D3D CNC Circuit Mill Build Instructions
Contents
Equipment List
See D3D Circuit Mill Workshop Equipment List
First Run
For the first run - we must set up the electronics:
- Power to the 12V and 48V power supply
- Power to the RAMPS board
- Signal to relay
- USB wire to computer
- Wire up the height probe
- Test the solenoid relay - paying attention to high side vs low side switching
- Split the X motion to 2 steppers
- Correct the Direction of Motion
Direction of Motion Overview
The orientation of the belt peg determines whether an axis will move in one or the opposite direction when the stepper motor spins in one direction.
Builds involving the Universal Axis used to involve careful attention to the correct orientation of the belt peg hole. We have removed this requirement after 2 build workshops of 2017, because in one workshop, only 1 of 12 build groups got the orientation correct. This happened even when the build participants had a real-life model of the finished 3D printer to look at. Nonetheless, people spent hours correcting the orientation - still to attain the poor results of 1 in 12.
The point is that it is much easier to correct for belt peg orientation on the RAMPS controller - simply by reversing the stepper motor plug on the RAMPS board.
Direction of Motion Correction
There is a methodical way to correct the motion of the 6 axes. The easiest way is to verify each stepper motor one by one. This allows for disambiguation between one or the other motor: since each axis is driver by 2 steppers - it is possible that only one is working and not the other, so we should check that each works. Further, to avoid stressing the mechanical system, it is useful to avoid running 2 motors in the opposite direction. It is not obvious which direction an axis will move - due to motor orientation and their mirroring, and location of the belt peg. For this reason, the easiest and most straightforward way to verify is by running only one motor at a time.
- Start with X. Plug in first motor. Move it in control software. If the direction of motion is not correct, reverse the plug on the controller board. Otherwise, move on to the second x motor. Do not unplug cables from the controller - unplug cables only at the poka-yoke motor.
- Unplug X1 at the motor side. Plug in X2. Move X2 in control software. If correct, move on, otherwise, reverse the plug at the controller. If correct, plug in X1 and X2. Run the X axis with both motors.
- Do the same procedure for Y, then Z, motors. Keep motors plugged in after they are tested. Take a picture of the ctonroller showing the final plug orientation so you have that for your records.
