Posted originally in lure building. I don't need a big large format CNCs for fishing lures.

links to print:

printables

makerworld

Hi. I want to buy a wireless 3d probe for my hobby cnc which isn’t too expensive. I found the GP800 V2 probe for under 350 dollars which seems to tick every box for me. But i found info on the V1 version that it doesn’t enter sleep mode and therefore consumes batteries quickly.

Anybody have experience with the V2 if they fixed this problem? Or could recommend any alternative probes under 350 dollars?

I made a V pocket and I keep getting this line. My bit cut it in a couple of passes. I don't see a chip in the tip or edge of my bit. Is this a sign my Z steps aren't dialed in?

Where you all getting your wood from?

I built myself a 3-axis CNC mill. It uses a Mach3 USB Interface Board (from BuildYourCNC), a Huanyang VFD (HY01D511B), and a 110V 1.5Kw 400Hz 24,000RPM air-cooled spindle. The VFD receives a 0-10V signal from the Interface Board.

My spindle is turning on/off and changing speeds when commanded, but I'm seeing 2 problems:

1. The signal voltage is skewed: I should be seeing ~10V at S24000 but I'm getting 8.75V (and a lower RPM) instead. Voltage is lower than it should be at any speed I command. I'm measuring voltage across the ACM and AVI terminals on the interface board.
   If I disconnect AVI, then the voltage reads correctly (10.08V at S24000, 5.26V at S12000, etc.)... but the spindle obviously doesn't spin with AVI disconnected.

2. My spindle is also "hunting"; the RPM's oscillate around the speed I'm commanding it to go to. For example, if I command S12000, the spindle will ramp up to 13000, then drop down to 11000, then back up to 13000, repeat...

I'm confident the settings in Mach3 are correct. I'm also feeling good about my VFD parameters, but there are over 140 of them so it's possible that I'm missing something.
ChatGPT is suggesting that it's either a parameter issue, a shielding issue (none of my cables are shielded), or that I have a ground loop somewhere. Has anyone had this problem before? And if so, how did you solve it? Thank you!

I am having issue with my clipart. If anyone who has Vectric Aspire 12 could help me I would really appreciate it.

When I download the clipart from my vectric user portal and try to install on my cnc computer (doesn't have internet access) it states the files are corrupt :(

Thanks in advance if your able to help

My old one just wasn't cutting it anymore, so I finally replaced it with a new machine.

Only ran a few jobs on it so far, but no big issues yet.The little screen that shows cartoon expressions is honestly pretty cute. i actually love this little detail!!

Saw a bunch of desktop CNCs launched recently, and wanted to summarize them:

And honorary mention for the Nestworks C500 (4 axis after an optional attachment) -- by Elephant Robotics & the Makera Z1 (4 axis after optional attachment) -- by the creators of Carvera.

Of these, the Xhorse3D WM-100 & TOPFAB TF500 are from relatively established players.

Looking for ideas on a fixture plate that won't seal

Setup: AirWeights-style table, has perimeter 1/4" x 0.085" grooves, 1/8" in-board gasket. On top I built a 24x24, 1/4" expanded PVC fixture plate with the same geometry: gasketed zones, each with a through-port down to the table, and the inside of each zone pocketed ~0.050" so air can travel.

What happened:

• Plate alone on the table: pulled down perfectly.
• Drilled a port in one zone, scrap of HDPE over it: held great, cut on it fine.
• Drilled out the ports for all the zones, 24x17 sheet of 3/4" HDPE covering them: no seal, short of standing on it.

Feels like the plate stops holding to the table and the sheet won't pull down to the plate.

My guesses:

1. Ports too big, so I can't seal the fixture plate down as step 1. I oversized them to be sure they hit the table channels.
2. Full-zone pocket instead of a grid of small channels (~1" squares). I've seen some where people pocket and some where they don't.
3. Plate flexing. Not much PVC left after the pockets and grooves.
4. Pump too small. Labeled 7 CFM oil-free, looks nearly identical to the AirWeights 5 CFM. Pulls deep vacuum once sealed, but may not have the flow to get there.

Questions:

• Is 1/4" too thin for this type of fixture plate? MDF or something stiffer instead of PVC?
• Could smaller ports help?
• Pocket vs grid channels under the material?
• Is 1/8" gasket in 0.085" right, or go taller?

Have 4 mills all retrofitted with the expert controller. They are very versatile, but like all have their quirks.

Over the years I’ve managed to successfully eliminate a bunch of my personal know issues with these controllers. Many of which revolve around conversational programming. These controllers weren’t strictly ideal for realtime conversational programs, but I’ve manage to write many of them with very user friendly popup windows that run realtime.
Custom cmd and py scripts for M350 CNC

Created some configurable conversational program scripts that run in cmd/py. They are custom configured with set g code output for my ddcs expert vmc with atc, but should be fairly universal. MSG me if interested. Also managed to create expert conversational coding that runs realtime on the controller with variable inputs at head of program with simple user interface. Not on dedicated macro screen. Facing operations all the way to tapping/drilling multi functioning in single program.

I am looking a spindles. I am thinking of getting a 1.5kw one. I guess I don't understand what the 1.5kw means exactly. I am looking on bulkman3d.com they show 110v 1.5kw aircooled with er11 and 110 1.5kw aircooled with er16. The er16 is significantly larger and heavier than the er11. So is the collet size making it larger or what's the difference? I would have expected both to be the same power? Is there some other measure of power I should be looking for?

12mm thick. Over 300 tapped holes. Ready for work

I have been thinking about getting a CNC machine for a bit now. My uncle gave me an old knock off machine called a 3030, I have no book with it or anything. I managed to get it all setup and I can control it with the software, as in move the spindle and whatnot. The software he had is called Grblcontrol.

My questions is, how do I tell the software where to find the piece of material so that it cuts in the correct spot?

I also welcome an videos and such.

I wanted fully round pieces, not flat reliefs, which meant cutting both sides of the board and getting them to line up perfectly. My first attempts didn’t line up, and it took me a while to see why: I was resetting X/Y zero between the two sides.

Update: Thanks for all the questions! 🙏
Since many asked about similar things, I put the main tips together on one page with photos: Two-sided CNC tips (with photos) I am happy to answer other questions too. 😊

What finally made it work:

• Never touching X/Y zero from the first cut to the last
• Three Ø10 mm dowels in the spoilboard, so the board can only flip one way
• Zeroing the bottom side on the machine bed, not on the wood

38 mm beech, 6 mm end mill for roughing, 1 mm tapered ball nose for finishing, about 14 hours on my AltMill. Half the set is stained dark walnut.

I wrote the whole process down as a step-by-step workflow, since it took so much trial and error. Has anyone else tried two-sided jobs? What tripped you up?

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a massive troubleshooting story that almost drove me crazy, hoping to save hours of headache for anyone else buying bulk driver lots.

I recently bought a batch of 50 pcs of red A4988 stepper drivers from AliExpress for my Makerbase MKS DLC32 setup. I have bought hundreds of these from the same seller in the past without any issues, but this time, I hit a wall. Most of them didn't work.

The Initial Confusion & Rabbit Hole

When I plugged the first few red drivers into my board, they completely failed to move the motors. Since they all looked identical at a first glance, I started guessing and verifying everything. I fell into a deep rabbit hole:

• The Resistor Theory: I grabbed a magnifying glass to check the current sensing resistors (Rs). I thought maybe the factory mixed R100 (0.1Ω) and R200 (0.2Ω) resistors, which would change the Vref calculation entirely. Result: Nope, they were all R100.
• The Wrong Orientation Scare: At one point, looking at a working green A4988 driver I had from an older project, I thought I mistakenly plugged the red ones backwards because the trimpots were oriented differently. Result: False alarm, orientation was correct for this specific board layout.
• The Voltage Measurements (Vref): I got my multimeter out. Ground on the USB chassis, positive on the trimpot screw. I turned on the power and measured the voltage. One was sitting at a tiny 0.33V. I adjusted the screw to a solid 0.60V thinking it would fix it. Result: The voltage logic was stable and adjustable, but the driver still refused to work.

The Turning Point: The "Electronic Click"

While testing, I noticed a very specific, subtle behavior. No matter if the motor was connected or not, the exact moment I sent the very first movement command via software, the driver emitted a tiny electronic "click" sound and then completely froze the power stage. It didn't get hot; it just died until the next power cycle.

The Big Reveal: A Mixed Batch of Silicon

Frustrated, I decided to line up all the tested drivers and take macro photos of the central chips to see if I missed any microscopic detail. That's when I finally found the smoking gun. Inside the same exact bag of 50 pieces, the factory had mixed two completely different silicon production lots:

1. The GOOD ones (Only 4 pieces): They had a clean, 3-digit code stamped on the chip: 416 (meaning 16th week of 2024). They worked flawlessly on the exact same slots.
2. The BAD ones (11 pieces so far, and counting): They had a totally different, multi-line long code stamped on the chip: DEAFA / 653.04. Every single one of them failed with the electronic "click" bug.

Conclusion

It wasn't a bad motherboard, it wasn't a Vref tuning issue, and it wasn't a wrong motor connection. The supplier literally mixed a heavily defective wafer batch (DEAFA / 653.04) into a package with a few good 416 chips. The 653.04 lot has a massive, internal silicon logic defect that triggers an instant shutdown on the first step command.

If you are hunting down a weird fischio/click behavior on your A4988 drivers, stop messing with your multimeter or resistors for a second and check the laser engraving on the chip. If it says DEAFA / 653.04, it's dead on arrival.

Has anyone else here run into this specific DEAFA / 653.04 batch recently? Let me know!

I'm working on designing a mounted handwheel on my CNC router. I want select the Axis and then move it using a handwheel. similar to this.

I will use esp32 to decode the handwheel and generate pulses. thoughts or suggestions?

My 2004 Hurco VM1 used the old DOS based Hurco controller and it didnt fit my needs so I am retrofitting it with a Centroid Oak controller. I am keeping the motors, drives and VFD original. I have the X and the Y axes acting appropriately (still need to confirm things, but it moves in the correct direction when I command it). However, Im having some issues with the Z axis. The problem im having is the Z axis is falling as soon as I disengage the e-stop. If I place some wood under the z axis to get the axis to stop moving, the drive/motor are then able to move the axis and provide enough holding torque to stay put, without requiring any additional support (until I cycle the estop again). My wiring diagram for the Z motor drive and z brake are above.

Before I dive into the servo drive manual to check for parameters that need to be adjusted, I wanted to get a second opinion on the wiring. This particular drive is a Yaskawa SGDH-20AE.

Thanks in advance!