If you ask for general use of shielded cables on stepper motors, you’ll have to know that the use of non-shielded cables for stepper motors is extremely unusual. Only a few manufacturers for hobbyist machines, that want to save on everything, do this.
before you continue to badmouth the Buildbotics controller here, which is unfounded, I have to ask you:
Have you already…
Retrofitted strain relief? that can lead to X and Z lost steps issues, and erratic Z movements, issues for which the Buildbotics controller is in no way to blame?
Replaced the ‘curly’ Z stepper cable by a cable that is allowed for permanent motion? (see also here) that can develop internal cable breaks after about one half or one year? (that can lead to “Z plunge” issue, loosing steps and erratic Z movements, issues for which the Buildbotics controller is in no way to blame?
Enclosed your VFD in a grounded control cabinet? A VFD is a device to be installed into a cabinet (as per the manual). A VFD is a heavy source of EMI that can interefere and impact functioning of other devices. Therefore you mount them in a grounded control cabinet that acts as faraday cage.
I suggest contacting Onefinity about your application and see if it will void their warranty. The text of the warranty says it doesn’t apply to “commercial purposes”, although it’s unclear as to what that exactly means.
I actually did ground the machine, and will most likely install the shielded Z- cable once the Masso controller is installed, although I never had any lost steps on either XY or Z that were caused by any lose cable. I did notice some improvement after grounding.
I also do totally trust PWNCNC with his spindle combo set up as it is, and I did not hear about anyone else here complaining about him, his customer service is outstanding, as is the 1F customer service.
What you are claiming is that everyone has to do all the changes that you are listing before using the 1F at all, but I believe this to be misleading. The 1F with the buildbotics controller will work out of the box without any modifications. I think you are actually confusing the OP of this post.
Will it work forever perfectly? Sure no, but there is no harm in ordering the machine a cutting a few knife scales right away.
I actually set up my 1F over a year ago and did cut many projects over a few hundred hours on it. And my main complaints about the buildbotics controller come from those may hours of practical use, and I still stand to all I previously posted. The buildbotics controller is the weakest link in the 1F CNC.
As I previously mentined, the day 1F offers a set of shielded cables I will order those, as will many here, thanks for pointing that out repeatedly.
Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
27
Hey Tom,
Then nice to hear that you had no problems with it! Although it seemed to me that you flooded the forum with issues blaming the buildbotics-derived Onefinity Controller recently.
I just wanted to help you. I use the same very expensive wood blanks than you do and I told you that in my opinion, I would never clamp one of those on a Onefinity machine in its delivery state. Neither Original/Pro, nor Elite Series. I follow the forum for 2½ years and I know what destroys workpieces and breaks bits on these machines. And it’s not the buildbotics controller.
Surely not!
Did you realize that you could not cite on single issue that could clearly be assigned to the buildbotics controller?
Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
28
The onefinity is a solid frame and has two great controller options. Yes there are issues but often times the issues are user or environmental. If the machine is understood and used within its limits it will serve you well. Adjusting settings from default can speed the machine up but can lead to missed steps. Having poor electrical service that you my not see in any other shop equipment can lead to electrical noise. Mixing a spindle into the mix with a cheap Chinese vfd can add more complexity and variables. There is a reason when you buy most things you don’t get to modify them and get support or warranty coverage. Onefinity offers a heck of a value proposition and allows for modus and still supports beyond where they need to.
Even the high end machinist equipment needs to be understood like a child. Talk to any machinist and they will have their favorite machine in a plant when 3 of the same model are next to each other. There are tiny tweaks they all know and make for efficiency and quality above the base plans.
As for business use… Depends on size and risk. People who run a business and plan on the income need a plan for equipment failure. Either N+1 machine counts or contracts for speedy repairs. Those are decisions a business needs to make.
I have had my onefinity since the start amd upgraded the woodworker to the journeyman. Maybe I have been lucky but frankly I have also not blamed the controller for my choices either.
3 Likes
Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
30
Not to forget that the Onefinity Original / PRO can be bought without CNC controller and you can use any other CNC controller. Many people attached the Centroid Acorn, like shown here and here.
I ran the Buildbotics controller with the wiring in the ‘as delivered’ condition for over a year and put about 1500 hours on the machine. Note that I started on 1.0.7 and never upgraded beyond 1.0.9.
That being said, after the warranty period expired I decided to change out the controller to add auto squaring to the machine, when I did this I also replaced the stepper motor wiring with shielded cabling and soldered connections. I’ve since put another 1500 hours or so on the machine. Has the wiring change improved the operation of the machine? Doesn’t seem so but I know it won’t be a source of an issue in the future. Mainly I didn’t want to chop up the factory cables if I ever went back to the buildbotics controller.
I cannot agree more with this statement! Three Bridgeport mills, side-by-side, same age, and perceived to be in the same exact condition, yet I could tell you blindfolded* if I was on ‘my’ machine or not.
Some days I really do miss running the Bridgeport even though I’m doing CAD design work now. The Onefinity satisfies my inner-machinist.
Disclaimer: I never attempted to run my machine blindfolded.
If you read the thread carefully you can see that it was solved by Onefinity, they pointed out that it was a problem of too many nodes. It actually means that the buildbotics controller was lacking the computing power to execute the g-code correctly. I never encountered that problem on the Roland CNC.
Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
34
Hey Tom,
Yes, I remember. But that was THE ONLY issue that could be tracked down to the buildbotics-derived Onefinity controller. And still you could eliminate the problem by reducing the number of nodes. I would consider that you had this effect when importing a 2D file leading to an uncountable number of nodes because the nodes were not converted to Bézier curves.
But besides this, you could not cite on single issue that could clearly be assigned to the buildbotics-derived Onefinity controller.
By the way, one thing to consider in favour of the buildbotics-derived Onefinity controller: Try to get a fully capable, fully g-code implementing, with stepper drivers already included, stand-alone 4-axis CNC controller at that price.
If you look at the price of a Masso G3 Touch and it still lacks a power supply, a relay board, and the stepper drivers, imagine what its overall price is! The price of the Onefinity controller can be seen if you select a PRO machine in the shop and select “Onefinity controller” vs. “No controller (provide your own)”: $2 834.75 −$2 452.25 = $382.50 ! See also What the Elite’s Masso G3 cannot do or does not have in comparison to the Buildbotics Controller and the buildbotics-derived Onefinity Controller.
I think this is a simple solution, have someone create a CNC file, download it and let the machine do the work…you can tweak the files once you have an acceptable pattern and “rough” carving based on your explanation….uou can always size up the machine once the smaller machine is making money…
Espresso … what I am unclear about with this poster is how technically savvy they are. Nesting multiple parts in my mind requires:
jigs/fixtures
potentially use multiple work offsets ie G54, G55 etc
or one big 'ol blank and copy the part XxY times in VCarve and have at it.
I agree the machine could easily cut out 100-200+ handle blanks at one time… but can HE do that on the machine. He would not be the first person who plunked down $10-$14K and thought the machines just printed money.
I also agree my Foreman will come in at around $10K… 2.2Kw ISO 30 spindle with ATC. I feel confident that I could get the machine to do the assigned task.
