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  #91  
Old Wed 01 April 2009, 06:04
jhiggins7
Just call me: John #26
 
Hebron, Ohio
United States of America
Wayne,

Congratulations on Serial #25. Great looking (and working) machine.

Here's the updated Builder's Log.

Please let me know the size of your MM. Looks to be a 96" X 48" or 97" X 49".

Also, please provide any comments you'd like for your entry.

Regards,
John
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  #92  
Old Wed 01 April 2009, 06:57
sailfl
Just call me: Nils #12
 
Winter Park, FL
United States of America
Wayne

Congratulations on #25.
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  #93  
Old Wed 01 April 2009, 10:11
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Thanks guy's, I appreciate all the kind comments. This build was very fun and rewarding. I really like the fact that we all built (or are building) the same machine, it's a real opportunity for users from around the globe to share ideas and build techniques.

Gerald, A special thank you goes to you. Without your generosity in both time and resources, we would not have the opportunity to build this great machine or meet so many wonderful people.
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  #94  
Old Wed 01 April 2009, 10:14
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kobus_Joubert View Post
Nice work Wayne, I hope the non- symmetrical holes are planned and not something loose on your machine
You have a very keen eye. The machine is working perfectly...the non-symmetrical holes are by design
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  #95  
Old Wed 01 April 2009, 10:32
javeria
Just call me: Irfan #33
 
Bangalore
India
and U got a nice Serial "25" - show us some more of your RC hobby!
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  #96  
Old Sat 04 April 2009, 10:22
gmessler
Just call me: Greg #15
 
Chicago IL
United States of America
Congratulations Wayne!
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  #97  
Old Sun 05 April 2009, 08:56
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Thanks Greg.

Strange as it may sound....I am almost sad that it is complete. I spent so much time constructing it over the last four months, that I kinda miss heading out to the shop to mill, grind and drill the parts needed to make the machine.

The machine is now truly complete. I put the final touches on the wiring yesterday....connecting the limit and home sensors, also hooked up my auto-z circuit and built the touch plate.

The touch plate plugs in using a standard bananna jack...this allows for various styles of touch sensors to be quickly installed. The touch plate shown in the picture is solid copper, it is machined to exactly .25" thick.

The copper came from piece of test equipment (ground bar).....it was originally 8ft long
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File Type: jpg DSCN4103.JPG (89.9 KB, 1967 views)
File Type: jpg DSCN4104.JPG (98.2 KB, 1967 views)
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  #98  
Old Sun 05 April 2009, 09:03
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
3D carving - test

With nothing left to do on the machine I decided I should probably start using it and test the capabilities.

This is my first 3D carving on this machine. It was a free sample downloaded from www.vectorart3d.com. I also used their (free) milling program to generate the g-code required to cut this sample.

The sample was rough cut with a 3/16" endmill, and finish cut with a 1/8" ballmill. Total cut time was about 15mins.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg DSCN4100.JPG (92.3 KB, 1979 views)
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  #99  
Old Sun 05 April 2009, 21:36
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Corner finder

Made a couple more tools for my MechMate today.

This is a corner finder, it can also be used to set z-hieght. I saw one of these on CNC Zone....thought it was pretty neat so I made one.

To use this tool, place it on the corner of your material and center the cutting bit over the copper pipe. Lower the bit so it is just inside the pipe and run the centering script.

Note, the bit does not have to be exactly in the center of the pipe just close. The script will determine the exact center for you and set the Mach3 dro's
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Corner finder.JPG (93.9 KB, 1919 views)
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  #100  
Old Sun 05 April 2009, 21:55
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Clamping fixture

I was struggling with the best method to clamp small parts to the bed of the Mechmate.....this is my solution

The whole assembly can be screwed down to the milling bed, or held in place with c-clamps. The small item you wish to clamp is held in place with the cam locks shown in the picture.

Since it is made entirely from wood (except the bolts) your cutters will be safe if you have a mishap

On the bottom side you can see that holes were machined to the depth of the nut so the assembly sits flush on your cutting table. The holes are slightly smaller than the nut so they hold themselves in place....once pressed into the wood.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Clamp fixture 1.JPG (88.3 KB, 1918 views)
File Type: jpg Clamp fixture.JPG (92.8 KB, 1915 views)
File Type: jpg Clamp fixture 2.JPG (89.7 KB, 1910 views)
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  #101  
Old Sun 05 April 2009, 22:05
jhiggins7
Just call me: John #26
 
Hebron, Ohio
United States of America
Really nice work Wayne. Very creative. Thanks for sharing.

BTW, do you have a link for the corner finder? I looked on the Zone, but didn't find it.

Regards,
John
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  #102  
Old Sun 05 April 2009, 22:23
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
centering tool information

John, here is the CNC zone thread:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56079

This is a YouTube video showing the operation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOXY4...eature=related

This video shows the centering tool variation I built.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcHgK...eature=related

Hope this helps, Wayne
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  #103  
Old Sun 05 April 2009, 22:45
jhiggins7
Just call me: John #26
 
Hebron, Ohio
United States of America
Thanks Wayne. Very helpful.
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  #104  
Old Thu 16 April 2009, 13:09
the_affliction
Just call me: Kelsey
 
Kelowna
Canada
wow your videos on youtube are really inspiring thanks for taking the time to post them I think I am going to give a go on the davidlaser scanner and your corner finder too simple effective
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  #105  
Old Fri 17 April 2009, 09:32
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Glad you like the videos Kelsey.

Although it's interesting to watch CNC's cut, it's really interesting to watch your own Mechmate CNC cut
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  #106  
Old Fri 17 April 2009, 09:59
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
I hadn't see a video of a CNC router cutting (nor had I seen any CNC router in real life) when our first machine started cutting in the year 2000. Since then have looked at a couple of videos and fully agree with Wayne - a video is positively boring in relation to the real thing!
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  #107  
Old Fri 17 April 2009, 10:02
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
Just quick comment on your cam clamps; they work very well with "down-cut" spiral bits, but they can be risky with "up-cut" spirals which lift the work off the table. The up and down forces of spiral bits are a very signicant factor in deciding on the workholding method.
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  #108  
Old Sun 19 April 2009, 09:06
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Gerald, you are correct about the clamps. Anything more than a light cut with a up spiral bit and it lifts from the holder. I found out the hard way

For my gear reduction components (shown here), I taped them down to the table with double faced tape. Holds tight but still can be removed from the spill board without much effort.
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File Type: jpg DSCN4138.JPG (94.8 KB, 1718 views)
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  #109  
Old Sun 19 April 2009, 09:31
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Tabs also help retain the part when cutting

Tabs can also be used to hold the part in place when cutting. Tabs can be used to prevent the cutter from hooking the loose part and causing damage.
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File Type: jpg DSCN4135.JPG (43.9 KB, 1705 views)
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  #110  
Old Sun 19 April 2009, 11:59
J.R. Hatcher
Just call me: J.R. #4
 
Wilmington, North Carolina
United States of America
Send a message via Skype™ to J.R. Hatcher
Wayne nice looking parts. What is the material ..... delrin? You're going to like what they do for your machine.
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  #111  
Old Sun 19 April 2009, 12:16
J.R. Hatcher
Just call me: J.R. #4
 
Wilmington, North Carolina
United States of America
Send a message via Skype™ to J.R. Hatcher
To hold mine down I machined 4 holes in the material (out of the way of the parts) then screwed it down. Next I machined the 2 center bolt holes in all the plates. Then moved the the cutter out of the way, screwed them all down using these holes, then finished the rest of side 1, flipped it over screwed it back down (nice and referenced) and machined side 2. All of this was incorporated in the cut file. No tabs or tape to deal with.
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  #112  
Old Sun 19 April 2009, 12:48
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
When screwing the motor to plastic, I would consider adding a 2mm thick alu plate in between, being oversized all around, to help with heatsinking. The alu could be bent channel-shaped, with the bent flanges vertical to get more exposed fin area.
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  #113  
Old Sun 19 April 2009, 18:29
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
J.R. - Yes, this delrin....nice stuff to machine. I like your idea for holding the parts down. Not having to reference again certainly saves time and the chance for error. Perhaps we should make a tool plate for making parts like this....that could be bolted to the table and referenced once per use. Here is the front and back if my plate.....these were cut with just two operations

Gerald, I wondered if heat conduction would be a problem.....so far today the motors temps are about normal. I think I will just remake these from aluminum if temperature becomes a problem.
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File Type: jpg DSCN4151.JPG (93.4 KB, 1701 views)
File Type: jpg DSCN4152.JPG (94.4 KB, 1697 views)
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  #114  
Old Fri 08 May 2009, 17:39
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Here's a couple of pictures of the complete reduction units...all axis's now have a 3:1 reduction drive installed.

There is a noticable difference in the smoothiness of operation and cut. Definently a worthwhile upgrade.
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File Type: jpg DSCN4145.JPG (94.8 KB, 1573 views)
File Type: jpg DSCN4142.JPG (90.4 KB, 1570 views)
File Type: jpg DSCN4153.JPG (93.5 KB, 1572 views)
File Type: jpg DSCN4154.JPG (93.1 KB, 1569 views)
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  #115  
Old Fri 08 May 2009, 17:41
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Lowcost - 3ph spindle

My current project is a lowcost "brushless" spindle. Here's a teaser photo of the prototype

Don't know how well this will work.....hope to complete and test the prototype this weekend

Spindle spec's:
2000watts (~2.5hp)
10,000rpm
ER-16 collet
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File Type: jpg DSCN4194.JPG (90.0 KB, 1566 views)
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  #116  
Old Fri 08 May 2009, 22:56
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
VERY interesting stuff!
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  #117  
Old Sat 09 May 2009, 13:02
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Pendant design complete.

I have been working on a pentant design for a couple of weeks.....this layout seems to be usable, so I cut the front panel. Thought to use the control pendant for awhile and see how it feels and change it if necassary.

The box is really cool....I got it from EBAY for 6 bucks plus shipping.
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File Type: jpg DSCN4196.JPG (93.9 KB, 1542 views)
File Type: jpg DSCN4198.JPG (93.9 KB, 1543 views)
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  #118  
Old Sat 09 May 2009, 16:36
sailfl
Just call me: Nils #12
 
Winter Park, FL
United States of America
Wayne,

Very nice. What do you think you have spent on your new control box?
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  #119  
Old Sat 09 May 2009, 19:43
domino11
Just call me: Heath
 
Cornwall, Ontario
Canada
Wayne,
Looks good. Could we get a little more info for the technical guys?
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  #120  
Old Sat 09 May 2009, 21:21
Rad Racer
Just call me: Wayne #25
 
Minnesota
United States of America
Nils - I do not have much invested, most the switches and knobs are from old equipment. The joystick is from one of my old radio control transmitters. The only money spent (besides the box) was the the electronic interface....it cost $79 + shipping.

Heath, I am using an interface device that emulates a keyboard. Windows(mach3) does not know the difference....it believes you are pressing key on the keyboard.

Here is some information about the U-Hid device.....I copied it from their website. www.u-hid.com

hope this helps
Wayne


What is a HID?

HID stands for Human Interface Device. This is a term used to describe certain types of PC peripheral, usually connected via USB.
Windows and Mac OS support a number of "native" HID devices using in-built drivers. The U-HID board appears as the following HID devices on the PC:

Keyboard
Gamepad (including analog and digital controls)
Mouse
LED outputs

The way in which the board emulates natively-supported devices means it requires no special drivers or host software, with the exception of LED output control.
The board has 50 connections which can be configured to any of these HID device types providing a truly universal interface. For example, you can connect pushbuttons to generate keyboard keystrokes, trackballs to act as a mouse, pedals to act as analog game controller joysticks, or hundreds of other device types. The PC will see all the devices as something it recognises, so all standard applications will work.
The menu headings on the left give more details of each type of device.
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