Archive for July, 2009
How about an update?
Posted by briandm81 in Mill Progress on July 23, 2009
This update has taken a while. I have been working on my swimming pool and Wayne has been sick. As a result we haven’t had a lot of spare time available. However, that should change over the next couple of weeks. Wayne is back near 100% and the pool is nearly complete. We even made a little progress tonight. We fixed the issue we had been having with the X-Axis slide and will be starting to assemble the controller soon. I will post more this weekend!
More controller parts
Over the last few days we had many of the parts for the controller arrive. The PDMX 132 controller is the main component that arrived (this thing is huge). There are only a few items remaining that have not arrived that are required to being building the controller. Enjoy the pictures:
If you are seeing this…
…then you are looking at our new domain. Not only that, but you are seeing our new server and everything. Congrats!
Post About Actual Progress
Posted by briandm81 in Angle Iron, Carriages, Mill Progress, Motor mounts on July 6, 2009
I think we are finally done posting catch-up information. We actually made real progress on the mill this evening. We attached the angle-iron to the 80/20 for the X-Axis, drilled and tapped the HDPE for the Z-Axis, attached the angle-iron to the HDPE for the Z-Axis, attached the motor/flange mounts on the slave side of the Y-Axis, and managed to thread the carbon steel rod through the slave side of the Y-Axis as well.
Motors and Controllers
The power supply unit (PSU) for our controller arrived today, so we thought we would give our readers a look at all the parts we’ve bought for our controller so far. Our PSU is an 56 volt, 18 amp, 800 watt unit from Antek which is oddly not the same as the more commonly known PC power and case manufacturer Antec. We really enjoyed ordering from them, because we called them and got a real human immediately who answered all of our questions. You can take a look at the power supplies they offer here: http://www.antekinc.com/ps.html
Our controllers are Gecko 203V “Vampire Drives” avaialble at http://www.geckodrive.com/product.aspx?c=3&i=14460 Apparently, they’re called the “Vampires” since they’re unkillable. These guys sent us a little beanbag gecko with our order which was nice enough to pose in various pictures.
Finally, our motors are the 425 oz HobbyCNC models: http://www.hobbycnc.com/products/stepper-motors/
We ordered a megaton of various other parts that should be arriving later this week. Until then, here are the various shots of the controller components that have arrived:
The Long Weekend is Over
Posted by briandm81 in Carriages, Mill Progress, Motor mounts on July 6, 2009
I know that we mentioned in our last post a long list of things we hoped to accomplish the next day. The next day came and went, as did the weekend, and we are still where we left off in our last post. I hope that everyone had a great Independence Day, all of us surely did.
This is the first of a few posts that will happen over the next few minutes and hours as we play a little holiday catch-up. For starters, we have a few “improved” photos of the mill that I took with a loaner flash. I will most likely have to buy one now that I see what a difference it can make. These are still not “Justin” quality, but they are far better than what was previously posted.
It moves!
Posted by briandm81 in Carriages, Mill Progress, Motor mounts on July 2, 2009
Today, I started work earlier and accomplished many tasks (Wayne was mysteriously absent for the first 3 hours). The Y-Axis carriages are officially complete . . . and they MOVE (by hand). The carriages freely roll up and down the angle-iron slides. In addition, we test mounted the Y-axis motor mount, flange mount, and one carbon steel threaded rod. The test showed that the carriage will move on the Y-axis by spinning the rod.
Tomorrow, we will do the following:
- Cut the aluminum plates for the Z-Axis carriage;
- Attach the bearings to the X-Axis and Z-Axis carriages;
- Drill and tap the remaining pieces of HDPE;
- Attach the angle iron to the X-Axis and Z-Axis slides; and
- Begin work on the controller.
Here are my ever-so-wonderful pictures. I have decided that I need to improve on my photography. First, I need a new camera flash because the built-in flash makes it two feet before disappearing. Second, I suck at photography! Let’s face it, compared to the Justin’s photos, my pictures look like a seven-year old with a disposable camera. Third, Justin needs to come by and take some real pictures, and I mean soon (I hope you are reading this!).
And one last announcement, we hope our good friend Jeron will start producing high definition YouTube video of our CNC construction process. That’s right, not only will we annoy everyone with still shots, but you will get to listen and see us in . . . HIGH DEFINITION!
Carriages And Motor Mounts
Posted by briandm81 in Carriages, Mill Progress, Motor mounts on July 1, 2009
Tonight we mounted the seven flange bearings and also attached the motor/flange mount to the Z-Axis carriage. In addition, we installed the 80/20 supports to the Y-Axis carriage. Tomorrow, we will continue work on the Y-Axis carriages which includes:
- V-Bearing pressure plates
- All-Thread supports
- V-Bearings
- Anti-backlash housings
