Thanks! I have found that finding good materials to cut that are as large as the area of the Y-1200 is a struggle. Most of the materials out there that are available will fit on the Y-400 so I'm happy with my choice not to build the big one. Something to think about...
The anticipation just builds to seeing this laser cutter, well, CUTTING! It's fascinating! Love it love it-there's nothing like the art of building something useful and amazing.
Really great idea mounting the electronics right to the table. I'm gathering materials right now for my Y-400 build and buying a separate enclosure like he did in the Further Fabrication series seems like an awful lot of work. This is a nice alternative.
Thanks! I am a bit concerned with dust from cutting or smoke getting on the electronics... We will see if this is really an issue going forward. I plan to stay on top of it by vacuuming regularly!
@@acwrightdesign that's a good point - could you drop a piece of acrylic between the side compartment and the main one to minimize that? I'll be on the lookout for that in my build. Cheers!
@@pwninstein I considered that but there is stuff like the Y axis drag chain and other things that would block a full panel from going between the electronics and main compartment unless you planned for this in advance... which I didn't. I'm thinking of possibly making an L shaped acrylic piece that can just drop over the electronics area?
@@acwrightdesign I see - what about a thin, flexible piece you could bend around the electronics (in roughly a quarter circle shape), or a few solid pieces you cut and glue at angles to avoid the moving parts? An L-shaped solid piece could work, like you said. It's hard to properly visualize what would be in the way without having built mine yet! Parts are trickling in from all over, hoping to start the frame sometime next week.
soooo...like the build....watching many builds on youtube....taking a bit here and there to make my build....the 2 motors driving 1 axis....is a bit of a sticking point here, so thought since its been 3 years since this vid was made, need your opinion.....here goes.....saw many try the 2 motors controlling 1 axis....obviously 3 drivers for x, y (2 motors reversed wiring), and z for bed...hope this is what i'm assuming.....furtherfabrications scrapped this idea and went for a single dual shaft instead of the 2 motor deal......he said original design was losing steps and the motors were getting out of sync....he said stability just wasnt there....(bind or EMI...dunno)....saw another mount single shaft motor at bottom then used a pulley system to attach to a single log rod which was supported to run the Y axis, thinking it would be beneficial keeping the motor away from the tube to reduce emi.....an honest opinion on any problem with your build concerning this problem would be appreciated
My laser tube did get shipped from China and did arrive just fine. It was very well packed in a hard wooden crate with inner foam and bubble packing. I 3D printed my parts with PETG
Hi Glenn! I've been good :) I'm not sure I understand the question... My table is 1100x800 I believe and the aluminum frame is right against the edge of the table if this helps.
Yes. I used the plans from Further Fabrication. I did however make some custom 3D printed parts upgrades but these are for convenience or looks and are not strictly necessary.
Hey, I am currently in the process of building a Y-400. As I've put on the belts running through the V-slot extrusions, I've noticed there is basically no clearance between them and the extrusion. Both steppers should be about 2 mm higher then they are using the recommended mounting plates. Did you encounter this as well? If so, how did you fix it? I am bit afraid the belts will wear down rubbing on the extrusions edge.
Yes, I had this same issue. Unfortunately, it seems like this is a fault in the original design. I was able to maneuver the motor around until it was not rubbing but this is not ideal. I believe another option would be to order larger diameter gears for the stepper motors although I haven't tried this. If larger gears were used the step length would need to be recalculated.
I have a few questions about the limit switches... sorry for the litany! 1. It looks like you've wired your switches to -x and -y - does that mean that "home" is the back right corner for you? 2. The docs are vague about how to wire the z limit switch - it looks like you've wired yours to -z. What's the third wire in the bundle for (GND, LMTZ-, and PUzu), and do I need it? 3. Where abouts did you mount your -z switch? I'm thinking the mount would go on the bottom/inside of the inner frame with the arm facing upwards, and the switch stop mounted to the bed facing downwards - sound about right? 4. Is there any value to adding positive limit switches to my axes, or will the control board boundary settings basically guard against crashing against the opposite end? I've got a 3d printer, and the firmware is pretty good about preventing invalid moves based on known bounds. Thanks again for the wonderful videos and the great parts you put up on Thingiverse!
No problem! Glad to help! 1. Yes 2. My z limit is wired to Z-. Z- is TOWARDS the nozzle. Z+ is away from the nozzle. The PUzu is + power supply (24v) for wiring a focus probe which is just a limit switch that is attached to the nozzle instead of the bed. It uses a non-mechanical switch inside the probe which needs 24v. I had a focus probe and got rid of it and just installed a mechanical switch that contacts the bed. The focus probe is a PITA to set up and if it gets moved in any way has to be reconfigured. Skip it and just use a mechanical switch IMO. 3. My Z limit is in the back left corner of the 2040 V rail facing down (towards ground or bed). The switch contacts a 3D printed actuator attached to the bed. Take a look in my 3D printed parts in the Thingiverse project. You want the switch at the top of the bed travel not the bottom. You want to install the Z- so that it stops the bed from crashing into the nozzle and to set Z 0 when homing. Z+ limit (towards the ground) is set by software bounds. Hopefully this makes sense. Take a look at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7Utz0USkmg4.html and you can see the Z limit in the back left corner. 4. There is no need for positive limits. You are correct that you just set the bounds and the Ruida will stop the axis before it travels too far.
I'm not quite to this point yet on my build, but do you have any tips on proper grounding (especially the inner / outer frames)? Assuming my outlets are properly grounded, would it be sufficient to anchor a ground wire to each frame and then connect those to the laser power supply ground pin? I'm probably suggesting something very stupid, so any insight into the proper way to do this would be helpful! Also, I'm planning on using an aluminum blast gate and aluminum-lined tubing for ventilation (the inline blower is plastic though), so I've read that it should be grounded to dissipate any accumulated charge from the moving air. If the outer frame is grounded, then that should be sufficient, no? The Y-400 instructions are very vague about how to achieve proper grounding. In fact, I'll quote the entire section here: "Earth your enclosure, case and frame."
Yeah, I read that quote too! I did exactly as you suggested. I ran the ground wire to both frames from the laser power supply earth ground and checked it with a multimeter. In the event that the high voltage jumps to the frame, this hopefully is sufficient to carry the current to the ground assuming your outlet is properly grounded. I'm not an expert (although I did go to school for electronics...) so don't take my word for it! My only concern is that anodized aluminum is not a great conductor. But we are talking about >20,000 volts so... my guess is that it would conduct under those conditions. I have not grounded anything in my air flow path... maybe I should. I would think that attaching a wire from earth ground to tubing would be sufficient?
@@acwrightdesign great, I'm glad I was on the right track! I'm no electrical expert either... I'm guessing you're right about the aluminum, it'll probably be enough voltage to arc. I think a wire from ground to vent tubing should be sufficient, that's what I'll likely do. Also, I inspected my Cloudray tube (50W) and saw that there was a couple of stray wires sticking out of the potted high voltage terminal!! I plan on adding another layer of silicone sealant on top of that. I'm glad I inspected it. Thanks again!
I really like your Build and you Channel (subscribed) but you are using your Electric wire ferrule wrong. The cable cross-section matches the colours and red is typically for 1 mm2. Normally that small cables use white or violet (0.50 mm2 or 0.24 mm2). Best wishes
Hello again! I'm in the midst of finally building my Y-400, and was wondering if you ran into this: did you end up using shorter 2020 for the front of the lid (130mm x 3 according to the design)? After building the inner and outer frames to spec, the front panel of the lid comes down such that the support bar is blocking the y-axis tensioners (resulting in the outer frame being pushed forward by 20-30mm losing valuable space in the back where the laser tube and 1st mirror mount sits). I'm thinking I need to cut about 30mm (down to 100mm x 3) to make enough room. Just curious! I also have about 5mm gap on either side of the lid when closed. The gap is square on both sides and in front, so I don't think anything is warped / misaligned. Will the acrylic / polycarbonate sheeting span that gap so that it doesn't really matter in the end? These videos are a great reference when I'm building my own, so thank you for putting the effort into producing them!
First off, leave the 5mm gap on the sides of the lid. It is good for airflow! I found that gap along with some holes in the front lid panels is a good amount of intake air for the machine. Ok, so I agree 100% about the front lid bar blocking/interfering with the Y tensioners. I did not change anything since I wasn't aware of the issue until after I cut the extrusion. I had to just slide the gantry back like you suggested. In hind sight, I would lower the cross bar below the tensioners making the lid front taller. There is another benefit to doing this. It would allow for larger materials to stick out of the front of the machine and possible out of a passthrough slot on back acrylic. Or I would consider a completely different design for the front where that whole section can be removed.
@@acwrightdesign Good point about airflow, I'll leave it be! I like the idea of making the lid front taller to clear the tensioners, I think I'm going to do that. Thanks for the advice!
@@acwrightdesign hey buddy, just wanted to share a few build pics. Mounted the electronics vertically with threaded inserts where the backing board doubles as a dust shield. I also lowered the lid front as you suggested. Thanks again for the advice! Feedback is welcome if you happen to have any 🙂 imgur.com/a/BSU7Y7t
@@pwninstein Nice!! Thanks for sharing the pics! This is a big improvement. I think if I was building again I would incorporate both of those changes. Are you considering making a material passthrough slot on the back side now that the front is accessible with the lid up?
@@acwrightdesign you bet! I'm appreciative of the feedback. At this point probably not since the table it's on is likely going to butt up against a wall (and probably be anchored to it to prevent wobble), but that's a modification I can easily do later on if / when we move somewhere where I have a bigger and dedicated workspace. The exhaust vent would need to be placed strategically if material were to pass out the back, so that's also a consideration. Next up: wiring and testing the motors and end stops!
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