Anyone considering the centroid Acorn instead of path pilot?

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Originally Posted by upnorth

I'm not sure if the machines use the same BOB or not. One of the things I was not happy with is the wizard on the acorn board. It is quite limited if you want to change things. Some research turned up a menu that you can change things from. I forget exactly what it is called. I was in there briefly and there are a lot of parameters in there. I need to learn how to work with those. That takes away the complaint I would have had. For the most part any information you need is available its just a little hard to find. Some times its in a manual, a youtube video or in the help forum. I'm pretty optimistic about it so far. Next thing to get going is the probe. I bought a drewtronics probe. I'm not a fan of edge finders. They work but are just slow. My pendant is unfortunately not compatible with the acorn.

The only thing left to decide is if I am going to use the power drawbar or not. I have been looking at other options and there seem to be a few that are far less cost than the novakon option. My original plan was to eventually get the tool changer. That is no longer in my plans. I have had problems a few times with the novakon drawbar not tightening enough. I was provided with a solution for that about a year ago but have not tried it yet. For the most part the mill has been in storage for the last year.

Looking forward to making some chips again.

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Regarding the PDB, I'd take up another hobby before I went back to changing tools with a wrench.

I'm not going to stop using a power drawbar. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to continue using the one from Novakon. There are some other options available that are air powered.

Upnorth..... any more updates on this?
On your draw bar not tightening enough.....are you running the battery or a power supply?

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Originally Posted by mklotz70

Upnorth..... any more updates on this?
On your draw bar not tightening enough.....are you running the battery or a power supply?

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No real updates. Summer stuff got in the way. I bought a surplus manual lathe so it has been soaking up some of the workshop time. I should have the mill running this week but am still not sure about the power draw bar. I am using a battery not a power supply. Ray did mention using a switching power supply and I really should give that a try before I go to something else. So far no issues with the acorn. A few times it did fail to load but loaded the next time and worked. I need to get some cutting tests going been putting things off too much.

Thanks for the update.
I really like having the power supply instead of the battery. I had a couple of issues with the battery not charging...if I remember right. It was setup to charge when the mill was plugged in, but one of the chargers died. I didn't realize it until I had a tightening issue......then I had to wait for the battery to charge up after I replaced the charger. I will say that I did have a power supply die on me too. They're super cheap, so I bought two when I did the swap. So, when the one died, I swapped it out and ordered another for a back up. The 2nd was has been running without issue.......but I don't run my mill everyday or even every month. I've never had a issue with it not tightening.

Can you give me the part number and manufacturer or the specs of the power supply you are using? I measured the torque applied a while back and it was definitely low. I would like to try the power supply instead of a battery.

It's nice how ebay and amazon keep track of your past orders. lol This is what I ordered from Amazon. I believe if was a direct recommendation from Ray L.

Aiposen 110/220V to DC12V 30A 360W Switch Power Supply Driver,Power Transformer for CCTV Camera/Security System/LED Strip Light(12V30A)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks mklotz70. Acorn works now. I have the axis set up, coolant works, spindle control works.

Last thing is the power draw bar. Does anyone know what I have to do to make connections to bypass the original Novakon BOB? Specifically what to do with the connections on the break out board connector 6P where it connects to the BOB. Can I somehow route them directly to the VFD? I want to make sure it works before I replace the battery with a power supply.

Take a look at this Meanwell PS. Ships from Canada and CSA approved.

https://www.mouser.ca/ProductDetail/...tsV5s3eA%3D%3D

Steve

Thanks Steve I will go with that option. I also need a second power supply because the one that came with the acorn just failed. Looks like the connector that I was asking about in post #68 does not matter the drawbar operates without it. I think hooking up the drawbar to the power supply was a bit to much for it. Its a pretty small power supply. I'll order one a bit bigger for the acorn to replace the one that just failed. I don't think I could make one for the price they sell for.

mklotz70 when I mentioned earlier about the drawbar not tightening I should have said it would not tighten enough. It worked fine when cutting aluminum but the tools were pulling out while cutting steel. I used a calibrated torque wrench to test it and I was getting about 15 foot pounds if I remember correctly. At the time I did get some tech support on it from Ray so no issue there. I went away for work for a while so the mill just sat wrapped up and idle for a long time. I still have 2 more months off so its time to get it running again so I can make some stuff.

You're welcome.
I like Steve's option too.....it's also available in the states for others reading this.

Ray has always been very helpful! I'm looking forward to you getting this 100% finished. I'm still strongly considering this option. I know John(Novakon) has said that they're switching to a Siemens controller and that there will be a retrofit, but I'm sure that will be well out of my price range. Ray didn't like the Centroid and went a different route.....I still need to check that one out a bit more. Thanks!!

Some good news the power supply for the acorn is fine. I was getting a 2 VDC pulse so I thought it was blown. I took it out and bench tested it it seemed to be working. I then put an ohm meter between the Power bus for the 24 volt system and the DC ground. It showed a short circuit. I disconnected the +24 volt wires one by one until I narrowed it down to where the short was. It was in the limit sensor for the Y axis. I checked the sensor and found that the wire had come out of the cover and got pinched. I spliced the wire and its working fine now. I think I will still install the bigger power supply I ordered to allow for some expansion in the future.

I like the idea of the Siemens control but I think it might be too pricey for me. I have 2 more machines that will be getting upgraded when this one is finished and I want to stay with the same control on all 3.

The drewtronics probe works well although I still have to adjust it. It seems to repeat to within about .0003".