(250,’2006-09-29 12:00:00′,’figNoggle’,’2006-12-20 08:02:02′,’david’,’Z-Axis Phase 1 – Motor, Spindle, And Controller Selection’,”,’We’ve been poking around looking for answers but in the process have raised more questions such as “how do we pair up a motor with a controller and how will the driver work with this so that we can get software like Mach to drive the motor?”.
Well, we’ve come closer to an answer if for no other reason than to “try it out and see”. So that’s where we are now.
We checked eBay, SurplusCenter.com, and other places for DC motor controllers and the motors themselves. We decided on the Homann Designs Digispeed-XL board that will let Mach take over the DC controller and run the spindle (looking forward to seeing that in action on a smaller sized CNC mill!). But the motor and controller selection was a bit of a confusing journey.
As for the other specs… since this machine is to be run mainly in one’s home here in the states with 120V service, that pretty much limited us to the controllers available – Dart Controls and KB Electronics lines of DC motor controllers. Both have their twists, but in a nutshell, they both can power (with heatsinks on them) up to 1.5HP motors at 90VDC with a 8A draw.
Oh yeah, we decided against using the Sieg X2 mini-mill (or even X3) motor/spindle/controller assembly. We thought it best to really challenge ourselves here and see how we can put these pieces of the puzzle together and even potentially bringing something to market along these lines.. (There just _has_ to be an easier way!)
Now back to regularly scheduled programming… Let’s talk a bit about the KB Electronics controllers. The most wide-spread model out there is the KBIC-120 and KBIC-125. The difference between the two is max amperage and HP draw. The 120 with and without the heatsink is 6A-0.5HP//8A-1HP respectively while the KBIC-125 is 8A-0.75HP/16A-1.5HP (could blow a fuse in your old house!) respectively.
The next challenge was to find a suitable motor. A quick trip to Google and eBay yielded these wimpy 0.5HP (36W) motors with only 2000RPM running at 90VDC. While checking SurplusCenter.com we found something that might have worked (item #10-2190) but at 2.5HP 130VDC and 18A current draw not only would the controller probably not like it, it would probably blow fuses again. Someone on the DIY-CNC newsgroup pointed us back there with this model (item #10-1783). According to their specs on their website:
2-1/2 HP 130 VDC MOTOR
New ARGORD CORP. Permanent magnet motor with thermal overload protection. Small rear shaft measures 0.29″ dia. x 0.25″ long. Draws 1.2 Amps at 95 VDC unloaded.
SPECIFICATIONS1-1/2 Hp @ 95 VDC cont. duty
2-1/2 Hp @ 130 VDC int. duty
Rated to 18.5 Amps
0-6750 RPM
Duty int. w/o cooling fan (not incl.)
Rotation reversible
Open enclosure
Ball bearings
Shaft 17 mm w/threaded end 1/2″-13 UNC LH thread
Four hole base mount on 4-1/4″ x 2-3/4″ centers
Overall size 7-3/4″ x 4″ x 4″ excluding face plate
Shpg. 10 lb.
The price was good enough to try out at $21.95 or $30 or so shipped. There may be some other candidates we’ll try out, but for now, we just want to get it tested under CNC wth all the pieces hooked up.
As for the spindle, again we went with the trusty R8 spindle/head from the Sieg X2 mini-mill (click here to see the inside of one). It was a simple purchase from LittleMachineShop for $100 or so shipped. What you saw at the top of this article is the half paint/bondo-stripped cast iron head. We’re going to select a nice color and paint it; figNoggle ***** (***** = name of the paint color). Like John Deere Green, Harbor Freight Red/Maroon, Cummins Yellow, Ridgid Orange, Caterpillar Yellow and the list goes on…
Well, this is a good start, but we may also want to look at higher end cartridge spindles and an automatic tool changer (ATC), but we’re taking one step at a time here. 
At the end of the day, the Z-axis motor/controller/power train will look like this:
X2 R8 Spindle > figNoggle Belt Drive > Treadmill Motor #10-1783 > KBIC-125 > HomannDesigns DigiSpeed-XL > CAndCNC Mini-I/O “breakout board” > Mach. Now that’s a mouthful!
Stay tuned for part 2 of this article when the parts come in next week! Enjoy your weekend!’
‘,’
We’ve been poking around looking for answers but in the process have raised more questions such as “how do we pair up a motor with a controller and how will the driver work with this so that we can get software like Mach to drive the motor?”.
Well, we’ve come closer to an answer if for no other reason than to “try it out and see”. So that’s where we are now.
We checked eBay, SurplusCenter.com, and other places for DC motor controllers and the motors themselves. We decided on the Homann Designs Digispeed-XL board that will let Mach take over the DC controller and run the spindle (looking forward to seeing that in action on a smaller sized CNC mill!). But the motor and controller selection was a bit of a confusing journey.
As for the other specs… since this machine is to be run mainly in one’s home here in the states with 120V service, that pretty much limited us to the controllers available – Dart Controls and KB Electronics lines of DC motor controllers. Both have their twists, but in a nutshell, they both can power (with heatsinks on them) up to 1.5HP motors at 90VDC with a 8A draw.
Oh yeah, we decided against using the Sieg X2 mini-mill (or even X3) motor/spindle/controller assembly. We thought it best to really challenge ourselves here and see how we can put these pieces of the puzzle together and even potentially bringing something to market along these lines.. (There just has to be an easier way!)
Now back to regularly scheduled programming… Let’s talk a bit about the KB Electronics controllers. The most wide-spread model out there is the KBIC-120 and KBIC-125. The difference between the two is max amperage and HP draw. The 120 with and without the heatsink is 6A-0.5HP//8A-1HP respectively while the KBIC-125 is 8A-0.75HP/16A-1.5HP (could blow a fuse in your old house!) respectively.
The next challenge was to find a suitable motor. A quick trip to Google and eBay yielded these wimpy 0.5HP (36W) motors with only 2000RPM running at 90VDC. While checking SurplusCenter.com we found something that might have worked (item #10-2190) but at 2.5HP 130VDC and 18A current draw not only would the controller probably not like it, it would probably blow fuses again. Someone on the DIY-CNC newsgroup pointed us back there with this model (item #10-1783). According to their specs on their website:
2-1/2 HP 130 VDC MOTOR
New ARGORD CORP. Permanent magnet motor with thermal overload protection. Small rear shaft measures 0.29” dia. x 0.25” long. Draws 1.2 Amps at 95 VDC unloaded.
SPECIFICATIONS1-1/2 Hp 95 VDC cont. duty<br /><br />
2-1/2 Hp 130 VDC int. duty
Rated to 18.5 Amps
0-6750 RPM
Duty int. w/o cooling fan (not incl.)
Rotation reversible
Open enclosure
Ball bearings
Shaft 17 mm w/threaded end 1/2”-13 UNC LH thread
Four hole base mount on 4-1/4” x 2-3/4” centers
Overall size 7-3/4” x 4” x 4” excluding face plate
Shpg. 10 lb.
The price was good enough to try out at $21.95 or $30 or so shipped. There may be some other candidates we’ll try out, but for now, we just want to get it tested under CNC wth all the pieces hooked up.
As for the spindle, again we went with the trusty R8 spindle/head from the Sieg X2 mini-mill (click here to see the inside of one). It was a simple purchase from LittleMachineShop for $100 or so shipped. What you saw at the top of this article is the half paint/bondo-stripped cast iron head. We’re going to select a nice color and paint it; figNoggle ***** (***** = name of the paint color). Like John Deere Green, Harbor Freight Red/Maroon, Cummins Yellow, Ridgid Orange, Caterpillar Yellow and the list goes on…
Well, this is a good start, but we may also want to look at higher end cartridge spindles and an automatic tool changer (ATC), but we’re taking one step at a time here.
At the end of the day, the Z-axis motor/controller/power train will look like this:
X2 R8 Spindle > figNoggle Belt Drive > Treadmill Motor #10-1783 > KBIC-125 > HomannDesigns DigiSpeed-XL > CAndCNC Mini-I/O “breakout board” > Mach. Now that’s a mouthful!
Stay tuned for part 2 of this article when the parts come in next week! Enjoy your weekend!’
‘,”,”,”,’Home-Brewed-CNC-Vertical-Mill’,”,0,”,0,4,1,1,’article’,”,”,’z-axis-phase-1-motor-spindle-and-controller-selection’,”,”,”,”,”,”,”,”,”,”,’5a50505344ffbac122602b52f05d1041′,’2006-09-29′);