Messages

211

General Mach Discussion / Re: Generic 4 axis TB6560 Spindle/Output Relay Issues/Q's

« on: April 02, 2014, 10:36:01 AM »

I had a similar issue with another brand B.O.B.  I'm guessing most of them are similar as far as the amount of power they will switch without on-board relays.  The spec on mine was 24 MA @ 5V.  I got one of these http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G18683 and used it to trigger a larger relay.

212

General Mach Discussion / Re: Need help with spindle relay

« on: April 01, 2014, 10:46:11 AM »

I had a similar problem & used one of these http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G18683  I'm somewhat electronically challenged and wasn't sure if it's OK to switch a relay with a relay but did it anyway.  Made sense to me at the time and it works fine.  Good to see that it's OK as verified by someone here!

I picked up this http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G19471 to mount it on and some of these http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G19462 to connect to with.  I felt slightly less E/challenged after successfully completing the hookup.

213

General Mach Discussion / Re: Yet another C3 Index Pulse Board/Mach 3 mystery.

« on: March 20, 2014, 03:49:23 PM »

I put a C3 on my mill and slapped on a black-painted CD with a (approx) .160" hole drilled in the outer edge.  It works perfectly up to the mill's 3200 rpm top speed.  I'll have to double-check the hole dia. to be absolutely sure.

214

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lathe Threading Wizard Rev 1.17

« on: February 07, 2014, 01:49:16 PM »

On the lathe I used a steel disc with an approx 3/16" hole in on the edge.



On the mill I did the quickest cobble-job I could think of as a temporay thing  & and never got around to replacing it; it's a CD disc painted black & pressed on by hand over a piece of heatshrink tubing on the little Sherline spindle shaft.  I call that Tennessee engineering but it works just as well!  Sorry, no pic.

215

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lathe Threading Wizard Rev 1.17

« on: February 06, 2014, 10:07:59 AM »

Having C3's on my lathe and mill spindles, I can vouch for their ease of installation and reliability.  My electronics knowledge is weak so I decided to buy them instead of just an opto sensor & resistor as advised by many.

216

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lathe Threading Wizard Rev 1.17

« on: February 02, 2014, 12:00:01 PM »

I'm curious why you're using a hall effect sensor.  Won't the magnet tend to pick up some of the ferrous metal swarf flying around and cause problems?   Seems like an opto sensor would increase the odds of it working more consistently?  My lathe has a knack for throwing debris into the strangest places. 

217

General Mach Discussion / Re: Brushless motor as a spindle ... And controll it with mach3

« on: January 11, 2014, 02:22:19 PM »

Here's the answer for non electronics wizards (such as myself) that can't build their own.  http://www.logicnc.com/rcnc.html

218

General Mach Discussion / Re: Brushless motor as a spindle ... And controll it with mach3

« on: January 11, 2014, 01:41:53 PM »

Interesting question which I'm curious to hear a learned response to.  I've run R/C planes, boats & cars for 40 yrs without knowing much about the magic "behind the scenes."  This link explains a bit about how they work.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servo_control

Seems like a simple task for Mach, yes?

219

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 and second parallel port card

« on: December 29, 2013, 09:04:15 AM »

...get the same board I have, as it does work perfectly with XP, the company has all the drivers on their site for every version of Windows PC made, and has the best chip for the Parallel port.

Thank you John!  I have plans to add a 2nd PP to my lathe control PC but have been putting it off due to worries about getting the right card.  Your clear & simple responses to Jude's problem has helped me tremendously.  Your screen name fits you well.

220

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Prima Lathe conversion

« on: December 23, 2013, 10:05:30 AM »

Wow, the overall look of the finished lathe is so simple & uncluttered Zafar!  A sign of great design & engineering.  (...but we knew that already.)

I really like the covers you've made for the carriage & servo mountings.  How did you make them?  I can't tell from the picture; are they machined from large plastic blocks or....?  That must've been a large project by itself!

I noticed it still has the compound fitted and a 4-way tool post.  Is it up to the customer to fit his own QC tool system or ATC?

Thanks very much for taking the time to post your work Zafar but we need more pictures and details to feed our lathe lust!