Burn

Decided to make a checklist of all the things that I need/have, and keep myself organized. Worked well with the Phoenix log, so I think I'll give it another shot here!

-Taig CNC-ready Mill- HAVE
-IMService Servo Drivers, kit 4A- HAVE
-PMDX-122 Control Board- HAVE
-3" Screwless Vise- HAVE
-Assortment of endmills- HAVE
-Various tools every machinist needs- HAVE
-Mounting box/plate for PCB's- DONE

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Hey Guys,

I finally decided to start a worklog, this will continue throughout the summer. A majority of the time will be spent working to get enough money to actually buy these components, and until then, this log won't see much action.

However, I wanted to throw some stuff out here.

Mill:
http://www.taigtools.com/mmill.html

I did a lot of research into this, I even went to cnczone.com to look at what people had to say because I didn't want something that would break easily after 2 months. The model I am getting is the 2019CR-ER, which comes with the ER16 spindle and is CNC-ready.

Motors, drivers, control board, and CAM (Computer controller) software:
http://www.cadcamcadcam.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=126
^ Click the 4-axis option, and then reload.
This "kit" comes with everything you need, motors(servoes), cabling, hardware, etc.

Why are servoes better than conventional motors?
When working with machinery, the motor "counts" a series of steps inside the motor so the software knows where the motors are and knows how far and fast to move the motors so the piece gets moved around. When conventional motors accellerate fast, they lose a "step", and that can throw your entire project off, possibly plowing your bit into the side or shifting the entire program one way or another. Also, if metal chips get inside the screws that are driven by the motors and it jams, the motors will still spin, but they'll just spin....A servo reports the sudden stop and lets the computer know what's going on and what happened.

Various other parts:
Solid state relay:
http://www.cadcamcadcam.com/index.as...l=&strCompare=
^ Need one of those to make the kit work.

PSU:
http://www.cadcamcadcam.com/index.as...l=&strCompare=
28V DC, 10A

I may need a serial cable:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812123083

The Serial-USB converter works nicely, here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...E16812149115If this is long enough (6 ft), then I won't need the serial cable above.

Various switches, connetors, etc., I can get these at Home Depot. I need "the big red button" for my emergency-stop (E-stop) switch that halts the entire thing if something goes wrong.

Eventually:
http://www.cadcamcadcam.com/index.as...l=&strCompare=
That's the fourth axis that I was talking about above- If I wanted to machine out, say, the contours of a barrel or drill holes into a rifle barrel, I would use this. It rotates the piece using the big thing, and the smaller piece keeps it rotating level.





Obviously a lot of stuff going on here. Post what you think would be cool to do with it, and I'll try to make it happen. Post away!

__________________
My CNC Mill Project
We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.
--Randy Pausch
Current Best Benchmark

JacKz5o

Hmm, everything looks good, good luck and have fun

Burn

Will do...This will be a very fun project once things start getting here. Of course, I'll post a ton of pictures.

__________________
My CNC Mill Project
We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.
--Randy Pausch
Current Best Benchmark

RyGuy

That motor control kit is expensive! Why don't you get THIS, THIS and THIS? Then you would just have to make a case to put it in.

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tuchan

I tell ya what RyGuy has a good point there. To save costs massively you could implement some of those ideas.

This looks very promising mmm big pelt block maybe.........................?

cokker

Good luck Burn, can't wait to see some pics!

Burn

I knew you'd ask that.
http://www.imsrv.com/deskcnc/steppers_vs_servos.htm

Explains all. Pretty much, servoes are much more accurate. They split an inch into 110,000 "steps".

__________________
My CNC Mill Project
We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.
--Randy Pausch
Current Best Benchmark

RyGuy

Wow, nice call! It kind of sucks that they are so much more expensive though.

__________________

The_Jester

This should be a good worklog. I'll definately be following this

__________________
"Trance had become a dirty word. Thanks to Ian Van Dahl, Lasgo, Flip 'N' Fill and DJ Sammy, a generation of kids has grown up thinking trance is the ****tiest music since country and western." - Paul Van Dyk

Burn

You're right, it most definitely sucks. However, in the long run, these will be better for me, longer life and they retain accuracy.

__________________
My CNC Mill Project
We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.
--Randy Pausch
Current Best Benchmark