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140oz is okay, but the 76mm steppers are “better” - but not without being able to provide more power than the gshield is capable of. The dual Y-motors share one driver so essentially have half the power vs X/Z.
Stock Xcarve will accept 76mm Nema23´s except for the Z which need to be modified a little to accommodate the 76mm long motor case.
Upgrading the controller is wise power wise, go with the Xcontroller if you want a turn-key unit or DIY it if you want to roll your own or save cash, it is really easy actually. If you DIY`it I suggest go with 36 or 48V PSU, use matching stepper drivers and Nema23 76mm all out and you will have power enough in all practical terms the Xcarve will allow.
Ask for advice and we will guide you.
For the record, I dont have the Xcarve - just a DIY machine which runs on an Arduino similar to the Xcarve.
First of all, you will most likely increase your chance for success by reducing the depth per cut of your carve. Less depth = less force = less chance for loosing steps. Trade consistency for time.
Try a 1/4" bit and half the depth as you have now - to work your way up to your optimum point.
Once you learn the basics it gets easier, also easier to decide which path to choose.
CNC is easy, but also difficult to find the sweet spot for a given material with certain feed / rpm / depth etc.
Or something to grow with even further:
Based on Arduino UNO, 48V supply and Leadshine DM556 stepper drivers (5,6A max)
You can substitute the stepper drivers to other kind of voltages / amperage capacity tailored to ones need.
Core components (one driver is lacking in this picture) shown, total cost of hardware around $225:
Thanks for the info. So, I have access to some of this stuff through work which would reduce cost even more and I have the mechanical skill to be able to put it together without much issue. What I don’t understand here is the software side of it. If I assemble one of the two setups that are linked then what am I looking at from the software side? The xcontroller seemed plug and play, so it is an easy start. I am going to have to rely on Easel for awhile until I wrap my head around Autodesk. I do greatly appreciate the assistance here. Wish some of you guys were nearby. Maybe I need to start an Xcarve or CNC club in my area.
Operating a CNC consist of three phases:
1 - Design, CAD = Autodesk, Fusion360, SolidWorks, Easel and many others)
2 - CAM, Computer Aided Machining = Prepare the cutter file (*.nc) and exporting it into a language (GRBL) the controller understand
3 - Carving = sending the *.nc file to the controller that interpret the GRBL code into motion
Since there are many options regarding software for 1 & 2 you need a Post Processor (translator) to make the g-code (.nf-file) understandable for the particular type of GRBL your machine run off of.
So from one design in say Fusion360 one can generate a CNC-file for a bunch of different senders (Easel for instance) and others like UniversalGcodeSender (UGS) etc. They all have their distinctive “dialect” and each need a PP to get there.
I started doing a bit of window shopping. Is the Z driver the same as the X and Y? Also, I assume that I’d want to upgrade to a larger stepper motor like the 269 oz-in?
Well, I’m back to square one. I don’t see how this can be a mechanical problem. I ran the same pocket over and over and the router ran a different path each time. By the third attempt, all the material had been routed out and I wasn’t removing any material. It randomly paused for a couple seconds then it wouldn’t make a complete path. When I hit stop, some times it would return to home and other times it would miss it by an inch. It would always get back to the Y axis home so I have to believe the problem is in the x axis but I can’t find anything wrong. I can jog it without any issues. Here is my question, which I think I asked earlier… Does the Easel software require internet access while it is cutting? I have sketchy internet in my shop. Is it downloading as it goes or does it do it all at once at the beginning? I’m wondering if that is my problem.
A way to test would be to swap the X stepper with one of the Y’s, then re-run your cut (I’d probably do it in air, without a bit and with the spindle off, just for testing purposes). If the X extrusion ends up losing perpendicularity with the Y rails, you’d know the motor you swapped has issues.
I believe I have it fixed. My opinion is that if you buy a used machine then you need to disassemble it completely and reassemble it. Otherwise, you’ll be chasing several unknowns. I can’t say precisely what the problem was but a reconstruction of the X axis seems to have resolved it. I found a couple things that could be the culprit.
I’m glad you found the problem. Usually the answer is simpler than we think.
I had a similar problem with my machine. I found that the set screws on the drive pulleys had come loose. I took the suggestion of putting locktite (blue) on those screws. I haven’t had a problem since then. If you haven’t added locktite(blue) to those screws they will come loose eventually.
I’m running the Arduino with GRBL shield with nema 17 motors.
