Hey guys,
First let me start by saying I've been a member of this forum for a little while. I had plans to start my own CnC machine about 1 1/2 years ago. I am in the military and have just a little over 22 years in. Well as I got hot and bothered on making my machine, the Army decided to send me over to the Big SandBox (Iraq) for a year. Now I'm back and have spent the last 3 days trying to catch up. I have some plans and some ideas....Let me know what you think.
1. First and for most, I really appreciate Jeff at Xylotex for his quick response to my purchase. I got the 4 Axis Unipolar Drive KIT and I am looking forward to putting it together....Here is the link:
http://www.xylotex.com/Unipolar.htm
2. I have download JGRO's plans and must say I am VERY impressed. I plan on using it for the most part for mine. JGRO, Just a suggestion but is there any way you could use some of those great colored CAD shots in your PDF, I am very mechanically inclined and your plans still had me scratching my head for awhile. Again...Just a suggestion.
(Still Excellant Plans....Kudos). :cheers:
3. I have quite a few stepper motors that I was collecting before the jump over the big pond, so I have that covered.
4. I have started bidding on quite a few Linear Bearing systems on Ebay and hope to be able to use them in place of JGRO's "Skate Bearing/Gas Pipe" setup. I would like to make this one as smooth and rigid as possible. I hope to use it to machine quite a few parts that I will need for my Aluminum one. My goal is to have one for wood, and one for light Metal/Aluminum Machining.
5. I have already gotten a copy of CamSoft and demo versions of Mach 2...Itching to try these things out.
6. I have numerous spare computers and have decided to use and old P2 with a huge 6 Bay tower case I had laying around. Here's my first question:
a. What do you guys think of putting all of the electronics into the computer tower? I want to put in a second PC Power Supply and dedicate it to the Servo/Driver Board. I have plenty of room and I am even thinking of install a big E-Stop button on the top front of the tower.
7. At the moment I am just collecting alot of the small odds and ends. I hope to start building by the middle of February. As is the custom on this board, I will post plenty of pictures and document my progress.
In Closing, I would like to thank all of you guys for the inspiration and the technical guidence that so many of you are so willing to part with.
This is Truely a Great Board,
George (AKA Hawkeye)