[groswald]

Thanks all.

I really have to get the top and doors done now. I'm tired of the chips and dust all over the shop! I am going to try putting a 4" dust port in the front face of the cover. I'll have to create an opening for air to enter if I do. I'll probably just remove the piece of Plexiglas that I screwed to the back in place of the back door. I'll let you know what I come up with.

I had one problem with the remote DB25 cable. I could find 24 or 30 conductor ribbon cable, but no 25. I ended up using the 24 conductor version and added a piece of 20 gauge stranded wire for the 25th connection. You could also get the 30 conductor cable and just remove the extra 5 wires.

If you don't want to have to solder 50 connections you can get ribbon-cable crimp-on male and female DB25 connectors. I could not find them locally and didn't want to wait, so I went with the solder-cup versions. I believe you can get them from either Mouser or Digikey.

Regards,

Randy

[bjesson]

Dave,

here is a simple way to not only feed the AC cord into the back of the machine but secure it as well. You don't want to trip on the cable and pulls a set of hot lead wires out of the power supply or ruin the power supply for that matter. You'll see in the pic, drilled a hole smaller then the threads of a 1/2" AC box wire clamp, I twisted it into the wood to cut the threads, removed it and added some CA glue, re-threaded it into the whole, fed AC wire in, tightened clamp. Cost about $2.00 and makes everything safe and clean.

Billj

Randy,

Nice job cleaning up the wiring. I may attempt the AC cord through the base revision but will leave the rest alone for now - I'm not a good solderer (is that a word??). I see your e-stop switch is just hanging around like mine. I have just enough room below the power supply to fit it in whe I get the doors done.

Keep the tweaks coming as they make me think of ways to finish my build.

Thanks, Dave

[Bob Adams]

Hi,I like your machine. Where did you buy your Cold roll for the rails, was it nice and flat on all the surfaces? How does your Machine run now?

[revwarguy]

Hey Groswald,

Nice build - looks like you're going to have a ball with it!
[*]Photo 10-12: My tool setter. Nifty! My implementation of the design offered by "erniebro" elsewhere in the woodworking machines forum. Lets you set an edge for X and Y and your Z height. You do have to install the "Blue" screen set for Mach3 as well as an update, but all of that is described in the thread.

A word of warning about this - I used the erniebro macro for some time and found that there were a couple of bugs in the original macro that could result in an intermittant problem that could send the tool down into your table unchecked! If you are going use it, please make sure you have a later version with the bugs corrected, which should be later on in that thread.

A better alternative is to use a completely different screen set. I used to use the blue set, but switched to Gerry G.'s 2010 Screenset and it was like getting a new machine! Much easier to use, much better screens that have well done macros for several types of edge setting, as well as supports tool changes so that you only have to set the Z zero point once, and can then do as many tools changes as needed without having to do it again. It costs $20, but its about the best $20 I spent on my CNC in some time. Just a thought.

[groswald]

Revwarguy,

Thanks. I've had the problem.

You have to remember to tell Mach3 to ignore tool changes or it drives the bit into the table if you specify a tool number that isn't set up in the Mach3 tool table. It's a real PITA. I'll take a look at the screen set you suggest.

Regards,

Randy

[revwarguy]

You have to remember to tell Mach3 to ignore tool changes or it drives the bit into the table if you specify a tool number that isn't set up in the Mach3 tool table.

That is true, you must watch out for that, but it's not a fault of the macro.

I was referring to times when you are first setting the Z zero and you hit the button, and the tool auto descends but the macro misses the contact signal, even though the LED came on, sending the tool further and further into your contact plate until you hit estop or something expensive breaks. Best case it ruins the tool. It doesn't happen often, so you think you are ok if you've done it for the last 20 times ok. It has to do with the timing loops in Mach and is fixed in later versions of the macro.

[groswald]

Ah, got it. Yep, seen that one too. I always figured it was me doing something wrong.

I bought Gerry's screenset. I'll get it installed over the weekend and make sure my Mach3 is up to date.