[Titaniumboy]

I just received a package from Copperas Cove, Texas.


Attachment 446556


Drewtronics shipped this fast. I ordered Thursday afternoon after they had closed in Texas. Andrew got this in the mail on Friday and here I have it on Monday. Wow.

The probe came with a connector and cable that is all of 10” long. Obviously I am going to have to add wire to extend the length. Then I have to figure out whether I have to connect to the UC300ETH motion control board or to the Novakon breakout board.

This is going to be great. Using edge finders gets old fast.

[Titaniumboy]

The probe came with a connector and cable that is all of 10” long. Obviously I am going to have to add wire to extend the length. Then I have to figure out whether I have to connect to the UC300ETH motion control board or to the Novakon breakout board

Ok, this may be simpler than I first thought. I was under the impression I would need to supply control voltage and install a current limiting resistor.

But I think all I need to do is connect the Drewtronics probe to the external terminal block on the Novakon BOB. Black probe wire to GND and red probe wire to unused input pin 15.

It will take longer longer to figure out how to do these connections in a sanitary and workmanlike manner. My first thought is to mount a female receptacle on the exterior of the mill head and wire it to the Novakon BOB. And then a curly cord to connect between that new female receptacle and the probe.

And if I install a female receptacle on the mill head, then that short 10” cable from Drewtronics will be just about the right length.


Changing subjects to the coolant system. I found out, like everybody else, that the Novakon coolant pump moves a lot of fluid. I also found out, like everybody else, that the single drain is wholly inadequate. I can run the pump for only 3 minutes or so before the pump starts sucking in air because the drain can’t keep up.

I want to add more drains eventually, but as a quick and dirty fix I am going to add a ball valve so I can throttle down the coolant flow until the drain can handle it. I lost the factory plastic ball valve that came with the fake Chinese LocLine when I replaced it with real LocLine.

[upnorth]

The reason that you only get a short cable is that Drewtronics has no idea what length of cable or terminations you will use. It makes sense to make a cable for you. I made my cable with twisted pair and shielded teflon insulated aircraft wire. I have miles of the stuff so cost was not a factor. I connected my probe to the acorn board (one of the inputs) I removed my novakon breakout board during the upgrade process. Keep in mind you will probably want to make the probe detachable. Mine is set up so that when it is plugged in the spindle is locked off. I drilled a hole in the control cabinet for the switch. Now that I think about it my mill has a probe receptacle at the head but I did not use it.

I think the current limiting resistor is built in to the probes. If you have a question ask Andrew. I asked him a few questions and he was very responsive.

For your coolant you should be able to buy a ball valve at any local hardware store in the plumbing section. I have a Torus pro with the new type of stand. The drain is huge and even 5 pumps could not generate enough flow to over flow it.