Hi all,
This is going to be my log of my MPCNC build.
Hi All,
Iām Menno, an artist from the Netherlands. Iām building the MPCNC because I want to automate some processes for woodworking. Iām going to try to write down a report of the build, to contribute to this community, because I think itās great. Also, it would be nice to get some feedback off course.
The work area I would like to make is 600x700mm.
Iāve been reading a lot about the MPCNC and I love the design. Before a couple of days ago I had never touched a 3d-printerā¦ I bought an Ender 3 to print the parts for the MPCNC. After some fine tuning and getting to know the printer, I am now printing parts for the last couple of day. But still have like 75 hours to go. 
I have some experience in electronics and mechanics as I work as a visual artist and use it in my art.
Because I want to get started soon, I didnāt order from china or from the US. My purchases are located in European warehouses. For future builders from the Netherlands I will make a list of the materials I bought. But if you have the time(shipping) and the money it would be best to buy of the v1 webshop and support the business.
I will be printing the parts for the rest of the week and after that Iām hoping to start the built. No experience in CNC yet, but I like to learn and I will learn on the go. Really looking forward to start the build! Well thatās it for now.
Have a nice day and till the next update,
Menno
3 Likes
I want to add a list of the components I bought, it contains the links as well. But I canāt post it for some reason, it disappears when I click āSubmitā.
I would add that you can also send money with the donate link at the top of the page. I like to think that pays for the design part of Ryanās business.
Too many links triggers the spam bot. You can put them in a file, zip them and upload them as an attachment. Or post them somewhere else (google docs, github gist, thingiverse, instructibles) and post one link.
Iām excited to see your build and what you build with it!
2 Likes
lol, that was actually one the links. Also made a donation
Thanks for the the explanation.
Me too! Really curious how it will all turn out. Iām very enthusiastic 
So the list (I will put the links in the attached zip)
Steppers: amazon
RAMPS 1.4, Arduino, endstops, DR8825: amazon
100x 608 2rs: amazon
lcd, pulleys, belt, fuse power supply, fuses, coupler, fan, leadscrew and nut: vanallesenmeer
Stainless steel 25mm, 2mm thick: metaalshopper 85ā¬ shipping and cutting included.
Filament: (bought the hobbyking brand and the E-sun, must say: Iāve been using the hobbyking first and today Iām printing in whit E-sun PLA and itās seems much more consistent and has a nice finish then the hobbyking brand, however Iām only one print in.
Ender 3: aliexpress 155ā¬ including shipping and a glass bed. From German warehouse.
Nuts, screw, bolts and wood will be sourced locally.
Donation, I didnāt buy anything of Ryan, because I sourced locally and wanted to learn how to print my own parts. However, I think itās very important to support this kind of projects, so I made a donation. And if the year ends well financially seen, I will make another. The time and effort in this project must be tremendous. Thank you, Ryan.
Links-MPCNC-Netherlandseurope.docx (78.5 KB)
2 Likes
Well you are doing pretty good so far, you got you first printer and you are already printing good partsā¦Nice. Excited to see what you make with these two new tools you are using/building.
Ā
I agree with Heffe, the spam filter needs to get to know you before you can post a bunch of links, careful with edits at first as well.
1 Like
Thank you for the Donation, I will be adding your name to the list shortly!
1 Like
Thanks guys, Iāll be gentle to the spamfilter and Iāll keep you updated on the projects I do. It is going to be great to experiment with this machine, but first lets get this machine going.
Today I wanted to get to know the electronics, which was pretty easy and straight forward. The instructions made it quite clear. Already have some experience with Arduino and the 3d printer gave me a hint of the marlin software. Also installed repertier to see how that works. Oh yes, today the tubing arrived. Think Iāll get started on the actual build in a week.
Well, the first motors have been spinning so the electronics is not going to be a problem. Got the lcd working as well. Now Iām going to take a look at the wiring of the steppers in series.
The bearing in the Z lower part is a bit loose, it is not tight in the PLA and i didnāt had to press it in. It falls out as well. Does it matter?
Nope. You should be fine.
1 Like
So, it has been a while go since my last post. I have almost finished building the MPCNC. Only some fine tuning left.
Iāve had it up and running for a 1,5 month now and Iāve been doing lots if experiments. Iām working with fusion and the post processor of Guffy. Which works great. Also learning how to use fusion 360 on the go, which is going okay. I like fusion because it gives me the whole process of making in one program. Designing, tool paths, post processing etc.
Some pics of the building process and how it looks now:
[attachment file=ā2019-09-17 10.02.41.jpgā]
[attachment file=ā2019-09-17 10.36.34.jpgā]
[attachment file=ā2019-09-17 15.24.35.jpgā]
[attachment file=ā2019-09-17 10.02.41.jpegā]
[attachment file=ā2019-09-17 10.36.34.jpegā]
[attachment file=ā2019-09-17 15.24.35.jpegā]
[attachment file=ā2019-09-26 14.13.00.jpegā]
[attachment file=ā2019-10-01 10.32.49.jpegā]
1 Like
[attachment file=ā2019-09-17 10.02.41.jpegā]
Well, this spamfilter does not like me. Trying to upload images, but canāt do.
One more try with one image: [attachment file=ā2019-09-17 10.02.41.jpegā]
Well, no luck, would like to continue this forum, but I canāt do my uploads. Any advise?
Ryan is close to his space limit. He might be able to see if something else is going wrong. But we are moving to a discourse server shortly, which seems like a big improvement.
If I have trouble with photos, I usually just make a google photo album and share that. But Iām already in the google photos ecosystem.
1 Like
You should be okay to upload them now, we have about a GB left. You tried right when we updated the WP version and overfilled the server.
6 pics per post max as well.
1 Like
Thanks guys!
I first experimented with a dremel, which was terrible compared to the makita router I have now, but still fun to try out some stuff.
[attachment file=ā2019-09-26 14.13.00.jpgā]
[attachment file=ā2019-10-01 10.32.49.jpegā]
1 Like
Since I bought a makita router Iāve been experimenting a lot. This machine is way more suitable then a dremel. Also the larger bits it can take is very nice. Because itās stronger and has variable speed options, there are more possibilities in speed of the MPCNC.
I printed the dust shoe design from Brian Hong, which works great, but wouldnāt call it practical with the tool changes to be honest. That said I prefer good dust collection so, I use it anyway. Thanks for sharing. I use a festool vac.
I used the tape-measure-system, itās awesome.
Not ready to share some projects yet, still in the middle of experimentation. I tested with a pen first and then in some foam, after that I went to pine and plywood. Havenāt tried hard-wood yet. Still searching for the optimal feed rates en depth of cut.
Things I still need to do:
Spoilboard
Clamps
Make a table
Z axis cable management
Iāve been running into a problem unfortunately. The Z-stepper comes down way in the middle of a project, so it cuts way to deep and gives all kinds of problems after that. Kind of dangerous. After that when I startup the machine, sometimes the z axis only goes down, also when I tell it to go up. Steppers arenāt hot, a bit warm but that is normal for what Iāve read. Iāve tried these solutions so far; Cleaned and lubed the leadscrew, adjusted stepperdriver from 0.7v to 0.6v. It is cooler now, but it wasnāt really hot before either, checked wiring, adjusted plungerate to very low.
Things I think I could still check;
redo the wiring, I now have an extra dupont connection, to extend the wire of the stepper, could this be a problem?
Switch stepperdriver
Switch Steppermotor
Anything you guys would suggest? So any ideaās or similar problems anyone?
Now it looks like this:
[attachment file=121837]
[attachment file=121838]
[attachment file=121839]
[attachment file=121840]
[attachment file=121841]
1 Like
Hi Menno,
I had a similar problem with the Z axis falling down in the middle of the project, see this thread. (The topic title is a bit misleading.) Later I concluded that it must be the SKR Pro 1.1 board I was using, because it also started happening on the X and Y axes. When I use a RAMPS board (like you do) I have not seen this problem yet.
I also had a dupont connector in the Z wire. I removed that and just soldered the wires together. It didnāt make a noticeable difference. I also hot-glued the connector to the stepper motor, thinking that vibration might cause it to have bad contact sometimes, but also that didnāt matter.
Somebody suggested using forced air cooling (use a fan pointed at the board and stepper drivers). I havenāt tried that yet. My drivers and steppers also didnāt get hot. From the pictures it seems that your RAMPS is in an enclosure, which might increase the temperature a bit more after some time. So Iād first try a fan.
If your Z axis does not want to move up then I can think of 2 things:
- The stepper wires are not connected properly. Not that likely if you checked them already and it does work properly sometimes.
- The steppers get disabled entirely and gravity is pulling down the router. I have a Makita (clone) and it's heavy enough to pull the Z axis down, especially when it's running. This is probably also why your Z axis falls down in the middle of your work.
Greetings from Den Bosch,
Peter
2 Likes