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As I said in the OP, I've already had a machine for several years and did a lot of stuff, just not in the last five. It originally had unsupported round rails and I managed to make a new aluminium...

I've had a K2 15"x25" for about a decade and due to life circumstances I haven't really used it for the last 5 or so years. Circumstances have changed and I've moved to a place where I have a huge...

I went with a smoothstepper. Its pricier than the knock offs but it's rep is quite good. Thanks for the suggestion!

I have an old 3 axis K2 stepper machine that uses a parallel port setup that I haven't actually used in years due to family stuff. That's all over with so now I can actually indulge in my hobbies...

In another thread it was suggested that I could use an absolute encoder to get around having no way to "home" a stepper setup. I did some googling and figured out that I'd need either an electric...

The focuser will be controlled by an Atmel microcontroller so software isn't an issue. On the PC the software that controls the focuser will be sending ASCOM focuser commands (generic positioning...

While this isn't a CNC question, exactly, it is related.

I am looking at building a PC controlled focuser for a telescope using a small stepper motor and pulleys. What has me scratching my head is...

I'm wondering in the McMaster Carr "precision acme rod" in black oxide coated 4140 steel gives any advantages over 1018? I know 4140 is harder but is the finish any smoother? (more power for cutting...

I dunno the math but I did have two 3/4" round rails on my X axis (across the gantry) with 17" of rail outside the supports and 2" inside (total length 19").

I had a dust collector attachment with...

Just read through the thread and it eased my fears about the CT129 quality. I was at Busy Bee in New Westminster during the week and had a look at the CT133, 129, and 129N. The 133 looks pretty...

Awesome! Thanks for that link - it takes the mystery out of acme sizes vs length and speed.

1/2 inch acme with double bearings on each end can do 311 RPM max (106" between bearings to allow for a...

McMaster Carr sells the 8 start and Joe of Joe's CNC has them installed on his 4'x4' hybrid. They seem to work quite well and he's exceeding 300IPM on it.

Of course with that 1 inch per rev the...

I work for a municiple recreation department and this year we replaced our Model 520 Zamboni's with Ice Bear electric ice resurfacers. The two 520s went to auction and one sold for $1,400 and the...

Do you guys think 1/2" 8 start (1 inch per rev) running at a max of 300 RPM would work ok for an 8' long axis?

I'm playing around with building a little 4 axis "toy" router (gas pipe, roller skate bearings, maybe 12"x12" working area max) and plan on using dirt cheap round steppers from a local electronics...

Because with one thickness of material you can make many different sizes of your product. If you use single piece construction then you have to stock as many different pieces as you have products and...

Thanks, that's a great trick! Still like to know if there's a ratio and build to minimize racking without the cabling though.

I don't know that I'll have a problem with racking on the machine I'm building but I'll make sure to leave accommodation for this cabling system!

Brilliant!

Is there a ratio of gantry width to bearing spacing that can be used to figure out how long the bearing contact of the two bearings need to be for a single (centered) leadscrew to be able to drive...

I don't see it on the website but does Larken sell things like ACME leadscrews/nuts or other hobbiest level parts (v-bearings etc)?

Use 1/2-10 ACME screws with Kerk (style) anti-backlash nuts and you won't really need anything beyond a full step controller. Each step is 0.0005" which is fine for circuits. The nuts are pretty...

I made a video which is a plug for Wolfgang Engineering's spindle (no pay, I just like the product. I used a 0.005" endmill to cut a small circuit board (sweating bullets the whole time - damn that...

Well the SuperX3 price is the same as advertised on the American site but all the options are more expensive. You could chalk that up to shipping but since shipping to the USA from China won't be...

I use sched 40 and sched 80 PVC all the time at work (swimming pools). We had a fibreglass filter fail once and I plumbed in a new one. To fit the new filter I had to remove a 5 foot section of 6"...

Yeah, thats what I was thinking about the dies too. If the artwork is PDF then most likely its 2.5D stuff.

Where VCarve wouldn't be a good (sole) choice is pieces where the surfaces aren't flat....

With that small size and being metal only, you're probably not going to want to use a router. Router's are (usually) less stiff and are more suited to larger wood items. Mills are typically much...

Yes, there's really no fundamental difference between an electric motor and electric generator.

In the Navy one of my earlier jobs was turbo-alternator operator. The TAs were 750KW alternators run...

Don't know that I like Arabic art in general as I'm not really familiar much of it. I do know that the calligraphy is amazing though. I think what I really like about it is how words are the art. I...

I haven't checked yours yet but I did a trace of a lowres bitmap of a piece I really like and played around a bit. This is what I got. (No idea what it says)

Edit: Its a VCarve Pro Preview in case...

A few folks on different boards have been having problems with jerky motion on their machines (including me). The machine acts like Constant Velocity is not turned on even though the little green...