Hot Wire CNC Foam Cutter Parts List

22 Comments

1. Hi Keith,
   Would use the DevWing Foam ver2 or the DevCnc Foam 1, confused as to which option would serve to cut wings only.
   Regards,
   Mike

   1. Hi Mike
      Dev Wing Foam is the right application to cut wings. DevCNC Foam is the software that controls the foam cutter. It does the same job as the “Hot Wire CNC Controller” I use but it probably has a few more bells and whistle.
      Hope that helps
      Keith

2. Hi Keith
   Can’w insert a 5’th rotary axis to this good build , also can’w expand thé X and Y axis a bit more ?
   Thks and congratulations.

   1. Hi Said
      The firmware won’t support a 5’th axis. There is a 5 axis GRBL firmware but I haven’t tried that but then you would need a different controller software as well. Using Mach3 or LinuxCNC with TB6560 or TB6600 based controller may be a better option.
      The X and Y axis can be expanded as required but as you get bigger and heavier the NEMA17 may not have enough power. You would probably need NEMA23 which the RAMPS board and drivers are not really designed for, NEMA23 usually need a lot more current.
      Thanks for your kind comments
      Keith

   2. Boa tarde, gostaria d saber como faz para aquecer o fio quente no mach3! Estou com uma máquina pronta e configurada, só falta isso! Tive a informação q da pra fazer pelo mach3, mas tb ouvi dizer q teria q por um regulador PWM para ir aquecendo o fio de acordo com a necessidade! Muito obrigado desde já é parabéns pela página!

      1. There are a couple of options.
         Some Lipo battery chargers have a foam cut option. My iCharger 206B has this option. I used that when I first started. You can also use a bench power supply. Some builders have used something like this on Amazon

3. Hello Keith,

   Drawer slides are 450/600mm full length or closed length ? 100% extension ?

   Best wishes,
   James

   1. Hi James
      It’s the closed length and 100% extension. I’ve only once or twice had them more than 60% extended. Using the closed length means the slides are better supported. If you used 600mm fully extended slides then it’s not as well supported but would probably still be OK.
      On swept wings, I rotate the wing to save foam and the slides don’t have to move as far out, I have a video here explaining it, Swept Wings

      Hope that helps
      Keith

4. What do I need to make my nema 23 stepper motors run

   1. Hi Keeny
      Do you have the model number of your NEMA23 stepper motors and do you already have a controller for them? If so send me some details so I can give you the best answer

      Keith

5. Hi Keith,

   do you thing it would be possible to cut a wing with winglets on your cutter?

   1. Hi Renato
      Not as one piece you would need to make as two and join together. It would look more like a end plate on the main wing section.
      Keith

6. Hi Keith,

   Question about the stepper drivers. I’d like to use these CNC stages to make up the long axis on my foam cutter: https://www.ebay.com/itm/100-1000mm-Ball-Screw-Linear-CNC-Slide-Stroke-Long-Stage-Actuator-Stepper-Motor/184460874290?hash=item2af2b99232:g:T~cAAOSwPpZZ7pux
   I’ll probably use the 600mm versions. I’d like to use these since they will be super stiff, as my dad who is helping me build this had concerns about the stiffness and accuracy of the much cheaper and lighter built stages.

   Since they are nema 57s, I’m guessing the stepper drivers and maybe the ramps board are not up to the task. Is there an alternative, or do I need to find something else to use?
   Many thanks for your excellent guides on building these things, the software side has always confused me, so the guides are excellent learning material!

   Thanks,
   Ross

   1. Hi Ross
      Personally, I think these are way over-engineered for a foam cutter. I get this question quite a lot where people are concerned about accuracy. I’ve built many wings and fuselages with my machines and with the DevWing Foam and DevFus Foam you can print the drawing off to scale. When I’ve laid the cut parts on top of the drawing they are a perfect match.
      The foam cutter doesn’t need the accuracy of a CNC mill or router to a thousandth of an inch. I’m guessing your Dad has an engineering background and that will be a big help too you. But honestly just look at the planes I’ve built on the website and you can see accuracy is not a problem. Everyone has come out just as I wanted.

      If you do go with parts you’ve linked then you won’t be able to use the Arduino and RAMPS board easily. Usually, Nema 23(57) use around 3 Amps per phase the RAMPS Board with the DRV8825 driver can only support 1.5A continuous with 2A burst. So you are either going to need separate external stepper drivers which involves a lot of wiring or use a different controller board or drivers using TB6560 to TB6600. Then you will need to use Mach3 or LinuxCNC to control the machine. A Mach3 license is $175. I did use Mach3 and LinuxCNC on my original machine and they work great but are a lot more involved to configure.

      You would be far better spending your money on software like DevWing Foam and DevFus Foam because once you have built the machine that’s where you’ll spend most of your time.

      Have a look a WinyHill Hobbies they make a very nice machine which may be more to your liking https://windyhillhobbies.com/ if you are still concerned about accuracy and it can use all the electronics from the website on my version.

      Hope that helps

      Keith

7. Hi Mr.Keith my name is Leandro I am from Brazil, I am having a problem, I had to adjust the value of $ 100,101,102 e103 to 40,000, but when I move the engines they move very slowly how can I increase the speed when I move in the manual? I am using gt2 belt. I thank the Lord, because I learned a lot from you! A big hug!

   1. Hi Leandro
      40,000 sound is very high and is probably why you are running very slow. What size pulley are you using and what have you set the micro-stepping to?

8. Good evening from Norway!

   The last evenings I have put all the electronics together and uploaded the software to the system. Tested all motors and everything worked as anticipated after watching the video. Thanks for that!

   Then the question: It shows hard to find drawer slides in the right dimentions. I have got the the samllest pairs, but they are 500mm instead of 450mm. Do I need to enlargethe vertical part in order to accomodate these?

   1. You should be OK. The slides will just be a little long on the vertical part D. You may need to add a little clearance on Part E just to clear the slides. I wouldn’t make part D any larger because the threaded rod will need to be longer and it all adds more weight on to the flexible coupler.

      Hope that answers your question
      Keith

9. Hi Keith,

   I have build a machine with your videos. I am using arduino Mega2560 and ramps board. Machine works good with grbl5 software. However one last thing needs to be done which is hot wire. I bought 30GA nichrome wire and i am using the ramps heat bad 12V output. Can you inform me how can i make that hot wire?

   1. If you have connected the wire to the D8 connector and use the slider on the software the wire should get hot. If your wire is very long over 1000mm then 12V may not be enough. The wire does not need to glow red that will be too hot and melt too much foam.

      Keith

10. Hi Keith,

    I can see your reply from mail but cannot answer guess there is some bug on the reply link. So i will reply to you here. My hot wire 90 cm long, 30 GA( 0.25 mm diameter) nichrome and resistance of 27 ohms. When i use the d8 which works perfectly i can see the lED is going red and measure the voltage on the wire with the multimeter i can see 12V. But my current is not enough for this values around 0.44 amps. How much current do i need to apply to make it hot? (It is not warming, not even 40 degree wire jsut stay at room temp.)

    1. Hi
       You can email me hotwire.cnc@gmail.com
       Do you have power going to both feeds on the RAMPS board? It sounds like you don’t have power. What settings do you have configured in the settings page. Can you send a screenshot?

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