PDA

View Full Version : CNC 3020 Enclosure/Upgrade



Pointy
18-02-2014, 01:03 PM
This is a continuation of this (http://www.mycncuk.com/forums/mills-routers-lathes-commercial-machines/6896-yet-another-chinese-3020-cnc-upgrade-thread-4.html) thread. My idea was to build and enclosure for my Chinese 3020 cnc machine, I purchased from Ebay. The top part of the enclosure will house all of the electronics and PC and simply sit over the actual cnc machine. The framework will be made from aluminium profile with perspex side panels and aluminium panels for the top box and back. I have an old 17" touch screen LCD monitor laying about, which will sit on top of the enclosure. For the time being I am going to reuse most of the control electronics, but I have built an opto-isolated addon board, to allow me to connect limit/home switches and a probe, as well as control the spindle from within Mach3. I also plan to have a custom HID controller to allow me to have basic control from the front panel. Lastly I will add some form of led lighting to light up the working area.


The Frame

I won’t go into too much detail about building the frame as it’s pretty easy, I'll just give a quick overview.

First off I made a sketchup model which helped me visualize things and calculate sizes.


1164011644

After pricing everything up I decided to go with the cheapest 4 slot 30mm aluminium profile (http://www.motedis.co.uk/shop/Slot-profiles/Profile-30-B-Type-slot-8/Profile-30x30-B-Type-Slot-8::99999432.html), as this was my first time of working with aluminium profile, I wasn't sure how easy it would be. To start with I drilled the 8mm clearance holes for the torx tool, this was bigger than the recommend size but it would give me a little extra room to move things to square them up if needed.


11641

Although I bought the self-tapping (http://www.motedis.co.uk/shop/Slot-profiles-accessories/Accessoiries-30-B-Type-slot-8/Screw-S8x25::99999336.html) screws, I ended up tapping them anyway and once everything was drilled and tapped, it was simply a case of bolting it all together. That's when I realized my first mistake. :shame: In my haste, I had already ordered the Perspex based off the size from the sketchup model. While this was, in a way correct, I had forgotten to allow for the 3.7mm thick end caps, which meant I was 6.4mm out in the height of the panels. I was hoping I would get away with them, but when they arrived I tested them and they were no good. Having learnt from that mistake I checked, checked gain and then checked once more the sizes for the top panels. I managed to find a local company to cut them from 3mm thick aluminium. The cover and reduction profile (http://www.motedis.co.uk/shop/Slot-profiles-accessories/Accessoiries-30-B-Type-slot-8/Cover-and-Reduction-Profile-black-B-type-slot-8::99999127.html) said it was for panels 4mm to 6mm but in reality a 3mm panel is a nice tight fit, and apart from the cost, thicker aluminium obviously becomes heavier and harder to work with. It would probably have cause problems for things like the front panel switches and buttons too.

Lastly I got some of the black plastic cover (http://www.motedis.co.uk/shop/Slot-profiles-accessories/Accessoiries-30-B-Type-slot-8/Cover-profile-black-B-type-slot-8::99999125.html) to fill in the slots, and some uniblocks (http://www.motedis.co.uk/shop/Slot-profiles-accessories/Accessoiries-30-B-Type-slot-8/Uniblock-B-Type-slot-8::99999617.html)to mount the top panels. Here's some pics of the enclosure assembled.


1164211643


You may notice that I went for a single support for the bottom of the electronics enclosure, as apposed to the 2 in the sketchup model. The 3mm aluminium panel was stiffer than I though it would be and a single support is plenty. As you can see I have ended up with a nice size area, which is plenty big enough to house the electronics and PC, 440mm x 500mm x 100mm.

EddyCurrent
18-02-2014, 01:34 PM
Why not consider a removable door to stop chips flying about and also to reduce the noise ? will it need a small vent at the back to let heat escape by convection ? I don't know how hot the stepper motors and spindle get.

Pointy
18-02-2014, 08:25 PM
Why not consider a removable door to stop chips flying about and also to reduce the noise ? will it need a small vent at the back to let heat escape by convection ? I don't know how hot the stepper motors and spindle get.


I did think about a door but decided against it for the time being, but it's something I can look at afterwards. I doubt whether cooling would be needed for the small jobs I do but it would be easy to add a fan or too.

Regards,

Les

Pointy
19-02-2014, 10:26 AM
Electronics Layout

The next task is to lay everything out in the top enclosure. I have already played about in sketchup and given it lots of thought, so I have a good idea of where to put things. I want to keep the mains as far away from everything else as possible, so this is what I came up with...



11646


The 24V PSU, PC PSU and spindle PSU/controller are all located in the bottom left. The mains input will be top left, and the mains switches will be located on the front panel in the bottom left corner of the above picture. The plan is to have an IEC C14 chassis socket for the mains input. This will run down to the main on/off switch and then feed the PSUs and run back to a IEC C13 chassis socket, which I will use to power the monitor. I will also have a separate switch to turn the spindle PSU on and off as an added safety feature. This means a single rocker switch will switch the whole unit on and off, including the PC and monitor. With the locations decided it's time to start fixing things in place.

I managed to find a PDF template (http://www.bfrigon.com/htpc/) for the motherboard, which is an Intel DG41AN (http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/motherboards/desktop-motherboards/desktop-board-dg41an.html) in case you are interested, and then simply printed it off and taped it in place. I drilled some 3.175mm holes, which were perfect for screwing the standoffs in place. I used a 2.5" to 3.5" mounting plate to mount the 2.5" SSD drive using a couple of mb standoffs. I made more paper templates for the PSUs and simply drilled the holes and screwed them in place. Here's the finished layout...


11647


The only thing missing is the addon board which you can see top middle in the first picture, I haven't decided where to put it yet, but it will probably go just below the motherboard or just to the left of the SSD.

Next up I need to work out where to run the wiring, the mains (cyan) and 24V (red) lines in the picture below are pretty much settled. I am not sure which route to take the spindle (yellow) output though, is it better with the 24v lines or running down the left with the mains? I could keep all the mains wires on the bottom and the spindle wires to the top, this would give about 100mm of clearance between them. I think I am going to use the 2nd option, unless anyone has a better suggestion.


11648


The last job for today is to make some new connectors to run from the stepper motor driver boards, to the chassis connectors. As the stepper motor drivers are mounted right at the back, I only need about 100mm long wires to connect them. I first had to identify the connectors used so I could order some more. A quick google, proved them to be Molex 2139 (http://cpc.farnell.com/1/1/87743-housing-female-2way-09-50-3021-molex.html), which were not too hard to get hold of. While making up the new connectors I couldn't help but notice that all 3 stepper motor connectors are wired differently, with relation to the pinouts on the driver boards an the pin numbers on the 4 pin chassis connectors. I will redo these later, to make more sense, but need to wait until I rewire the connections back to the stepper motors. I also love the way the Chinese just wire things in random colours to match the random order. You need to pay very careful attention to what goes where before you take it all apart, taking pictures and making notes where necessary.

EddyCurrent
19-02-2014, 10:34 AM
Good idea to keep the spindle wiring away from the rest, like you said put one cable at the top and the others at the bottom.
It looks like a good space to house the 'guts'

Pointy
19-02-2014, 09:53 PM
I made some more progress today, I hacked out the back panel and ran the 24v wiring. I also redid the stepper driver connectors as I wasn't happy with them. Lastly I did some of the mains wiring but couldn't finish it because I don't have the right crimp tool for the piggy back spades. I'll try and post some pictures tomorrow.

I decided to run a quick systems check to test out the new wiring and power supply. All 3 axes worked without a hitch, so far so good. Next I hooked up my IO board to test out the spindle relay. As soon as I turned on the power, the spindle buzzer and relay went off. Everything worked fine once Mach3 was up and running, but we can't have the spindle turning on during start up can we. I was planning to add the charge pump circuit anyway, but now it's a must. I just need to decide the best way to implement it.

The easiest and most obvious way, is to simply have the charge pump turn on the 24v supply (http://www.meanwell.com/search/HRPG-450/HRPG-450-spec.pdf). It does have a remote control feature, which allows it to be turned on or off via 2 pins in the CN100 connector. Without its 24v supply, my IO board will switch off, de-energizing the relay which will turn off the spindle. The only niggle with this setup, is the 24v LED strips I have for lighting up the work area, wont come on until I fire up Mach3 and the charge pump.

I suppose the best option is to get the charge pump to switch a relay, which will power the motors and IO board, this would still have the same level of safety control, but would allow me to use the LED lights all the time.

Pointy
21-02-2014, 09:48 AM
While I was waiting for more parts to arrive, I decided to design the charge pump circuit. base upon the 2nd circuit here (ftp://machsupport.com/Extra%20Information/ChargePumpSafety.pdf), I came up with this...


11679

It's using the 12v & 5v from the PC PSU to power the circuit and relay (4 pin 9090-4R connector, top left). I have included a fuse holder and LED indicator (JP1,2). The main 24v supply comes in on the left and will only be fed to the outputs (bottom) when the relay is energized, this should only happen when the PC is on and running Mach3.

There is a chance I might have the orientation of the 9090-4R connector wrong, so I need to double check this, once my part arrives, and before making the PCB. (This would swap the +12v & +5v lines)

I have also ordered some new CY cable as I plan to rewire the entire machine now. I will possibly need some new cable chains, so if anyone knows a good supplier, please let me know.

Regards,

Les

EddyCurrent
21-02-2014, 06:08 PM
CY cable
Cy Cable Per Meter 4 core 0.75mm (0.75mmX 4 Core CY Cable) ONLY £0.48 (http://quickbit.co.uk/Cable/CY-Cable/CY-Cable-4-core/CY-Cable-0-75mm-4-core)

Energy Chain
Cavotec - Nylon Products (http://www.cavotec.co.uk/nylonproducts.asp?series=Medium)
igus® plastic energy chains® (http://www.igus.co.uk/energychains)

Pointy
21-02-2014, 08:01 PM
CY cable
Cy Cable Per Meter 4 core 0.75mm (0.75mmX 4 Core CY Cable) ONLY £0.48 (http://quickbit.co.uk/Cable/CY-Cable/CY-Cable-4-core/CY-Cable-0-75mm-4-core)

Energy Chain
Cavotec - Nylon Products (http://www.cavotec.co.uk/nylonproducts.asp?series=Medium)
igus® plastic energy chains® (http://www.igus.co.uk/energychains)


Thanks for the links Ed.

I must have had a real brain fart when I did the charge pump circuit above. Apart from getting the PC power connector the wrong way round, and a couple of other small errors, I made a major mistake with the relay. It's SPDT, so the above circuit makes a direct short across the 24v input, whoops! There's obviously a very good reason for bench testing circuits first, and fortunately I always have the current limiting control on my bench supply turned way down in the milliamp range, so no damage was done. Anyway after a quick couple of tweaks the circuit worked beautifully on the breadboard, I have only tested it connected straight to the BOB, so I just need to make sure it works, through the opto-isolators on the IO board

Here is the second version of the PCB...

11680

Regards,

Les

KB Aluminium
21-02-2014, 08:14 PM
Hi Les,

Nice to see it all coming together nicely for you :)

Pointy
22-02-2014, 11:12 AM
Hi Les,

Nice to see it all coming together nicely for you :)


Thanks Kris, I am getting there, slowly!

Charge Pump continued...

I ran a quick test this morning and the charge pump circuit worked fine through the opto-isolator. While I was testing the circuit, it occurred to me that my Estop flip flop on the IO board (http://www.mycncuk.com/forums/electronic-project-building/6917-diy-3020-cnc-i-o-board.html) was no longer needed. It also occurred to me that I could use the Estop switch with the charge pump, to make a true hardware emergency stop. All I needed to do was take the NC side of the Estop switch to +5v, the NO to Gnd and the Common to Pin 5 of the 4538N. I also added a bi-color LED indicator and a 2 pin connector to take a feed over to the IO board so that Mach3 knows when the Estop occurs.

Here's the 3rd version of the circuit...

11683

As I now have a PC PSU inside with ample 5v & 12v lines, I can also loose the 5v regulator circuit from the IO board. Hopefully this extra space will allow me to use some proper connector blocks. I simply didn't have space to fit them before, within the free version of Eagle's size limit (100mm x 80mm).

Pointy
24-02-2014, 07:56 AM
I managed to temporarily wire up the spindle over the weekend and isolation routed the above PCB, it wasn't until assembly that I realized that I had still managed to get the +5 and +12v wrong. DOH! I had a short male to female extension lead kicking about, so just flipped the red and yellow wires to test out the board. The design and manufacture were good, everything fitted nicely and the board worked as expected. I have however, since tweaked the design yet again, along with a redesign of the IO board. I now have a single 4 pin connector that will supply 5v & the Estop position to the IO board and it will also send the charge pump signal from the IO board to the power board. Hopefully I can get the 2 new PCBs routed and assembled this week and get them tested.

EddyCurrent
24-02-2014, 12:49 PM
It sounds like your boards would be of use to others, are you planning to make them available ready built ?

Pointy
24-02-2014, 08:00 PM
It sounds like your boards would be of use to others, are you planning to make them available ready built ?


To be honest Ed, I never gave it any thought, all my electronics projects are done for my own amusement. I had thought of just releasing the details for other people to use, once it has been tried and tested.

Pointy
01-03-2014, 05:22 AM
I think this machine will be the death of me! I am on my 5th or 6th version of the charge pump circuit now, and 4th or 5th version of the IO board. The charge pump part is working beautifully. A five pin connector takes the 5v, gnd, switched gnd, estop switch position to the IO board and also supplies the charge pump signal. (Previous version I had forgotten the IO board needed power to send the charge pump signal, and was switching the 5v. DOH!) Without the switched ground from the mosfet, the spindle relay transistor wont do anything, meaning the the spindle wont work until a valid charge pump signal is applied. The estop position is just fed back to parallel port pin 15 so that Mach3 also knows when an Estop has occurred. All of this this works great, I just have one niggle with the IO board.

In my previous version of the IO board I had forgot the Limit,Home inputs are NC, which meant the LED's were on all the time. I added a transistor, and now the LED works but the parallel port pin is held low. The strange thing is I tested this with my breadboard before I made the new board, but somehow had managed to test and make something completely different. Here's that part of the schematic...

11722

This was my thinking...

When X6-1 & X6-2 are connected to the Home switches, pin 2 of OK1A is grounded, meaning PP 13 is held low. By grounding the base of Q3 LED 1 should be off.
When X6-1 & X6-2 are open, R14 will supply base current to Q3, lighting up LED 1, and also hold pin 2 of OK1A high, making PP13 go high.

It's the last part that doesn't work, the LED lights up but pin 2 stays low, thus Mach3 doesn't see the switch activate.

I am guessing it has to do with the base of Q3, but don't know to be honest, I am better with digital electronics.

Any help or suggestions much appreciated.

Regards,

Les

irving2008
01-03-2014, 08:07 AM
I think this machine will be the death of me! I am on my 5th or 6th version of the charge pump circuit now, and 4th or 5th version of the IO board. The charge pump part is working beautifully. A five pin connector takes the 5v, gnd, switched gnd, estop switch position to the IO board and also supplies the charge pump signal. (Previous version I had forgotten the IO board needed power to send the charge pump signal, and was switching the 5v. DOH!) Without the switched ground from the mosfet, the spindle relay transistor wont do anything, meaning the the spindle wont work until a valid charge pump signal is applied. The estop position is just fed back to parallel port pin 15 so that Mach3 also knows when an Estop has occurred. All of this this works great, I just have one niggle with the IO board.

In my previous version of the IO board I had forgot the Limit,Home inputs are NC, which meant the LED's were on all the time. I added a transistor, and now the LED works but the parallel port pin is held low. The strange thing is I tested this with my breadboard before I made the new board, but somehow had managed to test and make something completely different. Here's that part of the schematic...

11722

This was my thinking...

When X6-1 & X6-2 are connected to the Home switches, pin 2 of OK1A is grounded, meaning PP 13 is held low. By grounding the base of Q3 LED 1 should be off.
When X6-1 & X6-2 are open, R14 will supply base current to Q3, lighting up LED 1, and also hold pin 2 of OK1A high, making PP13 go high.

It's the last part that doesn't work, the LED lights up but pin 2 stays low, thus Mach3 doesn't see the switch activate.

I am guessing it has to do with the base of Q3, but don't know to be honest, I am better with digital electronics.

Any help or suggestions much appreciated.

Regards,

Les

Your diagram doesn't show, but I'm guessing from your description you've connected the input of the bob ok1a pin2 directly to the base of Q3. This can't work as the base will always be 0.7v above the emitter, which is grounded.

Assuming the ok1a pin2 input is a logic input and not an optoisolator, to make it work, either:

- connect ok1a pin 2 to the collector then reverse your logic, switch closed= high

or

- put another resistor between the pullup-ok1a junction and the base of Q3. I don't know what values you've used so I've shown my calcs and you can run them for yourself. Assuming your led needs 10mA and q3 has a gain of 50 then the current into the base needs to be10/50mA= 0.2mA so the total resistance on the base to 5v rail is (5-0.7)/0.2k=21.5k. If your pullup is say 4.7k then the new resistor needs to be 21.5-4.7=16.8k, the value isn't that critical so use next lowest standard value of 15k. As a check, the ok1a input will see a voltage of (5-0.7) * 15/(15+4.7)+0.7v =4v when the switch is open.

If ok1a pin2 is optoisolated then option 1 may not work and a different calc is needed for option 2.

Hope this helps.

Pointy
01-03-2014, 08:19 PM
Thank you so much for replying Irving, this all makes sense now. I also think that I inadvertently did your second option when I tested it., I was using a 4.7k pullup and a 4.7k current limiting resistor on the transistor base. I will test this out as soon as I get a chance, but it probably won't be for a few days.

irving2008
01-03-2014, 08:27 PM
4k7 on the base is slightly too small, your logic 1 level will be 2.8v assuming 5v rail which is marginal for noise IMHO. I'd go to 10k at least.

Pointy
08-03-2014, 07:24 PM
4k7 on the base is slightly too small, your logic 1 level will be 2.8v assuming 5v rail which is marginal for noise IMHO. I'd go to 10k at least.


Many thanks Irving, a 10k resistor on the transistor base worked a treat, I was able to squeeze it in without remaking the PCB which was also good. Here's a couple of pics...


11793 11794

Today I did the mains wiring and started on rewiring the stepper motors, I think I have identified the connectors used as JST SM connectors, and just need to order some male/female crimp pins for them to be able to finish it off.

While I was away I thought about the front panel, it would be nice the engrave some text/lines for a nice professional finish. I just wondered if anyone else had done this and managed to fill the engraving with black paint to good effect?

I think I have also decided to fit some form of LCD display, which I could use to display various info from Mach3 instead of a bunch of LEDs. I could also look at building a speed sensor for the spindle and displaying the speed on the display as well.

Anyway I think tomorrows job will be to try and design the front panel, stay tuned.

Pointy
11-03-2014, 04:46 PM
I spent a bit of time on the front panel and this is what i have come up with...


11821


The 3 rockers are mains (red), lights (grey) and spindle (green). To the left is the Estop switch with status LED underneath (bicolor). To the right of the rockers is the spindle speed control with yellow LED indicator. The top 3 LEDs are home switches (green), probe (blue) and limit switches (red). Underneath is the PC power button with green power LED and orange HD LED. (I may do away with the PC switch and just set it to auto power on in the BIOS)

The right hand side of the panel consists of the 2 joysticks, LCD display and 9 buttons which I will use to control some basic functions in Mach3.

Pointy
13-03-2014, 08:24 AM
The LCD screen and crimp pins arrived yesterday, but it's going to have to wait until the weekend, as there are just 2 days left of the fishing season!

In the meantime I need to fathom out how to export from sketchup to DXF for Jazz. It gives me several options, polyface mesh, polylines, triangular mesh, lines and stl, but I am not sure of which to use. I need to download a DXF viewer to see what is being exported.

The other thing I need to do is the side panels, which both have cutouts for the 92mm cooling fans, but these are pretty straight forward. I think I could just go for a circle of 90mm rather than the rounded square they show in that PDF (http://www.rapidonline.com/pdf/189418_da_en_01.pdf).

Pointy
13-03-2014, 08:40 AM
I actually just tried it with polylines and the resulting dxf is here (http://www.planetpointy.co.uk/downloads/front_panel.dxf). Is this what you need Jazz?

Almost forgot...

Anyone suggest a suitable adjustable hole cutter to cut the 90mm holes for the fans in 3mm thick aluminium? My bench drill is a Bosch PBD-40 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-PBD-710W-Bench-Drill/dp/B00766C1A8)

Clive S
13-03-2014, 09:44 AM
I actually just tried it with polylines and the resulting dxf is here (http://www.planetpointy.co.uk/downloads/front_panel.dxf). Is this what you need Jazz?

Almost forgot...

Anyone suggest a suitable adjustable hole cutter to cut the 90mm holes for the fans in 3mm thick aluminium? My bench drill is a Bosch PBD-40 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-PBD-710W-Bench-Drill/dp/B00766C1A8)Hi your link to the dxf file just opens as a text file for me. I think you might have to upload it as an attachment. ..Clive

Pointy
14-03-2014, 08:00 AM
Hi your link to the dxf file just opens as a text file for me. I think you might have to upload it as an attachment. ..Clive

That happened for me in Chrome but IE is fine. In Chrome once the page has opened as text, just right click and save as, then take the .txt extension off the end.

EDIT>

Didn't notice that we could add attachments, try this...

Clive S
14-03-2014, 09:28 AM
That happened for me in Chrome but IE is fine. In Chrome once the page has opened as text, just right click and save as, then take the .txt extension off the end.

EDIT>

Didn't notice that we could add attachments, try this...

I was using IE Now you attachments open OK. ..Clive

Pointy
16-03-2014, 06:38 PM
I did some of the rewiring yesterday, but today I decided to have a play with the LCD screen as I woke up with a pain in my shoulder and didn't fancy playing about in the cold workshop.

It was really satisfying to get it all working, the Mach3 plugin communicates with the custom HID device and this then displays the information on the LCD screen. Here's a sample picture...


11859


I still might change what information is displayed on the screen, but that should be no problem now the basic hardware and code are working.

Pointy
18-03-2014, 09:53 AM
Just to finish off, I added the joystick and keyboard control code. The only problem is, there are limited built in keyboard shortcuts (http://www.machsupport.com/Mach3Wiki/index.php?title=Standard_Hotkeys) in Mach3, so I think I will have to add some of my own to the custom screenset I have designed.

All in all, I am pretty happy with this part of the project. However, I think I might design a PCB which will allow me to plug in the Teensy++ 2.0 (http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/index.html) module, and then solder all the connecting wires to the PCB, rather than solder direct to the actual module.

Pointy
19-03-2014, 12:59 PM
It was pretty easy to make a PCB for the HID controller, and this is what I came up with...


11878


I added extra pins for the unused Teensy pins and a few spare grounds, in case I want to add some features later on. I also tweaked the wiring from the default openGLCD (https://bitbucket.org/bperrybap/openglcd/wiki/Home) to make the layout easier. I just need to get the motor rewiring finished before I can get on and make this PCB though.

Before I do that, I just want to finalize the front panel layout, so I can get the machining organized.

Pointy
20-03-2014, 08:32 AM
I added the mounting holes to the front panel and printed the whole thing out. I then cut out the holes with a scalpel to double check sizes and layout. I am please to report that everything fitted nicely. I know there are essentially just 4 rectangles + 33 holes to make, and I could do these myself but I really would like to make a proper job of the front panel, especially after all the time I have spent on this project. I also managed to make a right hash of the back panel when using a jigsaw and file. As Jazz made the generous offer of cutting the front panel FOC, I would be stupid not to take him up on the offer. I have suggested he just drill all holes at 3mm as I have a reasonable set of step drills (http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/3-part-titanium-step-drill-set-n14hn). This should make it easier and quicker for Jazz (I know his machine time is limited) and it will also mean I have some work to do on the panel, which hopefully means it wont feel like cheating so much.

I have also located a suitable hole cutter (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Adjustable-Wheel-Circle-Tank-Cutter-1-6-in-Capacity-/190340954823?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c51347ac7) which will allow me to cut the holes in the side panels for the cooling fans, and rather fortunately it's just a few miles down the road.

I need to get my finger out and finish the motor and limit switch rewiring so I can get the machine up and running again. It would be really nice if I could do that, get the side panels cut, fit the cooling fans and get the front panel in the post to Jazz, by the end of the week. This would then be a massive step towards finishing this project.

Pointy
21-03-2014, 08:32 PM
I had a productive day today and got pretty much everything done.

I finished the motor & limit switch rewiring. I cut the holes and mounted the cooling fans. They were incredibly noisy at 24v so I am running them off 12V from the PC. I also fitted the 24v LED strips and wired them up. I moved the charge pump board over a little to give me a nice space for the HID PCB when I make it. Lastly I fitted most of the top aluminium profile and tidied up the PC wiring.

I will try and take some more pictures tomorrow.

Pointy
22-03-2014, 08:39 AM
One thing I didn't mention is that at some point, my X axis started making a weird high pitch whining noise as soon as power was applied. I thought it was the bad wiring, but after the rewire it was still doing it. After swapping things around it seems which ever axis is plugged into the X stepper driver makes the noise. I woke up this morning with an idea of what is causing it and sure enough I was right. (Isn't it weird that you can go to bed with a problem and wake up with a solution?)

Anyway if you look at the schematic for my bob, detailed in this thread (http://www.mycncuk.com/forums/schematics-datasheets-manuals/6922-tonsen-4-axis-controller-bob.html), you will see that parallel port 14 is used for X and A enable. I was using this pin for my charge pump output, so it was being pulsed at 12.5khz, which explains the noise. A quick pin swap has sorted that out but....

I assumed the purpose of the enable output was so that the motor didn't move without this signal being high. There was never a mention of setting pin 14 as an output in the original manual, so why does the X axis work without this set up in Mach3?

Pointy
22-03-2014, 06:52 PM
I had another really productive day today.

First off here's a couple of pictures of yesterdays progress, one of the cooling fans and the slight rejig inside to make space for the HID PCB.


11900 11901


To start with today, I fixed a bad connection on the lead from the IO board to the BoB, which just happened to be my Estop input for Mach3. Although the switch was deactivating the 24v and spindle, it wasn't letting Mach3 know the switched had been thrown.

I really wasn't happy with my rewiring job on the connector ends, so I redid them today and they turned out much better. Here's a pic... (The top 3 are home switches, limit switches and probe)


11899

After that I connected everything and ran a simulated PCB etch for 30 minutes. Everything worked great, and I had no false triggers on the switches even with 0 debounce in Mach3. (Before I had to have a very large debounce setting) I then etched the HID PCB, and in total the machine ran for a couple of hours without issue. :cool: I need to get some 20 way sockets (http://www.rapidonline.com/Cables-Connectors/20-Way-Single-Row-PCB-Socket-2-54mm-Pitch-19-0088) to mount the Teensy module in, before I can fully assemble the PCB, other than that it's pretty much done.

Lastly here's a couple of pictures to show the LED strips in action... (you can see the freshly milled HID PCB as well)


11902 11903

Pointy
23-03-2014, 09:31 AM
OK, when I went to put the enclosure back in it's normal place, I found out the extra piece of heatshrink on the connectors is making them stick out too much, which means they are being pushed against the wall. What I need is some right angled variations on the plugs.

I found the 4 pin here (http://www.kcb.co.uk/shop2/contents/en-uk/d57.html) but I can't seem to find the 2 pin in the UK. (I did find them here (http://www.eagle1com.com/storepp/microphones/micro-plugsjacks.htm) but would prefer to order from UK if possible) Has anyone come across these anywhere in the UK?

I suppose the other option is to replace them all with another type of plug/socket.

Pointy
26-03-2014, 08:33 AM
More exciting drivel....


The sockets strips came for the HID PCB so I soldered them on last night, plugged in the module and the display worked straight away.(Not that I didn't expect it to, as it's not a complicated PCB, but it's still nice when stuff works first time)

And look at this little beauty.....


11916


Big, big thanks to JazzCNC, he only got the panel yesterday and sent me this picture last night. I just hope I didn't screw up any of the dimensions, if not I can see a huge light at the end of the tunnel. :tears_of_joy:

Pointy
27-03-2014, 12:29 PM
I couldn't do much yesterday, so I just did a couple of small jobs.

The cheapo WiFi card I am using doesn't have a detachable antenna, so I bought a cheap extension lead from Ebay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250777908913&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:GB:3160), cut off the socket end and soldered it direct to the card. I then drilled a hole and mounted it on the back panel, fitted an old router aerial I had laying about and the WiFi signal has gone from 2 bars to 4.


11924 11925

The other small job I did was to mount the HID PCB and cut the LCD screen wires to the correct size.


11926

I am not sure if the front panel is on it's way back to me yet, but if it doesn't arrive, tonight I will pre-wire the joysticks and buttons ready for it.

EddyCurrent
27-03-2014, 01:04 PM
It's going to be a smart looking unit when complete, good work.

JAZZCNC
27-03-2014, 04:51 PM
I am not sure if the front panel is on it's way back to me yet, but if it doesn't arrive, tonight I will pre-wire the joysticks and buttons ready for it.

Yes on it's way sent yesterday morning recorded delivery so should be with you hopefully.!

Pointy
27-03-2014, 06:50 PM
Yes on it's way sent yesterday morning recorded delivery so should be with you hopefully.!

It's here and after a small amount of filing and reaming.........



11930 11931

The more astute of you may have noticed the panel is the other way up, that is because there were a few scratches on the other side. I actually prefer it this way up anyway!

I just have to connect everything up inside now!

Thanks again Jazz, great job!

GEOFFREY
27-03-2014, 07:04 PM
A very nice "swanky" looking panel. G.

JAZZCNC
27-03-2014, 07:08 PM
The more astute of you may have noticed the panel is the other way up, that is because there were a few scratches on the other side. I actually prefer it this way up anyway!

Yes I Did my best to protect it from scratches by flooding it with coolant but because it's soft shity aluminium it comes off the cutter like curly chewing gum.!
I didn't have any tape other wise I'd have taped it up. There was no point using side with plastic on either because that stuff just goes mushy with coolant and gets ripped off then wraps around cutter which with small cutters easily breaks them.!

Looks Good thou..:applause:

GTJim
28-03-2014, 08:39 AM
Pointy you have made a really nice job of that.

Pointy
29-03-2014, 09:40 AM
Thanks for the kind words guys.

I did find a couple of hours last night to start on the front panel wring and made some good progress. Everything is wired, except the Estop LED (in my haste I managed to forget to order a 5mm bicolor LED) and the joysticks/buttons.

I am really hopefully I can get the rest done today.

Pointy
30-03-2014, 08:34 AM
I had a really frustrating day yesterday!

I wired up the joysticks and buttons to the HID controller and then fired her up for a test. Everything worked as expected except the LCD screen, then I realized I hadn't installed the plugin for Mach3. I copied the plugin over from my main PC and fired up Mach3, only to be greeted by an nice error "Plugin Defective'.

I spent the rest of the day troubleshooting this without success. It's strange that the plugin works fine on my main PC which is Windows 7 64bit, but doesn't like XP, normally it's the other way round.

I have narrowed it down to the USB code but I am not sure where to go from here. One option is to try Windows 7 on the CNC PC, I always thought that it was a no go with Mach3, but apparently 32bit should work, so I might try that today. Fortunately I have a spare HD so I can keep the XP install intact while I test.

JAZZCNC
30-03-2014, 08:57 AM
Mach works fine with Win7 and 8 64bit but it's the parallel port driver that doesn't work with 64bit. It does work ok with win7 32bit so you shouldn't have any trouble.

Pointy
30-03-2014, 09:16 AM
Mach works fine with Win7 and 8 64bit but it's the parallel port driver that doesn't work with 64bit. It does work ok with win7 32bit so you shouldn't have any trouble.


Thanks Jazz, I just tested on a Windows 7 32bit netbook, but still get the plugin error. :hopelessness:

Pointy
30-03-2014, 07:16 PM
Well I am pleased to report success!

I checked the Windows 7 netbook and the Visual C++ runtimes and net framework 4 were missing. After installing them the plugin worked.

I have since installed Windows 7 HP 32bit on the CNC PC and everything seems to be working now, I need to do a proper test run, but I don't anticipate any problems. (Famous last words!) The only downside is I now have to buy another Windows 7 licence.

The last few jobs are...



Redo the connectors when my new right angled ones arrive.
Sort out the cable chain.
Tweak the HID controller firmware.


The cable chain leads me to my next project, as I went and splashed out on a RepRapPro Ormerod. My plan, when I get the thing built is to try and print my own.

Here's a 3d model I prepared earlier...

11945

GEOFFREY
30-03-2014, 07:47 PM
Glad that you are getting close. that cable chain looks good. How long will it take you to print a metre? G.

TonyD
31-03-2014, 05:51 AM
Nice Panel. I found some connectors on Ebay through these folks in the US, I'd be really surprised if there wasnt a cheaper and faster UK source. *www.ugracnc.com* on eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/*www.ugracnc.com*?_trksid=p2047675.l2559)

FatFreddie
31-03-2014, 12:51 PM
The cable chain leads me to my next project, as I went and splashed out on a RepRapPro Ormerod. My plan, when I get the thing built is to try and print my own.

The model looks good but probably won't print too well without support (not necessarily a problem but it uses more plastic and will be tedious to remove on a large number of components). Have a look at Pimped Cable Chain by leemes - Thingiverse (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:63029) - it's a bit more basic than yours but I've printed out (though not used in anger) some and they print well with no support. The main difference is the large fillets on the bar over the top which brings down the unsupported width to about 5mm.

Enjoy the Ormerod build - it looks a nice printer.

Pointy
01-04-2014, 07:53 AM
Glad that you are getting close. that cable chain looks good. How long will it take you to print a metre? G.

A while, seeing as the printer is still in bits in a box. :wink:



Nice Panel. I found some connectors on Ebay through these folks in the US, I'd be really surprised if there wasnt a cheaper and faster UK source. * (http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/*www.ugracnc.com*?_trksid=p2047675.l2559)www.ugrac nc.com* (http://www.ugracnc.com*) on eBay

Thanks, but I plumped for the Chinese ones as I am in no hurry.,


The model looks good but probably won't print too well without support (not necessarily a problem but it uses more plastic and will be tedious to remove on a large number of components). Have a look at Pimped Cable Chain by leemes - Thingiverse (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:63029) - it's a bit more basic than yours but I've printed out (though not used in anger) some and they print well with no support. The main difference is the large fillets on the bar over the top which brings down the unsupported width to about 5mm.

Enjoy the Ormerod build - it looks a nice printer.

Thanks for the advise and link Freddie, obviously I am very green when it comes to 3d printing. I am not sure why it would need supports though, the top piece is separate and clips in after the cables are in place, as shown in the following pic...


11973


The reason for making my own cable chain was the fact that I was struggled to find the exact size, and also the clips keep flying off as they don't slot inside like mine. It's also not my design, I just modeled what I have here already and adjusted the size to suit.

I never thought of looking on thingiverse (http://www.thingiverse.com/search/page:1?q=cable+chain&sa=)though, there seems to be quite a few designs there already.

FatFreddie
01-04-2014, 11:31 AM
Thanks for the advise and link Freddie, obviously I am very green when it comes to 3d printing. I am not sure why it would need supports though, the top piece is separate and clips in after the cables are in place, as shown in the following pic...


11973


The reason for making my own cable chain was the fact that I was struggled to find the exact size, and also the clips keep flying off as they don't slot inside like mine. It's also not my design, I just modeled what I have here already and adjusted the size to suit.

Ah - didn't spot that :-)

Designing for 3D printing takes a bit of getting used to because you can't directly print overhangs (like the lugs at the back) so you have to get the slicer to generate a support structure (a deliberately weak scaffold) that you remove afterwards or adapt the design so it isn't necessary. On the other hand you can easily print objects that would be difficult to machine (internal voids for example).

Pointy
17-04-2014, 03:15 PM
The right angled connectors finally arrived today, and looks like no import duty.:encouragement:

I just need some enthusiasm to wire them up. At least they look the same, so I should be able to leave the chassis sockets in place.

In the meantime, I have been busy playing with the new RepRap Ormerod 3d Printer and have found a few practical uses for it already. I made some connectors and clips for connecting a vacuum hose into the enclosure. Here's a couple of pics...


1209512096


This was inspired by my brother in law, after he asked me to cut some acrylic discs for him, what a mess! I just need to find a vaccum that doesn't sound like a jet engine now!

Other than a couple of minor bugs in the LCD firmware, everything seems to be working great.

GEOFFREY
17-04-2014, 09:13 PM
Very impressive - how long did that take? G.

Pointy
18-04-2014, 09:48 AM
There 5 separate parts which from memory took from 30 mins to and hour or so to print, but I think it's great than in the course of a day I could design and build these parts.


12107

Pointy
24-04-2014, 09:27 PM
While I had intended to print my own cable chain, I spotted some online while looking for something else. It was delivered yesterday and was absolutely spot on size wise, however it is non opening and there was no way my connectors would fit without taking them apart. In the end I decided to use it, and disconnected thing from the motor ends. It meant I had to redo the limit/home switch wiring, but I had never really been happy with that part anyway. So now that all the wring is done and the new cable chain fitted, we are pretty much finished.

The dust extraction was a failure but it inspired me to design and print a a proper dust shoe, which has turned out quite nice and works good. I just need some suitable skirt material. (for the shoe not me!) I'll post up some pictures tomorrow.

One other little job I would like to do is get the USB camera mounted properly, hopefully I can print something on the 3d printer, but I would like to get a piece of 4mm aluminium plate to replace the acrylic behind the spindle first.

Pointy
27-04-2014, 09:10 AM
Here's a couple of pictures of the dust shoe...




1224512246


From the sketchup image you can see the shoe is in two parts which I just simply glued together. I can easy just pull the shoe off when changing bits as it just clips into the arms either side.

For my PCB milling it works great as it is, but when milling acrylic you still get the odd piece flying out. I think a suitable skirt will solve that, but I don't want to use brushes, I think I would rather something clear so I can see whats going on. I also think if I wanted to be rally clever I could add some LED lights to it as well, or maybe just print it in clear PLA.

EddyCurrent
27-04-2014, 05:01 PM
The dust shoe design is not bad but I would want to mount it from a part of the Z axis that did not move up and down with the spindle.
These were suggested to me for making a plastic skirt, VARIERA Drawer mat - IKEA (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/80012853/), a circular one that just goes around the cutter would work great.
If you find a better material then please let us know with links to it.

Pointy
29-04-2014, 08:51 AM
Thanks for the reply Eddy.

The spindle was the easiest place to mount as I am limited for space. It works fine for milling PCBs as I only really need it on for the actual milling run, and maybe the drilling if its a busy board. I am sure this design will get tweaked with use and I am thinking I could make some brackets that fit to the plate behind the spindle. Food for thought anyway.

Being a glutton for punishment I remade the IO board again from the latest PCB design (1.3). This was mainly because I have someone else who wants to make one, so I wanted to prove the latest design before releasing it. (I was still using v1.2 with a couple of bodged resistors) Well I am pleased to say that it all worked first time without issue, and hopefully that's the last time I mess with it.

I also managed to fix a couple of minor bugs in the USB controller firmware and just have to decide what to use the last button on the front panel for. Auto tool zero is something I use quite a bit so that might be an option. Again over time, I am so these will get tweaked.

Lastly, I have ordered a couple of bits of 4mm aluminium to replace the acrylic plate behind the spindle, and then I can try and get the camera mounted properly.

coroander
09-05-2014, 10:45 PM
I've been following this thread for a while. Really great work here Les. I'm borrowing many of these ideas. One thing i wanted to do was to have doors on the front. I'm also putting a radiator for the water-cooled spindle inside the enclosure and a small air compressor (aquarium pump) in as well. This will all generate heat inside the enclosure, but i'm hoping the vacuum will pull enough air out to prevent warm air from building up. With everything inside and sealed up, noise should be minimised.

I hope to get a decent seal on the doors (made using aluminium profile and polycarbonate panels), though not sure how i'm going to do that yet. I've built a base that the enclosure (using the same aluminium profile and polycarbonate) sits on. Here is a photo of the underside. The holes hopefully will allow air to be drawn in around the radiator for spindle cooling, the air compressor and the y-axis stepper. In addition to the holes in the photo, a hole for the air compressor intake has been added and a slot that allows all the cables to run through:
12374

I plan to use an almost identical system through the enclosure for the vacuum attachment. I will likely add a small hole on the inside connector to allow a small amount of air to be pulled out from near the top of the enclosure. That should help keep things cool inside. Hopefully i can pull air out faster with the vacuum than the air compressor is pulling it in :-)

Anyway, looking forward to seeing more of your build.

ukracer
27-10-2014, 10:20 PM
The LCD screen and crimp pins arrived yesterday, but it's going to have to wait until the weekend, as there are just 2 days left of the fishing season!



You do fishing as well ;) Are you in the UK?? I might be of some use to you. Which makes me less concerned about asking for assistance ;)


Regards Andy T