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Bad Munki posted:Unrelated to that: i've been having trouble with my joe's 4x4 I built. My y-axis, the one that's driven by two motors in parallel, one at either end of the gantry, seems to be screwed up somehow. When I try to run an actual program, the motor at the far end keeps crapping out, I can't tell if it's just skipping massive numbers of steps, or if it's actually stopping altogether, or what, but the two ends get horribly out of whack and it goes all pear-shaped on me really quickly and only gets worse the longer it runs. It's running on a g540. Really, just straight up this kit of electronics: http://www.cncrouterparts.com/4-axis-diy-nema-23-electronics-kit-p-75.html So I've been thinking more about this. I did a continuity check and everything looks hunky dory. And then this post was made: Methylethylaldehyde posted:On the other hand, the 24v spindle is a hunk of poo poo, it never cuts anything right, and I'm reasonably certain the EMF it's kicking out is what's causing my machine to lock up and abort early. Time to see if inventables just ships me a dewalt mount or if I have to argue with them some more. And it mad me realize that my whole rig (computer, monitor, power supply for steppers/g540, and router itself) are all running on the same circuit, and worse, off the same extension cord directly. It's a dedicated 15A GFCI (at the breaker) circuit for my workbench, so there's nothing else at all on it when this is running, not any lights or anything like that, but I'm wondering if the router might be messing with the power enough to cause the g540 to glitch out, even though it's behind a 48V 12.5A power supply. Part of my suspicion here is based on the fact that I really only have this issue when I'm actually trying to cut something. I can make it play the mario brothers theme or whatever all day long without any problems whatsoever, no apparent missed steps, but once I have that router running and cutting something, then I start getting issues. How on earth would I go about measuring something like that? It's a hitachi m12vc, if that matters. If that is the problem, would running the router on a separate circuit likely help? Or would I need some filtering equipment? Bad Munki fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Dec 4, 2015 |
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Dec 4, 2015 17:25
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Ok, I have been WAY slacking with posting with updated. I have been finishing a gun stock in my garage so I need a zero dust environment. So i cant really run my machine, even with the dust collector on. Bad Munki graciously offered to help me generate some files for my heat brand. I am waiting for an 1/8" endmill to arrive so in the meantime I have been running my tests in MDF with normal router bits. Bad Munki recommended using pink foam for test cuts, and I am totatlly going that route in the future. Much cheaper for tests. Anyway here is a board with a lot of screw ups. The initial problem I had was the speed. My shapeoko just cant run very fast and produce good results. Two of those, with the really squirrly cuts, are where I thought I had all the speed settings in the gcode file changed but actually did not. Another problem, it seemed like I was getting some chipout in the mdf, screwing up the results. You also see some burning and other things where I experimented with spindle RPM as well as travel speed. I am really wondering if cutting brass with this is even a possibility at all. 
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Dec 4, 2015 19:36
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...is that some sort of veneered mdf, or is it actually plywood? I honestly don't think I've ever seen mdf with veneer on it, weird.
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Dec 4, 2015 19:39
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Bad Munki posted:...is that some sort of veneered mdf, or is it actually plywood? I honestly don't think I've ever seen mdf with veneer on it, weird. Veneered mdf. Right out of the scrap bin. Probably came from Menards. I like it because I can easily tell if the top surface has been cut away.
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Dec 4, 2015 19:41
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Huh, interesting. In that case, I wouldn't sweat the blowout, the difference in mediums is going to be a headache there, between the mdf, the veneer, and the adhesion between. Possibly consider just milling that veneer off before doing a test run, even, if you have a bottom-cleaning bit handy.
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Dec 4, 2015 19:47
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Depending on the glue used to hold the layers together you might be gumming up your router bits. I had some issues with not-quite-dried crazyglue gumming up my lathe the other night, and I've had glue build up on the flutes of my mills when I was cutting too fast / not enough chip depth through other media before. Of course brass won't have this problem... just different problems.
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Dec 4, 2015 20:14
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Oh, you know, I never mentioned it, but if you start doing dry runs with pink/blue foam, for the love of christ make sure you have dust collection in place. It doesn't quite get everywhere like mdf dust does, but that's only because the static cling is so god awful. Even if it's you standing there like a goober holding a shop vac near the work piece.
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Dec 4, 2015 20:16
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My experience is that pink foam is super abrasive and dulls the gently caress out of utility knives in no time flat. Is this an issue at all with router/milling bits or does it not even figure?
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Dec 4, 2015 21:37
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I think the resin or whatever in mdf would have to be worse, and it certainly can't be worse than his eventual goal of brass.  Another option would be machinable wax, which is really just wax with a quantity of ldpe mixed in. Bonus: it's cheap in the first place, and you can save the chips and melt them back into the original block, making for excellent re-use potential.
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Dec 4, 2015 21:40
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I just mean have you found that routing/milling pink foam is hard on bits, because I know it's murder on knife edges.
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Dec 4, 2015 21:50
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Mister Sinewave posted:I just mean have you found that routing/milling pink foam is hard on bits, because I know it's murder on knife edges. I really doubt pink foam affects carbide bits at all.
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Dec 4, 2015 21:55
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Shows what I know! (very little when it comes to this kind of stuff)
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Dec 4, 2015 22:09
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Bad Munki posted:I think the resin or whatever in mdf would have to be worse, and it certainly can't be worse than his eventual goal of brass. It's easy and extra cheap to make too, if a bit time consuming. I sacrificed my small deep fryer for  and made a small batch as a test, came out beautifully. You can use HDPE too - pieces of a Home Depot bucket make for a lovely bright orange end product. 
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Dec 4, 2015 22:27
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Acid Reflux posted:It's easy and extra cheap to make too, if a bit time consuming. I sacrificed my small deep fryer for Fun fact! Shoppings bags are made of either LDPE or HDPE. I know many many people with huge bags full of the things, way more than they'll ever use. Look up recipes online for machining wax. I've done this, and it really does work great. Bad Munki posted:So I've been thinking more about this. I did a continuity check and everything looks hunky dory. And then this post was made: It's unlikely to be causing enough noise to go back through the power supply, onto the AC line, and then through another power supply. You want to be looking at the PS->router cable itself. That's be causing electromagnetic interference with cables nearby. Keep at least a couple inches between that one and all others.
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Dec 4, 2015 23:24
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ante posted:Fun fact! Shoppings bags are made of either LDPE or HDPE. I know many many people with huge bags full of the things, way more than they'll ever use. Look up recipes online for machining wax. I've done this, and it really does work great. This. The wires you're using to drive the system also act like little antennas, anything that is close to the same frequency or physically close to those wires will couple in and start to poo poo up the signals between things.
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Dec 5, 2015 01:56
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mds2 posted:Anyway here is a board with a lot of screw ups. The initial problem I had was the speed. My shapeoko just cant run very fast and produce good results. Two of those, with the really squirrly cuts, are where I thought I had all the speed settings in the gcode file changed but actually did not. Another problem, it seemed like I was getting some chipout in the mdf, screwing up the results. You also see some burning and other things where I experimented with spindle RPM as well as travel speed. We have a couple of industrial CNC routers (ShopBots, if you're curious) and we have no problem using a 1/4" 2-flute tool to take a 1/4" deep pass at 100 IPM / 12kRPM in MDF or any soft-ish wood. If your shapeoko can do a similar spindle speed, you should be able to match our feedrate if you take a shallower cut. (Depth of cut is a factor of your spindle horsepower and tool rigidity more than anything else). In the chipped/wobbly sections, you may be taking too deep a cut. Also might just be a side effect of the material; I personally don't like working with MDF unless I have to. Try the machinable wax as suggested, or just go straight for a block of HDPE (plastic cutting boards are a good cheap source). Working in plastic really helps you learn about speeds, because too fast and you'll bog down, too slow and the material melts. In the burned sections, you're traveling too slowly for whatever spindle speed you had set. Either slow down the router or increase the feed. If increasing the feed makes it choppy, decrease the depth of cut. The one in the lower left looks like your tool had some kind of absurd runout, but you would have noticed that, I hope. It's probably just fuzz. Remember: - set the spindle speed based on the tool diameter and the material's ideal SFPM - set the feed rate based on the chip load, number of flutes, and spindle speed - start with a small depth of cut (.020 ish for a quarter-inch mill) and crank it up until your machine runs out of power and starts chattering, or until the tool starts to deflect. For metals, you probably don't want to go more than 40% of the tool diameter. In soft materials where tool deflection is less of an issue, you can keep pushing the tool to 100% of the diameter (soft woods, plastics) or even more (machining wax, foams). Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 08:31 on Dec 5, 2015 |
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Dec 5, 2015 08:21
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The acme screw upgrade for the shapeoko 2 got in and yeah, it's a lot more smooth. You guys should definitely consider it if your z axis is squirrely like mine was. The improbable construct kit is what I got and it just dropped in with no issues, and thanks to the guy selling the kits turning down the ends of the rod to the same size as a NEMA 23 stepper motor shaft I didn't have to fiddle with anything else to get it attached to the x-carve style z axis drive.
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Dec 7, 2015 22:04
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Holy poo poo it actually works now! Made two 
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Dec 8, 2015 03:41
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Parts Kit posted:The acme screw upgrade for the shapeoko 2 got in and yeah, it's a lot more smooth. You guys should definitely consider it if your z axis is squirrely like mine was. The improbable construct kit is what I got and it just dropped in with no issues, and thanks to the guy selling the kits turning down the ends of the rod to the same size as a NEMA 23 stepper motor shaft I didn't have to fiddle with anything else to get it attached to the x-carve style z axis drive. gently caress that lovely rear end Shapeoko 2 z-axis so much. God was that thing a pain in the dick to get right. Eventually I just said gently caress it and used a hot glue gun to cement the coupler onto the lovely threaded rod to keep it from slipping.
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Dec 8, 2015 20:54
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Yeah, it's a really grab rear end design and is a major limiting factor in the z axis range. I did see where a person redid it so that the makerslide in addition to the tool travels up and down, removing the fixed bottom of the makerslide from limiting your z range in the original design, but I'm guessing that was a pain in the rear end to pull off.
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Dec 9, 2015 01:44
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Anyone else with these DIY setups, have you considered using a surplus ammo can for your electronics enclosure? I'm mulling that over right now. Not entirely sure if it'd be worth the trouble though?
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Dec 9, 2015 04:04
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Parts Kit posted:Anyone else with these DIY setups, have you considered using a surplus ammo can for your electronics enclosure? I'm mulling that over right now. Not entirely sure if it'd be worth the trouble though? The stepper controllers on mine produce a decent amount of heat, which an ammo can probably wouldn't vent all that well.
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Dec 9, 2015 07:05
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Yeah, the plan would be to cut out spots for at least two fans, which I'm concerned will be a huge pain. edit: Thought this was interesting, #2 recyclables are HDPE and can be melted and formed into blocks at home pretty easily. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUR6_bQLU-E Parts Kit fucked around with this message at 04:49 on Dec 10, 2015 |
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Dec 9, 2015 12:32
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Are there any threads on CAD programs on SA? I haven't seen one in my looking. A fusion360 or solidworks thread would be great. Fusion feels so good, but I am having trouble doing things that seem like they should be simple and intuitive.
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Dec 13, 2015 22:56
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Parts Kit posted:Yeah, the plan would be to cut out spots for at least two fans, which I'm concerned will be a huge pain. Ammo cans are thin metal. Any normal hole saw works in them just fine.
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Dec 13, 2015 23:22
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Brekelefuw posted:Are there any threads on CAD programs on SA? I haven't seen one in my looking. Did you run through all of the tutorials that installed with 360? It's pretty thorough, but actually getting to the tutorials can be tricky if you closed all of the popups that come up the first time you run the program after installing (no obvious "Click here for tutorials, dumbass!" links or buttons blinking at you anyway). I don't know that very many people would be contributing to a Solidworks thread, mainly because if you can afford Solidworks to begin with you probably already have enough spare money on the side for the multitude of paywall guarded Solidworks tutorial sites out there (the passive videos on Lynda.com are surprisingly good for this, even if they aren't really all that interactive for the user, and are the ones I'd recommend--I think they also have videos for Fusion360).
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Dec 16, 2015 14:52
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Wade Wilson posted:Did you run through all of the tutorials that installed with 360? It's pretty thorough, but actually getting to the tutorials can be tricky if you closed all of the popups that come up the first time you run the program after installing (no obvious "Click here for tutorials, dumbass!" links or buttons blinking at you anyway). I don't know if it's ever been mentioned, but anyone with a DD-214 can get SolidWorks educational for 
Pimblor fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Dec 16, 2015 |
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Dec 16, 2015 18:03
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Sure, but how many people that post here are also retired military/veterans/whatever? EDIT: I think you can also get the educational Solidworks for $250 or something if you have a valid student email with a participating college (that is, a college that 3DS lists as a valid college for the license, however they determine that). EDIT 2: Either way, Fusion360 is free if you make less than $100,000 per year using it, so why not learn that? Solidworks is shifting further into "gently caress you, pay me more money" territory next year with how their maintenance charges will be enforced starting next year anyway. EDIT 3: Full disclosure, we use Solidworks where I work and it's great, but I can't afford it for personal use, so Fusion360 is what I use there for my hobby stuff. I figure developing familiarity with both will be good for my resume either way. Some Pinko Commie fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Dec 16, 2015 |
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Dec 16, 2015 18:32
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Wade Wilson posted:Sure, but how many people that post here are also retired military/veterans/whatever? If I recall there's an entire subforum dedicated that very topic 
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Dec 16, 2015 19:06
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Hu Fa Ted posted:If I recall there's an entire subforum dedicated that very topic I was actually referring to how much actual overlap there would be between that subforum and this one, but okay.
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Dec 16, 2015 20:54
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Yes, I looked up the price of solidworks after I posted. Looks like I will be using Fusion360 unless I can somehow manage to get a student copy without being a student. I have watched a ton of videos online for Fusion, and participated in one webinar, but did not see the tutorials in the program. I will check those out.
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Dec 16, 2015 21:49
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On the note of Solidworks I could do with some help with turning this lovely 3D scan of a speed bike's fairing in to something actually symmetrical and not covered in weird geometry that I can take in to Ansys for CFD analysis. I've tried using the intersection curve tool with reference planes and lofts but that still picks up the weird geometry (such as some wrinkles on the side) and makes the lofting a pain in the rear end.
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Dec 19, 2015 18:02
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Does that file import as a solid body? I've never had any success with modifying imported files, I didn't think it was possible. 'Most of the stuff I need to import at work is faster just to take measurements and remodel, though.
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Dec 19, 2015 18:12
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ante posted:Does that file import as a solid body? It does, can't edit it though hence having to use reference planes to recreate it. Unfortunately I have no access to the original fairing or any reference material for it. Just a the aforementioned lovely 3D scan.
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Dec 19, 2015 18:15
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Solidworks is the wrong tool, then. Something like Blender can actually edit the model, I think. Someone might be able to suggest some other options, but more artistic software should be able to import stuff better. I dunno why SW doesn't do that, seems like a pretty big oversight
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Dec 19, 2015 18:59
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I feel like the best/correct/possibly even fastest way is to use the scan as a reference and create new splines for lofting/boundary surface. That way you're guaranteed a symmetrical part (since you're modeling half then mirroring) and you won't have weird scan artifacts.
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Dec 20, 2015 19:13
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After months of gathering dust my shapeoko is finally making some of its own: I've spent the last three days struggling through a usable workflow to get to the point that I could mill out some slats for holding down other workpieces. I'm using Fusion 360 for modelling and CAM, and while it is powerful I seriously need to figure out why I keep having problems that go against my intuition like extra points, line segments, and faces being created randomly as I model, pocketing operations generating no toolpaths with useless error messages that don't describe what needs to be fixed, or the fact that I have to model my own work holding tabs and then design the CAM strategy around them instead of the software just figuring it out for me. Kinda tempted to just buy something from vectric since their programs seem to be geared toward getting around all this annoying poo poo. Also why can't every program just let me hold space to pan, middle click sucks.
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Dec 31, 2015 21:19
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I like vcarve a ton, but even for my hobbyist use I do occasionally find it lacking in the CAD department from time to time. Although I think the most recent version fixes most of my complaints (namely, tangent operations.) Maybe I'll upgrade again in a year or two. Still have a bad taste in my mouth about the last one: after being a repeat customer for several upgrades, I bought an upgrade and then a week later, a new release came out with some major enhancements that I specifically wanted. I wrote to them multiple times about possibly getting a grace period on the purchase so that my week-old purchase wouldn't be out-dated, but they apparently just decided to completely ignore me. Like wtf, guys.
Bad Munki fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Dec 31, 2015 |
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Dec 31, 2015 21:26
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Ambihelical Hexnut posted:After months of gathering dust my shapeoko is finally making some of its own: I've spent the last three days struggling through a usable workflow to get to the point that I could mill out some slats for holding down other workpieces. You're not the only person who is finding fusion360 very unintuitive. I'm trying to mill a shape out of flat sheet, and the only cam operation that doesn't give me an error is engrave... No explanation why there is no valid toolpath otherwise.
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Jan 1, 2016 17:23
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I'm using cambam for 2d cam stuff and it's pretty easy. It's got a limited trial but it like, 100 openings of the program. So just never close it. The gcode my friend generated with fusion made no drat sense
moron izzard fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Jan 2, 2016 |
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Jan 1, 2016 21:18
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