Messages

171

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Final Build

« on: November 18, 2009, 06:48:42 PM »

Yeah, well worth the money, imo.  Btw, I learned a secret for this.  Ask around who your friends go to for anodizing.  I found a great cheap place!

172

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Final Build

« on: November 18, 2009, 01:12:39 PM »

Yeah, I did all the modeling myself.  All the plates are cut from my models.  I'm using the doughty drive B/C head for the spindle which is multi-axis.  Take a look:

http://www.doughtydrive.com

His service is great too.

Barry

173

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Final Build

« on: November 18, 2009, 12:21:50 PM »

It's all 6061 aluminum.  I had all the plates anodized after cutting to protect them a bit and look better.  There is a variety of widths, 1/2 inch, 3/4 inch, 5mm and 6mm.  I've got picts of them alll getting cut on the waterjet, that's pretty amazing.

174

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Final Build

« on: November 18, 2009, 10:52:43 AM »

I started by looking at everybody's machine on here.  I settled on two designs I really liked.  One was the cnctoolkit maker.  I liked his frame.  The other was doughty drives b/c drive.  I started modeling everything.  It took a long time, because I usually had to order the parts, take measurements and then remodel again to make sure everything will work together.  So in the end, I can say that this design is mine, but all parts can be ordered online save for the custom plates.  If it all functions well in the end, I might put together a build of material/parts list and suppliers so others can build one too.

175

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Final Build

« on: November 18, 2009, 12:21:19 AM »

Hey folks, I'm starting a new thread to show the final build from start to finish.  Tonight is only a little bit.  The plates are in, so here's a pict of them.  Also I started to assemble what I could onto the gantry.  It's so very cool to see it coming together just like the model;)





I'll add to this thread as I make progress.  I plan on having the whole thing put together by the end of next week.

Barry

176

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: Ku band power divider (~10 GHz)

« on: November 17, 2009, 10:51:55 AM »

Doesn't it usually seem like the emergencies happen on Friday afternoon.  I can't tell you how many emergency shots I've worked on over the weekend like that.  Thank God for overtime though;)

177

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: clean wiring no more

« on: November 17, 2009, 10:23:46 AM »

heh, you have no idea how clean, everything had that freshly oiled smell too.  All router bits and small parts were locked away and monitored by computer.  If something was missing, it was like an e-stop, nothing would operate, you had to find it and return it.  The QC was rediculous there, but you need that for rockets I guess;)

178

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: clean wiring no more

« on: November 17, 2009, 02:26:56 AM »

ack, that's not a good omen.  btw, i'm looking through old photos right now and found one of the ultimate machine shop.  Thought I'd share.  This is from the Jet Propulsion Lab.



I doubt my current wiring would cut it there;)

179

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / clean wiring no more

« on: November 17, 2009, 01:17:07 AM »

Hey folks, I just wired up all the limit switches for X+/X-, Y+/Y-, Z+/Z- and Door Open.  After looking at the box afterward, it made me miss the cleanliness I had before.  I might have to rewire once everything is built, just to make it look prettier.  Still though, I thought you guys might like to see my progress.

This is wiring for 6 axis, with a shared signal for the X axis for twin motors driving that axis.  So that's 7 gecko drives, all individually shielded with fuses, a smooth stepper, C23 breakout board, E-Stop, 7 limit switches, and spindle with speed control.

Am I missing something super important?  Because I think I'm planning on starting with this to do the cutting.



Barry

180

General Mach Discussion / trouble with spindle speed

« on: November 15, 2009, 10:00:10 PM »

Hello, I'm having a difficult time controlling spindle speed in Mach 3.  The Hz it should be running at full power is 300Hz, but when Mach 3 triggers it, it's only going about 20Hz (using the display function on the VFD).  I'm using a C23 breakout board from CNC4PC, and an X200 VFD.  I have it wired in power sink mode, according to their diagram here:

[urlhttp://cnc4pc.com/Tech_Docs/C23R2toVFD.pdf][/url]

It looks like everything is running okay, except for teh speed of the spindle.  Is there a setting within Mach to set the spindle Hz?  I tried motor tuning of the spindle, but that seems to do nothing.  Any guidance would be appreciated.

Barry