Hello All
I’m nearing completion of the 3d printing of all the parts and will soon begin the build.
I’m very unsure of how to put together the motion control system. I have no electronic background at all but am quite good at following instructions. I have searched for (very) detailed instructions on putting a control system together but without success.
Can anyone point me to a step by step tutorial with a list of recommended parts, lots of diagrams and an assumption that the reader knows very little but can follow instructions and solder reasonably well.
I am in the UK and would quite like to make contact with any other UK based MPCNC builders/users.
Thanks for taking the trouble to read this and thanks in anticipation of any responses.
Jim
Hi, and welcome!
Please add a note to this list of UK owners: Any UK MPCNC owners?
The problem with a walk-through is that there are so many ways to use these boards, any document (like the instructions) end up with complex options that someone building a basic MPCNC doesn’t need (like end stops, a laser, heated bed, etc)
If you’re just doing a standard machine, it’s actually pretty simple.
- Apply 12v power to the power socket. Be careful of the polarity or it’ll blow a fuse.
- Remove the power and plug in your LCD (if it doesn’t work, try switching/reversing the plugs. There are only 4 combinations, and you won’t damage the LCD by plugging it backwards)
- Remove the power and plug in the stepper motors, before attaching any belts. Use the LCD to check they all move the right direction, and flip the plug to reverse if necessary.
Always disconnect the power when changing board connections .
If you’re using Ryan’s stepper motor wires, it should just work. If you’re making your own, the instructions show you how to wire them.
If you’re using a RAMPS board, there are a few more steps in the instructions (and it doesn’t have a fuse, so getting the input polarity wrong is more spectacular)
The standard instructions are pretty much what you’re asking for, you just have to know which bits you can ignore!
Have you bought any electronics yet?
Thanks for the reply, Robin. No, I haven’t bought any electronics yet. I want to try and get my head around it first. Hence the appeal!
Because the question was asked in the form of “what should a complete novice do?” please change the order of operations here. Always disconnect the power when changing board connections.
- Plug in your LCD (if it doesn’t work, try switching/reversing the plugs. There are only 4 combinations, and you won’t damage the LCD by plugging it backwards)
- Plug in the stepper motors, before attaching any belts. Use the LCD to check they all move the right direction, and flip the plug to reverse if necessary.
- Apply 12v power to the power socket. Be careful of the polarity or it’ll blow a fuse.
Oops, good point!
You can’t test the LCD without power, so I’ve added your warning, and reminders to unplug the power before plugging anything else in.
Ok, so the easiest and most reliable route to success is to buy the miniRAMBO and the wiring kit from Ryan. If you’re a cheapskate like me, you could try a RAMPS board, but the quality is variable, there are some extra steps that aren’t beginner friendly, and they don’t have the extra safety features of the RAMBO boards.
If you buy the same board from anywhere else, it won’t have the software pre-loaded, and you’ll have to do that. If you’re familiar with Arduino programming, it’s not too hard. If you’re not, it’s a complexity you don’t need.
Same for the wiring kit. In theory it’s just following a diagram and soldering some wires. Have a look at the steppers instructions and see if you want to give it a go. You can look up the plug names and order wires from ebay, then cut and solder them so all the pins are in the right place - but it’s hardly worth it if you’re ordering a board.
You’ll also need a 12v DC power supply that’s designed for UK power and rated for at least 6amps, and NEMA17 stepper motors that are rated for around 76 oz/in torque. These probably are worth getting in the UK, as they’re relatively heavy. NEMA17 is the size, and is important. The torque rating doesn’t need to be exact, we don’t push them very hard and they never seem to fail.
The other thing you’ll probably want is a 4-way adapter with switches on each socket. This allows you to individually switch the power to the machine, the router, the vacuum and a light.
Almost everyone adds nylon braid for chafe protection. A 10m roll is plenty. Some 12mm heat shrink makes a neat job of the ends. Oh, and a bag of 3mm wide cable ties!
If you’re ordering from Ryan, I’d get his router bits too, just to remove another variable from possible trouble shooting.
Thank you very much, Robin. I’m beginning to realise it isn’t as complicated as I first thought.
I think I will probably end up ordering from Ryan though I have to admit to resenting the import duty.
I had been looking at the possibility of using my Raspberry Pi but I think it’s probably better to go down the well trodden route instead.
Thanks again.
I know exactly what you mean about import duty! The extra ‘handling fee’ is the bit that really annoys me.
I’d done some playing with Arduinos before, so I thought a RAMPS board was worth a try as it was only about £20. I had some problems with loading the firmware, and I mis-connected it once and blew the stepper drivers, so I completely understand why Ryan doesn’t recommend them, and given where you are in the build, a plug-and-play solution would suit you.
That said, when you have time, I’d recommend a £15 Arduino starter kit and working through some basic projects. My slightly geeky, 10 year old nephew loved his; it doesn’t assume any knowledge, and demystifies a lot of electronics and programming.
I got one of the bigger kits, but I guess my kids aren’t geeky enough. I, however, managed to get through something like 19 of the projects and now I want to build something out of them. Haven’t come up with anything as useful as a cnc, though…
I’m in the UK too, welcome to the club!
I just bought a cheap RAMPs kitt from Amazon and it works just fine. It is also a LOT cheaper than the RAMBo…
Happy to share advice to get you started but honestly if you’re not confident about what you’re doing then it’s probably better to blow a few Mega2560s than an expensive custom board like the RAMBo 
The rambo is much harder to blow though.
Possibly but the the RAMBO is £90 (without a screen) and a complete RAMPS kit with LCD is £24… plus all you’re likely to blow is the Mega (actually just the regulator but they’re a bitch to solder unless you have hot air) and that costs about £7 to replace…
Plus all the RAMPs stuff is next or same day for me with Amazon. I’m impatient if I break stuff 
EDIT: I would also add to the above instructions, particularly if you’re buying your own parts rather than a kit that you’ll likely need to extend all the cables (so buy wire for this) and also be VERY careful plugging in endstops. If you use + and - instead of S and - you WILL blow a RAMPs board (and trip a fuse at the very least on a RAMBo).
Now that sounds interesting, Paul. I’d be looking at just over £200 imported from the States.
Would you be good enough to send me a list of what I need and possible some instructions? I’d be very grateful.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Jim
That’s all true, but add to that many of the ramps stacks don’t work out of the box, they are also more fragile (so many of the ones that do won’t later), they need to have the pots adjusted (rambos have digipots). The economics start to make it a smaller difference. Add to that the fact that Ryan flashes them, and they are made in the US, and they end up being a very good option, at least for those of us within usps range.
I am not saying ramps are trash. But I do think they are appropriately priced. If you get one that works out of the box, and you are happy to flash it, and adjust the stepper drivers, and it continues to work for you. That does not mean everyone should.
Are you trying to bait me?
If you want it to just work, buy it all from Ryan.
That’s what I did, and I avoided ALL of the problems that everyone else has from substituting boards, drivers, motors etc.
I took the parts out of the box, put it together, followed the instructions EXACTLY, and there it was. Everything moved the way it was supposed to.
If it’s even remotely feasible to order the parts from Ryan, then do yourself a huge favour and order the kit for your first machine from him. 
Absolutely Matt but the postage and customs charges just make it uneconomic I’m afraid 
Jeff, the RAMBo board is indeed good (there are actually many other variants which are equally as good to be fair - some more expensive, some cheaper). It’s also worth noting that the RAMBo is the supported configuration and while I’m sure Ryan will help where he can, those of us who deviate from it do have to take responsibility for attempting to support ourselves!
Jim I’ll put something together and post it on here.
It was a bit rough getting them to Canada, I understand how brutal it must be to get them to the UK.
I hear you about the step by step electronic instructions. I watched all kinds of great YouTube videos and learned about so much but most of them were very short on electrical/control aspect of things. Throw in the different discussions of boards and then firmware and pretty soon it’s the Tower of Babel all over again.
I understand the price of importing stuff is a big factor that I can’t really assist with except to give perspective.
Spending on a well-proven board like the Rambo from Ryan that is preflashed will have one of the biggest returns on investment for your build. You will be using something that will allow lots of folks to assist you along the way. Using less expensive boards that you can source is totally fine, but that narrows down your support options.
Alternate boards are developing quickly and there are lots of folks who use alternate firmware also. But for a new build, not sure if that is an efficient use of your time.