Search:

I emailed Phil, but my email was bounced back as "undelivered". Also the Mikini website is down; it says "under construction". I haven't called Phil to confirm, but it looks like Mikini is no...

That is a Mikini! The specs on it from Alibaba are spot on: http://http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/1365947055/Skyfire_SVM_2_Small_Cnc_Milling.html

I wonder if Phil knows about this?

I concur with Keebler 303: look at the job ads in your area and find out what companies are using. When I left school 11 years ago, I was trained in Pro-E, but everyone wanted SolidWorks, so I got a...

Awesome, Pete! Great job on the wiring too; I tried to be as neat as possible with my wiring, and label what I could, but it doesn't look as nice as your machine.

For some reason the Electrocraft is putting out 0.5 volts on its PWM input (maybe it is supposed to?), but I was able to run the spindle from -3500 (i.e. CCW) to 5000 rpm (clockwise), all controlled...

The spindle will go down to like 1 or 2 rpm, I just set it to 500 for now because it's acceleration is extreme and I don't want to screw anything up. I'm having trouble with the driver accepting a...

Well, I finally was able to run the spindle from Flashcut, but I'm still ironing out the bugs. I can only run the spindle near its max speed, which I set to 500 rpm so I don't mess things up. If I...

I got a quote for what I'm sure is the Mikini's motor with a driver for $500 from Alibaba, or $395 for just the motor, i.e. the driver is $105. The Electrocraft driver is $1000, has a five channel...

The motor is rated for 3 ft-lbs of torque, i.e. you not going to be able to drive a half inch drill bit through steel with 3 ft-lbs of torque (well, not easily). Torque is dependent on current, and...

I don't really understand a lot of Phil's secrecy, other than a liability issue (he's said many times that he has to be really careful with that, else he could be sued if a user modifies the machine...

Hi Swath,

An electric motor isn't like a gas motor. In a gas motor, all the power comes from gasoline delivered by a little pump. To get more power OUT of a gas engine however, you put on a turbo,...

Thanks McPhill. That will come in handy if I fry mine.

I think I found the Mikini spindle, model BLM-123KN-KHB5N2 dc brushless motor, View 12v brushless dc motor, Champion Motor Product Details...

I am continuing to play with the Electrocraft but keep getting error codes, so I will have to contact their central office since my local reps are on the road. Unfortunately they are three time zones...

I got a Lenovo W520 with solid state harddrive, and it works well, but not as fast as a desktop. It is certified by SolidWorks, and you can customize it on the Lenovo website. If you do get one, get...

I chose the Electrocraft because it works with single phase 220 VAC, can use hall effect sensor feedback, and it is compatible with Flashcut's 5V TTL logic. I spent several weeks researching BLDC...

Finally was able to start tuning the Electrocraft spindle driver. :D I think I found Mikini's spindle motor on Alibaba dc brushless motor, View 12v brushless dc motor, Champion Motor Product Details...

Finished (well hopefully) wiring all the Flashcut inputs. I had to rewire the E-stop button to make it work; it needs to be wired from the Flashcut input pin to input ground. Anyway, I hope to...

Thanks Chris. I will follow the recommended tuning guide after I've crimped and tested all my limit switches. Ron from Flashcut also recommended increasing my acceleration.

Although I wish the...

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

I hooked up the Flashcut controller to the Mikini computer's USB port and it tripped my 30 amp GFCI which was not cool. I contacted Flashcut, and they...

Wow Pete, those are huge motors. One reason the spindle sounds so solid with the large motors is you now have a giant giroscope mounted to them. Every time a cutter takes a bite, it twist the...

Here's a video of the of the modified electronics box on the Mikini:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGHikISueOQ&feature=youtu.be
Sorry, Morgan Freeman was busy so the narrator I got is a little...

...classic

Hi Swath,

First off, sorry to hear about your son's condition. As for the Mikini, my wife is always chiding me about how I spend so much time on my mill, and so little comes out of it, hence the...

Wired and jogged the 4th axis with the Flashcut today; it sounds smooth so that's good.

Here are the necessary parts:

4 conductor shielded 18 AWG wire, with integrated shield ground wire (this...

Got the Flashcut controller yesterday; :rainfro: looking forward to hooking it up. BTW the Electrocraft controller recommends leaving it on all the time (or it will degrade the circuits) so I will...

Well, I found out you can't turn on the Electocraft without plugging it into Flashcut to enable it, so no tuning today.:(

Took some voltage and o-scope measurements of the Mikini yesterday; I have to be careful because the voltage attenuation of my probes is not very high and I don't want to fry my o-scope and computer....

Mcphill, I bought the Flashcut with the mini i/o add-on ( about $500 extra) to control an Electrocraft ACE 1300 BLDC driver. Flashcut has a system that will control servos, including the spindle...

"They are... a 1200 oz.in and two 940 oz.in steppers. I been having some issues with the Z loosing steps and instead of chasing my tail looking for the reason, I'll just install all new steppers and...

The Flashcut controller arrives Friday:) I just got some new attenuation leads for my O-scope, so I can measure the voltage / speed ratios on the Mikini spindle driver to work as a starting point...