[travis.farmer]

that is very interesting that so little coolant volume is used. i had visions of coolant dripping off the table everywhere, but it doesn't sound like that is the case at all. i may yet again look into setting up for coolant, and try aluminum at some point.

an idea i had previously was a plywood table painted with epoxy floor paint, but the HDPE sounds far better. i was thinking of mounting aluminum T-track in the spoilboard, below the surface, and using the T-track as coolant drains. but with so little coolant being used, i can envision just a curb at the sides, and back, and let it drain off the front into a channel, and catch container.

see, my new shop floor is wood (Advantec 3/4" T&G), and i would rather not get much coolant on it.

Oh! Speaking of noise, WEAR EAR PROTECTION! We had an earplug dispenser for the operator and a pair of monkey ears for guests.

already planned on it. there isn't much noise while i am making sure everything is connected and working right during the build, though there are some times when testing something that i forget, and only realize afterward that something may have been too loud.

We bought three of those 5' tall free standing office partitions, the ones with fabric.

that's not a bad idea, as those panels are usually sound-deadening as well. they are expensive, even used, in my area as they are in such short supply, but they are easy to make.

at present, my biggest noise maker is my air-compressor. it is an oil-less pump, and really grates on the nerves. particularly when i forget it is on, and it starts to re-charge. good thing the ceiling in the current shed is very low. that way i have less distance to fall when i peal off the ceiling.

i kinda wish i had a nearby CNC guru, as i have an odd issue... well two actually.
firstly the sensor that detects if the ATC spindle is unlocked is not triggering. traced the wire out, and tried a different input, but nothing. i even verified, after the pin move, that the signal is not present directly from the ATC spindle. my guess on the solution is it has to do with the second issue.
the second issue, is that my ATC spindle needs up to 95psi to unlock the tool-holder from it, on paper. yet i need to feed it 115psi for it to be able to actually unlock, and it is slow doing so. not sure if my gauge is wrong on the regulator, or what is going on. could have something to do with the spindle internals being so cold, too. no full-time heat in this shed, so the machine only warms up when i go out and turn the heat on.

it would make sense if the pneumatic piston in the spindle needed some air-tool oil, but the instructions say specifically dry air, free of oil and water. though i have thought of a drop or two of oil, and just work the piston a few times to work in the oil, and expel the rest.

...oh dear... i seem to have written a novel again.

 

[MadMark]

You need a pressure switch so the cnc can know when the pressure is sufficient.

 

[travis.farmer]

You need a pressure switch so the cnc can know when the pressure is sufficient.

strangely, i have one, though it seems not to function. i have ordered a replacement.

but the spindle sensor is quite necessary, as i don't want the machine to move during a tool change until it knows if the spindle is locked or not. otherwise, things can break.

it actually has two sensors in the spindle. one to detect if the spindle is unlocked, and one to detect if when locked, if there is a tool in it. both are important. i will have to play around some more and see what i can figure out on the non-working one. i suspect the air pressure is too low to actuate 100%. it is enough to release the tool, but not enough to trigger the sensor.
it worked when i was on shop-air, as the pressure was higher. i don't think the compressor out in my shed can put enough past the on-compressor regulator (the weak link) to operate the ATC spindle. this afternoon i will try it on shop-air again, and see if there is a difference.

 

[MadMark]

Should be easy enough to test. Got an adjustable regulator kicking around? I don't run pneumatic systems at min pressure. I prefer snappy operation. Get the preseure and airflow up. My guess is the switch is set to the best, not min, pressure. Goose the juice and see if it starts operating cleanly.

 

[travis.farmer]

i have attached the diagram of the pneumatic system, from the MFG. the diagram says 6 - 6.5bar (87 - 94psi), i took that to mean that max pressure is 6.5bar. if it is just the recommend range, i wonder what the max limit really is. i would love snappy operation, but i am working with Chinese translated directions that are spotty at best. i would rather not blow a seal, as i do not know where i could get another one from (the major flaw in my purchase choice).

i could perhaps bump it up to 120psi, but that is all the regulator on my compressor will do.

as for the switch, i set it from min to max and with 120psi from the compressor (it is before the machine side regulator), it would not activate. i think it is just simply a dud. i will just have to pay close attention to the gauge until the new switch comes.

 

[travis.farmer]

well, it may have been an impulse buy... but i bought the sensors and tool-holder forks to build a rack tool changer... i really don't know why, as i don't yet have room to work around the machine to adjust the rack changer, but the items went on sale for a very good price (i think), and i didn't know when they would go on sale again. if nothing else, i can store the parts in a box for safe keeping.
at least on the plus side, having sourced out the parts i need, i won't have to re-source the parts. perhaps i am just telling myself that to justify the impulse buy...

 

[travis.farmer]

well, the compressed air switches i bought, after i read a little more closely, are analog sensors. but my setup includes up to 6 analog inputs channels. they report in volts, so i wrote a a little conversion driver to convert from volts to PSI, with a digital "safe range" output that i can tie into the configs, so that before it runs the tool-change macro, it can check the value (boolean, true or false), if it is in the safe range (currently >= 105psi).

but that is why i love LinuxCNC. i can write my own little add-on driver programs to be able to process inputs and such as i choose.

the air pressure sensors are supposedly due to arrive today in the mail, so i plan on adding those.

the worst part is, i am running out things i can do, while the CNC machine is in it's current location. but spring is comming, and i am very much looking forward to working on my machine in it's new home.

 

[travis.farmer]

just got the air pressure sensors wired up and installed in the air lines. one pre-regulator that provides my safe value output, and one at the regulator as a matter of curiosity (the gauge was in fact wrong... or the sensor is...). but i wired them all in, made the necessary program connections, and gave it a test drive... everything worked! first try, even!

feeling very pleased with myself!

 

[travis.farmer]

interesting deal at Amazon... the impulse buy of the tool-changer forks i got for my machine... i ordered 10, amazon says i ordered 10... but i have a box of 15... i know they were on sale a bit, but i didn't realize it was a buy 2, get one free sale.

 

[travis.farmer]

one of the side projects i am working on for my machine is an on-machine control panel. basically some jog encoders, and various control buttons and switches. the console will be made from whatever i can scrounge up for wood, with a plywood face. the plywood will be holed out in places to mount panel modules made of 1/8inch PVC sheet that i have.
the major thing, from my perspective, will be milling the holes in the PVC sheet to mount the dials, buttons, and such, without the PVC exploding. i suspect light DOC, and feed speeds may prevent it breaking, as well as milling holding tabs for the disc cutouts, so they don't fly out.
hopefully i can remember to take some pics as i build it. keep in mind, though, the wood console will be for function, not art, so i doubt i will spend much time on making it look great. but anything is possible. likely it will just get painted, anyway.

i have a control pendant (for Mach3, but works with LinuxCNC), but i was never fond of the latency. i push the stop button, and so it stops, eventually. not a good setup for E-Stop. but this control panel is connected to LinuxCNC in real-time, so it should respond better. to be tested, of course.

the board for the control panel includes a driver for a 20 X 4 character LCD display, normally used for a DRO, but it can be paged, so if i can figure out how to change pages, i can display a variety of information, like air PSI, and such. i got that connected and working today, and it seems to function quite well. tomorrow, i hope to connect some dial encoders, and see if i can jog the machine with them. i will also connect an E-Stop switch, so i can test the response of that as well.

still not sure how i will attach the control console to the machine, but it may just be a roll-around stand, with a weighted bottom for stability. but anyway, just thought i would share my thought process.

 

[MadMark]

Try 1/4" acrylic for your panel. It'll machine like buttah but give you a nice shiney panel. If youi have a Brother p-Touch labeller, you can add professional looking labels that won't rub off. If you bevel the corners of the tape and burnish it down it'll stick forever.

 

[travis.farmer]

i don't happen to have any acrylic, so i will try my bumpy-surface PVC.
i have some initial cutouts ready in Gcode to cut some of the bigger holes in the panel. i will see how that goes. i don't have a spoilboard mounted yet, so i will have to find something i can use. anything will work at this point. as long as i can machine it flat and attach my PVC panel to it. initially, i will hold it down with C-clamps at the 4 corners, if possible. it doesn't have to be perfect. it just can't move...
it is just 4 cuts so some perimeter screws to hold down the PVC panel should suffice. and i programed in some holding tabs, so the cutouts should not fly out at mach-20. this will honestly be the first chips i will have cut on this machine, that make something. well, other than a few boards with the word "test" carved into them.

if i think of it, i "may" take a video of the panel being cut. depends on how much of it goes right...

 

[MadMark]

i don't happen to have any acrylic, so i will try my bumpy-surface PVC.
i have some initial cutouts ready in Gcode to cut some of the bigger holes in the panel. i will see how that goes. i don't have a spoilboard mounted yet, so i will have to find something i can use. anything will work at this point. as long as i can machine it flat and attach my PVC panel to it. initially, i will hold it down with C-clamps at the 4 corners, if possible. it doesn't have to be perfect. it just can't move...
it is just 4 cuts so some perimeter screws to hold down the PVC panel should suffice. and i programed in some holding tabs, so the cutouts should not fly out at mach-20. this will honestly be the first chips i will have cut on this machine, that make something. well, other than a few boards with the word "test" carved into them.

if i think of it, i "may" take a video of the panel being cut. depends on how much of it goes right...

Cutouts don't fling very far. As soon as they're out of the toolpath there is nothing driving them. Even a snapped bit doesn't fling. If the cutter hits something dense enough to stop the blade, the blade is stopped as the shaft shears and the head continues to spin.

 

[travis.farmer]

First cut on my machine was both a success and a failure...

i had messed up the total depth of cut, at 1/16inch rather than 1/8inch. and the center of the panel bowed up from the spoilboard, so it messed up my work-zeroing process, as the Gcode was set to origin in the center.
first pass just scratched the surface. so i re-zeroed Z to the spoilboard to ensure i cut through the panel. mainly i just wanted to get it cut, without having to go back to CAD to fix it.
suffice as to say, the panel is still usable, and i learned much about what not to do, and what i should have done.

for example, the panel lifted with the cutter (up-cut... should have been down-cut, or compression). i could have programmed in some holes in the center of the cutouts so i could screw down the panel there to prevent the lift.

also, i need to re-set the go-to-work-home button so it does a Z-up, move over, then Z-down. it is set to Z-down, then move over... so yeah, my front is now the back of the panel, as the front has a big scratch...

so, it is likely now apparent that my machining and CAD experience is fairly light, despite how much i have learned about them from building the machine.

i intendid to make a video of the first cuts... but as things went downhill, i am glad i did not.

 

[difalkner]

up-cut... should have been down-cut, or compression

That doesn't look thick enough for a compression bit. Yes, downcut would probably better.

If you shoot video please make it widescreen and not portrait.

 

[travis.farmer]

just received delivery of some push buttons for my CNC control panel. industrial buttons are expensive, so i went with some arcade buttons as they are usually designed to take a good slap. and they were about $2 a button, versus the $$ for an industrial one. they even have LED lights in them, if i desire to use that part, though the board running my control panel has no 12V bus... may try one anyway, see how bright it is.

 

[travis.farmer]

bit of a brainstorm...
thinking of going with a carousel tool changer, vs a rack tool changer. my machine is not really built for a back mounted tool changer, and i never liked the idea of a front tool changer rack, as it would always be in the way during setup.

a tool carousel could be made to swing into place and out of the way when not in use. i have a gear/belt reduction assembly i salvaged from an old piece of lab equipment that i could use to turn the carousel disk, and a pneumatic cylinder that i could use to push the carousel in and out. it would be handy if i could unlock the carousel from the pneumatic cylinder and swing the unit out of the way further during work-piece setup.

the carousel would have a cover over all but where the tool-change position is. then the disk could home to a blank portion of the tool disk, and i could integrate a dust blocking cover to keep the dust from getting on the tool-holder cones. hard to describe what is in my mind, and drawing it in CAD would not show exactly what i mean, due to my CAD skill level.

i have drawn out the disk in CAD so it can be cut with my machine so everything is in the correct location. the disk will be cut from 3/4" cabinet-grade plywood, if i can find a scrap big enough. i will seal it heavily with oil-based poly-urethane, to hopefully seal it from moisture and warping. i thought of using a plate of aluminum but my machine is not yet setup for metal cutting.

the carousel disk, as drawn, has 12 tool pockets, and i hope that is enough tools... i don't even own that many cutters yet.

 

[difalkner]

the carousel disk, as drawn, has 12 tool pockets

For me it would be switching between 2 or 3 cutters for 90% of the work I do on the CNC.

I like the idea of a carousel but it seems like you would have timing issues to make certain the proper bit is in the proper location for switching (i.e. more to go wrong than a rack type).

 

[travis.farmer]

For me it would be switching between 2 or 3 cutters for 90% of the work I do on the CNC.

I like the idea of a carousel but it seems like you would have timing issues to make certain the proper bit is in the proper location for switching (i.e. more to go wrong than a rack type).

the carousel control would be a stepper on A-axis, setup as a rotary axis. so control of it is no different than any other axis in G-code. once i figure out the degree separation of the pockets, i would command to "A37.765", or whatever, and when that command is complete, it is at position, so it moves on to the next line in the tool-changer G-code.
the A-axis would have a home location, same the other axis, so it really isn't much different than a rack tool changer. but rather than moving on the X-axis to select a pocket, it moves on the A-axis. the only addition is swinging the carousel into and out of position. i could use some proximity sensors to verify swing position.

i would of course have to play with the A-axis feed-rate, as i don't need it to spin so fast my tools go flying. i would also have to make sure any G-code i run on the machine, does not use the A-axis, as that could cause issues.

 

[travis.farmer]

made a dry run video:

nothing special, but i felt like making an updated video anyway.