[PICTURES] Milled out a circle using only dials and laptop

[ichudov]

Here are pictures of a full circle milled with a manual mill, using my laptop program that tells me how to move dials and when to adjust for backlash when reversing feed direction. I call it "Egyptian Pyramid CNC".

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/My-B...ian-Style-CNC/

The name is a tribute to ancient Egyptians, who built enormous, sophisticated and lasting structures using only primitive tools and manual labor. Here, I made a circle using only dials and manual operation only, taking directions from my laptop.

The laptop is Linux only, no viruses here.

[Agmachines]

IGGY,
If you, now, take some steppers or servos and connect them to your laptop and your new Bridgeport acquisition, you can quit turning those handles. Or, you can get those slaves you mentioned acquiring in RCM.
Mach 3 would be a good interface when you automate, and you can do away with that Linux on the laptop and stop writing code, too.
I do not see a laptop and a manual Bridgeport as much of a tribute to ancient Egyptian culture.

[gus]

egyptians would have built a rotary table...........

[ImanCarrot]

Igor!

lol you have far too much time on your hands!

Respect to you though

[Dennis Storzek]

Originally Posted by gus egyptians would have built a rotary table...........

... A cutter tied to a string scraped 'round, and 'round, and 'round...

[ichudov]

Originally Posted by Agmachines IGGY, If you, now, take some steppers or servos and connect them to your laptop and your new Bridgeport acquisition, you can quit turning those handles.

I am generally interested in some sort of a "CNC conversion", however, I do not yet know enough to decide how to do it.

Would you recommend any sort of a book -- preferably -- or a website -- that would sort of explain the basics of computer controlled motion. Thank you.

[Geof]

Originally Posted by ichudov Here are pictures of a full circle milled with a manual mill, using my laptop program that tells me how to move dials and when to adjust for backlash when reversing feed direction.....

I think you deserve top marks for patience. Back in the dark ages before laptops, 1982 I think it was, I needed a parabolic shaped template so I laboriously calculated the X, Y coordinates in 0.005" steps over 14" distance then milled it. I was moving unidirectionally so backlash was not a problem.

You ask about a book describing the basics of computer controlled motion. Why, you have already done it, a CNC doesn't do anything different in principle to what you did with the laptop and twiddling hand wheels. Maybe a little bit faster but that is all.

[yoopertool]

Yeah, it kind of seems like a waste of time to mill a circle like that, but hey, wouldnt it be easier for all of the CNC router building people on this site to just buy one already made? Some things are worth doing just to say that you did it, and manually milling a circle may just be one of those things! As long as you are proud of what you did and you enjoyed it, then great! Good luck if you decide to automate your machine.... there are some increadibly smart people on this site who will give you answers to your questions.

[ichudov]

Originally Posted by yoopertool Yeah, it kind of seems like a waste of time to mill a circle like that, but hey, wouldnt it be easier for all of the CNC router building people on this site to just buy one already made? Some things are worth doing just to say that you did it, and manually milling a circle may just be one of those things! As long as you are proud of what you did and you enjoyed it, then great! Good luck if you decide to automate your machine.... there are some increadibly smart people on this site who will give you answers to your questions.

It was not a waste of time, it was a learning experiment. Plus, it is the first time I really used my newly acquired mill to do something non-trivial, other than just removing some material to see if the mill works.

It also taught me about backlash etc.

Regarding the CNC conversion question, I think that I would like to be able to add something to make it computer controlled. At the same time I would like to use my computer as a DRO.

I use Linux and like EMC2 a lot (linuxcnc.org). Even if I use it for position display only, it will be a big step forward.

A first thing that I could do is add encoders to the mill, connect it to my Linux PC, and use various software that would tell me how to turn dials. That would be a step ahead from where I am (blindly following a script).

The next step would be to apply power and move dials -- but I want to have the basics covered first.

Also check out the base on casters that I made for this mill (casters are removable for stationary use).

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/My-B...se-On-Casters/

[swarf_rat]

This should be called "c hand c" not "c and c".

[hmc710]

Good Job, thats a lot of work.

[bborb]

Wow, brings back memories. I was doing circles and contours that way with a TANDY PC-5 handheld computer, programming in BASIC. That was over twenty years ago and it actually got me a pretty good raise. 'Course CNC wasn't all that available, specially for one-sies and two-sies. I'd have one done before they could punch the tape.
Congrat's ichudov!