Integrated PC & Control Cabinet - Wilmington NC

[cbboatworks]

Hello Everyone

I would like to start off by thanking Gerald for providing the web site and plans for the MechMate.also I would like to thank all the others here for there great post, pictures ,support etc. I am not only speaking for myself when I say I have been dreaming for years about owning a CNC router.I was looking to buy one a few weeks back. while look around the net I found the Shopbot forum after reading for only 10min. I found this site.after reading for a few min. I knew this was what I wanted to build. here I am gathering materials.

And not to forget anyone I had the pleasure to met one forum member His name is JR .He is building one nice machine what a great inspiration to meet him and see his work. Thanks JR.

My name home town an state below Thanks

Gene
Wilmington NC
cbboatworks@aol.com

[cbboatworks]

It has been over 6 months since I said I was going to start my build... well, I did not have much time and lots of other things came up in that 6 months. So now I have finally found the time to start. I started last week with the control box and will post pictures as I go. Please note that the first few pictures are not much to look at but it is a start. My box was inspired by JR & Marc...so, not all my ideas. What I have done is mounted my PC inside of the control box and also have added panel mounted usb hubs and the CDR is accessible from the bottom of the box without having to open the front panel. I have added a touch screen monitor to the box that is also flush mount. I will keep the pictures coming.Please note the cutouts for the Geckos are a little wobbley and have been straightened since that picture was taken.

Thanks

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010024-1.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010023-1.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010022-2.jpg

[Doug_Ford]

That's super sharp Gene. I'm envious.

[cbboatworks]

That's super sharp Gene. I'm envious.

Thanks Doug for the kind feedback,


Gene

[myozman]

Gene,
What a good idea. If you don't mind me asking, where did you get your control box? Did you have to do some mods for air flow? The computer, touchscreen and power supply have to put out some serious heat. Just trying to get some ideas before I jump-in with both feet. I think control box/ power supply are going to be the most difficult for me, still learning.

[sailfl]

Gene,

Where did you buy your Touch Screen and PC?

What you got looks good!

[cbboatworks]

Just a few pictures of the box as I am taking it apart and pre pairing it for paint on Tuesday. also I am going to answer this question before anyone ask. the little red momentary switch is to cut the PC on and the two little LED's are part of the onboard PC as well. Thanks

Gene
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010068-1.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010056-1.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010059-2.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010055.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010054-1.jpg

[cbboatworks]

Gene,
What a good idea. If you don't mind me asking, where did you get your control box? Did you have to do some mods for air flow? The computer, touchscreen and power supply have to put out some serious heat. Just trying to get some ideas before I jump-in with both feet. I think control box/ power supply are going to be the most difficult for me, still learning.

myozman
As much as I would like to take the credit for this idea.. I can't.. The idea come from JR & Marc. as for The heat the Touch Screen puts out no heat. I have four fans that will be mounted behind each gecko to cool them. Thank you for looking

Gene

[cbboatworks]

Gene,

Where did you buy your Touch Screen and PC?

What you got looks good!

Sailfl

I bought two of them off of Ebay. both where new.

Gene

[Greg J]

Gene,

Nice work. I like the touch screen. There's no way anyone can build just one MM. So many ideas, your gonna build more. :)

[smreish]

Elegant Gene, Just elegant.
Bravo....

[domino11]

Gene,
I like the touch screen too. Did you have any problems getting it to run with windows and Mach? Driver issues or anything?

[revved_up]

Gene, I enjoyed talking on the phone the other day it just reinforces the idea that this machine is whatyou make of it great job and everyone has great ideas it is going to be hard to come up with a final decision on which route to follow.

[cbboatworks]

Gene,
I like the touch screen too. Did you have any problems getting it to run with windows and Mach? Driver issues or anything?

domino11

I did not have any problems at all. It took around 5 min to install and start playing. so far it looks and works great. I have a mini key board that I will be using along with the touch screen as well. I will post a few pictures of it.
Thanks

Gene

[cbboatworks]

Gene, I enjoyed talking on the phone the other day it just reinforces the idea that this machine is whatyou make of it great job and everyone has great ideas it is going to be hard to come up with a final decision on which route to follow.

Craig it was a pleasure talking with you as well. I know you will build a great machine.. just like everyone else who has completed or that is now starting the MM. there is so much info on this forum and not enough time to take it all in. Thanks

Gene

[cbboatworks]

Here is the Key board that I will be using along with the Touch Screen:


http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010053-2.jpg


http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010056-3.jpg

[Gerald D]

That keyboard will give you tricky "cursor" control for the z-axis, having the page up/down combined with the up/down arrows. Also, you want a Shift button near the cursors for jog speeds. Mach3 is "optimised" for the long keyboard. You will have to get a remote! :):)

[cbboatworks]

That keyboard will give you tricky "cursor" control for the z-axis, having the page up/down combined with the up/down arrows. Also, you want a Shift button near the cursors for jog speeds. Mach3 is "optimised" for the long keyboard. You will have to get a remote! :):)

Gerald

Thanks for pointing that out... I did not even notice that there was no shift key near the up/down cursor. if it makes a difference I will be using a shuttle pro II along with the key board. Thanks

[Gerald D]

Gene, there are apparently ways of re-mapping a keyboard's buttons, and I have heard of guys coding their keys with different colours. The arcade game builders are the fundis at this.

The IPAC (http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html) was all the rage with the Mach guys about 3 years ago - very seldom mentioned these days. (needs a tiny capacitor on each line to make it immune to noise in our environment)

[cbboatworks]

It is a great feeling to see some MM blue of my own.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010012-5.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010008-4.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010006-7.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010004-11.jpg

[smreish]

mmmm. automotive paint. nice :)

[domino11]

Ouch,
My eyes, my eyes. :)

[cbboatworks]

mmmm. automotive paint. nice :)

Sean

The paint is Imron 3.5 HG Industrial. It is used on park rides, industrial machines etc. It is a single stage two part paint great stuff... It is the same as the automotive Imron 5000 but much cheaper. I have been using it for sometime now and love it. Thanks for posting

[domino11]

Gene,
Is that paint hard to find? I really like the finish. What kind of thinner does it require?

[Doug_Ford]

That's absolutely beautiful. Great work.

[cbboatworks]

Gene,
Is that paint hard to find? I really like the finish. What kind of thinner does it require?


The paint can be bought a most auto paint stores that sell Dupont products. it is a two part paint so you will need to buy the paint,activator and urethane reducer.also if it is cold when you paint you will need a accelerator.

Paint is Imron 3.5 HG
Activator part# VGM-6005
you need to ask the person at the paint store to give you the same brand of accelerator.

(NOTE This is very Toxic paint so Please use a NIOSH Respirator)

http://www.bennette.com/pdf/Imron3-5HG.pdf

[cbboatworks]

That's absolutely beautiful. Great work.

Doug

Thanks.

[cbboatworks]

For the folks that will ask what gun do you use. I have a $550.00 Sata jet Digital 2000...But get this my $14.99 Harbor freight gun puts down a better finish. so if any of you have ?s on what gun to buy. Dig deep into your pockets at get out that $14.99. I use the harbor freight gun on everthing I paint.

47016-4VGA
Central Pneumatic Professional 20 OZ. GRAVITY FEED SPRAY GUN.
Online the gun is listed for $24.99 in the store it is $14.99

[cobra427mnsi]

Looks great, Gene. Thanks for the paint job!:D

[smreish]

Gene,
Interestingly you mention the HF gun at 15 dollars. At my shop, where labor cost more per hour than the cost of 3 guns....I buy these by the case. It's easier to toss-the-gun after spraying some materials than actually cleaning it and paying the guy to sit on the clock and "clean up everything 3 times".
...just the penny pinching boss man talking :)

[sailfl]

How can you not love this site! You got a bunch of guys building the same machine, sharing information on the build and great tool ideas. We get a few more machines built and we will have to have a convention.

I like the shine of the Imron paint.

[Greg J]

Gene,

Nice paint job. But I'm going the South African rattle can method.

Well, wait a second, $15 for a spray gun, ... hmmmm ... the rattle can's I'm buying now are $5/ea ... let me price a gal of Imron 3.5 HG and activator and rethink this paint job. :)

[cbboatworks]

A few more pictures of the box...thanks to JR and Marc for the inspiration...also thanks to Sean for the idea of using XLR cable connectors.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010011-7.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010017-3.jpg

[Gerald D]

You've got a stinking logo in the space you had reserved for the keyboard?

[domino11]

Gene,
Really like the touch screen. Paint looks awesome when its all together. :)

[cobra427mnsi]

I like the paint on the box on the right too.;)

Paul

[sailfl]

Gene

I did a search of ebay for touch screens but I didn't find one like yours. Would you share the link or name of the one you purchased? Thanks

[cbboatworks]

Gene

I did a search of ebay for touch screens but I didn't find one like yours. Would you share the link or name of the one you purchased? Thanks


I bought the Elo1247L off of Ebay for 123.50 shipped each. both were new in un-open box.

http://www.elotouch.com/Products/LCDs/1247L/default.asp
http://h30094.www3.hp.com/product.asp?sku=2611071&jumpid=ex_r2910_performics/k17401/DDI%20Link

[sailfl]

Gene,

Thanks for the links. Not hard to decide which place to buy from.

[domino11]

Gene,
One thing I wanted to tell everyone, at my day job, we have units that use touch screens. We have had problems with flys and other bugs activating the screen on many occasions. Our products are used in countries that have high heat, humidity and bugs. Would an errant fly trigger a problem with Mach? Can you lock out the touch screen when running a job? Just a thought.

Heath

[sailfl]

Heath

What brand of touch screens are you using that are that sensitive? I would think that if you are having that kind of problem and you buy a large quantity, you could get the manufacture to change the sensitivity.

[domino11]

Nils,
I am not sure what brand, we dont buy a lot. We do custom military sonar systems and we might do a 5 year contract and only sell one system out of it. Lots of research and development. We have used a lot of them, I just remember the software guys saying the flys in Bangladesh were causing errant triggers. Maybe Genes new one doesnt have these problems. I just wanted to give a heads up, wouldnt want a fly to wreck a job.

Gene,
Can you set the screen sensitivity? Maybe your screen manufacturer might be able to tell you if this would be a problem. Maybe its not an issue any more with the newer screens. Sorry if Im stirring up stuff for nothing. :eek:

Heath

[cbboatworks]

Heath

D!! You guys must have some HUGE fly's in Bangladesh.... bigger than the Horse flys we have here in the US. ( just a little sense of humor be easy on me ) I do not think I will have that problem it takes about 2 to 3 ounces of pressure. to activate command.


Details below

Acoustic Pulse Recognition Specifications
Mechanical
Input Method Finger, finger nail, gloved hand, or stylus activation
Electrical
Position Accuracy 1% max. error
Resolution Accuracy Touchpoint density is based on controller resolution of 4096 x 4096
Touch Activation Force Typically 2 to 3 ounces (55 to 85 grams)
Controller Board: USB 1.1
Optical
Light Transmission 90%+/-5%
Environmental
Chemical resistance The touch activation area of the touchscreen is resistant to chemicals
that do not affect glass such as: acetone, toluene, methyl ethyl ketone,
isopropyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, ammonia-based glass
cleaners, gasoline, kerosene, vinegar
Durability
Surface Durability Surface durability is that of glass, Mohs’ hardness rating of 7
Expected Life No known wear-out mechanism, as there are no layers, coatings, or moving
parts. APR technology has been operationally tested to more than 50
million touches in one location without failure, using a stylus similar
finger.
C-37
AccuTouch Touchmonitor Specifications
Mechanical
Construction Top: Polyester with outside hard-surface coating with clear or
antiglare finish.
Inside: Transparent conductive coating.
Bottom: Glass substrate with uniform resistive coating. Top and
bottom layers separated by Elo-patented separator dots.
Positional Accuracy Standard deviation of error is less than 0.080 in. (2.03 mm). This equates
to less than ±1%.
Touchpoint Density More than 100,000 touchpoints/in2 (15,500 touchpoints/cm2).
Touch Activation Force Typically less than 4 ounces (113 grams).
Surface Durability Meets Taber Abrasion Test (ASTM D1044), CS-10F wheel, 500 g.
Meets pencil hardness 3H.
Expected Life AccuTouch technology has been operationally tested to greater than
Performance 35 million touches in one location without failure, using a stylus
similar to a finger.
Optical
Light Transmission Typically80% at 550-nm wavelength (visible light spectrum).
(per ASTM D1003)
Visual Resolution All measurements made using USAF 1951 Resolution Chart, under 30
X magnification, with test unit located approximately 1.5 in. (38 mm)
from surface of resolution chart.
Antiglare surface: 6:1 minimum.
Haze (per ASTM D1003) Antiglare surface: Less than 15%.
Gloss (per ASTM D2457) Antiglare surface: 90 ± 20 gloss

[domino11]

Gene,
Your Panel sounds like it won't be a problem. I have never experienced the fly problem myself, but the software guys here mentioned it as a problem when they were in Bangladesh. The panel we used was not the same technology. I believe it was a resistive panel. This may have contributed to the fly problem. Let us know how the acoustic wave panel works for you in practice. Right now its too cold here for flys. :) (-15C)

[sailfl]

Heath,

I use to build simulators for DOD working on Aircraft, Tanks and Subs in Orlando.

So I know your problems.

[cbboatworks]

Motors are turning and box is now complete. I am going to start building a 2nd control box just like this one...so if any of you are interested in buying this one PM me. this box is ready, comes with all you see in the pictures, the steppers with the XLR's allready soldered on are also included. Thanks for looking

NO PC included

cbboatworks@aol.com

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010018-2.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010003-11.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010006-8.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010008-5.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010012-6.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010004-13.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cbboatworks/P1010030-2.jpg

[Roadkill_321]

Gene,
Very nice looking box! Very professional.

I'd like to have one, but unfortunately I'm going to make do with what I've got.

John

[cncb]

You have a very professional setup, you should be proud of your hard work

[cbboatworks]

Gene,
Very nice looking box! Very professional.

I'd like to have one, but unfortunately I'm going to make do with what I've got.

John


John

Thanks for the kind words, Hope to see you cutting soon. all of your work is looking great and it looks like you will reap the fruits of your labor very soon. take care and keep up the great work and progress .Thanks


Gene
cbboatworks@aol.con

[cbboatworks]

You have a very professional setup, you should be proud of your hard work


Brian

Thank you very much for the nice comments. It looks like your box is coming along very well and looks great. Thanks

Gene
cbboatworks@aol.com

[gixi]

Motors are turning and box is now complete. I am going to start building a 2nd control box just like this one...so if any of you are interested in buying this one PM me. this box is ready, comes with all you see in the pictures, the steppers with the XLR's allready soldered on are also included. Thanks for looking

Very profesional Control Box... I'll send you an email.

[RLH3]

How big is the box? Something on the order of 24x24x10? (inches, that is)

Thanks,

Roman