It is not ready for the real world!

Sergio I definitely have the Peter Pan syndrome, I am a woodworker looking to scale back to something that can be run right here at the house, the place I started my business 17 years ago.

Brad, as far as the electronics...just wish I had more time to learn more about them...as it is I only get about 3-4 hours sleep daily, the rest is usually working.

Tom, it tooks 6 month to understand the mechmate project, 1 years to complete, in my spare time,no experience, not ever seen a CNC machine before, the only help was here in this forum ... it was the best spent time ... but some hours a day to dedicate are needed, you can't steal time to your sleeping, so ... weekends ? hollidays ?
ciao

Sergio, I definitely got the MM project right off the bat, at one point I was seriously considering the purchase of a KOMO, even with the $226k price tag. At that time I made a decision to slow down a bit, I was averaging 115.5 hours/wk and my 10 employees sometimes as much as 80+/- hours/wk:eek:. That machine would have done me in, all it did was create more work. I still wanted a cnc, but not on that scale (just not worth it all). That's why MM is for me, I can slow down to a 40-50 hour week without the commute and employees and work here at the house. So far I am enjoying the build and I have a lot to experience yet (so I am learning;)) By-the-way, what are holidays?:confused:

Holidays are a myth created by stores!

Peter Pan syndrome...
My work has no concern with electrical, electronics, software & wood working. especially micro processors.
Over the years one just pick up stuff which interest me & suddenly I end up with one router MM & one Plasma MM.

I think its great that we have a well run and informative forum where just about anyone can have one of these machine regardless of talents and abilities. Kinda allows you to 'Just Do It' and know you're not going in blind without support. Thanks all.

Sorry for the lack of communication on my part. My wife's cancer is in the driver seat for a bit.
A few points:
- I'm on record for being the slowest build, 3 years, so nothing comes easy to me.
- While building a 3d printer I got hooked by the Arduino bug
- Need to upgrade from my G540 to ? <--this when the Arduino came into play.
- I see no reason why you cant run your Mechmate using a Android tablet, talking via blue tooth or wifi to a Arduino based control board to G203's

I'll update more soon
thanks to all for your input
cheers
Tim

Still Playing
 

Well I'm on to the next step in my Arduino Adventure, I spent some $ on eBay and picked up an assortment sensors, boards, displays and anything else that was cheap. So in between holidays and hospitals I'll play . For now I'll build a sensor system with Arduino and tie into the inputs of my g540. And yes this is me going off on yet another tangent. My 3d printer is working well and I'm making parts for my solar project. New kitchen is on the way, something about getting off my lazy . . . . Anyways I'll update when the assortment arrives.

Cheers
Tim

"And yes this is me going off on yet another tangent."

Nothing wrong with that friend.

Best wishes for your wife and for you while she is being treated.

Your Arduino project sounds interesting. Would you post more details?

Tim I have to challenge you on your statement " - I'm on record for being the slowest build, 3 years."

So far I am at 3 years and 4 months.... And Counting...:)

From and including: Friday, January 8, 2010
To and including: Monday, May 27, 2013
It is 1236 days from the start date to the end date, end date included
Or 3 years, 4 months, 20 days including the end date.


I do hope your wife is doing better..

Boy I feel sheepish. Missed the post above until Mike posted.

Don't forget about the healing power of laughter. Our best wishes will we with you.

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” – E. E. Cummings

http://www.engineering.com/Electroni...d-Android.aspx

No worries Pete,

Cheers all,
Tim

Going to London England in a few days, any members there?
Tim

Hi
I am in Ipswich Suffolk 8x4 mechmate giveme a call if you want any more details
Tony

Tim, hope the flooding is not affecting you or anyone you know.

Thanks for the concern Pete. The house and shop are fine. Its an amazing site to see when were away on vacation.
Cheers all

A few changes
 

I had some down time so I figured that I'd shine up the old girl and do a few upgrades.
No major wear was found in the x axis rails and just a bit on the y car rails.
All bearings were fine, they we all exercised and put back in a different position.
Little bit of spray paint and a new rail system.
The y car has 6 bearing blocks now.
Just doing the wiring now and a few switches.
I have two rotary tables now so Im planning a 5 axis system
That runs off an Arduino system board off another power supply.
Thats a work in progress.
So far Im stilling running a Gecko 540 with no problems on XP pro and Aspire 4.5
I'll update as I continue
Cheers
Tim

Sweet!

Hey Tim, very interesting work. Your 5 axis plans are very intriguing. Please keep us informed. We should update your Builder's Log entry when you get the bearing blocks going and again when you get the 5 axis working. I'm not aware of a 5 axis MechMate.

Nice work!

Have you shimmed your rails with the coca cola cans method, or used self leveling epoxy or such ?

Peelable shim packs from the aviation world.
but thats a little over kill.
Pop cans work great too.

Arduino Control shots
 

Hello All,
Heres some shots of the Control system that Ive been testing.
Im using an Arduino MEGA 2560, each black heat sink is a 25 v, 5 amp motor controller. I'm pulling them off and direct wiring them to my Gecko 203's. That way I can run the motors and the new board off my old power supply and still keep my speed.Programing it all will be yet another learning experience. My 3d printers run off Arduino boards so I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous ;)
Cheers!

Do you still need the driver chip on Arduino?

Everything is built in on this board. I've run my machine on it already using a 24 v power supply and the arduino control program. I'm going to try to run mach3 to it and see what happens.

My rotary tables for the 4th and 5th axis.
Later on there will be a boxed in section at the end of my machine for the new setup. There will be a bracket on the 4th axis so that I can start with a 1 cubic foot work area.
Anyways its all B.S. untill its built and working
Cheers!

Mmmm Fried Rectifier
 

Things were going too smoothly. . . . . .:confused:
Powered up the machine this morning after a night of calibration. I started to hear this odd buzzing sound, then it got really loud, then, shop darkness. Oh crap, now what.
After doing some open heart surgery I found my Rectifier had fried on my power supply.Its a Antek 70v I've run it without an issue for 4 years now.
Has anyone ever heard of this before? Cooked Rectifier. . . . .not the best smelling appetizer.

i never heard of a rectifier that can cut your main circuits. if that happens test that tansformer.
rectifiers can be burn if they ar not cooled propelly. its a cheap component.

I agree. In my mind a cb or 2 should have gone off way before it tripped the main panel. Something else to find. . .
Thanks for your reply Fernando

I always use a 10A fuse before supplying AC to the transformer, essentially a short on the secondary will instigate a surge on the primary which will cause a short circuit, usually a fuse or a cb will work in this condition .

Back running
 

Heres the latest version of my machine. The plasma torch machine is only mounted when needed and its water pan isn't shown in the picture.
Cheers

You forgot to put a toilet bowl on the y-car... :D

Wouldn't that be a kitchen sink, Ken?? :)

The grand experiment continues!
 

You cant see the kitchen sink or the toilet cause its on the other side! :)
Also added, a video camera, xbox kinect heads, led gantry lights and a 3d printer head just because. In the works, a panel saw, drill head and full arduino control with wifi. and a partridge in a pear tree. . . .
I find its a faster setup with all the extra stuff added on top. It takes longer for me to install the water pan than the plasma torch. Spindle cooling tank and radiator works well up top to keep the cooling lines shorter.
To me this is the grand experiment, always something to learn and apply. Best yet it pays for us to jump on a boat and go cruising :)
Cheers all



its all b.s. until its built and running!

good idea
 

lol good job, I'll do the same thing good idea thanks

If the darn thing only had arms to set itself up.

Well its been awhile. . . . . .
Time to replace the gearboxes and the old computer. So that got me thinking, what's the latest and greatest control system nowadays? Very happy with my 203's or my Arduino setups. So far this seems to be a step in the right direction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOohypDWiSk
Whatever I end up with it has to handle a 6 axis setup (multiple machine setups).
Any other ideas out there?

Cheers all
Tim

Interesting

This is the one that I'm thinking about getting with a newer computer.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6Axis-MACH3-...AAAOSw8-tWVr5-