Jimmy and tumutbound, sure does feel great! Just got home from work and the crownies are smooth tonight!

The " control room " painting is now finished so we can move in tomorrow.
We still have not totally overcome the z-zero issue but it can`t be anything other than a minor setting.

The Photos -

1) The view from the room
2) The machine now has the dust extractor ready for use. We will rig up a better system later
3) Jeremy`s test piece.
4 &5 ) Our first sign - imported from V Carve Pro Gallery.
6) Machine with spoilboard in place.

Tomorrow we will attempt to rout a panel for production.

Rocket.

Thanks guys, good to know it's not just mine at least.

Would be good if they could do a software update to allow the filename to scroll across the screen like it does for menu items.

Ok- this this is interesting....

Excitech tell me they can't supply a probing sensor for my machine- I was unable to understand exactly what the issue may be but expect for this system to work the software building the point cloud would need control over the axis movements so expect it would need to be either implemented in the DSP internal control memory OR would require that the machine could be externally controlled by a standalone system (am almost certain DSP system will not except real time control info and provide feedback).

Any ideas?

Jimmy, that's a valid point. For the users having a DSP this would be a problem since the touch probe must be controlled in real time. My impression is that the DSP just chews on the G code supplied, so a MACH3 /WinCNC setup would be ready to play on this topic I guess. It should be as simple as adding the SW and attaching the the probe through the system and off you go.

However, I have not seen this mentioned to work with any 4th axis.

K

G`day Jim, Early Monday morning in the US of A. Wincnc connect day!

Have you made any cabinets with the dos controller or are you waiting to fire it up with the wincnc first?

For those who are considering changing over to wincnc what would be a rough price on buying the hardware?

Rocket.

G`day Jim, Early Monday morning in the US of A. Wincnc connect day!

Have you made any cabinets with the dos controller or are you waiting to fire it up with the wincnc first?

For those who are considering changing over to wincnc what would be a rough price on buying the hardware?

Rocket.

Hey I have had a few beers but this is weird.... When I view your post rocket all I see is 'BOO!' then when I hit quote to reply I get to see all this other text.... Arrrggghh!

Whats going on?

Now that I can see the text I might as well add a comment- Exitech ship machines with Mach3 as an option so maybe we should follow up on a price- we already know they ship type3 at a bargain price compared to distributors in other countries..

In case anyone is wondering what I was going on about with my last post refer uploaded image...

I was clowning around. I am sitting in my study doing loads of paper work and keeping an eye on the forum. There are 20 people watching but not posting so i thought i had better break the ice.

Fire up people!

Due to my ignorance i did not think to get a price on the mach3 upgrade.
A month or so ago i had a look at the manual for it and it was so big that i figured it would have been too much for a novice like myself.

cabnet posted a picture of the interface of wincnc and it looked to be user friendly. Then when he posted the photo of the kit it did not look too complicated ( only 37 wires to connect.... yeah, no hope for me )

And Alicia Molik has just won in the tennis. One cute sheila!

Rocket

Jimmy, that's a valid point. For the users having a DSP this would be a problem since the touch probe must be controlled in real time. My impression is that the DSP just chews on the G code supplied, so a MACH3 /WinCNC setup would be ready to play on this topic I guess. It should be as simple as adding the SW and attaching the the probe through the system and off you go.

However, I have not seen this mentioned to work with any 4th axis.

K

Thanks Kent,

Sort of like running numerous instances of the tool sensor routine to build a point cloud.

Would really lke some more info on the DSP board.

I have confirmed today that the current 2 wire connection to the spindle inverter only provides for RUN and STOP commands, more connections are required to control spindle speed. Thing is there are several other available connectors on the terminal block on the card so I have to wonder whether connecting a few more wires would allow the DSP to instruct the inverter to alter output frequency.

I am considering connecting my scope to the spare terminals to look for any output waveforms if I run some G Code with speed change commands in it.

I was clowning around. I am sitting in my study doing loads of paper work and keeping an eye on the forum. There are 20 people watching but not posting so i thought i had better break the ice.

Fire up people!

Due to my ignorance i did not think to get a price on the mach3 upgrade.
A month or so ago i had a look at the manual for it and it was so big that i figured it would have been too much for a novice like myself.

cabnet posted a picture of the interface of wincnc and it looked to be user friendly. Then when he posted the photo of the kit it did not look too complicated ( only 37 wires to connect.... yeah, no hope for me )

And Alicia Molik has just won in the tennis. One cute sheila!

Rocket

Cheers Rocket,

Was starting to think I must have got some methanol in my home brew- LOL!

Couple of quick questions?

What grease did you end up with on your rails, gears and ball screw to replace the transport Gunk?

What speed did you run the spindle at?

Was it louder than expected?

When you get a chance could you please toggle the spindle inverter display amd note the current draw at no load 300hz- mine shows 7.8 amps which appears high for a 380v/3phase motor with no load.

What process speeds were set in your DSP as delivered?

Thanks Kent,

Sort of like running numerous instances of the tool sensor routine to build a point cloud.

Would really lke some more info on the DSP board.

I have confirmed today that the current 2 wire connection to the spindle inverter only provides for RUN and STOP commands, more connections are required to control spindle speed. Thing is there are several other available connectors on the terminal block on the card so I have to wonder whether connecting a few more wires would allow the DSP to instruct the inverter to alter output frequency.

I am considering connecting my scope to the spare terminals to look for any output waveforms if I run some G Code with speed change commands in it.

Jimmy,

I have been discussing a lot with Taney regarding the DSP vs MACH3. The feedback I got was; "The other difference is Mach3 could control the rotation speed of the spindle by the software, but DSP could only control by the Frequencey Inverter Panel." I guess you would need to dial in the speed by turning the frequency knob to have it changed?

Doing so (using the frequency inverter) is this a "stepless" or continuous change in speed, hence you could use 10000-10001-10002 or is it just "high" and "low" ?

K

I am a hypocrite! The machine bits and pieces kit had a small plastic grease gun in it which contains a " whitish " grease. So i gave the nipples a quick squirt. I did not clean the original gunk off but it squashed down nicely on the rails. Frank noticed this today and is going to clean it all off in the morning. I will go and get some decent grease and a grease gun on my way to work tomorrow. Then i will try to find some slideway oil that you wrote of.

I am not sure what the spindle speed was but it was not overly fast. I was in the office most of the day and Ramon and Jeremy were operating the machine. I will check on the speeds tomorrow.

The machine runs a whole lot quieter than i thought it would but the vacuum pump is fairly noisy.

The process speeds i believe are 3000mm/ minute for the gantry but not sure of the others. Will check them tomorrow. Machine and spindle operate very smoothly.

Will check the inverter display for current draw and let you know.

Rocket.

Jimmy,

I have been discussing a lot with Taney regarding the DSP vs MACH3. The feedback I got was; "The other difference is Mach3 could control the rotation speed of the spindle by the software, but DSP could only control by the Frequencey Inverter Panel." I guess you would need to dial in the speed by turning the frequency knob to have it changed?

Doing so (using the frequency inverter) is this a "stepless" or continuous change in speed, hence you could use 10000-10001-10002 or is it just "high" and "low" ?

K

Hi Kent,

It's not stepless but likley greater available resolution than we may have a practical application for.

Inverter output resolution =.1hz therefore you can theoretically adjust spindle speed in 6rpm increments (for a 2pole motor).

I think I can easily survive without DSP control over spindle RPM ATM- it's only a minor inconvenience to key in an output frequency on the inverter keypad. If I had a tool changer I think it would be almost mandatory.

Will likely order the big Excitech machine with ATC mid year- will be intereting to learn what control system they run on that one. It looks to be a different species of machine to the other family members.

I am a hypocrite! The machine bits and pieces kit had a small plastic grease gun in it which contains a " whitish " grease. So i gave the nipples a quick squirt. I did not clean the original gunk off but it squashed down nicely on the rails. Frank noticed this today and is going to clean it all off in the morning. I will go and get some decent grease and a grease gun on my way to work tomorrow. Then i will try to find some slideway oil that you wrote of.

I am not sure what the spindle speed was but it was not overly fast. I was in the office most of the day and Ramon and Jeremy were operating the machine. I will check on the speeds tomorrow.

The machine runs a whole lot quieter than i thought it would but the vacuum pump is fairly noisy.

The process speeds i believe are 3000mm/ minute for the gantry but not sure of the others. Will check them tomorrow. Machine and spindle operate very smoothly.

Will check the inverter display for current draw and let you know.

Rocket.

Well I have settled on a lubrication schedule for my machine now.

Apparently Moly Disulphide grease is old hat- a mate of my old mans is a grease and oil expert.

He's got me on two products (Amglomoil Brand) 1) Uniplex NLG12 which I pump into the bearing blocks and smear on the gear tracks and 2) A spray on product called PRO-LON. This stuff is great, doesn't seem to grab the dust like the other stuff I had on there but sticks to the guides nicely.

As far as spindle noise goes mate mine is LOUD! You have a 6kw HSD on yours don't you? It's probably not as loud as my 3hp hand routers but hard to tell as I never used them without wearing can's- (I cannot afford to have hearing damage).

My VAC pump and dust extractor combined do not approach the SPL of the spindle and the noise appears to be all cooling fan generated.

wincnc today bill is driving here as we post and is expected @ 11:00 am got some plans to finish will speak with bill about controllers

jim

jimmy007 watch pm

there are lots of videos on operating mach three on this cnc zone
the website and forum is thier support
the software is 160.00 US+/-
bill just prefers wincnc as it's what he has spent years learning
he has and is studying mach 3
i just chose to go with most experience
mach 3 is widely used and well supported
jim
i think its artsoft .com

found it
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?action=activate;u=8260;code=8b24231e61

Well I have settled on a lubrication schedule for my machine now.

Apparently Moly Disulphide grease is old hat- a mate of my old mans is a grease and oil expert.

He's got me on two products (Amglomoil Brand) 1) Uniplex NLG12 which I pump into the bearing blocks and smear on the gear tracks and 2) A spray on product called PRO-LON. This stuff is great, doesn't seem to grab the dust like the other stuff I had on there but sticks to the guides nicely.

As far as spindle noise goes mate mine is LOUD! You have a 6kw HSD on yours don't you? It's probably not as loud as my 3hp hand routers but hard to tell as I never used them without wearing can's- (I cannot afford to have hearing damage).

My VAC pump and dust extractor combined do not approach the SPL of the spindle and the noise appears to be all cooling fan generated.

Now i think i am psychic. This is important info. Thanks. I will google it and see if i can find a local distributor.
I would think that you need excellent hearing in your line of work. Our spindle is 3.5KW so that probably explains the difference. The vacuum pump is not excessively noisey but probably double the noise of the router. Have not even heard the noise of the cooling fan yet. Our next machine will have the 8KW spindle so maybe water cooling is the way to go for the bigger spindles.

Thanks again. Rocket.

wincnc today bill is driving here as we post and is expected @ 11:00 am got some plans to finish will speak with bill about controllers

jim

jimmy007 watch pm

Ripper Jim, off to bed now . Hope to read about it in morning. Photos?

Rocket.

bill is going to machine a bracket for a spindle out of aluminum while he's here will video
jim

i may have already utilized it on a computer here check it, if not working properly let me know i'll gett another
jim

here are videos
http://www.machsupport.com/artsoft/videos.htm
jim

bill has used wincn for many years and has become proficient with it, he tells me mach3 is just new to him and he likes it, hes just alot more used to wincnc.

wincnc 1200.00
mach3 160.00

wincnc provides mother pci card with daughter board for connecting 25 or 37 pin cable to controller box (drivers, spindles, power supply limit switches, probes and estop)

mach3 is pc software that uses existing printer cable and you set pin match up with software

jim

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13072&page=2&pp=15

jim

G`day Jim, how did it go?

Those links that you put up are great. I had not seen the " show and tell " thread before. Lots of excellent photos of things that people have made with their cnc machines.

The price of the wincnc controller seems reasonable at $1,200. I bet that you are going to have some fun with your machine now.

Waiting in anticipation.

Rocket.

Hey everybody! I have another problem....

The actual cable for the DSP unit... We were looking for another one, perhaps 10m in length so that we can walk around the machine while using the handheld unit. The only problem is that we are having some issues finding one! Its a 50 pin SCSI cable... does anybody know where abouts we could locate one in Australia? Cheers!

I am using a 10Hp fancooled HSD spindle and have a hard time knowing if it is on.Mindyou I am deaf from 25years of Makita hand routers!The 25Hp Busch vacuum deaf-in-ately blows away the spindle in deaf-a-bells and the 3Hp cyclone deaf-in-ately blows away everything in SPL'S.These two units should be outside.Spindles are amazing.Worth the $ for the low noise.
BTW,spindles should be warmed up for 15minutes for the bearings to reach operating temperature to ensure long life.
If you drill lots of holes a drill on another Z axis is a worthy investment as spindle bearings are not designed for drilling forces or plunging.A long ramp is advisable on plunge cutting.I found this info on spindle sites and is really pertaining to routers running 24/7 or worst case.
Larry

The others in Aus are having some issues getting on to CNC zone ATM, hopefully the mods can sort it out soon.

Shannon.

HSD MANUALS/INFO
Does anyone have any info written in english on these HSD spindles,as far as servicing/operating goes.

I have heard/read .....Wait xx minutes prior to using......oil the spindle etc etc.
and have nothing to go by.

I have a new 2.0kw and have ,no manuals no CD etc
Any Info would be great
Regards
Jubee

Check out this site, The manuals cover everything. far more than you will ever want to know :D
http://www.hsd.it/prodotti.asp?ente=1&co_id=1080

The link should take you through to the product search but if it doesn't Click on 'English' for your language if it isn't already then search 'products' for your particular spindle. Just put in your particular spindle details and you should be able to find the manual.

It seems to me that apart from the warm up cycle they are virtually maintenance free.

Shannon.

The others in Aus are having some issues getting on to CNC zone ATM, hopefully the mods can sort it out soon.

Shannon.

Appears things are up and running for me........

I did have difficulty getting the main page up during the day though.

Appears things are up and running for me........

I did have difficulty getting the main page up during the day though.

Thats great, let the games begin.. or is that from something completely different.

Shannon.

HSD MANUALS/INFO
Does anyone have any info written in english on these HSD spindles,as far as servicing/operating goes.

I have heard/read .....Wait xx minutes prior to using......oil the spindle etc etc.
and have nothing to go by.

I have a new 2.0kw and have ,no manuals no CD etc
Any Info would be great
Regards
Jubee

Try www.HSD.it

You will find it here.

All manuals are available in english- english version of the site is very nice.

Google is your friend.

Why has rocket67 been banned from this site ???
I hope this is a mistake or could the moderator give us a reason for this:confused:

bill came and got me not only running but FLYIN we did some carving and the relief of getting off that dos controller was felt by all, i have some video and will post later today.

have some business to do am am going to meet bill and "joey" another camaster tech "knows his stuff" at kiethg's shop

thanks to all at cnc zone, rocket, jimmy007, howzat,dougie, big s, esmae,
ger21 and all of you. in august 07 we were featured in cabinetmaker magazine, on of the sub articles was about how facinated with my little carvewright "carving machine" on that day i would have laughed if some one would have told me i'd be involved in cnc machining

all of you have helped me change that
jim

Why has rocket67 been banned from this site ???
I hope this is a mistake or could the moderator give us a reason for this:confused:


He was erasing all his posts, look through this thread and see all the posts that he deleted. He has only be temporarily banned. I will not allow, members to just go and deleted all their posts for no good reason. If you want to discussion this further don't do it in this thread! Do it here- http://www.cnczone.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6

Thanks Guys for the links
Regards
Jubee

Thanks Guys for the links
Regards
Jubee

Jubee, I meant to ask yesterday- which 2kw HSD do you have?

I note from looking for the manual for you yesterday they make a lot of liquid cooled 2kw spindles.

bill came and got me not only running but FLYIN we did some carving and the relief of getting off that dos controller was felt by all, i have some video and will post later today.

have some business to do am am going to meet bill and "joey" another camaster tech "knows his stuff" at kiethg's shop

thanks to all at cnc zone, rocket, jimmy007, howzat,dougie, big s, esmae,
ger21 and all of you. in august 07 we were featured in cabinetmaker magazine, on of the sub articles was about how facinated with my little carvewright "carving machine" on that day i would have laughed if some one would have told me i'd be involved in cnc machining

all of you have helped me change that
jim

Nice when things run smoothly- happy to hear you got up and going without any hassles Jim.

Just read the article in cabinetmaker. Nice setup you have there.

Looking forweard to seeing how you manage to work the CNC into your current operation.

Jimmy oo7

The spindle I have is a 2kw SEV HSD MT 1073-070.

I couldnt find the manual on the website,I think because its
a SEV model (smaller made spindles ?) dont know.
Anyway emailed the SEV company, hopefuly they will send something.

Have you had a chance at putting a scope on the unused pins on the DSP
Breakout board, I am sure they are for control voltage on the VSD,
I would be very interested in using this function.

I wanted to convert to mach 3 ,as its more flexible.
I spent the good part of the day discussing (if you could call that) converstion to mach3,
on messenger,Limited english ,limited knowledge ,AARRRHHGGG!!!!!!!
I would of been better banging my head against a brick wall.

what ever you find out would be good.
Thanks
regards
Jubee

I intend to convert mine to Mach3..as soon as I get one :D

I have a fairly good idea how to go about it, PM me for my MSN and I will do my best to help.

Shannon.

I intend to convert mine to Mach3..as soon as I get one :D

I have a fairly good idea how to go about it, PM me for my MSN and I will do my best to help.

Shannon.

If you have your heart set on Mach3 why not order from Exitech set up ready to go. I know it is an option- they quoted for my 1325 to be supplied Mach3 ready.

So far as limitations go I am interested, we all know now about the spindle speed control issue- what are the others for non tool changer equipped users?

I find no inconvenience with adjusting spindle RPM using the inverter keypad, in fact I backed off the speed a little yesterday mid cut as I was routing 25mm MDF with a large 90deg bit (3 passes) and on the last cut it was burning a little....

I can say that I am yet to find any significant limititation (for my purposes) in the DSP. Yes, I am very new to the whole CNC game and may well be missing out on something but all is proceeding nicely so far.

I didn't realise that they could a do mach3 setup, I will look into that.

I need the machine to be as flexible as possible as the work I will be doing will cover a wide range of materials and job types and need a fast response time.

i am also considering getting an ATC spindle and building my own tool changer (12 + places)

Shannon.

If you have your heart set on Mach3 why not order from Exitech set up ready to go. I know it is an option- they quoted for my 1325 to be supplied Mach3 ready.

So far as limitations go I am interested, we all know now about the spindle speed control issue- what are the others for non tool changer equipped users?

I find no inconvenience with adjusting spindle RPM using the inverter keypad, in fact I backed off the speed a little yesterday mid cut as I was routing 25mm MDF with a large 90deg bit (3 passes) and on the last cut it was burning a little....

I can say that I am yet to find any significant limititation (for my purposes) in the DSP. Yes, I am very new to the whole CNC game and may well be missing out on something but all is proceeding nicely so far.

machine is kickin butt bill's a genius and he's got another tech i hope we'll see more of here. machine is doing more than i magined at on point bill showed me what these things can run at. faster than i need and my machine is 8 years old. began to talk about new machine,

gotta go home i have had to get back to work and will post some video and pic's hopefully tonight

jim

I didn't realise that they could a do mach3 setup, I will look into that.

I need the machine to be as flexible as possible as the work I will be doing will cover a wide range of materials and job types and need a fast response time.

i am also considering getting an ATC spindle and building my own tool changer (12 + places)

Shannon.

Ok Shannon, so it would appear to the extent currently understood the principal limitation is spindle speed control and only likely of any great importance where a tool changer is installed. Given requirement to alter spindle speed would likely correspond with a tool change I think I'm quite happy just to spend the 4 seconds it takes to enter an output frequency on the spindle drive when I change my tooling.

machine is kickin butt bill's a genius and he's got another tech i hope we'll see more of here. machine is doing more than i magined at on point bill showed me what these things can run at. faster than i need and my machine is 8 years old. began to talk about new machine,

gotta go home i have had to get back to work and will post some video and pic's hopefully tonight

jim

Make sure to send me a link

Ok Shannon, so it would appear to the extent currently understood the principal limitation is spindle speed control and only likely of any great importance where a tool changer is installed. Given requirement to alter spindle speed would likely correspond with a tool change I think I'm quite happy just to spend the 4 seconds it takes to enter an output frequency on the spindle drive when I change my tooling.

I was under the impression that the DSP will not support a tool changer either, maybe someone can enlighten me on this.

Shannon.

I was under the impression that the DSP will not support a tool changer either, maybe someone can enlighten me on this.

Shannon.

Pretty sure it doesn't......

Thanks to our Good Friend Mr Cabnet I am now in a position to have a play with Mach3....

Need to perform some fairly extensive cabling on my machine to fire it up (intend to keep the DSP as a backup/alternative so will need to build a board with relays to configure drive and feedback switching).

Should be able to comment late next week on the pro's and cons (from my perspective).

Jimmy 007,

Yes there is heaps more to just changing spindle speeds,(for me),which I think is pretty important
at the cam stage anyway (isnt that what we are after ,automation?)How do you remember what feed rate/ spindle speed for the jobs you do ? trial and error each time?

.......Turning relays on/off ie dust extractors,coolant,vacuum tables,etc etc
Dwell time,spindle counter clockwise,peck drilling,directly edit G-code,etc etc...
endless amounts of flexibility with g/m codes.
Not to mention being able to view what is or going to happen with you axis,(view the tool path)
no where the job is upto etc etc etc I could go on and on.
Google G-codes ,you will be supprised ,all so have alook at the mach 3 website (No ,I am not trying to sell it ,I have been using it for awhile on my mill and find it hard to beat.

The reason I didnt order Mach 3 ,was that I thought the DSP controller used all the G/M codes that I was using with Mach,my fault.I should have asked,but I am asking now and they cant even tell me???
Dont get me wrong though, I am happy enough with the DSP for what it does,and I am sure it can do alot more,given the right requests to the right people(something as basic as spindle speed through g/code,would be a good start) but because I cant get a clear answer or any information for that matter, I am best to stick with what I know/use.

I hope this makes some sort of sense.
I will continue to use the DSP until I can get the electronics sorted.

Regards
Jubee

Jimmy 007,

Yes there is heaps more to just changing spindle speeds,(for me),which I think is pretty important
at the cam stage anyway (isnt that what we are after ,automation?)How do you remember what feed rate/ spindle speed for the jobs you do ? trial and error each time?

.......Turning relays on/off ie dust extractors,coolant,vacuum tables,etc etc
Dwell time,spindle counter clockwise,peck drilling,directly edit G-code,etc etc...
endless amounts of flexibility with g/m codes.
Not to mention being able to view what is or going to happen with you axis,(view the tool path)
no where the job is upto etc etc etc I could go on and on.
Google G-codes ,you will be supprised ,all so have alook at the mach 3 website (No ,I am not trying to sell it ,I have been using it for awhile on my mill and find it hard to beat.

The reason I didnt order Mach 3 ,was that I thought the DSP controller used all the G/M codes that I was using with Mach,my fault.I should have asked,but I am asking now and they cant even tell me???
Dont get me wrong though, I am happy enough with the DSP for what it does,and I am sure it can do alot more,given the right requests to the right people(something as basic as spindle speed through g/code,would be a good start) but because I cant get a clear answer or any information for that matter, I am best to stick with what I know/use.

I hope this makes some sort of sense.
I will continue to use the DSP until I can get the electronics sorted.

Regards
Jubee

Thats what I was after Jubee- you have highlighted some advantages I will directky benefit from.

I should have Mach3 running by end of next week if all goes well with my soldering and machine conversion.

I am trying to work out now whether the delta inverter and stepper drives have opto isolators on the inputs, will simplify the complexity of my DB25 breakout board if they do.

All good.....

I have been reading up and looking at the Mach3 interface and it is looking better by the second...

I have the Mach 3 demo installed on my laptop and its pretty interesting all the things that can be changed. I have yet to use it on a machine though. I am with you guys when you say you can use it to switch the vacuum etc.

Shannon.

lets see some machine

left laptop charge cord at shop, so gotta download video before batterie dies

phots my machine kiethg's
jim

check out photos from shop, jim

will try video next

of camaster in camden sc

joey how do i upload video
downloaded in wmv format using windows movie maker
jim

The files most likely too big to post here. You'll need to upload it somewhere else, like YouTube, and link to it.

lets see some machine

left laptop charge cord at shop, so gotta download video before batterie dies

phots my machine kiethg's
jim

Them photo's are a sight for sore eyes- nice looking setup!

I'm close to going Mach3, looking for a solution to keep computer side dust free while close to the machine. How do you go with that?

eyes heavy bill done wore me out

gone to sleep

do you want to post on forum?

Here are a few pics from the machine at work. The vacuum bed is a series of holes in the T-slot alloy section. I think the holes are the shape they are so that the vacuum is spread out a little but doesn't let to much air flow when a hole is uncovered. We use a 4mm and 2.5mm sheets directly on top of the bed for for a waste sheet.

Shannon.

If you want the cheap vac option
Go Vac clamp.see pic below
Bought them yesterday ,excellent product $70 each.
holding power is great ,all you need is a compressor ,so there is little noise
and thats only when it turns on, which is about every 5 minutes.

Jimmy007, are you making your own breakout board,can you pm me with
your wiring diagram when you can.
sounds like you are up with the electronics side of things,
I have a breakout board I used years ago(picture attached) I am going to try,
not familiar with stepper motors though,the x/se,y/se,z/se etc etc what the??
Servo`s and encoders are the way to go, but not this time.

If you want the cheap vac option
Go Vac clamp.see pic below
Bought them yesterday ,excellent product $70 each.
holding power is great ,all you need is a compressor ,so there is little noise
and thats only when it turns on, which is about every 5 minutes.

Jimmy007, are you making your own breakout board,can you pm me with
your wiring diagram when you can.
sounds like you are up with the electronics side of things,
I have a breakout board I used years ago(picture attached) I am going to try,
not familiar with stepper motors though,the x/se,y/se,z/se etc etc what the??
Servo`s and encoders are the way to go, but not this time.

That looks like a nice board, voltage regulated 5v supply, optical coupled with auxilaries which would likely address the bus on a spindle drive for incremental speed adjuatment.


If I had that board I wouldn't need to do anything- found out today that all stepper drives are optically coupled so in theory could just wire straight to printer port of computer and Mach3 would be up and running.

To do it nice I would like charge pump circuit so that spindle doesn't fire up and things move during PC power cycle, also need to figure out PWM input to delta inverter so I can have spindle speed control.

My other requirement is to be able to run the DSP system as an alternative with a flick of a switch.

And yes, VAC and extraction control from the PC would be nice luxuries also.

Yep, thanks a LOT Jubee- was more than happy with the DSP and now I'll be up to my elbows in solder flux fumes- LOL!

Thanks Cabnet also- you know why :-)

That looks like a nice board, voltage regulated 5v supply, optical coupled with auxilaries which would likely address the bus on a spindle drive for incremental speed adjuatment.


If I had that board I wouldn't need to do anything- found out today that all stepper drives are optically coupled so in theory could just wire straight to printer port of computer and Mach3 would be up and running.

To do it nice I would like charge pump circuit so that spindle doesn't fire up and things move during PC power cycle, also need to figure out PWM input to delta inverter so I can have spindle speed control.

My other requirement is to be able to run the DSP system as an alternative with a flick of a switch.

And yes, VAC and extraction control from the PC would be nice luxuries also.

Yep, thanks a LOT Jubee- was more than happy with the DSP and now I'll be up to my elbows in solder flux fumes- LOL!

Thanks Cabnet also- you know why :-)

If I understand things correct, you rip out the DSP card and still use the YAKO as front ends to the steppers? Then the YAKOs has to be collected together with a board to connect to the PC? Why not rip out the whole ting and buy one of these :http://www.geckodrive.com/product.cfm?pid=19

You can then connect you're PC through USB or Ethernet which is rally nice.

I have attached a drawing I made, is this how things are connected ?

K

Hi Kent,
The diagram you have ,I think may be a little incorrect.
My understanding (which is not much) is the handset is the DSP,
and it is providing the drives with the info pulses etc
The yako`s are the drivers ,so regardless of what you are using mach 3,DSP etc
you still need the drivers,and how you interface them with the motors is what we are
on about.
So to sum it up ..
1/ DSP ---Chinese breakout board----Yako----stepper motors.....MOTION (sold unit)
2/ Mach3 ----cnc Parallel breakout board ----Yako ------stepper motors......MOTION
3/mach3-----grex G-100-----Yako-----stepper moters.......MOTION

so you see you still need the drives,(you problably Know this ,and I have misundersood
you comments,so feel free to say......,,,you f,,.,,wit,I know this.

Anyway My two cents worth (which may not by right).

Regards
Jubee.

Thank's

I guess the green and yellow (lead connectors) picture shown earlier is just the Chinese breakout card and you have 3 of the Yakos then?

I'm about 99% there to buy a 1312 now with the custom 4axis DSP where I'm at a later stage would see if I need a MACH3. The factory is sold out of MACH3 setups which I read as that the external controller needed to support this is out of stock. So if you and Jimmy manage to solder something together I would be really interested.

Have some one gone for the mist cooling system?

K

Thank's

I guess the green and yellow (lead connectors) picture shown earlier is just the Chinese breakout card and you have 3 of the Yakos then?

I'm about 99% there to buy a 1312 now with the custom 4axis DSP where I'm at a later stage would see if I need a MACH3. The factory is sold out of MACH3 setups which I read as that the external controller needed to support this is out of stock. So if you and Jimmy manage to solder something together I would be really interested.

Have some one gone for the mist cooling system?

K


G'day Kent,

Actually there are 4 YAKO's, two for the Y axis steppers which are both fed by the same output on the DSP card.

I intend to retain the YAKO's, not fully up on the Gecko drives but given the size of the card in comparison to the YAKO units with thier large heatsinks and fan colling would say its fair to assume the YAKO's provide higher current output capability (8A @ 110V).

There is a monumental amount of Mach3 info on the net. I could easily connect the steppers straight to the printer port on a spare PC and be running- it appears very straight forward.

I now know there is so many products ready to implement the solution I need that it is unlikely I will build anything- all hardware freely available and at very reasonable cost.

If you want the cheap vac option
Go Vac clamp.see pic below
Bought them yesterday ,excellent product $70 each.
holding power is great ,all you need is a compressor ,so there is little noise
and thats only when it turns on, which is about every 5 minutes.

Jimmy007, are you making your own breakout board,can you pm me with
your wiring diagram when you can.
sounds like you are up with the electronics side of things,
I have a breakout board I used years ago(picture attached) I am going to try,
not familiar with stepper motors though,the x/se,y/se,z/se etc etc what the??
Servo`s and encoders are the way to go, but not this time.

Hey Jubee- what reading did you end up getting for table runout with the dial gauge?

Mine is that close to level I am tempted to flycut the vac table surface and be done with it.

When I mill my spoil boards I find that first cut to level surface all over is .4mm so pretty happy there.

It may likely be coincidence but lowest point on my table is right where the VAC pump was sitting when the machine was shipped.

how many days till new machine???

you sure can tell wnen rocket and the austrailians are asleep!!

jim

how many days till new machine???

you sure can tell wnen rocket and the austrailians are asleep!!

jim


Hey Jim- round here it is you Yanks that have the rep for being loud LOL...

I'm like a kid with a new toy- excited about seeing my machine fire up with Mach3. Am doing my best not to rush it, best to get it right the first time.

Did you have any luck working out how to get your video uploaded to somewhere and linked here so we can all have a look?

Hey Jubee- what reading did you end up getting for table runout with the dial gauge?

Mine is that close to level I am tempted to flycut the vac table surface and be done with it.

When I mill my spoil boards I find that first cut to level surface all over is .4mm so pretty happy there.

It may likely be coincidence but lowest point on my table is right where the VAC pump was sitting when the machine was shipped.



I am a little embarrassed to tell,
3.5mm over 1 metre, pretty ordinary,hay??
I am thinking of re-doing the whole table top,with something better /stronger,
and mounting the vac clamps inside somehow.

Yes,same deal ,lowest point right where they sat
the Electronics box,(bloody heavy) and the dust extractor(which I
have to get another motor for,as they sent me a 3 phase motor with a single phase
setup?????? Anyone want/need a 3 phase motor?
Kent.... Be advised with my SHG1312 the Pwr/electronics box is seperated,with about 2-3 m of pwr cable etc to the main unit,some photos on their website show this some dont,
maybe you can ask to have it attached to the side like the bigger ones,dont know (if I knew/or had the option ,I would go for the latter).


regards
Jubee

learning newer things
learning curve has yet to straighten out
jim

Jim, That is one great setup that you have, can`t wait to see the video.

Any person who buys a machine with the side mounted control box beware! It may save space by having the box sidemounted, but the DSP controller cable is in a terrible location - As Jimmy has already mentioned.
We have already encountered problems with it. Somebody stepped on the cable which dislodged it from the socket and bent the pins. Our fault as we had been made aware of the problem , so if you are getting this setup make sure to put some kind of securing device around it to prevent this from happening.

On the bright side of things - Ramon is taking to V Carve Pro like a duck to water. He is designing our panels on it and we hope to router some panels today.

Rocket.

Jim, That is one great setup that you have, can`t wait to see the video.

Any person who buys a machine with the side mounted control box beware! It may save space by having the box sidemounted, but the DSP controller cable is in a terrible location - As Jimmy has already mentioned.
We have already encountered problems with it. Somebody stepped on the cable which dislodged it from the socket and bent the pins. Our fault as we had been made aware of the problem , so if you are getting this setup make sure to put some kind of securing device around it to prevent this from happening.

On the bright side of things - Ramon is taking to V Carve Pro like a duck to water. He is designing our panels on it and we hope to router some panels today.

Rocket.

G'day Rod...

Nice to see you back Mate, your presence has been missed.

DSP cable connection location is a nightmare! You may like to buy a longer cable and route it back inside the control box and bring it out in a less vulnerable location.... Plenty of space inside to relocate the DSP board.

Cheers,

Jimmy

Hi Jimmy, that sounds like a plan.
Any idea on where we could procure a longer cable? Ramon tried to buy one yesterday but had no success in finding a business that can supply it.

Rocket.

Hi Jimmy, that sounds like a plan.
Any idea on where we could procure a longer cable? Ramon tried to buy one yesterday but had no success in finding a business that can supply it.

Rocket.

Haven't tried myself yet. Will have a sniff around and post here with success or lack of.....

I am a little embarrassed to tell,
3.5mm over 1 metre, pretty ordinary,hay??
I am thinking of re-doing the whole table top,with something better /stronger,
and mounting the vac clamps inside somehow.

Yes,same deal ,lowest point right where they sat
the Electronics box,(bloody heavy) and the dust extractor(which I
have to get another motor for,as they sent me a 3 phase motor with a single phase
setup?????? Anyone want/need a 3 phase motor?
Kent.... Be advised with my SHG1312 the Pwr/electronics box is seperated,with about 2-3 m of pwr cable etc to the main unit,some photos on their website show this some dont,
maybe you can ask to have it attached to the side like the bigger ones,dont know (if I knew/or had the option ,I would go for the latter).


regards
Jubee

Jubee,

I have now dropped Taney a final mail to hear if the powerstuff could be side mounted. However, I'm not sure this would be a problem for me. As Rocket and the other's have mentioned, the DSP cable is placed in a horrible position on the other machines, which again leaves me in trouble.
As I could see on the picture you sent me, the cable seems to be leaving the machine in a good spot under the machine, or was this possible not the case ?

I have also asked if I could have the self cooled HSD spindle with the same 2Kw which is used on the 1224. Is this a option I should consider? Would it be more quiet (the self cooled) ?

Dougie329, you where happy with the self cooled HSD, was'nt you? Is it quiet even if it has 24000RPM

I'm in one way excited as a child but then also afraid of doing the wrong decision since it's a lot of money for me...

K

photo of both ends of the dsp cable

kent its a lot of money to all of us
jim

is this helpful
http://www.diycnc.co.uk/index.html

photo of both ends of the dsp cable

kent its a lot of money to all of us
jim

is this helpful
http://www.diycnc.co.uk/index.html


Hi Jim, Will take photos in a couple of hours.
Rocket.

bill is deliivering in wilmington nc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-2o3k34H84

still learning
robert and tony (cabinetmakers)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWhmaAjp6fA

kiethg's camaster cutting vanity parts with cabinetpro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15Lih3lZtp4

and some training

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83rhQ6oehIc

kieths machine, bill glenn and joey

and finally my machine carving rooster
jim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQdo3nCyHds

Kent I have the standard 2.2 Kw water cooled spindle it came with.

Its running just fine, quiet as a mouse. Left it on the other day by mistake and stuck my hand in to change the tool bit, a near disaster but the cutters are so small you cant tell if they are rotating or not!! (mind you vac pump was making a racket)...am now profficient with adjusting the speeds as required on the inverter, pretty easy to do.

Jim, you are a champion. The videos are superb. Thanks.

Rocket.

Hi Fellas, we have just routered a 4 panel door. No worries.
Tried to buy a grease gun today to grease the small nipples but having trouble finding a small enough connector to go on the nipples. Any particular item i should be asking for?

Jimmy, i contacted Anglomoil today and they sent prices.

Photos coming.

Rocket.

Hi Fellas, we have just routered a 4 panel door. No worries.
Tried to buy a grease gun today to grease the small nipples but having trouble finding a small enough connector to go on the nipples. Any particular item i should be asking for?

Jimmy, i contacted Anglomoil today and they sent prices.

Photos coming.

Rocket.

The grease gun I am using came bundled with the lawn mower (1952 Ransom's rotary drum model)... Yes it still cuts the front lawn well and only been re-ringed twice :-)

The Anglomoil rep claimed that if I use the pro-lon spray I shouldnt need to pump any grease into the bearing blocks- as is often the case with me and things that don't make sense I rejected this advice. If the scrapers on the blocks perform thier role of keeping the dust out then maybe they will serve to keep the lube out also, yes lube is more likely to get in than dust but I'm using both just in case.... Can't do any harm.

Tried to buy a grease gun today to grease the small nipples but having trouble finding a small enough connector to go on the nipples. Any particular item i should be asking for?

If you know someone with a lathe,ask them if they can machine a couple of
mm of the grease gun nose, Thats what I did and works well,
Nice to hear things are going well ,look forward to seeing some pic`s

regards
jubee

jubee, that is a neat looking nozzle.
Unfortunately i do not know anybody who has a lathe - but i do have a bench grinder in the garage. My nozzle will not look pretty but i reckon it will do the job. Thanks.

We did not want to run the machine without lubrication today so i bought some molybdenum di sulphide grease and smeared it on the teeth of the rails. That is awful looking stuff! Then we also smeared 10w motor oil on the slides. This will suffice until we can get the Anglomoil and Uniplex lubricants.

The DSP connection at the control box is quite loose so i went to the hardware store and bought some clips to secure the usb cable to the leg of the machine. The idea of this is to get the cable off of the floor as people keep standing on it.

Ramon`s design work in v carve pro is quite good. The panel that we routered today looked just like a bought one.

Rocket.

Rocket ,,,go carefully with the grinder,you only want to take a couple of mill off.
It should work ,as the gap is so close.
The grinder should work,, If not I`ll machine one for you and
send it down or I `ll drop it off when I am popping thru South OZ,as I do ..

Just keep checking the clearance,(put the tip back on the gun when you check,
big pain in the a_se ,trying to get the tip of the nipple without the gun).

I dont no what grease gun you have,
I have a super cheap model ,with the tip that I machined costing me a whole $2.50,

Regards
Jubee

I have now got the option of having the power and control "thingys" on the side of the machine. Doing so they don't have to stack the external box on top of the bed when shipping so hopefully it would not get unleveled.

However if we have the DSP cable issue, is there any room in on the side of the machine? I was thinking on milling a new feedhole for the DSP connection, cut a larger hole on the side and mount the DSP connection on the side in case.

Ho ha, scary to make the final move... Will try to order tomorrow :)

K

Kent I have the standard 2.2 Kw water cooled spindle it came with.

Its running just fine, quiet as a mouse. Left it on the other day by mistake and stuck my hand in to change the tool bit, a near disaster but the cutters are so small you cant tell if they are rotating or not!! (mind you vac pump was making a racket)...am now profficient with adjusting the speeds as required on the inverter, pretty easy to do.

Dougie

Is you're HSD spindle a 24000 Rpm one ?

K

jubee, thanks for your offer, but i think i can do it ok on my bench grinder.
If you come to SA feel welcome to come and say hullo and check out our machine. We are located at Pooraka.

Kent, i have included a photo of the problem DSP location. It should be easy to move it to another location in box. I hope you buy the machine. Ours works great.

Jimmy, you could sell your grease gun as an antique. Should bring big bucks.
The Anglomoil prices seem ok. We have to buy in boxes of 12 tins.
For a box of Uniplex grease - $68.72 incl GST
For a box of Pro-lon $ 198.01.
Quite happy with the prices but they will not arrange freight outside of Sydney? So i will arrange freight myself tomorrow. Jeremy is going to Sydney this weekend for the Mustang Show at Castle Hill, perhaps he can pick it up if they are open on Saturday.

The Photos 1) Ramon settling into the control room. 2) The troublesome usb cable. 3) The DSP area. 4) Just testing program. 5) Testing.
6) Going for it. 7) The routered pattern. 8) The internal mounting of the DSP. 9) Front of control box.

Rocket.

it looks like on end clips to board while the other screws to connect
am i correct

this is what i expected you wanted to secure main box end with eye bolt
then wrap cable with wire to make "eye" and use rubber surgical tube as a sping to take load off of connection or secure wirw to leg and create a post of conduit and make a cradle for the controler that you could stand and operate it while keeping wire off floor

jim

routing looks great are you having to size each door or are they pretty standard width and height

i believe id create a pulpit, maybe a base with alittle weight to it, a post of some 2x4 (as we say here in US) and a top to house the dsp and may be a clipboard (if job paperwork is involved) kinda like a preacher stand, i gotta feeling once you get used to this you probably wont walk around with the dsp in your hand jim

Hi Jim, My 50 year old eyes are having trouble counting the pins. Ramon took that photo. I will ask him tomorrow. The screw in end goes into the DSP controller. The other end is supposed to clip in but the screws holding the DSP card to the box appear to prevent the clips from working.

I have bought some clips to secure usb to table leg. Will try to get time to fit them tomorrow. We have become extremely busy this month and it is difficult to find time to set things up properly, but we will get there.

Every robe that we supply is made to measure so yes we have to make each door size individual. This is where a " parametric " program will make things a lot quicker, but do not want to fork out 6,000 for En-Route software.

How are you getting on with the McGrew flying machine?

Rocket.

drawings and contract paperwork, truth is i have been so ingulfed i got clients (new work) stacked up and it took acouple of days to just get, or begin to get caught up so no router time in the last two days snowed and iced here last night we are not used to it and it brings alot to a standstill.

hope to rout today jim

enroute routercad (now the same company) and cabinetpro last night

am looking at next software move and will let you know what i find

jim

drawings and contract paperwork, truth is i have been so ingulfed i got clients (new work) stacked up and it took acouple of days to just get, or begin to get caught up so no router time in the last two days snowed and iced here last night we are not used to it and it brings alot to a standstill.

hope to rout today jim

We all know that you cannot take your eye off the ball for too long. That pile gets very big very quickly. We have the same problem. We so much want to get this project sorted out but the customers have to come first.

I like the pulpit idea. Every body tells me to stop preaching all the time! Kinda fits. You are correct in suggesting that we do not need to walk around with the DSP.

Please keep us informed of the software developments. Your needs are quite complicated compared to ours. Are you still checking out the $250 program? i think it was cabinetpartspro?

Bedtime. Till tomorrow.

Rocket.

Fairly confident now the vulnerable link between the hand controller and the DSP card is a HONDA SCSI 50 way Male to HONDA 50 way Male cables.

Found an australian supplier here http://www.unitechelectronics.com/scsicables.htm

3m length for around $40 (our money).

Better get a spare so I can be confident the one on the machine wont get damaged......

you could change mounting screws on controller box for screws that are threaded and bolt on inside of box and have the female threaded end on head of bolt.

this is common look on the back of your computer you might have to get a cable that has screws on both ends
i think i can provide a photo at work today (its 7;30 am here)

i learned alot watching bill doo this very thing jim

there you go bada bing bada boom

if your gonna switch switch to screw on connectors

jim

jubee, thanks for your offer, but i think i can do it ok on my bench grinder.
If you come to SA feel welcome to come and say hullo and check out our machine. We are located at Pooraka.

Kent, i have included a photo of the problem DSP location. It should be easy to move it to another location in box. I hope you buy the machine. Ours works great.

Jimmy, you could sell your grease gun as an antique. Should bring big bucks.
The Anglomoil prices seem ok. We have to buy in boxes of 12 tins.
For a box of Uniplex grease - $68.72 incl GST
For a box of Pro-lon $ 198.01.
Quite happy with the prices but they will not arrange freight outside of Sydney? So i will arrange freight myself tomorrow. Jeremy is going to Sydney this weekend for the Mustang Show at Castle Hill, perhaps he can pick it up if they are open on Saturday.

The Photos 1) Ramon settling into the control room. 2) The troublesome usb cable. 3) The DSP area. 4) Just testing program. 5) Testing.
6) Going for it. 7) The routered pattern. 8) The internal mounting of the DSP. 9) Front of control box.

Rocket.

I really don't know the retail prices- distributor is a family friend and would rather drink my beer than go into detail on price :-)...

I do know the grease is in a 20kg bucket... The pro-lon is in an aerosol can so handy just to give things a quick squirt.

Very happy to see things are working well with your router Rod.

Looking Great!

there you go bada bing bada boom

if your gonna switch switch to screw on connectors

jim


Thanks Jim,

I'm looking to relocate the DSP board further inside the control cabinet and sealink off the existing connector location. I will route a cable (need longer than 3m so will get my son to hone his soldering skills) out through the back of the control box to a McGrew styled preacher stand on the other side of the machine where I hope to have the PC gear running mach 3.

jubee, thanks for your offer, but i think i can do it ok on my bench grinder.
If you come to SA feel welcome to come and say hullo and check out our machine. We are located at Pooraka.

Kent, i have included a photo of the problem DSP location. It should be easy to move it to another location in box. I hope you buy the machine. Ours works great.

Jimmy, you could sell your grease gun as an antique. Should bring big bucks.
The Anglomoil prices seem ok. We have to buy in boxes of 12 tins.
For a box of Uniplex grease - $68.72 incl GST
For a box of Pro-lon $ 198.01.
Quite happy with the prices but they will not arrange freight outside of Sydney? So i will arrange freight myself tomorrow. Jeremy is going to Sydney this weekend for the Mustang Show at Castle Hill, perhaps he can pick it up if they are open on Saturday.

The Photos 1) Ramon settling into the control room. 2) The troublesome usb cable. 3) The DSP area. 4) Just testing program. 5) Testing.
6) Going for it. 7) The routered pattern. 8) The internal mounting of the DSP. 9) Front of control box.

Rocket.

Hey Rod I'm thinking it wont be long before your looking to replace the plastic dust shoe surround with some type of brush arrangement- big priority for me also.

Let me know if you find a source first....

Btw- for those who were greatly interested in spindle speed control through DSP there is a great photo above showing the 7 terminal green header on the right, note only two wires are connected which head under the table to the delta spindle inverter. We know the inverter is MBUS capable so I can't undersatnd why the DSP manufacturer would use a 7 pin connector if only two terminals are utilised. This remains a mystery to me.

Looking forward to see what you get up to when you have some time away from the paperwork with the machine.

Do you recall what speed your spindle was running- seemed fairly quiet compared to mine.

What power rating is it?

at one point we were filming kiethg's machine and you can hear the message notice on my cell phone go off on tape, my dust collection ans vac motor are right at table and we were having conversation, kieths dust collection and vac are out of the working area as mine will be, one of my big next moves is another building as i sold this one last march and can stay but we will have to move eventually. jim

mcgrew pulpit photo

i expect with just a dsp you would not need all of this and we have multiple computers in office with which to design jim


note the foot bridge tony built for passing cable from wall to machine
last photo

To all who have worked with you're machines ;

As mentioned, I'm in the phase of closing a deal now, but I had a little panic here in respect of the following:

Doing really intricate pocketing and cutting matching designs to inlay using a really small bit like 0,3 -0,5mm, which processing speeds do I need and which spindle speeds do we need? The movement part is not an issue, but is for instance 18000 Rpm on the mill enough? Milling that small, should you use high movement speeds and slow mill speed or is it slow movement and 100 000 RPMs on the mill which is the best ? In other words, the more RPMs the better ?

K

http://hubpages.com/hub/Learn-CNC
jim

You blokes are bloody legends!

I will be on the dog and bone first thing to organise a new cable. Thanks.

We do intend to make a perspex dust shoe with hair type brushes so i will start looking for a supplier. It takes the fun out of it when the solid type dust collector is in place. We want to see what is going on.

The uniplex grease that we are getting is in 450gram cartridges. Works for us as it will keep things tidy. There are 12 cartridges per box so it should last a long time.

We have not yet altered our spindle or machine speed. It is going quite slow but is cutting nicely and has not bogged down.

I do have a question regarding x and y zero. When we routered the panel yesterday we used the centre of the board as the zero point, but i do not think that this is the correct procedure? Is it better to rout a scribe line into the spoil board across both x and y in order to use these as reference points to ensure that board to be routered is square to table and to use as the x, y zero point at top left of table?

Keep those links coming - they are fabulous information.

Rocket.

I do have a question regarding x and y zero. When we routered the panel yesterday we used the centre of the board as the zero point, but i do not think that this is the correct procedure? Is it better to rout a scribe line into the spoil board across both x and y in order to use these as reference points to ensure that board to be routered is square to table and to use as the x, y zero point at top left of table?

Keep those links coming - they are fabulous information.

Rocket.

To pilfer one of your pics, The multicam here has the arrowed corner as the home.

Shannon.

Thanks Shannon, i would call that the top right of table.
How do you ensure that your board is square to the table? Is my theory correct - to scribe a line with router and use the lines as reference points?

Thanks Shannon, i would call that the top right of table.
How do you ensure that your board is square to the table? Is my theory correct - to scribe a line with router and use the lines as reference points?

My machine runs as close to sqaure to the bad as I have been able to establish, I routered a cross and referenced back to machine front and edge.

I set my origin at front left- find it a convenient location to set Z0 as it is right near machine home position and when I have a job that requires both sides of the material to be machined makes it easy to reset origin to edge of material so everything is in register. I intend to instal a fence on front of machine so I can square things up quick.

at one point we were filming kiethg's machine and you can hear the message notice on my cell phone go off on tape, my dust collection ans vac motor are right at table and we were having conversation, kieths dust collection and vac are out of the working area as mine will be, one of my big next moves is another building as i sold this one last march and can stay but we will have to move eventually. jim

mcgrew pulpit photo

i expect with just a dsp you would not need all of this and we have multiple computers in office with which to design jim


note the foot bridge tony built for passing cable from wall to machine
last photo

Thanks Jim- just what I needed..... Here I am trying to resist the temptation to tinker and focus on jobs at hand and now you yo have made me want to start wiring things up.......

I'll get there.

Hope to take pics today of my overhead VAC hose mounting- Rocket will soon get tired of the supplied 'curtain rod system' when his machine starts to tru and remodel the VAC hose ;-)....

My machine runs as close to sqaure to the bad as I have been able to establish, I routered a cross and referenced back to machine front and edge.

I set my origin at front left- find it a convenient location to set Z0 as it is right near machine home position and when I have a job that requires both sides of the material to be machined makes it easy to reset origin to edge of material so everything is in register. I intend to instal a fence on front of machine so I can square things up quick.

We use two aluminum blocks the fit into the T slots and lock in place, one has a corner that the sheet fits into and the other just sits parallel in the T slot, I can get some pics tonight but I left my camera at home(nuts). I recently made a new set so that the corner one butts up against the end of the T slot and gives an accurate sheet location each time.

Our home position is around 138mm x ,50mm y away from the home sensors too. edit.. or something random like that.


Shannon.

at one point we were filming kiethg's machine and you can hear the message notice on my cell phone go off on tape, my dust collection ans vac motor are right at table and we were having conversation, kieths dust collection and vac are out of the working area as mine will be, one of my big next moves is another building as i sold this one last march and can stay but we will have to move eventually. jim

mcgrew pulpit photo

i expect with just a dsp you would not need all of this and we have multiple computers in office with which to design jim


note the foot bridge tony built for passing cable from wall to machine
last photo

Meant to ask yesterday Jim about some of the finer details of your setup.

First up I accept that while there is likely no issue detailing software, base machine and core components clearly there has been substantial time, effort and experience invested by Bill and his team in getting the machines to this level so it may not be appropriate to go into every aspect for commercial reasons.

I would be interested to learn if there is a recommended breakout board? Whether you have spindle speed control implemented? AND What if any reasons were provided for electing not to offer the machines for local sale with the Chinese supplied DSP setup (can't find the post but recall you were going to enquire).

I note also that your spindle inverter appears to be same model range as mine and you have a scrolling display- is it providing detail of any specific paramaters during operation?

Cheers,

Jimmy

photos doing it wrong
doing it right
bridge over wire
wire management

I knew that it would not take you long to get rolling. Let me know if i can help I will try to get here more.

Mr. Bone

shop

bill is a walking encyclopedia of cnc, he's been at this a while and came from the sign business, he has a passion for it, i feel that way about my trade it makes for a good working footprint between us.

i am sure he'll answer you questions just ask he's bgcnc on this thread he wrote the document on vaccum we saw awhile back and i for one was able to finally get an understanding of how it works.

i see joey (cut to the bone) is here, joey glad you made it home i am carvin now AND NOT LIKE MARVIN

joey can you answer jimmy007' question

jim

company of one of the best software guys i have ever met

gentlemen meet
cut to the bone
aka joey

back later

jim

G`day Joey, welcome aboard and greetings from Australia!

Between youself, Bill Glenn and Josh Glenn and KeithG you have assisted greatly in getting Jim up to speed in cnc routing. The rub off for we Aussies is the amount of info that Jim has kindly put up on this forum thread. We greatly appreciate all of your efforts, and hope that you will stick around and help to guide us novices.

Thankyou.

Rocket.

Jim, your photos look great. It is fantastic that we are now able to use our machines.
Your friendship and assistance has become very important to us.
Kustom must be due to get his machine and it will be fun to see what we can all do with them.
We are growing in confidence each day. Fixed the DSP cable problem today. Photos coming.
Rocket.

Found a source today for brush strip likely to do the trick for a dust shoe..

Australian Brush Co (02) 9570 2401

They tell me that they had a brush profile specially manufactured for Corinthian for thier CNC machines (one of the largest door manufacturers in AUS) and have it available as a stock item.

Should know what it's like next week..

Didn't seem to matter how I configured the VAC hose with the Excitec supplied 'curtain rod' solution it seemed to sooner or later get squashed between the spindle mounting plate and gantry side.

Although not the best shots you should get some idea how I got around it.

Mount is flanged exhaust pipe welded to plate with car stub axle bearings. Hose suspended by shock cord.

Need to tidy it up now I am satisfied it works as hoped.

photos doing it wrong
doing it right
bridge over wire
wire management

Looking extra good Jim.

How long did the machine spend on the most detailed carving?

Hi Fellas, had a productive day with the machine. The troublesome DSP cable is no longer a problem. I went to the hardware store to look for something to fix it. In the plumbing section i came across some clips which are used to screw copper pipe to framing. They have 2 screw holes and take a 1/2 " ( 12mm ) pipe. Saw possibilities. Eureka! they are ideal. Painted them grey to match machine and screwed them onto leg of machine, then we cut a block of wood to go from floor to underside of cable. Glued block of wood to floor and screwed cable to the block of wood with one of the clips. Worked like a charm but cable was still on floor so we fixed another hook for DSP controller on other side of machine. Problem solved!

Ramon had his first screw up today. We put another board on the table and he figured he could just start program. Wrong! The board was thicker than the previous one. End result was a big gouge in the board. Moral of the story - Always z zero board!

Routered some more panels without further problems. We are very impressed with the way the Excitech works and especially the arch that we routered, came out superb.

Forum member Branchy sent us a file for our queen anne door and it worked like a charm. Thanks mate!

Rocket.

Didn't seem to matter how I configured the VAC hose with the Excitec supplied 'curtain rod' solution it seemed to sooner or later get squashed between the spindle mounting plate and gantry side.

Although not the best shots you should get some idea how I got around it.

Mount is flanged exhaust pipe welded to plate with car stub axle bearings. Hose suspended by shock cord.

Need to tidy it up now I am satisfied it works as hoped.

That looks like a great solution. You are spot on. The supplied curtain rod setup does work ( sort of ), but looks second rate and i keep watching and waiting for the hose to get caught. It is also getting grease all over the hose from moving across the gantry and rubbing against the rails.
Exhaust pipe, stub axles and wheel bearings are in plentiful supply in my garage so if you don`t mind we will copy yours.

If the brush strip is good enough for Corinthian then i reckon that it is good enough for us! Jim`s dust skirt is a great looking unit so we will copy his design on that one - unless camaster sell them as stock items?

Thanks for all of this great info. And by the way, Your lawnmower is just about as old as i am. They built them well in the fifties. We are on our 4th Victa since we married 30 years ago.

Rocket.

That looks like a great solution. You are spot on. The supplied curtain rod setup does work ( sort of ), but looks second rate and i keep watching and waiting for the hose to get caught. It is also getting grease all over the hose from moving across the gantry and rubbing against the rails.
Exhaust pipe, stub axles and wheel bearings are in plentiful supply in my garage so if you don`t mind we will copy yours.

If the brush strip is good enough for Corinthian then i reckon that it is good enough for us! Jim`s dust skirt is a great looking unit so we will copy his design on that one - unless camaster sell them as stock items?

Thanks for all of this great info. And by the way, Your lawnmower is just about as old as i am. They built them well in the fifties. We are on our 4th Victa since we married 30 years ago.

Rocket.

Would be happy with the metal part of the supplied shoe if the cutout for the spindle nose wasn't so close to the back....

I've got my eyes on Jim's setup and a few others also looking for inspiration definately need to build something soon- need the catcher for the mower so thats out of the question...............

*Edit- forgot to ask Rocket- in your search for an acrylic solution did you find something good to stick it together with of were you thinking of tapping and using machine screws?

I have only given it passing consideration so far but i was thinking of small aluminium angle and machine screws - but if it is possible to buy something that is moulded then that would be our preference ( dollars permitting ).
Don`t know whether your lawnmower grass catcher is a good idea, but what about a sheet from the back verandah roof?
Rocket.

:banana::banana::rainfro:WIRE MANAGEMENT!!!!!!:rainfro:

jim

:rainfro:IT WORKS!!!!

Jim, the usb cable is shot. It is very loose in the fitting This method enabled us to make a solid connection and the cable cannot move.

We will be buying a new one and then will put best practice in use.

Crikey, i have not made a slingshot for 35 years. I don`t know where to buy surgical rubber

Rocket.:rainfro::rainfro::rainfro::rainfro:(nuts)

Wow this thread just keeps growing and growing..

I still have to get a dust shoe for my machine, first thought was to try and cannibalise a Tupperware container. That brush strip sounds good Jimmy.

Anyone thinking of buying Vectric's Cut3D might be interested in the deal at the bottom of this page:
http://www.vectorart3d.com/starter-coll/
you get the software and a small 3-D clipart collection for $323. I think I'll probably buy that.

I keep hearing the word " Parametric " from Ramon. I told him he will need to get used to designing our doors individually as we do not want to fork out thousands for a program. He says there must be a better option.
I do recall seeing a program for $250 somewhere - so if he will take a pay cut maybe we can get it for him. Whaddyareckon Ramon?

I also saw a free door program on the Shopbot forum.

Anybody have any thoughts or suggestions about this.

Tighta..se Rocket.

what a rainfro is!!!

i paid 299.00 US for my cut 3d alone i want to buy the flourishes but as i learned from my carve wright there are only so many of these i will use

so i buy enough to get over the 100.00 and get the 20% off or 5 for the price of four there are other carving file available as well just so far vector is best

rocket your there and if your cable works now move on. although you guys might want to show taney whats up with this conection issue simple enough to fix

v carve programs run in 3 to 8 minutes carving can take a little longer, i am learning a lot and am not there on all of it yet. i can tell bill is going to be busy building machines, i believe he goes to fla with a tool changer next.

i am going to try to get cabinetparts pro cutting today and look at cabinetpro
another member and i have had some conversations about cabinet software . i have done "high" custom only for years and want to move in some other directions as well

i found a closed lumber yard with great buildings yesterday so i will be in with them some to if we can find a number..

bill has showed me some software i want baddddd so i am proceeding with the new machine

jimmy all i really know is bill and many other us table builders use win cnc as the tech support is available to them as it has a primary commercial use base
he did notice i had minimized wincnc and was on internet while machine was running he told me i would not be able to do that with mach, he likes mach
and just said he is many years used to it as well "josh" his son can communicate by web with the machine to trouble shoot and save costly site visit time, he also told me that when it came to warranty support he has only had to replace a few motors in all the 13 years he has been building machines, he told me he gives two years or more on warrantys. i can understand most cabinetmakers give one year commercial warrantys, i give 5 years, i don't believe he has changed all of the chinese machines he has sold from dsp. where i am concerned he found my need and suppled accordingly i believe he treats every one the same.

person-application-need

i understand he has sold better than 900 machine for all kinds of uses.

gotta get to work back later jim

jimmy i'll get you a better answer from bill on conversion and why jim

oh an rocket

surgical tubing------pharmacy :):)lol

like i said what you have done will probably serve well jim

carvin

not like marvin


i did this by importing basic clip art and vcarve pro jim

comes in tif jpeg bmp formats and is available at barnes and noble or online

15-20 bucks

http://store.doverpublications.com/by-subject-art-dover-electronic-clip-art-series--cd-rom-.html

these have 500-1500 images on disk dont bur them all up front jim

DOORS DOORS DOORS



http://home.centurytel.net/bwclark/

ROCKET YOU WERE NOT KIDDING

http://home.centurytel.net/bwclark/getting_started.htm

dude this is unreal

http://home.centurytel.net/bwclark/Using_Free%20Doors.html

Jim, Thankyou for that link. You are routing like an experienced pro already. Must make you very happy that your wife and Kellie are taking an interest in cnc routing.

Kent Norway, did you do it?

Rocket.

Jim, i do not know how you find all of this info so quickly.
It is great stuff. I can see some answers to other questions that i have about cutters/bits.
Could this be the same B Clark that has posted in this thread?

Rocket.

a friend took me in his helicopter while shooting a pan am commercial in st. thomas about 25 years ago, we were literaly sideways flying thru mast of ships and mountains, inches off the water etc. (he had extensive combat experience in vietnam) after we landed i was rattled i can still rember how my body felt gettin out of that copter i asked him the same thing " man how in the world do you do that??" i'll never forget his response "man that ain't nothing, you oughta see what i can do when they are shooting at me"!!!!!


off to work i go back soon jim

I would be interested to learn if there is a recommended breakout board? Whether you have spindle speed control implemented? AND What if any reasons were provided for electing not to offer the machines for local sale with the Chinese supplied DSP setup (can't find the post but recall you were going to enquire).

I note also that your spindle inverter appears to be same model range as mine and you have a scrolling display- is it providing detail of any specific paramaters during operation?

Cheers,

Jimmy[/QUOTE]


Jimmy,
Sorry it has taken me so long Bill & I have just got back and I am digging out of this hole 4 days away put me in.

Break out board if you are useing wincnc or mach go to http://www.cncbuildingblocks.com/
Ed is great he has made boards for us and they are seamless

No Jim does not have spindle speed control implemented


DSP is fine we have put them on some low cost units. the reason we do not use a great deal of them is support we use U.S. software and it is a trick working from inch to metric. we have done it but rather not. the cost of having the DSP is not a savings over the PC with cat5 cable you can sit in the office and send all the code from there. with DSP a cable is needed. Also if you use wincnc you can multi task on the pc. edit code on the fly is another big reason.

Jimmy I hope this helps.

Joey

posting to test jim

joey i posted this at 10:21 am est


jimmy007

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mach1mach2cnc/

i can implement spindle speed if i were to choose right?

jim

yes. but not needed the TC will have it.

I will be back on latter tonight
Joey

Kent Norway, did you do it?

Rocket.

Well I guess you mean if I ordered?

I was %99.99 there but just to be sure, I made a detailed list which I was expecting in the "package". I have asked for support of a 4th axis and was quoted a amount for this. When I however was ready to have the final quote I learned that there was no motor drive in the price... So if I had not asked, I would have got a machine shipped all the way up here with a DSP supporting a 4th axis (I guess this is just a firmware upgrade) but no place to connect any steppe, if I understood the wiring we discussed. So I had to add $X for this. If I have not asked, how easy would it be to apply a commercial Gecko or other driver after words? I guess I would have been stuck. I have not found the Yakos available for us enduser on the net.

Then the quotes was not including shipping which I got the impression of, adding $Y.

So then I had to run through all the different options I was interested in to be sure that there is not any other "dark holes" which I have not been informed about. Does the mist cooling system actually include a pump, rubber hoses and a movable front end? Or is it just a moveable metal front end ? Would I need a special option X to have the tool sensor working with the custom DSP for the 4th axis?

Taney is for sure doing his best and I guess we have talked over each other, but before I hit any kind of "GO" button to my bank, I would need to get these things sorted. At the moment my budget is cracked so if there is any other issues, I go for the 0609 and not the 1312.

Hopefully I join you soon :)

A little bit frustrated at the moment but I'll be there :wave:

K

Does the mist cooling system actually include a pump, rubber hoses and a movable front end? Or is it just a moveable metal front end ? Would I need a special option X to have the tool sensor working with the custom DSP for the 4th axis?


From what I have seen of the mist units, I think they are the same as the one on my work machine.

I think the mist unit runs off compressed air and the liquid container is pressurized a little. The mist is created at the nozzles by compressed air and liquid. There is no pump as such in the units. The mist unit is a plastic semi movable unit.

Shannon.

Has anyone done cutting of letters in vinyl with some kind of knife attached in stead of the spindle? How about engraving? Or is it just cabinets which has been done ?

Was just wondering if it was possible to expand the work :)

K

Has anyone done cutting of letters in vinyl with some kind of knife attached in stead of the spindle? How about engraving? Or is it just cabinets which has been done ?

Was just wondering if it was possible to expand the work :)

K

They should be fine for engraving, with the right engraving bits, I think Roland makes a special knife kit for retrofitting table routers for sticker cutting. I haven't done either myself but have looked into it a bit.

Shannon.

did the deed and got the software we talked about today, will finish signing up with bill on monday for new machine, joey i will look at software monday and fedex it to you we have 30 days to evaluate
jim

Lets get cracking. I have been looking at it online. Will no more when i can spend more time on it monday.

joey:banana:

I would be interested to learn if there is a recommended breakout board? Whether you have spindle speed control implemented? AND What if any reasons were provided for electing not to offer the machines for local sale with the Chinese supplied DSP setup (can't find the post but recall you were going to enquire).

I note also that your spindle inverter appears to be same model range as mine and you have a scrolling display- is it providing detail of any specific paramaters during operation?

Cheers,

Jimmy


Jimmy,
Sorry it has taken me so long Bill & I have just got back and I am digging out of this hole 4 days away put me in.

Break out board if you are useing wincnc or mach go to http://www.cncbuildingblocks.com/
Ed is great he has made boards for us and they are seamless

No Jim does not have spindle speed control implemented


DSP is fine we have put them on some low cost units. the reason we do not use a great deal of them is support we use U.S. software and it is a trick working from inch to metric. we have done it but rather not. the cost of having the DSP is not a savings over the PC with cat5 cable you can sit in the office and send all the code from there. with DSP a cable is needed. Also if you use wincnc you can multi task on the pc. edit code on the fly is another big reason.

Jimmy I hope this helps.

Joey[/QUOTE]

Thanks Joey- that is a great help and head start.... Know where I am heading now, will follow up to get prices shipped to AUS on Monday.

From what I see on the website the HS OPTO with the precision homing function is looking like a good starting point.... Along with a relay board to look after handly switching of contactors for VAC and extraction.

Cheers,

Jimmy

i have not used that board we do more with wincnc, and one of the boards we worked with Ed to design. but he (ED) stands behind his product as will i. if there is any questions just e-mail him hes a wiz at this stuff and knows mach 3 like the back of his hand. I use him for my tech support on mach.

Joey

i have not used that board we do more with wincnc, and one of the boards we worked with Ed to design. but he (ED) stands behind his product as will i. if there is any questions just e-mail him hes a wiz at this stuff and knows mach 3 like the back of his hand. I use him for my tech support on mach.

Joey

Thannks Joey- I'll keep researching and get my condensed questions off in an email next day or so.

I don't wish to restrict myself to Mach, intend to look at win CNC as an option also.

Cheers,

Jimmy

for the em rocket, done daytona, if you make it to the states, it's a very serious party, myrtle beach is just 2.5 hour from here.

some day i'll tell you about meeting evel knieval.

gonna wait until monday so i can get $$$ out the door but i got some new news coming

kustom just how cold is it up there the news here reports that it is way below

i see your here, i will try and run cabinetparts pro in a bit i was getting syntax error on my first try so i maqt call you in a bit jim

i am online right now while running a file on router and i like that about win cnc

kustom shop sabre uses wincnc right?
jim

i also realize at this point why one would like a hand held dsp

sure would make joggin a lot more easy when carvin!!

G`day Jim, I have been checking out the $250 cabinetpartspro site and the shopbot discussion. Appears to be great value for money. There are a couple of videos to watch that are quite interesting.
I sent them an Email requesting more info but have not heard back from them yet. When you purchase the software is it just a download or do they send a cd? They ask for Paypal payment which i do not use but Jeremy does so we will purchase it tomorrow.

The more we get into this the happier we are with our Excitech purchase and i am thinking that maybe we will buy a 600 x 900 machine that i can play with at home and another 1300 x 2500 machine for work. ( Taney - If you see this can you sharpen up that pencil for me? ).

After seeing those videos i am quite excited about the possibilities of different applications of the machines.

How are you finding the software?

Rocket.

is very simple and it is going to make your life better

back in a bit photos and such

jim

download

heres how you can pay for them


http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/120304.html

but i'll let yall be the judge of that
jim

Jim, That looks sensational!

Looks like your local signwriter has some competition!

Rocket.

Jim, The dover clip art is obvously what you used in the decorative feature. How does that work?
And the board that you routered the pattern onto - is it melamine or did you pre-finish it? Are we looking at the routing straight off of the router or did you paint it?
Rocket.

that is maple door/drawer front display from a cabinet display we had. it is pre finished and you are seeing the rout right off the machine.


for file
tell v carve pro the size of door, in this case without the drawer, made the math a little easier, set xyz at 0 on lower left hand corner.
draw text "McGrew" and place on door. -close- draw text "architectural woodwork" place on door -close- then import bitmap from "Dover" cd (use a clear image, more on this later) size it where you want it then select and choose "fit vectors for tracing" after this, position all in size and scale where you want them, (remember where stiles and rails are) and select all
go to material setup, then v-carve engraving toolpath and select bit etc.
calculate run simulation and save toolpath to file, open control processor and run

i put a sheet of mdf on table and practiced drew imaginary doors for sizing and bit depth, exercise, Screwed up and forgot z settings
(see Photo) unit stuck a vcarve bit thru material and proceeded to lift the entire sheet from table when i lifted to remove bit (a totaly self embarassing moment) kinda wierd when you do somthing stupid and theres no one to show it to!!!

falling asleep more later jim

Yes, the old " forgot to do z zero " will get you everytime!

We did the same thing on friday.

Rocket.

that is maple door/drawer front display from a cabinet display we had. it is pre finished and you are seeing the rout right off the machine.


for file
tell v carve pro the size of door, in this case without the drawer, made the math a little easier, set xyz at 0 on lower left hand corner.
draw text "McGrew" and place on door. -close- draw text "architectural woodwork" place on door -close- then import bitmap from "Dover" cd (use a clear image, more on this later) size it where you want it then select and choose "fit vectors for tracing" after this, position all in size and scale where you want them, (remember where stiles and rails are) and select all
go to material setup, then v-carve engraving toolpath and select bit etc.
calculate run simulation and save toolpath to file, open control processor and run

i put a sheet of mdf on table and practiced drew imaginary doors for sizing and bit depth, exercise, Screwed up and forgot z settings
(see Photo) unit stuck a vcarve bit thru material and proceeded to lift the entire sheet from table when i lifted to remove bit (a totaly self embarassing moment) kinda wierd when you do somthing stupid and theres no one to show it to!!!

falling asleep more later jim

The observation seat definately needs a stubby holder ;-)

Nice routing Jim-guessin you are getting on top of driving the machine.

Couple of things.... Running around on the spoil board to see where things turn up... That worked good for me todar when I took some parts off that hadn't had the cam lock dowels drilled. Ran a .2 deep cut in board, stuck part inside route and ran file.. All good.

The more I read the more I'm thinking go win CNC an be done with it.

Want to come along for the ride rocket?

Make it easy to drive your beast from the office :-)

G`day Jimmy, Nice to know that you have been cutting cabinets on a sunday. Jeremy was at the Castle Hill Mustang show today. It was held on a roof top carpark. Started at 10am with blue skies, but it was all over at midday when it started pouring down. Can`t get the Stangs wet! That may explain why you were indoors working?

I would like to change over to wincnc, but the extent of my soldering experience was with stick solder and an oxy set in my youth. And my electronics experience is restricted to turning the computer on and off!
In any case until we get a second machine i am going to stick to the theory " If it aint broke - Don`t fix it!" A major concern that we have right now is that if anything goes wrong with the machine we will be in deep