#47 is making dust - Macon, MS

[blakekoehn]

HI, I may or may not have introduced myself, I really can't remember. I have been lurking here for several years. I own a sign company/fab shop in Mississippi.

About a year and a half ago I was getting pretty serious about building a MM, then I found a used PRT Shopbot with Colombo spindle for sale. The man must have needed to sell because I got it for a song. I still want to build a MM because I believe it is a better machine (less give and flex in the frame) then my SB.

Now for my question.

This SB was built in 2004. I cannot move it in any Axis over 60 IPM without it loosing steps. They (Shopbot) have a new control board that I can buy and install that is suppose to give me about 200 IPM. It is $1400 dollars. I see that some of you are getting much faster travel then that. Could I build up a control box like the MM to run my SB. I no doubt would not be able to use the SB software but I am not real attached to that anyway. I am attaching a picture of one of my stepper motors. They are not Gecko's so I am hoping someone here can tell me if they will work with the Gecko Drives.

The other advantage to building this controller box would be that when I build my MM it will already have that part done.

Thanks for your help.
Blake

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PJdGjm2hnzdnnsnzW94hKQ?feat=directlink

[Gerald D]

Hi Blake

We had one of those motors on the Z-axis of our first MechMate, running with our "homemade" control box. So, the short answer to your question is: yes, a DIY control box will work with those motors.

However, those motors want 80V to get a decent performance out of them (ShopBot only gave them 48V) whereas we generally use motors that run at a lower voltage. If you want to build a control box for your current SB and later want to use that box for a MM, you will either need to:
- change the transformer to reduce the voltage, or
- buy motors for the MM that are suited to 80V, or
- move your SB motors to the MM and scrap what's left of the SB.

[lumberjack_jeff]

From a purely economic standpoint, it would make more sense to build a MechMate and sell the shopbot.

A serviceable professional grade MechMate can be built for $4500, including a chinese spindle. I built mine for about half that, and I complain because I can only cut at 240 ipm. :o

Around here, ShopBot PRT's sell for much more than that.

Put the chinese spindle on the bot and keep the Columbo, if you prefer.

[blakekoehn]

Do you feel like if I built a control box like the mechmate only with a 80V output would I achieve decent speed before loosing steps?

What would be the reason SB only supplied those motors with 48 volts?

I am not ready to drop $800 bucks on new steppers but neither am I willing to build this box to work with the ones I have and not get a substancial speed increase.

Thanks

[Gerald D]

At that time, the motor supplier indicated the voltage to use. Also, the "drives" used at that time were only half-stepping. A lot has changed since those motors were first used by SB nine years ago.

I am not making any promises regarding the new speeds that you will get (I havn't made any promises for MM performance, ever) and there is not much experience here with those particular motors. However, a self-built controller (using typical MM components and Mach3) will be technically as good as any controller that SB could sell you now - not better, nor worse. Your decision is whether you are willing to invest the time and go through the learning curve, plus spend about $1000 on components for the controller. Or, you can buy a ready-made SB controller, or you can buy various Mach3 based controllers from a couple of vendors (but these vendors need to be warned on the voltage).

[MetalHead]

Would that 80v be on the outside edge of the Gecko 203 operational window? Would it be better to run them at say 75 volts to be able to use the Gecko Drives?

[Gerald D]

Mike, I have a bit of a problem with this 75V versus 80V argument for geckodrives....

The geckodrive designer will tell us that he has already applied a safety factor when he chose to spec the drive at 80V, knowing that the internal components components can handle well over 80V. Why do so many people feel compelled to add another measly 5V safety margin? We are not dealing with a finicky device that absolutely dies at 1V (or even 10V) above 80V. If the safe voltage for a gecko is 75V then it is the gecko designer's job to tell us to use 75V - but he tells us 80V. Let's leave it at that.

[MetalHead]

Good point. I guess maximum operating volatge is within the specs.

http://www.geckodrive.com/upload/G203V-REV-7-MANUAL.pdf

I just know that making sure these power supplies are putting out the true voltage they are rated at can sometimes be an issue, more so if your building your own. But I think current would be more damaging than a little extra voltage.

But like you say - The Geckos are such good drivers all that has been thought of by Marcus

[Gerald D]

Mariss has mentioned the voltage parameters a couple of times (example (http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/geckodrive/message/19747)) and it goes as follows: "Our 7A / 80VDC drives are designed to operate at 100VDC and don't come apart until 116VDC". In other words, he has already applied a 20 to 36 Volt safety margin, yet there is the common (mis)conception that one needs to use 75V to avoid exceeding the 80V.

[domino11]

With the tolerances Mariss has on his drives, you will have no trouble operating your supply at 80V, not worrying about high or low line and output fluctuations of your supply. :)

[blakekoehn]

It didn't take much convincing tho:)

So without further ado... The journey begins.

[jehayes]

No, no, no. Much too organized!:D Welcome to the funhouse.

[Sergio-k]

you should have taken the red pill:D

Welcome aboard !!!

[domino11]

Welcome Blake!

[Drad98_98]

Here is to the journey Blake, I am starting mine this week also.

[blakekoehn]

That sounds great Dave! I wish we were closer. I have been lurking here for a long time. I was almost ready to get started a year and a half ago, then I found a used Shopbot. I bought that and have used it till now. I was thinking of upgrading it with some MM components but when I thought it over it made more sense to sell it and build a complete new MM. Well it sold within one day of advertising IT! Shopbots really do have a great resale. I hope that MMs will be that way one day too.

[blakekoehn]

I am going to be ordering some of my control components soon. Is the general consensus that the G540 performs as well as using the breakout board, g203V drivers combination?

[blakekoehn]

Also going to be ordering my laser cut parts. I have read posts where you cannot get them from Alabama, and posts where you can. Can you or can you not at this time? I am around 150 miles from Birmingham and would love to get them from the boys in Alabama if possible.

[sailfl]

Blake

Good luck with your build.

[Drad98_98]

Blake,
I ordered mine from Metalhead, I believe he is in Alabama. Not sure how to post a link on here yet, just search for him.

[jehayes]

IIs the general consensus that the G540 performs as well as using the breakout board, g203V drivers combination?

I for one can attest to the simplicity of the G540 installation if you want to save space in the box and can either solder DB9 connectors or are willing to buy the screw-type adapters. Once I got mine up and running (all the problems were of my own making and could have been avoided with a little more reading) it has been very reliable and robust (also there are no heat problems). It is also somewhat cheaper than the BoB/203 combo.

Best of luck on your build.

Joe

[MetalHead]

I am here. Just PM me for the parts.

[bradm]

As the original advocate for the G540 solution, I'll of course say it performs just fine. The caveat is that you have to match the motors and gearing (or belts) carefully. The OM 7.2s work just fine, and the equivalent stepper motor plus 4:1 belt transmission should too, although I can only vouch for the OMs personally.

As I can't seem to avoid analogies, the G540 solution is a moderate size four cylinder engine. You have to match the rest of the car to the engine. The BoB/203 combo is a big block 6 cylinder; it'll drive anything.

[jhiggins7]

Brad,

I don't understand why the G540 with OM 7.2's would be any less powerful than 203's/BoB with OM 7.2's since you can operate the OM 7.2's with the same voltage and current settings in either case. Can you enlighten me?

I'm curious since I'm planning my next MechMate.

[bradm]

John, the OM 7.2s won't be less powerful on the G540. However, if you wanted to drive a different stepper motor that needed more current or voltage, the G540 wouldn't work as well as the 203s; it would starve the motor (at best), or fail to work.

As it is, the OM 7.2s are a nice match for the machine, and they run lovely with a G540. Sorry for the confusion.

[jhiggins7]

Thanks Brad.

I'm exploring options such as using the G540 (or G250 plus BoB) or other drivers and belt reduction. So I'm trying to understand the trade-offs of the various approaches.

[bradm]

John, I don't think it's a tradeoff between the G540 and belt reduction; the tradeoff is essentially motor size. With the G540, there is one fairly specific, single stack Nema34 motor size that works well (inductance under 4mh, amperage 3A or less). That motor size is available from multiple suppliers, with or without a gearbox. (But I need someone else to confirm they've actually used something other than the OMs.).

That motor size is widely believed to need some mechanical advantage to work well on the MM and have adequate torque. So you need either a gearbox, or a belt drive; it isn't suitable for direct drive.

Because gearing or belting down the motor requires more step pulses for a given distance, you will be reducing the maximum speed a given PC can provide. Generally, this speed is above what you will need to cut, but might slightly limit your rapid positioning speeds.

So the compromise you make with the G250 based (incl G540) drives is that you use a small(er) motor, have to reduce it, and limit your top speed. However, arguably this is the normal MM configuration; using larger direct drive motors is rare. The gearing/belting does also increase the theoretical accuracy of your machine.

[jhiggins7]

Thanks for the explanation Brad.

A couple of questions.

Since the maximum voltage the G540 can support is 50 volts, wouldn't the maximum inductance be about 2.5 mH? (Mariss' formula for calculating maximum volts being: square root of inductance multiplied by 32).

Also why limit the current to 3 Amps? The G540 is "engineered" to support 3.5 Amps. Do you feel you should not use the full range of G540 capability?

[bradm]

John, you've caught me sleepy in the morning working from memory, I should have grabbed the spec sheet:

"1) MOTORS: One to four step motors are required. All NEMA-17, most NEMA-23 and a few NEMA-34 motors are acceptable. The motors preferably should be square in cross-section, not round. The motors can be 4, 6 or 8-wire motors. 5-wire motors cannot be used with the G540. Choose a motor that has a rated current of 3.5A or less. Choose a motor that has a rated winding inductance of 2.5mH to 3mH if maximum power output (>100W mechanical) is a requirement. Never use a power supply voltage greater than 32 times the square-root of the motor inductance expressed in milli-Henries (mH)."

Note that it can be difficult to find a NEMA34 at 2.5mH, so you end up with a compromise, trying to get as close as you can, but running over. You fail to run the motor at it's maximum theoretical output, but with the mechanical reduction you still have more torque than you need.

The numbers in my head come from the OM gearmotors, which are at 3A (I think).

[Gerald D]

Brad & John, realise that this is Blake's thread and you probably won't find these posts again. ;)

[blakekoehn]

This raises some questions in my mind... I was going to go with the "7.2" geared motor. Now here there seems to be some insinuation that it may not be as fast as some other options.

I sold a slow shopbot, one of my reasons for building a MM is speed. I have watched J.R. surface his table at blinding speed and that is remarkable.

Would the belt driven transmission option be faster? Which motor is used in that combination?

[Gerald D]

See this post (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11184&postcount=299) for JR's motor choice

[Kenrbass]

Blake, just an fyi on the old bot. I have those same motors on my prt and prs machines. It will jog at 10 inches a second withought loosing steps with the 4g board. That board has 50 volts to it and uses gecko 202's.

Gerald kind of talked me into welding my frame up on the prt and changing the y carrige hold down. Thanks Gerald, but I still ended up buying a prs. lol

Anyway, those motors would work at faster speeds and do very well. You could put geckos and reuse your power supply if you wanted to.

Good luck

Kenneth

[blakekoehn]

Does anyone use the PMDX-136 Powersupply?

[blakekoehn]

I have been doing some calculations on a transformer. I am using the PK296A2A-SG7.2 Motor from Oriental Motor. I believe I will wire it unipolar. According to my calculations I need a transformer that outputs close to 39V and 321VA Is this correct? Does someone have a link to what they used in this configuration?

To add onto the above post... It would seem to me that the motor I am using would have plenty of torque geared down that far, and that i would want to be able to get the most RPM possible out of it because of the low gears. Thinking of that is uni-polar the way i should wire it?

[blakekoehn]

Base table welded and turned over.

[Gerald D]

I have been doing some calculations on a transformer. I am using the PK296A2A-SG7.2 Motor from Oriental Motor. I believe I will wire it unipolar. According to my calculations I need a transformer that outputs close to 39V and 321VA Is this correct? . . . . . Thinking of that is uni-polar the way i should wire it?

Blake, that is the most common motor used for MM's and it is usually wired "half-coil" You may mean the same thing when you say "unipolar" because the naming has changed a bit over the years - these days we are more inclined to say half-coil.

Your 39V looks like a mistype - how did you get that value?

300VA is more than enough for 4 of those motors used on a router.

[Gerald D]

Nice strong all-welded table :)

[MetalHead]

So who noticed that Routed computer desk in the background? Did you do that with your old shop bot?

[blakekoehn]

So who noticed that Routed computer desk in the background? Did you do that with your old shop bot?

Yes I did.

[blakekoehn]

Blake, that is the most common motor used for MM's and it is usually wired "half-coil" You may mean the same thing when you say "unipolar" because the naming has changed a bit over the years - these days we are more inclined to say half-coil.

Your 39V looks like a mistype - how did you get that value?

300VA is more than enough for 4 of those motors used on a router.

Gerald I got those calculations from the information in this post (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56).

Particularly this: So, where do we go in the range 24 to 80V? Find the inductance of the motor from its specsheet in milliHenry, take the square root of the mH value and multiply that by 32. For example, a motor that is rated 1.5mH needs: 32 x √1.5 = 39 Volt

I believe if I am reading the the spec sheet (http://catalog.orientalmotor.com/item/stepping-motors-/pk-series-stepping-motors/pk296a2a-sg7-2?&plpver=11&origin=keyword&by=prod&filter=0) correct. The inductance is 1.5, the same as the example. Or what am I doing wrong?

[Gerald D]

From this question:

Does anyone use the PMDX-136 Powersupply?

....it looks like you only want a transformer to feed the PMDX-136. Then you confirm that you are only looking at the transformer:

According to my calculations I need a transformer that outputs close to 39V and 321VA Is this correct?

However, the PMDX-136 will increase the voltage by a factor of 1.414X (-1.5) see page 6 of http://www.pmdx.com/Doc/PMDX-136_Manual_10.pdf

So, if you want 39V out of the PMDX, then the transformer output must be 29V, and that is why I wondered if you mistyped the 39.

Practical experience tells us that a 30VAC, 300VA transformer works fine for those motors wired half-coil.

If you are buying a ready-made DC supply, then 40VDC, 300VA is fine.

[blakekoehn]

I neglected to clarify. I have pretty much decided not to use the PMDX 136. I will either build a PS or buy one. I would like to buy one but not sure where. Building one does not seem to complicated...

[Gerald D]

If you are building one, you shop for a 29 or 30 V transformer. Many use a 25 V because that is fairly common.

If you are buying a ready-made power supply then you shop for 40V.

[domino11]

Blake check these out.

Capacitor
at digikey (http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=565-3329-ND)

Transformer and Bridge
transformer (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=122-645)
bridge (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=050-060)
at parts express

just food for thought. :)

[Sergio-k]

Blake

I have bought the same motors and i have builted my PS.
I intend of wiring them also half coil so i used these specs :

Toroid : 28v 300VA
Rectifier : 25A
3x capacitors 10000 63v
33k resistors on the G203V Geckos.

I get a nice 39v output from my PS.
Hope it helps.

Sergio

[Drad98_98]

Looking good Blake, trying to keep up with you.

[blakekoehn]

You might pass me up... I had quite a bit of work come in here in the sign shop, so MM is not progressing very fast this week. Grinding rails is also proving to be a bit of a challenge, wish I would have went with the BWC rails.

The bad thing is, is that I am without a router right now since I sold my shopbot to fund this MM. I have to get it up and running soon, I use it quite a bit to fabricate my signs.

Your build is looking great also!

[Sherman McCoy]

Blake-

I pondered the BWC rails too, but they were out of stock (thank God) when I tried to order them, so I went the grinding route. For almost nothing(certainly less than the additiional cost of BWC's), a local industrial knife sharpening shop ground, straightened and put an edge on one side of my angle iron( both sides would have been more). In about an hour, I did the other side, and, "Bob's your uncle", in less than a week I was done.

[MetalHead]

It just hit me today. Did you use the skate to grind the rails? Or did you start before you got the parts?

[blakekoehn]

I had some bearings from another project so I built my own skate. It aint pretty but it works.

Grinding the angles was easy. It was getting em cut straight where I had the trouble.

[blakekoehn]

Some proof that we aren't sleeping in Mississippi. :D

[MetalHead]

Yeah - Not sleepin at all :D Nice work.

[blakekoehn]

I see my title changed... just like magic!:D

[blakekoehn]

How are you passing the parallel connector into the control box? Do you cut it off and solder all the wires back together or is there something easier?

[Polder48]

Hi Blake

Look at the solution from Alan C at this post

http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4373&postcount=25

Regards Polder

[blakekoehn]

I have this rectifier (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=050-060). I have 33 AC volts going into it and 87 DC volts coming out... What am I doing wrong? I have a 30 volt transformer so I was expecting something like 42 DC Volts.

[bradm]

Blake, it's not unusual for a completely unloaded power supply to give a high reading. Of course, you don't want to risk your expensive electronic devices to prove this. You can use a dummy load (resistor) across the output to get a measurement. A low wattage light bulb (like 15 or 25 watts) can act as a dummy load.

[Gerald D]

Blake, a rectifier cannot cause a 260% increase in voltage. My first reaction is that your voltmeter is (very) faulty. Can you provide some pictures of your wiring connections and your voltmeter setup?

[Sergio-k]

Blake

Did you wire the rectifier like this :

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac106/sergiohelen/Rectifier-1.png

[blakekoehn]

Yes I did Sergio. Thanks for taking the time to draw that very clear diagram. I wish I would have had it sooner because I had to do some digging to find out how to wire it.

The problem cleared itself up as I worked with it. I am not sure what happened but I am suspecting that it was a grounding problem. It is securely grounded now and reading correctly.

[blakekoehn]

Where is the information on how to set up Mach 3? Also this might be a stupid question but why is it that Shopbot software cannot control the MechMate?

[Gerald D]

Look at the Mach3 website for their support and videos.

The shopbot software only runs in their own controller. You can use a shopbot controller if you want to.

[blakekoehn]

Would their controller replace the breakout board? I already have my box put together with a PMDX-122 and I am planning to use Mach3. I loaded it up last night and I am endeavoring to figure it out. I had Shopbot 3 pretty much mastered. That is why I asked.

[Gerald D]

Yes, their controller replaces at least the PMDX-122, maybe more. I am not up to date with what they sell these days.

[Gerald D]

See this thread from July '08:
Version 201 Controller Board from ShopBot (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=891)

[blakekoehn]

Actually make that the Sign Shop Table Project.

[blakekoehn]

Page 4 of the PMDX-122 user manual located here (http://www.pmdx.com/Doc/PMDX-122_Manual_111.pdf)shows the options for powering the board. I have a standard 115acv to 9dcv adapter that will plug right into the coaxial jack on the breakout board. If I am understanding the manual correctly I can use that, am I right?

[Gerald D]

9VDC is fine. I have even used a 9V battery as a test.

[blakekoehn]

Thanks for the quick reply! I have not been able to get my motors to turn yet... Just kind of going over the whole thing trying to troubleshoot it.

[Gerald D]

Getting the motors to turn can be very frustrating. In the Troubleshooting (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=83) section you will find some help if you get stuck.

[blakekoehn]

We Have LIFTOFF!!! It was the charge pump settings in mach3. Man you don't know how good that makes me feel!:D

[jhiggins7]

Blake,

Be vary careful NOT to disconnect the Power Supply from the Gecko's "live."
The problem is that the Gecko's act to discharge the capacitor. If you don't have them connected when the power supply is turned off, there is no place for the charge on the capacitor to go.

Also, do not turn on the power supply while it is disconnected from the Gecko's, then turn it off and connect the Gecko's without discharging the capacitor. This is the same as putting a switch between the power supply and the Gecko's which is strictly forbidden by Geckodrive, Inc.

The best thing to do is to use a "low" value (1 to 5 ohms) "high" wattage (15 to 25 watts) resistor to discharge the capacitor if the Gecko's are not connected when you turn off the power supply. Just touch leads to the resistor to the two poles of the capacitor. You will draw a small arc. You should not use a straight piece of wire or screw driver for these large capacitors.

After verifying that your power supply is producing the correct voltage, you should connect it to the Gecko's and leave it connected. You should turn on and off the power supply on the AC side, not the DC side.

Hope this helps.

[jhiggins7]

Congratulations...I know the feeling.:)

I was typing while you were posting your success.

[KenC]

Blake,

The best thing to do is to use a "low" value (1 to 5 ohms) "high" wattage (15 to 25 watts) resistor to discharge the capacitor if the Gecko's are not connected when you turn off the power supply. Just touch leads to the resistor to the two poles of the capacitor. You will draw a small arc. You should not use a straight piece of wire or screw driver for these large capacitors.



I love the loud bang made by discharging the capacitor with a screw driver :)
Connecting a light bulb accross the cap is another way to discharge, you will know the cap is fully discharge when the light goes off.

[Gerald D]

Well done Blake!

[blakekoehn]

All that is left is to hook up the motor cables. And install limit switches. I hope to have it operational tomorrow. The limit switches will have to wait till some more signs are complete. My wife is calling herself a Mechmate widow.:D

[domino11]

Looking good Blake! :)

[lumberjack_jeff]

Very nice Blake!

[MetalHead]

Wow !!! :eek: Lookin great !!!

[Gerald D]

Amazing progress Blake - well done! :)

[Claudiu]

Nice machine Blake!

[KenC]

Just under a month! Good job & a very good looking machine!

[Kobus_Joubert]

That machine is far too clean :D

Well done

[hennie]

Blake the moment the MM starts working ownership moves over to the wife as she owns you so better get some ideas together to keep her happy.:)nicely done

[blakekoehn]

Well it is ready to cut. I have been jogging it around the table with the spinning spindle in the air. I have to sit down and study Mach a little more and cut something. I sold my dust collector and gave my spoilboard cutter and endmills to the man that bought my shopbot. So I am waiting for some bits to come in from Onsrud. Got to get something collecting dust before I surface my spoilboard. You only make that mistake once!:eek:

I don't know if I have thanked Gerald and everybody else that has helped but thank you very much! This machine is awesome, just jogging it around i can see how smooth and fast it operates, I love it!!

[blakekoehn]

The top speed in Mach, at least in the "motor tuning" dialog box is 490ipm. That is probably fast enough for all practical purposes but I was wondering how JR got 1150 out of his? I would imagine it would be because his belt reduction is only 4 to 1 where my gear is 7.2 to 1. Is this a correct theory?

[Gerald D]

If I remember correctly, JR started out using his motors direct drive, which meant that he had double-stack motors (double set of magnets on the longer armature, motor length about 90 to 100mm). The 7.2:1 reduction motors are single-stack.

[J.R. Hatcher]

Gerald that is correct. My motors are PK299-01AA, however they need way more voltage than my Geckos can handle. I'm thinking my next one will have PK299-F4.5 or the equivalent in a Chinese motor. Don't get me wrong ..... I'm not complaining. :)

[blakekoehn]

Here you go!!! The first cut!! Cutting a part for a temporary dust foot.:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9DCNcvuv30

[Drad98_98]

Way to go Blake, I hope to be cutting at end of month, Great Job!!

[lumberjack_jeff]

After watching the round parts pulled out by the upcut router bit, I was relieved to see that the final toolpath for the big part had bridges.

You're a quicker study that I was. :D

Very fast! Well done!

[blakekoehn]

You're a quicker study that I was.

This ain't my first rodeo... I had a shopbot for almost 2 years.

Had to post another video, you can see some closeups of the dust foot I cut out of 3/4 Birch and slapped together with a couple of drywall screws so I could surface the table. I used a rubber door sweep instead of a brush.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL3M0n5sRLM

[rayditutto]

just saw the surfacing video - i'm wondering about the ridges on the surfaced portion - does anyone have an idea why they appear?

cheers

[lumberjack_jeff]

Two things. Often stripes are because the cutting face isn't absolutely parallel with the plane of travel.

Also because (like a lawnmower) the tool pushes the fibers of the mdf one direction on the left side of the cutting path, and the other direction on the right side of the cutting path.

The rest of this discussion moved to: Setting the Z-slide square (perpendicular) to the table top (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2553)

[MetalHead]

I see Logo's , Paint and Dust - Don't that get a SN ?

[Gerald D]

I see Logo's , Paint and Dust - Don't that get a SN ?

Yup, that gets #47 - well done! :)

[Claudiu]

Congratulations for your machine, it`s looking great.
I like the dinamics of the moovements while surfacing... :)

[domino11]

Well Done Blake! :)

[javeria]

Ah - very good Blake - please post some more pics of the temp dust collection setup

[sailfl]

Blake,

Congratulations on finishing and #47.

Interesting dust collection.

The ridges are from the cutter not being parrellel as Jeff mentioned. It looks as though you need to adjust the Y or sideways movement of the spindle.

I would also like to see more dust collection photos.

[jhiggins7]

Blake,

Congratulations on a great looking MechMate and Serial #47, completed in record time.

Here is the Updated Builder's Log (http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AttqjIPMBEXKcExveGc4d3U0V25zQmMyX1U1eUVhU Xc&hl=en).

Please provide the "cutting" dimensions of your MechMate for the log. Also, please review your entry and provide any changes you would like.

[riesvantwisk]

Congratulations!

That looks like a fine working machine

Ries

[blakekoehn]

47 WOW! That's Neat! Thanks Gerald!

Here are some pictures and a DXF of the dust foot. It worked great until the shopvac filled up. :D

[blakekoehn]

I used a door sweep similar to this one. http://www.itseasybeinggreen.com/self-stick-door-sweep.html

[blakekoehn]

I can't edit the builder's log, but my table is 49 x 97 inches.

[sailfl]

Blake,

From my little experience, I wanted the dust foot to move with the router so it adjusts the height of the dust foot based on the height of the router. With a fixed dust foot you have to adjust it when you have different sizes of material.

[Gerald D]

Nils, if you take 3 passes at 3 depths, do you adjust your dust foot height every time? Probably not. So why must one change the setting if changing board thicknesses slightly? ;)

[blakekoehn]

When working with the lower vac of a shopvac I prefer a fixed foot and a door sweep over a spindle attached foot and a strip brush. A strip brush looses more vacuum thru the bristles. I can adjust the door sweep to just clear the workpiece and I lose no vacuum thru the sweep. It is a more efficient. You have to use all your vac when your vac is underpowered.;)

The other thing is when you change bits you just raise the spindle out of the dust foot and you can change the bit unobstructed.

[sailfl]

Gerald,

You talking to the wrong person. I don't have to adjust my dust foot.

Blake, if you like that way, then it works for you. I like mine out of the way if I want to look at wants going on with the cut. I can pause the machine, move the router up and get a good view. Eveyone works differently. I like seeing what other people are doing.

I also do not use a brush on my foot. I don't get the advantage.

[blakekoehn]

I have a question about Mach 3. In the Shopbot 3 software you could jog an axis a set distance. Say you wanted to move the X 2.25" you would put in the command JX2.25 and it would move exactly 2.25"

Is there a way to Jog an Axis a set distance in Mach 3?

[jhiggins7]

Blake,

Thanks for the table size information. Here is the Updated Builder's Log (http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AttqjIPMBEXKcExveGc4d3U0V25zQmMyX1U1eUVhU Xc&hl=en).

[Castone]

In Mach select MDI then high light the box at the bottom left. Type in G0 X1 Y1 F10 . Then hit enter the machine will then jog to that measurement.

[blakekoehn]

Had to go try it. Neat! Thanks!

[blakekoehn]

What are the implications of setting Mach 3 to operate on a faster Hz then 25000? I set mine to 45000 and my top speed went from 490 to over 800IPM.

[riesvantwisk]

Blake,

you need to make sure that your computer can cope with that speed for hours in a row.

The EMC people do have a tool to measure how stable you computer is called latency test. I think that Mach also has something like that. What is basically does is measure the maximum latency, how fast does software respond to hardware interrupts, and you need to take it's slowest value (simply said).

The higher that KHZ setting, the more your computer spend in kernel, and the slower your computer will respond to mouse/keyboard input and screen updates. Set it to something you need.

lastly, if you are seeking to get more speed out of your machine, then take a look at your acceleration values, slow acceleration will not bring your machine up to speed fast enough and it will slow down the whole cutting process.

Personally I would not go above 800IPM, but I know Jeff did surface at 1350IPM, but you know... it's surfacing, not cutting into the material (unless you table is way off :D )

For jogging I did set my maximum to 15000mm/minute (600IPM).

Ries

[javeria]

blake - mine is a intel atom board and daily works at 45khz, u just have to try it for a couple of days

[blakekoehn]

I thought I might bump my thread to the top with some recent projects. Nothing great, just pictures of the everyday use of my Mechmate here in the sign shop. I am loving this machine!

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_2dz8X7YnQOw/S8YKf1BYEPI/AAAAAAAAAn4/KfbVX7qA6nw/s800/DSCF1909.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_2dz8X7YnQOw/S8OtVEKCDbI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/h_2W1SllPRA/s800/DSCF1911.JPG

This is the front of a small wooden box I built for my wife. I haven't taken a picture of it completed but I will soon. It sits by our back door and we throw our shoes in it when we come in.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_2dz8X7YnQOw/S8YLb2NMVGI/AAAAAAAAAoY/NYLc7oyjkzs/s800/DSCF1884.JPG


This is an edge lit acrylic sign. I carved the design in reverse in the back of 1/4 acrylic with a 90 degree V bit. There is a strip of blue LEDs running along the bottom that illuminate it. Overall size: 6 x 12"

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_2dz8X7YnQOw/S8YMEAJlv4I/AAAAAAAAApA/x5krJJsbVHs/s800/DSCF1880.JPG

This wasn't done on my router, it is just some of the regular work we do here. This trailer was just plain white when we got it in, no artwork on it at all.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_2dz8X7YnQOw/S5rN1WN4XUI/AAAAAAAAAic/y05ygain10M/s800/DSCF1863.JPG

More coming soon!

[MetalHead]

So lets get a comparison to your old ShopBot and the MechMate.