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Where to purchase CNC electronics thread

15K views 106 replies 12 participants last post by  mkoukkgou333 
#1 ·
Guys I’m wondering if it would be an idea to ask the moderators for a Sticky thread regarding purchasing CNC electronics.
I’ve been searching high and low and am seeing some varying prices on stepper motors and drivers , and I’m curious as to where others have purchased their electronics and why they chose them .
This would be for everything necessary to build the electronics part , including the spindle and vfd , shielded cable , limit switches etc
 
#2 ·
If someone wants to collate information I could see about putting one together from that. You'd need discussion thread(s) to find out the best equipment/price.
 
#3 ·
I shopped around for the best deal on the items I chose, Rick. My 3kW water cooled spindle is Chinese and I shopped eBay for the best deal on a spindle that met my specs. The VFD was a no-brainer; I bought from Drives Warehouse in Dallas.

My thinking was/is that I would rather have a top notch VFD with a Chinese spindle than to get the Chinese VFD and spindle together. I've read and heard in several places that the Hitachi VFD has far less electrical noise and better cooling than the knock-offs. That doesn't mean the Chinese VFD is junk and shouldn't be used, it just wasn't my preference. Several times I needed to ask questions about settings on the VFD and calling someone in Dallas was quick and easy. Those guys know their stuff!

Most of the other components I chose came from American sources where I can talk to someone and get support but I still shopped around for the best deal.

Hope this helps...
David
 
#4 ·
Actually your the reason I wanted to stay with Hitachi for the VDF , as I have seen a lot of bad reviews on other brands .
I wasn’t aware how expensive the NEMA34 steppers were , well at least the ones that I find .
I didn’t know there was several versions of them though, as the same size Nema can have different Torque specs .
Every time I find a kit with NEMA34 steppers snd drivers,it’s always for 3. I believe we require 4 .

Four of these ones I posted would certainly add up, and I think that’s in US currency . And I haven’t even gotten to the stepper drivers ,or the other associated electronics.
Almost should have ordered the plug and play , but that’s no fun
 

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#13 ·
#8 · (Edited)
Rick

Before it's all said and done you'll wish you'd have just got the plug and play!! Still plenty of stuff to tinker with. It's not just handed to you.

New contests to think about. Pick a date - when will Rick get his actually running, when will he actually make something, and when will he sell his first item? Oh........ and when will he insulate? (just had to)
 
#9 · (Edited)
Rick

Before it's all said and done you'll with you'd have just got the plug and play!! Still plenty of stuff to tinker with. It's not just handed to you.

New contests to think about. Pick a date - when will Rick get his actually running, when will he actually make something, and when will he sell his first item? Oh........ and when will he insulate? (just had to)
I was kind of wondering that myself after adding it all up , but I was really looking forward to building my own.
I noticed Avid CNC has things staggered and it looks pretty tight in there if you had to trouble shoot .
I was going to buy an oversized cabinet and mount it to the wall by the rear of the machine at standing height .
This would make it great to work on if I had to .
I also want to start with UCCNC right off the get go, and Gerry did mention that I could change the motion control board out in the Avid cnc cabinet , but I’d rather not.

Maybe I’ll be close to the same price when I’m done , but with better quality equipment.
I almost ordered their NEMA34 steppers this morning, but I believe they have a proprietary jack on theirs ?
I’d probably have to buy their cables to . Then you may as well buy the rest lol

I have seen better deals for kits that had all four Servos and stepper drives together. But I’m just not understanding the shaft size and design now.
Hoping it’s a standard thing
 
#11 · (Edited)
This all makes me sooo happy I have my CNC stuff sorted out.

CNC = Coffee 'N Cookies. Folgers coffee, 'n oatmeal cookies. Can relax now.
>:)

Oops, almost forgot. My Bubba Mug, vital CNC part. But only 52 oz.
 

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#20 ·
TOops, almost forgot. My Bubba Mug, vital CNC part. But only 52 oz.
My mistake. Double checked, and have the little Bubba Mug, just 34 oz.
 
#15 ·
Not sure what the shipping (or duty) will be, but I'd look at these.
https://www.automationtechnologiesinc.com/products-page/nema-34/kl34h295-43-8a/
or these for less money.
https://www.automationtechnologiesinc.com/products-page/nema-34/kl34h280-45-8a/
You want the highest current rating, and the lowest inductance. I think Avid's are 7 amps. They probably have them made for them, as I've never seen any other 7 amp motors.

For inexpensive drives,
https://www.omc-stepperonline.com/d...4-110-VDC-18-80-VAC-for-nema-34-stepper-motor
https://www.omc-stepperonline.com/d...for-nema-34-stepper-motor-cnc-kit-dm860i.html

Power supply
https://www.automationtechnologiesi...0w-65vdc20a-input-120vac-or-230vac-duplicate/
PS-10N63 - 1000W 63V Power Supply - AnTek Products Corp
 
#21 · (Edited)

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#16 ·
Personally, my preference is Leadshine EM806 drives. Or their older AM882 drives.
They run cooler, quieter, and smoother than cheaper drives. Again, you get what you pay for. Are they 4 times better than the cheap drives in my other post? For some people, yes. For others, no, not really.
AM882's are only available on Ebay, and come with no support. I think they were originally for China only. I have 4, and am very happy with them.
 
#17 ·
I'm very happy with my Huanyang VFD for $130. Genuine Huanyang VFD's seem to be pretty reliable for at least the last 5-7 years or so. The Huanyang knockoffs not so much. Thousands of people are using them.
Most people that have issue set them up incorrectly, and fry them.

Note: My HY VFD did come with a faulty output for the FWD output. But there are 5 programmable outputs, and you only need one, so I just switched the default Reverse terminal to Forward and it runs fine.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Good idea, Rick. Best way to go. You can always "tinker" with it then. And ......... you should be cutting a lot faster.

I'm expecting a knock on my door and a crazed Gerry rushing at me with an unkown large metal object in his hand shouting "He's your friend!!! He's your friend!!!"
 
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#31 ·
The more I think about these XLR connections , the less I like them . I believe ideally that everything should be soldered together with no splicing at all.
Meaning just have a grommet on the electronics enclosure so that wires can pass threw and go to there destination directly , thus eliminating any possible bad connection.
On the other end , solder the connections at the Steppers . But I guess that would be problematic with getting the cables shielding grounded to the enclosure properly?
 
#35 ·
The more I think about these XLR connections , the less I like them . I believe ideally that everything should be soldered together with no splicing at all.
Meaning just have a grommet on the electronics enclosure so that wires can pass threw and go to there destination directly , thus eliminating any possible bad connection.
On the other end , solder the connections at the Steppers . But I guess that would be problematic with getting the cables shielding grounded to the enclosure properly?

If soldering, you have to make sure the wires don't move at all near the solder joints, or the wires will break.
If you go with the Avid motors and cables, just cut the XLR connector off at the control box end and wire directly.
 
#34 · (Edited)
As for power, I thought the breakout board or the motion control board was 5v or 12v?
Depends on which one(s) you are using.
My UB1 only needs a 24V supply.
My AXBB needs both 5V and 24V.

I use the UC300ETH with UB1 breakout board.
And I have an AXBB-E for testing at my desk.
The AXBB-E is probably all that you need, especially if you add an additional breakout board to it.

The main additional feature of the UC300ETH is analog inputs, so you can control Spindle speed override and feedrate override with potentiometers.
 
#39 · (Edited)
Having connectors at the steppers and the electronics makes for easier trouble shooting, can swap cables to isolate problems to a component or cable. Remember that if you have all your electronics in a box on the wall, you will have to fish all the cables through several cable chains. Flexing shielded cable that is not designed for it will lead to issues over time, and long parallel runs are more likely to result in issues with crosstalk.

Or you can do like me, and mount your electronics to the back of the gantry and have far shorter cables, and much less complicated cable management. 0 issues for the last 3 1/2 years, including after disassembly and reassembly 100 miles away. Gantry, with all electronics moved as one (very heavy) piece, just removed my hard stops and slid it off ends of rails.
 

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#41 ·
I like the theory behind having it right on the gantry ,and I’ve always been amazed how you managed to get everything in that size of enclosure.
My only concern is adding additional weight to the gantry .

Excellent point about being able to swap cables etc for troubleshooting. I’ll be using connectors for sure after reading this
 
#44 ·
I remember that David had set up his e-stop to cut power to several things. His electronic are far more involved than mine. One way I fit everything in the small box is that I used an integrated 4 stepper driver configuration, gecko540. If doing it again, might choose the similar, but higher current and voltage capable Leadshine mx4660. A single ribbon cable connects the ESS to the 540. My e-stop only connects across the “enable” pin of the 540, triggering it stops all steppers immediately, which also disables the spindle signals to the ESS and Mach4, that an e-stop has occurred, but everything remains powered up and ready to restart. I have never needed to hit it yet while running, but have tested that everything works as designed. I sometimes use it just to disable the “locking” of the steppers when under power so I can slide the gantry out of the way for cleaning or to remove a large piece.

I purposely designed for simplicity and reliability (occupational habit, worked on manned space for many years) and not highest performance. Even so, have never felt that my machine has ever lacked for speed or power. I am only using Nema23 steppers (purchased from CNCRP), and used their prewired stepper cables (mine came with DB9 connectors- plug straight into the g540 and was how the steppers I bought were pre-wired, including the current limiting resistor needed by the g540). But bought the rest of the electronics (equivalent to their “plug and play”), and wired it up (trivial) myself. Not buying the prewired setup or box saved a lot. Have never experienced “lost steps” while cutting.

Don’t overthink things. You are not building a commercial machine that needs to meet osha requirements. Buy quality parts with good documentation, wire them up per the documentation and have some fun. For steppers, I personally think low inductance (speed!) trumps high stalled torque rating. Remember that the crp drive provides around 3:1 torque multiplication (and speed reduction).
 
#45 ·
As always much appreciated guys . Just wanted to say I feel bad for wasting everyone’s time, as I finally gave in and ordered everything,including spindle and plug and play Nema34 .
Feels terrible doing this, but I think by the time I source parts from so many different companies that I may not come ahead , not to mention it won’t be done for another year .
I am going to miss having the knowledge I would have gained by building my own :(
 
#49 ·
Hey guys , I’m not seeing a lot of options for ordering those Lead Shine 806 stepper drivers.
I posted a link where I found some . Not sure if anyone’s ordered from their ,or is familiar with this company ?
If anyone has a better option , please let me know. I don’t think I’ll find them in Canada .


Leadshine EM806 Stepper Motor Drive with Stall Detection
 
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