With the sealed bearings, do we need to worry about the temperature in our shop? This is the first CNC I’m buying and was planning on keeping it in the garage (I live in Wisconsin). I’m guessing I’ll need to keep the area heated, but at what temperature? Would 50 degrees Fahrenheit suffice?
Cheers
heat will affect the controller first. there are sensitive electronics inside. The raspberry pi will only work within certain temperatures
The Raspberry Pi is built from commercial chips which are qualified to different temperature ranges; the LAN9512 is specified by the manufacturers being qualified from 0°C to 70°C, while the AP is qualified from -40°C to 85°C. You may well find that the board will work outside those temperatures, but we’re not qualifying the board itself to these extremes…
Just to follow up on the Raspberry PI: for those concerned with heat, you can buy and easily install a heatsink kits on the pi. I’ve put several on over the years and they do help. Amazon sells them.
Out of curiosity, what is the AP?
Looks like for a non heated garage, I’ll be unplugging and bringing the controller and monitor in on the cold days. Building an insulated and heated enclosure for a CNC sounds a bit out of the norm.
What about just building an insulated box for the controller with an incandescent light bulb… That said I have used a raspberry pi in a maple syrup sugar shack that freezes hard that and the humidity we not an issue. Your mileage may vary as there are other components as well. Frankly the displays will have issues first most likely.
I thought about that. That’s how my dad used to make dandelion wine, with the light bulb in a big box to regulate the temp. But I also wanted the controller and screen separated from the dust which means making a separate little house for them. I’m now weighing my options including getting a spindle, and building a sound proofed enclosure to make cutting and the vac system as quiet as possible so I can operate in the basement. That’s the only option for indoor cutting as my wife will not tolerate the vacuum and cutting noise which would be heard from the living room directly above. A stealth CNC if you will. If she starts getting annoyed by the sound she might start asking how much I spent…
You guys are worried about the cold, I’m worried about the heat. This was my garage in the begging of Sept. Will this be a problem? I wonder if the ambient temperature will create a problem with the Raspberry heating up higher than usual
the pi is rated to 85c 185f…thats pretty hot, might want to keep a fan blowing on it.
I will say, even with a fan blowing, the adhesive on the mount gave way in the Texas heat first. Found my screen on the garage floor today… 16028832473375376629701797775307|375x500
I’m not sure how large your shop is but I would HIGHLY recommend this as a fellow Texan! I installed the 24K model in my shop about 4 months ago and I can say that I would go from my shot to the house and actually say to myself “damn its hot in here” and we keep the house at 75.
Easy to install, all DIY you do need a 30A 220 (depending on size of unit) but I did my wiring myself too. Just got sick and tired of not being able to work in the shop in middle of summer, now I look forward to a Sat/Sun in the shop. These units heat as well, so I can ditch the Kerosene stinky heaters I’ve run over winter in the past. Best $2k (aside from the OF of course) that I’ve spent in my shop.
Stay cool my friends! LOL
-Alex
We do NOT suggest letting the screen or controller being in temperatures below 40F. Condensation can build inside and damage the electronics.
