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Desertboy
16-01-2018, 08:30 AM
Yes Mesa 7i76e

I think you should take a step back and start with baby steps with Lcnc. Start by getting the homing sorted etc.
I have read your posts on the Linuxcnc forum and seen your ini and hal files they are different to the ones you have posted here try and be consistent with what you are asking.

I think your limits problem is that the machine does not know where it is, so get it homing first. I know where there is a working config for the 7i76e but it is for a plasma but is near enough.

edit : And just to keep you sane https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=255&v=bAdqazixuRY

The first ini I posted on linuxcnc didn't work I had set up A axis, the one I posted in the quote should have been the same one as I posted here but too early to check lol.

I've been looking at 7i76 for a little while but was confused on if 7i76 did step generation or you needed the 5i25 combo for step generation.

https://mesaus.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=69&product_id=78

I guess what I'm asking is can I get away with buying the Ethernet version of 7i76 on it's own?

I'll get the switches on today hopefully my M3's have been shipped so should be today they come but I did try no forced homing as well as manual homing which I read should have made this go away but it did not lol.

When I press - on the manual move buttons for the Z axis should it move up or down? I'm guessing down at the moment mine moves up lol.

My friend keeps telling me to just use Mach 3 but if I do then I'd set up a pirate see if it works ok do some cuts then buy it and the inner tight guy inside me says just learn linuxcnc you idle twat lol and then the £200 you were going to use for Mach 3 will buy a 5i25 and 7i76 with the saved money ;)

Desertboy
16-01-2018, 08:41 AM
I'm not sure about the AM882s, but with the software you can configure the EM806 so the fault output is active when ok (i.e. switched on), and goes inactive on fault (i.e. open circuit). That's how I configured my EM drives, which would allow you to loop through all the fault outputs and create a failsafe circuit.

I never understood what you wrote the first time but rereading it now it makes a lot sense basically setting the fault output to Normally Open. Basically doing the same as with microswitches setting them NC so if there's a dodgy connection line it will fault.

This is from the AM882 manual not got mine connected yet did make a cable but lost it lol but have more donor cables and usb to rs232 for the job.
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I wonder if the AM882 software works with Wine if it does I could use the linuxcnc to talk to the drivers which would be convenient but it's nto a major hassle to drag a windows laptop to the drivers for tuning.

Alarm signal high/low will be it and also interesting I can inverse the AM882 direction in software although I can imagine annoying later down the line when you forgot what you did and are reusing the drivers lol.

I'm running the stall to the Estop so will need to swap the wiring round on the emergency stop button to NC to match and invert the Estop pin but no biggie.

Clive S
16-01-2018, 10:40 AM
I guess what I'm asking is can I get away with buying the Ethernet version of 7i76 on it's own?
Yes as I said just the 7i76e.


When I press - on the manual move buttons for the Z axis should it move up or down? I'm guessing down at the moment mine moves up lol.


What do you mean by this it depends if you press on up or down keys

Also on the Z axis it should show -ve when going down. But in the the homing routine you can make it go either way it depends where the switch is ie you can change the travel to seek the switch out.

You are wasting your time playing without the homing switches on. As I said baby steps:thumsup:

Desertboy
16-01-2018, 11:20 AM
Yes as I said just the 7i76e.

What do you mean by this it depends if you press on up or down keys

Also on the Z axis it should show -ve when going down. But in the the homing routine you can make it go either way it depends where the switch is ie you can change the travel to seek the switch out.

You are wasting your time playing without the homing switches on. As I said baby steps:thumsup:

-ve right I have it +ve at moment, and I have the router on the X axis going left -ve, right +ve and the Y axis -ve away from the front and +ve towards the front where I load.

As long as the M3's come today they're on ;) the wiring is already in place and connected to the BOB and spade terminal the other ends.
Stuck at home for an hour so can't play waiting for the guy to come see why my boiler stopped working it's going to be the thermocouple it always is. The house I live in was built in the 1920's and it's bloody freezing without heating lol.

The other error I kept getting was joint following error which I traced to the PC isn't fast enough really played with different latencies and ferror settings to no avail but I do know this PC is utter crap so will swap a different one in.

Neale
16-01-2018, 01:09 PM
If you are standing at the machine with X going from left to right (- to +) then Y should be set with - at the front and increasing as it goes away. Convention says that X=0, Y=0 is the LH corner nearest you, although that's not essential. However, the relationship between X and Y is very important because your machine needs to be set up the same way as your CAM software. Z usually is zero at the top of travel and - at the bottom (so Z machine coordinates are always negative, except at the very top of travel).

If you are using F360, look at the little RGB axes that come up on the drawing screen, and imagine those transplanted on to your machine bed. Orientation of X, Y, and Z absolutely must match.

Clive S
16-01-2018, 01:55 PM
I agree with Neale but I have to admit my X and Y 0 are at the top left of my router looking from the end so that the gantry is furthest away from me, this is so I can use the bed as a dumping ground when not in use.

Neale
16-01-2018, 05:17 PM
In fact, on my machine, home and zero positions are bottom right-hand corner. Historical accident - I set up the machine with X along long axis, Y on gantry, intending to stand at the side for loading/operating. In practice, I stand at the end but haven't got round to resetting everything. I just have to remember when I set up a new piece of work. However, the really important point is relationship between axes. For example, it doesn't matter if you choose to home at max travel or min - just a simple setup matter. Just get those XY directions right!

Desertboy
16-01-2018, 08:18 PM
Replaced the linuxcnc machine with a core i7 (Think I need to restrict the cores for max performance) and now I can run the machine fast enough to firing a stall protect consistently which I guess is my upper speed limit. Somewhere around 4m/min with the 1400mm ballscrew which is a little faster than I thought it would do this is no load any faster it makes a funny sound and stall protect I think this is screw whip but hey just guessing.

At moment I have it running 2.7 used stepncof to set the A step and dir pins to Y and we have as much control as I had on 2.8 lol, same errors firing up but had enough went through 4 pc's before finally giving up and using my fusion 360 CAM machine set up as a dual boot.

Have the switches on need to configure them as I was checking the switches I managed to pull the wire out the X dir socket on the BOB just enough to not work but not enough to actually be visible spent 2 hours tracing and fixing that this time I put crimped them with ferrule ends they're going no where.

Worst part about the cheap BOB's is the sockets are just crap you can work with them but I'd rather pay a few quid more for some decent connectors.

Desertboy
17-01-2018, 09:21 AM
Mate wants a catweazle sign to name his pond so mocked him a quick on up last night.

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Was discussing dust shoes last night and my mate suggested I buy a brush head cut the centre bristles out and drill 2 holes in it and add some magnets.

Found the idea interesting and also very simple so going to see what brush heads I can get today.

Clive S
17-01-2018, 11:17 AM
Mate wants a catweazle sign to name his pond so mocked him a quick on up last night.

Was discussing dust shoes last night and my mate suggested I buy a brush head cut the centre bristles out and drill 2 holes in it and add some magnets.

Found the idea interesting and also very simple so going to see what brush heads I can get today.

Have you seen these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80mm-Spindle-Dust-Shoe-Cover-Cleaner-for-CNC-Router-Engraving-Milling-Machine/232495937626?_trkparms=aid%3D777001%26algo%3DDISCO .FEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160801204525%26meid%3D20c 2ec1cc12e4adcac9585ed46e90fb4%26pid%3D100651%26rk% 3D1%26rkt%3D1%26&_trksid=p2481888.c100651.m4497&_trkparms=pageci%253A6100990d-fb6f-11e7-9b6a-74dbd180dc33%257Cparentrq%253A039e0a721610a9c4a502 10eeffe634ec%257Ciid%253A1

Desertboy
17-01-2018, 03:25 PM
I've got it to run the splash screen ;)

https://youtu.be/JEo0zH5BMoM

Running 2.7 at moment with now working home switches, am going to upgrade to 2.8 but this was a fresh install so thought I might as well have a go.

I wasn't touching off each axis I assumed it was only for the Z causing most my errors.

My dimensions are wrong and not sure why will have to investigate tomorrow but when I move 1.2m I'm only really moving ~85cm so need to do some head scratching.

My microsteps are set to 8 and the ballscrew pitches are correct, it's set to 1:1

I also have the emergency stop button but unsure how to wire it up no instructions of course with the super cheap chinese stop button but I never expected anything more lol.

I did have it running a couple of weeks ago with Mach 3 but as soon as my mate went Oz I deleted the dodgy pirate and installed linuxcnc he's back in a week so glad I've got it working before he got back lol, he's a Windowsphile.

Desertboy
17-01-2018, 04:11 PM
Bought a dust shoe
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80mm-White-Spindle-Dust-Shoe-Cover-Cleaner-For-Cnc-Engraving-Milling-Machine/371993491977?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Think it's the same as you linked to just different colour, but UK ship although slightly more expensive.

I'm going to use a vacuum cleaner to suck on a cyclone wondering if I can use 100mm fittings on the cyclone to run a 100mm hose to the dust shoe or should I make an adapter so I can run a smaller hose to it.

Hmmm decisions.

Clive S
17-01-2018, 06:00 PM
You did realise you can buy those dust shoes with different hose sizes

Desertboy
17-01-2018, 08:20 PM
You did realise you can buy those dust shoes with different hose sizes

No but I would have bought 100mm anyway so I can change to a proper extractor when one comes along cheap enough ;) After all if I can't make a 100mm to 40mm adapter with my machine I'm in trouble lol.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1zfJWMMBMg

Router is definetely setup wrong, I checked the stepconf and it's 8 microsteps and 5mm for my X and Z, 8 microsteps and 4mm for my Y. I also double checked the am882 pdf as well for jumper settings so really unsure what's going on but too cold where the router is so had to come home. More layers tomorrow ;)

Got to be something trivial.

Desertboy
18-01-2018, 04:02 PM
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Jumper setting for my AM882's they're all set the same, I hope they're set to autotune SW4 off/on/off twice in 1 second and 8 microsteps, not sure why I'm out dimensionally.

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Also thinking about clamping

Thinking about cam, although I can CAM simple piecs of fusion most of what I designed to make is in 50+ pieces so looking for something to ease placement of the 50 pieces on a work piece, 2 sided machining and simplifiy the whole process.

I think it's a shoot out between Vcarve pro and Meshcam, leaning towards Meshcam at moment as it's $250

Desertboy
19-01-2018, 01:35 PM
Machine is exactly 1/2 out (Not sure where I got 85cm from lol) changed to 1:2 ratio and now it's spot on but I would like to understand why.

At least it's working correctly now and I have 70cm of usable travel on the Y can stretch to 75cm, 120cm*70cm*12cm can live with that ;) So so glad I didn't buy an Xcarve now.

This time the right size and 4 times quicker so it doesn't rub the wood and smoke lol

https://youtu.be/_gqikAi8-24

I'm scrapping the vac bed idea (For now) in favour of a decent clamping solution as the cost of the woods I'm going to work is very high so I cannot afford slippages.

Toying with getting Vcarve Pro (Or meshcam) but will have to wait a month so I'm going to play with fusion CAM and the trial of Meshcam for now.

Desertboy
19-01-2018, 08:05 PM
Clive what are your linuxcnc stepper driver timings?

http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Stepper_Drive_Timing

I used the ones for EM806, what does rising/falling edge mean I see there's some mention in the manual to do with jumper 8.

Clive S
19-01-2018, 09:10 PM
Clive what are your linuxcnc stepper driver timings?

http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Stepper_Drive_Timing

I used the ones for EM806, what does rising/falling edge mean I see there's some mention in the manual to do with jumper 8.

The standard default driver settings are fine. I find it very difficult to follow sometime because you keep changing the version of Linuxcnc so are not consistent with your questions. You are also jumping all over the place and seem to be trying things at random which does not help. The trouble with linuxcnc is that there has been some very big changes in the last year and the documentation has changed starting with V2.7 I suggest you get the v2.8 master (because you have two motors) and stick to it.

Please don't take this the wrong way:thumsup:

Desertboy
20-01-2018, 08:00 PM
No worries, now have upgraded to 2.8 and got 4 joints configured, Y is linked, X homes, one of the Y switches works, one doesn't. Have control of the machine can run code.

Got driven home by the cold spent a good 6 hours with the machine but no heating and in a large industrial unit it took it's toll on me lol.

Hopefully can work out how to configure my second homing switch have the .ini and .hal with me this time to post up on linuxcnc ;) so hopefully can work it out tonight I was getting close when I left.

This is how close X gets when homed now (I have it click the homing switch and travel another 50mm)
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If you see the spacer at the top is slightly loose it's because the bolt's too long by 0.5mm need to strip the Z off and shave the bolt down to sort but need to order the bits I need to add grease nipples to the Hiwin's so I can do at same time. The actual spindle is still rock solid but obviously going to sort out.

And this is how close the Y gets when at maximum travel +(700mm) although I still have 5cm to play with on the other side of the bed I think 70cm travel sounds good. It's freaky watching it plough full speed towards the end to then stop so accurately and quickly so close to the end.
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Now I've got homing working

Clive S
20-01-2018, 09:47 PM
Good work, follow rodw with his amendments I think they are correct. Just one point I noticed in the ini file is the z offset I think you have it at 0 it might be better just off 0 so as to not have false triggers.

Desertboy
21-01-2018, 11:05 AM
Good work, follow rodw with his amendments I think they are correct. Just one point I noticed in the ini file is the z offset I think you have it at 0 it might be better just off 0 so as to not have false triggers.

Will be doing this morning when I can drag myself back to work, I have no homing switch on the Z so I manually home. Will need to buy bigger energy chain to sort, also need to make a better mounting plate for the energy chain on the Y axis which isn't straight and keeps coming apart. I suppose I can now use the machine to make that bracket but probably just measure, mark and drill.

Desertboy
21-01-2018, 07:07 PM
Very impressed with the cut from the 2 flute 6mm end mill on the laminate I was expecting mega chipping.

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Because I only clamped one side it wasn't even so the white wasn't milled out properly but it was only a test with some scrap so happy how it came out as soon as my clamps come (Ordered 4 toggles clamps going to use 2020 extrusion across the bed instead of steel.)

23645

Need to flatten the mdf bed as well, gong to get a 1/2" trend straight router bit to do this as it will be a lot quicker.

Clive S
21-01-2018, 11:37 PM
Need to flatten the mdf bed as well, gong to get a 1/2" trend straight router bit to do this as it will be a lot quicker.

Be quicker still with a 50mm https://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Surface-Trim.html or similar

Desertboy
22-01-2018, 04:49 PM
It came so fitted it, think I'll put it sideways on though so I access the flip for changing bits easier.
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Had a find ;)

23649

There's 1 more piece to come

60*60*3mm box section steel 2.1m lengths going to use this to upgrade my router so work isn't finished yet lol but it'll take me a few months to raise the money for 25mm Hiwin's, proper R&P for the 2m axis and I want to swap my gantry ballscrew to a 10mm pitch. So plenty of time to play with her for the time being. I'm thinking of taking my gantry and dropping it on a frame made from this. I have loads of 40*40*1.5mm box section I can use for bed supports (Again free, sometimes it pays to pikey everything you see lol even if you sit on it for 3 years)

My favourite price free ;)

This will offset the not free stuff I had to buy lol

ordered a cyclone was going to homebrew but price was too good to bother.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cyclone-Powder-Dust-Separation-Collector-Filter-For-Vacuums-IA1-Cleaners/322841883332?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

and got a vacuum cleaner finally I had 3 2.2kw but wanted something a bit more reasonable to run so gone with a 1.2kw miele with power control can drop it as low as 250w cost free ;)

Clive S
22-01-2018, 05:13 PM
I noticed that your cy cable to the spindle is not secured in that every time the Z axis moves the cable gets bent at the plug. This is a major fail factor and might destroy the VFD as has happened a few time here. Can you put a supporting bracket from the Z front plate to fix it.

Desertboy
22-01-2018, 05:26 PM
I noticed that your cy cable to the spindle is not secured in that every time the Z axis moves the cable gets bent at the plug. This is a major fail factor and might destroy the VFD as has happened a few time here. Can you put a supporting bracket from the Z front plate to fix it.

Yes I can, I had noticed of course but keep forgetting I actually unsoldered it and tried to sort it out but still ended up the same lol.

Luckily there's a lot of scrap kicking around the yard so sure I can find something to do the job or actually desolder it get the cable in properly and resolder.

I had to wire my control box like 4 times lol this is pretty standard for me although I am getting better each time.

After blowing up a transformer it would be good if I didn't blow up the vfd lol.

Every piece of advice you have given has turned out to be the correct choice so I've learnt to heed your advice lol just wish I'd spoke to you before I ordered my ballscrews.

Desertboy
22-01-2018, 06:20 PM
Been ringing round for quotes on steel and it seems for another £100 and with the steel I already have I could make a frame 3m*1.5m quite comfortably with bed supports (No legs). That started me thinking if I buy another 2* 1.5m of 15mm Hiwin rail I could have the end cuts straight and then butt them together to extend the travel. Then I only need R&P for the now 2.7m axis and probably some motor upgrades and I'm good to go. I might even be able to make some legs out the bits of aluminium left over when I strip Betty or from the 40mm steel. I have 20 1.5m pieces of that again free ;)

But essentially I can convert to an 8*4 for under £1k but only with 15mm hiwin's.

I can get nema 34's for free in fact I gave away ~20 last year, I've said it before and I'll say it again check your local scrap yards it's criminal what's being scrapped ;)

Desertboy
23-01-2018, 10:02 AM
Overnight made my decision Betty's getting upgraded but will take me several months at least, what scares me the most is the rack and pinion for the 3m axis someone on here hasa plasma cutter setup this way they are going to learn to hate me lol.

15mm just seems too crap found 3m 25mm Hiwin's for $600+import tax I think this make sense and sell my 1.2m Hiwin's with ballscrews and motors.

Nema 34 the R&P, use a 4nm nema 23 for the gantry and use my existing gantry. Will need to remake every plate but now I have the machine working that's no biggie.

So to that end I spent this months budget on
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112394613868

Now I need to work out how to fit lol, I have a vague plan of fitting the BK15/BF15 upside down with custom adapters I'll make so it lines up with the existing motor mount for the gantry. I also might need to remake a Z axis plate we shall see.

Nr1madman
23-01-2018, 12:21 PM
Im envious of your drive (and time.. most of all time)
Arent you atleast curious about your current machines limitations and capabilities?
Understand me correctly now, if you learn more on whats failing on your current build you might get better insight on how to make it better? :)

Skickat från min SM-G955F via Tapatalk

Desertboy
23-01-2018, 03:31 PM
Im envious of your drive (and time.. most of all time)
Arent you atleast curious about your current machines limitations and capabilities?
Understand me correctly now, if you learn more on whats failing on your current build you might get better insight on how to make it better? :)

Skickat från min SM-G955F via Tapatalk

It'll take me 3 months to scrounge the parts so plenty of time to work out what I want to change but there's 2 things I already know.

I need more travel 1.8*0.8m at least and I need it to work faster a lot faster:)

Nickhofen
23-01-2018, 03:40 PM
Nice upgrade!!!

Nr1madman
23-01-2018, 03:40 PM
I have missed alot ;) but what speeds are you currently using?

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Desertboy
23-01-2018, 04:17 PM
I have missed alot ;) but what speeds are you currently using?

Skickat från min SM-G955F via Tapatalk

4.5m/min seems to the top speed for the gantry which is where I thought it would be (Screw whip is just over 1000rpm for this screw, 5mm pitch)

The Y axis is a lot speedier been able to run that at 7m/min so far might be able to push it a little further screw whip is just over 2000 rpm for this screw, 4mm pitch,

I'm going to use a 4nm motor on the gantry (2nm at moment) with the 2010 screw.

Of course the Y axis will be turned into R&P when I upgrade but for now if I can the whole machine running at ~8m/min I'll be a happy man.

In theory I should be able to spin the 2010 so I can get 13m/min but that's really down to how accurate is the mounting and how good are the bearings I bought the cheapest screw so the answer is probably not that good lol.

I'm going to go for 2.5m travel on the Y because if I'm going to do it I might as well do it right so I can process 8*4 not that I would ever want to touch that horrible crap I'm a real wood kind of guy.
Also the cost difference is couple of hundred quid now.

As Christian Slater said it's better to have a gun and not need it than need a gun and not have it just replace with cnc travel ;) Might not be quite as catchy.

I'm using a 2.9ghz I7 to generate pulses not sure where my speed limit will be but I know the controller will need upgrading going to get what Clive suggested as I want to stick with linuxcnc.

7i76e I think but of course I'll order the right one from the States.

Clive S
23-01-2018, 05:04 PM
7i76e I think but of course I'll order the right one from the States.No need to buy from the States you can get then from Germany or Portugal also the speed of the processor does not effect the pulses as they are generated on the card.

If you change to R & P then it will not cut ally as good. Timber you need to cut fast ally slow and need better precision .

Nr1madman
23-01-2018, 05:22 PM
Holy crap batman!
Im hoping I will be satisfied with 5m/m.
It sounds fast.. dont know how fast it will feel like though ;)

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Desertboy
23-01-2018, 07:32 PM
No need to buy from the States you can get then from Germany or Portugal also the speed of the processor does not effect the pulses as they are generated on the card.

If you change to R & P then it will not cut ally as good. Timber you need to cut fast ally slow and need better precision .

I could do a Dual gantry, been toying with it for a while on a switch so I can use either gantry with shared electronics, PSU, etc & 2 different profiles in linuxcnc. Share the rail, one R&P driven and the other driven by the 2 1m ballscrews. All seperate limit switches will be crazy wiring lol but not impossibly crazy.

When not in use I'll park the spare gantry out the way past the limit switches for the gantry that's working.

Cost is ~£600 with another 2.2kw spindle which is cheaper than building another machine of course and best of both worlds although I can only work one at once of course but since aluminium will very rare but the cost of outsourcing anything I want to do so high I can see it's worth it.

I could keep the 1605 ballscrew I have now for the 2nd gantry after all it doesn't need to be fast I only need fast for wood as my designs will fill the bed fior almost every cut and will be 3d milling 50+ pieces out of every bit of wood this will get old quick. At the moment going to have to cut real wood sheets in 1/2 to process them.

Doing the cam in fusion is getting old quick as well lol at some point will probably buy Vcarve pro.

Dual gantry opens up many possibilities although not with out headaches, but I could pimp it out with AM882's all round (So 8) and run both at the same time and be glad I got that 1kva transformer after all.

This would turn it into 1 1m*1.2m machine and 1 m*1.8m machine so would need 3 setups but opens up considerble time savings for certain things.

Desertboy
23-01-2018, 07:39 PM
Holy crap batman!
Im hoping I will be satisfied with 5m/m.
It sounds fast.. dont know how fast it will feel like though ;)

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It seems fast when you first move it that speed but wait till your cutting lol it's just never fast enough

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A quick mockup of the Bk15 mount this will space the 2010 ballscrew to align with the existing nema 23 mount for bk12 if I fit it upside down and it will leave 3mm clearance (Instead of 6mm) for the DSG20.

Bought another 10 omron microswitches as well so going to be properly prepared with 14 roller switches lol.

Nickhofen
28-01-2018, 02:27 PM
You might like that.
It is a diy handheld MPG to linuxcnc a guy from Denmark post at a cnc group on Facebook. The group is the DIY CNC and the member, Allan Madsen, said that today he is going to provide a link, to where he will post the files, to make it work in linuxcnc.

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Desertboy
29-01-2018, 10:59 AM
Excellent work by Allan will have to check it out, I know people have also got PS3 and Xbox controllers working in Linuxcnc for controlling the machines ;)

Having some latency issues with the I7 not geting the performance I should, it could be a few things from what I read up.

But the main candidates seem to be Nvidia GFX card (Need to work out how to turn it off in Linux so I can use the on board, machine is dual boot with windows want the Nvidia card for Fusion.) Possibly SMI, disabling cores and a couple of other things.

Toying with swapping the Y axis nema mounts so it's belt driven 1:2 motor:ballscrew as the 1604's have a critical speed over 2000rpm so I'm hoping I can drive the nema's at 1000rpm and get 8m/min out the screws and drive the 2010 at 1000rpm direct drive so I get 10m/min on the gantry. Resolution will be halved doing this but then the resolution of the 2010 ballscrew is still less.

Using 2010 ballscrew will give positional accuracy of ~0.05mm, slightly better with the 1604 geared 1:2 (Which essentially becomes an 8mm pitch for accuracy purposes) the microswitches I'm using (Omron) have a repeatability between 30-50 microns almost the same as the cheapo inductive sensors most of us use which works out to 0.05mm. So my repeatability on any part is limited to ths it might be better of course but in theory it should never be worse. (Ignoring wear and tear)

I have some 40mm inductive sensors I recovered that run on 48v I got from a large printer I scrapped I suspect these have high accuracy over larger distances, when I googled them they were over £100 a sensor the main reason I kept them lol.

I might have to strengthen the gantry with angle steel ground flat both sides and cnc the holes to bolt in into the T slot so the machine is rigid enough to actually take advantage of the speeds and can my PC generate enough pulses for that speed. I can see a step generator in my near future lol. I'm glad I have a friend who works for a big cnc firm as a foreman and who's job for the first 10 years was grinding ;) He also told me they been binning Hiwin's so he going to see if he can get me a set before they go in the skip, he laughed at my 15mm Hiwin's lol.

Thinking when I upgrade or build new if I don't go servos then going nema 24

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nema-24-Stepper-Motor-4Nm-3A-8-wire-8mm-Dual-Shaft-CNC-Mill-Lathe-Laser-Router-/121681232852?hash=item1c54c443d4

Good price for 8 wire motor, 4nm

Had a few crazy ideas for upgrading including 2* 2m travel gantries ;)

Still not got dual homing sorted but I did get an engineers square to straighten the gantry (It was well out, which is the technical and scientific term) and was happy to see when I straightened one side and checked the other side it was perfect. I had the machine switched off and rotated one ballscrew by hand.

Recessing the extrusion into the plate really helps in squaring the gantry you can feel it click into place when you've got it right.

Desertboy
30-01-2018, 11:24 AM
I have a 1204 ballscrew, it's a ground THK C3 with matching bearings 450mm long.

I paid £150 for it a few years ago from South Korea, I was wondering what it's good for? I was wondering if I could use it for a Z axis? It would have another advantage that it will mount easier with 15mm Hiwin's but I worry it's not strong enough.

Still floating ideas
https://forum.linuxcnc.org/38-general-linuxcnc-questions/33951-2-gantries-with-a-shared-work-area

This one's a doozy ;) I think linuxcnc is probably capable of driving something like this especially now everything is joints but CAM software could be a bigger issue.

23692

I just cloned the gantry not a proper design yet just floating ideas

Davek0974
30-01-2018, 12:53 PM
Is it a twin-head or a duplicator ?

One is hard, other is easy ;)

Desertboy
30-01-2018, 12:59 PM
Is it a twin-head or a duplicator ?

One is hard, other is easy ;)

I have a few ideas how to implement it, what switches I need god knows lol. I would like multiple modes.

1. Clone 2 identical machines ran from a linuxcnc controller, 8 AM882's.
2. Individual 2 sepearate machines how I would run it mostly, eyeing up the ddscv controller for this mode, 1 for my 2nd machine and linuxcnc can run the first machine.
3. If possible 1 linuxcnc controller utilising all 8 axis for a shared area this I see as maybe not possible with my level of skill and cam solutions.

How I switch all this I don't know but it can't be that hard.

I'm sure an inductive sensor can be used on one the gantres as an emergency stop so they don't crash into each other if the programming is haywire.

Desertboy
01-02-2018, 08:46 AM
Had a quote back for 2020 ballscrew, 2m long with fittings 3 of them just under £500 delivered to UK, (Will be £100-£150 in import tax on top). I should probably just build a new router square with 1.8m*1.8m (Going to need a strong gantry) with steppers for my 2nd router I can get some Nema 34's for £5 each off a mate who has a dolab full of them lol for Y and drop a 4nm nema 23 from cnc4you for the X. This is a lot more doable in the short term than dual gantry with servos all round lol. It's Chinese New year so I can't order for a month, well I can but nothing will be posted for a month. So have a month to think about thing before rushing in lol. 1.8m travel is what I'm after having it on both axis would be truly amazing. I've been doing a lot of test cutting now on my machine for the things I want to build and I know I need at least 10m/min cutting speed to stand a chance of making money on it. What I want to build uses 2 types of wood and I actually couldn't fit it on a 1.8m*1.8m bed to cut it in 1 but if I keep the original machine as well then I could run them side by side and make the item in 1 run giving me a fighting chance lol.

I would love to build a dual gantry machine but having spoken to some people on the linuxcnc forums it seems the software just isn't there to take real advantage of it. So in the end I'd be building essentially 2 cnc machines in one frame I could get it to clone easy enough (Parallel port switch) but even that would have dubios advantages as you loose homing on 1 of the machines. After all if I have 2 controllers it's not hard to run the same code on both and then have homing and forget the cloning. I can still see an advantage to have a dual gantry with a shared area if 1 is R&P powered and the other ballscrew and you only work 1 gantry at a time. Would be easy to use a limit switch so if the gantry not in use is not parked then power to the other gantry is off. 1 gantry for speed and 1 for aluminium. They could then share electronics at least if I can find the right switches after all I only need to switch 4 wires for each stepper which would be 2 sets for this setup (X&Z). It very easy in linuxcnc to have multiple profiles for the machine so wouldn't be hard to configure. This way sharing the rail, frame, electronics & controller you're saving a lot of money and floor space to get essentially 2 machines.

Maybe build No. 3 will be dual gantry ;)

Snapper
02-02-2018, 06:03 PM
23617

Jumper setting for my AM882's they're all set the same, I hope they're set to autotune SW4 off/on/off twice in 1 second and 8 microsteps, not sure why I'm out dimensionally.

23618
Also thinking about clamping

Thinking about cam, although I can CAM simple piecs of fusion most of what I designed to make is in 50+ pieces so looking for something to ease placement of the 50 pieces on a work piece, 2 sided machining and simplifiy the whole process.

I think it's a shoot out between Vcarve pro and Meshcam, leaning towards Meshcam at moment as it's $250

Have you looked through the add ons available for fusion? There is one to do precisely that. Select the bodies/components you want and the work area and it arranges them all nicely. There is some quite cool DLC stuff for fusion.

Desertboy
02-02-2018, 06:08 PM
Have you looked through the add ons available for fusion? There is one to do precisely that. Select the bodies/components you want and the work area and it arranges them all nicely. There is some quite cool DLC stuff for fusion.

No I hadn't but I am now ;)

Desertboy
03-02-2018, 07:50 AM
http://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/30/europe/spain-orange-in-cars-trnd/index.html?iid=ob_article_organicsidebar_expansion

Did a lot more test cutting I'm happy the dimensions are all correct but have managed to destroy a 6mm 2 flute end mill drilling through hardened steel not surprised the steel killed 4 cobalt bits in a drill press lol the end mill actually made it through at 24000rpm with a lot of pecking. It longer longer flattents it grooves lol.

Got myself some microswitches from China crazy cheap going to test the repeatability vs the original omron's that these are a clone of.

23712
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5X-Micro-Switch-Limit-Switch-Spdt-Hinge-Roller-Lever-15A-V-156-1C25-15A-ML/253326152558?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Came in less than 7 days

Desertboy
04-02-2018, 04:39 PM
23714

23715
Another step closer

How low should I set the dust shoe?

JAZZCNC
04-02-2018, 04:46 PM
Did a lot more test cutting I'm happy the dimensions are all correct but have managed to destroy a 6mm 2 flute end mill drilling through hardened steel not surprised the steel killed 4 cobalt bits in a drill press lol the end mill actually made it through at 24000rpm with a lot of pecking.

Why would you even attempt to do that unless you just like killing endmills and wasting money.?. . . Dumber than Dumb to me:stupid:

Desertboy
04-02-2018, 05:09 PM
Why would you even attempt to do that unless you just like killing endmills and wasting money.?. . . Dumber than Dumb to me:stupid:

Too true lol but I didn't mine testing it to destruction I bought 10 of them from Banggood for £3 each, I also bought load of other size carbide 2 flute end mills, ball mills for now to play with. I got myself a couple of trend 2 flute cutters as well and some v groove bits.

Pretty unsure what I want for woodworking but figured one day I'll probably want to make my own aluminium plates so get some 2 flutes end mills for now, I picked myself up a compression bit which is not ever going to cut anything but ply.

Eventually I want to be cutting Oak, Walnut, Mahogany, Beech and whatever else I can get my hands on that's not pine and not reprocessed wood. I think I'll invest in some proper cutters first lol.

I also want to cut polycarbonate.

JAZZCNC
04-02-2018, 06:08 PM
Got myself some microswitches from China crazy cheap going to test the repeatability vs the original omron's that these are a clone of.

Came in less than 7 days

Why bother.? About much use chocolate fireguard as home switches and that's the only reason to test repeatability. Wouldn't even trust them to turn light on in my fridge let alone limit switches. . . Junk = Hair pulling.!!

Desertboy
06-02-2018, 12:41 PM
They'll be ok for what I want to use them for, not positional accuracy lol.

Started on my clamps
23719
the 2 pieces will be bolted together with M4's a T nuts, then the ends drilled for M6 so I can bolt into T nuts in the 10mm track. Idea is I'll have 2 flat surfaces braced and all 4 corners. So I'll make 2 of these cost from KJN £35.

Will only work for rectangular stuff but that 100% of what I want to cut ;)

I ground the corners so they would sit flat when supporting the piece. They're adjustable of course so you can support any size piece and they work over the whole travel of the machine. Might add some toggle clamps.

Now I need a good table saw to prepare the wood on.

Ger21
06-02-2018, 01:07 PM
Now I need a good table saw to prepare the wood on.

A table saw is the 3rd machine used to prepare lumber, after a jointer and planer, or whatever you guys call them over there. :witless: (surfacer?)

Desertboy
06-02-2018, 01:15 PM
A table saw is the 3rd machine used to prepare lumber, after a jointer and planer, or whatever you guys call them over there. :witless: (surfacer?)

I want the surfacer ASAP (We just call them planers or sometimes thicknesser's) but my supplier for timber supplies it surfaced both sides so I can put it off for a little while.

My friend also has a really good one I could borrow at a push but it's massive 3 phase thing so don't fancy trying to move it but he has offered to lend it me more than once. He also has a window making table saw I might buy off him which has crazy travel and full slides all round with dual blades for cutting laminates. The problem is is far too big lol, I have considered a vertical wall saw as well B&Q style.

Desertboy
10-02-2018, 11:44 AM
23727

One clamp is finished but not got enough m4's 20mm to finish the other one, need a trip to toolstation.

You can see how I intend to do it though, hope it works ok ;)

There's a 7mm gap under the clamp at the moment but going to drop 6mm MDF on top of the 18mm so the gap will be 1mm. I'm also considering ways to apply downward pressure in all 4 corners as well for maximum clampage ;)

Desertboy
13-02-2018, 06:12 PM
These look uber cool
https://www.rapidonline.com/VEX-Mecanum-Wheel-100mm-4-inch-pack-of-4-70-6234?IncVat=1&pdg=aud-312640628093:cmp-831354174:adg-42136798985:crv-244952864777:pos-none&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5c7VmLCj2QIVkKLtCh3bJQBREAEYASAB EgK4x_D_BwE

Have no idea how I would use them except to make a robot to deliver me tea ;)

Desertboy
14-02-2018, 12:34 PM
23766

My ballscrew came (3 weeks, no import tax) it's a lot heavier than the 16mm ballscrew it will replace, the motor on this axis I recovered so unsure of nm but it's the same size and weight to within a couple of grams of my 2nm motors. It's a 2010 screw with BF15/BK15's I have to have a good think if I should fit it to Betty or use it for an 8*4 build. If I do use it on Betty I'll play it by ear if I need to upgrade the motor.

Desertboy
21-02-2018, 09:46 PM
23796

Clamps are working nicely now ;)

Going to use Knurled head bolts so I can adjust tool free, will greatly reduce the time needed to set the clamps up.

These are for the T slot corners
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M4x25mm-Carbon-Steel-Flat-Knurled-Head-Fully-Threaded-Thumb-Screw-Bolt-12pcs/302466215347?epid=21006738930&hash=item466c642db3:g:veEAAOSw4HNaTqx1

These are for bolting into the frame of the cnc
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282550095914

will slum it with A2's and an allen key until they arrive.

Also will change the 2020 on the bottom to 2040 this will let mill closer to the edge of the part
23799

Desertboy
22-02-2018, 10:24 PM
23802

23804

23803

2 flute carbide end mill, what bit do I need to get a better finish (Ripping) or it speeds? This piece of wood is at least 60 years old mate found it in a pile of wood his dad bought in the 1950's at auction. This piece of wood was far from flat lol. This is only pocket clearing with no finishing pass.

Also ordered a few
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262649813967

so I can have the most common collets I use fitted to save time when swapping tools.

Nr1madman
23-02-2018, 11:53 AM
I dream about the day I get to have these problems :D
This is just a guess but have you tried a downcut bit? As you are not cutting straight through it should leave a good finish on the topside?

Nickhofen
23-02-2018, 05:05 PM
As Robert said ,down cut bit, slower feed and............ put self adhesive tape at the side you cut, after the cut remove it and you will have a cleaner cut.

Desertboy
23-02-2018, 05:37 PM
As Robert said ,down cut bit, slower feed and............ put self adhesive tape at the side you cut, after the cut remove it and you will have a cleaner cut.

Good advice this was very old oak I tried a newer bit today didn't tear the same but still not perfect.

Just bit the bullet and bought a hardware step generator a Mesa 5i25 as my pc's not giving me the performance I can get out the machine.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272930377353

Plugs into the breakout board so no need to rewire which is good ;) I was in Vilnius last year I could have collected it lol.

This will generate more pulses than I could ever need it expands the BOB connectivity considerably but it's the pulses I can about, it can be linked to encoders for other funky stuff.

Clive S
23-02-2018, 06:50 PM
Plugs into the breakout board so no need to rewire which is good ;)
What do you mean by this? This will plug into your PC PCI slot but then you will need a bob like a 7i76 if you just use a standard BOB you will still only have 5 inputs and the opto's will no doubt be slow.

Desertboy
23-02-2018, 07:03 PM
What do you mean by this? This will plug into your PC PCI slot but then you will need a bob like a 7i76 if you just use a standard BOB you will still only have 5 inputs and the opto's will no doubt be slow.

https://forum.linuxcnc.org/38-general-linuxcnc-questions/34062-cheap-step-generator#106403

Just remember most cheap parallel port breakout boards are not designed to be able to handle the speed potential of hardware step generation. They often have relatively slow optos, not a problem with a slow parallel port, and shouldn't be with an ordinary step motor config (unless your using really high micro stepping and spinning fast). But it can be a problem with high resolution step/dir servos.

So we shall see I guess I'm only using 8 (maybe 16) microsteps with nema's. Not worried about the other inputs at moment but at some point I will get a daughter board for it and if I find speed is an issue that will be sooner than later lol. I assume I can set the khz within a certain range for each axis? If I can run at 50khz per axis I'll be more than happy for now.

Am I doing my maths correct?
8*200 steps *20 (revolutions in 1m) * 2 pulses per step=64000 pulses/metre
I want 10/min it would be 64000*10=640000khz then divide by 60 == 10666.66 khz per axis

Good thing about mesa is their upgradability.

Clive S
23-02-2018, 07:15 PM
This will generate more pulses than I could ever need it expands the BOB connectivity considerably but it's the pulses I can about, it can be linked to encoders for other funky stuff.

I do read all your post on the other forum as well. But you will need more inputs if you are using encoders and dual homing etc. The beauty of the 7i76 is that you will have differentials output for the step gens and 24v inputs etc.

JAZZCNC
23-02-2018, 07:55 PM
Am I doing my maths correct?
8*200 steps *20 (revolutions in 1m) * 2 pulses per step=64000 pulses/metre
I want 10/min it would be 64000*10=640000khz then divide by 60 == 10666.66 khz per axis

20 revs = 50mm pitch surely not.??

Khz = (steps per unit * velocity in units per minute) / 60

So Break it down into mm units not meters. So lets work on 10mm pitch with 1600 micro steps.

1600/10=160 steps per mm

160 x 10,000 mm/min= 1600000 /60 = 26.666Khz

Desertboy
23-02-2018, 09:19 PM
20 revs = 50mm pitch surely not.??

Khz = (steps per unit * velocity in units per minute) / 60

So Break it down into mm units not meters. So lets work on 10mm pitch with 1600 micro steps.

1600/10=160 steps per mm

160 x 10,000 mm/min= 1600000 /60 = 26.666Khz


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NXnxTNIWkc
LOL that's why I need to check it was having a blonde moment ;)

JAZZCNC
23-02-2018, 10:04 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MT3CihStFQ

Desertboy
24-02-2018, 02:17 PM
Life is like a box of chocolates, some bastards been in it before you and ate all the good ones leaving you the strawberry creams lol ;)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxM5SazF558
Hmmm I have a PS3 pad kicking around wonder if I can get it to work over bluetooth.

Nickhofen
24-02-2018, 02:25 PM
Cool!

Desertboy
24-02-2018, 02:37 PM
Cool!

You can do the same thing in Mach 3, not as good as an MPG of course but if you have a pad kicking round better than nothing for free.

Any linux (Or windows if using Mach 3) compatible gamepad will work.

Nickhofen
24-02-2018, 03:54 PM
I will try it , I have a wireless one from Logitech laying around!

Desertboy
24-02-2018, 04:09 PM
I will try it , I have a wireless one from Logitech laying around!

Mind you at this price I'm very tempted works with both mach 3 and linuxcnc ;)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Wired-USB-Hand-Wheel-MPG-Pendant-for-Mach3-CNC-3-4-Axis-Router-System-Hb04/2126489952

Nr1madman
24-02-2018, 06:00 PM
Mind you at this price I'm very tempted works with both mach 3 and linuxcnc ;)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Wired-USB-Hand-Wheel-MPG-Pendant-for-Mach3-CNC-3-4-Axis-Router-System-Hb04/2126489952
Have been oogeling this before.. wonder if it works well with uccnc?
And how long usbcable I can use reliably ;)

Clive S
24-02-2018, 07:03 PM
Mind you at this price I'm very tempted works with both mach 3 and linuxcnc ;)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Wired-USB-Hand-Wheel-MPG-Pendant-for-Mach3-CNC-3-4-Axis-Router-System-Hb04/2126489952

Where do you read linuxcnc in that link?

Neale
24-02-2018, 09:05 PM
[deleted]

Desertboy
25-02-2018, 01:17 AM
Where do you read linuxcnc in that link?

Nowhere it that link but I was looking for a pendant on linuxcnc forums and this one is mentioned so I bought one £60. If you google linuxcnc pendant this pendant is the first hit.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ctgaMqp3tk

http://linuxcnc.org/docs/html/man/man1/xhc-hb04.1.html
http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Using_A_XHC-HB04_Wireless_MPG_Pendant

There's quite a few threads on both the wired and wireless version, linuxcnc has had native support since 2.6 for this pendant.

I bought from this seller
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CNC-3-Axis-USB-Hand-Wheel-Pulse-Generator-MPG-Pendant-HB04-for-Mach-3-Router-/131454746732?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10

Desertboy
25-02-2018, 10:59 AM
Have been oogeling this before.. wonder if it works well with uccnc?
And how long usbcable I can use reliably ;)

It comes with 5m cable which is enough for me.

I suppose I really should wire the VFD to the BOB so I can control it from linuxcnc, the main thing for me is turning the spindle off when it's done.

So I can drink tea and smoke cigarettes ;)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg1di8sGxWc

Nr1madman
25-02-2018, 01:05 PM
5m. .. that works for me too...
Didn't think usb was reliable at that length :)

Desertboy
25-02-2018, 01:10 PM
5m. .. that works for me too...
Didn't think usb was reliable at that length :)

5m is the max length for reliability so I guess that's why they went with it but you can buy a wireless one from china for £5 more if I'd seen this yesterday I would have bought it but I don't really care either way I have a habit of losing things so wired is probably a good thing lol. The one I bought is coming from UK so will have it next week.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-4G-Wireless-Handwheel-Electronic-Mach3-MPG-Pendant-for-CNC-Mac-Mach-3-4-Axis/131239063971

Nr1madman
25-02-2018, 06:23 PM
5m is the max length for reliability so I guess that's why they went with it but you can buy a wireless one from china for £5 more if I'd seen this yesterday I would have bought it but I don't really care either way I have a habit of losing things so wired is probably a good thing lol. The one I bought is coming from UK so will have it next week.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-4G-Wireless-Handwheel-Electronic-Mach3-MPG-Pendant-for-CNC-Mac-Mach-3-4-Axis/131239063971

Another thing that needs charging is not always good either.. If I order myself something like this it will have a cable :)
But I think I will try xbox 60 or psu controller first.. have those laying about!
Wife and kids will be away week 11 so I'm hoping, dreaming and drooling about the oppertunity to maybe get time to see some movement from my roaring router :D

Desertboy
26-02-2018, 12:07 PM
Another thing that needs charging is not always good either.. If I order myself something like this it will have a cable :)
But I think I will try xbox 60 or psu controller first.. have those laying about!
Wife and kids will be away week 11 so I'm hoping, dreaming and drooling about the oppertunity to maybe get time to see some movement from my roaring router :D

Are you using Mach 3?

A disadvantage of the HB04 controller is it works in user space in Linuxcnc (Or windows) so if the PC crashes you lose control I believe if I have an MPG interfaced to the Mesa board I would still have control after a crash. Won't affect my stop button which I'm wiring so when pressed it knocks out the toroidal transformer and spindle as well as firing a software estop.

That way if the pc has crashed I still lose power to the steppers and spindle.

I need to make the cable to talk to the AM882's I did make one but lost it, I want to set the stall protect to NC.

I found it £10 cheaper from China not going to cry too much lol

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/CNC-mach3-USB-handwheel-4-axis-pulse-50PPR-optical-encoder-generator-MPG-pendant/32764949005.html

but £50 is even more tempting

Desertboy
28-02-2018, 09:59 AM
Mesa 5i25 is already in UK and out for delivery ;) That was quick, need to dig out a pc to fit it in now so I can recover the fusion 360 pc to always boot windows and put it in a heated room, with a table, chairs and most importantly a kettle lol.

Once fitted, I will change the ballscrews to 10mm pitch all round and upgrade the nema's to 3nm (or 4) I'm also going to add 2 pieces of angle steel ground flat to the gantry.

Add a home switch for the Z axis and I think I'm pretty much done with Betty so I can actually use her lol.

Just inside a year, next build will try to be a bit quicker lol.

My package just arrived with the 5i25 but I was driven home by the cold it's below freezing where the machine is it's just too bitter at the moment to be setting stuff up.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi1pkuyO9Po

Seriously cool

Desertboy
28-02-2018, 08:58 PM
23853

;)

Nickhofen
01-03-2018, 10:04 PM
Hmm what we have here?:very_drunk:

Nickhofen
02-03-2018, 03:56 PM
Tap tap,gouh anybody there? Did you put the card in you pc? Any reports? :P

Desertboy
02-03-2018, 04:00 PM
Hmm what we have here?:very_drunk:

It's a 5i25 PCI card for step generation in Linuxcnc it plugs into PCI slot on the motherboard and then to a standard parallel port BOB so it should be easy to setup with my existing system, you can buy add on breakout boards for the 5i25 so you can get better performance, even servo control. Basically this card gives you 2 parallel ports outputs with go faster stripes lol.

For now though will use with my cheapo BOB, my handwheel came today as well but still flued up been off work all week hopefully will drag myself in tomorrow morning to play.

http://store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=55

From what I read on linuxcnc forums this setup should be able to run 50khz per axis no worries which is good enough for me the actual card can get generate mhz per axis but my BOB is the limiting factor also AM882 have a max of 200khz input.

Have you thought about control yet? If you want to try Linuxcnc you can boot it in a Virtual Machine and run it in simulation mode to have a play. Sure Mach 3 must have a similar mode.

More than once I thought about a DDCSV standalone controller but dual homing and the fact that linuxcnc is a very mature, professional environment controller that has over 2 decades of development it's just a no brainer but I want a production machine this year (Either buy one at auction or build one)

In hindsight what I should have done is hooked my reprap 3d printer to the PP BOB and played with my printer from linuxcnc when I was building the router after all it doesn't mater if you crash the printer into itself lol.

another cheap/free way to get control

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egdhA2PBF54

Desertboy
03-03-2018, 03:28 PM
Nothing is ever easy grrr, the 5i25 is not working PC won't boot when it's fitted gave up for today as no spare desktop pc to play with but will try another machine but the pci slot definitely works as I had a parallel port card fitted before and working.

from the linuxcnc forums

There are certain motherboards (maybe about 1/2 a %) that the 5I25 will not work in somehow I just know I have one of those 0.5% of motherboards lol hpefully so then it's an easy fix tomorrow when I'm warmer.


The HB04 also came and 4 spindle nuts
23869

Took 5 seconds to connect the hb04 to the test program that comes with linuxcnc and everything works fine, wheel, buttons, etc. But I cannot for the life of me work out how to make it work with linuxcnc itself getting all sorts of errors but then I played with the Mesa and forgot the HB04 for now lol. HB04 problems are to do with joints in linuxcnc if I was using 2.7 it's a lot easier to configure so I will get the mesa to work first then the HB04.

Spindle nuts so I can keep my popular collets fitted in the nuts for rapid tool changing and they're >£10 a nut from UK supplier if I ever need a spare I paid £10 for all 4 from China 8 day delivery.

JAZZCNC
03-03-2018, 04:42 PM
Spindle nuts so I can keep my popular collets fitted in the nuts for rapid tool changing and they're >£10 a nut from UK supplier if I ever need a spare I paid £10 for all 4 from China 8 day delivery.

The difference being balance.!!. . . . The Chinese nuts will Kill your spindle PDQ if they are not balanced correctly.

Desertboy
03-03-2018, 04:46 PM
The difference being balance.!!. . . . The Chinese nuts will Kill your spindle PDQ if they are not balanced correctly.

How do I tell?

JAZZCNC
04-03-2018, 11:04 AM
How do I tell?

If out of balance you'll get vibrations.!

Desertboy
06-03-2018, 02:14 PM
Got the HB04 working this makes it easy ;)

https://forum.linuxcnc.org/10-advanced-configuration/32421-xhc-hb04-basic-setup-in-2-8

Loving it so far very responsive.


https://youtu.be/L0xiHTrlaow

Desertboy
09-03-2018, 08:01 AM
I want one
https://www.banggood.com/Alien-Insect-Building-Blocks-Educational-Toys-Children-Gifts-830Pcs-p-1241978.html?rmmds=detail-left-hotproducts__4&cur_warehouse=CN

23896

It's educational and for kids ;)

Ideal for that 5 year old who waiting to turn 10 so he can start playing gta v online like all his mates lol.

Nickhofen
09-03-2018, 08:56 AM
Nice educational toy for kids,it is like.."eat your food or I will bring the Allien toy" haha!
The good thing is that Aliexpress has money back guarantee of the item you receive is not as described! :-P

Desertboy
10-03-2018, 07:40 AM
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Alloxx-15-Touchscreen-LCD-VGA-POS-Touch-Screen-15-Inch-Monitor/192477707114?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Couldn't resist at £20

Nr1madman
10-03-2018, 07:45 AM
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Alloxx-15-Touchscreen-LCD-VGA-POS-Touch-Screen-15-Inch-Monitor/192477707114?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Couldn't resist at £20Seemed like an awesome price!
Please update if you are satisfied :D

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Davek0974
10-03-2018, 08:38 AM
Wow, thats a price i cant resist, one on order!

I'll put it on the mill, if that lives more than a day i'll get one for the plasma cutter.

Only concern is the resistance touch panel, not as good as capacitive but if it fails then no real loss :)

JAZZCNC
10-03-2018, 09:41 AM
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Alloxx-15-Touchscreen-LCD-VGA-POS-Touch-Screen-15-Inch-Monitor/192477707114?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Couldn't resist at £20


Erm.!! . . . . . Free delivery but Location says Arlington USA.!! . . . . Smells Scamy to me.?

Desertboy
10-03-2018, 09:50 AM
Erm.!! . . . . . Free delivery but Location says Arlington USA.!! . . . . Smells Scamy to me.?

I did think that but paypal will refund if not delivered so I figured worth a punt if it doesn't come I won't be out of pocket and maybe I'll get lucky.

After having 2 pc's in a row that wouldn't boot with my Mesa card (1 in 200 pc's affected I have 2 lol) I figure I'm owed some good luck ;)

Davek0974
10-03-2018, 03:45 PM
Erm.!! . . . . . Free delivery but Location says Arlington USA.!! . . . . Smells Scamy to me.?

Yep, completely reeks of scam but with PayPal in between, nothing to lose really.

Doddy
10-03-2018, 04:13 PM
Hmmm, another seller at £100 with £180 delivery seems more likely.

Recently scammed with an NCR touch screen with keypad (POS unit) - got it working eventually except the touch... dismantled it to find the touch interface and touch overlay not installed (optional extra) - still in dispute with supplier on that.

But. £20... worth a punt, see what the story is

Doddy
12-03-2018, 08:35 AM
But. £20... worth a punt, see what the story is

...and here's the story...


You were recently involved in a transaction for the following item:
192477707114 - New Alloxx 15" Touchscreen LCD VGA POS Touch Screen 15 Inch Monitor

We’re writing to let you know that an unauthorised third party may have accessed the seller’s account to list this item. The item has been removed from the site, and the transaction was cancelled. We ask that you take the following precautions:

Aha, the old "somebody else did this, wasn't me" argument

Desertboy
12-03-2018, 08:46 AM
...and here's the story...



Aha, the old "somebody else did this, wasn't me" argument

Wasn't an issue, already got mine refunded took 1 minute, just log into your paypal account and cancel the transaction they haven't excepted payment it's instant refund.

Might get one of these instead
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Raspberry-pi-2-LCD-display-touch-screen-7inch-HDMI-LCD-B-supports-various-systems/32602844785.html keep the main screen setup and set this up with a few simple buttons on it.

Desertboy
14-03-2018, 12:21 AM
23909

You win some you lose some ;)

£30 for the pair down from over £90 each now we have to work out how to use them. The bar is 1cm thick these are serious clamps.

These are the clamps
http://www.piher.com/en/bar-clamps/51-h-clamp--bar-40x10mm-depth-6-cm.html

1.5m versions

Desertboy
28-03-2018, 08:13 PM
24005
;)

Nickhofen
28-03-2018, 08:49 PM
Maybe his man is the reason that some spaces disappeared from the planet ... :-P

Desertboy
29-03-2018, 09:13 AM
Viz was excellent

"MOTORISTS: When going through a speed camera, flash your lights twice quickly and watch the driver in front hit his brakes when he thinks he's been caught.

GAMBLERS: For a new gambling opportunity, try sending £50 to yourself by Royal Mail.

EMPLOYERS: Avoid hiring unlucky people by immediately tossing half the CVs into the bin.

MEN: When listening to your favourite CD, simply turn up the sound to the volume you desire - then turn it down three notches. This saves your wife having to do it.

DRIVERS: Avoid getting prosecuted for using your phone while driving. Simply pop your mobile inside a large shell and the police will think you are listening to the sea.

BANGING two pistachio nut shells together gives the' impression a very small horse' is approaching.

DON'T waste money on expensive iPods. Simply think of your favourite tune and I hum it. If you want to "switch tracks", simply think of another song you like and hum that instead.

CINEMAGOERS: Have consideration for pirate DVD viewers by using the toilet before the film starts.

DRIVERS: If a car breaks down or stalls in front of you, beep your horn and wave your arms frantically. This should help the car start and send them on their way.

PREVENT burglars stealing everything in the house by moving everything into your bedroom when you go to bed. In the morning, move it all back again.

CAR THIEVES: Don't be discouraged if nothing is on view. The valuables may be hidden in the glove box or under a seat.

RAPPERS: Avoid having to say: "Know what I'm sayin'" all the time by actually speaking clearly in the first place.

SHOES last twice as long if only worn every other day.

SINGLE MEN: Convince people you have a girlfriend by standing outside Topshop with bags of shopping, looking at your watch and occasionally glancing inside.

EMPLOYEES: Only use the loo at work. Not only will you save money on toilet paper, but you'll also be getting paid.

SCROOGES: Save money at Christmas by returning last year's cards to the sender with the simple inscription "Same to you".

MICRA DRIVERS: Attach a lighted sparkler to the roof of your car before starting a long journey. You drive the thing like a sodding dodgem car anyway.

ANGLERS: Attach a helium balloon to your line and bait the hook with an acorn. Then sit under a tree and "fish" for squirrels. An upturned laundry basket would make an ideal keep-net, but don't forget to throw the squirrels back into the tree at the end of the day.

SINGLE MEN: Get a glimpse of married life by taping Woman's Hour on Radio 4, then playing it back at a higher volume than the TV while trying to watch something on Discovery Wings.

TIGHT-ARSED blokes: Only date girls called Natalie, Carol, Holly or Eve. Chances are their birthday is around Christmas and you won't have to shell out for a present until then, by which time they will have chucked you.

BOIL an egg to perfection without costly egg timers by popping it into boiling water and driving away from your home at exactly 60mph. After three miles, phone your wife to take the egg out the pan.

SHOPPERS: Take one grape to the till. It won't register on the low-tech, insensitive scales so you will get it for free. Repeat this procedure 100 times or so and you have yourself a free bunch of grapes.

McDONALD'S: Make your brown carrier bags green so they blend in with the countryside after they've been thrown out of car windows.

A POST-IT Note stuck beneath the nose is an ideal way to foil lip-readers.

AMERICANS: Save valuable time by not pending "God bless America" to your every sentence.

TOWN COUNCILS: Reduce litter problems by issuing blind folk with pointy sticks.

WHEN visiting a motorway service station for a cup of tea and a slice of cake, make sure you arrange your bank loan or second mortgage before you get to the tills, saving time and embarrassment.

CYCLISTS: Avoid getting a sore behind by simply placing a naan bread over your saddle. This will comfort your ride and when you return home, hey presto! A warm snack.

HOUSEWIVES: Before attempting to remove stubborn stains from a garment, circle the soiled area with a permanent pen so that when you remove it from the washing machine you can check the stain has gone.

SKY TV viewers: Avoid repetitive strain injury by holding down the "prog+" button on your remote control and taping your finger in place.

YOUNG mothers: Calm hysterically crying children in the supermarket by firmly slapping their legs and then tugging them along by the wrist.

PHILANDERERS: Avoid the embarrassment of shouting out the wrong name in bed by having flings only with girls who have the same name as your wife.

FOOTBALLERS: Remember there is plenty of time to get drunk after your playing career has ended.

HORSE whisperers: Speak louder. The animals will hear you more clearly, thus speeding up training times.

FEMALE shop assistants: When a garage mechanic comes to your till, add on a selection of random items they didn't know they needed and charge them £50 labour costs for the transaction."

Desertboy
06-04-2018, 06:27 PM
You need to be an historical pc geek to understand this but I bought a 2nd hand Unicomp model M keyboard, it's truly lovely I forgot how lovely IBM keyboards really were and the Unicomp version is very good at least the 2016 version I have.

Going to get an 80's IBM model M as well for a spare and convert it to usb although was tempted to get a model F keyboard which is what I grew up with but it has a weird layout and prices can get crazy.

The original model F keyboard retailed for more than the cost of 3m 25mm Hiwins from Fred now lol, they were $600 in 1982!

Desertboy
15-04-2018, 02:31 PM
Since I changed the pc and upgraded the electronics I've been able to ramp up to 9m/min now with the 2nm motors, I did try 12m/min but just stall protect immediately, I can cut 1mm depth in oak at this speed so I wonder if it's worth upgrading to 3nm motors given the rigidity of my machine. Glad I went with 20mm thick plates now nice one Zeeflyboy for the advice ;)

Loving my Unicomp model M keyboard it's super lovely to type on but no good for gaming (2 key rollover), bought a 1993 model M as well and although some people say you can tell the difference between the new unicomp and the original model M's they feel almost identical to me. The 1993 model has a slight ring when typing because IBM used plastic rivets which some have perished it types fine so most of the rivets must still be intact but I'll strip it and bolt mod it with metal bolts and better than new.

What amazes me is a 25 year old keyboard types the same as an 18 month old one.

Which one is 25 years old?
24067

Nickhofen
15-04-2018, 04:24 PM
The bottom one is the 25 years old keyboard, they do not make them with grey buttons anymore.....I think,lol!

Desertboy
16-04-2018, 09:20 AM
The bottom one is the 25 years old keyboard, they do not make them with grey buttons anymore.....I think,lol!

The top one is 25 years old! IBM used PBT which doesn't yellow (Although there are some rare ABS examples) so the keyboard looks new even after 25 years of use! It does have loose plastic rivets so I need to strip it and bolt mod it a common problem on the old model M keyboards. The white one is an Ambra keyboard made by IBM and branded Ambra (Which was meant to be their budget range only lasted 1 year, mostly because they didn't change anything so it wasn't very budget lol) which may be why it has white caps. Unicomp still make model M's to this day and I got the classic IBM style keyboard so it comes with classic keycaps.

http://www.pckeyboard.com/

Model M's created the keyboard layout we use today which is why they are so popular still, model f's are even better to type on and sought after but have a weird keyboard lay out which is just too funky for me. And it's harder to find a model f keyboard in the UK and I like having a UK keyboard. I grew up with model f keyboard was a thing of beauty especially as we also had a speccy which had the 2nd worst keyboard ever!

Desertboy
19-04-2018, 10:02 PM
When I went round to my mates barn I saw what he meant when he said he pimped the mower out.

24087

Desertboy
20-04-2018, 09:07 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzhW20hLp6M

Desertboy
23-06-2018, 11:35 AM
24469

Been busy but had a chance to make some clamps

phill05
23-06-2018, 11:46 AM
Hope you have plenty of cutters

Phill

Nr1madman
23-06-2018, 06:13 PM
Haha :D what are you planning on clamping there Mr crazy-clamp? ;)

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Nickhofen
23-06-2018, 06:28 PM
Nice...clamp clamp!!:applause:

Desertboy
23-06-2018, 07:16 PM
Haha :D what are you planning on clamping there Mr crazy-clamp? ;)

Skickat från min SM-G955F via Tapatalk

My first clamp I made was aluminium extrusion and it flexed when I ran the machine over 2m/min when cutting so I went a little OTT with box section steel and toggle clamps lol.

They're <£1 a clamp that's why I went so OTT, you only need 4 per part, gives me a clamping range of 15mm-28mm thickness, need to put holes in the end metal plates yet so I can use T bolts to attach and adjust the clamp. Going to use 2 per plate so 4 per "clamp for 8 T bolts in total. Wing nuts for tool free adjustment and speed.

There's 28 clamps on this cost ~£32 to build I had the box section, the annoying bit was drilling and tapping 112 holes to fir the clamps, box section is 3mm wall thickness. At the moment everything I want to work on is 20-25mm thick although I might make another one to do thinner material, need access to a steel milling machine for that.

You'll see I already lost one the rubber clamp bits will need to put a new one on, if you use these You should do what I intend to do and drop a nylox nut on instead of the normal one so it won't come loose.

Desertboy
02-07-2018, 01:06 PM
24497

Works really well only need 4 clamps per part so lot's of redundancy.

Desertboy
16-11-2018, 03:49 PM
I had to move the machine which meant rewiring so I took the opportunity to replace the linuxcnc with a DDSCV

25115

Going to add a stop and start button.

I have a stainless steel controller box I recovered for free but needed to make a new mounting plate.

f750
18-11-2018, 08:48 PM
I have built a machine following this and the Joe Harris build. I am using the same BOB and having read all the way though my question is, I am using a dual ball screws and could you confirm the wiring on the inputs for the limit switches.

Cheers Tony

Desertboy
18-11-2018, 09:11 PM
I have built a machine following this and the Joe Harris build. I am using the same BOB and having read all the way though my question is, I am using a dual ball screws and could you confirm the wiring on the inputs for the limit switches.

Cheers Tony
25131

I'm going to assume you want to use the limit switches as home as well.

What software are you using on the computer?

Do you want to dual home the gantry?

How many home switches do you have?

On that 5 axis BOB I have P12, P13 & P15 you would normally use for X, Y & Z limits in linuxcnc or Mach 3 you can also assign these pins in software so what matters is you're wiring matches how you assigned the pins.

If you want dual homing you can share the input as long as it's not the same axis. Needs to be set in software. You can also use the p11 tool setting as another axis.

Good good you were following Joe's Build too lol, I'm kind of the Benny Hill of mycncuk lol but with worse music and uglier women ;)

f750
18-11-2018, 09:31 PM
Cheers for the reply,I am using Mach3 as my software and have the machine working on it. I am at the stage of fitting the limit switches, I want to do dual homing on the gantry and keep the tool setting function.

Desertboy
18-11-2018, 09:40 PM
Cheers for the reply,I am using Mach3 as my software and have the machine working on it. I am at the stage of fitting the limit switches, I want to do dual homing on the gantry and keep the tool setting function.

you have 3 inputs pins and 4 inputs X, Y1, Y2, Z

Something like
P12 X
P13 Y1
P15 Z & Y2 set as shared. Since you use Z the least seems the simplest solution. Setting the pins in Mach 3 should be easy but I don't use it so you'll have to ask others.

There's a good forum for Mach 3 as well for setting up.

Desertboy
24-11-2018, 01:34 PM
25163

Bought some kit, also got a grinder and an impact driver coming.

https://www.powertoolmate.co.uk/


Got lucky they sent me the case for drill and impact driver (I only bought the drill) and then I bought the impact driver without case so it worked out.

Over £200 cheaper than buying from screwfix for the drill, batteries, saw, impact driver & grinder including the VAT.