I'm only after PCB engraving, geting sick of the chemicals and i think there really screwing up my hands so it seems okay. Hmmm i think it might be a good starting point, for somehting more accurate and powerful i can just replace the stepper motors and get a decent hobby drll.
Check out this little beauty. Link, dunno what the total cost will be, I just looked at the piccies! There is a price list, and it's all steel construction. i never got any work done today, been looking for a way to connect the 1/4" stepper motors to the 10mm threaded rod to control the axis. i wanted a solid coupling, but an engineer friend recommended a rubber hose and jubilee clips! Hopefully tomorrow...
i was thinking bout trying to make a small machine to do pcbs too but i cant see any links to a circuit diag for a driver board. im guessing its not a very complex output as its using the parallel port and probably just a big bunch of hefty transistors / mosfets is all that will be required any ideas any one? im probably just being really blind and stupid so sorry if theres a blatent link to a circuit diag that i just cant see
Try here for a bi-polar unit, not sure what the specs are on those chips though! I never made one, I had to buy because I odn't have enough knowledge of electronics for that! I ended up buying a Xylotex board from the US.
I've just come in from the shed for a coffee and some crisps! I should have the stepper motors on by tonight, and I'll get some updated piccies for ya. I've noticed a lot of twisting across the axis, ie they aren't running straight, so I'm currently adding some more bearings to the setup to help overcome this.
I spent most of the afternoon making these little bearing blocks to stop side play in the x-y axis. They clamp on to each side of the steel runners, and although they look crude, they are extremely effective! Then it came to fitting the stepper motors, now I purposely bought a 35mm holesaw because I needed large holes to allow the jubilee clips to rotate (jubilee clips are used to attatch the pipe, which connects the motors to the leadscrews), but it seems I under estimated their size, and so need to buy a larger one! Oh well, tomorrow I guess! Anyways, here's a couple of photos to let you know how they work. That's the threaded rod leadscrew, which will turned by the stepper motor. And here is a shot of the tufnol nut I made, which is screwed to the back of the axis, and will be pulled up and down by the leadscrew when the motor turns. Unfortunately I have to help my dad put the petrol tank back into his car tomorrow, but hopefully I can still get some work done! All I need to do then is wire it all up, and attatch the router, then I'm good to go! I reckon I'll something cut by Tuesday!
once uve done that and i cansee how it all works im gonna make a mini A4 one for doing circuit boards . . hopefully i wont need nearly as much power as you so i can use some "liberated" stepper motors whats the deal with the jubilee clips? do u just get some rubber pipe and stick one end on the stepper motor and one on the thread of the axis you want the motor to control and shove a couple of jubilee clips on it?
They were cheap actually, I got three for $24 on ebay, killer was another $24 and 5 weeks to get them shipped from the US!! Apparently you can get half decent ones out of old laser printers or plotters too.
Maplins know how to wind me up! I just been over there, and half the stuff I needed was out of stock! The questions i had for them could not be answered either coz they only let noobs work on a Sunday. I asked for a resistor to draw 1 Amp from the 5v line of an ATX psu, and they couldn't help! It's ok that I don't know because i don't know a lot about micro-electronics, but come on, for Maplin staff not to know?! I just walked out in the end. Obviously I'm gonna have to order from RS now, so there will probably be a delay in me finnishing this beast now! Oh well. Hopefully by Wednesday I can get it to cut.
Nearly there! Got the table in place (1/2" Tufnol), stepper motors attatched to the leadscrews, and as you can see, I have been modding my router. It's an american style fixed base one, so the motor came out easily. Now all I need to do is mount it, and wire it all up! Hopefully tomorrow it will be moving under it's own power!
ne chance of a close up showing how the stepper motors connect to the thread? oh and its looking goooooood
I hope you can wait till tomorrow? I'm just off out! I used a plastic tubing (hehe watercooling stuff) held in place with jubilee clips. It is easier to align this than a solid coupling, and it will slip if the router should bang into anything, saving the motor from burnout. Photo tomorrow!
Eater, the secret to the alignment problem lies at the other end of the leadscrew! Although the plastic tubing does take out a lot of mis-alignment, it still needs to be good. On the end of the leadscrew is a bearing, this will take the "thrust" of the screw, and save your motors from taking it (causing the motor to wear). I will get a photo tomorrow, but imagine the screw going through the mdf, then bung the bearing on the end, then, secure the bearing with a square plate of steel with a large hole in the centre. The hole allows the bearing to rotate, whilst the edges grab the edges of the bearing. The steel plate is then screwed to the outside of the machine, once the bearing is aligned. If you run the machine (by hand in my case) end to end, with the steel plate not wuite tightened, the bearing will align itself, then just tighten it all up. There's an example here, in fact, if you take a look around the site, you'll see where I copied my z-axis from!
where can u get a "cutting laser"??? i want to make a CNC router too but will take years and instead rotary tools i want to use a laser is it possible can someone help me???
