Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle


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Thread: Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle

  1. #1
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    Default Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle

    Those of you that have read my previous two builds will understand my machine naming convention so following on with that tradition Jabott has commenced gestation.

    It will be a small desktop machine which can be used on site and I might even be able to convince “She Who Must Be Obeyed” (but rarely is) that I can use it on occasions indoors on a cold night. So for this to happen the machine needs to be constructed from aluminum and have low operating noise levels. Routers are out for this reason and after a lot of research I finally settled on a 12 volt DC brushless spindle. I got the spindle off ebay and mated up one of those motors from the car and helicopter model making sites.

    The spindle has a brass body with two stainless bearings at the cutting end and a single bearing at the pulley end. The bearings are rated at 60,000 RPM which is more than adequate for my purposes. The collet chuck is 1/8 th inch and overall the spindle is made very well and the finish is good. I have matched a 12 volt DC variable speed Brushless Motor and the DC power is supplied through a modified 380 watt ATX computer power supply and a variable speed controller. The drive is an “O” ring which seems to be a limiting factor in the design. The “O” ring distorts above 25,000 RPM so they just don’t make them like they did when I was a lad – actually when I was a lad I don’t think they were invented but lets steer clear of that one. Measured at the collet the top speed is 35,000 RPM but I suspect some slippage in the “O” ring at this speed.

    Although it looks like a toy this is one serious spindle capable of destroying most things in its path. I have done a couple of freehand cuts and drilled a few holes and it is going to perform well for its intended purpose.

    I have attached photos of the spindle and the components for the three axis.

    My machines evolve more than are planned so here are the details and ideas I have for the axis. It will be a moving gantry design with a cutting envelope of 300mm by 200mm by 70mm.

    X axis is a THK KR30 actuator with a 6mm pitch ballscrew and I have 2 IKO LWLF42 linear slides to go with this.
    Y axis is a THK KR33 actuator with a 10mm ballscrew and a pair of THK RSR 12W linear slides. The slides are a backup as initially I will fit the actuator and if this proves to be a weak I can add the slides later.
    Z axis will be fabricated from the mini ballscrew and the linear slides. The ballscrew has 70mm travel.

    Similar Threads:
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-jabott_spindle-jpg   Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-x_axis_jabott-jpg   Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-y_axis_jabott-jpg   Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-z_axis_jabott-jpg  

    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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    Thats a neat little spindle Rod, I like your convention of naming your machines, I have a few for the router (first one) that I am currently building, but we are not really supposed to swear on the forum...

    Russell.



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    Hi Russell
    Jabott is the first name and no doubt I will give it an unprintable surname or two along the way.
    I have been following your build with interest. Keep up the good work.

    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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    Rod,

    I'm currently amassing parts for a small cantilever router and have been considering using one of the brushless motors from the model world. What brand and size motor are you using. I was considering a brushed motor but I like the totally enclosed feature of the brushless inrunners. I would like to use a Dremel motor shaft in a spindle with collet to turn a 1/16'th inch bit if possible to keep costs down. I'm flexible at this point if I can find a better/ lighter weight spindle. Will your spindle accept a bit that small. Is there a brand name to go with it. Thanks.

    If it's not nailed down, it's mine.
    If I can pry it loose, it's not nailed down.


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    Hi 2muchstuff,
    The spindle I got off ebay seller wolfgang314. Here is the link to the unit I got which came with a 9 volt DC bush motor.
    http://cgi.ebay.com.au/TB-450M-High-...QQcmdZViewItem
    They are more expensive than a dremel but the quality and finsh is excellent and I do not regret buying it. I have no connection with this seller

    I don't have any details on the brushless as it was a friends unit that he lent me to trial on the spindle. The first thing I noticed was a huge reduction in noise on the brushless. He did the elctronics so I don't have any details to help you there.
    The spindle will only take 1/8 but perhaps the seller will do a second collet if you ask.

    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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    Thanks for the link to the spindle and the information.

    If it's not nailed down, it's mine.
    If I can pry it loose, it's not nailed down.


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    Rod,

    Thanks for the info. I've been meaning to build a spindle for my router using an RC brushless motor for awhile, but just couldn't decide on a spindle design. Based on your info, I ordered of of those spindles from ebay.

    --Colin--



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    Hi Colin

    I hope you are as pleased as I am with the spindle.

    I asked about the brushless motor and it is a 380 Walkera Brushless with a Tower Pro 70A ESC and it was purchased from Hong Kong through Ebay.

    A small circuit board was built to talk to the ESC. I am not into electronics so I can't help you with this side of it.

    Hope this helps.

    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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    I have been working on other projects so progress had stopped for a while.

    I have changed my mind on fabricating a Z axis as I have been lucky and got a KR20 actuator with 91mm of travel.

    It came with a Vecta motor which I took off and I have just finished making a motor adapter plate for a Nema 23 and have mounted and connected it all up. That is a 276 oz motor on there and I hope it is strong enough to drive that huge screw. I will source a smaller Nema 23 motor before I run the machine.

    See the photo for details.

    I have also done the motor mounts for the other two actuators.

    It has been very handy to have a CNC router to make the mounts. I didn't take a photo of the mount before I assembled it but here is an image created in the software (Vcarve Pro) where I did the drawing.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-kr20_motor_mounted-jpg   Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-kr20_motor_mount-jpg  
    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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    I have finally got some time tonight to get into the shed. I finished making the base of the machine and have fitted the X rails and the actuator I am using as a drive for X axis.
    Photos are of topside and underside.
    During the week I connected the Z axis actuator and Y axis actuator - see photo.
    Next week I will make the gantry sides and fix the Y, Z assembly to the machine.
    I will use a 10mm aluminum plate for the table top.
    Should not be too long now before it is finished.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-jabott_base-jpg   Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-jaboot_base_2-jpg   Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-jabott_base_under-jpg   Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-jabott_y_z-jpg  

    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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    Nice lookin machine Rod, look forward to the finished product.

    Russell.



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    Thanks for the feedback Russell.

    I have managed to get a couple of nights in the shed and have reached another milestone so time for an update.

    Gantry has been made and the actuators fitted. Final cutting envelope is X 300mm, Y 210mm and Z 90mm. The spindle is mounted so you can get an idea of the scale of it.

    This one has been very easy to build with the actuators and I would recommend this to anyone wanting a small machine. I feel like I am cheating in this build because alllignment of ballscrews and rails is already done and six cap screws or so and each axis is fitted.

    I still have to fit the plate under the gantry and an aluminum table top.

    Looking forward I have an X2 column and head and a larger sliding table that I will marry up for my next CNC project so after three machines I am not finished yet. .

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-jabott_first_assembly_1-jpg   Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-jabott_first_assembly_3-jpg  
    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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    Quote Originally Posted by Rodm1954 View Post
    ...................for my next CNC project so after three machines I am not finished yet. .
    Someone turned him on and forgot to turn him off

    Looking good Rod, as always.

    Will be interested to hear how your engraving spindle performs.



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    Default Jabott, grandson of Obott

    Excellent work once again Rod. The all Aluminium build is very impressive.

    Cheers, Jason
    Sydney, NSW


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    Thanks Greg and Jason.

    Good to see so many Australians interested in CNC and thanks to our American friends for providing this encylopedia of CNC.

    I made the gantry connecting plate tonight but it was one of those jobs that took hours to make but little to show for the effort.

    With a bit of luck I will have this machine finished this weekend so I will wait until then to post more pictures.

    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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    The mechanicals are finished. I fitted a 10mm aluminum plate for the table top and knurled knobs to the motors. I also tidied up the odd bit here and there and mounted the spindle switch box. Should be ready to trial this next week after I make the cables to coneect the driver board to the motors.

    I have also included a photo of the driver board and power supply. An engineeer here in Perth makes these and they have proven to be rock solid. Full opto isolation as well as 5, 12 and 24 volt outlets and heaps of great features. The electronics is all a bit mumbo jumbo to me so excuse me glossing over the details. The front and rear panels were cut on my first machine - Obott.

    Hopefully I will also have a ShuttlePro set up to test as a MPG of sorts and I will report back on that.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-jabott_finish_no_electrics-jpg   Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-driver_board_paul-jpg  
    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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    Default Knurled Knobs

    Hi Rod,

    Getting close now!

    Would I be right in saying that the knurled knobs also act as an extra heatsink?

    Cheers, Jason
    Sydney, NSW


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    Hi Jason
    Not sure about the benefit of the knobs as a heat sink as I think most of the heat is tramsmitted into the casing but it certainly would help if any heat was in the shaft.
    I always put these on to help position the axes when setting up a job.

    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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    Jabott is finished and been running for a week. It can jog around at 5 metres a minute but I have dropped it back to 2 metres a minute (about 80 inches per minute) as there is no need for fast movements on this little fellah. My reflexes aren't quick enough at the higher speed and I got sick of crashing it into the ends.

    The Shuttle Pro is a great add on for anyone like me who thinks MPG's are too technical to make. Art from Mach3 fame has done a great job on the plug in and you can assign heaps of different functions to the shuttle buttons. The inner and outer wheels of the shuttle are used to move any axis around.

    So that is number three done and it turned out to be a great little project.
    It is heavier than I wanted but with a bit of straining I can carry it around. I would not call it portable but lets say moveable.

    I am going to have a break and enjoy some woodworking before starting on the X2 mill conversion.

    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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    Default Some Video of Jabott Operating

    Just to round this thread off I have attached some video of Jabott. I am using a 1/8 inch 90 degree V bit cutting at 400mm per minute. The material is a scap of vinyl covered chipboard and it gives a good contrast to see the cutting. The design was created in VCarvePro.
    I could have easily doubled the speed but as it was the first run I wasn't sure how the DC spindle would hold up. Glad to report the spindle is more than capable and the machine works well.
    The shuttle is very handy for setting up the job and I have attached a photo of that too.
    Hope you enjoy the video.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle-shuttle-jpg  
    Attached Files Attached Files
    cheers,
    Rod

    Perth, Western Australia


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Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle

Third Machine with 12 volt DC spindle