CNC Router Parts Machine Problem

Has anyone been able to get a CNC Router Parts Machine to work with Linux CNC? I purchased this machine setup:
www.cncrouterparts.com/crp2448-2-x-4-cnc-router-kit-p-164.html
www.cncrouterparts.com/4-axis-plug-and-p...23-system-p-260.html
www.cncrouterparts.com/benchtop-pro-homi...witch-kit-p-321.html

I was sold the machine with the understanding that there were customers using it with Linux CNC. However, they have not been able to find a customer with a working Linux CNC file.

If anyone has a working config file, it would be very appreciated. Thanks in Advance!

If yours has the Smooth Stepper either net control interface like the one in the link you included, it won't be a plug and play affair. You will probably have to bypass that. If you have just a parallel port breakout board, then it should work with very little fuss.

Thanks Todd, interesting enough, I did take the Smoothstepper out of the equation by connecting direct to the breakout board's parallel port. So, I do have the system to the point where it mills, however, it has not been very accurate and I can't tell if there is an issue with the CNC Machine Kit/ Stepper Kit or if it is a problem with the Meshcam software I am using. I tried to mill a very basic vacuum attachment for my router which was not very accurate. Any input would be helpful. Thanks!

Does each axis move the correct amount?
-How do I test this? It appears that it is from the numbers on Linux CNC, but I am not absolutely sure.

Do you have backlash in the driving mechanics?
-Not that I know of, but I am not sure.

Can you describe what "not very accurate" means?
-The part I am milling is a vacuum hose attachment for the router. Very basic with just tow holes that are roughly 2 and 3.5" in diameter. The holes aren't the right diameter and are not perfectly round. Also, there was a chunk of material taken out during the roughing out process. Thanks!

Sounds to me like missing steps. But it could also be mechanical slippage (a loose belt pulley or shaft coupler).

To check you are going to need some sort of way to physically measure the machines position. A dial indicator works well for this.

Move an axis away from a measured point on the machine a measurable distance then move it back the same amount, then check to see if it has returned to the exact position as it started. If it did not return to the exact point, you for sure have a problem. This is also more or less how you measure backlash.

(backlash is the measurable, repeatable distance you will come up short after a change in direction, caused by mechanical slop in the system)

Be careful missed steps can sometimes masquerade as backlash and be very repeatable under the right circumstances.

While checking for missed steps, be sure to vary your speeds through all of the possible speeds you may see while milling, including rapid positioning moves. Sometimes a machine may only loose steps at certain speeds.

If you find you are in fact loosing steps. Now you need to find out why. Is there a mechanical problem (too much drag or resistance), an electrical problem (motors, motor wiring, drive problem, or control wiring problem), or is it a timing problem (step timing is off from what the drive is capable of reading)

A common electrical cause of missed steps when building a new setup, is when a breakout board that is designed for 5v inputs is used with a 3.3v parallel port. (don't ask me for workarounds I've not ran into it myself.) This could easily be the case if the breakout board was designed for the smooth stepper, which I think outputs a true 5v signal.

invntr wrote:

Has anyone been able to get a CNC Router Parts Machine to work with Linux CNC? I purchased this machine setup:
www.cncrouterparts.com/crp2448-2-x-4-cnc-router-kit-p-164.html
www.cncrouterparts.com/4-axis-plug-and-p...23-system-p-260.html
www.cncrouterparts.com/benchtop-pro-homi...witch-kit-p-321.html

I was sold the machine with the understanding that there were customers using it with Linux CNC. However, they have not been able to find a customer with a working Linux CNC file.

If anyone has a working config file, it would be very appreciated. Thanks in Advance!

They have mach configs
www.cncrouterparts.com/mach-3-xml-files-p-161.html

Choose whichever one fits your system and then ask JT to convert it to a Linuxcnc config using his scripts.
www.linuxcnc.org/index.php/english/forum...n-to-stepconf-wizard

I see you have started another thread about inaccuracies, until you get a config which has the scale correct, with step timing that works, you are chasing your own tail.

regards