[revwarguy]

Attached are some pictures of a lighted dust shoe I am making. It is a polycarbonate (cutting board) frame with a 2.5 hose connection for my Shopvac/dust deputy hose. I've also added some high intensity LEDs for illumination of the cutting area, as well as a laser cross hairs projector for zeroing X and Y. I will be adding a "Zero Laser" button on my Mach screen to "zero at the present location, add the x and y offset (from the laser intersection to the true router bit center) to the x and y DROs, then goto to x and y zero."

The laser was $10.00 on ebay, the LEDs were 5.00 for 4, the laser has a 3.3v power supply on the perfboard (I dislike batteries) and I already had a 12v source from the controller to feed it. I also added a $3.00 switch on the perfboard to switch on/off the laser. Probably $4 worth of cutting board, the rest I had (like wire, shrink wrap, jack/plug for the power, perfboard, some dropping resistors, capacitors.) Sorry about the hand wiring, but I haven't climbed up the CNC PC board learning curve yet.

Next, I am going to add a magnetic base plate with brush walls to ride under it, as well as a fixture TBD to help hold the hose at the top of the carriage.

[Hommersimpson]

Very Nice looking. And looks like it will work very well to.

[Jesse B]

Looks good; I like your idea for the crosshairs!

Irrelevant nerdy question; who makes/where did you get that AWESOME Orange cap?

[LazyMan]

Very cool. I like the idea of the magnetic base plate. Please show more pics when its done too.

[johnmac]

Two things to consider. 1: The accuracy of the cross hairs will mean the tip of all bits will need to extend out of the collet the same amount.

2: The dust collection will need to have a greater CFM than the cooling fan on the router. Otherwise, all of the suction will get used up extracting the hot exhaust air from the router motor. Many dust shoes have a hole just large enough for the collet to fit through and leave some room for the router cooling air to exit.

I'm not trying to be a critic. Dust collection will be the next thing on my build list after I get the wiring done.

John

[revwarguy]

Your comments are welcome, Johnmac. That is why I posted it.

I figured the crosshairs won't be all that accurate anyway, although my initial tests show it to be better than I thought. I used a .5mm leaded pencil to mark the X and Y origin, and could center those lines within the laser beams pretty darn close. Doesn't seem to matter much if the laser is +- .5 inch or so above the surface, since the laser is pointing straight down.

If I need to be as accurate as possible, I'll probably use the zeroing probe anyway. Most of the time, though, I am just trying to center a carving on a piece of wood, whose needed accuracy is limited to just what looks good. This is a simple and fast way of doing it by just "position and click." Nothing to connect and test, etc.

The bottom plate will have its router hole made to just fit the collet, and there is room for the air around the bottom of the router to escape over the top of the top plate. The bottom plate will have some pockets for the rare earth magnets (from HF), the collet hole, and the DC hose hole, and brushes around it. Still looking for a cheap source of brushes. Was really eying a windshield brush at the Dollar store the other day...

What kind of ideas are you entertaining for your shoe?

PS, the weather is better - done anything on the sander?

[johnmac]

I have given thought to some sort of on the fly tool changing. A want to get a different router bit loaded at the same tip depth. I was thinking of a swing out paddle. Insert the bit in the collet, swing the paddle under the bit. let the bit sit on the paddle while you tighten the collet. That would keep the bits at a consistent height/ depth. Having a consistent bit depth should keep the cross hairs accurate.

I don't have a set design for the dust shoe. I was thinking about making a simple one to get started with. Then build a better one later. I do like your magnet idea. Care if I "borrow" it? :idea: Are you going to use any locating pins along with the magnets?

As far as the sander goes, I have the parts and I have a plan, but it is on the back burner in favor of higher priorities. I don't really need it until my CNC is running.

John

[revwarguy]

I wasn't trying to take credit for the idea of using the magnets - I have seen a couple different designs that use them, the most well known is for sale at:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showth...kent+dust+shoe


I am still not sure what you mean by the relationship of the router bit tip depth to the crosshairs. Using the crosshairs only sets the X and Y - the Z zero set point still has to be determined by other means, like with a seesaw dial or a touch probe. Sorry if I wasn't clear about that before.

If you can figure out a way to auto tool change without the need to reset zero, I would love to see the design!

The plate I showed in the earlier pictures actually have four 6-32 bolts hanging down about 3/8 that I will use to align them to the bottom shoe plate.

[johnmac]

I was thinking that if the cross hairs were indicating where the center of the bit would touch down while the Z axis is off of the surface, say, in "safe Z" the bit would always need to extend out of the collet a predetermined amount. I may need to think on this more. I saw those laser cross hairs on ebay a while back and thought of the same thing.

The paddle idea was a way to change bits without the need to re-zero the Z axis. The "paddle", as I call it would mount on the Z axis below the collet and to one side. When Mach calls for a tool change, it pauses and moves the Z up enough to remove the bit. The new bit is inserted in the collet and the paddle is swung under the bit. Now the bit drops down and is stopped by the paddle. This sets the consistent depth. The collet is tightened and the paddle is swung out of the way. Cutting can resume without the need to re-zero the Z.

At least that's my idea of a poor man's tool changer.

John

[DIYaholic]

johnmac,

Wouldn't the paddle need to lift up (after swinging out of the way), higher than the depth of cut?

Randy,

[johnmac]

Yes. it would swing up. I wish I could draw!

John

[revwarguy]

Ah, I see the problem. The crosshairs do not point to the actual zero spot. On mine, they point 2.007" on X and 1.673" on Y off from the center axis of the router. These numbers are added/substracted from the DRO's when the mach 3 screen button is pushed and then the router is sent to X and Y zeros. The laser points straight down, so its not like those crosshairs that you see on drill presses that point at an angle.

[eSilviu]

Attached are some pictures of a lighted dust shoe I am making. It is a polycarbonate (cutting board) frame with a 2.5 hose connection for my Shopvac/dust deputy hose. I've also added some high intensity LEDs for illumination of the cutting area, as well as a laser cross hairs projector for zeroing X and Y. I will be adding a "Zero Laser" button on my Mach screen to "zero at the present location, add the x and y offset (from the laser intersection to the true router bit center) to the x and y DROs, then goto to x and y zero."

The laser was $10.00 on ebay, the LEDs were 5.00 for 4, the laser has a 3.3v power supply on the perfboard (I dislike batteries) and I already had a 12v source from the controller to feed it. I also added a $3.00 switch on the perfboard to switch on/off the laser. Probably $4 worth of cutting board, the rest I had (like wire, shrink wrap, jack/plug for the power, perfboard, some dropping resistors, capacitors.) Sorry about the hand wiring, but I haven't climbed up the CNC PC board learning curve yet.

Next, I am going to add a magnetic base plate with brush walls to ride under it, as well as a fixture TBD to help hold the hose at the top of the carriage.

Your laser crosshair need a little adjustment... it can do better than that! (I have played with a few of them)
want a good idea? put the ondulated piece of plastic from the laser enclosure (the one that produce the crosshair) on a green laser

[revwarguy]

Your laser crosshair need a little adjustment... it can do better than that! (I have played with a few of them)
want a good idea? put the ondulated piece of plastic from the laser enclosure (the one that produce the crosshair) on a green laser

What do you have in mind? The only adjustment I know of is to turn the plastic collar, but it doesn't seem to help much. I have seen some use a polarizing filter in front of the collar that turns and attenuates the intensity. Didn't think about a green one. Are they cheap?

[Jesse B]

Didn't think about a green one. Are they cheap?

They're generally a bit more expensive than the red ones, as they have a higher power rating. At least from my experience.

[eSilviu]

They're generally a bit more expensive than the red ones, as they have a higher power rating. At least from my experience.

for this application a 5mW green laser is enough. (but a powerfull underpowered laser could be used too. ther is no problem in underpower the laserdiode)

[eSilviu]

What do you have in mind? The only adjustment I know of is to turn the plastic collar, but it doesn't seem to help much. I have seen some use a polarizing filter in front of the collar that turns and attenuates the intensity. Didn't think about a green one. Are they cheap?

I bought my laser from ebay or dealextreme (5mW green pointer with batteries is about 10$, but you could find only the laser module cheaper)
Any laser is ajustable if you know how to disassemble-it.

[Mangus]

I've built a laser crosshair setup for zeroing as well. The trick is not to use a single cross generator, but rather two individual line generators. Place them each precisely 90 degrees from each other on two of the spindle quadrants, pointed at the spindle centerline. They must also be precisely perpendicular to your table. In this way, dept of the bit doesn't matter.

I built mine from a pair of line generators purchased from www.dealextreme.com, and built a pair of laser drivers from LM317s. http://www.rog8811.com/laserdriver.htm

Works a treat. Mounting was a bit of a pain.

My next project, like yours, is a dust shoe. It's cold in the garage in the Winter, so the router comes inside during the season. Wifey doesn't like dust in the house.

-Mark

[revwarguy]

I thank everyone for their suggestions, but consider this:

1. This design doesn't need or want to have the crosshairs directly below the tip of the v-bit.

2. It has the cross hairs point directly down from where they are located on the bottom plate, which happens to be 2.007" on X and 1.673" on Y off from true zero, where the tip of the v-bit meets with the surface. An offset like this is deliberate.

3. Instead of hitting the "zero x and y" buttons" when the cross hairs are over the target, you hit a "zero laser" button, which runs a script that adds and subtracts the above numbers to the X and Y DROs, respectively. Done - the machine is now aligned with the origin of the project. As an extra step to confirm, the script for this button then positions the tip of the router directly over the place where the cross hairs used to point, at the new 0,0.

4. Using this method, there is no parallax problem, or need to have separate lasers for X and Y. The only thing left to help accuracy is making the laser lines thinner. The only way I know to do this is by attenuating the intensity of the light.

5. I do know how to turn the collar of the reticule or "lens" (i.e., "disassemble the unit") but that doesn't result in much attenuation of the beam. If anyone has a better way to make the laser lines thinner besides a polarizing filter, I would love to hear it.

Thanks again to all,

[Bob Jr]

Your comments are welcome, Johnmac. That is why I posted it.

I figured the crosshairs won't be all that accurate anyway, although my initial tests show it to be better than I thought. I used a .5mm leaded pencil to mark the X and Y origin, and could center those lines within the laser beams pretty darn close. Doesn't seem to matter much if the laser is +- .5 inch or so above the surface, since the laser is pointing straight down.

If I need to be as accurate as possible, I'll probably use the zeroing probe anyway. Most of the time, though, I am just trying to center a carving on a piece of wood, whose needed accuracy is limited to just what looks good. This is a simple and fast way of doing it by just "position and click." Nothing to connect and test, etc.

The bottom plate will have its router hole made to just fit the collet, and there is room for the air around the bottom of the router to escape over the top of the top plate. The bottom plate will have some pockets for the rare earth magnets (from HF), the collet hole, and the DC hose hole, and brushes around it. Still looking for a cheap source of brushes. Was really eying a windshield brush at the Dollar store the other day...

What kind of ideas are you entertaining for your shoe?

PS, the weather is better - done anything on the sander?

I like your dust foot design. I used similar material to make mine(but without the lasers and other cool stuff). The solution to a brush that I used was to disassemble a bench brush with soft bristles then insert the bristles into my dustfoot. Not as tedious as it sounds. I posted directions with pictures on the CNC Shark Pro forum. I don't know how to give the address, so you would need to do search for;CNC Shark Pro . Then scroll down a little to that forum. I hope this helps more than it confuses.
Bob