[691175002]

What'd you use to to stay flat while you were sanding? Did you fix the gib and move the paper or fix the paper and move the gib? Devil is in the details!

I wonder if I could get away with using the coarse sanding sponge I used to grind out the rest of the sand that was on my base. It's pretty square & flat, just not rigid..

I laid my sheet of sandpaper on a piece of glass and slid the gib across it. I also tried to keep the pressure even, it can be easy to overdo the edges and end up convex.

It isn't particularly critical though, the original surface is so bad that pretty much anything will improve it.

[Nater]

Nate, just wondering if you know what you are going to use for electronics and stepper or servos...

I tried attaching an Excel file I made while researching. I haven't purchased anything on the CNC section yet, as it was just preliminary, but its pretty close to what I'll end up going with I think. If I remember correctly it's laid out almost exactly like Hoss's Heavy Duty Package, but with the digital drivers. As such it has a weaker Z-axis motor I believe, but as I move along I want to work in the bigger one just cause. I have no interest in becoming an electrician too, enough on my plate, so I was glad to see quick & easy ethernet connectivity.

[Nater]

I laid my sheet of sandpaper on a piece of glass and slid the gib across it. I also tried to keep the pressure even, it can be easy to overdo the edges and end up convex.

It isn't particularly critical though, the original surface is so bad that pretty much anything will improve it.

I can dig it. Just like back in the day overclocking my Duron 600 to 1Ghz, before AMD or Intel even broke the barrier (officially). Had to lap the CPU heatsink by wet sanding on a mirror.

[hive8]

I looked over your Excel file looks pretty good, what i do on my mill is add a smoothstepper, i see more and more that i eliminates the problems of the parallel port... also i use a stronger stepper for the Z axis based on the Hoss Heavy Digital Package...

[Nater]

I looked over your Excel file looks pretty good, what i do on my mill is add a smoothstepper, i see more and more that i eliminates the problems of the parallel port... also i use a stronger stepper for the Z axis based on the Hoss Heavy Digital Package...

Maybe someday when my Q6600 Win7 rig gets retired and moved to the shop I'll score a smoothstepper, but that won't happen until Mach3 goes to 64 bit. Another reason I won't bother is I have 3x AthlonXP WinXP boxes piled up collecting dust. Parallel ports galore.

Hopefully the Mach3 developer is going to do a grand debut of a 64bit system for Windows 8.

also i use a stronger stepper for the Z axis based on the Hoss Heavy Digital Package...

Exactly what I was thinking. I think when I got the DVD from Hoss the digital drivers had just come out, so he had the Heavy Duty pkg and the Digital Pkg, but hadn't yet made another listing combining the two.

And don't take that Excel sheet as gospel guys as to what I have, half of it I didn't even buy, (and there's even more I did buy that isn't on there) but it was good to collect all the thoughts and have a baseline to compare prices.

[hoss2006]

Good point Nate, some people wait a long time before they can get to doing the conversions so the website
is the best place for the latest info.
G0704 Electronics
Still need to change all of kelings links to his new site but the old ones still work and part#'s are the same.
Note: You can get the big drill bits and taps on Ebay a LOT cheaper if you need them. A used 15/16-16 tap goes for less than $10 usually.
Hoss

[mmprestine]

Looks like a good start and thorough list you compiled.

Not sure if you considered it but why not just use LinuxCNC, it is free and supports 32/64 bit systems.

Matt

[hive8]

Sorry to chip in here don't want to hijack the thread but with LinuxCNC, how well does it work for stepper motors i thought it was more for servos and closed loop systems. Please can you elaborate a little more mmprestine

[Mad Welder]

Nater nice methodical list…. you did a bit of homework..

691175002 good photos of the sanding process....


And those of you going the Smooth Stepper route get the Eithernet version NOT the USB version and I can say this from experience I'm waiting for delivery of the ESS from CNC4PC and here's their link CNC4PC.....

[Nater]

Nater nice methodical list…. you did a bit of homework..

Thanks. I sure did...I'll layout all the crap I bought on the table and snap some pics eventually. The 5" shars vise isn't even out of the box yet!

691175002 good photos of the sanding process....

He's got me convinced - I scooped up a couple sheets of sandpaper, but I could not find any indicating fluid at the hardware stores here local. Might have to wait on sanding the gibs for me.

And those of you going the Smooth Stepper route get the Ethernet version NOT the USB version and I can say this from experience I'm waiting for delivery of the ESS from CNC4PC and here's their link CNC4PC.....

USB latency I take it? I remember when laser gaming mice started coming out and us enthusiasts started "overclocking" our USB frequencies. IIRC anything over 100Hz and WinXP would lockup. Guessing Mach3 starts kicking out the G-code too fast and USB can't keep up?

[Nater]

Trying to snap more pics as I move along here. Started cleaning the table up better now that it's off the machine. And boy am I glad I went ahead to do a more thorough cleaning...yuck.



And after cleaning,

^ Dunno what that little orange spot is...it doesn't appear to be rust. It's almost like the cosmoline stained the metal.


Even the holes on the end are jammed with crap. No wonder the table ends were so hard to get off.

That tells me to take that hose adapter out...

Yep, more gunk!

Shot of the awesome paint job under the table.


Tried the panoramic setting on my Razr. Can easily get a picture that's nearly 50 megapixels, this one is toned down quite a bit.


I came up to the house to find my razorblade to scrape that paint off. Back at it.

And on the Linux note - I don't think SolidWorks runs on Linux. I'd like to have a do-it-all machine at some point.

[Mad Welder]

.....Guessing Mach3 starts kicking out the G-code too fast and USB can't keep up?

Nope believe it or not it's the opposite....the Smooth Stepper compiles and assimilates information soo fast with its onboard chip that it “Times Out” basically it has to wait for Mach to send out signals and remember we’re talking milliseconds here too……so it’s Mach’s toolpaths video screen that ‘delays’ the signals as Mach draws the toolpaths……but no that’s not the main reason I advise to not get the USB SS version as it’s very susceptible to electronic noise and also the “dreaded ground loop bug” but this issue has been resolved completely with the Eithernet version…..

[Nater]

Starting to put the table back together now. Bit tricky, but I think I got it. Couldn't remember what orientation certain things went, but with the exploded view in the manual, and if you just take some time and see how it CAN fit together, I think I pulled it off.


Sorry bout the quality on this one, didn't realize it was the suck. Prolly got oil on my lens or something.

I don't know if I'll tackle taking the head off and yanking the Z-axis out as well quite yet...I'd like to at least get some dry runs in at making some motor mounting plates so I'll just degrease & lube per the manual.

[Nater]

5" Vise from Shars unboxing.




Corners are SHARP. The "manual" is absolutely hilarious, it's literally written in Engrish. Cleaned it up a bit and wiped it down with some oil.


Now, something to watch out for when using lags to bolt down the stand.

My dad did for me while I was cleaning up parts of the mill, so I can't take credit. He did the best he could, but he was *****ing and moaning the whole time about hitting rocks in the concrete, it kept throwing off the angles & spacing.

The end result:


Now on the top of the stand it's nowhere near that bad, what part of the mill do I adjust to level this out? If I held the level up against the bottom of the spindle it was about the same..so maybe I'm ok if they're identical. I've already adjusted the gibs to the best of my ability, things seem nice & tight but still ride smooth. Z-axis I never quite got a good feel for, but it doesn't appear to be any worse than it was out of the box. I just realized that I never did check the lay of the floor itself. Thoughts?

[LUCKY13]

I would use shims under the stand between it and the floor. Make then full lenth of the base if its possible to get it level that way, if not just make them to work.



Jess

[jeazor]

What about adjustable feet? Or is there not a big enough foot print for the G0704 to be stable without bolting down. I have yet to place mine where I want it yet.

[691175002]

He's got me convinced - I scooped up a couple sheets of sandpaper, but I could not find any indicating fluid at the hardware stores here local. Might have to wait on sanding the gibs for me.

No need for spotting ink, it just makes it easy to compare before and after.

You actually get a very similar effect off the sandpaper, the surface finish becomes shiny where the sandpaper has removed material. Not quite as obvious as red ink but very visible nonetheless.

[DRock]

You need to use a hammer drill to get through the concrete. My Dad helped me out with that as I started off with a normal drill and it was near impossible to get down straight. The Bosch hammer drill made short work of all the holes once I got my hands on one.

[Starleper1]

You need to use a hammer drill to get through the concrete. My Dad helped me out with that as I started off with a normal drill and it was near impossible to get down straight. The Bosch hammer drill made short work of all the holes once I got my hands on one.

Not only that, but you need to use concrete drills.

[Nater]

Not only that, but you need to use concrete drills.

Yeah we bought one just for these 4 holes, I'll probably never use it again. I think the only way we'll get em' perfectly straight is to NOT run into any rocks. Only two of the 4 holes ran true. Be interesting to see how much a hammer drill would have actually helped, it was hard enough trying to break the hard spots up with a nail. Bottom line - the floor is junk. The level looks the exact same on the floor, and it would make sense if the garage doors were on that side, instead any water would run to the opposite wall!

Found some shimming material that may do the trick I hope - some leftover aluminum trim.