My drag chain definitely sags a bit as well, haven’t had any problems though.
Rusty, can you confirm that the Y axis chain actually drags on the table top? I haven’t got mine bolted up as yet, still to fit the spoil board, but it seems that it will sit on the table.
Geoff
Yup, the Y-axis drag chain rests on the table top.
Sorry for the dark picture, have to look at getting some better lighting in the shop.
The drag chain is mounted in the correct way, by which I mean it’s mounted such that the drag chain doesn’t flop downward. The issue with the sagging is just due to the fact that the little section of drag chain mounted to the X-Carriage just flexes and the each subsequent piece also flexes.
I hope that makes sense. The only other way I could think to mount it to avoid this is sideways as it is on the 500mm version. I’m not sure why they changed this for the 1000mm version, but like I said, it has caused me any grief yet.
Got you, can maybe @BartDring or @Zach_Kaplan chime in why this was changed?
G’day GeoffSteer
I am a fellow downunder builder and am struggling to work out a nice way to mount the electronics from the kit 3dtech gives.
Would you have any photos of how you did your electronics layout by any chance?
Would greatly appreciate it.
cheers
Dave 
Hi Dave,
Sorry I can’t help as I’m not using the 3dtek electronics., my controller is Gecko G540 based.
I assume you’re talking about mounting the arduino/shield and power supply? If I was doing it, I’d 3d print something but failing that, I’d opt for a small plastic cases such as you can get from Jaycar.
If there’s a local makerspace near you if might be worth paying them a visit and see what they can do. My local hackerspace has 3d printers, a laser cutter, a CNC router and enough clever/creative people to come up with the bright ideas!
Geoff
Awesome thanks Geoff, yeah im up in QLD ill check out jaycar see what they have. I did notice a group around brissy that is like a hackerspace.
Cheers for the info great build by the way
cheers
Dave
@DaveMelville - Jaycar have suitable boxes & gear. If not, try Altronics. Plenty of options at both places (or there is here in Perth anyway).
Uploading image.jpeg…
Awesome Thanks David. I did get a large box with the kit, im just unsure as to how others are laying it out… I might stop in at Jaycar on the way home from work.
Cheers
Dave
@DaveMelville you might want to send a message to Ben at 3Dtek. He may have some pointers or links to other users solutions.
Yeah good idea!
Tonight’s job is soldering the stepper motors. As I’m using a Gecko G540, the steppers will be wired to DB9 plugs. These plugs have an adjustable current sense resistor built in so all I have to do is to solder the 4 wires, after I confirm the correct colour/pairs and make sure I wire one Yaxis motor with a pair reversed. Home switches will also terminate in a DB9 plug as I’m using this circuit as the wiring plan
I’ve left about 1 metre of wire sticking out from the cable chain which should let me position the controller somewhere under the yet to be built desk.
That will be as far as I can go until I assemble the interim controller. This is just a box containing the 48V power supply and the gecko G540. The final controller will also have some relays for spindle/coolant control and a properly CNC’d panel.
Interesting plugs! I will have to check out this gecko G540 I have a few mates that have said it is their preference!
Plugs are made by the local Gecko distributor, Homann Design. You can just solder a sense resistor across a couple of pins but this does make it a bit easier to set motor current.
I did some work on the torsion box top today. The bits that I had cut were not uniform dimensions so after a bit of fiddling with the table saw, I re-cut them all.
Started putting it together using glue and the brad nail gun and found there is one important dimension for a torsion box - the dividers have to be spaced wide enough so when you go to nail in the short dividers, you have enough room to get your nail gun between them! Luckily, before the glue dried to much I was able to remove every second long divider. I’ll re-cut the short dividers tomorrow and try again. Very embarrassing.
If you can toenail your nails from the top, it should be just as good. The glue is the primary source of strength, so the nails are basically only used for alignment/clamping.
2 Likes
@DaveMelville not sure if this link will work, but I laid mine out like this…
You guys are starting to make me feel bad with your neatly wired machines! Mine bothers me so much, I wish my panel socket plugs would hurry up and get here!
What are you using the RCA jack for? Your spindle?
I simply used a bunch of plugs I was able to find locally. The chrome plugs I think are 5 or 6 pin plugs and yes, the red RCA plug carries the two wires for the spindle (although I now have a DeWalt toy mounted these days).
I didn’t like the idea of hard wiring everything, and I really hated the idea of cables pulling on the flimsy pin connectors. Mounting the board inside the box and then wiring it to the plugs, means that any pulling on the cables won’t (or shouldn’t) dislodge anything.
I was a bit concerned about heat build up, so the box has several holes drilled into the back with some very fine foam mech over it to keep the dust out.
It is far from fancy, but it’s pretty effective. Probably a hour’s work all up.