Saw the aj289 post on a reversing motor control for the HF 44991 Mini Mill allowing control of the spindle via Mach3. I am trying to do the same thing on my HF44991 but driving a 4 axis CNC system with Mach4 through an Ethernet Smooth Stepper and C25S BoB and the electronics and mechanics.
I went a different direction than aj289 as I dismounted both the controller box and the power/speed control boxes and put them next to my computer which will be the center of the control center.. Going wet so I wanted as much electronics off of the mill as I could take practically. For speed readout, I have a magnetic pickup driven system. I drilled a hole in one of the octagonal faces in the draw-bar and placed the magnet in the hole and epoxied the magnet in. It is high enough that the wrench poses no issues. Mounted it on the belt drive driver pulleys cover that came with the Benchtop Precision belt drive system. For the RPM readout, the pickup feeds the read out panel which I mounted under the speed box controller. Power comes from a small PSU that is hooked up to the incoming 120VAC and is mounted in the controller box. All cabling between the Mill and the "control center" of the bench is in fluid tight conduit.
Now I have to find a way to feed the incoming signal to the speed monitor/readout and tie it into Mach4. That is half of the issue of getting computer control via Mach4 of the RPM potentiometer (on the controller board) by replacing it with a digital potentiometer (very upper left hand corner of controller board) and gaining control of the speed via Mach4. I will be tying in my fluid system to Mach4 as well. Got the last parts recently for the CNC and am going 4 axis on the Mini Mill now and an additional two axis on the benchtop Big Dog CJ01618A mini lathe.
You wouldn't believe how sleek the mill looks like now that the electronics are dismounted except for the belt driven motor. Nothing I can do about that right now. Wiring is protected with fluid tight conduits.
So I am a total newbie to this and hope I can get some needed help from the members of this forum on such things as what switching to use on my stepper drivers that drive the KL motors
Thank you for taking the time to read my long post.
Newbie and will need help with my build.
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