Jaxen CNC Mill - Homepage

Jaxen is the most powerful CNC mill at VHS, capable of milling steels and other metals harder than aluminum and brass.

As of 2026 September, it is being prepared for wider member use by the Metal CNC committee.

This is the homepage for Jaxen. Wiki pages for Jaxen:

Model	Mill: Grizzly G0619 See Manual (CNC Fusion stepper + ballscrew conversion)
Status	Being tested.
Usage Restrictions	Members with Training
Training	Mandatory
User certification required	YES - proof of successfully completing training
Hackable	NO - Join #metal-cnc-committee
Owner	Vancouver Hack Space (donated by Chris / ccudahy )
If it Breaks	Notify champion, put up an Out of Order sign
Loan Status	Donated — VHS purchased for $1; Chris / ccudahy retains first refusal if disposed
Arrival Date	August 29th, 2020
Location	CNC Area, Northeast corner
Champion	ColinL ; AndroidLX

Software: Runs UCCNC
Controller: AXBB-E (CNCdrive)
Installation: Inside a custom aluminum enclosure, coolant ready, mounted on a standard machine shop base, bolted to concrete floor.
Weight: ~200 kg
Mill mechanics: Modified with CNC Fusion stepper + ballscrew kit (original parts retained)
Motors: X+Y are brand 'JSS Motor' Model 57HSE2N-D25, Hybrid stepper with integrated encoders (aka “servos”)
Horsepower: TBD
Spindle: max 1700 RPM (unsure of conditions of exceeding this)
Sensors: 3x Limit switches magnetic proximity, USB-C probe (not implemented), toolsetter (not implemented)

As of 2026 Aug, with software backlash compensation enabled: users can expect accuracy of 0.01mm or better in X and Y.

Raw mechanical backlash before compensation: X: 0.08mm, Y: 0.06mm, Z: 0.16mm (Z needs to be investigated further).

To be measured…

Training

Mandatory training required before use.
Suggested to first complete training and certification on the 6040 CNC Mill "Loratron" but not mandatory.
Certification must be recorded before using Jaxen.

Always set both cutting speed and feed rate properly to avoid tool damage and poor results.

You can look at the Jaxen Job Log for examples of past jobs so you get repeatable results.
There is also a tool on the Jaxen CNC PC for suggesting RPM and feed rates based on your job. Name????

Critical

Non-Critical

Measure rigidity
Increase Y axis limit by moving vice, verify new limits and update specs.
Secure XYZ hard limits better, each only held with 1 screw.
Isolated inputs for hardware limits appear to be pulled high by 24VDC supply, bypassing isolation and daughter multiplexing board.
For custom boards inside column enclosure: Insulation on screw terminals and cable management for 120VAC connections- risk of short circuiting.
Add alarm monitoring of stepper drives as digital input (can monitor all in series with 1 input point)
Make probe circuit normally closed (active low).
Master power switch for electrical panel.
Addition of in-panel circuit breakers that isolate control and motor-power subsystems.
Get a smaller vice so that the movement range of the table can be extended. (Check actual gains from this to ensure it's worth it).
Coolant system
Upgrade the spindle DC brushed motor and drive train, which currently has about 5 degrees of backlash- hekseskudd says this would be the biggest single improvement to surface finish. Goal would be to have a big spindle motor like Gage had……….
Consider spare parts for the most common things users could break, like spindle system.
Consider systems for preventing crashes, currently only have software limits.
Add 2nd solid state relay to cut off power to motor drivers.
Check effectiveness of spindle encoder index pin, and potentially remove to free-up IO. Since it is not actually on spindle, index is not indicating any real fixed location.

Date	Who	Note
2026 Aug 28	Colin L	Splice spindle encoder cable, terminate, cable management, encoder PPM settings adjust.
2026 Aug 21	Colin L	Ground bus bar behind controller re-soldered, fix intermittent connections (spindle grounding). Tighten limit switch bracket (Z). Added 2nd magnet to Z limit post after failed homing. Remeasured backlash, same results. Setup software backlash compensation using test results, re-tested showing accuracy is now about 0.01mm.
2026 Aug 15	Colin L	Cut another notch in rear enclosure panel for column access.
2026 Aug 14	Colin L	E-Stop circuit troubleshooting, redesign, rewire, and document E-stop circuit.
2026 Aug 8	ColinL	Splice spindle speed control cable. Mount E-Stop button to front. Y-axis stepper cable management.
2026 Jul	Many	Moved Jaxen from beside electrical panel “MEOW” into Gage the CNC's old enclosure in the Northeast corner of the CNC area, rewired electrical panel
2026 Mar	ColinL	Created new profile for metric G-Code, tuned spindle PID loop, created basic workholding bed, backlash benchmarking, labelling, start of training program…
2025 Sep	Majicj	Substantial documentation done on the electrical control system for the wiki.
2016/2017	Chris (donor)	Disassembled after poor cut quality; discovered defective saddle, replaced with new Grizzly part, controller box rebuilt.
202x Jul 4	AndroidLX	Significant modifications performed. Machine confirmed to run UCCNC, noted as “not particularly user-friendly.”

Donated by: Chris (ccudahy) See https://talk.vanhack.ca/t/cnc-milling-machine-donation/10613
Donation terms: Purchased by VHS for $1; donor retains first right of repurchase if disposed
Donation date: August 29, 2020
Arrival location: Workshop
In 2025, King Industrial Stand purchased for mill ~$300-$400(KMS Tools)
2020 Original Base: Wood 93 × 61 cm footprint, 93 cm tall (engine hoist fits underneath)
Came with R8 tooling
Most of Tooling that came with machine seems to have gone missing

~~Gecko G540 stepper controller (see Gecko G540 Manual) (parallel port → LinuxCNC PC)~~
~~Integrated PC, stepper PSU, and controller in enclosure~~

Mill and original stand as donated by Chris:

Pic of Jaxen about 2026 Jan:

Pic of Jaxen about 2026 July during the move into the corner and new enclosure: