Cbeam Machine PDF
Cbeam Machine PDF
C-Beam Machine 1
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1.0 Getting
Started
Instructions to build the mechanical portion of the machine can be found by watching this
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVR8pABCHXI
This manual mainly covers the electrical setup of the machine. Ideally, this kit should be
started straight after completing the mechanical assembly. This kit aims to provide you
with what you need to turn the mechanical kit into a working moving machine. To go
from this kit to a machine which can begin cutting, you will need a router and a spoiler
board with a system to mount the workpiece that you wish to cut.
The C-Beam machine has a very large community of users, who can mostly be found at
http://openbuilds.com. It is free to sign up to this community and it will allow you to
share your builds, interact with other members, and download useful community created
resources. There is a specific build thread for the C-Beam Machine, and we would love to
see your machines and what you make with them: http://openbuilds.com/builds/c-
beamTM-machine-plate-maker.2020/
It is recommended that you read through the whole manual before beginning the build in
order to get a full picture of the assembly process. Before beginning each step, make
sure you have studied the diagram and have the required parts in front of you. A PDF
version of the manual is available on our website and this will allow you to zoom in on the
diagrams if needed.
Be very careful to not over tighten the nuts and bolts on the plastic parts, otherwise they
may crack. Everything should easily fit together, and so if it isn’t, take a step back and
re-read the instructions.
Assembly of this kit involves the use of electricity and therefore you should take appro-
priate precautions to ensure you are assembling the kit in a safe manner. When following
wiring diagrams, double check that everything is connected correctly. Before carrying out
any work on the electrics make sure that the machine is switched off.
The polarity is indicated by the color of the wire, not by the color of the connectors at
each end. A positive wire is red or brown, negative is black, and earth is green and yel-
low.
A. Insert the XT60-Male connectors into the provided insets on the PSU-Cover. They
should sit flush with the front of the PSU-Cover. Completion of this kit only requires 2
x XT60-Male connectors. The left-most XT60-Male connector is not needed for the
operation of this machine, but is included so you have the option to add additional
accessories. For safety reasons, if you do not intend to use it, do not attach it to the
PSU-Cover, and leave that inset empty.
B. Secure each XT-Male connector using 2 x Plastite-Screw-M2.5-8mm through the holes
provided on the securing tab as seen on the internal view. When initially placing the
screw, it is helpful to hold each screw in place using tweezers or long nose pliers.
A. Gently push the LED-Volt-Meter into the provided gap on the top of the PSU Cover.
The wires on the LED-Volt-Meter should be oriented to the front of the PSU-Cover.
A. Mate the PSU-Cover to the 24V-360W-Power-Supply. This may be very fiddly to ini-
tially get into position, so do take an extra bit of time to do so.
B. On each side, secure the PSU-Cover using two Plastite-Screw-M3-8mms. Go through
the slots on the metal casing of the 24V-360W-Power-Supply, and then into the holes
on the PSU-Cover.
A. Insert the end of the Mains-Cable into the IEC-Inlet on the 24V-360W-Power-Supply.
B. Plug the Mains-Cable into a wall socket and switch it on. If the LED-Volt-Meter comes
on, this indicates the 24V-360W-Power-Supply has power. If it doesn’t come on, this is
most likely because the switch on the IEC-Inlet is turned off; turn this on.
C. Once switched on, the LED-Volt-Meter should read 24.0. If it does not read 24.0, the
screw through the hole towards the top left of the LCD can be used to adjust the volt-
age. Use a screwdriver to adjust the voltage to 24.0, and take caution to not touch
any metal parts with the screwdriver.
A. Locate both red wires coming from the two 30mm-24V-DC-30mm-Fans, and strip
approximately 20mm of sheaving. Twist the two exposed copper cores together to
form one.
B. Connect the red wires from the 30mm-24V-DC-30mm-Fans to the Terminal-Block, as
shown above. To connect a wire, unscrew the respective screw from the Terminal-
Block. Bend the exposed copper core of the wire around the screw. Screw the screw
back into the Terminal-Block.
C. Repeat Step A & B for the two black wires of the 30mm-24V-DC-30mm-Fans.
D. With one of the PSU-Output-Power-Cables that was put into position in Step 2.3.2,
strip back approximately 50mm of the black sheaving from the bare end to expose the
red and black wires underneath. Strip back approximately 20mm of the sheaving from
the red and black wires to expose the copper core underneath. Connect these wires to
the Terminal-Block as in Step B.
A. Mount a Wire-Clips-Motor-60mm to the inside of the left hand pillar (If looking from
the back). Use 2 x M5-Drop-In-Tee-Nuts and 2 x M5-Low-Profile-10mm Bolts. The
Wire-Clips-Motor-60mm should be half way up the pillar.
B. Repeat Step A for a Wire-Clips-Motor-80mm, shown in the Red Square above.
C. Repeat Step A for a Wire-Clips-Power-60mm, shown in the Green Square above.
D. Repeat Step A for 2 x Wire-Clips-Motor-80mm, shown in the Blue Squares above.
A. The following steps are all as if looking from the back of the C-Beam-Machine. Bring
the X-Axis motor wire around the left column, and along the back of the C-Beam-
Machine-Gantry towards the CNC-xPro. Clip it into the top position of the Wire-Clips-
Motor-80mm, it can be secured using 2 x Cable-Tie-Small going around the wire and
through the slots of the clip.
B. Bring the Y-Axis motor wire towards the left column, take it up the column, and clip it
into the left slot of Wire-Clips-Motor-60mm and secure it using 2 x Cable-Tie-Small.
Next, take it along the back of the C-Beam-Machine-Gantry towards the CNC-xPro.
Clip it into the middle position of the Wire-Clips-Motor-80mm, it can be secured using
2 x Cable-Tie-Small.
C. Bring the Z-Axis motor down the Z-Axis actuator, and clip it into the Wire-Clips-Motor-
80mm that is on the Z-Axis actuator. Secure it using 2 x Cable-Tie-Small. Next clip it
into the Wire-Clips-Motor-80mm that is on the C-Beam-Machine-Gantry, making sure
there is enough slack for the left and right motion of the X-Axis Actuator. Secure it
using 2 x Cable-Tie-Small.
D. Plug two PSU-Output-Power-Cables (One of which is already connected to the Termi-
nal-Block) into the XT60-Male Outputs on the assembled 24V-360W-Power-Supply.
Bring them up the right hand column towards the CNC-xPro. Secure them both to the
Wire-Clips-Power-60mm.
E. The spare position on the Wire-Clips-Motor-60mm and Wire-Clips-Motor-80mm’s can
be used for the router wire, or any other wire you need to safely secure.
A. Following the wiring diagram above, strip and connect the second PSU-Output-Power-
Cable to the power input terminal on the CNC-xPro.
B. Connect the 3 x NEMA23-Stepper-Motors to the CNC-xPro as shown above. Take note
of the order of the wire colours.
C. If interested, it is a good idea to read the CNC-xPro Wiki for more in-depth informa-
tion: https://github.com/Spark-Concepts/xPRO/wiki
A. Universal G-Code Sender (UGS) is a simple Java-based cross platform G-Code sender.
Download the latest 2.0 nightly build from: https://github.com/winder/Universal-G-
Code-Sender
B. Unzip the folder to a location of your choosing.
C. Run the file named ‘UniversalGcodeSender.jar’ and UGS should open and look similar
to the above image.
D. Download and install the appropriate drivers for the chip used on the CNC-xPro from:
http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm. For Windows, under the comments section
there is a link to an executable setup file.
E. Using the supplied USB-Cable, connect the CNC-xPro to your computer.
F. In UGS set the ‘Baud’ to ‘115200’ and ‘Firmware’ to ‘GRBL’. Press the refresh symbol.
G. On the ‘Port’ drop down list find the CNC-xPro, it should look similar to what is
selected in the image above. Once found click ‘Open’ and UGS should successfully
connect to the CNC-xPro. The Console output will show information similar to the
above.
A. Under the Command heading there is a text input field where G-Code commands can
be sent to the CNC-xPro. To bring up the current firmware settings type ‘$$’ and press
enter.
B. In Appendix B we have provided a set of recommended settings. As can be seen, the
default settings do not match what we recommend. Each setting has an id number
and a value, and in order to change a setting to a new value, enter $id = new value.
For instance, setting number 100 is incorrect when compared to Appendix B, correct it
by entering $100 = 200. Do this for all the settings in Appendix B.
C. If interested, it is a good idea to read the GRBL Firmware Wiki for more in-depth infor-
mation: https://github.com/grbl/grbl/wiki
A. To begin testing, disconnect from the CNC-xPro, and move the machine by hand so
that it is in the middle of it’s max travel on all axes.
B. Switch on the 24V-360W-Power-Supply, and the 2 x 30mm-24V-DC-Fan’s should acti-
vate. If they do not activate, check the wiring in Step 3.0.4.
C. Reconnect to the CNC-xPro in UGS. Next to each driver on the CNC-xPro, there is a
current control pot, and these can be adjusted using the Ceramic-Screwdriver. Rotate
clockwise to increase the current, and anti-clockwise to decrease. The default posi-
tions should work fine, but they can be adjusted to increase/decrease motor torque or
quiet motor motion. If in Step D below the motors don’t move, first check the wiring in
Step 4.1.3. If that isn’t the issue, then slightly increase the motor current in 1/8th
turns.
D. Looking from the front of the machine, the correct axes machine motion is: X-Axis
positive to the right, Y-Axis positive going away, Z-Axis positive going up. To test this
in UGS, click on the ‘Machine Control’ tab on the top bar. On the right hand side there
are jog controls. Set the ‘Step size’ to 20 and select ‘millimeters’. Press the ‘X+’ but-
ton to jog the machine in the positive X direction, and the carriage should move to the
right. Press ‘Y+’ and the gantry should move away. Press ‘Z+’ the Z-Axis should go
up.
E. If in Step C any of the axes have moved in the opposite directions than should be
expected, turn off machine and disconnect from the CNC-xPro. To correct this issue,
locate the motor wire for the axis that is incorrect and flip the wire colour order on the
CNC-xPro. Repeat Steps B, C & D to retest the machine.
F. Once the motor directions are correct, use the jog controls in UGS to check that the
machine can move through the whole distance of its travels on all axes. If this is
unsuccessful, first check that the ACME-Lead-Screw are attached correctly, aligned,
and not binding. If the assembly is correct, it may be that the drivers on the CNC-xPro
are overheating, so try decreasing the current in 1/8th turns.
A final note, the controller is sensitive to electrical interference. Therefore we are now
providing an interference kit with machine to reduce this. In this kit ferrite beads are pro-
vided. Clip the Motor-Ferrite's on the motor wires as close as possible to the CNC-xPro.
Clip the PSU-Output-Ferrite's on the PSU-Output-Power-Cable as close as possible to the
24V-360W-Power-Supply. And the Router-Ferrite, as close as to your router as possible.
Furthermore if you have a dust extraction system, we recommended grounding the
extraction hose along its length using a metal strip.
A. With this electronic kit we have decided not to include end-stops. This means that
when creating your G-Code files in your CAM package it is recommended that you set
the working area to the same size as your intended work piece, and set the zero posi-
tion to the upper front left corner of the work piece. Export the G-Code file with a
GRBL post processor. If a GRBL post processor isn’t available, select a standard G-
Code file with no post processor and no arcs.
B. In UGS position the machine to the same upper front left corner set in the CAM pack-
age.
C. In the ‘Machine Control’ tab press ‘Reset Zero’. This is a crucial step, and must not be
forgotten when not using end-stops.
D. Load your G-Code file in the ‘File-Mode’ tab. Press ‘Send’ to begin the file.
E. It is highly recommended that you use a pen in place of a spindle when first using the
machine, and have a piece of paper as the work piece. This allows you to get used to
the machine in a safe manor. To prevent crushing the pen, work on only one plane in
your CAM package and have no negative Z Movements.
Plastite-Screws: 1 x LED-Volt-Meter
6 x M3-8mm
6 x M2.5 x 8mm
1 x IEC-Inlet IEC-Inlet-Wires:
1 x Live
1 x Neutral
1 x Earth
1 x 24V-360W- 1 x Mains-Cable
Power-Supply
2 x M4-Cap-Head- 2 x M5-Low-Profile-
6mm 8mm
1 x CNC-xPro-Fan- 1 x Terminal-Block
Mount
2 x 30mm-24V-DC- Cap-Head:
Fan 4 x M3-16mm
8 x M3-20mm
4 x M4-40mm
10 x M5-Low-Pro- 4 x Slot-Washer
file-10mm
4 x M3-16mm
Nyloc-Nuts: 14 x M5-Drop-In-
12 x M3 Tee-Nut
4 x M4
Wire-Clips: Cable-Ties:
1 x Motor-60mm 25 x Small
3 x Motor-80mm 25 x Large
1 x Power-60mm