This is where the road begins

[midget214]

Well, I ordered my H1 over the weekend. Can't wait for it to arrive. Realistically (even if it ships today from seemecnc HQ) it will only arrive in about 2 weeks time. But what can you do. In the mean time I will probably check what is on thingiverse and find things to print in the future. The only last challenge is to find filament that won't cost me an arm and a leg to get shipped to South Africa

[johnoly99]

Hey Midget214, John here. Thanks for your order! Usually, priority doesn't take too long to get there. I would say within a week? Now, the unkown is how long customs takes to process it. Either way, definately start reading through all the forums, both here AND RepRapForums. I recommend you download Slic3r and start playing around with it now. You can also download a program called repetier host, which has slic3r built into it. From it, you can get a good graphical interpretation of how your print path will look, as well as if you go the arduino style control, such as RAMPS, sanguino etc... you can drive your machine right from there!

Good luck, and we're always here to help!

[midget214]

Hi John,

I will definitely take your advise and start playing with all the various software that is involved. For now I will run it off Mach 3 since I have another DIY project that will start soon - a hobby CNC machine that will use the exact same stepper controller that is used with the H1 complete kit - so by using Mach now will benefit me later on as well.

Regarding the 2 weeks shipping - I have had experience with USPS priority shipping in the past - and I am very impressed with it (You guys in the states are very lucky with that kind of service). The last order I had delivered from them (From another shop) arrived within a week in South Africa. The problem is our local Postal Services. Lets just say they are "special". It took them longer to ship the package from Durban to Krugersdorp (which is about 620 miles) then it took for the package to ship from the US and get cleared at customs here.

[midget214]

Ok, I have read the assembly manuals, and I have a question regarding the wiring of the PSU. From what I can see the Ground and 12 V wires are grouped and soldered together, and then a 18 AWG lead is soldered to the each group.
The 12V rail on the PSU is rated at a max of 13A, but a 18 AWG wire can only carry max amps of 2.3A (According to this table anyway http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm)

From what I understand a circuit won't pull more amps that it needs, so if the controller board only pulls 2.3A it should be safe - but won't it be better to use a thicker wire (10 or 9 AWG? ) just in case?
Also, does the stepper controller have a current limiter built in? If not, it might be a good idea to include that as well?

Sorry if the above questions are dumb, my electronics knowledge is very limited at the given time.

[johnoly99]

midget, John here. Yes, actually the PS is rated for more than that even, but they are usually optimistic in their ratings. But, you can carry a larger wire into the driver board than 18 awg. It won't hurt anything. Also, yes, the board does have current limiting on the stepper drivers. The dip switches set current to 25%, 50% 75% or 100% current, not a real fine adjustment, but just fine enough. I use 50% current, and works just fine. Remember, stepper motors get HOT, as in 150F and up. So, don't worry if they're hot to the touch, they're supposed to be. Also, the driver board pulls 2.3A/motor, but that's a MAX figure. At 50% current, they usually pull around 1.1 or so amps per motor in full step full lock position.

[midget214]

I see. Then there is nothing to worry about. The only different step I am going to take with the PSU is to mount banana sockets in one of the PSU walls, and solder a banana plug onto the leads. By doing this I can keep my PSU sort of modular.

[johnoly99]

Good idea! They make great little PSU's for other projects. 3.3, 5 and 12v all in one!

[zaphod]

Of course *after* I cut off all of the molex connectors it dawns on me that just installing molex mating connectors on the H1 wire leads would keep the PS modular. Adding banana jacks to a molex connector would give you great flexability without moding the PS. This would just make another area where I'm different than all the others

[johnoly99]

I tend to hack off all the unused wires, but yeah, maybe just grabbing a female ATX 20 pin would be better. That'd give you all you need

[midget214]

Creating a Molex -> Banana adapter is a good idea, but don't you need all the 12V wires (the entire rail) for the power connection (Probably not since it only uses like 10 Amps max)? If I do create the Molex adapters I would need to combine some of the 12 V wires though right?

[mtizle]

If you have the new 4 axis board here is a link to a wiring diagram I created for the new board http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... 9&start=10

Mtizle

[midget214]

Just an update. My parcel cleared customs yesterday. YAY. Now to see how long our postal service will take to deliver the item. (Have high hopes but alot of their workers are striking - for the 4th month ongoing now )

[midget214]

Package arrived Yesterday. Outer box was a bit battered but the items inside was completely undamaged. The guys at seemecnc must hold Tetris High scores - everything was packed snugly and was a perfect fit in the box (I tried putting everything back in the box, but I couldn't ).

Needless to say, I am starting the assembly tonight