Salvaging parts from a SainSmart Genmitsu CNC system for use in a Maslow?

No Judgement
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Hey Gals and Guys,

Just stumbled upon the Maslow yesterday and i am loving the concept and working area.

Quick background. I am experienced with 3d printing, Arduinos, stepper drivers, the IDE platform and electronics and IOT in general. This year I built a Christmas lightshow synching over 6k addressable leds to music, so i am not adverse to getting my hands dirty.

I had been wanting to break into the CNC arena for awhile and also upgrade my diode and get it off my 3d printer. To that end I ended up getting a SainSmart CNC and a new diode to fit it.

Now don’t get me wrong this little thing has been a reliable beast, but its useless for anything beyond the smallest of projects due to it’s physical size so it basically sits on a shelf and gathers dust most of the time :frowning:

Due to family issues my finances have become quite limited (had to become a full time caregiver for my grandmother), so I am interested in potentially salvaging parts off it such as the z platform, spindle, laser module, electronics etc.

I am currently making my way through the available information on the system, but wanted to get some expert opinions and save myself some time and headaches.

Research saya that the control board used on the sainsmart is a Duemilanove/ Nano(ATmega328) which runs grbl/candle/gcode

Spindle is a 775 variable speed motor: 12V, 3000 RPM; 24V, 7000 RPM; 36V, 9000 RPM
Step Motors 1.3 A, 12V, 0.25 Nm torque (2.2 in lb)

Main product info page is: Genmitsu 3018-PRO CNC Router DIY Kit – SainSmart.com

I do have various electronics components on hand, ranging from mega boards (used in my printers) to cnc steppers/boards.

If I had to sum it up in on question what I need to know is:

What is my best/cheapest path to end up with a Maslow at this point?

Being more specific:

Can I use the Maslow firmware on other boards like I would with a 3d printer, just adjusting the code as needed to make use of the steppers/other hardware used?

Is there a kit out there that I can purchase that will let me use my existing hardware to create a Maslow?

Is there anyone that could work with me and create a kit I could purchase with Just the hardware I would need?

Is there anyone willing to work with me to figure this out?

If its not again any community rules… I have an extra fully functional 3d printer and 500 high quality addressable 5v pixels( 50 per string 5 inch spacing), either of which I’d be willing to part with in a trade if someone has a spare kit, or the parts to assemble a kit containing what I need… Really can’t afford to drop over 1k to get an M2 kit, not counting the sled/frame :confused:

If nothing else thanks for taking the time to read and humoring me!

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This might sound inappropriate, but hear me out:

  1. The spindle will work with a maslow.
  2. Maslow runs off of chains with encoder monitored DC motors with worm gears. Sounds like you have a pile of stepper motors that would work with 3d printers.
  3. Your controller is a ramps board. Masow uses the arduino Mega or the Due, but back to #1, without the worm drive, it won’t hold when you power it down. If you built it as an X-y gantry which as been done, you could do it… but if you do that, you might consider V1engineering’s lowrider version 3 (LR3) since it will use std steppers and can run with a ramps board or grbl.

To answer your question, you need to find someone who is selling a used kit for $150 or less. I had a guy give me one once, so it does happen. You need the 3 motors to make it work. Used motors are $50 each with the z motor being sold for $30. For the Z axis, you can fab your own for $50 off amazon with some timing gears and belts and a 200 mm lead screw kit. A ring kit and router z axis would be nice as well. The ring kit and z axis are found on makermade.com and are typically more than $150 for the upgrade kit. They charge $150 for the mega controller and motor shield that goes with it… There are other ways though. The maslow is nice because it takes less space, but if you are looking to cannibalize and build something, I would keep looking unless you can find a kit or a donor for the maslow with the specific hardware required. It would be awesome if we could just buy the right pieces rather than a kit.

There was a guy in Europe who made one with a welder and car window motors, but he gave up on it because he really needed the laser cut ring for the sled. I think he was on to something, but his motors still cost more than the ones used in the kit.

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Also sells kits and parts.

May not be selling anymore, questionable customer service/shipping times.

You could 3D print a linkage kit to use instead of the ring. In theory a stepper motor could be used for the z axis but firmware doesn’t support it. The smallest spindle I have seen used in the forums was a 500 watt.

The cheapest way would probably be buying a shield from Eastbay, mega 2560 from eBay/amazon, chains from eBay/Amazon, x/y/z motors from Makermade/Eastbay (or if you can find it on eBay/Amazon), 3D print linkage kit, use spindle, make z axis with meticulous z parts.

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