In the past post about the Fireball V90 CNC Router the assembly of the actual router was shown. This time you will see how to make the motor controller to drive the CNC machine. There are many options to choose from. I decided to purchase the motors and control electronics from Probotix since they know what goes best with the Fireball V90. The build details below describe the first of two build phases. All that has been done so far is enough to operate the machine.
I used an old computer case for the driver controller, this gave me tons of room to add additional components in the future and also saved me a few bucks in the process. I also purchased additional components which will be added to the controller in the future. These future enhancements will include adding a supply current meter, volt meter, limit switches, a remote e-stop, temperature sensors and a remote control device. There are also lots of additions that are being developed for the system, these are being made by Probotix as well as system users. A good example of a user contribution are these products that Mike Phillips from MCPi have put together.
Keep your eyes open for some cool projects that this CNC machine is sure to have a part in soon!
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Take the computer guts out of the case to be used. (page 2) |
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Wire up the motor cables. (page 3) |
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Install all of the electronics into the box. (page 4) |
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Some nice work on modding that case. I’ve been pondering taking the plunge with the same machine, and am still on the fence. Looking forward to seeing more of this series.
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Alan,
Very nice work on the case mod, lots and lots of room to lay everything out.
The MDF base inside the case is a neat trick that I’ll exploit in the future.
I especially like the cable/fuse/LED panel canabalized from a power supply.
…fg
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Hi Frank,
I was going to mount everything to the metal directly at first but I am glad that I used the MDF since I didn’t have to worry about the drill bit skating around and it is nice and non-conductive!
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Hi Bill,
Stay tuned, I will have some examples of the work the machine can do in the future. The first time you go from a CAD drawing to a part it is an amazing feeling.
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does the CNC come with the motors and controller?
it has to come with the frame.
how much is a kit?
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oh! and what software do you need to make the thing work?
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Hi Alexander,
You can get the motors from Probotix or from another company since the motor mounts are a common size. I ordered the the yellow motor kit with mine and am very happy with them. Here is a link that shows you all the options at the bottom of the page.
http://www.probotix.com/FireBall_v90_cnc_router_kit/
You do need some software to get going. You basically need some design software that will let you design the part you want to make and another program that will control the CNC machine when it cuts the piece. There are lots of options here, everything from free to thousands.