Tuesday, March 19
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3D Printing

New Power Panel for CNC mill/table machine

New Power Panel for CNC mill/table machine

3D Printing, CNC, Electronics
New Power Panel It's been a while since my last post here. I've been quite busy added a new workshop to have a nice plice for all my toys... I finally moved my CNC mill/table from my basement to my new workshop. I made a steel base, which I'll cover in another post to replace the wobbly wood base I used in the basement. I also re-wired most of the circuits : Added contactors to control power to the computer, control boards, motors drives and spindleAdded a hard-wired emergency button to physically cut the power to motors / spindle. The temporary emergency was software only which wasn't that great from a safety point of viewAdded an software controlled relay to turn the spindle cooling pump on/offAdded a flow sensor on spindle cooling line to ensure proper coolant flowAdded ...
Limit and homing switches

Limit and homing switches

3D Printing, CNC, Electronics
In order to use my newly added tool touch pad, I needed to be able to move the machine to a known (absolute) physical position.  So it was time to finish my half-wired limit / homing switches system. I did a bit of cleanup in the schematic and added a quick and dirty 'breakout' board for the SmoothStepper Port 3.  This also allowed me to regroup all limit / homing / probing inputs on the same port I used cheap 6 pins / 4 pins round connector to make it easy to disconnect the wiring (I'll move the machine in my upcoming workshop this summer).  I actually used the machine itself to machine the connector openings in the board (non-circular holes)   The 'switches' are actually optical barriers.  I decided to use optical switches due to easier installation, ...
Add a tool touch sensor

Add a tool touch sensor

3D Printing, CNC, Electronics
A few weeks ago, I made a wooden plate using my mill machine and decided to time how long it would take to mill the whole plate.  I found out that I spent 25 minutes out of 67 doing material Z measurement (zero) and Tool Z adjustement after each tool change (I want a toolchanger!) I realized that a few thing that I could do to streamline operations (and prevent small tool breakage) would be : Automated material height sensing (Z).  must work with both conductive and non-conductive materials. Automated tool length measurement before and after a tool change in order to automatically adjust the current Z position 3 axis touch sensor (I already have it, just need to make connection easy to do) I decided that the biggest time saving would be #2 - Automated tool length...
Spindle Coolant Flow Indicator

Spindle Coolant Flow Indicator

3D Printing, Electronics
Ok, it's been a while since I posted, doesn't mean I stopped working on the machine! One thing that I found is that I often open my coolant bucket to ensure the coolant is flowing.   So I decided that designing and machining a flow indicator would provide a good opportunity to experiment with full depth cuts / adaptive cutting vs slotting and multiple side machining.   I already machined the part last Sunday and will post the finished pictures tonight along with comments
Wiring and first motion

Wiring and first motion

3D Printing, Computer, Electronics
It's been a few days since my last post.  I made a lot of progress on the construction of the milling machine. Design and printing of various brackets and panels https://youtu.be/cpSZCr0v9j8   https://youtu.be/Jzw_BS4OWUU https://youtu.be/PUjdCl345Lk   I used T-Nuts + M5 screws to assemble the drives on the machine frame.  I also installed a wires guide to keep everything tidy.   I'm not sure how it going to hold up in regard to vibrations but I'll wait until the machine is up and running before making my mind.  I'm trying to keep the electronics embedded in the machine as much as possible.   I then assembled and wired the power panel.  I wanted to have separate switches for the the control / power sections. ...
3D Printer – Fixed!

3D Printer – Fixed!

3D Printing
I received my replacement Azteeg X5 Mini V3 today (2 days delivery from USA via DHL) Installation was a breeze, same connectors / pinout as V2.  I grabbed the latest firmware on GitHub and checked my config against new V3 (enable pins are reversed).  Installed the jumper for microsteps (1/32 on all axis, 1/16 on extruder) and added heatsinks.   Everything seems to be working properly so let's try a print!   To be continued.... ;)
The other side of DIY… FIY (Fix It Yourself)

The other side of DIY… FIY (Fix It Yourself)

3D Printing, Electronics
Well,  after a year of trouble-free service, my 3D Printer finally broke down yesterday.    It started with an airprint https://youtu.be/QYAPWH0TTHg First thought was a fried coil in the extruder motor : the motor is a small 0.5A stepper that need active cooling to prevent overheating.  However, I was surprised to find that both coils where ok.   Next was a check on the controller driver output : I swapped the connectors of the gamma motor with the extruder (after lowering the current to 0.5).  The extruder motor ran fine but now the gamma motor was dead. So my diagnostic is that the driver failed on my Azteeg X5 Mini V2, which unfortunately have  a glued on heatsink for all 4 drivers.  I will contact Panucatt today about how to fix or replace the board.  They now h...
Printing 3D Parts for an OX Metal machine

Printing 3D Parts for an OX Metal machine

3D Printing
I took a order to 3D print the parts for an OX Metal Build (http://www.openbuilds.com/builds/ox-metal-cnc-router-mill.3681/) I'll add pictures and videos to this post as  I progress   Update Feb 12 : All done! Here's some videos : https://youtu.be/C8yyEvJmFhk https://youtu.be/vujnDj51SpI https://youtu.be/mls0q_Qldwo