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I'm thinking about making a camera jib and thought up a counterweight system where the counterweight is moved backwards as the camera is extended out and vice versa. As usual, it's already been done:...

Most if not all of the things I need to cut will be 12x12" or less. As far as quantities go, I will be using this both for hobby and business use. I'm justifying the purchase by planning on using it...

I constantly have a need to precisely and cleanly cut acrylic for hobby projects and I want to either purchase or build a machine that can cut acrylic. Here are some types of things I'm looking to...

Gadroc, thanks for your reply. I'm actually not quite sure what type of plastic I'll be using. I'm wanting to cut precise solder paste stencils out of thin sheets of plastic. This company uses sheets...

I'll be honest and admit that I probably should have done more reading and searching before asking this, but I'm a complete newbie when it comes to lasers and was just wondering what a laser capable...

You really think that will be a problem?

I considered what you're saying when I first came up with the idea, but it seems like if the holes (which, remember, are very small) have smooth edges...

I've been thinking a lot about this recently and am all but certain that I'm going to try this on my next machine.

I wrote a blog post with a more detailed explanation and pictures here: Cheap...

Thanks for both your replies! It sounds like I should go with drill rod, since it has higher tolerances.

How hard would it be to drill holes through drill rod? Would this be possible to do with a...

What's the difference between "drill rod," like this: Enco - Guaranteed Lowest Prices on Machinery, Tools and Shop Supplies, and "plated steel rod" like the stuff at Lowes?

Would one be better...

That would be awesome, but I'm in Virginia and shipping would probably cost a lot.

Anyone have any comments about my idea on how to support the drill rod? Or know of a better way?

Thanks.

Thanks for your responses.

What about drilling some small holes along the drill rod (going all the way through) and then slightly larger diameter holes about half way down (inside the smaller...

I'm trying to build a cnc machine really cheaply and unfortunately that means I can't spend a lot on linear rails. The machine is very small, only 24"x25" total, with a routing area of about 18"x19"...

Yes, that's correct. I used an IR thermometer, so it would have measured the case temperature.


L297/298 combos.

I'm using these motors: 3.6V, 1.8 DEG VEXTA STEP MOTOR-MPJA, Inc. and they get really hot when my machine is running. The z-axis motor gets to about 130f (~55c) and the x-axis 109f.

Is that...

I'm looking for really cheap timing/cog/motor belts (whatever they're called...) like the ones found in inkjet printers (the one that moves the carriage), but I haven't had much luck. Anyone know...

I'm not really sure if it's getting worse or not. It's possible that it's a problem with the software or stepper motor controllers, but I was just curious if anyone knew how quickly the threaded rod...

I'm using cheap threaded rod on my little desktop CNC and I've been having accuracy issues. I'm wondering if perhaps the threaded rod has worn out enough to be causing problems..

How quickly do...

Thanks a lot for your help!

So the only way to determine the appropriate motor starting/stopping speed and acceleration ramp is through trial and error? My concern with this approach is that my...

I'm using stepper motors on my CNC and for the acceleration ramp I just want to start the motor at a certain speed and then with each step slightly decrease the "delay" between step pulses (so I'm...

I finally finished my super-cheap CNC machine and thought I'd post some pictures on here. Everything was built from scratch. I wrote all of the software as well.
...

Hi everyone!

I'm building a desktop CNC machine and I'm having trouble getting parts to move smoothly.. I'm using plain old threaded rod for my screws and I have the acrylic x&y axis sliding on...

I'm building a small & cheap desktop CNC machine for drilling PCBs. I'm using 1/4-20 threaded rod instead of acme or ball screws to save money, and I'm using these 1.8 deg stepper motors:...

I didn't think this would work, but I swapped out the L298 chip and now the motor seems to run OK!

It still makes some weird noises though, is this normal?

I finally had time to program my microcontroller to send the step pulses to the board, and the motor isn't working correctly. I have ENABLE and CW/CCW set to high, with the CLOCK pin being changed...

Thanks pminmo!

Whew! Thought I might have done something terribly wrong there :)

How do you recommend disabling the motors? Do you mean cut power, or use the L297's ENABLE pin?

Thanks!

I finished my electronics board. But when I power it up the motor emits this high pitched squealing noise. Does this mean I hooked up the motor incorrectly?

I have the black wire going to pin 2...

OK. And I forgot to ask, does it matter which half of the coil I use? I mean, I'm supposed to use the center wire and one of the outside wires, right? But which outside wire should I use?

Thanks :)

Hi pminmo,

I'm using 1/4"-20 threaded rod. The travel distance is only 6" though, so speed isn't a huge issue.

Thanks for your help!

So with my 36V power supply should I run it half coil or full coil?

In either case, do I wire it as in this picture?

http://www.probotix.com/cnc_images/unipolar_ill_02.jpg