ok so im just about to buy a board from DIYCNC, what one do you suggest is best for my application?
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ok so im just about to buy a board from DIYCNC, what one do you suggest is best for my application?
System 1 plus the plug in spindle speed board, that one is advertised under the System 4 setup.
Same board used in both, cheapest and most cost effective.
No need for an opto board if you are using Gecko's or similar drives as the drives have this function.
Cheers john...
UPDATE!
So today i thought i would start to run through everything on the board with the steppers, starting with the Data cable.
This cable ahs been chopped and soldered back together very badly. i got my soldering kit out, and redid some of the wires that were looking crap. taped up all of the ends so non could touch.
Tried moving the motors about and ..... they worked fine. this put a smile on my face.!!
So then to the CNC4PC C1G Board.. Made sure all the connections were soldered and clamped in correctly. yup everything is fine.
Gecko's.. Well these are not my fav tbh but they work for now.. So again made sure all the ends were soldered and clamped correctly.
Lastly to the motors.. Soldered, clammped and secure!
gave the whole machine a good go and it wasnt tripping the PSU.... So rished down stairs and ordered a new cable, 18k resistors and now im looking at some new tooling..
What do you guys suggest for the tooling, i was looking at the indexable ones with carbide tips
Also, this was a quick (manual) test
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/dc11fb4f.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/f829d228.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/d1df227d.jpg
Getting closer to having it done!
how far from the chuck was the ally, as there's a lot of chatter on the job. Could be the gibs need setting
you see in the last pic on the back side there is a mark, thats where the chuck marks were.
Tbh i think the tool is about as sharp as a cricket ball! and it might have been loose? i need to make sure everything is nice and tight next
One more questions, where do you get the center drilling attachment from?
yes i see the marks, must be the tooling. Don't scrimp on the tooling when you buy, indexable tips and you need to spend around £20 per tool minimum. The cheap indexable sets are garbage.
does this machine have a rotary toolpost or a dixon
yeah fully understand that... ive probably got some shite tooling and its crap.
dont really wanna be buying it of the bay then?
its not rotary, its a fixed quick release one.
Dixon?
It should take t00 sized holders then, have a look around big tool suppliers like cromwell, msc, buck&hickman, and i'm sure there's many others. They will do either a grooved holder or a morse taper holder that you can fit drills or chucks into.Quote:
Originally Posted by cooliced
Dixon is the recognised brand, like Hoover for vacuum cleaners.
ebay's not a problem but buy the better quality stuff, if you want your tooling to be repeatable (indexable) when changing tips.Quote:
Originally Posted by cooliced
i bought some t0 holders off ebay, but had to linish the backs to get them to slide into mine.
(retrofitted mine with mitsubishi servos)
I'd love to see that 125 with servos.Quote:
Originally Posted by battwell
havnt read the thread end to end but there is a cheap gemini on ebay, finishing soon
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...:B:WNA:GB:1123
i only have a couple of videos of it
heres one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E-TmwYuJNA
she now moves at 6000mm/min totally accurate (as accurate as the screws anyway as i couldnt be bothered to change them)
So the bits arrived today. only the resistors and cable
changed the cable, seemed to be a bit better and the steppers ran for alot longer before the PSU cut out.
Both gecko's now running 2 amps to the steppers so thats fine.
but it still keeps tripping the bloody PSU.
So i thought i would do some testing.
i found this http://www.geckodrive.com/upload/returnedenergydump.pdf
just wondering if that could be the case?
Does anybody have an idea how to test the gecko's to make sure there not the problem?
bump,
p.s. got another laptop to try with Mach3 and EMC2, hopefully one will work :D
How do Cooliced.
Are you running this machine through laptops? I read somewhere that some laptops don't deliver a full 5v pulse to the drivers,not saying this is your problem mind...but its worth checking the 5v rail on the bob underload?
well tbh i was gonna bite the bullit and use my Main Desktop PC and run the laptop downstairs (more user friendly)
I have read that somewhere too... hmm. thanks GeorgeD
for the 24volts are you using the original transformer/ big cap in the boxford or a switch mode?
switch mode psu can trip with a no load as well as full load condition
re breakout: i used a cnc4pc buffered breakout and a step to analogue board from jon at cncdoctor.co.uk (always on ebay)
if your going to run off a laptop make sure you use a buffered board to pull the 3.3 v signals to 5v
the gemini is a torque drive so wants a max 8volt analogue signal not 10volts.
the gemini is pretty crap at holding correct rpm. and takes a hell of a lot of tuning to get to a reasonable state.
i hate steppers so i put in mitsubishi servos in mine. making it rapid at 6m/minute is fun to watch on such a small machine.
mach 3 will do whatever you want. its totally configurable when you start digging a bit deeper into it as ive proved with my latest conversion
(wood machining centre with 2 routers, 24 vertical drills, 10 horizontal drills all offset from each other)
tbh the laptop i was using was a peice of shit! so i smashed it up.... lol (gonna use for another project)
the original trans and big cap have long gone from the setup mate.
Like i said im gonna use the main PC to run this for now, then look at shuttle or something small
So anyway, long time since I updated this..
I got another desktop pc and ran mach3, still had problems gallor. so I ran the latest emc build and the steppers ( x and z) worked fantastically after a little setup.
Still need to get the spindle controller bought tbh then should be good to go with some full on cnc turning
Stu
what problems did you hit with mach? it works great once set up right. plenty of help on the mach yahoo forums etc.
i had mine cutting right on the first day.
Tbh i really dont know what it was, but it seems to be running smoooth in Emc, so thats what i will stick with for now.
Im just looking at a Opto Relay board for the spindle
i used an earlier version of this.
works well
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/0-10V-analogue...item230b0cd3d0
Is that for manual controlling? I was looking for something I can do through pc
it is for use from a pc.
you send it a step pulse,(the same as you use for a stepper motor) it converts it to 0 to 10v analogue to be fed into the motor drive which controls the speed of the motor
0v the motor would stop
10volt the motor is at full speed
(8volt is full speed if your boxford has the gemini torque drive)
he also makes a neat interface for the spindle opto switch which you will need to use if your going to do threading etc on the lathe
ok i wanted to run the spindle both ways and control speed from PC,
if you want to control speed thats what you will need. infinately variable 0 to full speed
you just need 1 double pole changeover relay to switch the original contactor, controlled by the direction signal. these are only a fiver ish from rcelectronics on ebay.
So anyway today I was having a play making sure the limits were setup properly.
Then the 24v psu started to smoke and burn so I defiantly need a new one now.
Secondly, I was looking for some cas/cam software for lathes! But came up with uber expensive stuff
Stu
oops. smoke is always expensive!
cant help with cam software. i write everything i want with gcode
for lathe its quite easy as its mainly arcs and segments for the things i make
i would love to write in just G Code lol
a new psu wont cost much tbh
its easier to learn than schoolboy french
there are only about 20 commands for lathe, and thats including the complex stuff.
if you have mach 3 open it and press g code button, there is a good explanation of most things there. or its in the manual.
its way more complex to get a cam post processor sorted to spit out the right code for a lathe with reversed x axis like on boxford!
reversed arcs can give very weird results so try to find the right post for the program you will be using and test it with no material in the chuck first.
i was lucky (unlucky) that my first router had to be programmed by hand at the control panel so i had to learn it.
Cheers for the info mate.
Anybody got any decent links for a 24 v supply?
i get mine from cpc.co.uk because if anything goes wrong in warranty its sorted straight away. you may pay a bit more than ebay
I have seen this,
Do you think this will be ok, the geckos are putting out 2A to each motor so 6.5A should be ok, 150w
seen what? lol