I’m considering buying a PWNcnc vfd that is water cooled. I don’t currently have a drag chain. What would be the best drag chain setup to purchase at this point. I see clips are available now, or just getting a wider drag chain best?
Thanks
Hey Danno,
the clips can lead to sagging drag chains.
Better build a custom drag chain that fits your needs.
See also drag chain width calculation
Welcome to the forum!
There are also third-party drag chain upgrades available. The stock one is just too small for a water-cooled spindle. The 18x50mm option here at Ugly Dog is probably the best fit for you.
Here’s a video on them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL8T167pfOM&t=4s, although the video shows the much larger 25x99mm version.
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Woah, that’s not good. So a wider drag chain that can accommodate the hoses seems to be the best solution.
Thanks for your response and pics.
Danno
Thanks Adam for the link and info.
Go big or go home, lol. I finally added drag chains to my 1F and made the mistake of not getting drag chains that have at least one side pop out. I used a 15x30 for the x axis and a 25x50 for the Y axis. The 25x50 is huge. Lots of room for the wires and the water lines. The 15x30 is a bit tight but it works (of course it has one less cable in it. I’m running extra power lines for a brake on the Z axis motor and to power a current sensor to trip the brake if the current drops out going to the Z axis. Without those two cables I think 15x30 would work. Both were 1m long but came in packs of 2 so I could splice them together.
I made my own try out of aluminum for the X axis wire tray. The Y axis chain isn’t going to bend like in those pictures so I didn’t do anything special. I did however replace all the wires with shielded ones as well as upgrade the motors to the pro version. I didn’t use the same style connectors that 1F uses in most places so I just bought the motors directly from Steppers online.
If you go this route plan on it being more than just adding the drag chains. You’ll want to be able to crimp on connectors so a good set of crimpers will be needed. Then there’s the shielded wire.
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Good Information, Thanks Alex.