Chain
– Used larger 18x50
– Required self-design of cable chain mounts
— Not totally pleased with current design. Will update once I move back to the USA and buy more rigid angle aluminum
– [TODO] Create Z-Axis Mount for Drag Chain
— Currently using some wire to hold it - Laser Mount
– Mount with 4in fume extraction[TODO, create thread if desired]
REDO - Avoid these if possible
- Don’t buy the NEMA 24’s
- 60x60 vs 57x57 mount
– I was able to create a 3D Bracket Fix
RS485 Spindle Control - Separate power source?
– Decided to go with simpler 10v control
Limit Switches - Self designed for X Axis(See above for link)
- Rescinded Z Axis Mount
- Reason for V2 upgrade, able to drive on VMOT(24v) power. Worked on 5v, but specs said it shouldn’t have
Conclusion
While this post has quite a bit left to do, I wanted to share with the community my progress. Please feel free to ask questions and make suggestions based on your previous experiences. I have learned quite a bit on this project and hope to share what I have learned and what I have designed with the community for further revision.