MPCNC iin the Philippines

dkj4linux

Elite member
thank you headbang..
David to be honest, i really want to have a 20 x 30 inches foam cutter. I have purchase the v1 engineering mini-rambo version including printed parts and the elctronic package( miniboard rambo and the motors only..as seen in the picture is only design for 24 x 24 inches foam cutter is all i have.My question is will be these version is all i need and compatible to 20x 30 inches dimension size cnc foam cuttter?
Stingbee,

I did notice it was smaller than I expected, but the size makes little difference... all the same components are used, only belts, wiring, and conduit change. I was referring to the fact that the machine you show wasn't belted or wired up at all... thus not operational. I was thrilled that you did apparently get the right printed parts bundle for the conduit you could get.

At this point, you must get the MPCNC operational... nothing else matters until this is done. That's what I was trying to stress in my last post. Cut new conduit... for 20" x 30" working area, conduit lengths will be minimum about 11" more in X and Y dimensions. For a little leeway. I always cut my conduit 36" and 48"... for actual working area of about 25" x 37"; i.e. a little extra for clamps and such. It's a larger machine but the needle cutter is a light load and doesn't generally create problems.

With new conduit, wire up all the motors... follow the MPCNC assembly instructions. You did get the wiring harnesses?

Once motor wiring is complete, you'll have 3 motor connectors to plug into the miniRambo... it should have already been flashed with the proper firmware when you got it. Wire the 12-volt power supply to the miniRambo... making sure positive to "+", and negative to "-". Plug in a USB cable from the computer you're using... don't worry about LCD, or anything else, at this point.

Install RepetierHost on your computer, launch it, and try to connect to the miniRambo. You may need to make sure you have the proper Arduino driver installed. Once you can connect, go to Manual control and try to jog each axis... X, Y, and Z. For X, + to the right, - to the left. For Y, + away from you, - toward you. For Z, + is up, - is down. Just reverse the connector on the miniRambo for the axis that goes opposite to the directions above.

Finally, PLEASE post pictures on the forum of your fully-operational machine -- or at least as operational as you can get it -- and we can go from there. Don't be embarassed or shy. Getting the machine running is PRIORITY. Once that's done then you can follow the Estlcam basics page I referenced in my post.

Good luck.

-- David
 

stingbee

New member
Stingbee,

I did notice it was smaller than I expected, but the size makes little difference... all the same components are used, only belts, wiring, and conduit change. I was referring to the fact that the machine you show wasn't belted or wired up at all... thus not operational. I was thrilled that you did apparently get the right printed parts bundle for the conduit you could get.

At this point, you must get the MPCNC operational... nothing else matters until this is done. That's what I was trying to stress in my last post. Cut new conduit... for 20" x 30" working area, conduit lengths will be minimum about 11" more in X and Y dimensions. For a little leeway. I always cut my conduit 36" and 48"... for actual working area of about 25" x 37"; i.e. a little extra for clamps and such. It's a larger machine but the needle cutter is a light load and doesn't generally create problems.

With new conduit, wire up all the motors... follow the MPCNC assembly instructions. You did get the wiring harnesses?

Once motor wiring is complete, you'll have 3 motor connectors to plug into the miniRambo... it should have already been flashed with the proper firmware when you got it. Wire the 12-volt power supply to the miniRambo... making sure positive to "+", and negative to "-". Plug in a USB cable from the computer you're using... don't worry about LCD, or anything else, at this point.

Install RepetierHost on your computer, launch it, and try to connect to the miniRambo. You may need to make sure you have the proper Arduino driver installed. Once you can connect, go to Manual control and try to jog each axis... X, Y, and Z. For X, + to the right, - to the left. For Y, + away from you, - toward you. For Z, + is up, - is down. Just reverse the connector on the miniRambo for the axis that goes opposite to the directions above.

Finally, PLEASE post pictures on the forum of your fully-operational machine -- or at least as operational as you can get it -- and we can go from there. Don't be embarassed or shy. Getting the machine running is PRIORITY. Once that's done then you can follow the Estlcam basics page I referenced in my post.

Good luck.

-- David

hello david,

i am very happy now, after following your advice to run repetier on my computer,its all working now,the motors are all in good working condition..the only problem is the repetier is just a trial version, and i dont know how to connect the rambo board and the computer permanently in a trial version way..so may i just ask again if im doing the right procedure? i also noticed there is orange blinking light on the rambo board while testing all the 5 motors ,2 x,2y and 1 z axis motors.. so now how am i going to proceed the next steps after this?
 
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dkj4linux

Elite member
Stingbee,

I'm sorry but you really, REALLY, need to spend A LOT of time getting familiar with, and working through, all the MPCNC-related assembly, software, getting started, etc pages on the the MPCNC website; i.e.

https://www.v1engineering.com/assembly/software/

Since relatively few, if any, here on FT are CNC'ing and/or have MPCNCs, much less having the exact same machine and configuration as you -- and we can't see what you are seeing -- blinking lights and color, trial versions of software, etc. will mean little or nothing to most of us. We don't know what you've done to get to where you are, the condition of your machine right now, what links you followed to download stuff from, what computer/OS/drivers/baudrates you're trying to connect with, etc... there are a zillion questions. That is why you really have to start providing A LOT more detail and photos of what you are looking at... if you expect anyone to be able to help you.

And, most important... THIS IS NOT THE MPCNC FORUM.

All your questions to date have been very BASIC -- and very specific to MPCNC -- so you REALLY NEED to go through the entire set of MPCNC-related pages (assembly, electronics, software, milling basics, etc) on the V1Engineering site... most of your questions should be answered there. START A THREAD -- on the MPCNC forum -- and ask for help... but only when you get stuck. There are many more MPCNC users there who can answer your questions and provide the help you need... but you still need to provide as much detail as you can to help them do that.

I'm happy to help as I can but the basic machine construction/functionality is primarily up to you and what you can glean from all the information/instruction/forums already provided on the appropriate websites. I recognize most -- maybe all -- of this stuff is new to you and you really want to get on with cutting/building planes but, sadly, there are no shortcuts... this process simply takes time and effort on your part. Be patient, do your best, and systematically work through every step of the process... people generally don't mind helping someone who's putting forth the effort to try figuring stuff out on their own, as much as possible.

Again, good luck!

-- David
 

stingbee

New member
Stingbee,

I'm sorry but you really, REALLY, need to spend A LOT of time getting familiar with, and working through, all the MPCNC-related assembly, software, getting started, etc pages on the the MPCNC website; i.e.

https://www.v1engineering.com/assembly/software/

Since relatively few, if any, here on FT are CNC'ing and/or have MPCNCs, much less having the exact same machine and configuration as you -- and we can't see what you are seeing -- blinking lights and color, trial versions of software, etc. will mean little or nothing to most of us. We don't know what you've done to get to where you are, the condition of your machine right now, what links you followed to download stuff from, what computer/OS/drivers/baudrates you're trying to connect with, etc... there are a zillion questions. That is why you really have to start providing A LOT more detail and photos of what you are looking at... if you expect anyone to be able to help you.

And, most important... THIS IS NOT THE MPCNC FORUM.

All your questions to date have been very BASIC -- and very specific to MPCNC -- so you REALLY NEED to go through the entire set of MPCNC-related pages (assembly, electronics, software, milling basics, etc) on the V1Engineering site... most of your questions should be answered there. START A THREAD -- on the MPCNC forum -- and ask for help... but only when you get stuck. There are many more MPCNC users there who can answer your questions and provide the help you need... but you still need to provide as much detail as you can to help them do that.

I'm happy to help as I can but the basic machine construction/functionality is primarily up to you and what you can glean from all the information/instruction/forums already provided on the appropriate websites. I recognize most -- maybe all -- of this stuff is new to you and you really want to get on with cutting/building planes but, sadly, there are no shortcuts... this process simply takes time and effort on your part. Be patient, do your best, and systematically work through every step of the process... people generally don't mind helping someone who's putting forth the effort to try figuring stuff out on their own, as much as possible.

Again, good luck!

-- David
 

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dkj4linux

Elite member
Stingbee,

Here's what I see in your photos...

Your machine appears to be the same size as shown before? It doesn't look to be large enough for a 20" x 30" working area. You have some number of motors -- 3(?) or 5(?) -- attached to the miniRambo? I can't tell from the photo whether you've used the wiring harness and hooked them all up or not. Have you been able to communicate through the USB port?

You haven't really wired up your machine -- https://www.v1engineering.com/assembly/frame/ -- but you really can't until you get the proper length conduit installed. Wiring between motors on an axis is usually run through the conduit to help manage the wiring.

You haven't installed the belts or motor pinions -- https://www.v1engineering.com/belts/ -- but, again, you really can't until you get the proper length conduit installed.

You have connected power leads to the miniRambo and have attached the USB cable... but last we heard you weren't able to connect RepetierHost to the Arduino. Have you worked through this page... https://www.v1engineering.com/assembly/software/? It recommends installing the Arduino IDE software -- you shouldn't really need it yet for editing/flashing the firmware -- but it does insure you get a proper driver and have a second method to connect/communicate with your Arduino. Do you have the proper driver installed? Every version of RepetierHost I've ever used (only free versions) has the ability to connect and control your MPCNC... if you have the proper driver, select the proper board/port, and set the proper baud rate. RepetierHost is, for MPCNC purposes, mainly used for basic machine control and as a gcode sender program... nothing fancy.

Stingbee, your MPCNC is not completely assembled or fully-functional... it is still under construction. You haven't established communication with the Arduino or demonstrated even the most basic functionality. Note that every link I've supplied to help you find answers to your many questions has come from the extensive documentation on the V1Engineering site -- https://www.v1engineering.com/. This is where you need to be spending your time right now... until your machine is completely assembled and tested (to the best of your ability). And use the MPCNC forum!

When you have completed assembly/test of your MPCNC, then we can talk of things more appropriate to this forum... building your needle cutter, processing PDF/DXF plans, creating toolpaths, saving gcode files, and setting up and running your foam-cutting jobs.

I know this sounds harsh and hard-hearted but you have taken on a project that is not trivial... with many new and unfamiliar concepts that you'll simply have to struggle and spend time with to gain the understanding you need. It's a steep learning curve -- especially for a beginner -- but it will come in time, if you'll stay with it and seek answers to your questions in the appropriate forums.

-- David
 

stingbee

New member
Stingbee,

Here's what I see in your photos...

Your machine appears to be the same size as shown before? It doesn't look to be large enough for a 20" x 30" working area. You have some number of motors -- 3(?) or 5(?) -- attached to the miniRambo? I can't tell from the photo whether you've used the wiring harness and hooked them all up or not. Have you been able to communicate through the USB port?

You haven't really wired up your machine -- https://www.v1engineering.com/assembly/frame/ -- but you really can't until you get the proper length conduit installed. Wiring between motors on an axis is usually run through the conduit to help manage the wiring.

You haven't installed the belts or motor pinions -- https://www.v1engineering.com/belts/ -- but, again, you really can't until you get the proper length conduit installed.

You have connected power leads to the miniRambo and have attached the USB cable... but last we heard you weren't able to connect RepetierHost to the Arduino. Have you worked through this page... https://www.v1engineering.com/assembly/software/? It recommends installing the Arduino IDE software -- you shouldn't really need it yet for editing/flashing the firmware -- but it does insure you get a proper driver and have a second method to connect/communicate with your Arduino. Do you have the proper driver installed? Every version of RepetierHost I've ever used (only free versions) has the ability to connect and control your MPCNC... if you have the proper driver, select the proper board/port, and set the proper baud rate. RepetierHost is, for MPCNC purposes, mainly used for basic machine control and as a gcode sender program... nothing fancy.

Stingbee, your MPCNC is not completely assembled or fully-functional... it is still under construction. You haven't established communication with the Arduino or demonstrated even the most basic functionality. Note that every link I've supplied to help you find answers to your many questions has come from the extensive documentation on the V1Engineering site -- https://www.v1engineering.com/. This is where you need to be spending your time right now... until your machine is completely assembled and tested (to the best of your ability). And use the MPCNC forum!

When you have completed assembly/test of your MPCNC, then we can talk of things more appropriate to this forum... building your needle cutter, processing PDF/DXF plans, creating toolpaths, saving gcode files, and setting up and running your foam-cutting jobs.

I know this sounds harsh and hard-hearted but you have taken on a project that is not trivial... with many new and unfamiliar concepts that you'll simply have to struggle and spend time with to gain the understanding you need. It's a steep learning curve -- especially for a beginner -- but it will come in time, if you'll stay with it and seek answers to your questions in the appropriate forums.

-- David
DAVID,

i really appreciate all the every detailed knowledge and advise you,ve shared to me every now and then..tomorrow saturday i will be finishing it all, and i will communicate to this forum asap.. thank you so much ,best regards and more powers to you..
 

stingbee

New member
hello guys im back,

i have now completed my mpcnc,i have a question, the mpcnc is turned on and i dont have task for her ,but i noticed that the x,y and z motors are getting hot?
 

Verris

Active member
If your stepper motors are engaged, which locks them in place, they will get hot. I suggest keeping the machine off when you aren't using it, or if you really want to keep it on, you can run this gcode to disable the stepper lock.

M18
 

dkj4linux

Elite member
hello guys im back,

i have now completed my mpcnc,i have a question, the mpcnc is turned on and i dont have task for her ,but i noticed that the x,y and z motors are getting hot?

Stingbee,

Welcome back and congratulations on completing your MPCNC.

Again, however, you pose questions... and provide virtually no information/photos about your machine or how you have it set up.

In general, stepper motors run hotter with higher currents through them. They should be slightly warm to the touch... but not so hot you can't hold on to them, or they melt/soften the plastic. If necessary, you can lower the current through the steppers with a current adjustment in the driver. This is a firmware setting for the Ultimachine controllers Ryan sells with his kits. Your controller board, however, should have come already flashed with the proper firmware... and the motors shouldn't run too hot. Have you reflashed the firmware? Which controller board did you get... miniRambo, Rambo?

As I've said before, these MPCNC-specific questions are best asked on the V1Engineering site/forum... where there are many more experienced MPCNC folks there that can help you with specifics about your machine.

And, as far as "tasks"... I'm still waiting to see that "MPCNC crown". Here's the crown gcode. You don't have to do anything to it... just strap a pen on your machine, run it, and post a photo.

-- David
 

stingbee

New member
thnaks
Stingbee,

Welcome back and congratulations on completing your MPCNC.

Again, however, you pose questions... and provide virtually no information/photos about your machine or how you have it set up.

In general, stepper motors run hotter with higher currents through them. They should be slightly warm to the touch... but not so hot you can't hold on to them, or they melt/soften the plastic. If necessary, you can lower the current through the steppers with a current adjustment in the driver. This is a firmware setting for the Ultimachine controllers Ryan sells with his kits. Your controller board, however, should have come already flashed with the proper firmware... and the motors shouldn't run too hot. Have you reflashed the firmware? Which controller board did you get... miniRambo, Rambo?

As I've said before, these MPCNC-specific questions are best asked on the V1Engineering site/forum... where there are many more experienced MPCNC folks there that can help you with specifics about your machine.

And, as far as "tasks"... I'm still waiting to see that "MPCNC crown". Here's the crown gcode. You don't have to do anything to it... just strap a pen on your machine, run it, and post a photo.

-- David



thank you very david..i will post everything as soon im done all the necessary information tht i could apply to the machine..just yesterday i finally drawn the crown..maybe on this coming monday i will post all the photos.. i have a question on how to calibrate the xy nand z axis yet i encountered the motor overshoot the movement up to negative side that made the shaking of the motor..? so how could i stay the motor in position wtih respect to x and y axis to zero ( 0 )?


Best Regards,
stingbee
 

dkj4linux

Elite member
Stingbee,

Again, I know so little about your machine and how/what you are trying to do... it makes it almost impossible to know what to tell you. I'm going to ask questions here... so please answer them as best you can.

What sender/control software are you using... RepetierHost/Pronterface/LCD/other?

Did you try to "home" the machine by pressing a "Home" button?

Is the "shaking" of the motor because it crashed into the negative end of the rail and can't move any further? If so, the shaking is just the belt skipping teeth... no harm is done if the belt is properly tensioned (not too tight).

Never use "Home" buttons on any axis if you don't have limit switches/endstops... it will just crash the machine. Manually move or jog the machine to where you want 0,0 in X and Y and then issue G92 X0 Y0... that sets the origin to where X and Y currently sits.

Calibrating an axis simple... place an accurate ruler on the work surface along X, for example, and rubber-band a skewer/pointer to the tool mount. Set the pointer to a "zero" point on the ruler, tell the machine to move 100mm (G0 X100), and measure how far it actually went. Then use the following formula to adjust the steps/mm number in "Configuration.h"...

( commanded / actual ) * current value

Command a larger movement for more accuracy. Do this for each axis and your machine can be made very accurate. Check here for an example of the process...

Please provide as much information as you can about your machine, the electronics, the software used, what/how you are trying to do when a problems arise, etc. And detailed photos of the problem area always help... cellphone photos are fine. I'm anxious to hear more...

-- David
 

stingbee

New member
I've connected it to my ramps board. I ran a few extra cables to the servo pins, and extra wires to the heated bed power output. I use these to power either the laser, or the esc, and use the servo pins to power the esc and the laser controller. I power on and set the motor speed via gcode. You have to go into the firmware and enable the servo controls.

I have D6 as my laser signal, D11 as my esc signal and have a ground wire I run to both d6 and d11 grounds, and share depending on which mod I'm using. For the power wires, I had to actually run a relay, as turning off the heated bed just shuts off the ground, and the ground from the speed control pin completes the circuit, so I connect the ground direct to the ground pin on the heated bed power out, and run the positive through a relay, which I control with pin d4.

To power my esc-

M280 P0 S0 - Set the esc to 0
M106 P0 255 - Enable the ground pin on the heated bed
M42 P4 S255 - Enable the relay to provide power to the esc
M280 P0 S60 - Set the esc (60 for me gets me around 7000rpm which works well for me)

To use my laser, which is 0-5v instead of pwm, do the same except use

M42 P6 S255 - Full power to the laser


I have a XT60 connector that powers either the laser or the esc, and two 3 pin servo connectors, with opposite pins connected so that only the specific tool with the correct end fits, either the laser signal or the esc signal.
Hello may I just ask, how to connect fan for my Arduino board? And what kind of fan required for this board?
 

stingbee

New member
David, how do i connect fan to my Arduino? What votlage of fan should I use?
Hey, stingbee! I'm sorry for my delay. I just saw this thread a few minutes ago... I rarely check this particular forum.

Since you've indicated you have no "knowledge in electronics", I recommend you do the simple servo tester control of your motor -- as most here have recommended -- before trying to get too fancy. Get the simple system working first... and then you will quickly learn whether you need software control of the motor or not. I still prefer it being a stand-alone (independent) system.

Here's a video that shows exactly how to connect and use the servo tester to control the motor...


If you're already flying RC, then you'll recognize this setup is exactly as it would be in the airplane... except that the servo tester substitutes for the receiver. Also, the battery is usually replaced with a 12-volt power "brick" that plugs into the wall.

Good to hear from you!

-- David
 

dkj4linux

Elite member
Stingbee,

I'm on the verge of giving up trying to help you. You haven't answered any questions... and we still know so little about your machine and what you are trying to do.

What fan are you talking of... and why do you need it? Do you have Ryan's firmware installed? Are your motors still running hot? Are you able to jog the motors around with RepetierHost/Pronterface/UGS/etc? Where's the crown plot you promised? ???... ???... ???...

If you have built your machine properly, have the proper firmware installed, and are not powering your machine for lengthy periods of time... there is no need for any external fans. Why are you trying to add them? My machines run fine without fans.

If your motors are still running too hot, you need to find out why. Your miniRambo board came pre-flashed with the proper firmware... did you blow it away?

I'm sorry, Stingbee, but I'm very frustrated in my attempts to help you. ANSWER QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION. I'd also -- once again -- advise going to the MPCNC forum with your questions... but they too will ask questions and need more information in order to help you.

Good luck!

-- David