Looking for best solution to route the bitrunner cable on a standard Shapeoko 3. Directions aren’t really that clear to me.
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You did not say what model you have. The XXL and XL have the BitRunner on the right side. The orientation of the BitRunner has the cable on the front side. I ran my cable down to the base of the machine and on the XXL I ran it under the machine to the controller. On the XL I ran the cable down and around the back and over to the front of the controller.
For me every time I have to take my controller cover off I have to fiddle with the BitRunner cable to get my BitRunner to work again. So I cut my controller case off to allow me to take the cover off without unplugging my BitRunner cable.
So if you have removed your BitRunner cable from the controller I recommend you keep your finger on the off button the first time you start a job. If the router fails to come on kill the power before the bit hits the project. There is a red light on the BitRuner when power is applied and the switch is set to auto which is also an indicator that the BitRunner has connection to the controller.
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I mentioned in my post I have the standard Shapeoko 3
Sorry I missed that. Since the controller is on the back of the gantry it will be harder to route your cable because the gantry moves and all the other wires are attached to the back of the gantry. I would email support@carbide3d.com and get them to help you. You may have to add a drag chain to get the BitRunner cable to follow along with the gantry. Sorry I cant help.
Another option may be to route your cable up with the router power cable with enough slack for it to flop back and forth like the router power cable. On both my XXL and XL the router power cable comes off the right side of the gantry and there is enough slack for it to flop back and forth when the gantry moves from the back to the front and back again. The XL has the same front to back travel as your standard.
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Thanks.
Yeah I emailed carbide and have been going back and forth with them. It seems like the option of running it along with the router power cable would probably be the best so maybe I’ll start with that and see how it goes
See my edit above with the pic of my xl.
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One concern about routing along the router power cord is that that will result in strain at each end — the connectors don’t have a strain-relief cover at either end and aren’t intended for the kind of stress which they far simpler three-strand power cables are made for.
Please ensure that each end of the BitRunner cable exit from the unit in such a way that they will not be jostled or moved — a straight-run underneath is the easiest way to do this.
When you say a “straight run underneath” how is this achieved when the bitrunner cable is attached to the main power board essentially in the middle of the machine? This just doesn’t make any sense unless I can see a photo or some type of diagram reflecting this
Curl the BitRunner cable so that it dangles down, then it’s a straight run along the surface of the table, then back up the other side.
Will I missed in his original post that the machine is a standard Shapeoko 3 with the controller mounted on the gantry.
In my photo above I show how I routed the router power cable on my XL which is the same travel as a standard 3. I think the only way to get a BitRunner cable would to be parallel the router power cable for a standard but I have been wrong before and will be wrong in the future. All of this is based on the BitRunner being installed on the right hand side of the Y axis rail.
In the photo you can see I used adhesive wire tie support for the power cable to keep it stable. On my XXL there is more movement and the router power cable just flops front to back.
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Oh, that’s a good point.
In that case, along the router cord is the best option.
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