[ericks]

Thanks Ericks - I don't think your machine needs to be any more rigid. Its Uber rigid now. Yes you do need to run slow rpm on metals. Great machine. Peter

Thank you Peter....as usual there are a few things to finish off. Some of the earthing is still not done but i am happy that there are zero "noise" issues thus far. The Sako VFD is also performing very well....so well that when i saw them on special i ordered another two

[vger]

Looks great Eric, you may actually be a bit closer than you think. Acrylic changes dimension a good bit with temp.

That was meant in reply to your clear acrylic cuts that you measured....

[ericks]

Looks great Eric, you may actually be a bit closer than you think. Acrylic changes dimension a good bit with temp.

That was meant in reply to your clear acrylic cuts that you measured....

Thanks

[ericks]

The UCR201 pendant is now working....it was an easy installation

[ericks]

Today i tested a six axis breakout board, similar size to the chinese 5 axis board. First impressions of this board is good, great quality and it looks like the isolated 0-10V signal is linear. I will post more info on it later if anyone is interested. It is made in Australia

[ericks]

Received one of the two 2.2Kw Sako inverters i ordered for my latest projects. I will see how the one on my router performs over the next few months before i finally decide to use them in my cnc control panels.
For now it's just a lot of testing to get the best combination of parts for a "quality" cnc control panel. Hopefully i will have a website up by the end of the year.....

[ericks]

No problem with these drives. They are actually both a newer version...many more parameters and a few other changes. The next part to purchase for my machine is a vacuum table. Currently looking at one from Germany. Will do a bit more research before i commit to buy. I am now running my machine on Mach3, and a different bob and also off my desktop's printer port....reason for this is a looong story that i won't go into

[mactec54]

No problem with these drives. They are actually both a newer version...many more parameters and a few other changes. The next part to purchase for my machine is a vacuum table. Currently looking at one from Germany. Will do a bit more research before i commit to buy. I am now running my machine on Mach3, and a different bob and also off my desktop's printer port....reason for this is a looong story that i won't go into

Nothing wrong with stepping back to Mach3 it is still used by thousands of people, and works fine for most, would like to here the story why though

You can make your own vacuum table there is no tec to that part, what you drive / run it with can be different, from a shop vacuum cleaner to compressed air to a purpose built vacuum pump which there are many to choose from

[wmgeorge]

No problem with these drives. They are actually both a newer version...many more parameters and a few other changes. The next part to purchase for my machine is a vacuum table. Currently looking at one from Germany. Will do a bit more research before i commit to buy. I am now running my machine on Mach3, and a different bob and also off my desktop's printer port....reason for this is a looong story that i won't go into

What were you using before Mach3? I switched to Mach4 and it was an improvement.

[ericks]

Nothing wrong with stepping back to Mach3 it is still used by thousands of people, and works fine for most, would like to here the story why though

You can make your own vacuum table there is no tec to that part, what you drive / run it with can be different, from a shop vacuum cleaner to compressed air to a purpose built vacuum pump which there are many to choose from

My wife had me buy some designs online to make some stuff for friend's kids. I was using UC300ETH with uccnc....soon as it started cutting the curved sections in the pieces i noticed strange behavior....like short bursts of stopping/pausing then starting. It did not affect the finished part but caused an increase in machining time. So i finished this project then on another project i went to Mach3, again a slight amount of the same. So i thought maybe the motion controller, so i installed a bob that i was busy testing...well this bob required 10V from the drive for the analog signal....my Sako was supplying 12V....so i also decided to install one of the newer model Sako drives that i was also testing which now outputs 10V, exactly what i required. That is why i ende up with Mach3, bob and printer port. Anyway the issue persisted on a following cut. When i was cleaning up the parts i noticed short straight lines around the whole curved section. Could not understand why it was not nice and "smooth". Later i just happened to look at the drawings in cad and found that they were actually drawn like that....silly me!!!

It's not a big deal caused i love mach3....i have never had any issues with it. The UC300ETH will now go into the panel i am building/testing along with uccnc. I was going to buy another uc300 for testing anyway.


Thanks Mac....i will look into it before i buy one

[ericks]

What were you using before Mach3? I switched to Mach4 and it was an improvement.

UCCNC

[wmgeorge]

UCCNC

OK, and I hope you know a shop vac is not going to work for a vacuum table.... it works fine for my 2x2 foot one but it would sure never work on a full sized one!
There was some posting here on using a few surplus or new vacuum (cleaner) motors for building one and not sure how that worked out.

[ericks]

OK, and I hope you know a shop vac is not going to work for a vacuum table.... it works fine for my 2x2 foot one but it would sure never work on a full sized one!
There was some posting here on using a few surplus or new vacuum (cleaner) motors for building one and not sure how that worked out.

Oh no...i was actually hoping to use one. The size will be around 600 x 1000 mm

[ericks]

Busy day....the machine is back on the UC300ETH, with the Aussie made 6 axis bob. Been looking at options for a vacuum table...my little shop vac i use for the dust extraction will not work as a vacuum pump. Wife suggested why not look at the old kirby that she was given to use for spares for her unit. Anyway i stripped it and found that the motor has a separate cooling fan so it should work fine with some mods. Busy cleaning and found the motor bearings slightly worn, might as well change them while the thing is stripped.

[peteeng]

Hi - You can buy chinese vac pumps that work very well for around $200AUD if you look at refrigeration sites and vac pump suppliers. Used for pulling down AC units. Peter

[ericks]

Hi - You can buy chinese vac pumps that work very well for around $200AUD if you look at refrigeration sites and vac pump suppliers. Used for pulling down AC units. Peter

Hi Peter.....thanks. I replaced the bearings a few days back. The brushes are worn too so i actually decided to buy a hvac pump, saw a guy on youtube using one. The kirby motor makes too much noise anyway
At least my wife has a working spare motor for her vacuum now. Busy planning the vacuum table. Most guys use mdf, i think i will go for acrylic maybe

[peteeng]

Hi ericks - I use mdf as you will inevitably cut into it at some stage. Plus mdf is porous so you can actually pull a vac thru it. If the object is flat you can pull directly to the mdf vs having to machine a plenum behind it. I use the anti slip roll material as a gasket. Its cheap and I pocket a board as required. I use garden hose as the vac tube and 1/2" irrigation valves and Tees for fittings. Acrylic will be expensive. I tend to use a "standard" bolster and make an MDF custom top for the actual part. You may have to make a fitted pocket for parts that you have to turn over. This makes registration easy. If you are cutting aluminium then an o-ring or similar is good to use. Cheers Peter S

[ericks]

Thanks Peter, i appreciate your advise

[arizonavideo]

Spa blowers are the same as vacuum pumps.

Lots of them around

[peteeng]

Hi - No spa pumps and blowers are very different from vacuum pumps. They do not have the same pressure. If you are doing large sheet work then a blower will work. If you are doing small pieces or parts with lots of holes, blowers will not generate enough force to hold down the part. A vacuum pump will produce about 10T/m2 a blower is much much less. Peter