Very nicely built and explained. I just finished binge-watching all 7 parts of your build. I've been building electronic devices for over 50 years and some of your building techniques were new to me and I plan to copy them in my future builds. Over the past 2 or 3 years I've also built a CNC machine. I started with NEMA23 steppers but later changed to Clearpath servo/stepper motors with built-in drivers but use the same control signals of Step, Direction and Enable. They don't need limit switches because they internally monitor the servo current rise when it hits a hard limit. It was very nice to hear how you made the various design decisions. I'm still using MACH3 but have been thinking about upgrading to MACH4 and your videos have given me confidence that working with MACH4 shouldn't be a problem. I'm also using the Ethernet SmoothStepper. I'm using a serial port to run the spindle and so far it's run will. I appreciate the work you put into the project and the videos. Thank you.
Your well modulated and somewhat repetitively paced commentary, much like listening to the cricket of an afternoon, was broken by a rare and wonderful injection of humour from out of a clear blue sky, Satans transistor! The contrast produced both striking and hilarious. So you do have a sense of humour! it's just so dry it had gone below my radar till now. Bravo.
If you use Mach3 you can use an Xbox controller for the jogging, fast jog, spindle control etc - gives you complete control which is worth its weight when trying to position the cutter by eye or more exactly using a usb microscope.
Dr Ralph Kennedy obviously only applicable to those who are actually familiar with an Xbox controller? there are people that exist (like myself) who don't actually play video games, so am completely unfamiliar with the layout and default functions of an Xbox/PS etc controller
Of course it goes without saying that this assumes a totem-pole output from the controller, otherwise a pull-up (or down) resistor will be needed. P.S this little circuit with a 2-terminal bipolar red/green LED makes a cheap logic probe, also!
Or use a micro relay with a nc contact. Connect coil to output and 24V. Also connect output to the green led in series with 4k7 resistor. Connect 24V to COM of the relay and connect nc of relay to the red led in series with 4k7 resistor.
Well, that over complicated things. Two LEDs and two resistors (or a potentiometer) are all you need. Add the two LED dropping resistors, then use the next value up, so 2 x 4.7k = 9.4k => 10k pot. Wire one side of the pot to ground, and the other to +24vdc. Now, put the tow LEDs in inverse-parallel, so the green LED cathode = red LED anode. This goes to the controller, while the other side (green anode/red cathode) goes to the wiper (center terminal) on the pot. Turn the pot to midway, and turn on the power. Ha, no BJT needed! :)
Because of the open collector output this will not work, but an other circuit could be made from 2 resistors, one NPN transistor and maybe one or two diodes to set the switching voltage for the transistor if needed depend on the voltage drop over the LED used. I do not like to turn off an LED by short circuiting it, it is a better approach just to turn it off.
Great series, really enjoying following your progress. Do the jog buttons manually move the position of the spindle by a set amount with each press, or do they start movement in one direction until deactivated? If they move by a set amount, did you use momentary or latching switches? From the log screen it looked like latching switches, so I'm interested in the thinking behind it. Thanks.
The switches are momentary, but the controller records them being pressed and released as separate actions. The idea is to have pressing the buttons starts movement, and releasing the button stops movement. Should also be possible to configure them as one press = a certain amount of movement. May be possible to have them work in both modes. Currently they do nothing as the code for them is not installed.
Yes, the likes of Big Clive & to a lesser extent Julien Illet are good at rubbishing other peoples work, however you don't see them creating their own stuff really.
Big Clive is very fair when he tears stuff down, he only slags stuff off when it's really bad, his mix of content is good enough and has some great videos about pro lighting equipment. Mr Illet does plenty of his own projects(I do find him and Dave J frustrating though).
@@Jono6671 Any ideas what search terms to use? "illuminated button -arcade" and "illuminated switch -arcade" didn't come up with anything, let alone anything cheap!
ANGLISHT I finished school for an electrician if I wanted to work in this area, but the place where I live in Albania allows this opportunity if you help me for a reinforcement
Wouldn't it make more sense for the stop/start buttons to be inverted, so when the stop button is usable (i.e. the machine is running) it should be lit up? This would match the 'illuminated when usable' setup you have for the jog buttons.
I'd have said indicator lights should only indicate the function on the label, so if the indicator light says stopped, that's the current status of the machine.
Still plenty of space left for other buttons. Currently the main objective is to get the machine working, rather than add every available feature to it (in which case it would probably never be finished).
John Ward Friend of mine built a cnc plasma cutter 15 years ago. Still adding bits to it. Its like the trade we are in, You always learn something new or add something new to the toolbox.
