Fun New Site

I recently found a fun site called Thiniverse.com where you can post and download object files for CNC and Reprap machines. I spied plenty of .DXF, .STL, .SVG, and Eagle Cad files. I saw everything from gears to birdhouses and DIY sunglasses. It's sites like this that make the internet really shine. So join in the fun and share something.

My Experience With EMC

After a long time of playing with EMC and figuring out how it works, I like it way better than TurboCNC. While TurboCNC was a good beginners choice that runs on almost any piece of hardware and easy to learn, EMC is far more configurable, has a more professional look and feel, and lets not forget totally free. In the last few weeks I've been working on settings for customizable controls to run small sections of G-code by the press of a button. I wanted my machine to automatically detect the top of my workpiece using a few simple lines of code. Automatic probe moves are much more fun than a feeler guage and the arrow key. Turns out It wasn't so easy though, as I didn't know much about EMC. My online inquiries attracted the attention of two talented individuals from the linux CNC wiki who were gratious enough to introduce me to classic ladder, a PLC language used for more complicated tasks. If your the adventurous sort you can try out my configuration files, but be careful as they still have a few bugs. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!! You can check out the details here as well as some other programs. Hopefully I can get a video up soon to clairify exactly what they do.

EMC was definately a steep learning curve but well worth the effort. It is very configurable for custom controls and routing physical input pins to virtually any function in EMC. It doesn't require very expensive hardware either, though I would recommend more than the minimum requirements which I just barely reached with my current setup. Most impressive is its ability to cater to a large range of setups including robotic arms. I always put off building one, but after what I've learned here, I think It'll make my todo list. I would love to hear any questions, comments, or ideas. If there's enough interest I might try expanding the usefullness of this type of function to include some other generally mundane repetative tasks.

Software and Other Stuff

I'm trying EMC2 with my machine. I'm getting tired of the occasional run time error with Turbocnc. Not sure how it's going to work though as my computer is a little underpowered for it. I'll have to let everyone know how it works out later this week. I'm gonna test it out on some small Halloween projects.

WasteOfSpace posted a comment on my previous post about oak that got me a little curious. I smell an experiment brewing. Anyways I've been quiet here for a little while and its about time I start making dust, just in time for the holiday. Oh and be sure to check out these Halloween pictures that switcher was nice enough to make for us.

Chucks CNC Rebuild: Part 1

Well I finally have my machine rebuilt and I'm pretty happy with the results. So far I've replaced the MDF x-axis supports with oak and shortened the z-axis to hopefully help reduce some vibration problems(It was too tall anyways). I've also decided I like lovejoy couplings better than my direct coupling I used before. I'll have to do some research into power transmission and see if it really makes much difference. If anyone already knows then please leave a comment, I'd love to hear some opinions. I also added some aluminum adjustment blocks for the bearing slides. Using a cheap indicator dial I was able to adjust either end of the lead rod within 0.001in which was something I was previously unable to do. I was thrilled, then I remembered the bearing slides flex a little so I measured without changing my setup and you know what it was?.04in difference!! Keep in mind this is with respect to a level board clamped to my table which I'm fairly certain isn't 100% flat. Regardless that will have to go. I plan on changing my bearing slides from 1/2in to 3/4in. I'll do that next along with all new oak parts for the x and z carriages. Despite my disappointment This is a big improvement on the rigidity and adjustability front. I should be able to handle some higher cutting speeds. So whats next? I'm gonna make some stuff. Namely some new parts over the next who knows how long. I have a small laundry list of upgrades for the future:

1. A new QUIETER spindle that can hold 1/4in bits
2. emc2(I use TurboCNC now)
   
3. a vacuum setup instead of just blowing air
4. 3/4in x-axis bearing slides
5. oak z-axis parts(I already designed these in CAMBAM)
6. new, more rigid y-axis
   

After cleaning up the basement starting school and vacation at the cottage I'm finally ready to get back to work. I've finished most of my parts for upgrading to oak parts from MDF. Picture to come when I'm done hopefully by this weekend. Then I can return to switch plates part II.
And to accompany my new upgrade I'll need a new pendant, partially because the first one leaves much to be desired but mostly because I need something a bit more retro. That's why I picked this up at the flee market this weekend.


This new one will be a whole lot better and more complex so probably in the distant future I'll have another tutorial. I'll leave this one for instructables though.

Down Time

Sorry for no posts this weekend but were getting a new heater installed which happens to be right in the middle of my workspace. In the meantime, my copy of Corel Draw arrived, so Im playing with converting some of my grandfathers drawings. Also my router upgrade soon to come, hopefully by this next weekend before classes start.

Switch Plate Part 1

Today I attempted engraving switch plates. Why? They're dirt cheap. You can pick up a few plastic ones for less than a dollar. Turns out I already have some. If your feeling rich and fancy you could also get some wooden ones for a whopping 5-10$ each. I picked up one just to try. In addition to carving way deeper than I intended you'll notice they're off center but still potentially better looking than they were before. I started by drawing a template for each plate so I knew where the holes were. Then I used stylish picture fonts that I converted to polylines and split up. The only issue was I whether or not the template was accurate. As you can see It wasn't, so back to the drawing board for part 2. Not sure It's worth the time though. Part 2 to come as soon as I get it right. I'd love to hear your comments. What do you think ye or nay?

Mass Carnage

Today I killed my dremel. Grrrrrrr.... Somehow all of the clamps on my table slipped off while I was upstairs. My machine survived but I broke a bit, snapped the head off of my dremel and fried the motor. How you ask did that happen? Beats me, but $70 and a few hours later I'm back in business.
So after my pricey adventure I feel like having the opportunity to do it again on Sunday when I tackle switch plates. The regular plastic switch plates in my house are pretty boring, so I'm going to try to trick them out with some ridiculous designs just for the hell of it. Stay tuned Sunday.

Between Projects

I've decided to share some of my project files as I go. Here's the resulting file from last weeks chinese font experiment. I'm planning on cutting out some coasters from it tomorrow. Right now I'm in the process of replacing some of the MDF parts on my machine to red oak and adding some mechanical adjustments I skipped during Version 1. I'll post pictures when I'm finished. Might take me a while though. In the meantime I've ordered a copy of CorelDraw for my next project. My grandfather was a brilliant artist and carpenter. He kept detailed pictures and diagrams of everything, and when CorelDraw arrives I plan on scanning some for use in CNC. Results to follow either next week or week after depending on how fast it arrives. And please take the time to vote on my survey, only two days left and I know I have more than 3 readers, your feedback is much appreciated.

Chinese characters

Want to add Chinese characters to your next project? I had a project lined up for tonight but needed to add Chinese characters to complete it. Took me a while to figure it out. Here's how you can do the same. If you run Windows XP or Vista your in luck because you probably have Chinese installed already like I did, otherwise you'll have to remedy that first. How can you tell? If you can see this 水空火尘 then your ready to start. I'll assume you can at step one.

1. First goto Control Panel > Regional and Language Options and change current format to Chinese under the Formats Tab. There are probably several choices. I chose Traditional.
2. Now click on Administrative Tab and Change system Locale. Choose Chinese here as well. This one requires a restart. Don't worry most everything will still be in English when you restart.
3. Have you restarted now? Good. Goto Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map.
4. In Character Map under 'Group by' select 'simplified Chinese by Pinyin'. You have to spell out the sound of the word in English to find the symbol you want, Pinyin means "spell sound"(Wikipedia).
5. Now open your browser and go here. Type the English word in the search field and it should give you symbols, their Pinyin, and English translation.
6. Once you find the Pinyin for the word you want all you have to do is click it's first letter on the mini keyboard on your screen and find it on the character map. Match up the symbol on the dictionary with one on the character map and click select. Add as many as you want then click copy.
   
7. Open your Cad/Cam and add text where you like. In the text field press ctrl+v and wallah! A foreign language.
8. Now just convert whatever you added to polylines so it won't disappear when you change your settings back to normal.
   

See, that wasn't so hard. Have fun and don't forget to change your regional settings back when your done. I'm making a giant Feng Shui coin, what about you? I'll post some pictures when I mill it out.