please check my conversion plans...

[vz58]

First post here, I had hoped to delay this a year or two but my DRO died.

I have a Harbor freight round column to convert.

For ball screws and nuts I was looking at these 2:

http://www.roton.com/Mating_Componen...family=7060394
(waiting on an email with specs to come back from them)

Or

http://stores.ebay.com/linearmotionbearings

Something around 3/4 to 1" will fit. Shooting for about a .200 pitch

For the stepper motors, powers supply and driver this: second from the top
http://www.kelinginc.net/CNCNEMA23G540Package.html

(G540 3 axis package (One G540 + Three
KL23H284-35-4B (1/4” Dual shaft with a flat) 387 oz-in + one KL-350-
48 48V/7.3A 115V /230V power supply: $494.95

using MACH3 software, in an old laptop running windows 2000/xp


I will need a break out board.. suggestions?

What cadcam should I be looking for? suggestions?

I may go 4 axis as I could really use a rotation in the mix.

I mostly make runs of small gun parts. I have been limited in the past by only using DRO, now I am waking up in the middle of the night thinking, "I can do this with CNC and that with cnc" so I am slowly waking up to the possibilities.

[Bubba]

vz58
OK, I converted a round column also, and will throw my .02 in. For ball screws, I use Roton 5/8" and have had no problems with them. 5/8" screws are "more common" and therefore cost less!

Steppers I can't really help you with, but based on threads I have read,probably will work fine. Others may give better opinions.

Mach 3, a lot of people like and it seems to do the job, HOWEVER, due to many problems with laptops, I understand they are not supported nor recommended. There seems to be a lot of problems with power saving and sometimes timing. Also, if your looking at using the usb prot instead of parallel, you need to consider something like the smoothstepper. Again, I don't use Mach nor a laptop on my system so I will shut up at this point.


For cad, I use progecad (http://www.progesoft.com/) which is free for non-commercial use. For Cam, I use Sheecam (www.sheetcam.com) and it works very well for my purposes. For this program, it is best to have a cad program that outputs rel12 dxf files for the most reliabliity.
Hope this helps.

[Crevice Reamer]

Hi vz58. It's about time you posted something lol. Welcome to the Zone!

You won't need a breakout board. The G540 IS a very nice BOB.

You don't have to buy that Keling kit. It's not the optimum setup. The 381 motors will perform a bit better than the 387s.

What I recommend is on this page under electronics, and should work for you as well:

http://crevicereamer.com/Page_6.html

CR.

[vz58]

Those links are great! Thanks

[vz58]

I did not plan to use a belt and pulleys for the motor to ball screw, I was going to use a coupler (one of the spiral slitted misalignment ones) this would give me a 1:1 ratio stepper to screw. Is this a problem? The smallest step would be .001" if I am figuring right.

[Crevice Reamer]

Your resolution will undoubtably be more than .001. Firstly, it takes the motor 200 pulses just for one rev. The G540 is 10 microsteps, so now we're at 1000 steps. Most ball screws are 5 Turns Per Inch, so now it's 10,000 steps per inch. That is .0001 resolution.

I think reading all of this will help you a lot:

http://crevicereamer.com/Page_2.html

CR.

[Crevice Reamer]

I tend to favor the 1:1 belt and pulley drive myself. This allows you to tuck the motors alongside rather than add them to the length of the axis. This also limits the amount of travel needed inside an enclosure. You WILL eventually want an enclosure and possibly flood cooling.

Belt/pulleys cost about the same as good helical connectors, (Don't waste money on CHEAP helicals) and the mounting is often simpler.

CR.

[vz58]

still digesting the link info. I have plenty of room on the axis (in fact the x axis is in a "dead corner" of the room) and I currently have flood coolant running. Well did before the DRO died...

[vz58]

crevice reamer, I have read up on all that and have ordered the matching items.

I am down to ball screws and bearings. I am trying to find bearings that will handle the axial loads. Will regular radial high quality bearings work for this application? I really cant see the axial loads as being overwhelming on this but you out there know better.

Tips?

[Crevice Reamer]

I can't help with quill CNC, but maybe some of asammons' ideas will help you CNC the X/Y:

http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75921

CR.

[vz58]

vz58




For cad, I use progecad (http://www.progesoft.com/) which is free for non-commercial use. For Cam, I use Sheecam (www.sheetcam.com) and it works very well for my purposes. For this program, it is best to have a cad program that outputs rel12 dxf files for the most reliabliity.
Hope this helps.

This CAD is not free that I can find. Can you giude me to it?
I have the MACH3 license.


Anyone else? Can you suggest a CAD?

[hoss2006]

This CAD is not free that I can find. Can you giude me to it?
I have the MACH3 license.


Anyone else? Can you suggest a CAD?

Solid Edge 2D is a free high quality CAD program.
Hoss