I have had my 3Dtek Heavy Mill CNC for around a year I suppose, and in that year I have learned a few important things along the way. As the 3Dtek CNC is a kit, you can select things like the electronics package and spindle etc. I chose the cheapest option for the electronics being the GRBL All in One (AIO). This choice for me really didn't work out well in terms of dependability. On this machine the GRBL AIO struggled to provide the current and signals to the Stepper Motors and as a result, wrecked many jobs and I spent a heap of time trying to work through what went wrong. The GRBL AIO is just underpowered for my machine and work demands. Another factor is that the GRBL AIO struggled in the hot weather and I just could not depend on the CNC. This CNC machine needed a much more powerful and dependable Controller coupled with more powerful Micro-step Drivers to make it useful again. I had talks with Ben from 3Dtek.xyz and Jatinder from MASSO CNC Controllers. Jatinder and Ben worked out the type of work I wanted to do and came up with the system that I installed on this machine. Installing the MASSO was pretty straight forward as MASSO has excellent installation documentation and very helpful videos. When I had questions I either got the answer from the MASSO forum, or I made a call to MASSO and got the answer straight away. I make the point in the video that support is critical for any small business or DIYer and I cannot praise both MASSO and 3Dtek enough for the support and quality of product. Ok here is what I did in brief;
Removed the GRBL AIO, AXIS Limit switches, 24 Volt Power Supply.
Removed the Connector Plugs to the Stepper Motors and created a solid joint (Soldered) to eliminate any chance for a loose connection.
Installed the MASSO CNC Controller, 48 Volt power supply for the Microstep Drivers. Installed Qty 5 DM 542 Microstep Drivers (One extra for later) a 12 Volt to 5 Volt power supply and Homing Sensors, two for the from of the Y Axis, One for the Z (Top) and one for the X on the LHS. These are critical for homing and setting up soft travel limits.
The MASSO CNC Controller, 5 Volt Homing Sensors step down and Electronics Enclosure Fan are powered from the 12 Volt Power Supply. Microstep Drivers are powered from the 48 Volt Power Supply.
In the video I showed I had some trouble with the Z Axis acceleration being set too high. Once I adjusted this everything went perfectly. I hope this video and information is of help.
Thanks for watching - Regards Scott Turner - Forme Industrious
Links to:
MASSO - masso.com.au
3Dtek.xyz - 3dtek.xyz
CNC Bits - Adams Bits - endmill.com.au