Messages

331

General Mach Discussion / Re: Strange doubling issue cutting lithophanes...

« on: August 20, 2010, 11:23:35 PM »

Wow, that is indeed allot of slack.

332

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Dixie Duke - A machine in the making.

« on: August 20, 2010, 12:34:57 PM »

A bit more done. I think all I lack now is making motor mounts, then I can temporarily hook up the electronics, to see some movement. Man, that head is HEAVY. Gonna hafta find a source for some lead shot to make a counterweight. 150+ Lbs I would reckon.

333

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: Some Lithophanes...

« on: August 20, 2010, 12:17:39 PM »

Those look fantastic. Thanks for sharing them with us!

334

General Mach Discussion / Re: Strange doubling issue cutting lithophanes...

« on: August 20, 2010, 11:59:13 AM »

It looks exactly like backlash in the X axis. I bet dollars to doughnuts if you looked under a magnifying glass, you would see that every other pass is offset. I would also presume that if you cut in the Y direction, the problem would disappear, or at least be not as pronounced. Be sure to check the motor connection to the shaft as well. Something has definitely worked its way loose. Great looking rose, by the way.

335

General Mach Discussion / Re: High speed spindle recommendations

« on: August 20, 2010, 10:13:35 AM »

not quite sure what you are meaning by a collet extender?

Same thing Simpson is talking about.
Good to hear about the link belting, as I'm planning on using some of it.

336

General Mach Discussion / Re: High speed spindle recommendations

« on: August 20, 2010, 01:04:35 AM »

Might as well throw my two cents in, I suppose. If it were me, and I already had a method of driving the spindle, I would go with the collet extender. Everything is pretty simple to make/repair. If a bearing goes out, no biggie, spend a few bucks and get a new set. Better yet, get a few and save on shipping, and when they need replaced, your back in action in a short time. You also have a wide range of collet sizes to choose from. You've already got a lathe and more than enough "know how" to make it, and with your expertise, you can produce a spindle MUCH better than any cheap engraver on the market. If something goes wrong with one of those, your most likely just stuck with replacing it, and putting your project on hold until a new one arrives.
Here's one on the zone Henrik made. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41200&highlight=spindle+design&page=4
Have you thought about using link belting? I've never used them, but have heard great things about them from several sources. Swede from 5 bears is where I got the idea for them. http://www.5bears.com/vfd02.htm If I had to take a guess, since there's less contact area, they probably produce less heat.

337

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: The Laser Project.

« on: August 19, 2010, 11:59:28 AM »

How long did it take for that one? I wonder what the effect would be if the side light was a blacklight. Might be interesting.

338

General Mach Discussion / Re: Power Supply for Motion Controlling

« on: August 18, 2010, 04:11:40 PM »

That's neat Tweakie. Can you turn the laser power down enough to etch something into the surface? For instance, if the cut-out was a dog bone, could you etch something like, say... "Scruffies vet and kennel" or whatever, and then maybe light the edges with a colored light so the etching shows up? Or would it be better done engraved with a cutter? I know that etching done on metal looks really great, but I was wondering about if it would work on the acrylic.

339

General Mach Discussion / Re: feedrate

« on: August 18, 2010, 03:55:44 PM »

there are feedrate overide hot-keys. It depends on what screenset your using as to what the keys are. I believe the default ones are the bracket keys "[ ]" or "0 9". Can't remember off the top of my head.

340

General Mach Discussion / Re: WHERE'S THE DAY COUNTER ???

« on: August 16, 2010, 04:42:35 PM »

Just post it here and let somebody else do the hard work, Bob. You shouldn't have to micromanage things like that. Better still, train your wife like Chris Botha did to run the cnc. And the Cad. And the Cam. And the laundry. And the cooking. And the dishes. And the yard work. And vehicle maintenance. And beer retrieval. And the list goes on. A role model for all of us, indeed!!!