Originally Posted by ImanCarrot  Hi Race,
I opened the thing up and it says:
"Delta Tau 202-DSPGAT-000
9645TEC"
Also "PMAC V 1.148"
Which reminds me... I got two repair boards out at my supplier... will need to chase them.
I'm using it to control a diamond turning lathe.
Optical encoders control the lathe's position using laser interferometry.
The spindle's an air bearing spindle to reduce friction and expansion caused by heat. The whole lot's liquid cooled to further eliminate heat. And the lab it's in is temperature controlled... hehe I hate heat. Oh and humididty- I got that controlled since the refractive index of air changes with humidity and the lasers think they're somewhere other than where they should be.
Both axes and the spindle float on air and they are on an epoxy granite base. The base itself is floated on active air pads. The lab foundations are over thickness.
Software? I use the normal CAD CAM stuff and some special-to-type applications with custom post processors. I got fed up with limitations on the various lens software packages so I wrote my own. I called it BAGIT (Big Aspheric Generator Including Topography) it does stuff that other packages don't. It's not pretty but it certainly does the job  |
Hey Carrot,
Sounds like you have a serious setup. I know what you mean by "hearding cats", I have been going around in circles trying to decide which controller Mfg. I should use. So far, I have pretty much decided on Delta Tau because the other guys are either too flakey or just not--in my opionion--high enough in quality or lack ceratin features like closed loop.
Actually, "the normal Cad Cam stuff is what I'm interested in hearing about in conjuntion with the delta tau controller.
For me, I have been going around in circles with this idea of building a 5 axis gantry router of about 12' x 10' (ft) for about a year and haven't gotten very far.
So I thought it would be a good idea to just build a lab that would integrate all of the CAD CAM Controller software I would need before I actually started buying steel and putting the physical machine together. The steel and gears and stuff is not much of a problem, the software and all of the compatability issues and the notion of writing a Post-Processor, on the other hand; is/has been something of an obstacle.
SO, any thoughts, guidance, ideas you might be able to lend would be appreciated.