[Gir]

I took my board to work today since I don't have a functional power supply yet and got it tested and fully built up. I took it up to the surface mount room and dunked it in this 195 proof alcohol solution to clean off all the flux. Looks perty. Today I also got my autotransformer. It's big. It's heavy. It's ugly. I love it. :rainfro: I think I'm going to avoid using it until I can get a proper box for since there's a lot of exposed high powered AC going through it, so that will wait until mid May when I'm back home.

The only other component I need for the power supply is the full wave rectifier which is still in the mail. I was trying to score one from work, but I couldn't find any old scraped payloads with the beefy kind of diodes I need. However, I did manage to get some excess delrin. I got three blocks about 1"x1"x1.5", so they should make some nice nuts.

At the beginning of May I'll be ordering the lead screws, motors, and skate and id bearings to ensure they'll be waiting at home right when I get there. Can you guys think of anything else I should order ahead of time? I'm hoping to get the majority of the build done in a week

[Gir]

Quick update

I just ordered two 6' 1/2-10 5 start acme screws from McMaster-Carr yesterday. I got my 3 305 oz-in HobbyCNC motors in the mail yesterday, along with 250' of stranded 16 gauge wire (only $27!!) and my 1/2" bearings. I'm waiting on my 6 limit switches, 32 skate bearings (ABEC-7), an LCD 50 amp DC panel meter and 200 VDC panel meter (these will be for the maximum voltage/current my autotransformer can supply should I use it for future projects or upgrade my driver board). The setup should look pretty slick, I've got some nice toggle switches with covers that were used as ignition switches for sound rockets! They were leftover from old launch suitcases since we've now moved to computer controlled systems. I've also got 6 1.5"x1.5"x1.5" blocks of delrin I'm going to use for nuts, thus leading to me making my own acme tap with the extra screw I'll have.

The power supply is my biggest concern at the moment. The autotransformer leaves the accidental bump of the knob that could easily overvoltage two 71V 10MF capacitors along with my driver board and motors. I'm thinking I'll just put a screw in the path of the knob to stop it from going over 40V. Just in case, I'm keeping a fire extinguisher by the mill at all times (flame2)

If you have any thoughts or concerns I'd love to hear them! If one of my ideas suck, let me know!

Okay, so much for a "quick" update.

[EDIT]
Forgot to mention I'll be fusing the line to the driver board with a slow blow fuse. I've got the current limit set at 2.8A/phase, so since it's unipolar does that mean it has 2 phases/motor, meaning 5.6A/motor, giving me 16.8A total? If that's the case I'll fuse it with something around an 18A fuse.

[Gir]

Just curious if anyone can verify my thoughts on the power supply current. I'll put some pics up tomorrow of all the stuff I've collected. Today I started to build the power supply box, so If I can make a trip to HD or the like I'll have it mostly finished tomorrow.

[Khalid]

Wow nice card...Gir please show ur machine...I need to see the pics of ur physical machine alongwith software graphics...

[ger21]

You should fuse the AC to the power supply, not the DC to the drive. If a fuse blows on the DC power, it can damage the drive. Or so I've heard.

[Gir]

Wow nice card...Gir please show ur machine...I need to see the pics of ur physical machine alongwith software graphics...

Well I haven't started making the actual machine yet, still collecting components and getting everything in place. Once my dad and I finish clearing out the base (has needed to be done for WAY too many years) I'm hoping to have the mill up and running soon thereafter.

You should fuse the AC to the power supply, not the DC to the drive. If a fuse blows on the DC power, it can damage the drive. Or so I've heard.

I believe the problem you've heard of is fusing a DC line with an AC fuse, which could cause arcing when it blows (bad juju). Now that you mention it, it would probably be easier (read cheaper) to fuse the secondary AC line. I'll also be fusing the primary AC line at 8 amps in case the autotransformer shorts somehow.

So does 16.8A seem about right for the current I'm pulling?

[Gir]

Alrighty, the day is finally over! My dad and I started at around 10:30 am fixing a leaky pipe in the bathroom, then installing a new ladder for the attic, then moving 20 metric tons of CRAP to make room for 96 sqft of more flooring (12x8) in the attic, which is to make room for the other 20 metric tons of crap in our basement. Here's a few pics.

Here's the current unfinished part of the basement


And here's the little workshop part


And in the corner is where the mill will go. Thats' the table I made a while ago sitting in pieces, awaiting to be assembled once the crap is out of the way.


Here's my current little indoor workshop (taking a 180 degree turn from two pictures ago) in the finished part of the basement (also about to be redone entirely).


In case you haven't noticed yet, there's a lot of stuff to throw away or stash in the attic!

Here's my two 6' 1/2-10 5 start acme screw from McMaster still in it's 6.5' mailer tube. Only $6 to ship! I was amazed!


Closeup

[Gir]

More pics!

Here's the autotransformer getting ready for mounting in the power supply box I'm building. I just picked up the 3 bolts/nuts/washers I needed today, so I'll have a good bit done tomorrow.


This is my new drill press from Harbor Freight that I got on sale. Absolutely love it! Very nice machine!


And here's most of my current parts: 3 x 305 oz-in HobbyCNC motors, 10 1/2" ID bearings, 32 skate bearings, 250' 16 gauge wire, 1000V 60A full wave rectifier, 2 x 10MFD 71V capacitors, 2 x covered toggle switches, 6 x delrin blocks.

[Gir]

Small(ish) update. Got my linear guides put together. They're 9, 6 and 4.5 inches long. The 9" ones are for the X axis, and the 6" ones I was going to use for the y, but I was thinking about the mechanics of it and I could probably go with the 4.5" ones. The Y axis isn't going to tilt much left and right, so having them far apart doesn't seem to make sense to me, as opposed to the Z axis which needs that extra length.

I also took two attempts at making my own acme tap, and the first attempt failed somewhat miserably. The second attempt came out great, although it took quite a bit of force and a bit of time to tap the delrin. Here's some pics.

Oh, I forgot to take pics of the semi finished (but working) power supply. Looks pretty neat, but I'm still waiting for the voltemeter + ammeter to arrive - that'll make it look pretty slick

[Gir]

Another quick update. I got all three of my nuts tapped and running smoothly. Tapping the blocks then freezing them and tapping it again really helped. They run pretty smoothly with no backlash, just needs a wee bit of grease. Still waiting for the voltmeter and ammeter to come in, but the power supply is good and functional. I ran it for a while and the fan didn't die (rated 12V but I'm giving it 24V). My dad and I have been making some really good progress on the cleaning in the basement and attic. We finished flooring the attic and have organized it and will be taking the really big stuff up this week. The back part of the basement (where my mill will be) is just about ready. I've attached some pics.

BTW, if any of you admins want to move my thread to the project log section, feel free.

[Gir]

Update time!

Alright, so there's really not much to update about. All I did was install my voltmeter and ammeter in my power supply. But I thought it looked pretty cool so I thought I'd share some photos. Plus it didn't blow up

BTW, the split MDF is odd... I drilled my normal pilot hole, and usually I don't have a problem, but this wood split without much force. Odd, I say.

Oh, also the voltmeter is on the top and ammeter on the bottom. The ammeter only registers a 1, but I think that's because the current is too low to measure... I hope quadruple checked my connections and everything should be wired correctly.

[Gir]

So I was working on the shaft coupling today and I've hit a bit of a conundrum. I've got a 1" dia x 2" delrin rod, 1/2" hole on one side and 1/4" on the other. I've got a slit down the center of it to allow for clamping and a slit going across the middle of it to separate the two sides (it's cut a little bit shy of halfway through the material). I'm planning on using 4-40 set screws for each side (if these are too small let me know!).

The problem I've run across is how I'm going to clamp the coupler. As a reminder, I'm working mostly with hand tools, a drill press and a table saw. Drilling the through the side for threaded inserts and screws seems out of the question because I've only got standard drill bits, so they'll just slide and go in awkward. Also, I've only got 1/4" wall on the one half, so that doesn't leave a lot of room for a big screw, much less any error.

My only thought at the moment is to use 1" hose clamps. Do you think these will be strong enough to provide enough clamping force to let the set screw do it's job? Let me know if there's other methods I've just not seen.

[Gir]

Hey guys, I've made a lot of progress recently. I've been bogged down with some other house work lately but finally found some time to get the actual construction done.

So. One thing I should mention. My girlfriend wanted to help. Here's the aftermath.

Before:




After:



I'm told I'll have the prettiest mill ever! :rainfro:

[Mr.Chips]

That's a good looking paint job. And it is Blue rather than Pink, even better. He He

[Gir]

That's a good looking paint job. And it is Blue rather than Pink, even better. He He

Heh, that much I'm thankful for! Her initial idea was polka dots! (nuts)

BTW, I obviously decided to go with the torsion box for the base, and boy is it solid! I ran some physical simulations in CosmosWorks (part of SolidWorks), and it predicted less then a millimeter of deformation in the middle when 200lbs is evenly distributed along the top (plus gravity). I didn't really believe it, but after bouncing my 170lb butt up and down on it I'm convinced! I'm going to pass on the torsion box for the Y axis until my mill is running and I can get it cut properly. My woodworking skills are all self taught in the past 3 years, and I don't trust them enough for that part. I always seem to misalign something a little bit when gluing. I seem to be squarely inept

[EcoReefSystems]

any update?