bludworth cnc saw machine help

Thats a xylotex 4 axis box. It will have all 4 cables coming out of the box, but it's only using 3. X, Y, and one for the lathe spindle.

The xylotex box's were very bad about smoking the board if there were any disconnects.

My recommendation is to buy a Gecko G540 and Mach3. The gecko is good for 3.5 amps at 50 volts, which is much stronger than the xylotex's 2.0 at 30 or 35 volts.

On ebay, deepgroove1, sells a good box complete with power supply and even a relay if you want to add it on.

The funny thing is, I bought the second one of these machines he made. I bought it without controls and added the xylotex to it. The gecko wasn't around back then. I told Leonard about them, and he started using them from that point on. They are good boxes. But better things have come along since then.

Edit-

Actually my machine is the 4 blade saw machine. After looking at yours, I think it's the single spindle to mount on a table saw. I've never used one of those, but the controls are the same. Get a G540 complete box for about $500, and don't look back. It's worth every penny.
 
Last edited:
iusedtoberich said:
What is your CNC experience? I think thats important to the advice you might receive.

I'm a cnc beginner I'd say. I did have that same model blud machine and sold it about 5 years ago. I got it set up and running, but then sold it... I also have a Taig CNC mill that has the same controller and steppers, but haven't used it in years...

Anyway, in reading everything I could find on setting up and building cnc controllers years ago, including most of the Mach manual, there are huge warnings that come with the controllers and stepper motors. They say if you connect or disconnect a stepper when it is powered up, you will ruin it. Seeing that you have a ripped wire, that could have very well have happened.

Those steppers are pretty cheap. You can get a new one and a new connector, and test the obvious.

If you are a beginner, you really need to read the entire Mach chapters on setting up your steppers. Print out the whole book and put it in a binder.

Good luck, from a cnc novice:)
Click to expand...

I never.....EVER work on anything that is energized. I was told the thing worked when I picked it up(even though I wasn't told about the ripped out plug). There was a molex type plug on the controller side and 4 bare wires on the motor side. The rotary stepper has never made a peep....

All that aside, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to give me advice.

This might just be one more thing that will cost me more money than I planned....
 
If you do get the electronics working, I'm curious what type of cutting results you get. Program in a straight line cut the entire length of the shaft dowel. Then mike the cut dowel every inch, and see if its actually straight.

I spent lots of time fiddling with mine, and was very disappointed at the results. I found many mechanical design issues with my machine. I had put together a list of improvements to make to the machine to the person I sold it to. If you'd like to know what I thought can improve the machine, and if I still have the file, PM me and I'll email it to you.

Good luck.
 
I'll second what RBC says about the g540. You'll never look back and you will have it up and running out of the box in less than an hour. Its one of those purchases that you would never regret.
 
pescadoman said:
x and y axis work fine. the spindle does not work. the person I bought it from ripped the end off of the connector and had been toying with it by just twisting the wires together. I bought some molex and wired it up....nothing....cut the ends back off and twisted the wires together.....nothing...

any ideas?
Click to expand...
Randy call me i can help you out i have the same machine that came out of the scruggs shop! it's a great machine if it's set up right thanks Sly. 410-827-4966
 
Last edited:
Randy

You could check a few things.

This is a 4 axis drive, and you only need 3.

first, tape up all the wires that are bare. Don't tie any of them together and keep them from touching each other.

Next, turn on the control. Do the other motors lock up? Remember not to connect or disconnect anything while the power is on.

Next, if the X and Y are holding, you need to see if one of the other drives is good. Disconnect one of the X or Y motors and hook it up to one of the cables from either Z or A. Turn it all back on and see if the motor locks up. If it does, then you have a good third axis. If not, try the other.

If you have 3 working axis, then you can make it work. All you need to do is assign the right outputs in Mach. I don't remember Mach2, but I'm sure we can work it out. We can get the pinouts from the xylotex site. Email me what you come up with. rbunnell@obcues.com. I hate PM's, so please don't send me one.

If you don't have 3 working axis, then you will have to buy a new control. You can get another xylotex board for a couple hundred bucks, but since too many of them are smoked just while hooking them up, I don't recommend this. Just get a gecko.

Let me know, and I'll do what I can to help.

Royce
 
leon sly said:
Randy call me i can help you out i have the same machine that came out of the scruggs shop! it's a great machine if it's set up right thanks Sly. 410-827-4966
Click to expand...
I'll call you tomorrow afternoon sir. I'm not a fan of calling people late at night.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Since the seller lied,make him pay for the Gecko.
Or split it.
Click to expand...

I don't know what to think about it. It was disappointing to learn about the connection, but it wouldn't bother me if the thing worked.

It is certainly possible that the loose heat sinks shorted something out.

All I know for sure is it doesn't work now and if I had done something to damage the machine, I'd be the first to say so...
 
The spindle stepper works. I switched the wires on the card. One drive didn't work(the one the spindle was originally on) Now all the motors pulsate when controller is powered up. Still can't enable the spindle or jog it...
 
Randy's CNC

Randy, I just saw that you were posting while I was typing...

I'm the one that sold Randy this machine and the spindle ran the last time I fooled with it. That wire got pulled out of it's connector when I pulled on the wire when it was still attached, not unplugged as I thought.
I don't know whether the heat sinks were off or not when the machine was in my possession since I had no occasion to open the controller. They were probably off when I got it....it came a long way. I carried it 400 miles in my truck to deliver it nearer to Randy.

I fooled with this machine a bit when I first got it from another AZ member some while ago but never used it...I'm strapped for space in my work area and I'm going to go with something with a smaller footprint, perhaps a Cuemonster. I like Unique products a lot.

In any case, the deal can be easily reversed if something is wrong. I was just trying to turn Randy on to a good deal since I don't need the machine. When I got it, I had to pay shipping (ouch!) from back east, but it was easy for me to bring it to Randy since I was going to be in his area. But...
No one told any lies. Joey, perhaps you should hold your tongue when you have NO clue what's up.

No good deed goes unpunished.

I posted this here so people would not spend a lot of time diagnosing software issues. I don't think there are any. I think the problems are related to me pulling off that wire (which seemed to be no big deal..just a connector) or being carted around this last few hundred miles, but who knows?

In any case, I hope I haven't wasted Randy's time if there is a problem I was unaware of, but his money is in no danger.

Robin
 
Last edited:
pescadoman said:
I don't know what to think about it. It was disappointing to learn about the connection, but it wouldn't bother me if the thing worked.

It is certainly possible that the loose heat sinks shorted something out.

All I know for sure is it doesn't work now and if I had done something to damage the machine, I'd be the first to say so...
Click to expand...

My apologies to Robin.
He shoots straight.
I thought this was another machine dealer you had to deal with.
 
I intentionally left your name out of this Robin, as I wasn't laying any blame(except for the part about forgetting to tell me about the plug). I like the machine and plan on keeping it, I'm simply disappointed it didn't turn out to be plug and play.

The heat sinks were attached with double sided tape(I swear) and it doesn't surprise me they fell off.

I suppose I'll just end up with a Gecko box and not fuss with this any more.

Joey, I don't deal with "dealers" anyone.

Robin. This is my issue to resolve and my responsibility. The time to return it to you expired the moment I opened the controller case and started messing with it. I don't hold you accountable and thank you for posting in the effort it would send help in the right direction..

Sincerely,

Randy
 
Last edited:
What happened???

Randy-
Well I certainly wasn't going to hide from the whole thing. I would have had no problem with my name being used. As I said, I wanted it to go smoothly, and would have no problem reversing the deal.

I'm glad you're not pissed...I might have grumbled some in your place.

What I was so stoked about whenI got it was "Damn! This is easy! All ready to rock and roll!!" Plus, it's sturdy enough to drive over with no damage.

This is definitely not I had planed for you.

I wonder what happened??? It worked great!

Robin
 
carguy said:
Randy-
Well I certainly wasn't going to hide from the whole thing. I would have had no problem with my name being used. As I said, I wanted it to go smoothly, and would have no problem reversing the deal.

I'm glad you're not pissed...I might have grumbled some in your place.

What I was so stoked about whenI got it was "Damn! This is easy! All ready to rock and roll!!" Plus, it's sturdy enough to drive over with no damage.

This is definitely not I had planed for you.

I wonder what happened??? It worked great!

Robin
Click to expand...

I don't know what happened....

Maybe the chip burned up because I powered the card up without the spindle stepper connected. I really don't know. Apparently the Xylotex card is really temperamental.
 
pescadoman said:
Ordered the Gecko kit....
Click to expand...

I know another guy here in Colorado that has the 4 blade saw machine like yours. He struggled for a long time to get it working right, but last I heard he was successfully tapering away, so yeah, the Xylotex can be made to work correctly. But I think you'll like the Gecko G540 a lot.
Jim (MC2) and others on here have given a lot of great tips over the years on setting them up for cue building and I know you know how to search. I know this machine is quite different from a Hightower style lathe, but I'll bet you can still find some useful info.

Have fun!

Gary
 
pescadoman said:
The spindle stepper works. I switched the wires on the card. One drive didn't work(the one the spindle was originally on) Now all the motors pulsate when controller is powered up. Still can't enable the spindle or jog it...
Click to expand...

Randy

If you have 3 working axis, then you can make it run with the zylotex box. I still recommend the Gecko, but the steps you'll need to know to setup the Gecko, you can learn by getting the xylotex working.

First, you'll need to configure the motor output pins in Mach2 to match the corresponding driver circuits on the zylotex board. Here's a link to the Mach2 book. It's on the machsupport website under documentation.

http://www.machsupport.com/docs/Mach2Mill_6.11.pdf

Look at section 5, the initial configuration section. You will need to set the right pin locations for the zylotex board. I believe they are as follows, but you can check their website to be sure:

axis, step pin, direction pin
X, 3, 5
Y, 7, 9,
Z, 11, 13,
A, 15, 17,

You would normally use A for the spindle, but since it smoked you're most likely using the Z driver for it. If so, the output pins in Mach2 for the "Spindle" would need to be 11 and 13. The gecko's pinouts are different, so you'll have to do this all over again when you hook it up.

You need to make sure the motor tuning for the spindle is using 1600 steps per unit, and pick a maximum like 500 for the rpm. You will need to make the maximum pulley speed in the pulleys match the max rpm in your motor tuning. This is very important if you want your rpm's to be accurate.

I think that should do it.

By all means, read that entire Mach2 manual. Several times! It's where I learned a lot of what I know.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top