Made some doors today.. when i am finished i will inlay Plexiglas in the doors and the side walls
yes, i use free packaging materials to build the encosure =P
also, sorry for the sideways pictures. i have no idea why the get sideways.
the lights i am using, got 2 9W and 1 4W led light, one on each side and one in the front i think.
right now i am contemplating skipping the slanted bed under the mill.. just to save time.. i wonder if it is such a positive thing it is worth it.
any ideas on this?
got the steppers moving, just ran some demo gcode
this is a milestone in my project..
now the next challenge is to get a hold of the guy form CNCFusion so i can get the ball screws needed.. problem is that he is not answering my mails, and i am not sending money to someone i cant talk to in some way... guess i have to try to be patient..
so.. a fair bit of time has passed, but something has happen none the less..
I have sent the order for a CNC Fusion deluxe kit and my motor mount is almost finished.
The controller cabinet is also coming along nicely and i just need to wire up the home switches and emergency stop circuit and a few details on the interface card between the cnc controller and the motor controller
work done since last update:
cut some holes in the door for Plexiglas
and painted the inside and the front
the motor mount is coming along nicely
motor just sitting on top not bolted down.
top wiew
the side plates is bolted on with 2 M8 - 8.8 bolts.. might upgrade that but it looks good now and i am going to try this first.
and due to the increased height i am going to make a hinged plate in the roof of the enclosure to allow the motor to stick out on maximum Z height (witch is not that often)
my plans also calls for a window on each side of the enclosure, but i am waiting to see how the control cabinet will interfere with that.
Remember the weight of the original motor is gone, so the extra weight is not that large, and i also orderd a gass strut kit from cnc fusion to help offset the extra weight (i can play around with different struts)
Regarding the extra tourqe i have no idea how it is going to play out.. maby there will be a twisting issue.. but in that case i can always revert back to the oem motor.
And if it works the extra power will make my sx3 the most powefull sx3 in the world 😉
i got some lighting done, 2 fluorescent lamps with 2x14w T5 tubes.. all IP65 and external light switch on top of the cabinet.
the light color is 4000K and i think it is perfect for the job.
the last light source is adding a ring light around the spindle. thinking of using a DSLR ring light (they fit them over the lens of the camera to add light in macro mode i think)
also i am planing to mix an epoxy to cote the bottom of the cabinet with, and a drain to allow for flood coolant to go back to the reservoir
today i finally got the cnc fusion kit.. RELAY late and with a bit of damage to it...
the bearing in one of the end plates is binding when spun around and there looks like there is a woble in the shaft.. there is also heat bluing in the shaft (during machining i suspect).. so something is wrong wit it..
so now i am waiting for a response from CNC fusion... and they use like a week (minimum) to reply to anything so i am afraid i won't get it finished this year..
i made a road map.. it looks like the ravings of a mad man but it is what my plan is.
i have also inspected the broken ball screw and found out that the bearing is crooked and causing it to bind up ..
and the shaft is discoloured somehow... i am guessing from machining but i don't know how it stops just before the bearing.. i am worried about hardening etc..
found out that the binding in the bearing was from overthightening.. the 2 9/16" nuts that keep the shaft to the bearings was to thigh..
loosed it up and now it spins freely.. but i don't know if they where supposed to be torqued down to a specific Nm..
the bluing was normal and from the cutting of the screw, cncfusion said.. so i am going ahead and installing the screws...
i have dissembled everything and i am now starting to install the Z screw..
on the other side, i am thinking about changing controller.. the KFlop and KStep is nice units i think.. but i am not getting the hang of it...
the manual is not that much of a help in explaining things and to be honest i am using to much time on it and i am no where near completion..
the controller from Planet CNC, the CNC USB is looking good.
it needs to be a usb based controller that a normal person can configure... anyone got any ideas??
at this point i don't care that it will cost me allot more since i maby need new drivers.. i just want it up and running
i have halted the installation and i am waiting for an OK from CNCfusion to modify the bearing end plate without loosing warranty..
if they wont let me do that.. i wold have to make a new plate somehow.. and that would suck without access to a mill!
so i have now gotten the go ahead from CNC fusion to mill out new holes in my front plate without loosing my warranty..
so what i will be doing is making reference to the table first, then bolt the screw bearing block to the base and mark the front plate with my previous measurements..
i will try to "mill" (spot drill) it in a drill press with a end mill and patience...
also the work on Kflop is coming along... slowly i am beginning to understand it.. but the learning curve is steep, mount Everest steep!! and to anyone thinking of using it, you NEED to know how to program C.. it is the only way..
Jossa,
I love the posts, please keep them coming. I'm actually in the same boat as you right now and any and all information I can glean helps my own project so much. Thank you again for posting all these pictures along with your informational rants (ha ha)
Well now i can confirm that the inductive sensors work with the optocouplers on the kstep :-D and that is good news. Cheap, acurate and sealed units.. no dicking around with microswitches that fills up wit coolant and chips.. :-)
I am soon ready with my programs/electronics.. a friend of mine is 1337 with C.. and that helps alot with getting the programs up and running.
I plan on geting the connectors solderd up soon and making a remote I/O box to put inside the cabinet..
So now everything is on plugs, BLDC motor, steppers and the rest of the I/O's
first, i have been occupied with other work lately so the cnc mill is not finished yet..
but i have now resumed work on it and i have made a RI/O box to be used inside the cabinet... that way i can disassemble the whole setup in 15 minutes, in case i have to move it some day.
so i made a connector that could handle the task..
trimmed it up a bit..
and put it in a suitable electrical cabinet.
in the same box i am planing on putting the "OEM" BLDC control panel and display.. using a original Sieg SX3 overlay on top of the buttons
i think this could be nice =)
also.. the C program for running this is coming along, slow but we are getting there.