Denford Triac VMC with ATC Conversion / Fix

**Chaz** · 19-07-2015

Thoughts on this to drive Mach3?

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/comput...ml#srcid=11026

Pros:-

Touchscreen
Fairly Cheap
Windows copy is legal

Cons:-

Not massively powerful, but its not a Pentium 4 either
Not a lot of upgrade options.

**m_c** · 19-07-2015

Originally Posted by Chaz

Thoughts on this to drive Mach3?

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/comput...ml#srcid=11026

Pros:-

Touchscreen
Fairly Cheap
Windows copy is legal

Cons:-

Not massively powerful, but its not a Pentium 4 either
Not a lot of upgrade options.

Capacitive or Resistive touchscreen?
Capacitive is useless in a workshop environment, as it doesn't like gloves, or oily/wet fingers (just try a touchscreen phone with wet/cold/oily fingers to get a good example of just how poor they are!)
Resistive isn't quite as accurate, but doesn't care what you use to touch it.

**Chaz** · 19-07-2015

Originally Posted by m_c

Capacitive or Resistive touchscreen?
Capacitive is useless in a workshop environment, as it doesn't like gloves, or oily/wet fingers (just try a touchscreen phone with wet/cold/oily fingers to get a good example of just how poor they are!)
Resistive isn't quite as accurate, but doesn't care what you use to touch it.

Oh, I dont know actually. I dont think the PC World lads will know either. Any way to know / check based on anything visible? In the same breath, if you said '99.9% of all screens are capacitive', then that answers it. Suppose Ill take my biking gloves and see if it works on a demo unit. If it does, it must be resistive.

**Chaz** · 19-07-2015

Slightly off topic.

Suggested vendors for:-

Alu, Brass - Clickmetal?
Decent Quality endmills / engraving bits / etc ?
T Nuts (I got some with the machine, but not enough) - 10mm.
Parallel bars etc (the items you put under material in a vice to ensure its flat)
General holding kit - ebay has loads, what is the quality like?

Thanks

**Chaz** · 19-07-2015

The CS Labs unit actually has something called 'HV Enable'. Its for enabling drives, just wired it, works well. It will stop within 1ms if there is a fault or anything that it is not happy with.

**m_c** · 19-07-2015

What USB/Serial lead have you got?
There was an issue recently with FTDI clones, and FTDI releasing a windows driver that bricked them.
.
I'd guess the screen will be capacitive, but the quick check is to try working it with something like the blunt end/top of a pen.
.
Alu/brass, figure out what you need and do some searching. If you'll be buying full lengths/sheets, it's often worth trying your local metal suppliers. Personally, I use a mix of local for full size bits, metalsandplastics for cut alu/brass bars, and ebay for odds and ends for one off projects.
.
Endmills I mostly use APT (shop-apt.co.uk IIRC), as I know I'm getting decent cutters. Ebay is cheaper, but I've found quality can vary. Before you buy anything, run some figures through FS Wizard / G-Wizard (I personally prefer FS Wizard/HSM Advisor as HSMA I think is easier to use/configure) and try out different speeds/sizes/flutes and compare to what power/feedrates you have available. On a Triac, I'd guess you'll be wanting 2 flute to keep a decent chipload for the given RPM/feedrates, but run the figures and see.
.
Holding Kits, you can't really go wrong with the generic T-slot kits from ebay as a starting point. Once you get going and have some experience, you'll probably find you'll want to invest in other mounting methods depending on what you're doing. I'm just in the process (was, I'm currently waiting for a helicoil kit after I picked up a 4.8mm drill instead of the 4.2 to make a couple M5 threads) of making up a work plate that'll use Mitee bite clamps to hold flat bar in place, as I'm fed up with clamps being in the way and needing extra material to clamp.
.
For other bits, ArcEuroTrade is good. Not the cheapest, but they're stuff is always good quality, unlike some of the ebay offerings. They also dispatch quickly. Personally, just buy what you need when you need it. I've got stuff I bought years ago that I thought would be handy, but has never been used. On the other hand, it can be annoying not being able to get a quick job done because you've not got that couple pound widget that would make it so much easier!

**Chaz** · 19-07-2015

Originally Posted by m_c

What USB/Serial lead have you got?
There was an issue recently with FTDI clones, and FTDI releasing a windows driver that bricked them.
.
I'd guess the screen will be capacitive, but the quick check is to try working it with something like the blunt end/top of a pen.
.
Alu/brass, figure out what you need and do some searching. If you'll be buying full lengths/sheets, it's often worth trying your local metal suppliers. Personally, I use a mix of local for full size bits, metalsandplastics for cut alu/brass bars, and ebay for odds and ends for one off projects.
.
Endmills I mostly use APT (shop-apt.co.uk IIRC), as I know I'm getting decent cutters. Ebay is cheaper, but I've found quality can vary. Before you buy anything, run some figures through FS Wizard / G-Wizard (I personally prefer FS Wizard/HSM Advisor as HSMA I think is easier to use/configure) and try out different speeds/sizes/flutes and compare to what power/feedrates you have available. On a Triac, I'd guess you'll be wanting 2 flute to keep a decent chipload for the given RPM/feedrates, but run the figures and see.
.
Holding Kits, you can't really go wrong with the generic T-slot kits from ebay as a starting point. Once you get going and have some experience, you'll probably find you'll want to invest in other mounting methods depending on what you're doing. I'm just in the process (was, I'm currently waiting for a helicoil kit after I picked up a 4.8mm drill instead of the 4.2 to make a couple M5 threads) of making up a work plate that'll use Mitee bite clamps to hold flat bar in place, as I'm fed up with clamps being in the way and needing extra material to clamp.
.
For other bits, ArcEuroTrade is good. Not the cheapest, but they're stuff is always good quality, unlike some of the ebay offerings. They also dispatch quickly. Personally, just buy what you need when you need it. I've got stuff I bought years ago that I thought would be handy, but has never been used. On the other hand, it can be annoying not being able to get a quick job done because you've not got that couple pound widget that would make it so much easier!

http://plugable.com/drivers/prolific

Supposed to be decent, many reviews. The lead is ultra short tho, not ideal.

**Chaz** · 19-07-2015

So the coolant pump was seized. Managed to free it although cant get the 'bowl' thing at the end open to clean it. Ive tried both directions, no fluid coming out. Does anyone know if I need to prime the pump?