Made a bit more progress last night. I made the wiring a bit neater and put two coats of gray paint onto the machine’s wooden base-plate. The paint will prevent oil from the lead screw from soaking into the wood.
I also cut an access hatch (hole) into the base-plate that is large enough to allow adjustments and maintenance to the underside of the cutter-carriage without its removal from the machine. I made a sheet metal hatch cover and screwed it over the hole.
Finally, but most importantly, I started to try to get TurboCNC software configured to work with the FET-3 controller board from Stepperworld. I played around with the setting for an hour or so, but could not get TurboCNC to talk to the board. I will email Stepperworld today for TurboCNC configuration hints. I will also try KCAM software tonight.
I "jogged" the machine a bit more with the Stepperworld testing software too. I noticed that the lead-screw shows some deflection when the cutter head is between 2 and 3 feet from the stepper-motor. Probably means that the cutter-head carriage is too tight on the rails. May need some adjustment. This machine is definitely the maximum size possible with the thin 1/4" lead-screw.
Like this:
Like Loading...
About mattsanf
Matt Sanfilippo is the Chief Partnership Officer (CPO) for the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Co-Director of its Engineering Research Accelerator. In this role, Matt coordinates and enables strategic and sponsored research opportunities across the college, and stewards the development of proposals for major research opportunities along strategic themes. Additionally, he enables collaboration among the college's research institute/center executive directors, and industrial and government relations personnel in the pursuit of opportunities with industry, federal and state governments. Before becoming CPO for the College, Matt was the Senior Executive Director for Research Initiatives, the Executive Director of CMU's SII (Smart Infrastructure Institute) and ICES (Institute for Complex Engineered Systems), and Associate Director of PITA (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance) and RAMP (Research for Advanced Manufacturing in Pennsylvania).
Before CMU, Matt was Managing Director of Applied Technology for Michael Baker Corporation, an engineering and energy services firm. Matt managed Baker's technology division including Geographic Information System (GIS), software and web development, multimedia, virtual reality, visualization, Global Positioning System (GPS), mapping and surveying services. Before joining Baker, Matt was an Innovation Director for Redleaf Group, a Venture Capital/Operating Company focused on information security, supply chain and mobility solutions. While at Redleaf, Matt managed technical due diligence for seed-stage investments and coordinated relationships between Redleaf and their partner companies. Prior to Redleaf, Matt was CIO of GZA GeoEnvironmental Technologies, an infrastructure engineering firm, and operations manager for their Internet start-up that focused on web-technologies for health and safety and manufacturing metrics.
Matt is on the board of Larson Design Group (LDG), past Chairman of the Board for the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, current board member of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF), current Vice President of the Sewickley Heights Gun Club (SHGC) and former member of the Information Sciences and Technology Advisory Board for the Pennsylvania State University Beaver. Matt is also former Vice President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association of Internet Professionals and former Vice President of the Board of Trustees for Baker Combined Charity of Pennsylvania.
A Learning Adventure in the Workshop 