Контроллер чпу своими руками. Контроллер ЧПУ своими руками: пошаговая инструкция по сборке и настройке

Моя история постройки ЧПУ-станка своими руками / ХабрПриветствую всех жителей Geektimes! Сегодня я хочу вам рассказать свою историю постройки бюджетного классического портального фрезерного станка.

Хочу начать с истории, которая началась в конце 2015 года. Встретившись тогда с другом, он предложил мне сделать фрезерный чпу-станок для раскройки фанеры и пластика. Недолго подумав, я сказал ему, что для вырезания различных слов, рамочек и прочего станок не окупит себя и станет убыточным, на что он мне ответил «придумай что-нибудь»…

Так как в основе проекта был положен интерес я, конечно же, взялся за него. Но все бы ничего, но на предложенный проект не было денег, да и свободного времени тоже. Тогда, исходя из задач, возложенных на станок, было спроектировано следующее:

В итоге на весь станок выделили 20 т.р. Рабочее поле — 550х950 мм. В качестве управления выбрал китайскую синюю плату на драйверах TB6560 на 4 оси, в комплект еще входит 4 двигателя, блок питания, диск с ПО и провод для подключения к ПК, на тот момент она обошлась мне в 14 с копейками т.р.

Так как планировалось сделать что-то вроде конструктора, и не прибегая к фрезерным, расточным, шлифовальным работам, вся конструкция изготовлялась из конструкционной листовой стали толщиной 8мм, раскроенной на лазерным ЧПУ станке. Но без токарной обработки не обошлось, так как надо точить подшипниковые опоры, втулки скольжения, обтачивать концы винтов и в этом помогла наша дочерняя фирма. И вообще то, что касается металлообработки в России, я постарался, высказать свои мысли в блоге, чтобы здесь не флудить.

Подшипниковая опора.

В итоге раскрой всех деталей к станку из металлического листа вышло в 1,5т.р., еще 2т.р. отдал за токарную обработку, остальное потратилось на крепеж, подшипники и прочие невспомненные мной моменты.

Далее хотелось бы продемонстрировать несколько видео о процессе сборки и работы станка, а также фото того, что пробовал вырезать я.

И еще один момент: в качестве шпинделя решил использовать обыкновенную дрель, ввиду невысокой скорости работы станка.

Попробовали выжигать

По итогам сборки наладки и проверки можно сказать, что станок оказался работоспособным, но достаточно «жидким», но это и так было понятно по закладываемому бюджету. И свои задачи он выполнял отлично… Станок был собран к концу февраля и окупился у друга до лета, после чего он успешно его продал за 30 т.р. Продал по причине – надоело, пропал интерес, и нежелание работать.

Я, возможно, что-то упустил и не описал, надеюсь, что на видео найдётся вся отсутствующая здесь информация. В другом же случае оставляйте комментарии.

Как собрать станок с ЧПУ своими руками

В этой статье мы рассказываем о том, что построить своими руками фрезерный станок с ЧПУ — выполнимая задача. Подробно описывается весь процесс создания: от проектирования до применения станка. 

В первом случае к покупным комплектующим добавлялись самодельные детали, сделанные на токарном станке, во втором проекте автор обошелся готовыми частями, третий — бонус, изготовление функционального стола для станка, совмещенного с полками для хранения материалов и инструментов.

  

Содержание: 

• Заключение и рекомендации

  

Как сделать самодельный станок с ЧПУ 

Автор проекта Benne подробно описал весь процесс создания станка с ЧПУ для работы по дереву и другим материалам, начиная с проектирования.

  

1. Проектирование

Перед постройкой станка нужно как минимум нарисовать эскиз от руки, а лучше выполнить более точный трехмерный рисунок с помощью программы САПР. Автор проекта использовал google sketchup, довольно простую (бесплатную для 30-дневного использования) программу. Для более сложного проекта вы можете выбрать Autocad.

Главная цель рисунка — выяснить необходимые размеры деталей, для заказа их по интернету, и убедиться, что все движущиеся части станка подойдут друг к другу.

Как видите, детальных чертежей с размеченными отверстиями под крепления автор не использовал, намечал отверстия в процессе постройки станка, но такого исходного дизайна оказалось достаточно.

Габаритные размеры станка: 1050 х 840 х 400 мм.

Перемещение по осям: X 730 мм, Y 650 мм, Z 150 мм

Длина направляющих и шариково-винтовой передачи зависит от размера задуманного вами станка.

Когда идет проектирование станка с ЧПУ, есть несколько вопросов, от ответа на которые зависит конечный результат.

Какой тип станка с ЧПУ вы хотите выбрать?

С подвижным столом или с подвижным порталом? Конструкции с подвижным столом часто используются для станков небольшого размера, до 30х30 см. Их легче построить, их можно сделать более жесткими, чем машины с движущимся порталом. Недостаток перемещения стола заключается в том, что при одинаковой зоне резки общая площадь станка получается раза в два больше, чем при использовании конструкции с подвижным порталом. В этом проекте зона обработки около 65×65 см, поэтому был выбран подвижный портал.

Что вы хотите обрабатывать с помощью станка с ЧПУ?

В данном проекте станок предназначался в основном для фанеры, лиственных пород дерева и пластмасс, а также для алюминия.

 Из чего будет строиться станок?

Это в основном зависит от материала, который будет на станке обрабатываться. В идеале материал, который используется для изготовления станка, должен быть прочнее материала, который будет обрабатываться на станке или, как минимум, не менее прочным. Поэтому, если вы хотите резать алюминий, станок должен быть собран из алюминия или стали. 

Какая длина осей вам нужна?

По первоначальному замыслу станок с ЧПУ должен был обрабатывать фанеру и МДФ, которые в Нидерландах выпускают размером 62 х 121 см. Поэтому для Y расстояние прохода должно быть не менее 620 мм. Длина хода по оси Х равна 730 мм, потому что иначе станок занял бы все пространство комнаты. Поэтому ось X короче, чем длина листа фанеры (1210 мм), но можно обработать половину, затем сдвинуть лист вперед и обработать оставшуюся часть. С помощью такой уловки получается обрабатывать на станке куски куда большие, чем длина оси Х. Для оси Z выбрано 150 мм, чтобы в будущем использовать четвертую ось.

Какой тип линейного движения вы будете использовать?

Существует множество вариантов системы линейного перемещения, от ее выбора во многом зависит качество работы. Поэтому есть смысл потратиться на лучшую систему, которую вы можете себе позволить. Автор проекта решил, что линейные рельсы были лучшим вариантом из тех, на которые ему хватало денег. Если вы строите 3-осевой фрезерный станок с ЧПУ, вам нужно купить комплект, состоящий из трех наборов линейных направляющих и двух линейных подшипников на каждую направляющую.

Какую систему привода подач вы будете использовать для каждой оси?

Основные варианты привода подачи: зубчатые ремни, механизмы реечной передачи и передача винт-гайка. Для самодельных станков с ЧПУ чаще всего используют передачу винт-гайка с использованием шарико-винтовой пары. Гайка крепится к подвижной части машины, винт закреплен с обоих концов. Винт крепится к двигателю. Если двигатели вращается, гайка с прикрепленной к ней движущейся частью машины будет двигаться вдоль винта и приводить машину в движение.

ШВП в данном станке используется для привода осей X и Y. Шарико-винтовые подшипники обеспечивают очень плавный ход, люфт отсутствует, повышается качество и скорость резки.

Для оси Z использован стержень M10 из высококачественной нержавеющей стали с самодельной гайкой из делрина.

Тип двигателя и контроллера

Обычно в самодельных станках с ЧПУ применяются шаговые двигатели. Сервоприводы в основном используются для мощных промышленных станков с ЧПУ, они дороже и требуют более дорогих контроллеров. Здесь использованы шаговые двигатели 3Nm.

Тип шпинделя

В проекте используется стандартный Kress, он имеет хороший 43-мм зажимной фланец, а также встроенный регулятор скорости (но последняя функция есть у большинства шпинделей).

Если вы собираетесь выполнять действительно сложную резку, стоит обратить внимание на шпиндели с водяным охлаждением — они дороже стандартных, зато шумят гораздо меньше, могут работать на низких оборотах без перегрева и с самыми разными материалами.

Затраты

На данный станок с ЧПУ ушло примерно 1500 евро. Готовый фрезерный станок с ЧПУ сходных характеристик стоит намного дороже, так что вы можете сэкономить, создав станок самостоятельно.

  

2. Комплектующие для создания станка с ЧПУ 

Электрооборудование и электроника:

• 3 шаговых двигателя 3 Nm Nema 23;
• 3 драйвера шаговых двигателей DM556 Leadshine;
• блок питания 36 В для станков с ЧПУ;
• интерфейсная плата 5 Axis CNC Breakout Board для управления шаговыми драйверами;
• источник питания 5 В для интерфейсной платы;
• двухпозиционный выключатель On/Off;
• многожильный кабель Shielded 4 Conductor 18 AWG;
• 3 сенсорных концевых выключателя;
• Шпиндель: Kress FME 800 (подойдут также Bosch Colt или Dewalt Compact Router).

По желанию:

• шкафчик/корпус для электрооборудования;
• подвижный пластиковый кабель-канал;
• 4-контактные кабельные вилки.

Механические части:

• линейные направляющие: для X — SBR 20 для Y и Z — SBR 16;
• шарико-винтовая пара (ШВП) для X и Y — диаметром 16 мм, шаг 5 мм4
• в качестве передаточного винта для оси Z: стальной штырь с резьбой M10 с самодельной гайкой из делрина;
• алюминиевый профиль: 30х60 мм, нарезанный на куски длиной 100 мм; 
• алюминиевая пластина 15 мм толщиной;
• мощные антивибрационные выравнивающие ножки.

Программы:

• CAD/CAM-программа CamBam;
• программа для управления станком с ЧПУ Mach4

Станок в основном построен из алюминиевых пластин толщиной 15 мм и алюминиевых профилей 30×60 мм. Работы выполнялись с применением сверлильного и токарного станков. Пластины и профили заказывались нарезанными по размеру.

  

3. Ось Х

Базовая рама сделана из 4 отрезков алюминиевого профиля сечением 30х60 мм и двух боковых панелей толщиной 15 мм. В конце профилей есть по два отверстия диаметром 6,8 мм, с помощью метчика внутри отверстий выполнена резьба М8.

Нарезка резьбы в торцах алюминиевого профиля

Чтобы отверстия на концевых панелях совпадали, при сверлении обе пластины зажимались вместе. Посередине каждой пластины просверлено по 4 отверстия, чтобы установить подшипниковые опоры, и четыре дополнительных отверстия в одной из боковых пластин для крепления двигателя.

Их кусочков алюминия (50х50х20) сделаны 4 блока, чтобы прикрепить выравнивающие ножки. Блоки прикручены к наружным профилям четырьмя болтами М5 с мебельными t-гайками.

Линейные направляющие подходят непосредственно к алюминиевым профилям. Для оси X использовались рельсы диаметром 20 мм. Предварительно просверленные в основании линейных направляющих отверстия точно совпадают с пазами в алюминиевых профилях. Для установки использованы болты М5 и мебельные t-гайки.

  

4. Боковые пластины портала

Боковые пластины портала почти одинаковы, но в одной из них просверлены четыре дополнительных отверстия для крепления мотора. Весь портал изготовлен из алюминиевых пластин толщиной 15 мм. Чтобы отверстия оказались точно в нужном месте, в тщательно отмеченных местах слесарным кернером были пробиты углубления, и по этим меткам просверлены отверстия на сверлильном станке, сначала сверлом меньшего диаметра, затем — нужного.

Из-за того, как спроектирован портал, пришлось сверлить отверстия в торцах боковых пластин и делать в отверстиях резьбу М8. 

  

5. Сборка портала

Портал собран и установлен

Остальная часть порт

90000 Build Your CNC — CNC, CNC Router, CNC Router Kits, CNC Machine Kits, Laser Machines, CNC Machine Tools, and CNC Cutting 90001 90002 Design Your CNC 90003 90004 Machine Base: greenBull v2 Fabricator Pro 90005 90004 Machine Features: 90005 90004 CNC Cutting Area: 90005 90004 Bed Angle: 90005 90004 Purchase Options: Plans Plans and Hardware Kit of Parts Assembled Machine 90005 Purchase Plans for 90014 0,000.00 90015 Contact Sales for Academic Pricing 90004 What’s Included in the 90017 Plans 90018 option: 90005 90004 90017 CNC plans option 90018 includes a large set of 24 «x36» plans which includes the BOM (Bill of Materials) for the complete machine, all of the structural components that will need to be cut out or fabricated, and a full set of detailed instructions for assemblling the machine. The instructions will also include detailed wiring schema with suggested wiring through the machine.Domestic shipping is free for this option. 90005 90004 90017 CNC Plans and hardware option 90018 includes the large plans set, motion electronincs (motors, drivers, power supplies, and controller / interface), hardware to fasten all of the components together, a water cooled spindle with VFD and all of the necessary mechanical components (rails, bearing blocks, lead screws, bearings, etc.). This option does not include the structual components or wire / cable.The plans include the measurements and cut sheets for the structural components. Shipping cost will be provided when parts are ready to be shipped. 90005 90004 90017 CNC Kit option 90018 includes the plans, hardware, electonics, wire, cable, tubing, water cooling components, mechanical components, water cooled spindle, and the structural components. All you need to do is assembl the machine, or find someone in your area that can assemble the machine (We are building a list of individuals to help assemble in your area).Shipping cost will be provided when parts are ready to be shipped. 90005 90004 90017 Assembled Option 90018 includes the complete CNC Router and / or Laser is assembled. The fully assembled machine will be delivered via freight or for pick up. The customer is responsible for the freight charges. We use FreightQuote.com (domestic) and iContainers.com (international) to determine logistics and shipping cost. Freight cost will be provided when the machine is ready to be shipped.90005 .90000 Software, Drivers, & Boards [Complete DIY Guide] 90001 90002 90003 90004 90002 The CNC Controller or CNC Control is the package of electronics and software that take input either from g-code or the cnc control panel and converts it to the signals the CNC machine’s motors need to move the CNC axes. 90004 90002 The controller with its CNC Control Software and electronics are the most complex part of a CNC Machine. In this article, we’ll break it down along several dimensions each of which you can then drill down on further: 90004 90009 90010 Types of CNC Controllers 90011 90010 CNC Controller Electronics 90011 90010 CNC Controller Software 90011 90010 Choosing the Best CNC Controller for Your CNC Machine 90011 90018 90019 Types of CNC Controllers 90020 90021 Industrial OEM CNC Controllers 90022 90002 Industrial OEM CNC Controllers are the ones used on Industrial CNC Machines like Haas.They’re the very hind end of the market. 90004 90002 These are not very common for DIY projects due to their expense. Not only is the controller itself expensive and fairly hard to come by (though one does see them from time to time on eBay), but Industrial OEM Controllers expect premium sub-components too. Industrial Quality Servo Drives, Home / Limit Switches, and all the rest really run up a hefty price tag in a hurry. 90004 90002 While these controls are expensive, lately I’ve seen controls such as the low-end of the Siemens line coming down in price in places like eBay.It looks like they’re testing the low-end market. If they keep coming down, these controls may make more sense on a DIY CNC Project than it seems. 90004 90002 I’m not going to talk further about these controls as they’re a pretty advanced topic. You might find the article I did that analyzes what features Hobby CNC Controllers are missing compared to industrial controls intersesting. 90004 90021 CNC Retrofit Controllers 90022 90002 Just a small step down from Industrial OEM Controllers are CNC Retrofit Controllers like Centroid.90004 90002 These controllers are marketed for converting manual machines to CNC, for example, a Bridgeport manual milling machine. They’re also sold as a way to update obsolete controls on industrial CNC Machines to bring the more up-to-date features and performance. 90004 90002 They’re still not cheap, but they’re starting to fall into the range of what a DIY CNC’er might afford. 90004 90021 PC Based CNC Controllers 90022 90002 There are three main players in this market: 90004 90009 90010 Mach 3 & Mach 4 90011 90010 LinuxCNC 90011 90010 FlashCut 90011 90018 90002 All three have good reputations with varying trade-offs of features, functionality, price, and ease of use.90004 90053 Mach 3 90054 90002 90004 90002 Art Fenerty founded ArtSoft in 2001 and launched Mach 3, which was based on an offshoot of the original EMC (which is now LinuxCNC) code base. Art wanted a CNC Controller that runs on Microsoft Windows PC’s rather than Linux, so it took a major rewrite and the two do not share much in common any more. 90004 90002 According to our 2017 Survey, Mach 3 is the most popular CNC Controller at the low-end, with 47% market share. The next closest was LinuxCNC.90004 90053 LinuxCNC (My personal favorite!) 90054 90002 90064 90004 90002 LinuxCNC has its origins in NIST’s «Enhanced Machine Controller» project, hence its original name «EMC» and «EMC 2». Since the EMC corporation owns the trademark, the name was changed to LinuxCNC in 90004 90002 LinuxCNC is Open Source software, which means you can actually obtain the latest source code should you wish to understand or modify it. It also means that a much larger audience, including companies like Tormach, can contribute to LinuxCNC.90004 90002 While it’s extremely cool that LinuxCNC is Open Source, it’s the contributions of Tormach, and the PathPilot «flavor» of LinuxCNC that made it my favorite choice. Having used Mach 3 for years, I can tell you that Tormach made a good decision when they moved from Mach 3 to LinuxCNC. 90004 90002 PathPilot is simply more stable, more powerful, and more user friendly than Mach 3, and there’s not much more you could ask for. 90004 90002 Now, getting your own PathPilot CNC Controller up and running for your own DIY CNC may not be quite as straightforward.You’ll have to assemble a controller that matches Tormach’s and get a copy of PathPilot up and running on it. There are various articles out there that purport to help. I have not verified any of them yet, but if it can be done, you’ll have a sweet setup. 90004 90053 FlashCut 90054 90002 90079 90004 90002 FlashCut is a very nifty plug-and-play CNC Controller. The company was started back in +1993, so it’s been around a long time and the design is very mature. 90004 90002 While its Market Share is not as big as Mach4 or LinuxCNC, I’ve heard nothing but good about FlashCut.Here’s a great video by Dave DeCaussin (one of the original founders of FADAL) showing how easy it is to set up a FlashCut system: 90004 90002 90086 90087 90004 90002 I’ve heard some folks say they think the FlashCut is too expensive compared to other solutions. I put pencil to paper one time comparing it to a Mach4 system and I found that if you configure a system with all the capabilities of FlashCut (like a USB pulser for Mach4) that the premium is not as high as you may think. 90004 90002 Having a completely engineered turnkey system that’s plug-and-play is worth a bit of premium if you ask me.90004 90053 Mach 4 90054 90002 90004 90002 Mach 4 is the newest solution in this category, and has by far the smallest market share. It’s almost a start over from scratch rewrite of Mach 3. The developers claim it shares less than 1% of Mach 3’s code. 90004 90002 It’s quite a bit more expensive, but in theory, should be better. From my perspective, the jury is still out-not enough market share or experience to bet on it when the competition is well entrenched and has far larger installed bases.90004 90021 Microcontrollers: USB, Arduino, Rasperry Pi, TinyG, & More 90022 90002 Microcontrollers allow CNC Controllers to be built that are cheap and fit into a small space. 90004 90002 CNC Microcontrollers are a relatively new development made possible by continued advances in miniaturization and software. The idea is to put everything you need on one small circuit board, or perhaps a microcontroller board with a daughterboard commonly called a «Shield». 90004 90002 Here’s a quick list of all the most popular CNC Microcontrollers: 90004 90053 Grbl 90054 90002 Grbl (pronounced gerbil) runs on an Arduino microcontroller.It’s open source, and in use by a lot of different firms including: 90004 90002 90004 90002 That’s pretty much an all-star cast, so you can be sure GRBL has a vibrant ecosystem of products and people who can help and also that it has a bright future. The Shapeoko people told me they evaluated a bunch of these and felt GRBL was head and shoulders the winner for their needs. 90004 90053 TinyG / TinyG2 90054 90002 90004 90002 TinyG is another microcontroller-based system. It’s related to grbl, but it’s not the same.The TinyG codebase was forked from grbl in 2010 and has been going its own way ever since. TinyG claims to do some things better or differently: 90004 90009 90010 While grbl is 3-axis (XYZ), TinyG is 6-axis so can support additional rotary axes. By default, TinyG controllers have 4 stepper motor drivers while gShield (used with grbl) has 3. 90011 90010 TinyG claims some fancy motion control algorithms, specifically «jerk» acceleration profiles for smoother motion. 90011 90010 TinyG claims its implemented on a higher performance microcontroller that has more memory.90011 90018 90053 PlanetCNC 90054 90002 90004 90002 PlanetCNC is a single-board CNC Controller that hails from Slovenia, Europe. Like TinyG, it’s also a 4-axis solution. In our 2017 CNC Controller Survey, GRBL had # 1 market share, PlanetCNC # 2, and TinyG # 3 among the microcontrollers. 90004 90019 CNC Controller Electronics 90020 90002 Here’s the sort of electronics you’ll find inside most CNC Controller cabinets: 90004 90002 90142 90004 90002 Let’s go over the function of each.90004 90021 Breakout Board 90022 90002 90149 90004 90002 CNC Breakout Board for Parallel Port … 90004 90002 The role of the Breakout Board is to take a connection from your PC and generate the appropriate signals needed to operate the Motor Drives, VFD, and Contactors. 90004 90002 For a deeper dive on Breakout Boards, see our article: 90004 90021 [CNC Breakout Boards] 90022 90002 The most common breakout boards, such as the one pictured above, are connected to your PC’s parallel port.This can be a problem, since parallel ports are obsolete and most new computers do not have them. In addition, there are a lot of performance and reliability issues associated with breakout boards. 90004 90002 Newer and more sophisticated models are actually motion control boards, though some may still refer to them as breakout boards. These boards can connect via USB or Ethernet cable. 90004 90002 It’s impossible to control a USB connection finely enough to directly generate the precise pulses needed by Axis Motor Drives, so the role of a Motion Controller is to accept higher level commands and generate the pulses.The result is much higher performance a at a slightly higher cost. 90004 90002 We also have a great article on Motion Control Boards: 90004 90021 [Motion Control Boards] 90022 90021 Motor Drives / Drivers 90022 90002 90172 90004 90002 Leadshine Easy Servo Drives … 90004 90002 Given a breakout or motion control board, your PC’s signals are converted to 2 signals: 90004 90009 90010 Step: Each pulse on the step line tells the motor drive to move the motor 1 step. 90011 90010 Direction: If the polarity of direction is one way, it commands the motion to be clockwise.Switching polarity reverses direction to counter-clockwise. In fact, polarity is perhaps not the best term as it may simply be signal for one direction and no signal for the other. 90011 90018 90002 In addition to step / dir signals, the motor drive accepts DC power, and, in the case of servos, it accepts the encoder signal as well. In exchange, it pumps out power to the motor in such a way as to control its motion. 90004 90021 DC Power Supply (Not Shown) 90022 90002 The photo above did not show a DC power supply because the motor drives used are capable of accepting AC.That’s very convenient, but not always the case. You may need to purchase or build a DC power supply to provide power to your motor drives. 90004 90002 One of the first CNC Controllers I built used this DC Power Supply: 90004 90002 90193 90004 90021 Contactors 90022 90002 90198 Contactor 90199 is a fancy name for a relay capable of being used for higher voltages. In this case, most contactors are used to switch AC, for example to control a coolant pump. Your breakout board typically supplies a 5V DC signal.The Contactor’s job is to turn on (or off if normally closed) AC power when the 5V signal is on and turn it back off when the 5V signal goes away. 90004 90021 VFD: Variable Frequency Drive 90022 90002 90204 90004 90002 Powering and controlling a CNC Spindle is a job for a Variable Frequency Drive, abbreviated VFD. 90004 90002 Choosing and programming a VFD is a complex process that we can not go into here. For starters, you’ll want to make sure your VFD has enough power to run your spindle motor.There are a number of different kinds of VFD, but the best bang for the buck comes from something called a «90198 Sensorless Vector Drive 90199.» 90004 90019 Choosing the Best CNC Controller for Your CNC Machine 90020 90002 Choosing the Best CNC Controller for your CNC Machine is a matter of balancing some important trade-offs: 90004 90002 90217 90004 90002 Trade-Offs when choosing the best CNC Controller … 90004 90002 The trade-offs boil down to all-out performance versus ease-of-success.A simple turnkey kit that has everything you need is pretty easy to get running. But, it may sacrifice some all-out performance relative to carefully cherry-picking the very best of each component for your application. 90004 90002 Ask yourself where you skill set and interests lie. It will take longer and very likely cost more to get that all-out solution up and running reliably. It will also take a lot more skills. 90004 90002 Are you good at diagnosing problems in electrical circuits? Can you read through all the spec sheets and properly determine which components are compatible with one another? Do you enjoy all that? 90004 90002 If the answer is «Yes» to those questions, you’re in a better position to try all the «bleeding» edge (i.e. leading edge) goodies in your project. If the answer is «No», look for a proven kit that has everything you need and a large community of folks you can turn to with questions. 90004 90021 Market Share of Different CNC Controllers 90022 90002 Speaking of community, I think they’re critically important to the success of DIY projects. 90004 90002 I’ve been on that Bleeding Edge where nobody can help or answer questions and it can get lonely. These days, I prefer to choose products that have a decent-sized community.I like to see evidence that others have already accomplished what I’m looking for with the components I’m considering before I take the leap. 90004 90002 You’ll find you can get 80% of the performance with only 20% of the pain if you take that approach. 90004 90002 To have a decent community, products need a lot of users. You can learn more about the market share of various controls from our CNC Controller surveys: 90004 90021 [CNC Surveys] 90022 .90000 10 Features Pros Have that Hobby CNC Controllers Dont 90001 90002 90003 Hobby CNC Controllers have gotten to where they’re quite powerful. I recently saw an article on a single chip CNC controller-no need for a PC, just add a few outboard parts and it drives the stepper motors, provides an LCD screen UI, and quite a lot more. Amazing stuff, and it’s only going to keep getting better over time. Despite their newfound power, there are a number of features that Pro CNC Controls have that most Hobby CNC Controllers do not.Here are 10 of them: 90004 90002 90006 1. Better Macros and Subprograms: Fanuc Macro B vs Mach4 vs LinuxCNC 90007 90004 90002 This is one of the biggest ones for me. The ability to program the g-code in Pro machines is quite a ways ahead of the Hobby Controllers such as Mach 3 or LinuxCNC. What’s specifically missing so far are branching structures-IF, GOTO, and WHILE loops. You can only do so much with #variables and subprograms without branching. Branching is the ability for the g-code to change what it will do based on outside inputs.90004 90002 90006 2. More and Better Canned Cycles 90007 90004 90002 This is another one that makes a big difference, particularly when programming lathes. Canned cycles like G71 on the lathe make it fairly easy to hand program even complex profiles quickly and without the need for CAM software. 90004 90002 90006 3. Rigid Tapping via Closed Loop to the Control 90007 90004 90002 There’s a lot of Holy War diatribe about whether or not there is Closed Loop all the way back to the Control when discussing such things as Mach4 versus LinuxCNC.I prefer to look at what specific features the user gets from Closed Loop rather than worrying about the theoretical implications, so I’m going to name a few here. First up is Rigid Tapping. In theory it should be pretty straightforward to get this into Hobby Controls given that they support an encoder for threading on lathes, but you do not see it very often. It’s not easy to do it right for one thing. 90004 90002 The acid test is rapid tapping into a blind hole. If there’s a mistake you either get too little of the hole threaded or the tap hits the bottom and usually breaks.It’s an unforgiving application. 90004 90002 90006 4. Increased Homing Accuracy via Closed Loop 90007 90004 90002 Another neat trick the Pros use is to tremendously increase the accuracy of Home Switches by tying them to the Encoders on each axis. The actual Home Switch only has to identify the neighborhood within 1 encoder revolution. The precise position can then be read from the encoder position to an accuracy that’s much higher than can be achieved with a simple Home Switch. 90004 90002 90006 5.Advanced Acceleration and Shape Control 90007 90004 90002 Acceleration is always a bit of a bugaboo for CNC machines. They can not accelerate to the commanded feedrate instantly nor stop on a dime. In fact, it is surprising how often they’re not going the speed you thought you’d programmed them to go because they’re busy trying to accelerate or decelerate to get there. We added some information to our G-Wizard Editor that tries to tell you what acceleration is doing to g-code program run times as well as what’s happening line by line.That’s extremely useful for cost estimating and for tuning up g-code part programs to run better. 90004 90002 The very best Controllers are all over the acceleration problem. They not only understand the acceleration capabilities of the machine, they also understand the actual shape of the acceleration curve. This can lead to a number of advantages including greater precision, smoother / faster speed changes, better surface finishes, and ultimately, shorter cycle times. They user this information together with Closed Loop Information and Lookahead Information about what the g-code will do next to try to anticipate and stay ahead of the game.They can provide capabilities like Automatic Corner Override, Advanced Contour Control, Advanced Feed Forward Control, and Advanced Acceleration Control. 90004 90002 If you’re doing 3D profiling or running a fancy HSM toolpath you will love having these features available from your Controller. 90004 90002 90006 6. Machine Compensation 90007 90004 90002 No mechanical device is perfect. No ballscrew is without at least some small amount of backlash, nor does every inch of the ballscrew thread advance with perfect precision.Sometimes a commanded move of an inch is 0.9996 inches while other times it may be 1.0003 inches. With the right software in your Controller, it can try to compensate for these issues. There’s Backlash and Pitch compensation for the aforementioned ballscrew problems. Add to that straightness compensation which adjusts for the fact that the axes of the machine are not completely orthogonal to one another. As you move a machine in X, it may change Y or Z some tiny amount. Another important source of error is addressed by Temperature Compensation.As your machine warms up, parts expand at different rates. On a hot day it may be one thing and then you fire it up in the winter before warm up and it is quite another. 90004 90002 Good controls can compensate for all of these things using a variety of techniques. They are calibrated periodically by a Ballbar or Laser Interferometer test to reset the compensation settings. Really fancy machines may even have glass scales similar to DRO scales that are continuously reading how much each axis actually moved and using that to update the Controller on what’s really going on.90004 90002 Some of this is available for Hobby Controllers-backlash compensation and leadscrew pitch compensation are the ones I am familiar with. But it’s done in a far simpler manner and Hobby Machines seldom get the precise calibration to dial in compensation that Pro machines do. 90004 90002 90006 7. Advanced Tool and Part Program Management 90007 90004 90002 Pro CNC Machines are often used for long part runs, so they have features to help manage Tools and Part Programs that are geared to that application.They’ll keep up with how long each tool in the changer has been in use, for example. On the part program side they can track program usage, verify version data, and organize programs in folders with extended descriptors. Really fancy controls can provide some front end menus for the operator that help make their job easier and give them options. For example, it is often convenient to be able to skip some parts of the program, for example when reworking parts that already have those features machined and just need to do the later work.90004 90002 90006 8. Tool Compensation 90007 90004 90002 I like to think of Tool Compensation as the Poor Man’s CAM, but it is so much more. Tool compensation is essentially the ability to program g-code for the tool centerline instead of the tool’s edge. The control will «move the tool over» by the right amount for the cut. When we specify our programs in this way, it is easier to write programs by hand, hence the «Poor Man’s CAM» nickname. But it also unlocks a lot of power for the Shop Floor to make changes using wear offsets without having to change the part program’s g-code.90004 90002 Suppose you run a part and inspect it. Some of the features are out of tolerance a little bit. Compensating for that without tool compensation likely means you’re going to have to adjust it at the CADCAM level-a complicated and slow process. But, if your part program uses Tool Compensation, you can simply dial in another wear offset and suddenly your part is right on. Professionals constantly use this capability to increase the precision of their parts and to make minor adjustments where it just would not be worth it to go back through a CADCAM cycle.90004 90002 Wait a minute, you’re saying-Hobby Controllers have this feature. Yes, sort of, but there are so many reports of bugs in the feature that I do not know of very many Hobby CNC’ers that are successfuly using the feature very often. You have to use it just right or it will not work for you, and often the failures are mysterious and can even lead to machine crashes. Tormach even did an article series in Digital Machinist about how to get it to work. They have quite a few caveats in the operator manual for the PCNC 1100 mill suggesting not to use compensation in cases such as: 90004 90002 — Subroutine programming 90004 90002 — Canned cycles 90004 90002 — Macro programming 90004 90002 — Polar mode 90004 90002 — With run from here function 90004 90002 — With multiple work offsets 90004 90002 Those are some pretty serious limitations.If you’re running a Hobby Controller and have gotten Tool Comp to work, good on you. For most, there’s just too many gotchas. One could argue that stability in general has been more of a problem for Hobby Controllers than Pro Controllers. I will say that while Mach4 on my mill has had a number of bugs off and on, LinuxCNC on my Tormach Lathe has been solid so far. The Tormach guys really gave it a wringing out. 90004 90002 90006 9. Dedicated Control Panel 90007 90004 90002 First let me say that it is entirely possible to build a very nice dedicated control panel for a Hobby CNC Controller.I’ve got a whole page with photos of CNC Control Panels for those who want inspiration. But once again, they’re not very common on Hobby Controllers whereas they are completely the norm on Pro Controls. The reason is simple, these panels are rugged enough for the Shop Floor and they can be significantly more productive for machine operators than trying to use a keyboard and mouse. 90004 90002 90006 10. Drip Feeding for Remote Control 90007 90004 90002 This is another of my favorite Pro-features because it enables you to «remote control» the machine.Essentially, drip feed means giving the CNC Machine a little bit of g-code at a time. It executes that g-code and then comes back for more. The code is normally delivered via RS-232 serial cable, but there are a lot of other options for newer machines. Drip Feed was originally invented as a way around the memory limitations of early CNC Controls. They just could not hold very large programs so drip feed gave them the g-code a little bit at a time. It’s still used quite often for that purpose, but increasingly it is also used to automate and monitor the deliver of g-code to machines.Using this approach helps guarantee the correct version of the g-code is being executed, it can gather information from the machine about what it’s doing to use in reporting and optimization, and it can facilitate complex «Lights Out» automated operation. 90004 90093 Bonus: 4 Things Hobby Controllers do that Pros Do not 90094 90002 Okay Hobbyists, I know you’re smarting a bit over that list. Some of it you’re pretty sure you can tackle and some of it you just do not care about. There’s also some things Hobby Controllers do that the Pros do not that are very cool, so let’s talk about those for a minute.90004 90002 90006 1. Cost 90007 90004 90002 There’s no getting around it-Pro Controllers are expensive. It’s so expensive to add a name brand controller to a machine that many companies have gone to the expense of creating their own controls to keep their individual machine cost down. I had one manufacturer tell me the difference in cost between their control and say a Fanuc was thousands of dollars and they had come to regard their control as being better. Hobby Controllers are very cheap-sometimes free if you have an old PC laying around.LinuxCNC is open source software, for example. Mach4 is not very expensive either. 90004 90002 90006 2. Memory and LAN Connectivity 90007 90004 90002 These are options on the Pro Controls but they’re so much more expensive that a lot of machines have no LAN connection and not as much RAM memory as they would like. With proprietary equipment there is a serious markup. I remember one time when I was VP of Engineering for Borland looking into 1 GB Ethernet cards for our testing lab. Test results were coming too slowly because the LAN was congested.The boards were $ 99 at Fry’s so I came running back to tell the Lab manager that we could upgrade. «What about our Sun Workstations?» was the response. It seems the exact same 1 GB LAN card for the Sun (presumably with just a little different BIOS, but it was easy to see it was an identical card) was over $ 1000! 90004 90002 So it is with Pro CNC Controllers. Memory, LAN connection, and other goodies have a very high markup. On the Hobby Controller side we take this stuff for granted because it’s cheap and abundant on PC’s.90004 90002 90006 3. Modern UI 90007 90004 90002 Hobby Controllers run on Windows, so they have a Consumer-Grade User Interface. That can be a lot slicker than what many Pro CNC Controllers provide, some of which looks like a bad day on a DOS machine we have not seen in so many years we hardly can remember it. This is not true of all Pro Controllers, as many are based on Windows too. But it sure seems like there are lots of truly ugly Controller UI’s out there. 90004 90002 90006 4. Customizability 90007 90004 90002 This is another one where Hobby Controllers excel.It’s very easy to customize the software so it runs the way you’d like it to. There are some really nice screen sets out there for Mach4, and LinuxCNC is Open Source so anything about it can be customized. This means there are a lot more 3rd party products out there like the Mach Standard Mill screen set. 90004 90002 Slick add-ons for probing and so on are common. I remember visiting a friend’s shop who had just gotten in a fancy Heidenhain probe set up. There was no UI for it on his Fanuc control because there’s no provision for custom UI.He had to wade through something like 1400 custom subprograms that came (at extra cost) with the probe and run them by hand to perform various probing tasks. 90004 90002 There are exceptions to this. Datron has added a very nice customization layer to their G-Code control, for example. 90004 90093 Conclusions 90094 90002 Pro CNC Machines are not going to be switching to Hobby CNC Controllers any time soon-there’s too much that they need that the Hobby Controllers lack. I have not even touched on the whole topic of hardware control of motion, which can be added to Hobby Controllers, but is still not as common as on Pro Equipment.90004 90002 On the other hand, Hobby Controllers keep getting more powerful. A lot of the new work is on the low end-providing the basic support that a 3D Printer or lower end CNC Router needs to operate. As mentioned, we even have single chip solutions for such machines now. The next step will be adding more g-code features to those basic Controllers. The fact that many of these Hobby Controllers are Open Sourced makes it easier for more people to contribute improvements. If you wanted to add full Fanuc Macro B support to LinuxCNC, it’s very doable, for example.90004 90002 I hope we see lots of these features I’ve described finding their way into Hobby Contollers soon. The next 2 to 5 years should be an exciting time in the industry. If at some point they become good enough to start challenging the Pros, that’ll be interesting too as they certainly do have a cost advantage. 90004 90002 90006 Join 100,000+ CNC’ers! 90007 Get our latest blog posts delivered straight to your email inbox once a week for free. Plus, we’ll give you access to some great CNC reference materials including: 90004.90000 90001 CENTROID CNC controls, CNC Milling Machines, CNC Lathes, CNC Routers, 5 Axis CNC Cylinder Head Porting Machines, CNC Retrofits. Digitizing, Automatic Tool Changers, Probes, CNC Rotary Tables, Conversational Programming, Auto Tool Measurement. 90002 90003 90004 90005 90006 90007 90003 90004 Cost 90005 90004 $ 299 w / Centroid Free CNC software. 90012 add $ 139 w / Centroid Pro software 90012 add $ 399 w / Centroid Digitizing Bundle 90005 90004 $ 2249 90012 Centroid CNC software included 90005 90004 $ 1595 90012 Centroid CNC software included 90005 90007 90003 90004 Maximum number of Axes 90005 90004 4 90005 90004 6 90005 90004 8 90005 90007 90003 90004 Compatible with Mills, Lathes, Routers 90012 and other specialty machines 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 AC Servo Motor / Drive compatible 90005 90036 Yes, (Step and Direction) 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 Yes, Position / Precision & Velocity modes 90005 90007 90003 90004 DC Servo Motor / Drive compatible 90005 90036 Yes, (Step and Direction) 90005 90036 Yes, up to 15 amps (continuous) per axis 90005 90036 Yes, using the Centroid AC / DC drive up to 60 amps per axis.90005 90007 90003 90004 Stepper Motor / Drive compatible 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 No 90005 90007 90003 90004 True Closed Loop Operation 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Built in Motion Control CPU 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Built in DC servo motor amplifier 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 No 90005 90007 90003 90004 Built in PLC 90005 90036 Yes 8 In, 8 Out (two relay) 90005 90036 Yes, 16 In, 9 relay out 90005 90036 Yes, 16 In, 9 relay out 90005 90007 90003 90004 Optically Isolated Inputs 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Fused Relay Outputs 90005 90036 No, installer adds fuse 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 On board relay output types 90005 90036 2 SPST 90005 90036 7 SPST and 2 SPDT 90005 90036 7 SPST and 2 SPDT 90005 90007 90003 90004 Built-in Analog spindle control output 90005 90036 Yes 0-10 vdc, 12 bit 90005 90036 Yes, 0-10, + -10, 0-5, + -5 12 bit 90005 90036 Yes, 0-10, + -10, 0-5, + -5 16 bit 90005 90007 90003 90004 Runs on Centroid Mill 90012 or Lathe CNC software 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Base Centroid CNC software included with CNC control board price 90005 90036 Centroid CNC12 «Free» CNC software Mill and Lathe 90005 90036 Centroid CNC11 software Mill and Lathe 90005 90036 Centroid CNC11 CNC software Mill and Lathe 90005 90007 90003 90004 Centroid CNC Software options 90005 90004 Centroid Mill «Pro» CNC software $ 139 90012 Centroid Lathe «Pro» CNC software $ 139 90012 Centroid «Digitizing Bundle» CNC software $ 399 90005 90004 Rigid Tapping, CSR, Scale Feed back for servo positioning, C axis, Axis pairing, 5 axis simultaneous, Digitizing, Probing, Automatic Tool Height measurement, BCD Tool changer output, Unlimited part program size, Extended Work coordinate systems.90005 90004 Rigid Tapping, CSR, Scale Feed back for servo positioning, C axis, Axis pairing, 5 axis simultaneous, Digitizing, Probing, Automatic Tool Height measurement, BCD Tool changer output, Unlimited part program size, Extended Work coordinate systems. 90005 90007 90003 90004 Uses Standard G and M codes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Probing and Digitizing compatible 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Compression and Rigid Tapping Compatible 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Automatic Tool Measurement Compatible 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Spindle Encoder feedback, w / RPM display 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Lathe Constant Surface Speed ​​90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Lathe Threading 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Compatible with Windows 10 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Centroid Touch Screen Operator Control Panel Compatible 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Centroid Operator Control Panel Hardware Compatible 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Xkeys & Xbox Controller / Panel Compatible 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Centroid CNC Console Compatible 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Keyboard Jogging and controls compatible 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Encoder Expansion Board Compatible 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 PLC Expansion Board Compatible 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Analog IN / OUT Expansion Board Compatible 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Hi performance MPG connector 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Wireless USB MPG Compatible 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 CNC Configuration Wizard 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 TBA 90005 90036 TBA 90005 90007 90003 90004 Built in Encoder ports 90005 90036 1 90005 90036 6 (4 for motor use, 2 spares) 90005 90036 6 (4 for motor use, 2 spares) 90005 90007 90003 90004 Maximum Inputs and Outputs 90005 90036 8 In / 8 Out 90005 90036 272 In / 272 Out 90005 90036 272 In / 272 Out 90005 90007 90003 90004 Maximum # of Encoder connections 90005 90036 1 90005 90036 12 90005 90036 12 90005 90007 90003 90004 Maximum # of Analog outputs 90005 90036 1 90005 90036 17 90005 90036 17 90005 90007 90003 90004 Velocity Mode 90005 90036 No, (Step and Direction only) 90005 90036 No, (Closed Loop Torque Mode) 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Position Mode 90005 90036 No, (Step and Direction only) 90005 90036 No, (Closed Loop Torque Mode) 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Real Time Hardware Based Step and Direction Output 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 No 90005 90007 90003 90004 Axis Motor Tuning 90005 90036 Yes, Accell / Decell 90005 90036 Yes, Built in Tuning Scope for PID Tuning 90005 90036 Yes, Built in Tuning Scope for PID Tuning 90005 90007 90003 90004 Gecko Drive Compatible 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 No 90005 90007 90003 90004 Yaskawa, Delta, Teknic, DMM, Estun, Teco compatible 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 No 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Motion control off-loaded from CNC PC CPU 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 G code Smoothing 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Paired Axis capability 90005 90036 Yes, hardware and software techniques 90005 90036 Yes, Software Pairing 90005 90036 Yes, hardware and software techinques 90005 90007 90003 90004 DIY Kits available 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Any axis can be Linear of Rotary Axis 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Rotary Table Compatible 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Build your own compatible CNC PC 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Factory CNCPC with preloaded CNC software available for purchase 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Runs on household 110 VAC power 90012 (USA market 110 VAC, World 220-240 VAC) 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Spindle Motor can run on single phase 220-240 VAC 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Designed and Made in USA 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90003 90004 Runs on USA and International Power 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90036 Yes 90005 90007 90597.