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Thread: Goal: a desktop cnc machine Level: Beginner

  1. #21
    thinBasic MVPs
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    K.i.s.s.

    This could be a more simple approach if you could get a cutting tool that is light enough. (A motor strapped at the end of arm with a drill bit coupled to it ??)

    http://www.maplin.co.uk/robotic-arm-...66257&t=module

    this might help

    http://luckylarry.co.uk/arduino-projects/arduino-modifying-a-robot-arm/

    http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ot-arm-851033/


    and this is just cool..

    http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/10427343.html
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  2. #22
    thinBasic MVPs kryton9's Avatar
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    Thanks Michael. Those are the kind of things I want to get into in the future and build from scratch. I wanted to make the cnc to build parts for robots and other projects that might come up.
    This guys amazing robot arm project, it is impressive!

  3. #23
    thinBasic MVPs kryton9's Avatar
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    Servos instead of steppers

    Interesting video about stepper vs servos. Servos have advantages, as long as you have an encoder.

  4. #24
    thinBasic MVPs
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    Kent dont get too hung up on motorised tables using a robot arm with a object thats not moving its more like the expensive cnc machines (i know they use a combination of both).

    Perhaps fix the cutting tool and move the object on the robot arm.....hmmm

    I got one of these arms yesterday and will be using it to machine parts for a table.

    Here is an example of the tables I use at work, one is using motors with gearboxes(nylon drive wheels) and the other is stepper motors.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Home Desktop : Windows 7 - Intel Pentium (D) - 3.0 Ghz - 2GB - Geforce 6800GS
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  5. #25
    thinBasic MVPs kryton9's Avatar
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    Congrats on getting your robot arm Michael. Hope you have fun using and also making parts for your table. Can't wait to hear all about how it goes.
    Thanks for the photos also of your machines at work. It is nice to see sharp photos like that and of different ideas.

  6. #26
    thinBasic MVPs kryton9's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kryton9 View Post
    I went last evening to Harbor Freight and bought the $11 rotary tool and 80 pieces. Tonight I tested them.
    First, the rotary tool is nice and small. It is very light and would be perfect for an apartment physically in size and weight. It runs at a constant 16,000 rpm, but it does so relatively quietly.
    I could run this late at night and not worry about my apartment neighbors hearing me. However, as soon as I touched the plastic to cut, it became very loud. It vibrated the piece I was cutting and the table it was on. It made a tremendous buzzing sound. I went and brought in a silicon heat shield pad from the kitchen. This cut the vibration on the table to near zero, but the vibration from the plastic being cut was still very loud.
    ...]
    I did some more research on bits for rotary tools and instead of looking at what a burr bit does, I did a search on google images for a rotary tool cutting bit and saw that it brought up pictures of bits that looked more like drill bits.

    So I tried a bit like that in addition to cutting the plastic with snips to isolate it into a single layer. Using the single layer plastic without the air gap really cut down on the noise. It was still too much noise to use in the evening with neighbors around, but it was about only 1/3 of what it was last night in the short test. The plastic still put out a burning smell, but it did not stick to the bit as it did to the burr bit. While I could drill and scratch the plastic with the power of this machine. It does not have enough torque to be used for milling. As I had mentioned it is small and lightweight so I am not too surprised. I think this is made more for polishing and perhaps sanding very small items.

    Even this little rotary tool needed a lot of force to push it around the plastic and keep it in control, much more than I ever thought it would.

    update: Just found this nice article about rotary tools for cnc machines. He has tried most of what he writes about and he even mentions the low cost one I bought to test.
    http://www.jcopro.net/2011/12/02/wha...ur-cnc-router/

    Here is a site where a dremel is used in a home made cnc machine. His cuts are not as good as I would like either. It could be the bit he was using. What do you guys think?
    http://www.lirtex.com/robotics/diy-cnc-machine/
    Last edited by kryton9; 22-02-2012 at 20:59.

  7. #27
    thinBasic MVPs kryton9's Avatar
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    Update for low priced rotary tool from harbor freight

    I went and bought a piece of pine today to try with the $11 rotary tool. Good news it worked, see attached photo. You can see all the dust just from this small amount of work. So some sort of dust collection system should be thought about for the design of the cnc. Also for the sound, although this is probably as quiet as any cnc can be with this tool and wood, it might be an idea to put it into an sound insulated box at some time. I guess this is more critical for late night guys like me who live in apartments. For daytime use, the sound would be no problem to anyone.

    While I was at the store for the wood, I was thinking of buying a name brand cutting bit to see if that also made a difference. Boy was I shocked!! A single lowest cost Dremel cutting bit cost 175% more than my rotary tool with 80 accessories total! The RotoZip had much better prices on their bits, you could buy a pack of cutting bits for the price of a single Dremel bit.

    Pine.jpg

    update:
    I used the 2 smallest cutting bits in my kit, a 1mm and 2.3mm and both worked the best. Also the sound reduced with these thinner bits. I would say the sound is at or slightly lower now, than running an electric vacuum cleaner. You need to cut in thin depths a 1/4 mm or less.
    So if we used a 1/4 -20 rod, that is .25 diameter and 20 revolutions per inch. A normal stepper motor is 200 steps per revolution, and if we use the normal 8 steps that is 20 x 200 x 8 = 32,000 steps per inch. (1/32 000) in = 0.00079375 mm about 315 steps to move 0.25 mm
    Last edited by kryton9; 23-02-2012 at 04:26.

  8. #28
    thinBasic MVPs kryton9's Avatar
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    Michael, found this you might find interesting. To control robot arm with very low cost Texas Instruments microcontroller kit:
    http://e2e.ti.com/group/msp430launch...ct/534532.aspx

  9. #29
    thinBasic MVPs kryton9's Avatar
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    Kits for microcontrollers

    I narrowed down the starting electronics kits that look interesting. We can decide which we all like.
    I think we can skip the basic electronics kits and start with a microcontroller kit and get going faster. If we are lost we can always go and start with a simpler kit.

    In order of price:
    $4.30 Texas Instruments

    $29.95 Arduino Uno http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardUno or any of the starter kits http://www.sparkfun.com/categories/103

    $79.99 Nerd Kits http://www.nerdkits.com/kits/

    Arduino and Nerd Kits use ATMEL AVR chips. The arduino has a better chip. All three seem to have nice tools and websites to learn from.

    I will probably buy all of these sooner or later to play with at these prices. I think ATMEL chips seem to be the hobbyists choice by far as of today.

    By far Arduino has the most info and projects out there that I have seen.

    Do you guys have any others you want to be added to the list?

  10. #30
    thinBasic MVPs
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    I use PicBasic with PicKit 2 (http://uk.farnell.com/microchip/pg16...t-2/dp/9847170) for the programmer, I find it very simple to use and the only thing I cant seem to get working properly is one wire single shot memory DS2502.

    Have a look at Swordfish (http://www.sfcompiler.co.uk/swordfish/) i haven't done anything with it although I installed it a while back.
    Home Desktop : Windows 7 - Intel Pentium (D) - 3.0 Ghz - 2GB - Geforce 6800GS
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