Electronics

  Yesterday, I accidentally (AKA clumsily) hit the X motor mount which broke from the impact.  It was obvious that my first design wasn't strong enough so I decided to design a beefier one tonight.  I also accounted for the coupling which is slightly longer than the one I used when designed the machine. I then sent the job to the 3D Printer (0.3mm layers, 3 shells, 30% infill, 110mm/s low-quality print) https://youtu.be/17xRPOwXi7I   Then I threaded the holes for the screw and assembled the mount and motor on the YL plate

Today, I bought the wood for the under-frame (posts + wheels) in order to be able to start assembling the machine frame.  After the under frame was completed, I did a quick assembly of the side rails just to confirm the length of the cross beams.  I then setup a jig on my miter saw to ensure all cross beams would have the exact same length.  Assembly of the frame was pretty much straightforward (as much as it can with t-nuts...)  I also added 1mm shims on each carriage in order to clear the ball screw which I found was rubbing by about 0.5mm.  I then manually move the Y axis over each crossmember in order to perfectly adjust the spacing between the 2 sides.  I also 3D printed the X axis nut plate and it went perfectly in place.  I was able to jog the X ax...

Worked full day on the machine.  I started by drilling / tapping the Y axis plates followed by the Z backplate.  I then installed my saw blade on the table saw and proceeded to bring the plates to their final sizes.   At the end of the evening, I quickly assembled the X axis and Y plates together to confirm the fit and was agreeably surprised by how everything went together.  The X carriage is smooth and doesn't bind.  I noticed that the Z axis ball screw is somewhat shorter than the design. (see bottom bearing FF12 on the pictures).  I'm hoping to built the wood base tomorrow along with cutting / installing the cross beam of the base, which should allow trial-fit assembly of the whole frame (!!!!) Going to bed " template="default" order_by="sortorder...

Last night I cut the X rails to length and assembled them on the 3" x 3" X Beams.  Then I proceeded to cut / drill /tap the Z Top plate, which is the smallest plate and thus was a good candidate in case of a screw up!  This was the first time I used my Optical Center Punch which I HIGHLY recommend for any drill job requiring precision.  I will try to put more explanations / details later   " template="default" order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]

Cut & tapped X beams (926mm lengths) Sore fingers with all the tapping!

I received the SmoothStepper from Warp9 (bought from DashX.com, the Canadian distributor).  Delivery took about 10 days after I placed the order.   I was expecting a box but received an heavy-cardboard envelope.  The board itself was packaged in an anti-static bag wrapped in protective foam.  I'll try to test the board / drives / motors sometime this week

I started by buying a non-ferrous metal blade for my table saw / mitter saw, this blade is expensive but worth it     After making sure my saw was straight, I proceeded to cut both Y axis extrusions using a stopper on the saw to ensure both side will have the exact same length, I sprayed a bit of WD-40 for lubrication. I then proceeded to tap the ends of the extrusions with 1/4-20 tap.  My tap wasn't long enough to tap all the way so I resorted to a 5/16 hole 1/4" deep following with tapping.  I used 3-in-1 oil for lubrication and cleaned up with compressed air.     I then cut the linear rail to 1425mm using a grinder (the rail is case-hardened and cannot be sawed).   " template="default" order_by="sortorder" order_direction="A...

I received the linear rails and ball screws from Joomen yesterday.  Packaging was neat and they used a plywood to ensure screws don't get bent during transport.  I received 8 SUU20 blocks instead of 4 Ballnut blocks.  I didn't plan to use the ballnut blocks anyway so no big deal. Initial review of screws shows that the overall quality is acceptable.  The ball nut on the 350mm screw was a bit tight to turn.   Most carriages on the 20mm rails are not so smooth,  I'll look at adjusting them later (hopefully they can be adjusted).  Delivery and service from Joomen was fast and I'm quite happy except for the previously mentionned issues.  I also received my screws order from McMaster.     " template="default" order_by="sortorder" order_...