My mill got a few important upgrades since my last blog entry. First, the TB6560 controller was replaced by a really simple parallel port breakout board and three independent M542 stepper drivers. The motors were also replaced by new ones with low inductance. I found out the first ones had really high inductance which didn't allow me to drive them very dynamically. The performance is now great. Motors are much less noisy, don't get as hot as the old ones when idle and run at 3200 mm/min without any lost steps. Limit is now the kernel speed of Mach3.
I will provide more Information, wiring diagram and photos as soon as I finished hiding it inside a case.
I will provide more Information, wiring diagram and photos as soon as I finished hiding it inside a case.
I also recognized the Z axis is still not rigid enough for aluminum milling. So I made a new one using a ballscrew and profile rails instead of linear bearings and unsupported rods. Manufacturing was a bit tricky, as I had to make special clamping blocks to fix the plate on my machine table. I really love them because they allow me to fix any part size and don't block the surface of the workpiece. I still have not enough screws to assemble everything properly but the first test was a huge success.
Btw sorry for the bad image quality. I have just my Gopro to make pics as my handy is even more crap but the video came out great. I may upload it when I have some time.
The bottle opener on the following pictures is a test part for a CNC/CAM course I may give at the FabLab Winti next year. One flute of my endmill is broken out. You can see the marks on the side very well. I may make another one with new tools and improved tool paths.