@Paul_Frederick : domestic animals that go outside don’t live long here! There are too many things that eat them.
@George_Allen That Due and GRBL shield can be a lot of fun if you run G2Core. Thats the setup on my new laser cutter: https://github.com/synthetos/g2/wiki/What-is-g2core
@John_Bump We have a similar problem here on the equator… but my cats are ‘local’ and are very cautious in going through doorways, nosing around outside, etc.
They tend to pick a high point and watch for a long while.
We did have a ‘foreign’ cat we were given and it lasted about two weeks before becoming dinner.
That is a rather large python with fluffy cat entree…
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Best DIY CNC post in a bit!
@George_Allen we fit a computer, 4 qty 4amp stepper drivers, controller, fused plug and a Estop in a metal box that ships in a 5x5x18" box. It’s all about the want man!
You can do it!
Best advise. Realize where you need high amperage and where you don’t. Don’t put a solid core 12g awg on a 3.3v logic signal. On the other side know where you need to shield…
@Brandon_Satterfield Yes, I realized the 12 or 14 awg lesson the hard way. New rule of thumb: if the wire doesn’t fit, you must uh quit!
@Mike_Thornbury yes, I’ve had the greatest success running a TinyG, but I blew 2 Controllers, so I started trying some cheaper controllers & other controllers. I could’ve theoretically used the TinyG controller with the larger external drivers, but there were some features & functions that I knew were on Mach that I wanted to use.
I just cant get excited by Mach - it looks like 1990s tech to me.
I would rather give $100 to a bunch of hackers making the next cool open source tool than someone stuck in a vertical market, desperately clinging on to their yearly registration renewals.
@Brandon_Satterfield With That Smooth Stepper, you can set up at least 6 axes. I’ve seen posts where some were using like 9 or more. I don’t know where you’d find the code to run those. I guess you’d have to write it yourself.
@Mike_Thornbury I understand. I almost bought one of the new buildobtics controllers on my newest build. But, I thought I might want to try extra axes.
@Mike_Thornbury Are you using a Due and G2? I’ve seen that but not yet given it a try. My Arduino with GRBL is working ok, but I would like a few thinks that GRBL does not offer, such as a 4th axis.
@Jay_Polo some actual motion prediction might be nice too. That’s another thing that GRBL does not offer.
@Jay_Polo apparently GRBL does offer motion prediction, but I’m not sure how good it is.
And yes, I am trying Due+G2.
I’ve got a bunch of controllers like TinyG, Smoothie 4, 5, 6 axis, Marlin, GRBL shields, etc.
I only need 2 axes for my minimalist laser cutter (only 2 motors) so I thought it was a waste using the Tiny’s but wanted speed and smoothness as my design is rather unusual in that it uses a cantilevered X-axis hanging off the Y-axis, so judder is something I wanted to do without. The smooth acceleration curve of the Tiny/G2 should negate that.
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i actually bought a nema1 box from amazon for 20 bucks.
its big. its heavy. but i put my ddcsv1.4 on the lid. its thick so not so easy to cut as i believe its 16ga. my nibbler broke as it handled only 18ga and well i went for it
@Mike_Thornbury according to a LinuxCNC dev that I chatted with GRBL’s motion planner is a joke. He ought to know because he programs LinuxCNC.
They were on the floor but they kept getting broken so I screwed them to a sheet of wood mounted on the side of the machine. https://plus.google.com/photos/110888442429803530293/albums/6558377385906170865/6558377387106180690
There’s a full size pc the, vsd, coolant tank pump radiator and fan, air regulator and solonoid, power supply, tiny G and a board I built to control the spindle speed. I have plans to build a proper box there but hasn’t been enough of a problem to justify the time.
@Paul_Frederick I believe I have a step down circuit somewhere, the problem is trying to find it. I have a small 12V fan I took from a PC.
@Phillip_Ramirez I pulled the electronics out of a Dell Desktop, but I still don’t believe it’s going to be big enough.
@Paul_Frederick There’s always something better. Next step for me may be the G2. Have the spare Due, and should drop in cleanly to my current build.