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Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: My new project
« on: February 13, 2008, 11:17:04 PM »
Thanks Brett,
I think I've finally got all the electrical bits ordered. They should be here the end of this week if the weather holds. I decided to go with a PCI parallel port card, and another breakout board in order to run the turret. Also finally got the O-rings from Dorian. What a pain!! and they are proud of them too!!
. I'm currently working on the adaptor plate for the turret. The plan is to put the turret back together this weekend and start the wiring next week. That is if I can finish another work project this week. 
I used the KISS method this time. I plan to have an on/off switch and an E-stop hard wired. Everything else will be software configurable on a USB or modbus pendant. My mill has all kind of interlocks hard wired for safety and it is a pain to start up and shut down. That is mostly due to the nature of what was available when I first did the retrofit. No mach3, charge pump etc. On the lathe the on/off switch will power up the computer and the charge pump powers up the main spindle and axis drives through a contactor. It should be just like booting up a computer. I think the controls are getting to the point that the only thing that makes sense is software configurable user interface. Otherwise you just wind up being way behind as things get better. I see that Art has started on lazy turn! I can't wait to try that out. This stuff is getting really cool!
I can remember putting together my first dual celleron 300 box and loading up Rhino. I thought things couldn't get any better. This was back when an SGi box cost a bloody fortune and the software to run on it was in the $25-50K range.....that was 10 short years ago. Then I bought an old Bridgeport Boss and put an Ah-Ha control on it. I thought that was pretty neat....that was only 8 years ago...Now I have full parametric solid modeling with assemblies, FEA, and mechanisms on a box so fast I can't believe it for a cost at least a factor of 50 less than the bad old days, and my Bridgeport runs Mach3 with conversational programming
Give it about 10 years and the fab at home stuff should be coming along nicely. Then molecular assembly. Pretty soon I'll have my very own replicator on my desk, and then I won't know what to do with all this heavy iron I worked so hard to accumulate.
I don't know where this is heading....but I think it will be on the same order of magnitude as the steam engine and the industrial revolution.
You guys keep up the good work!!!
Monty
I think I've finally got all the electrical bits ordered. They should be here the end of this week if the weather holds. I decided to go with a PCI parallel port card, and another breakout board in order to run the turret. Also finally got the O-rings from Dorian. What a pain!! and they are proud of them too!!
. I'm currently working on the adaptor plate for the turret. The plan is to put the turret back together this weekend and start the wiring next week. That is if I can finish another work project this week. I used the KISS method this time. I plan to have an on/off switch and an E-stop hard wired. Everything else will be software configurable on a USB or modbus pendant. My mill has all kind of interlocks hard wired for safety and it is a pain to start up and shut down. That is mostly due to the nature of what was available when I first did the retrofit. No mach3, charge pump etc. On the lathe the on/off switch will power up the computer and the charge pump powers up the main spindle and axis drives through a contactor. It should be just like booting up a computer. I think the controls are getting to the point that the only thing that makes sense is software configurable user interface. Otherwise you just wind up being way behind as things get better. I see that Art has started on lazy turn! I can't wait to try that out. This stuff is getting really cool!
I can remember putting together my first dual celleron 300 box and loading up Rhino. I thought things couldn't get any better. This was back when an SGi box cost a bloody fortune and the software to run on it was in the $25-50K range.....that was 10 short years ago. Then I bought an old Bridgeport Boss and put an Ah-Ha control on it. I thought that was pretty neat....that was only 8 years ago...Now I have full parametric solid modeling with assemblies, FEA, and mechanisms on a box so fast I can't believe it for a cost at least a factor of 50 less than the bad old days, and my Bridgeport runs Mach3 with conversational programming
Give it about 10 years and the fab at home stuff should be coming along nicely. Then molecular assembly. Pretty soon I'll have my very own replicator on my desk, and then I won't know what to do with all this heavy iron I worked so hard to accumulate
.I don't know where this is heading....but I think it will be on the same order of magnitude as the steam engine and the industrial revolution.
You guys keep up the good work!!!
Monty
Some of the internals were corroded pretty good, so I guess they were trying to stop coolant from getting into the turret. They might have tried installing all of the O-rings, most of which were missing 
. Fortunately most of the damage was superficial and easily fixed (except for scraping all of that #$%*&@#$ silicone off so I could re-paint it. So new seals and O-rings plus lube. The other thing I am doing is replacing the 3 phase AC servo that powers the turret with a stepper. I'll sacrifice speed, but It's a lot easier to deal with on this machine as everything else is run by steppers.