Modular CNC controller with DDCSV1.1 panel

[JayMcClellan]

I've been following the great thread on the DDCSV1.1 controller at http://madmodder.net/index.php/topic,11598.0.html, and since that thread is mostly software-focused I'm posting this as a separate topic. I recently completed a modular CNC controller with the DDCSV1.1 built into a pendant-style interface, with a standard connector that will connect to different power modules in order to run different kinds of machines in my shop. Here's a video I made of it:

I also posted more construction details on my web site at http://www.BrainRight.com/Projects/CNCController/, along with the post-processor that I wrote for Fusion 360 to generate G-code that works on the DDCSV1.1 as well as the original CNC Shark controller.

[tom osselton]

Nice job on the controler! The electrical stuff is greek to me but I have been gathering rails, ballscrews and such to make a large cnc router. I belive all that I need now is the frame.

[librarymark]

Gees, Jay - that's gorgeous! My hat is off to you!

You know, there are a number of Youtube's that feature this controller but most of them are not really all that useful. I have just now learned more from your video than most of the rest of them combined.

Got an idea for you: Your production quality is quite good. You would be doing the hobby CNC community a great service if you could cook up a start-to-finish demo/tutorial of this controller. There is a great need for it, imho.

Thanks again for some great ideas!

Mark in Dowling, MI

[JayMcClellan]

Nice job on the controler! The electrical stuff is greek to me but I have been gathering rails, ballscrews and such to make a large cnc router. I belive all that I need now is the frame.

Thanks Tom, I'll look at documenting more details on the electrical stuff. It was time-consuming to wire up because there are a lot of signal connections on this panel that I wired out to my connectors, but in fact most of them aren't needed for basic operation (for example many are for limit switches which I'm not even using). I just updated my Modular CNC Controller web page with a link to the user manual for this panel. You may find that helpful to understand how it's wired up, as it has pretty good example diagrams for connecting things like stepper drivers.

[JayMcClellan]

Gees, Jay - that's gorgeous! My hat is off to you!
You know, there are a number of Youtube's that feature this controller but most of them are not really all that useful. I have just now learned more from your video than most of the rest of them combined.
Got an idea for you: Your production quality is quite good. You would be doing the hobby CNC community a great service if you could cook up a start-to-finish demo/tutorial of this controller. There is a great need for it, imho.
Thanks again for some great ideas!
Mark in Dowling, MI

Thanks Mark, I will be glad to make a more detailed tutorial video of the controller once I have more time on it. I have run some basic operations to test things out but because I just finished the wiring part, I haven't really spent a lot of time using the panel yet. I'm looking forward to putting it through its paces.

[PPRINT]

Jay, thanks for taking the time to document the great work you have done with your controller project and sharing with the world. Access to well organize examples likes yours really does further this industry, and with that we all benefit.

I personally have a cnc router project that has been on the back burner for a year for various reasons. I have all the electronics procured, including an EdingCnc PC based control system.
While I absolutely love the EdingCnc product line and love working with Bert Eding, I fear that the issues associated with running control software through a PC in a windows environment is/will always be troublesome.
I immediately purchased a DDCSV1.1 after reviewing your post and website and just received notification that it has shipped and should be here early next week.
With it being Spring here in TX it is time to hit the water fishing so I won't make much if any progress for a month or two. Once the heat starts to rise I will be looking for the comfort of my shop and will hopefully get my project up and running.
I just wanted to express my thanks for sharing your project and time.
Rob


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[Joules]

Nice work Jay.

[ryan8]

Tried out your fusion 360 post  today, worked great - thanks!

Your enclosure and wiring look incredible - it has inspired/shamed me into redoing mine with proper ferrules...

[JayMcClellan]

Tried out your fusion 360 post  today, worked great - thanks!

Your enclosure and wiring look incredible - it has inspired/shamed me into redoing mine with proper ferrules...

Thanks, glad the Fusion 360 post works for you. I'm working on some enhancements to it for 4th axis support, to go with my new 4th axis build.

And don't be ashamed of your wiring - this was actually the first time I had used the crimp ferrules and I didn't even know they existed until just recently. Now that I have a ferrule crimp kit I wonder how I survived so many years without one. It's not strictly necessary of course, but it's a pleasure to use.

[DICKEYBIRD]

Hi Jay, thanks so much for your very clearly posted information; here on the forum and on your website.  You do really clean work and show it so well online. Man, I really like those crimp ferrules!  So much so I just ordered the same kit from Amazon.

I noticed you put a 22000 mf cap on your stepper motor power supply.  Is that just a "belt & suspenders" safety device added to your switching power supply?

[JayMcClellan]

Hi Jay, thanks so much for your very clearly posted information; here on the forum and on your website.  You do really clean work and show it so well online. Man, I really like those crimp ferrules!  So much so I just ordered the same kit from Amazon.

Thanks, glad you found it useful. This was the first project where I used crimp ferrules and now I wonder how I lived so many years without them.

I noticed you put a 22000 mf cap on your stepper motor power supply.  Is that just a "belt & suspenders" safety device added to your switching power supply?

The stepper drivers can draw fairly hefty current spikes as they rapidly switch on and off, and the capacitor helps smooth out the resulting ripples in the supply voltage. It's probably not necessary since I used a separate supply for the controller, and would be more important if the same supply were used for electronics that are sensitive to supply ripples. Power supplies have an internal filtering capacitor that does the same thing, but this supply was probably not designed to handle rapidly switching loads like this so adding an additional filter capacitor in parallel only helps.

[JayMcClellan]

I just published a new video that covers many details of wiring and configuring this CNC controller:

[hdo27]

Nicely done! Thanks a lot ;-)