DIY mini CNC machine part 14 (carbon fiber)

1. Hello Chris… I'm enjoying this series a lot. I was thinking of getting myself this spindle but the RF stuff is scaring me off. I know the Bluetooth worked for you coz I'm typing this 5 years later, but you did not get into detail about the Bluetooth module you used. Would you mind elaborating?

2. +1? ?

3. Do you take orders for custom carbon fiber parts

4. im so glad you got it working, i have been binging your build here and i really feel for you, so super helpfull videos, do you still have it or have you made something else

5. What parameters did you user for Cutting Carbon? Im still trying out with my 3018 Pro and it allways starts vibrating…

6. Do not cut or use carbon fiber, it's hazardous to your health. There are many fantastic alternatives.

7. When I try to cut 2mm CF sheets using my cnc, the bottom edges are burred and have strands that protrude (on the side of the CF that touches the waste board). Does anyone have any tips? What are your tips for a smooth exge after cutting? Using a carbide 3m bit. Thanks

8. that spindle has to be the worst one I've ever heard, so far out of balance…

9. I think your max feedrate is too high for usb to send the data, regardless if you use usb for arduino power or a wall- wart power supply using the power jack for the rrequired 7-12v DC. I dont have a power supply atm that will work for powering the arduino, so i use the usb from my desktop pc thats about 8 feet away(10ft standard non shielded usb cable…I know, I know…thats long !) And when you started using bluetooth, alot of the load on arduino is shifted to the bluetooth adapter. Thats why you arent having problems communication anymore.

   I have the same chinese spindle with the crappy PS/pwm motor supply ,and after testing everything just as you did,…I got nearly the same readings as you. grbl would freeze randomly when cutting materials only and aircutting would freeze at random spots too.

   After adding ferrite chokes and twisted wire sets, grounded everything correctly, several different usb cables(shielded and standard) I was still getting alarms and grbl would freeze randomly over and over. Just when I thought i figured it out…bamm another alarm communicating with grbl

   I was so freakin mad because it was alot of print time to make all of the parts that I needed and I was dying to start milling shit with it.
   I was pulling my hair out like the rest of you guys and after playing with every freaking setting in grbl I decided to adjust the max feedrate down 100 in settings considering it seemed that it was a communication problem dealing with the usb, and the main reason I started lowering feeds was because it only occured during actual milling under load and I assumed that it might be an underpowering issue with the arduino, and I had tried everything else so i figured wtf, right? And to my surprise it worked finally!.. No more lockups with spindle at any speed and have successfully cut about 16 hours straight already with the same 2mil endmill in aluminum.

   It was really strange, the problems I was having because my machine is constructed entirely out of 3d printed petg aside from the table made of 6061-t6, with no physical connections to the controller but through the steppers.
   Sometimes we over think stuff and in our frustration,. we tend to miss the simplest things that usually cause these little problems.

   Im hoping this helps someone keep some of thier hair lol.

10. water and mdf is not good mix

11. I built myself a watertable for cutting carbon fiber and I have been submerging the piece so it is about 2mm under the water. This has given me really clean cuts with no spray, but the carbon dust really accumulates and can sit in the kerf. I didn't even TRY your solution because I thought it would spray "black dye" everywhere but it looks like it is REALLY effective! I'm going to go give it a try now…THANK YOU for documenting your adventures here, it is much appreciated. <3

12. the more the diameter of the cutter the less speed in x and y axes and of course try minimum steps in z like 0.08

13. please low the speed in x and y and in the axe z make lower steps l
    to 0.15 mm/step, this will solve the problem when you carve almost anything.

14. The arcing in that DC spindle if it is brushed is the RF noise source.

15. What kind of adhesive backing are you using to attach the carbon fiber to the board? Link please

16. What ?!?!? MDF under the carbon fibre + WATER !?!?! LOL! Anyway. Try lookup & order "water soluable oil". That's what we use at the machine shop on everything – except MDF, of course – unless we specifically wanted to make a sloppy mess on purpose.

    The straight water is going to get inside your bearings and everything that is metal, and close to it. Start to get rust and corrosion on all ferric material. This will not happen using water soluable oil.

17. I didn't read all the way through the comments of somebody might've mentioned this but it's possible that the interference that's causing the problem could be coming through the stepper motor wires so shielding on the spindle wire may help.

    Also you mentioned that you seem to have the problem more when it's actually cutting and that could be due to the increased amperage that the motor will draw when it's under load which in turn could cause a higher electromagnetic interference.

18. where I can buy cnc machine like in your vidio this .. i really want it .. seems cheap and in accordance with my pocket.. at my email for info to yuda_suantara@ymail.com

19. Had the same issue with my large 4' x 8' CNC machine tripping "phantom" limit switch inputs. Turns out that running a grounding strap from the frame of the CNC to the controller and power supply solved the problem.

20. Wood is like a sponge with water 😉

21. Submerging the carbon fiber in water is enough. You don't need drains, pumps etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opr9wJNk2B0&t=10s&list=PLvShQgqe-7WbdKghf1pzeknKcj_lQPZfD&index=16

22. Hi there, you did a pretty awsome job. I really like how you solve the problems in a cheap, easy and still sufficent way. This is something you can hold against all the guys who are telling you cheap solutions won't work etc.
    Anyway your videos where a good guidance to my since I'm currently working on a similar project with the same spindle. Hope I binge it also to some success.
    Thanks for sharing your experiance

23. This comment will probably not be seen but here it goes:

    I think the problem with noise in the line of communications comes from the fact that the spindle is just to close to the z axis stepper motor. Being that booth motors use eletromagnetic induction to function, and the spindle uses clearly more power, i think the spindle is interfering with the steppper, which sends noise back to the board.

    Anyway, I really enjoied your videos, thank you for that.

24. I enjoyed your video series very much. Thanks. FWIW, "Bolts" turn into threads that already exist in the material. "Screws" make their own threads as they go in. At least you're not calling the bolts nuts any more. hehe

25. put a couple of drops of dish washing fluid in the water, it will break the surface tension and makes the water flow easier…

26. use a piece of scotch bright on top of the drain hole…it'll catch everything and you can scoop it out to the trash by hand n won't clog your way to tiny drain system

27. It doesn't matter if the cable between the PC and the arduino is shielded, your spindle is splashing out so much EMI, that it is interfering with the circuitry on the arduino itself, or the stepper drivers.

    If you don't feel like making a trip to the hardware store, you can easily test it out by wrapping the spindle wires with aluminum foil, and grounding one end. If your issue disappears, then you've solved it. If it doesn't, then you have a more significant issue like back-current, or thermal issues.

28. I had a problem with the drive freezing during cutting or rapid traverse.I reduced the current setting on the drives and the problem did not repeat and I did not face any performance issues while "machining" plastics. Maybe worth trying one of those aliexpress opto isolated drivers too.
    And yeah a PCB milling exercise would be most gratifying to behold :D. I did not get much happiness when i tried.

29. Nice job. I have the same problem with the angle to the edge when I cut acrylic. Do you know why this happens? I think it is due to a flexion in the milling cutter or the z axis of the machine…

30. Good professional looking parts !!

31. I worked as a Aviation Composite Technician for 15 years and what you are seeing on the edge is ply orientation. The ply direction will alternate form 90 degrees to 45 degrees so the layup is balanced and will not have all the holes stacked. It also keeps the material from warping as it cures. The cut will show "end" fibers as well as parallel strands. Cut it sand it whatever you will always see some difference.

32. You might of said this and I missed it. What are you using to secure your carbon to the MDF?

33. You can push it much harder, there is no reason why you couldn't cut each in less than 10 mins, and if you swap out to soluble oil you should be able to get down to around 6. This all might require some better fixing of the parts to the table though.

34. Started building one of these too but used a Dremel drill press as the starting point. If you're looking for a wifi solution can use a raspi 3 and json web serial server (GitHub) and chilipeppr cnc editor I think ( still wip here too ). Ah still watching the video see you already use chili peppr

35. how much you pay for this ?

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