[Sturmer]

How good are you at finding/adapting to surplus parts? For example, the old HP LaserJet printers all had a very useful 100 oz in stepper motor in them, which many of us have used in our own machines.

Well i was thinking something like that,well all of my stuff that i made/make is made from scrap...very few things i buy...well i am student which is working to pay of his intuition..and life costs(i am from pretty poor family)but my curious nature is stronger then my low budget so..

Many people use standard threaded rod. Bearing supports can be made from RollerBlade skate bearings -- the ID of the standard bearings is 8mm, which is fit by 8mm threaded rod.
Refresh my memory on the dimensions of an A4 sheet. Metric is fine. I believe it's a standard piece of typing/copier paper, right?

Yes it is standarad printig paper size...

There are a couple of steps. Do you understand the electronics needed? Basically, what happens is that the software reads an instruction to move the X axis 25mm, and then converts that into the needed number of steps. Out the parallel port come electrical pulses, which are received by a driver circuit. This translates those low level signals into something capable of actually driving the motors.

Yes i do understand the electronic part of the machine...i had few of my own concepts but i have terminated them because i did not know how to make software to control the machine... and i was afraid of the mistake it would made....and the software i used in school is simple(cad like)...is there free software which is CAD like?Or which uses DXF formatted drawings?Or that compiles the CAD drawing into code?

hi strumer well right now i'm on hold on my project cause it summer time here..lol i have every thing done and all i needs is the electronics and flang bearing So far i got all most $400.00 in the project .Its safe to say you'll probley spend around $600.00 to a $1,000.00.Shop around and look for the cheaper price I'm still looking for some stepper moters.

well if i use the stepper motors i got from the printers(or some where else) and if i scrap for almoust all the solid stuff,and buy just the electronics what whuld be the price..?

[chuckknigh]

Well i was thinking something like that,well all of my stuff that i made/make is made from scrap...very few things i buy...well i am student which is working to pay of his intuition..and life costs(i am from pretty poor family)but my curious nature is stronger then my low budget so..

Noone *likes* to pay full price for anything! And, happily, in this hobby there are almost always other options.

Getting creative with the parts is half the fun of building these machines!

Yes i do understand the electronic part of the machine...i had few of my own concepts but i have terminated them because i did not know how to make software to control the machine... and i was afraid of the mistake it would made....and the software i used in school is simple(cad like)...is there free software which is CAD like?Or which uses DXF formatted drawings?Or that compiles the CAD drawing into code?

It's a multi-step process using the free tools, but it works really well.

Step 1, draw your part in a CAD program, save it as a DXF file.
Step 2, use a CAM rogram to convert it to G-Code. This is a type of programming language that syas things like move the X axis +25mm, and move the Y axis -47mm.
Step 3, run the G-Code through a controller program like TurboCNC. http://www.dakeng.com is their URL, I think. This program turns the instructions in G-Code into the needed pulses to control *your* particular setup. You define that 200 steps (pulses) = 1 rotation, and each rotation is 1mm...that sort of thing. It does the calculations, and outputs the right stuff through the parallel port of your computer.

-- Chuck Knight

[Sturmer]

http://www.dakeng.com[/url] is their URL, I think. This program turns the instructions in G-Code into the needed pulses to control *your* particular setup. You define that 200 steps (pulses) = 1 rotation, and each rotation is 1mm...that sort of thing. It does the calculations, and outputs the right stuff through the parallel port of your computer.

-- Chuck Knight

i know the G-code in high school i had few exams in it....and i used it for couple of my home made projects...so i know how to use it...i am now on collage(i used machines in highschool...i have high school degree in mehatronics this is how education works in Croatia)

Is there any free shematic of full 3axis controller?(part list,shematic and pcb board pictures) so i can buy part by part...
( resistor by resistor )

And i am definitively not interested in buying complete kits...it is just not fun...

hm...i have a another problem...the size and noise...i will probably use it in my room...so...i have pretty old and grounch neighbors...

i have contacted my old professor,and i will probably have the access to the milling machine so i could make all the parts on it...


and i have a another question,what kind of cutting tool i will need to cut balsa?! High speed drill?With a milling head?