Build Thread Mach3 to Acorn

[Leo Voisine]

I hope this is the correct place for a build thread. If not please advise.

First off - I am in no way experiences or even knowledgable about the electronics. I have very limited and very basic knowledge about looking at electrical schematics. I am a manufacturing engineer with 40 + years in manufacturing and working with a lot of different CNC machines.

Wires scare me (not really). But I can learn.

My machine is a Chinese 1300 x 1300 x 254 router all welded steel -very- solid. Water cooled spindle. Yako drives.

Currently I am using Mach3 with a USB connected XHC motion control card.

Goals - I want a more reliable way to get the best bang out of my sold rigid chinese machine. I also want to be able to drive external devices like air mist, air blast, lights, and stuff I have not thought of yet, via M code or dial or switch.

I bought the Acorn with a mill license ( starting to think I should have bought router license)
I also bought tool touch, wireless pendant and probing.

I bought Beeline NUC, anc acer touch screen monitor.

It's gonna be a whole new machine.

As time goes on I can post pics and videos.

I have a youtube channel and if you are interested you can see me and my shop and some stuff I do
leosworkshoppe

I have started to go through the installation manual and doing some bench testing

Where I am at in the manual is bench testing on drive axis.
As I said earlier I really don't know what I am doing so I am trying to learn about the stepperonline motor drive and a probotix nema 23 stepper.
This is just for learning, as my machine has BIG YAKO drives and NEMA 34 steppers also YAKO

I will grab some pics of my machine, but here is a walk around of my machine just after I got it.



So onto the upgrade >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[Leo Voisine]

I have a question

I am just bench testing, so the drive and the stepper is just stuff I have laying around

Drive -- stepperonline

DM542T_V4.0.pdf

(861.28 KiB) Downloaded 13 times

Stepper -

HT23-280-8.pdf

(75.23 KiB) Downloaded 11 times

On the stepper it is listed as 200 steps per rev --- in the Centroid wizard I cannot set less that 1600 steps per rev.

I am most likely NOT doing this correctly

I can spin the stepper via the "X" axis with the "X" axis jog on the centroid screen

I am not sure about the steps per rev.

[ShawnM]

Since you are just testing with these motors set the drive DIP switches AND Acorn to 1600 steps per rev. Set your overall turns ratio to 5 for now while you test. You can calculate the overall turns ratio later once everything is moving. Set the current on the drive to match the motor but it's not real important since you will have no load on these motors.

[Allin1Chris]

As shawnM mentioned, i would set the drive to 1600 Pulses/Rev, Acorn should match this. Most if not all Stepper motors are only 200 steps/rev, the drives perform "microsteps" to acheive higher "Steps per revolution".

Match the acorn Steps/Rev to the setting of the drive.

[Leo Voisine]

OK - I will set my bench test driver and centroid to 1600. Later on before I install Acorn into my machine I will need to look at my YAKO setup

Now I am looking at the limit switches. I need to do more learning here.

Currently on my machine the limit switches are NPN and NO
I will change them to NPN NC

I need to buy some switches.

Soo I need to know a little more.
Limit Switches
Home switches

I don't currently have different switches - only the 3 for "X" "Y" and "Z"
They do both - home AND limit.

I am thinking I need to have 6 switches
3 limit
3 homing

Any recommendations on, good, but not too expensive "limit" and "home" switches

[cnckeith]

related link to read.

https://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=1801

https://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=8649

[cnckeith]

OK - I will set my bench test driver and centroid to 1600. Later on before I install Acorn into my machine I will need to look at my YAKO setup

Now I am looking at the limit switches. I need to do more learning here.

Currently on my machine the limit switches are NPN and NO
I will change them to NPN NC

I need to buy some switches.

Soo I need to know a little more.
Limit Switches
Home switches

I don't currently have different switches - only the 3 for "X" "Y" and "Z"
They do both - home AND limit.

I am thinking I need to have 6 switches
3 limit
3 homing

Any recommendations on, good, but not too expensive "limit" and "home" switches

i wouldn't bother with the limit switches.

https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... _gear.html

[ShawnM]

I don't currently have different switches - only the 3 for "X" "Y" and "Z"
They do both - home AND limit.

I am thinking I need to have 6 switches
3 limit
3 homing

Any recommendations on, good, but not too expensive "limit" and "home" switches

Like Keith said, don't bother adding more.

You only need 3 home switches like you have and Acorn will see them as home and limit switches. Please dont waste your time and money adding 3 more, they simply aren't needed. You can setup your "soft" travel limits in Acorn once you are dialed in and up and running. It'll stop for you at the far end of travel with no switches. It's just that smart.

The NO ones you have will work but I'm glad you are swapping them out for NC switches. These are safer and simply work better. And yes they must be NPN. You can get some on Amazon for a great price. I've had a machine similar to yours a few years back and these NPN switches linked below work fine. This is a 5 pack but you only need 3 so look around on Amazon for a 3 pack. Or buy these and have a couple of backups if you ever need them.

https://www.amazon.com/Lzcdelyxiao-Indu ... r=8-5&th=1

[Leo Voisine]

As I am setting up Acorn I am learning a lot. I am liking Acorn a lot.

I just set up the wireless pendant - easy - sweet

I am missing the handwheel piece that screws into the handwheel. That is the piece that you use your fingers to rotate the handwheel. I know I had it when I opened the package - but I have lost it.

Is there anywhere I can aquire that small piece.

[Sword]

Do you have or know anyone that has a 3D printer?