[mduckett]

Loaded a simple arc/circle program and ran it first on some wood, then on a scrap piece of aluminum. I’ve been playing with the motors and running the program in single step mode. The first thing I notice is how loud the X,Y motors are—didn’t expect them to be so noisy when being driven in circle interpolation. Setup was a 5/16” 2FL end mill running at about 2000 RPM. I set the feed rate to 5 IPM. The program traces a 1” circle with the cutter centered on the circle, and does spiral cutting down to .0625”. I didn’t bother doing an accurate tool touch-off, just got it close but not touching, so I ended up with about .040” final depth. Since this was my first CNC cut in metal, I didn’t want to take any chances on cutting too deep or fast. Sorry no video yet, but once I get more comfortable with running the machine I’ll start making some. Right now I’m still trying to learn the g-codes and keep from crashing something. Already been saved by the limit switches at least once. I tried to measure the “pocket” diameter on the test piece for roundness and accuracy but it’s so shallow that it’s hard to get consistent readings from my calipers. Looks to be maybe .002” max out of round. No evidence of backlash at the direction change switch points. I did calibrate the X,Y ball screws prior to this run and also measured the backlash to be < .001” . However, on the Y axis there seems to be considerable variation in the screw pitch over even short spans. For example, jogging in 0.1” steps, I see as much as (+/-) .0025” of variation in the steps over a 1” travel. This is the screw that needed to be straightened, so I’m wondering if that may be the reason. All in all, I’m encouraged by the function so far, and expected that some tweaking would be needed.

Next ToDo items: Fix interference problems on the X-axis travel colliding with the side of the rear Y-axis way cover bracket. Fix the front Y limit switch/X switch cable problem. Get E-switch box mounted and flood coolant pump power wired up. Need to make the upper Z-axis way cover. Build up the enclosure so testing with serious chip throwing and flood coolant can commence.