Eyeball Engineering

[binaryterror]

Did you get a Microsoft Windows key at least from the guy who built it? Installing windows 7 isn't hard, and getting copies on a disk is free from Microsoft just some Downloading time, just that Key isn't.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Yup, got the key. Didn't think about partitioning and reinstalling windows. Might be worth a shot.

[Robbob]

And ............... ? Any luck?

[Duuuuuuuude]

They're sending me a new hd. The thought was that it got dropped during shipping and locked the hd up. Seems legit...the hd was getting unusually warm when it was powered up, and the box had a crinkled corner. More waiting. Yay.

In the mean time, I did finally get all my limit switched mounted. Still need to scrounge up some wire for them though, but haven't felt like leaving the house to look for some. Maybe tomorrow.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Got my new hd in! Yay!

It came with the correct version of Windows! Yay!

Got mach loaded up and my cnc is moving again! Yay!

But...

Now its stuttering, stalling, and missing steps.

[rob_b]

Yay!

Motor tuning... accel and feed settings. Also check the steps per. It might be in metic and you are telling it inches.

[Duuuuuuuude]

I messed with the tuning last night. After searching for possible answers, it was about the only thing I understood.

I turned down the accel and speed 25% of what the instructions recommended and changed a couple of other parameters. At first it was making a noise that reminded me of the old AOL/dial up days, now its better but the occasional stutter is still there.

The thing is, as far as I can tell, the setup is exactly the same as it was the first time I ran it weeks ago, and it moved perfectly then. Nice and smooth and fairly rapid.

[rob_b]

Sounds like it might be mechanical then. Alignment, binding and most importantly lubrication.

[Duuuuuuuude]

That was a thought too, though it's just been sitting. Giving it a good once-over is on the schedule today.

[Duuuuuuuude]

In other news, CHUD turned me on to a very interesting cad/cam setup. Free 30 day trial, and free for a full year if you are a student, teacher, or startup. I played with it a little bit and so far the learning curve isn't too terribly bad. Granted, the first part I drew was oriented on the wrong axis, but still, it wasn't too difficult to create.

3D CAD/CAM Software for Product Design | Fusion 360

[eric113]

Wish I knew what all this meant. But still fun to read.

[rob_b]

Fusion360 is a great choice imo. I have access to the ultimate edition (3D tool paths) due to my works subscription with Inventor. My 11 year old daughter is currently learning how to use it. I'm trying to lay the foundation for justifying a 3D printer for the "family". The interface/workflow is a little goofy coming from a more structured environment but it's ok overall. What's neat is the collaboration capabilities. Might come in handy if you need some programming help. Wink wink. The toolpaths are top notch once you get the setting dialed in and having associative cad/cam in one environment is the only way to fly.

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

In other news, CHUD turned me on to a very interesting cad/cam setup. Free 30 day trial, and free for a full year if you are a student, teacher, or startup. I played with it a little bit and so far the learning curve isn't too terribly bad. Granted, the first part I drew was oriented on the wrong axis, but still, it wasn't too difficult to create.

3D CAD/CAM Software for Product Design | Fusion 360

If you can qualify as a student, Autodesk will send you a 3 year student license for Inventor. Solidworks will give you a 6 month license. I use both but prefer Solidworks.

Glad to see that you are taking all of the 'puter issues in stride, I personally would have embraced my inner Viking a long time ago...

[rob_b]

Oh, I forgot earlier. The model orientation really doesn't matter. At the modeling level you can right click on the viewcube to redefine the "front" and "home" orientations. At the CAM level you go into setup>orientation and in the drop down select whatever works best for your part.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Awesome. I must admit, it was a little comical to watch the tool path simulation when Z was where Y should have been.


Messed around a bit, everything is clean and slick. I did notice that the issue was compounded when running more that one axis at a time, so it seems I've got some signal noise. It seems to be a common problem with these because they don't use shielded cable. It's an easy enough fix, though I'm a little baffled as to why it didn't do it before.

[rob_b]

I'd check that there are no loose wires at any of the connections. I loose wire at a terminal block caused me some frustration one day. Same symptoms as you describe. Might be worth checking the output voltages of the power supply and drivers as well since it's worse when multiple axis are involved. Maybe it is browning out?

[Duuuuuuuude]

Brown out is a possibility. During more play time today I found the spindle would shut down under load when running wide open. I don't know if that is a safety feature or a problem. I've got lots of reading to do.

I'll get some shielded cable ordered anyway since its not terribly expensive. Worst case scenario is I ditch the controller and spend some coin on some Gecko gear. If Fusion pans out for me it'll open up the budget a bit.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Update! Don't get too excited, its been a continual 2 steps forward, 1.99 steps back adventure.

While waiting on my shielded cable, I decided to instal linux and check out their offerings. I set it up in a dual boot configuration, and lost all access to windows. After exhausting all possible solutions to restore it, I ended up buying another version of win7 and reformating the hd.

This morning I wrapped up the cable swap, and it didn't fix a damn thing. Still sounds like a fax machine when moving. If I turn the feedrates down to roughly 50% its better, but painfully slow.

There are tons of threads on how to repair the factory controller, but a good percentage of it goes over my head or capabilities, so now I guess its time to shop for new drivers. I'll take any reasonably priced suggestions...

[rob_b]

Just drivers? What about the breakout board and power supplies? Got any data on the steppers?

[Duuuuuuuude]

Those too. I'll have to comb the web for specs again. Came across them once, haven't seen then since...