A Sneak Peek at the X-Controller
A while back we we did a blog post about a powerful TB6600 Stepper driver shield and asked you if we should “Carry it or Bury it”. We got a huge positive response, so we decided to move forward with the project.
We were concerned that the project relied heavily on a third party product. We were not able to find a supplier with whom we were fully comfortable. Additionally, most of the driver boards were designed for use with a PC parallel port, had a lot of unneeded hardware, and had awkward form factors. Therefore, we decided to custom design our own.
Once we had complete control of the design, we created the ultimate Grbl based, high power 3d carving controller, the X-Controller. This is a complete, high power 3d carving motion control system in a strong, compact chassis.
Functional X-Controller in a 3d Printed and laser cut prototype housing.
|
Stepper Drivers
The X-Controller uses powerful TB6600 stepper driver chips. These are actively cooled with a fan and large heatsink. You can run them up to 4 amps/phase continuously without any risk of overheating. The X-Controller is designed for 3-axis systems, but it includes two Y axis drivers. This feature supports machines that have two Y motors like the X-Carve. Each axis can be set up for full step mode to 1/16th microstepping.
We have also implemented a hardware-based idle current reduction feature that works independently for each axis. This reduces the current on any axis shortly after it stops moving. This generally allows you to run a lot more current into each motor before it gets hot, especially on motors like the Z axis that spend much of their time idle. This feature can be overridden.
Powered By Grbl
This controller runs stock Grbl firmware, so it is compatible with Easel, Chilipeppr, Universal GCode Sender and other programs without any modifications. We voluntarily support the Grbl project with corporate sponsorship and payments for every installation we do.
Chassis
The chassis body is made from heavy gauge aluminum. The top and sides are thin aluminum panels. The chassis has anti-slip rubber feet. The feet can be removed to reveal bolt holes if you want to hard mount it. The power supply is mounted inside the chassis. All power goes through an E-Stop button, so it will turn off everything when pushed.
DC Spindle Speed Control
It has an integral DC spindle speed controller. The spindle speed control PWM signal is also brought out to an external terminal block for other types of speed control.
Wiring Interfaces
The external interfaces are designed to be as clean, easy and intuitive as possible. All connections are clearly labeled. No soldering or crimping is required. The connections are logically grouped on removeable terminal blocks. Each connection has its own location, so there is no doubling up on things like ground wires. Limit switches have integral noise filtering to reduce false readings.
- X, Y & Z Limit switches
- Z Probe. This can be used for auto Z zero.
- (2) Control signals. Can be used for AC spindles, vacuums, coolant systems, etc.
- Spindle PWM signal for external speed controllers
- Spindle+/- is an internal DC speed controller.
Accessories
We plan to also offer accessories for the X-Controller. The first one will be an AC accessory control box. This will allow you to control your AC spindle, vacuums and coolant systems.
Project Status
We have been working on this project for about three months. We have been running a fully-functional prototype for several weeks, and it works great. We got some big 570 oz/in motors to suck up as much current as possible. It makes the Z look a little ridiculous. The unit in the pictures is fully functional.
EDIT (the final X-Controller has buttons on the front this picture below is a prototype)
We ordered the tooling for the chassis about a month ago and should see samples within the week. If the samples check out, the next step is to move this into production. We hope to have them in stock ready to purchase at Inventables in six weeks.
Comments
I also don't see in the pictures the terminals for the Z-Depth probe.
Any ideas on the retail price yet?
Thanks.
but must say i like the idea very much
- The power supply is built in
- The terminal that is unlabeled is the probe terminal
- We are still working with preliminary cost information, so we don't want to announce a retail cost yet.
@Krestian
It works at either 110V or 220V
@unknown
We can do some video soon. Go to the Inventables party at Maker Faire to see the prototype.
Ray M.
It will be an option for X-Carve.
1 ) Will the built in power supply power a 48v qc spindle or with either an accessory box for a second power supply (48v)' or an alternate taller box that has space for a second power supply
2 ) Will the built in power supply power a 24v qc spindle
3 ) Will the outlet accessory and other similar boxes be stackable or bolt together.
4 ) Will the outlet accessory parts be sold separately so as to allow other non US sockets etc.
Sorry if questions do seam a little obvious, but other than assembling pc's my wiring knowledge is starting with my cnc
1. The stepper drivers should not be run higher than about 40V, so the quiet cut would not work out of the same box.
2. Yes, very well
3. Right now there is no provision for that.
4. We can do 220V, but the number of outlet types is concerning. We might be able to sell the chassis for DIY versions.
That function is not supported by GRBL. If it ever is, we could probably support it.
I have experience making stuff, but nothing like the X-carve or anything electronic.
This uses two piece screw terminal blocks. The terminal block splits in 2 pieces. One part comes pre-soldered into the X-Controller. The other half attaches to the wires using screw clamps. You simply slide a stripped wire into the terminal block and tighten a screw. You then plug the two pieces together.
Yes, you get the mating halves of the terminal blocks. Once the wires are screwed in you could quickly detach and re-attached a complete systems in less than a minute.
We might even sell extra machine side halves in case you want to be able to move the controller to a second machine.
You might be thinking about the TB6560 stepper drivers. These TB6600HG chips are a significant upgrade and have only been in production for less than a year and a half.
I know there is nothing better in a single package, but solutions with external TRENCH-type FETs and a modern gate driver shouldn´t be more costly and go down to 40 or 50mR...
Your X-Carve will not be obsolete. There are no features here that you won't have with your setup.
This will just be a easier to assemble, look cleaner and do some faster rapid (no cutting) moves.