Member postings for Joseph Noci 1

Or just use the excess of green electricity...

Then what would be the point of doing it at all? Nothing to watch, feel or pontificate on.

Sam, you have always done something interesting with CNC - I would enjoy a rundown of all the CNC machines in your shop that you have home-brewed.

That printer port allocation is certainly full!

The drive you are using says 'brushless motor drive' - shows 3 motor drive outputs which makes sense for a 3ph brushless motor, but you have only ph A&B connected to the motor, so I presume it is a brushed DC motor. How does that drive handle the brushed motor? Could not see a part number on the drive to google its spec sheet.

I presume what you called PWM output from Lcnc to the drive is the 'step' signal, so it makes the DC motor look like a stepper with resolution = to the number of encoder lines?

In the video there is a green breakout block - the printer port cable plugs into it and then there are screw blocks to take the port signals to the rest - where did you get that block? Very neat device...

Do show more!

Joe

Michael:

C axis is the lathe's main spindle, with the ability to be positioned to accurate specific angles, ie, not just a rotary spindle, but a servo position controlled spindle as well.

Live tooling is for example a milling head radial or tangential to the workpiece in the lathe spindle. You could mill flats on a shaft, keyways in the shaft, a hex on the shaft end, or hexagonal holes in the end, etc. The lathe I made has a servo spindle and an auto-tool changer with 8 tools, and a central milling spindle, able to mill only in line with the lathe spindle - Hex on the end of the shaft type work

Don't wish to hijack this thread more than it has been, so if interested, take a look at these posts...

Joe's CNC lathe

Edited By Joseph Noci 1 on 25/08/2022 16:59:44

From Michael Callaghan

There are a few to pick from. Mach3 is the most common, lots of information on the net etc, and most breakout boards will run mach3 or 4. Linux is a sort of build your own sort of thing and needs breakout boards that can run this program which makes it more expensive in equipment over mach3.

Not quite true - Both Mach3 and Linuxcnc will run on basic PC's, with only a printer port. Both Mach3 and Linuxcnc via printer ports 'should' use breakout boards - those boards keep the noisy voltages and spikes from getting into the computers works. Do not confuse 'breakout boards' with Motion Controller boards. Most other setups ( Acorn and the like) have motion control in outboard hardware - those are NOT breakout boards, although many of them have breakout connections built onto the same motion control board.

So, Linuxcnc is FREE, costs nothing, while MACH 3 you pay for. And I believe Sam has got the small lathe working on Linuxcnc with just a printer port as I/O...

I also think you need to become more familiar with Linxcnc's hardware world before saying that you are 'stuck' with the printer port on linuxcnc...

You propose using an external USB 'breakout' board for Mach3 to be more 'modern' and to be more modern, even a LAN interface to Acorn...placing Linuxcnc in the geriatric realm - well for similar money to the MACH3 USB board, a 7i92 will give you the best possible, LAN, fast I/O, lots of I/O for steppers, closed loop, works on 'old' and new PC's, etc.

I started with MACH3 on my DIY CNC lathe - Mach3 was lacking, so moved to Linuxcnc, fought tooth and nail with it, gave up, bought Acorn CNC modules and software, fought even more. My requirements were not the 'basic' plug and play so that annoyed the Acorn folks and so support was abysmal. After a long fight, they found it easier to give my money back - did not even want the hardware back! I went back to Linuxcnc, and eventually it all clicked and I am comfortable with it now. I did get the basic lathe with threading working within a few days the during the first attempt, but my lathe has a C axis with live tooling, and that was a mission with Linuxcnc. However, NO other diy cnc system would do this!

Many have given good advice here - stick with the smaller size cutting tools - 6x6mm is great for most jobs, up to 10x10 if you are into heavy stuff, or work requiring longer stick-out of the tool.

If you are using mostly HSS cutters you will inevitably get into grinding your own cutting edges, and making a single point tip from a virgin 12x12mm HSS blank is a lot of work on the average shop grinder.. I was given some ( 30 off..) 25mm x 12mm x 150mm blanks many years ago - they were Swiss made, and a very nice steel indeed - mostly they are used as spacers in the mill and shaper. They do fit my bigger lathe but grinding is not worth the effort.

What is the displayed feedrate on the MACH main screen while the axis is under feed ( not rapid.)?

F100 would not reset the feed rate, but set it to 100 units/min.

If your axis calibration routine has not set a feed rate it would default to either that as last set, or MACH's default - not sure what that is - it is slow and might be John's 6mm/min..

Use midi to set a feed rate that you want - use John's F100 to try - and try the cal routine again?

Joe

Try Smooth cast products - maybe from benam.co.uk -

Kristal 6 or 30 ( epoxy based)

Kristal

Crystal Clear 20x series ( urethane based)

Crystal Clear

Both yellow in direct sun with long exposure, both remain clear for 5 years so far indoors.

The urethane is easier to use.

How will you keep a low viscosity material in the crack? A fast cure would assist, but the requirements are contradictory - all the epoxies/urethanes I find tend to have long(er) cure times for low visc. types - fast cure types also shrink more, and have higher viscosity.

That is beautiful Peter!

Thank You for those words Hopper. Wish dad was still around to talk about all that I should have when he was about...To busy being young, distracted an lacking the wisdom of age! - Lost out too much on my Dad's riches...

Thanks Jon and Hopper.

Jon, I think you may have it!

Thanks!

Joe

Photo of my Dad in around 1955/56 in front of his Cabinetry Works in Bethlehem, orange Free State RSA - 2 years before I was born...He was an Italian POW in Zonderwater near Pretoria, and at the end of the war decided to stay on in RSA and started a Cabinetry business in Bethlehem.

I found this photo lost in a box off old photo's - Any ideas on what make the vehicle is? I know he had a Morris Oxford, and another Morris 1000 Traveller - He told me how he had replaced all the woodwork which had developed 'woodworm' in Bethlehem...Later in life, I had a Morris Minor 1000, 2 door,  My Mom, had a 4 door, and we had another Morris Minor, the 850 side valve...

Morris seemed to be in the Families Blood, but the Bethlehem car eludes me...

Joe

Edited By Joseph Noci 1 on 08/08/2022 19:18:30

All in my Back Yard...

Thursday I used my small cnc mill to do some tapping - many M3 tapped holes in Al. When done I used the mill in manual mode to drill some 2mm holes in mild steel plate - Like John, could not drill the holes - the mild steel was as hard as Hades...I snapped one 2mm drill in the process. Tried to drill the same hole in the Drill press and it worked a charm...The Mill spindle was left in reverse and I did not see it..

Joe

With what software and what OS Sam? I also believe the steppers on the unimat pc cnc are uni-polar connection only - drivers for such are not as common as bi-polar stuff.

Joe

Hello Trevor. Welcome to the clan....

Do you have only the mechanics? Or do you have the controller/pc as well?

If only the lathe with steppers, then if you really want to get it working as a cnc learner, you have some effort ahead!

This links to a PDF that gives all the info how that machine was in its heyday - you need the electronic interface and a DOS pc and the EMCo software if you want to try run it as original and I think that is impossible...

Emco PC CNC PDF

The only practical way I could suggest is to go the MACH 3 or 4 route - Window PC, MACH3 or 4 software plus its hardware interface, 2 x stepper driver modules with a power supply....

Someone else may be able to suggest something simpler - maybe GRBL type system ( I am not familiar with that so cannot comment) .

There is of course Linux CNC, but don't get me started on that...

What is your modelling/work background? Mech eng/Electronic..???

It is a 'small' challenge to make this work if it is out of your comfort zone!

Regards

Joe

3 way Pressure Reducing valve

Edited By Joseph Noci 1 on 20/07/2022 21:51:13

RC flyers have some neat optical RPM sensors, handheld, that work quite well. Aimed at the plane's prop and it senses the break in rear lighting and seems to work well. They are also available in reflective type used often to find RPM of brushless outrunners by placing a 5mm or so section of black or silver tape on the motor housing and aiming at it. They are iffi at low RPM I find - below 20 rpm or so - I suspect mainly due to the jitter in RPM in sensorless brushless motors at such low RPM's - Ans IC RC engines may not work that well at 20rpm...

Check the local hobby RC shops..

Interesting - Thanks Howi and Steve. Morse is dropped here (Namibia - and in RSA) - RAE options are the usual exam, or present a suitable project, ie, a 'reasonably' complex Radio receiver or tx/rx ( not regen, etc) , properly documented, and explain the build, design drivers, how it works, etc. Problem here is that the explainor might know what he is talking about, the explainee has no idea at all and listens blankly... If you lapse your ticket, you redo it all..

Ham Radio is a difficult hobby - this part of the world it is dominated by us Old Farts and the entry has been rather dumbed down to try and make it easier for new blood - that has not worked here - to many other easier tech's for the young folk to be enthralled by!

So to keep in line with the thread heading - What I Did Today..is just finished my weekly chat on the Namibian Ham Sunday morning bulletin..

Joe

Edited By Joseph Noci 1 on 10/07/2022 08:19:36

How did it 'come through'? How does an '89 result qualify for a current Amateur License in the UK? Or is the Tech Exam no longer required in the UK? Like a CB 'license'..?

What' your callsign?

Joe

V51JN/ZS6JGN