Father in law building this at the moment and is stuck.
He’s asking if there should be a spacer on here as the gap is huge and he’s not sure what’s causing it.
I can’t get to see it until tommorow at the erliest. So any help appreciated.
Matt
There should be a gap. Don’t try to close it with the screws, the parts will snap. It just needs to be tight enough to keep the pipes in place. The machine isn’t going to pull that hard on it.
That does look a little larger, but it might just be the angle. There should be a gap. The top piece may be on backward.
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Thanks I’ll message that to him.
Matt
There are various cables and crimpers that you could use. I would have thought you will need JST connectors for the SKR board, I had to for my SKR V1.3. The TAG connectors are a "£$%^&*(£$%^&£$%^& nightmare as you need (AFAIK):
- A special crimping tool.
- A range of three and four port connectors along with the associated barbed wire like internal wire connectors.
- The patience of a saint
- The dexterity of a neurosurgeon
If you have any magical abilities, this is now the time to unleash them. I brought this tool
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QNPZDTW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and it’s OK. I suspect that a 0.1 or 0.05mm difference in the jaws makes a massive difference.
It took me a long time to learn how to get reliable results, I would also buy a decent wire stripper. Please note your teeth are not wire strippers.
I brought this one
and my only regret is not buying the larger one as well. Decent tools are well worth the money. I have used this for a lot of wiring.
For wiring the motors I would suggest that you do NOT do the wiring yet, but wait until later and you can work out the wiring loom and where you will run things. I run wires through the tubes. Some wiring runs are significantly longer than others, so it makes sense to wait and see.
I would also get a cheap multimeter to check connections.
I use stranded cable rather than single core as it’s constantly moving. 24SWG or thinner appears fine. Some people have used ethernet connectors for their wiring and CAT5 or 6 cables. This requires yet another crimping tool, however it’s easier than JST tags.
That looks like the Burley legs and my gap is smaller than that, indeed it’s around 1 to 2mm. That looks like 5mm to me and I think (though what do I know) is too much. What I did find is that you can push the tubing into the clamps more than you think. This is a manual push with the hand, not a joining together of two parts through bolts. It’s not quite a click in, more a decent push. No tools, screws or bolts are needed.
If you want a video look at my printer, let me know and I can show you the bits and the gaps.
Rob
Rob,
Thanks for this, ordered the crimping tool I have a good wire stripper - well will see how good it is once I start using it lol.
Been to see it today, seems really solid, we’re going to get it in the workshop on a decent table then order the cable.
If you could do a video it’d be appreciated, I can then look at how ours is setup.
Matt
Not a problem. Might be as easy to do a Zoom/Skype/Facetime/WhatsApp/Circuit (Atos Origin)/Skype for Business/MS Teams/Chimes call (what have I missed, I thought I had ten video applications now?)
That way you can see what things are and ask questions in real time.
Am heading out tonight but around tomorrow.
Get a good, solid and flat table. Makes a big difference. I put mine on 33mm tubing with castors, I have mine in the garage and I can’t dedicate the space, so need to wheel it around.
Rob
Hi Rob,
Thanks for the offer, are you around about 13:00 for some form of video call?
How do you want to do the call?
Matt
Hi. sorry to jump in here guys. Just after some advice. I’m in Cheshire and going to start building this beast once my new creality cr6-se arrives later this month as just sold the ender 3. So i’ve started to source parts but wondered if you guys imported a dw660 or used a UK available alternative? Also did you mention that someone is selling the boards with the firmware required pre loaded?nmany thanks.
Hi,
No problems jumping in.
I seem to recollect Rob uses a spindle motor he sourced on eBay, I think I’m going to go down the same route - unless someone advises something different. Also wanting to add a laser at some point.
I bought an skr pro board with 2209 steppers, flashed it using the firmware linked above, I think Rob uses the skr 1.3 board. Flashing the board is simple enough to do.
Any questions ask away - I’m just with the father in law putting this together as my first machine but everyone here seems very helpful.
Matt
I got one of these Katsu hand trimmers, which “aparently” is a copy of Makita and reportebly built in the same factory.
I haven’t tried it in the CNC since I still havent built mine yet, I tried the Katsu one “manual” and it looks working just fine when just fooling around with it.
I used a Katsu router which looks like a Makita RT0700C and has the same dimensions of a Makita. It claims to have the same collet dimensions as well. After investigating a lot further, it appears that it is NOT a Makita internally, though many of the external parts do work with it.
I can state that I am happy with my Katsu but have no experience of any other hand router to base my experiences on.
I printed these mounts
and it fits the Katsu perfectly. I paid £30 for my Katsu, so unless it only lasts 1/4 the time of a new 240V Makita, I’m happy. You can buy the Katsu motors direct for £10 less (https://www.aimtools.co.uk/products/101748-katsu-wood-trimmer-laminater-220v). No connection with the company. Would I buy a different one? I wanted a Kress but they were a lot more money, but as they are narrower I may get back 2-3cm in cutting space so possibly are worth it. I also buy cheap CNC bits as I assume I’ll break things and no point in buying anything expensive to wreck it.
I have the SKR V1.3 with TMC 2208 UART motors. They just worked and am very happy.
Flashing the boards is not a problem if you are happy to get Visual Source Studio working and compiling code. It’s not difficult if you know what you are doing, pretty much like anything I guess. You can’t actually do a lot of damage to be honest though. (I may get proven wrong very quickly 
As Matt says, ask questions. I did.
Rob
Update. I bought the katsu router on eBay for around 30. Are you all going with Nema 17 steppers and 25mm steel pipe?
I brought the 84oz Nema 17 motors. I think there are people using bigger motors (Nema 21?) but I have no issue with the Nema 17’s. We have two each side and they seem to move quickly enough for me.
I used 25mm steel pipe as well, which is now getting surface rust. Any suggestions for removal greatly welcomed.
Rob
Nema 23’s are the “size” up from 17’s. But there is absolutley no need to update to them for the “normal” work of the MPCNC.
I know some one has been discussing and using bigger steppers, and I think there are beefer mounts avaliable in thingiverse, but as stated many times, the 17’s supplied by Ryan is in quite good enough.
As for handling rust, just polish your pipes with some normal car wax and that should get your pipes nice, shiny and rust free.
Ah, couldn’t recall the Nema numbers, thanks.
Will get the car wax out today, it’s 20+C here in North Yorkshire, which is pretty much Caribbean weather for us.
Rob
Car wax, good idea I wouldn’t have thought of that.
Matt
Neither did I
Be carefull of silicone waxes they will cause finishing problems if you transfer any to your wood
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Will have to look in the garage to see what car waxes I have (if any).