Hello all and thanks for all your help getting set up. I consider the build complete now.
Standard dimensions except for a very slightly longer Z (X450, Y330, Z88).
I am very glad I chose to include a big emergency stop.
18mm flexible electrical conduit used for cable management.
V1Pi running on a Raspberry Pi 3B+.
I have a climbing wall so have used the same hardware for the wasteboard.
Yeah, there’s a Brico Leclerc near me but I’ll keep looking for cheaper options. For the endmills i have a few from AliExpress but would love to find a local supplier who can also advise me a little.
Why go local for advice when we can provide all the advice you’ll ever need, and way, way more than you’ll ever want… And not just on endmills, either! We have lots of advice on lots of topics. We’re even experts in some of those topics! (No promises that any advice on a given topic is actually from an expert on that topic, but I’m sure we have an expert wandering around, somewhere.)
Yeah, I really wanted to use drag chain because it just looks so cool but after seeing how much dust came off a relatively small project I’m glad I went with conduit.
It’s cheap, available and the regular ribbed profile means it’s easy to print locking attachments.
Word of warning though, the stated diameter is OD (which surprised me for something that’s a conduit), my dupont connectors wouldn’t slide through so I had to cut and resolder. I suggest bringing a 4-pin dupont to test if you go this route.
If you have a chance sometime soon, could you take a couple close up photos of how you mounted the flexible conduit to your motors? And do you have a link to those printed clamps that hold it? I’ve been throwing around ideas for the cables on my MPCNC and I love this design the best.
This again is a two-parter that clamps two conduits at an elbow and directs it away from the motor. It’s a tight fit, do a dry test without cables or anything to make sure it’s not too tight.
Here are photos and I can arrange to have the parts posted online sometime during the week.
The pipe attachments are designed for 25mm OD 23mm ID pipe - I’ll include step files so you can more easily edit if need be.
There, parts are online in stl and step : MPCNC Primo (F) Cable Management by agryson - Thingiverse
I have a nice little clip that clips to the Z Conduit and the Makita cable to keep them joined together but easily unclippable that I’ll also share once I can get a nice photo tonight or tomorrow.
I finally picked up some “flexible” conduit from a local hardware store.
I say “flexible” because its very stout and doesn’t want to make bends anywhere near what you have yours doing. All I could find was a blue color, so maybe mine is a different type, or maybe there are different safety codes that countries use (I’m in the USA).
I still think that I’m going to use this idea, but instead of having the conduit running down, I’m going to build some simple frame across the whole machine for the conduit to connect to. That way it will be going above the machine and the conduit won’t need to flex as much.
I don’t know about the US, but here the blue tubing is typically for water pipes and may be less flexible than my electrical conduit, (which as a bonus is IP55 rated against dust and liquids - here’s the datasheet if it helps: https://docs.rs-online.com/a254/0900766b8150055b.pdf).
If you’re routing above the machine, the reduced flex may actually be a benefit, on my Z it flexes a bit too much with any weight applied.
I’m not going to pretend I know the differences, but what I picked up is labeled for electrical use only, and it’s more stiff than most metal conduit.
I ended up picking up some plain split-loom conduit for general purpose use instead. It’ll be more than flexible enough. I feel kinda stupid for not thinking of it earlier, lol.
See what you’ve done? Posting photos of your incredible build and making my life complicated
If you’re using split conduit, perhaps add a ziptie every 10cm or so, I’ve had systems where when it bends, it can find itself in a situation where the cables come out a little at the bend (it only happened once or twice, so don’t worry too much about it).
Also, if you need to adapt the files and are having trouble, don’t hesitate to reach out.
