[santiniuk]

Hi All,

Like a lot of people on here, this forum has captured my interest.

I now no longer pass heaps of scrap metal without wondering what use they can be used for....

I'm from the U.K and would like to pass my thanks to Alan at www.fromorbit.com as his Picstep controller design will be the 1st elements of my project.

It's early days but hopefully writing my log here will be an incentive to keep going...

Enough rambling.... thanks for having me on here....

[santiniuk]

Stage 1

I need to make 3 controller boards and 1 interface board.

Had some spare photo-resist board so after printing the artwork on a HP laserjet printer to clear film It was time to hunt out the UV exposure box.

Some of the pads are not as thick as I would like, especially as they need to be hand drilled.

Photoresist was not too bad so I will continue.

[santiniuk]

After exposing the 4 boards to UV light, the exposed resist was removed.
Not one of my favourite jobs !

The boards were then placed in the etching tank and overall I was quite happy with the track detail.

After washing the boards I hunted for some tin plating solution I knew I had somewhere.....

This certainly helps when soldering to the boards and it stops the copper contamination.

So with 4 boards etched I call it a day... I will drill them tomorrow. Oh how I will enjoy that....

(As a side note can anyone recommend a pcb prototyping company in the UK ?)

End of day 1

Image of boards after using the tin plating solution

[arvidb]

(As a side note can anyone recommend a pcb prototyping company in the UK ?)

http://www.pcb-pool.com/ppuk/info.html

Arvid

[BobLWeiss]

I must say they came out really good. I am also in the process of making these boards although I wanted some more bells and whistles so I redesigned the layout but still using the same firmware and basic design he layed out. I am interested to see how they perform when you get that far. What size motors are you using for this? What size power supply?

[MrBean]

I'm also building these boards for my router. I'm trying to, "isolation mill" the tracks on the boards using my CNC. Still some work to do on them to get them usable. You can check out the progress at:

http://www.terry-is.f2s.com/


Regards Terry.....

[BobLWeiss]

Well finished building the new Z axis...works great!



I cut out the ruler G-code and it was dead on the money in terms of accuracy...Now I am going to purchase TurboCNC so I can set all the settings permantly. Its a drag that it won't save the configuration settings in demo mode...kind of makes it hard to evaluate it..oh well.

[santiniuk]

I have just spent a good 10 minutes on the site you posted BobLWeiss, quite impressive !

This is certainly a method I will investigate in future. Can you comment on how easy / successful it is ? From the images you posted it looks great.

It sounds like your well ahead of me if your machine is built. I look forward to seeing the pics. (And grab some ideas...)

@Alan,

Good to see the master is watching ! Thanks again. Will post any queries here.

Cheers

[BobLWeiss]

Can you comment on how easy / successful it is ? From the images you posted it looks great.

To me it can't be any easier, after printing it out (I use Staples Picture Paper and haven't tried anything else), I press a hot iron on it for about 7 minutes and move it around to make sure I get every inch. After that I let it cool for about 5 minutes then place it in warm water with some dish soap in it. I let it sit for about 15 minutes and peel the first layer of paper off. Then soak some more and do this until you get 90% of the paper off (total of 30-45 minutes). I then use an eraser on a number 2 lead pencil and rub off the remaining bits (make sure you do this in the water and not dry).

Sometimes it rubs off a little piece of toner so you will need to look at it with a magnifying glass and touch up the spot(s) with a fine pointed Sharpie. Now your ready to etch away. I can get as small as 10mil traces with 10mil spacing between them. I haven't tried any smaller yet but I'm sure if your careful it can be done.

Bob

[santiniuk]

Thanks for the offer Mr Bean or do you prefer Terry

Will certainly cover any costs for the correct parts.

I know what you mean about time. I have Twins. Just gone 4 and it's non stop !

This is one of those projects that I won't be rushing so this may be a long thread.....

Regards,

[MrBean]

Thanks for the offer Mr Bean or do you prefer Terry

Will certainly cover any costs for the correct parts.

I know what you mean about time. I have Twins. Just gone 4 and it's non stop !

This is one of those projects that I won't be rushing so this may be a long thread.....

Regards,

Either name is fine.

I got a really good deal on 40, and I only need 4 at most, maybe a few for spares too. I'll let you know when/if, they arrive and I'll post you some for free.

Regards Terry.....

[ViperTX]

I have no idea what this circuit looks like but, generally resonators are self contained and crystals (not crystal drivers) require a few external capacitors to get them oscillating....

[BobLWeiss]

I have no idea what this circuit looks like but, generally resonators are self contained and crystals (not crystal drivers) require a few external capacitors to get them oscillating....

The one that Alan used for his circuit is the 3 leaded one that has built in capacitors. I am getting them for $1 a piece in the US.

[santiniuk]

Top Stuff Terry. Appreciated

@Viper - Thanks for the tip. I'll look into the external cap's as Crystals are due tomorrow and I will be itching to test them.

Can someone confirm the value of Resistors R1-R5 on the interface board. They look like pull-ups.

Also the switches, I'm not entirely sure what all 14 are required for. Can someone please clarify ?

Lastly on the control boards I have some 470pf caps instead of the 500pf specified will these be ok ?

Thanks all,

[ViperTX]

Top Stuff Terry. Appreciated

@Viper - Thanks for the tip. I'll look into the external cap's as Crystals are due tomorrow and I will be itching to test them.

Can someone confirm the value of Resistors R1-R5 on the interface board. They look like pull-ups.

Also the switches, I'm not entirely sure what all 14 are required for. Can someone please clarify ?

Lastly on the control boards I have some 470pf caps instead of the 500pf specified will these be ok ?

Thanks all,

Look at the tolerance on the 470 pf...the 500 pf should work. What does the schematic look like.

[Garfield2]

Can someone confirm the value of Resistors R1-R5 on the interface board. They look like pull-ups.

Indeed, they're 10K. Just a normal pull-up resistor

Also the switches, I'm not entirely sure what all 14 are required for. Can someone please clarify ?

The 2x2 blocks are for setting the modes of the controllers (Full, Half, 1/4, 1/8th), they're just jumper blocks. The other six are just general inputs for home switches etc. If you don't need them you can just leave them out along with the pull-up resistors. The "CONN7" block is an output block for 3 pins on the parallel port which you can use to trigger your own relay drivers to turn on/off motors/pumps/routers.

Lastly on the control boards I have some 470pf caps instead of the 500pf specified will these be ok ?

470pF will be fine to replace the C2/C4 capacitors. The only critical value there is the 2.2nF's of C1/C3 as they set the RC up for the PWM timing.

Also ignore the error in the schematic for the values of R2/R4 these two resistors set the current limit for each coil and should be set the same using this equation to work out their values :-

resistor value = 20000 / coil current

eg 20000 / 0.7A = 28K


The interface board uses the same screw terminal block of the controller boards. The 2x2 are just 2x2 IDC pins.


Cheers,
Alan.

PS quite busy organising new infrastructure at work, so I cannot monitor these forums or my email for the next few weeks. Thanks.

[BobLWeiss]

I used a 470pf cap as well. I cannot find a 500pf cap anywhere and believe me I looked. I don't belive they make one. It should be ok.

The 5 resistors are pullups for the external input switches. The reason for so many is because the lines are available so why not use them? (I'm guessing). I am using them for home and limit switches.

[santiniuk]

Not guite 100% but nearly there....

Missing a couple of components but got all 4 boards built to 99%

Not going to have a chance to do much this weekend so it will be Monday before much more is done.

I have the bits to make the IDC leads and will make these on Monday.

I messed a bit with my camera trying to get some decent pic's. Not great, maybe when you have some time Alan you can give a few pointers on how to get good closeup shots.

I must dust off the boards before I take pics next time
Cheers,

[BobLWeiss]

Looks good...your pictures are fine the way they are now.

I am at the same stage as well..they messed up my order so I have to wait till Monday to get the rest of my parts...its a race to see who's done first... :cheers:

Bob

[Garfield2]

Not guite 100% but nearly there....

Missing a couple of components but got all 4 boards built to 99%

Not going to have a chance to do much this weekend so it will be Monday before much more is done.

I have the bits to make the IDC leads and will make these on Monday.

Looks excellent. Making massive progress! Well done.

I messed a bit with my camera trying to get some decent pic's. Not great, maybe when you have some time Alan you can give a few pointers on how to get good closeup shots.

Unfortunately it's called a really expensive camera and a really good 35mm lens. I have a Canon 10D and I used a Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 lens. But! you can get really good results with everyday digital cameras. My mate Dan has written a very good basic photographic tutorial at :

http://www.dansdata.com/

I must dust off the boards before I take pics next time
Cheers,

Guilty of that too!



-A