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Today I disassembled the big wooden bench I had made for Carlos to reclaim some garage space and cleared the existing steel bench where Carlos will live. The available space is now much more useable....

Ooh, that is a nice welder. I want one too. :)

I had 10 additional days off work after returning from NZ and was really looking forward to make some good progress on Carlos but unfortunately the project has to temporarily be put on hold yet...

Thank you for running the calcs Peter. There is lots of info in that HWIN document.

Hi Peter,

We got back from NZ and now I'm nursing a nasty cold so unfortunately still no work on Carlos. I'm starting to think this machine will never become a reality........just kidding, it will...

Craig, thanks for the excellent explanation. It is all becoming much clearer how the control system works. Yeah, my diagram was very over simplified to get the basic idea of where the parts fit in...

Craig, we too prefer to holiday in the less touristy type places, although as a tourist there are always some must see attractions. We really enjoy day hikes and it doesn’t take long to find trails...

Craig, those places sound amazing! Will definitely make a note for next time we visit. This trip was focused around the Queenstown marathon. Next trip will be all holiday. We haven’t seen much of the...

Wow! 14 pools in 13 days is a good effort. There are some hot pools at Lake Tekapo, we were hiking there last week and walked past them but didn’t go in.

Yes, we are on the South Island. We left...

I drew this simplified block diagram to help me understand which components fit where in the system for a visual representation (see attachment).

So if I understand things correctly, the motion...

Thanks Craig, great reply. I’ll re read it more carefully after returning home in about a week. Servos sound like they are well worth considering even with their higher cost.

Thank you, I will post the screw sizes when I return home. I check in on CNCZone mostly at night when I’m lying in bed as a distraction from the post marathon soreness until I fall asleep. Lol

I will have a look at servos to assess whether I can justify the extra cost. If they are too much of a price jump over steppers maybe they can be a future upgrade so I’ll keep that in mind when...

Thanks for the links, I wasn’t aware of those products. I’ll have a look when I return home in a week. My better half and I are currently having a much needed holiday in New Zealand. We had this...

I currently only have Mac computers. Also wouldn’t I need some hardware for Mach3 to interface with or are you talking about running the software in some kind of simulation mode without any hardware...

Hi everyone,

It has been a long while since my last post here. Not a lot of progress with Carlos. Work had me on a crappy roster which didn’t leave much time to play with Carlos. Thankfully that...

Hi Luke,

The little details can make a big difference down the track. Future Luke is thanking you. And I thank you for reminding me to finish modelling limit switches on my machine, so far only...

Thanks Luke, but don’t be too hard on yourself. I am following your build and your machine looks great! It’s amazing what a difference it can make taking photos from different angles and light. After...

Hi Pete,

So far so good with the blade just make sure you use lube on the blade otherwise it tends to clog fairly quickly. I bought a blade wax stick from Total Tools and it’s made a big...

Hi Everyone, I 3D printed a jig to help with cutting the 45 degree corners on the angle brackets. The printed jig was a proof of concept, if it didn’t work then no big deal as the 45 degree cuts...

I think I’ll give the wax a try. We are going away for a few days tomorrow so won’t get any more building done until next week.

Regarding the flinging of debris, I made a kind of “catcher” out of...

Hi everyone. Finally started cutting some metal. Carlos is finally moving from a CAD model dream to reality. I started with the channels for the base. These are the least critical parts when talking...

Oh bugger, that’s a shame, it was looking so good.

Hi Luke, You are so right, every little bit of time spent building adds up. Half an hour can often stretch out into 1, 2 or more hours with me, I easily get so involved with what I'm doing that time...

Hi LorySwamp, thanks for following.

Progress has been frustratingly slow so far. Yesterday was supposed to be a day in the garage working on Carlos but plans changed. Hope to make some progress...

Yikes! Glad Scoot survived without being dropped.

Hi Pete,

Carlos's bench frame is already built and it won't be moved. My available space is limited with pretty much only spot where it can be located, so that's where it will be. If it does need...

Hi everyone,

I have found myself with a small dilemma. The footprint of Carlos is 1524x1200mm, not including the overhang of the Y axis motors at the back and the cable chain overhanging on the...

It's worth taking the time to sort out the small details. I'm sure Matt will appreciate the time take to sort out the small things. After the machine is built, will it have to be partially taken...

Ahh, ok, that sounds simple enough. I have so much to learn.