QueenBee PRO

The Bulk-Man 3D QueenBee PRO CNC Machine is a linear rail engraving CNC Machine.
The QueenBee Pro Full Kit is a self-assembly kit and comes with everything needed for building your CNC Machine. Other parts that are needed for you to perform your ‘first cut’ are Baseboard, Endmills, Power cord and Software.

The 1.5kW Air,  1.5kW Water,  2.2KW Air or  2.2kW Water Cooled Spindle Bundle contains all the hardware for mounting the Spindle on your QueenBee or other CNC machines.
The Cable Drag Chain bundle contains all the hardware for mounting Cable Drag Chains on your QueenBee , Ox CNC or other CNC machines to help with cable management.

Our 6 CNC Controller Options are broken into 2 software categories： GRBL and Mach3/DrufelCNC.

●  GRBL Software based controllers: xPRO V5,  High Torque GRBL,  MakerShield GRBL
●  Mach3/Drufel CNC Software based controllers: UC300,  NVUM,  STB5100

These are the different software programs that are used to control the CNC Machine and send G-Code.
Our professional recommendation is the xPRO V5 CNC Controller which is the most advanced GRBL CNC Controller of its class in the world. It has 6A silent stepper drivers, WiFi and off-line options, and is 4x faster than our other controllers.

Please note: V5 does not support upgrade the firmware to FluidNC.

For more information about the different controller options, please for more details!

QueenBee PRO

The age old issue of flex in the X-Z axis on the Leadscrew TR8*8 CNC was a common topic when considering upgrades for the machine. The main solution individuals came to was replacing the V-Wheels with Linear Rails to increase overall rigidity and accuracy as well as reduce chatter when working on metals.

After many CNC owners and members of the community approached us requesting a high quality linear rail solution for their machine at an affordable price, our technicians worked hard researching different options available and ways we can improve on existing designs. The result of the project is the QueenBee PRO CNC Machine.

What are Linear Rails and Bearings?

Why use Linear Rails?

Compatible Material for Cutting/Milling/Engraving: Aluminium / Hard Wood / Soft Wood / Oak / Plexi Glass / Delrin / HDPE / Foam

Package Content

• QueenBee PRO Mechanical Kit
• 4 x Nema23( 2.45N.m) Stepper Motors
• Cable Drag Chain Bundle
• Wiring Cable Kit
• Controller Bundle (Choose 1 of 6, Highly Recommend xPRO V5)
• Spindle Bundle (Choose 1 of 4)
• All Extrusions are M5 Tapped as where it is necessary

QueenBee PRO features

The QueenBee PRO has some very impressive features that have been introduced. Some examples include:

Upgraded Plate Set Design for all axis. The new plates have many key features including; Increasing the workable height Providing a solution for linear rail motion Correctly aligning the lead screw motion system Anodised thicker plates Additional mounting options for increasing overall rigidity Smarter design to allow for easy adjustments of parts after assembly
High Quality Precision Linear Rails for the entire motion of the axis
Upgraded Specialised Nut Block Spacer
Reduces almost all X-Z Axis ‘flex’ with strengthen linear rails and additional bracing

‘PRO’ features

The original QueenBee design was a good foundation for the Bulk-Man 3D linear rail upgrade, however it had some limiting features that were overlooked. After feedback we received from individuals upgrading their machines to linear rail, some features of the original design were identified as problems and we worked on creating solutions in order to make the QueenBee PRO an even more reliable and rigid design.

Some upgrades to the original design include: 

Standoffs for the ACME nut blocks. The original design spaced the nut blocks using the bolt and standard metric spacers. While this worked, the nut blocks were very easy to misalign and adverse movement of the nut blocks resulted in the feed rate being limited. The QueenBee PRO overcomes this issue by securing the nut blocks in place using a specialised spacer block. With our new specialised secure spacer block there is no unwanted movement in the nut blocks due to the extended standoff.
The X and Z Plate design allows for easy adjustments of the ACME Nut Blocks after installation If you have assembled a CNC Machine you know there is nothing more frustrating then having to disassemble parts just so you can adjust one component. Our new design has worked to make adjustments easy even after assembly.
Extrusion inserted inside the Y-Axis C-Beams making the axis stronger The empty space inside the C-Beam has been filled in to make a super rigid true 8040 profile.
Y-Axis End Plates have been re-designed to increase the rigidity of Y-Axis, as well as correctly align the Lead Screw for the new HGR Rails With the HGR rails and bearings spacing the gantry further from the extrusion the ACME Lead Screw has been cleverly positioned accordingly.
Y-Axis Gantry Plates have been re-designed to include additional mounting positions to secure X-Axis and increase Y-to-X Axis rigidity. A stronger Y-to-X Axis design has been introduced to reduce the chance of any axis ‘twist’.
Extrusion secured to the back of the X-Axis to reduce flex and increase rigidity By fixing extrusion to the back of the X-Axis the overall rigidity has been increased substantially.
All plates are designed for the Bulk-Man 3D Tingle Tensioning System Our Tingle Tension System to reduce lead screw ‘whip’ is a key feature in all new lead screw driven designs.
New and improved rigid spoilerboard design A stronger spoilerboard makes the baseboard installation both easier, and more stable.
Heavy Duty Slide in T-Nuts The Linear Rail is secured to the extrusion using Heavier Duty Slide in T-Nuts rather than the light duty Drop-In T-Nuts.

More information about the QueenBee PRO

About the ‘QueenBee’ name

CNC Machine designs evolve through community modifications and version upgrades. The benefit of the nature of the OpenBuilds style CNC machines means that designs can always be upgraded and improved on.

Working to create a linear rail upgrade Bulkman3D created the QueenBee upgrade as a linear rail option designed to work with Bulk-Man 3D CNC Machines. We made this linear rail upgrade the foundation of our own linear rail upgrade, however we have made several changes to the design to improve the machine.

There have been a few different ‘linear rail upgrade’ designs over the years to suit the QueenBee, Ox and Lead CNC Machines. A well known upgrade for the Bulk-Man 3D QueenBee CNC Machine was the QueenBee PRO. The original QueenBee upgrade paved the way for the Bulk-Man 3D QueenBee PRO, and the name ‘QueenBee’ has become a common description for linear rail modified WB machines.

As this machine is still an upgraded linear rail machine design, the name ‘QueenBee’ seems fitting however with the changes and improvements made to the new and improved Bulk-Man 3D design, the name given to this Upgrade is the QueenBee PRO.

What is the benefit of upgrading to a QueenBee PRO?

The WB is a very clever and strong design, it has been our recommended machine for many years and has served the CNC community well. However when the WB was first designed, the frame size was 750mm along the longest axis. This worked very well when paired with a small router in a woodworking hobby application. This design began to show some weaknesses when pushed beyond its original design as demand called for heavier spindles to be mounted to the machine, longer axis for enlarged workable areas, and capabilities of working with stronger materials such as aluminium.

The QueenBee PRO is the perfect solution to these weaknesses. The upgraded strengthen plates and extrusion layout paired with the precision linear rail system allow for heavier tools such as a 2.2kW and even a 4kW Spindle to be mounted to the machine. The increased rigidity of the linear rails on all axis reduces twisting of the axis and flex in the gantry observed on the WB due to heavier tools being used.

The QueenBee PRO creates a smooth and precise finish when milling aluminium and other soft metals by reducing chatter. The common ‘lead in’ and ‘lead out’ trail observed with machines using V-Wheels operating at high feed rates has also been eliminated. Faster cut times and operating speeds are now possible.

Notes

When upgrading an existing WB to a QueenBee PRO design, the WB will need to be almost completely disassembled.

Lubricant for the bearings is applied when they are manufactured however routine maintenance and re-lubricating is recommended, especially in high dust applications such as MDF.

Credit

Credit is owed to the the designers of previous machines that have paved the way for new designs that lead to our QueenBee PRO including, Carbide 3D, OpenBuilds LLC, Ooznest, CNC3D.

“V-Slot” and ” C-Beam” are registered trademarks of OpenBuilds LLC as released under the Creative CommonsLicence “Attribution-ShareAlike”

All our components are designed to work and are fully compatible with the products produced by OpenBuilds.

Bulk-Man 3D is the largest wholesaler of Open Source CNC parts to the world. By having the parts produced ourselves, or sourcing the parts directly from the factory, we eliminate the middle man and in doing so are able to provide the best wholesale price direct to the public!