Got some work done!

Got some work done!

So I have moved this thing a gazillion times. I took it out to the shed, I brought it back inside, etc. It’s gonna stay here once it’s up and running fully.

It took me a while to re-wire it, but here’s a craptastic shot of what it looks like now.

So the drivers have a “custom” socket to make it easier to hook up to Probotix’s breakout board. I want to eventually use Ramps as my cnc controller, but continue to use my probostep vx drivers. I needed a way to interface my drivers with pololu sockets. If there’s interest I can tell you how I did it, but for now just pictures.

So that’s where I am at right now. 🙂

Thoughts? Feelings? Hate? Love? Leave some comments.

3 years, 6 months, 17 days since last update…

And wow oh wow. Big updates coming.

A little over 2 years ago, I lost 190 lbs and man, was i ever glad to see her go lmfao. Needless to say, 3 years have past and I will be regularly blogging starting soon.

I’m with an amazing lady now, life is good.

Jelly

 

It’s been over a year!

So, It’s been over a year since i’ve posted. I let my domain expire, but I think i’ll be renewing that soon. I finally have a WORKING cnc machine. A while back I put it together, got it moving and all, then I had crashed it a little hard and the table nut on the y axis came all the way out (they are press fit exactly for reasons like this) and I was so frustrated with it at the time I just quit. No messing with it, no tinkering, nothing. Just work, eat and sleep.

All that changed last week. We are in the process of building a house as well, and It’d been 3 weeks since the weather would cooperate with us enough to work on it. We got half of our floor joists installed, and I wasn’t ready to stop working. I decided i’d finally tackle my CNC problem once and for all, it was man vs machine and I finally talked it into cooperating with me. I removed the Y-axis motor/slide and reinstalled the delrin nut with some strips of paper as recommended by John at http://www.microcarve.com (he made the machine i purchased) and proceeded to debug and try to get it working.

After some messing around I was able to make it cut text… but it was cutting it 2x bigger than I was drawing in Cut2d. It also was cutting it inverted and backwards. Well, I figured out through lots of interwebs browsing that I could reverse my x axis in the CNC software and after figuring out how my table orientation was, I discovered that It just cuts upside down. No biggie as long as the end product is right.  So now I can cut text and other objects and they come out 100 percent correct now.  Still would like to get some limit switches for safety lol.

 

Well, enjoy some pictures 🙂

 

Changes

So as you may have noticed, I am now on my own website. http://www.thebuildroom.com I went ahead and found a place to get some webhosting, and bought my domain. This gives me more freedom to do what would like with my place. I’d love to eventually have a web store too where you can order custom key-chains, nameplates, plaques, logos, ETC.

But at any rate, welcome to The Build Room

Charles
http://www.thebuildroom.com

Gah. Small update.

Ok all, there comes a time when you just have to admit defeat.  I’m getting tired of doing everything the hard way, and I’ve decided that it’s time to go ahead and get non-diy stuff now. I’ve been tinkering with my non-working mill for a while now, and i’m just downright tired of not being able to cut any parts out. (or even move the mill with my computer lol) 

At the last update, you saw pictures of my “kind of” assembled CNC. No where near complete, I had everything sort of mocked up. Well, due to an oversight on my part, I should have had the parts cut from .5″ plywood, but i had it cut with .75″ thick stuff. Doesn’t appear to be a big deal, but it’s amazing how an extra 1/4″ of thickness really messes up a design. 

So this brings me to my next thing.

I am going to buy this machine,

http://microcarve.com/mcMV1.html (Microcarve MV3) ($549.00) 

along with this Ready to run CNC 3 axis kit

3-Axis ProboStep Stepper Motor Driver Kit ($404.95)

And eventually once I break or wear out my Dremel 300, 

http://www.wolfgangengineering.com/Home.php (TB650 complete package) $289.00

So I know it seems like alot of cash out, but i’m basically putting together a kit that will be almost plug -n-play.  

 

Since no parts have been ordered yet, my total cost remains the same. More updates soon. 

Some Progress!

So, as you guys know i’ve started building my Mantis 9 Clone. I had the wood cut out from a friend over at Castcnc.com named Harry. He’s a great guy, Everything he does oozes awesome sauce over there, and he makes custom cast parts to build a Joes CNC. I think i’ll go that route once I move home and have a shop built, from there its on to custom plaques, cabinets, and who knows what else, maybe i’ll be able to make something as awesome as Harry!

I had a bluumax gantry router, availible at bluumaxcnc.com but i never fully utilized it to its potential. I think I cut maybe…. 1/2 a part out, I say 1/2 because I did not secure the Z axis flexible coupling well enough, and half way through my job, the z-axis fell and my dremel went through the table, burning the HDPE cutting board, my dremel collet, and drilling a big hold through my table as well. Luckily my electronics were not harmed in the process. (They got WARM though) I hate to sound like an advertisement for my friends, but if you want to get into CNC at a realative low cost and great support, Give Shawn at bluumaxcnc.com a try.

So now some pics!

Stay tuned!

discouraged.

So, I’m getting seriously discouraged. I’ve been putting my machine together, but without any real dedication. Due to me over thinking, I had the wood cut out of 3/4″ plywood instead of 1/2″ So, everything was off by JUST enough, that things did not fit well, and quite frankly, I am ready to just throw the whole thing out. I shouldn’t be like that, but its seriously discouraging.

Small Update (Total cost so far $224.40)

Just a small update, I placed my McMaster order last week, to get the final things I’d need for my machine. My box full of my old machine came, it had everything except the MDF board. I didn’t need all the perspex pieces, but im not going to complain 🙂

My McMaster order Totaled 101.27, not too bad. it was 6.61 for UPS ground shipping.

I also found a LCD screen at goodwill for 15 dollars. Took it home, plugged it in, FLAWLESS! It is a little dim, but I can work with that, it’s going on my CNC machine anyways.

Thanks for reading all!

Fixing a friends computer….

So, I’ve always tinkered with computers. I love them. I build them, I destroy them, I fix them. A friend recently asked me if I could take a look at her computer. Sure! So a couple days later I pick it up. She told me, It was working, I went away for the evening and came back, the cats had knocked it over/unplugged it. So, it had a rough shut down. She said she went to turn it back on, and nothing happened.

Long story short, I suspected the power supply. The motherboard had lights lit up, but nothing happened when you pushed the power button. I took the power supply out, removed the “Warranty void if removed” sticker, and opened up the power supply case. I found three caps that were for sure bad. One had exploded, two leaked thier fluid out and were very swollen.

Check out the pics 🙂

My Cnc Build Part 1. (Total Cost so far: $108.13)

Well, here’s where i stand to-date. I have ordered parts from Jameco, Servo-City, and USABEARINGS out of Florida.

Here’s what I’ve ordered.

Harry’s CNC Time – 60$
I purchased machine time on Harry’s CNC machine, he’s going to cut out the machine panels for me from a piece of higher quality hardwood. (Plywood?) You can find him at CastCnC.com and Founddreaming.com He owns/operates both sites. If you are ever in the market for a RIGID SUPER AWERSOME CNC machine, he’s got cast pieces and plans to build a 4×4 Hybrid version of Joes CNC. He charged me 60$ for the time to cut my plywood. Thanks again harry.

Jameco – 4x DC MOTOR , 12VDC , 8750MA
$2.95 each x4, $11.80, $7.90 Shipping – $19.70 Total.

These are 19k rpm motors, 12v

I ordered 4, because Jameco has a 10$ minimum order, Or you can pay 5$ order fee, I figured I’d rather get more parts for my money rather then pay an empty Order fee.
Current @ Max. Efficiency (A)    2.05
Efficiency    66
Nominal Voltage (VDC)    12
Shaft Diameter (inch)    0.091
Shaft Length (inch)    0.622
Size (Dia)    1.082 x 1.279
Speed @ Max. Efficiency (RPM)    19850
Terminal Type    0.12/Solder
Voltage Range (VDC)    6-12
Torque @ Max. Efficiency (g-cm)    79.7

ServoCity – 2 Items
$11.50 Total, Shipping and Handling: $6.99
18.49 Total

Presicion shaft and 1/4 x 1/8 Rigid coupler.

#SS250-3.00 1/4″x3″ Precision Shaft $3.25
#CDS-B1-4    1/8″ to 1/4″ Rigid Shaft Coupler $8.25

usabearingsbelts – Ebay Seller

I probably overpaid for overspec’d pieces of junk, but I’d love to prove myself wrong.

R4-ZZ ABEC 3 Bearings

2x R4-ZZ Premium Bearing 1/4 x 5/8 R4 ZZ, ABEC 3   @$4.97each, Free shipping.
Bore-1/4    OD-5/8    Width-.1960
Shields – Metal Shields on 2 sides to protect from dust and other contaminates
Lubrication – Wide temperature range Mobil Polyrex EM2 (-40 to + 350)
Noise Testing – Noise tested before and after lubrication
Noise Level – Passes V2 Noise Vibration Standards Smaller Sized, V3 Standards. Large Bore- Meets or exceeds Electric Motor
Precision Balls – Matched ABMA Grade 10 or better for roundness
Raceways – Finely honed Super Finished for long life and low noise
Quality Level – Premium bearings are ABEC 3/C3 compatable
Testing – Independent Endurance testing has verified our Premium bearings Outperformed all low cost bearings and matched or exceeded the performance of well-known brand name bearings

I know I didnt have to post the specs of everything, but I wanted to justify what I spent on the quality and specs. Everything I ordered this first time around was basically for the Low-Cost Spindle designed by David Carr. You can find the original design and specs here http://makeyourbot.org/low-cost-spindle-2-0

So… Thats where I stand. I will probably place a McMaster order this friday, I would have allready placed it, but thier online website order system doesn’t like me… I’ll have to call them with part numbers. I hate being on the phone >.<

I hope you guys enjoyed my update… And, I hope you enjoyed the pictures of my goodies!

These last two are just because 😉

Another close up of the 1/8 x 1/4 Rigid Coupler

This is a neat closeup of the Rigid Coupler.

Charles, Aka – Jelly