Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: CNC-AL on November 22, 2012, 10:07:32 AM
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HI EVERYONE,
I'M GOING TO BE PUTTING A CONTROL PANEL TOGETHER SOON FOR MY ROUTER.
WOULD BE AWESOME TO SEE WHAT OTHERS HAVE DONE.
WHAT WORKED WELL ? / WHAT DIDN'T WORK WELL ETC ? / WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE IF YOU DID IT AGAIN ?
THANKS IN ADVANCE ;)
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Heres mine, first is the Computurn ( big lathe) Next Beaver Mill, next Bridgeport Mill (but sold BP and this will be going on Chiron VMC) and last is from the Conect lathe I am doing at the moment.
Hood
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Hi Hood,
Thanks for your post. Nice work on those panels.
Looks like you have some nice toys there.
I like those industrial keyboards. Are they hard to find? Do they cost much?
Cheers Al.
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I just keep a look out on eBay for them, they are not cheap new ( £200 plus) but on eBay I think the most I have paid is about £60.
One thing I will say when building a panel is it is important to have the keyboard angled and the MPG low down on the panel as if you dont then it gets tiring very quickly when using them. The big lathes MPG looks high up but its actually not too bad as the panel sits quite low, it would however still have been better if it could have been at the side of the keyboard, sadly that one is too big for that. When I did my first machine, a Bridgeport I had the MPG on the side of the head, your arms ached after a few mins if using the MPG so I have made sure I dont make that mistake again.
Hood
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Thanks Hood,
I'll keep an eye out on Ebay for one of those keyboards.
I did a quick search on Google images and there seems to be quite a selection available however $$$ would be the problem for me.
Cheers Al
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These particular ones have no F-Keys or number pads, but still a good deal if you don't need those keys.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/STORM-2210-22NS03-04-01-USB-KEYBOARD-2200-SERIES-/330834684777?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item4d0748ab69
http://www.ebay.com/itm/STORM-2210-22NS03-0401-STORM-USB-KEYBOARD-2200-SERIES-/130704338995?pt=Mice&hash=item1e6e95f033
I have 4 or 5 Storm branded keyboards, and they are top notch. Never heard of any complaints from any of the other folks that use them, either. "storm" should be one of the keywords for the ebay searches, or you could be searching within a billion useless results.
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Thanks Sam,
These don't look too bad and a good price too.
I use a hacked keyboard for extra inputs from the F-keys.
So not having them there to press accidentally would suit well.
Cheers Al.
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The storm keyboards are definitely the top of the range, I have one (with stainless keys) and it is very nice. They are excellent for dirty.damp hands as well being IP65 (or maybe 67) rated, then again all of the keyboards I use are that anyway.
Hood
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I thought all the boards you had were storm. Who is the maker of the other ones you have?
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Ha ha now you are asking, will have to look up and see. Heading out for a while so will hopefully remember to reply with the info when I get back.
Hood
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Sam, two (Beaver mill and Computurn lathe) are Devlin, see here http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,11382.0.html.
The one on the Conect lathe is a RAFI. http://www.rafi.co.uk/our-products/index.html
Hood
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A great page for ideas is this one for control panels (and pendants). Definitely inspiring:
http://www.cnccookbook.com/MTCNCPanels.htm
Dave
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Woo Hoo I got my Storm keyboard.
Awesome price too. I cant believe it.
Thanks Hood for letting me know about them. ;D
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Thats an excellent deal, its the same as I am putting on the Chiron.
BTW it was Sam that actually mentioned Storm ;)
Hood
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Oops my mistake.
Thanks Sam for your post on the Storm Keyboards.
Cheers AL ;)
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lol. No worries. Glad ya got one.
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Heres mine in the new box on the Chiron, suppose I will have to get the paint out now for the box ;D
Hood
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Looks good Hood. I will hafta take a pic of mine next time I'm in the shop. You'll all be green with envy. I really went all out, cost was of no concern.
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Looking forward to it Sam :)
Hood
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Will be standing by for orders. ;D Get yours before the holiday rush!!
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Hey Sam,
How much if i may ask? I would like one but can it be made portable and fit on an 11" high shelf?
Frankly just need something small with only forward and reverse gear knob along with push button starter. ;D
RICH
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;D
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Thanks Sam.
Now you've set the standard.
Great work. ::)
Cheers AL
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;D Thanks Sam, I needed that! The comments that is. The encloseer makes me jealoous though.
Rich, you know what they say............ if you have to ask, you can't afford it.
Brett
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Sam,excellent work there :)
Comments cracked me up ;D
Hood
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I don't know Sam, that's a lot of work, I just don't think I'll be able to put all that together. Possibly you can put together a turn-key package for us that are not so capable? ;D
Thanks for that, ;) I needed a good laugh this morning-
Dave
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Hehe... I think we all deserve a laugh now and again. I just can't find the time, energy, or money to make a proper setup. Soon as I get some spare cash, there's always something else to spend it on. Bought a bridgeport knee mill a few months ago. Ain't even got it home yet. Now I gotta build a good rotary converter. There's a sweet deal on a manual lathe staring at me too, that I'm probably gonna pull the trigger on. Too much stuff higher up on the "to-do" list.
Al, now you know that whatever you come up with, it can't be any worse than mine.
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Hi all
Just sharing few pics of new control box
Not wired up yet but happy how it turned out.
Spindle rpm is controlled by superpid
(http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=161714&d=1339914258)
(http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=161715&d=1339914292)
(http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=161716&d=1339914324)
Cheers
Riche
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Cheers!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Excellent work Riche - very neat job. ;)
Tweakie.
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Very nice, how did you letter it?
Hood
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Very nice, how did you letter it?
Hood
Engraved about 0.3mm then filled with thinned out paint , then light sand off top of acrylic. Did take a few test cuts on mdf to get x360 controller to fit right.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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thanks, might have to give the paint a go at some time :)
Hood
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Hi everyone and thanks for all your posts.
I received my Storm Keyboard in the post today.
It looks awesome and its pretty heavy too.
Anyhow I had a little play around drawing up the idea I had for the new control panel.
Haven't put all the buttons etc on yet but you can get a bit of an idea of the layout I was thinking of.
Have a look and see what you think. I would be very grateful for any feedback.
Cheers Al
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Looks good but one thing is I would have the MPG beside the keyboard if possible, I think it could get knocked where it is and also if you do use it a fair amount I think you would find it awkward.
Hood
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Thanks Hood. Good point.
Maybe Ill look at recessing the handwheel a bit.
I,m normally running a mazak machining center so I,m trying to sort of base my layout on that just to keep things familiar.
Cheers Al.
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If you find it fine on the Mazak then it may be good where it is.
Hood