Official Luthiers Forum!

I have been having some problems with the off brand chinese break out box on my machine and am thinking about upgrading to a smoothstepper (network port version .) Anyone here use one?

Since nobody's answering - I don't have personal experience with them but I have a friend nearby that's used a few of them for various projects.

What problems have you been having with the Chinese board? Does it also have a motion controller in it or is it a dumb BOB? Depending on the issues, a Smoothstepper might not help. If you do have a dumb BOB, it might help though.

What specifically do you want to know about the smoothstepper? If you let me know I can ask my buddy.

_________________
http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

The inputs stopped working on my existing board so i need to replace it. The one i have currently is a dumb BOB (and it's dumber than usual now

The Smoothstepper doesn't replace a BOB, you'll still need one to to interface the smooth stepper with the outside world. Apparently there is no isolation on the smooth stepper hence the need for a proper BOB. Download the documentation from Warp 9 and give it a read, there's a lot of info on how to connect the SmoothStepper to a BOB.

_________________
http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

I use the Ethernet smooth stepper, and I can vouch that it indeed does smooth things a good bit.

I personally would recommend http://www.automationtechnologiesinc.com/ . They are a good company to deal with and very helpful. They carry the smooth stepper as well as many break out board.

If I can be of assistance, let me know.

Mike

Thanks Mike. Do i need an additional board for speed control for a Spindle/VFD or can i do it with just the speedstepper and the breakout board that plugs in to it?

Since I am not running my real spindle with vfd yet, I will have to guess. That guess is that your bob will have the relays etc, I know that the ESS does not have that on board. Mach will actually control the spindle, through the ESS to the bob, to the vfd then on to the spindle......sounds like lots of links, but there are many out there that have it working.

What kind of bob do you have?

Mike

I currently have a cheap chinese one and several of the inputs have failed on it so i'll be getting a new one with the speedstepper. I just got a 2.2kw spindle and VFD but am waiting to get the shielded wire to install it.

You get the water cooled one? I'm still on the fence about getting one, and could use some actual user input on how well it works, ease of install, etc..

_________________
Jason McGowan
M&S Guitars
_____________________________
United States of America, looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children....
Casting Crowns

Check out Ugra CNC. I have tried the water cooled and the air cooled ones. Mine is an air cooled 1.5KW and it does the trick.
Super quiet and no need to mess around with water besides the fact that some chinese ones will leak and rust....no thanks!
Besides, even with air Cooled ones I can run it at full speed and have a conversation without shouting.

_________________
Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

I was actually meaning to ask about the UGRA spindles. Thanks for the info. Definitely going to check them out. Water does seem like a bad idea.

_________________
Jason McGowan
M&S Guitars
_____________________________
United States of America, looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children....
Casting Crowns

I've had a Chinese water-cooled 2.2Kw spindle for a couple years with no problems at all. The water is no big deal at all.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Well, I bought the 2.2kw atc spindle and to my knowledge, you can't get an atc in air cooled unless you go way up in $$. I checked with Colombo before I bought my spindle and because they sell so few of the smaller watt spindles, the price is off the chart! I was quoted $11500 for a 2.2 fan cooled atc version. Mine cost me a good bit less than half that.

BTW, those fans sometimes fail and if they do, you have lost the spindle unless your are right there with it. The water cooled feature makes these spindles (supposedly) continuous duty! I personally have no desire to test that theory!

Mike

Yes. I got the water cooled one. I still need to get the correct size hose and a pump but i'm almost ready to start cutting.

Total with shipping for it and the VFD was around $310 delivered.



Dan