brainy19 (Customer) asked a question.
New to motion controllers, but may want to build a CNC router, laser cutter, or CNC mill for industrial work someday. Is there a wiring diagram that will teach me how to connect the components to some of the motion controllers this site offers?
I'm familiar with the framing, tabling, tramming, etc of a CNC machine, but the controller is a bit of a mystery to me. I understand the Smoothieboard's instructions but since industrial-sized CNCs typically use larger, more powerful motors (like stepper motors), a Smoothieboard won't be as useful. I noticed this website has 3-axial and 4-axial motion controllers, but I never worked with one before and would appreciate any wiring diagrams and other sources of knowledge for my education.
Automation Direct has 2 products that will work for proper motion control, with a fully-closed loop design. That means feedback from the motors is taken into the controller to ensure the movement of the physical end device is at the exact spot it needs to be.
You have the BRX platform, with its HSIO modules. An 18 point main CPU with a 4 axis HSIO module is $628
The Productivity line just got a brand new motion controller a few days ago. A P2000 CPU, with the smallest base unit, a power supply for the unit, and a 16 input and 15 output module, plus the 4 axis motion controller costs $1171.
Both platforms should give you exactly what you need. One caveat of the BRX closed-loop design is that the closed-loop portion is only active during a move command. This should not be a problem for you though, as you only need to check feedback during a move.
The one possible gotchya in this scenario is that you must choose strong enough motors to hold their position during a cut. If you try to get too aggressive and the bit grabs the material, then if the motor is not adequately sized it would produce more torque than the motor has and will end up moving the motor a small bit out of position. This would make all future cuts before you recalibrate all out of place and your part will be bad. It won't really hurt the system itself, as you just re-zero everything to its proper place. However, the Productivity motion controller looks like it keeps feedback going continually, and would either be able to automatically correct back into the proper place or throw an alert in a tag that lets you know the system is now out of alignment. But again, as long as you have motors that are sized large enough and you make your cuts within spec of your bit and material then it shouldn't be an issue.
As for wiring, all wiring diagrams of the hardware are on the automation direct website. Once you decide on hardware if you have any questions people here will be willing to help.
I'm pretty sure one would want a CNC controller rather than a general purpose PLC. I don't know the Productivity, but the D-More is not a CNC controller, while for example, AXCAM could make certain 2 axis curves I don't know of any good way to go from G code to AXCAM points.
While the tiny built in stepper drives on the Smothieboard you mentioned would be able to drive a large motor, one could probably get the low level step and direction signals out to send to a lager driver. One would be using separate motor drives with a PLCanyway
Yes, you would need some sort of G code interpreter to translate commands from CAM software into pulses or locations the PLC knows what to do with. However, I believe Arduino has these interpreters, so I would assume one of these would work with the P1AM PLC. If that is the case, then using a P1AM as the main CPU and a 4-axis Productivity Motion controller with it would work perfectly. Looks like a comparable P1AM with the necessary modules and shields is $400 cheaper than the P2k I had mentioned above which brings the cost down considerably.
Productivity Motion isn't compatible with ProductivityOpen (P1AM-100). The PS-AMC series requires a Productivity PLC with a remote I/O port, and must be configured within Productivity Suite.
As others have said, you can, but you are working way too hard to do so.
For the controller, look at the Centroid Acorn, 299 dollars does most of the work for you.
https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_diy/acorn_cnc_controller.html
At that point, Automation has a good selection of drives that take step and direction controls the controller will provide.
But if you can control a CNC with Arduino + GRBL ,
Can te ProductivityOpen (P1AM-100 do the Same?
One would have to find a port of GRBL to the SAMD21 used in the P1AM, the original GRBL was written for the controller used in one of the "classic" Arduinos.
It might just be easier to use a suitable 5V "classic" Arduino, one can buy GRBL boards already configured.