Build Thread- CNC Testbed to router and beyond conversion

[otto_pjm]

This is going to be interesting, this is a group project taking place at The Hack Factory in Minneapolis. If you are near there or are traveling through, come and check it out. The Hack Factory is the meeting / making location for people who like to build things in the Twin Cities. It is run by Twin Cities Maker, a group of Makers (ala Make Magazine etc) We'd love to have anybody come by and check it out. There is an open house every Weds Night at 7:00 come on by. If it seems like the kind of place you'd like to hang out and build, share, drink beer, play with power tools (not recommended in that order) we are always looking for members. Share what you know learn what you don't.

Check out the links, or reply here if you have questions.

On with the build.

So the machine had been a sensor test bed and was no longer in use, so it came to live at the Hack Factory.

The group has been poking at it and poking through the available documentation trying to get it to do something. Recently we've had a string of successes, and we have movement on 2 or the 3 axis under EMC control at the moment.

The machine is built very well, but isn't intended to hold high torque cutting tools. It's also really tall but has a short Z axis. I think it sat over a pallet or conveyor to do it's work.

Here's an overview shot.


And a few more pics of each axis.

We are trying to keep it modular and tool agnostic, it may extrude as well as cut, engrave, route, lase, touch scan, etc. It's pretty wide open at this point. More details to come as the build or conversion progresses.

Pete

[vger]

Neat Machine.... I would be tempted to build a new base for it and move one of the linear rails shown in the second picture to the other end of the cross beam and replace the Z axis with a custom one. Keep us posted as to what you are doing with it.

Steve

[otto_pjm]

Steve,

Thanks for the reply, that's an interesting thought on repurposing one of the rails, I'll have to investigate the mechanics a bit more.

I got some more info on what the machine was built for, it was kinda cool. It did video to 3D modeling of solder paste deposition and the like. Crazy stuff, we don't intend to be anywhere near that ambitious with it.

more to come.

[vger]

Hey Pete,

Those rails look very similar to some I have that are destined to become rails for my new router table. The ones I have are about 7 feet long. I'll be driving the gantry from just one side with a servo driven ballscrew. The other side will be locked to the first using a steel band / roller system to prevent racking the gantry.

I don't suppose they left the camera on the Z axis for you? If the same company has any of the other stuff from the production line, some of the peices would net you some longer lnear rails. One called a "shuttle" in particular.

Steve

[otto_pjm]

Steve,

We don't have any other machines like this unfortunately. We do have some small X plus roller belt type tables that might have good parts for a Z axis. I've been thinking about if one sided drive would work since your comments. I'm intrigued, do you have a build thread going yet?

We don't have the camera etc, we have one of the control PCs though, which is an interesting setup. There's a full PC on a card, that was apparently the real time system for the imaging, and then the parent drove the machine, funky stuff. The IO goes to a big breakout and driver board, so we are trying to track down the limit switches, so we don't get carried away and crash it into itself.

Hope to get a better look at the X axis rails and drive soon.

Pete

[otto_pjm]

Was able to get the Z-axis going the other night and document things a bit. Those rails are really nice. I researched getting one or two for the free end of the X - axis and it would be pretty expensive. Might look at a rod and needle bearing setup, I think it would be quite a bit cheaper.

In other news, we may have a 20W Laser diode to try and attach to this thing. Someone in the group recently bought one on Ebay, so we'll see how that turns out. Anybody retrofitted a laser? I'm thinking fiber would be the least painful, perhaps in more ways than one way to go about it. It wouldn't be able to run in the E-chain, but it seems like working out a suspension system for the fiber would be easier that trying to setup and maintain the beam optics, not to mention the safety issues.

More to come.

Pete

[otto_pjm]

Well, I went to our open house / weekly meeting tonight in hopes of getting the machine to doodle a bit with a sharpie. That was successful, though the table wasn't very level, but then we had some fun. Another member had his 200mw blue ray burner laser along, and we strapped it onto the Z to see what would happen. It was pretty cool, we were able to engrave the back of a black notebook with a logo. I unfortunately didn't get a picture, but someone did so I'll post it as soon as I find it. The project is coming along quite well, can't wait until we can get the 20W laser fired up.

Pete

[analogman]

If it really can't handle tool force, then I'd turn it into a laser or plasma cutter.

[otto_pjm]

Originally Posted by analogman If it really can't handle tool force, then I'd turn it into a laser or plasma cutter.

That's the conclusion I've come to too. The leading tool candidates are a RepRap extruder and a laser. We've got a 3Watt Max ~35% duty cycle dental laser that I hope to get attached and testing soon. The goggles for 1060 nm are not so cheap though. Anybody know a good source. I found that the Wicked Laser folks get some of theirs from Noir Laser (WL doesn't sell 1060 nm) ,but the 1060nm goggles are > $150.

Pete

[otto_pjm]

FYI if you happen to be in the Twin Cites, I'm helping run a CNC Class at the HackFactory, which is where this machine lives. If you are interested there's more information on the HackFactory Blog.

Pete