Conect 121 Lathe - The toy collection grows!

[m_c]

Just a quick update on progress.

The control box is almost wired up, and ready to be attached back onto the lathe.
All the 240V wiring is done, the BOB has power, the Smoothstepper is connecting to Mach, and activating the BOB.

Just got to wire up the Gecko's and connect the KBIC to the BOB, then the next stage can begin.

[willcarey]

Having followed your thread it struck me that the connect 121 is a good solid machine with a reasonable centre height which would be ideal to convert into up-to-date software, I found one last week which is in virtually new condition and collected it yesterday. Unfortunately my enthusiasm outstrips my knowledge I thought the machine would operate in manual modes and by fitting new stepper motor drivers and interface cards I could operate on Mach3. However there is no visible method of starting and controlling spindle speed so I assume that this machine will only run under computer control which since I know absolutely nothing about servo drives and controls leave me with a very steep learning curve or converting to an inverter variable speed drive.
Your horizontal multi tool holder is a great idea in the absence of a turret and if I get mine working certainly fit one.
This

[m_c]

Time for another update.

After a bit of a mishap while wiring up the KBIC to the BOB (note - read the manual, then read it again to ensure you understand the bit about isolated power supplies!), that led to the BOB doing strange things, then delays with post/parcels due to the snow to find out a new set of optos didn't cure the problem, and finally sending the BOB to Lester Caine (www.medw.co.uk), who discovered a fault that meant the board should never of worked in the first place, I am now finally back to where I was several months ago.
I currently have an E-stop system that works, and steppers that move via pushing some buttons on a keyboard.

Next job is to get the KBIC wired up to the BOB with it's own isolated 12V power supply, connect the spindle sensor to the Smoothstepper, tidy up the wiring, configure Mach for that lot, and then think about what else I need to do so I can make some chips.

[m_c]

Woohoo!
Spindle now spins via computer control.
Hopefully be able to start making some chips with it soon :-)

Here's a pic from the other night, prior to the KBIC being connected back up.

Pics now at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mc_mtb/...7625154378941/

[m_c]

Spindle index sensor has now been connected, which has allowed me to adjust the spindle settings so the requested speed is more akin to the actual speed.

Prior to connecting the KBIC to the C23, I adjusted the spindle settings so that the C23 was giving 7V at full speed, as per the KBIC manual for voltage following mode. However, upon setting up the spindle sensor, I was only getting about 1500RPM at full speed, so gradually increased settings until the C23 was outputting 10V, which at the commanded speed of 2100rpm, was giving a true speed of 2069rpm.

I've also got the coolant misting solenoid wired in, but need to get a couple swivel elbows and some new air pipe to get rid of kinks in the pipe work.


Next I need to think about homing/limit switches, and what buttons I want on the front panel.

Ideally I think I'd like to add a Pokeys system and design a completely new control panel, but for now until I get some use out the lathe and figure out what will be good to have, I'm thinking I'll just wire up the existing jog buttons, and the solitary 'feed rate' button as a feed hold. The spindle control stuff I'll just ignore, as that's all controlled via Mach.

[m_c]

Wired up the existing jog buttons during the week, so I can now job the lathe without being near the computer, and got the new quick change toolpost fitted.

Spent some time yesterday cleaning the bed up, and lubricating everything, and it looks quite shiny and clean in the pic!

<pic removed>

Spent this evening tuning the motors, and managed to reliably get 5m/min from the Z-axis, and 4m/min from the X, with acceleration around 120 on the Z and 150 on the X.

Still got the coolant piping to sort out (need to sort the air supply, and get some new locline), fit a X-axis homnig switxh, finish the grounding wires, cable tie up all the wiring, get the control panel screwed shut, and spin the lathe around so I can see while sitting at the computer.

My main thing now though, is to figure out how to use Mach to do useful things!

[h4ppy-chris]

its looking very smart.

[m_c]

Now that I've got it turned around a bit so I can see the front better, I'm actually surprised by just how well it's cleaned up!

I got the x-axis home switch added today.
< pic removed>
Just need to make a cover for it to stop swarf/coolant falling onto it, and decide how I'm going to secure the wiring. To try it, I just pushed the sensor cable through the same grommit as the x-axis stepper wires, which from a potential electrical noise/interference point I know is not good. However, it seems to work ok, but I'm not sure how the sensor cable will withstand oil/coolant. I had planned on putting a small junction box on the cross slide, then using shielded cable along side the stepper wiring, but there's really not enough room to mount a junction box. I'm now thinking about mounting a junction box on the enclosure, and then use sheilded cable from there to the control box. It still won't be ideal from a noise point of view, but will be far better than the existing set-up.

[m_c]

The drive turned out to be a Cheetah-II, as the label was facing into the side of the cabinet so I never seen it until I removed it.
I ended up replacing it with a KBIC, as that was the easiest option. I still have the Cheetah-II sitting on the shelf, as I suspect it is repairable, but I've never had the time or tools to do it.

[m_c]

It lives!
Or it did for a minute or so until the spindle fuse blew!
Used the OD taper wizard in Mach to test it on a bit steel, and the cut depth was obviously a little bit too much for the spindle to handle.

Put a new fuse in, reduced the cut depth, and it managed to finish this -
<pic removed>
So now I just need to get the wiring tidied up (mostly solder ground wires onto sheilding, and put a few more cable ties in), get a couple elbows to plumb in the coolant, drill a big hole for the spindle fuse holder, and it will of reached a useable state. I won't use the term finished, as I already have ideas for bits I still want to change/add, but they'll be done when time/funds permit.