Thread: CNC Router 6040

Yes, I can say I have. Mechanically not too bad for a start, but I did spend a fair amount of time squaring everything up to ensure it was square and true.

Initially ran with the supplied controller, but found it far too unreliable as it would periodically and randomly lose steps mid run.

I built up my own controller box using a Gecko 540 with a decent power supply in addition to running new cabling to the steppers and it has been a dream ever since.

Basically, they can be a good machine to begin with if you are patient, have mechanical aptitude and are on a budget.

Hope this helps

Johno

Thanks for replying. Glad to hear you are on your way with it. Are these the mach3 settings you used?

http://www.china-cncrouter.com//down...6433598141.pdf

Mike

+1 for g540 controller add EthernetSmoothStepper and your set


Acoustic and Electric guitars and Basses.

Mine has been i operation for a good few years now.

I will check what Mach3 settings I have on it tomorrow when I get back in front of it and will let you know.

mine is going strong. definately ditch the electronics. There are a number of options available these days, if your struggling to find hardware with a parallel port to talk to the geckos.

They call this a CNC 6040T.

Thanks folks. I know I will probably have to upgrade it but I wanted to see if it runs as is.

This thread may helps lots of folks so I want to note a few things I found so far. I am going to open the control and check it is set to 220 and not 110 volts. I will check everything is square and all the bolts are tight. I will check for loose wires as they lead to burnt out boards. I will put the water pump in a large container and add radiator coolant so the motor does not corrode. I did check the DVD given for viruses and I bought a licence and got a good copy of Mach3.

I will say it was packed very well indeed even with plywood packing in critical areas. One of the best packed things I ever got. I think the easiest way to get it out of the box is to turn the box upside down. The table was hard to get out. I did not get any fully useful instructions on how the table etc goes together - there is a video but it is not complete. I will face that challenge.

I've decided to post screen shots of the mach3 setup given on the disc, which differs from the printed on paper settings. I am sure the settings are wrong eg the limit switches are on but I did not get limit switches. I am afraid if I turn it on as setup it will fail.

Here are screenshots of the mach3 setup from the DVD disc except I have the spindle disabled for safety at the moment. You will see the 4th axis is not included in the setup.

Input signals attch

input signals 1-s.jpginput signals 2-s.jpginput signals 3-s.jpginput signals 4-s.jpginput signals 5-s.jpginput signals 6-s.jpginput signals 7-s.jpg

Output signals

output signals 1-s.jpgoutput signals 2-s.jpgoutput signals 3-s.jpgoutput signals 4-s.jpg

The rest of the ports and pins setup

engine config-s.jpgmill options-s.jpgmotor outputs-s.jpgport setup and axis selection-s.jpgspindle-s.jpg

Motor tuning

x-s.jpgy-s.jpgz-s.jpg

That is all of the settings windows.

Mike,

Near Toowoomba Qld

This is the settings file from Mach3. Once it is setup it can be used to backup your settings I read. You could rename the file to your mill name and it will save the labour of putting all these settings in manually. Once we get it right that is. It will only upload as a zip file. attch

Mike

This is the manual from the DVD.

Mike

Well the machine is together. It only took two hours including checking every screw and bolt for tension and also including taking the lid off the control box which is not recommended as they say and it is pointless as you can't see the voltage setting switch anyway. Fingers crossed it is 220v. It says so on the spindle. I think some of these machines can be switched between 110 and 220volts but I made sure I ordered a 220volt machine.

It was easy to put together. I put a shapeoko kit together and it was much, much harder. I had a lot of trouble with it. This thing went together square for me. It is solid.

Some of the bolts were loose as warned by other posts.

This part was not included - it is a guard for both sides of the table and it has no screw holes for it but I did get the screws for it ) see pic. I could make one up if necessary?

I did get t-slots. They are a metal bracket with one bolt with wingnut and another bolt threaded through the bracket to act as the clamp I think.

I am not sure which water hose goes on which spigot on the spindle but I guess it does not matter?

Overall, very happy. Dump the files off the DVD onto a usb stick and scan for viruses. Do not skip this step. Just saying. I used AVG and Malwarebytes.

One of the bolts on the draglink did not match the holes provided. Not a big deal.

Now I just need Mach3 set right and I am good to go. Hopefully, the electronics board will go. If not, I will upgrade.

The package did not take long at all to get to me in rural Qld near Toowoomba and it was shipped via Toll from a warehouse in Sydney. The boxes are heavy so have a plan in mind to deal with them - there are tree large boxes.

I also got some thread tape for the pump and four free router bits - 2 x 2mm and 2 x 3mm. They try.

Hope this helps somebody.

Mike

Forgot the home settings.

home.jpg

Actually, I just saw that the spindle is 220v. And for the control box it says:

Control box parameters:

Operating Voltage	AC110V
Control unit	Toroidal transformer + PWM power supply module + TB6560 stepping motor drive
Computer connection	Parallel port

Has anyone else come across this? What did you do about the voltage? As I said, I opened the box and I could not see a switch for voltage?

Mike