Messages

7161

General Mach Discussion / Re: After using the “Steps Per Unit” in “Axis Calibration” my CNC wont run properly

« on: September 03, 2008, 09:56:14 PM »

MrChips,
Change it to the 16227 as Ger 21 suggests

.986/1=16000/X     its a ratio to find how much to increase your steps
.986X=16000
X=16000/.986 = 16227  that should very close and if not calculate it again ( probably not  linear)

( Another way is to make a longer travel if you can measure it accurately, but the inch travel should surfice)
RICH

7162

General Mach Discussion / Re: "Generally" Speaking, Quoting CNC work.

« on: September 03, 2008, 07:45:12 PM »

Hmm....
Like others say, if your in buisness, you got to make money. The more the better. Time is money.
Go to the a doctor, he looks in your ear, one charge, touches your tummy, another charge, and then informs you your a new patient and there is another paper charge. Ask the oil repair man to come out, $60 an hour from wherever he is to your house & $120 an hour while he's there. Dentist fills one cavity , charge, looks at your gums, charge, evaluates your smile, charge. Good grief don't ask a professional for an opinion, charge.........Not one them feels guilty! Get the picture. Undertaker once told me that "money has no concience". Went to spelling teacher, charge. Got a haircut, ugly girl and crappy hair cut leaving hair long around ear so i come back in 3 weeks $30 ( 20 minutes worth of work )!

Now as a hobbiest I do stuff for nothing, lets see, I made two custom sets of mirrors for bikers, it took 22 hours for the first set and 12 for the second= 34 hours total time. But I got my whole house carpeted for wholesale price on the carpet and free installation plus two bathroom floors tiled for free. The second guy saved me $2000 on my house air conditioning system which I put in. The custom door knobs done for someone else got got the house air conditioning charged. So barttering can pay off, sometimes. But it doesn't get the kids teeth done or feed the little eye's of the hungry!

If your not CNC'd today I don't think your even on the playing field. The smartest thing you can do is find those that you can trust and talk. More importantly......LISTEN.......when they start talking.
RICH

7163

General Mach Discussion / Re: parallel ports, serial ports, case fan cutouts..oh my!!

« on: September 03, 2008, 06:28:54 PM »

Well I found it, happen to leave it in a hotel while in S.C., this time put a note on it so it won't get lost. 

Code for DB25, 1/8" dia cutter. with .1 depth and retract, modify for your speed.

DXF file which was created from back plotting of the G CODE to a DXF file. That program I posted or noted in another post works great. Just remove a few lines of code and you got it. 

RICH

7164

General Mach Discussion / Re: parallel ports, serial ports, case fan cutouts..oh my!!

« on: September 02, 2008, 10:16:50 PM »

If you look at  Autocadd and Microstation associated sites you will find a wealth of all kinds of "stuff". Even if they are block
or cell libraries they can always be converted. Just be carefull as some can be just fancy shapes and not really done to proper dimensions. My problem is I download all this "stuff" and can't find it when I need it! Hmm....that remark kind of reminds me of my brain.
  RiCH

7165

General Mach Discussion / Re: After using the “Steps Per Unit” in “Axis Calibration” my CNC wont run properly

« on: September 02, 2008, 10:03:10 PM »

Sorry about that,.... loose steps.
Nothing magical, just try different materials and cutting depths and see what works.  Try the 1/4" dia x 1/4 deep at say 10 ipm, then 20
or whatever, won't take too long before you know what your machinie can do.

Before you make test cuts, get your motor tuning done.
RICH

7166

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: 1/12 SCALE MILLING MACHINE PARTS

« on: September 02, 2008, 09:33:46 PM »

Jeff
Didn't you ever hear of Leprechaun's?  I get the small ones at 4 for a $ at the local flea market. Trouble is they keep disappearing when it's time to do work. Will never get the mill done! 
RICH

7167

General Mach Discussion / Re: After using the “Steps Per Unit” in “Axis Calibration” my CNC wont run properly

« on: September 02, 2008, 09:19:00 PM »

MrChips,
The power supply min amperage should be at least equal to the sum of all the amps required for x,y,& z
along with proper voltage output. That said:
 
Would set the X and Y at the lower speed of the two. Think I am correct in that Mach will default to the lower speed of the two axis's when doing circular moves. Reliable movements are more important than speed. If there are minor differences in the acclerations between two axis set the x & y  at the lower of the two.
As the stepper speed increases the torque goes down. It is a trade off, faster speed with less torque or slower speed with more torque. So if you are cutting some wood  and say you hit a knot you'll need  some power to get thru it. Power is 
a function of speed and torque. So you run at a feed rate which leaves some reserve while cutting.

As far as acceleration goes, start low, increasing by 2x until your motors skip, then set at say 60% of that acceleration value, then tweek up or down to refine.
Just some thoughts ,
RICH

7168

General Mach Discussion / Re: parallel ports, serial ports, case fan cutouts..oh my!!

« on: September 02, 2008, 08:33:15 PM »

Dave,
 Here is a link to "cadforum" with all kinds DXF or dwg files for not only electrical but other discipline related components.

http://www.cadforum.cz/catalog_en/?fo=DWG&cat=59

RICH

7169

General Mach Discussion / Re: parallel ports, serial ports, case fan cutouts..oh my!!

« on: September 02, 2008, 07:45:45 PM »

Dave,
I think there is a parallel and serial one in the New Fangled Solution Suite. As far as fans HM... just try a few sites as many times they have a CAD library for what they sell. For a fan all you need is a hole of proper diameter which you can manualy
code or get from the wizards.
RICH

7170

General Mach Discussion / Re: Microstepping & Torque

« on: August 31, 2008, 10:34:51 PM »

MY NOTES ON DESIGN OF A POWER SUPPLY:
4 to 20x motor voltage ( GEICO DRIVE RECOMENDATIONS) [ of course stay within limits of your drive]
< 4X  drive won't run smoothly
> 20X motor heating
OVERDRIVE RATIO ? - 25:1 power supply voltage to motor rating ( similar to 4 to 20 above )
POWER SUPPLY AMPERAGE: should be greater the all drive requirements

Others may want to commnet on the above, but believe they are good quidelines.

BTW, when cutting heat sink or other AL which was anodized, that surface is harder than you think.
RICH