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What to do with old plasma table

aczlan said:
So, should that be able to be used on a CNC mill as well (assuming the voltages for the motors match)?

Seeing a CNC mill that says it needs a motherboard and wondering if that would let me upgrade it from what appears to be a 1980s vintage control system to something a little newer (and possibly sell off the old control boards to offset my cost).

Aaron Z
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Yes, Linux CNC can work on just about any type machine. There are guys that have retrofitted full on machining centers with 4, 5 or more axis control, full tool changers and everything else that originally came on them.


But if you don't know Linux, be prepared for a very steep learning curve.
 
aczlan said:
So, should that be able to be used on a CNC mill as well (assuming the voltages for the motors match)?

Seeing a CNC mill that says it needs a motherboard and wondering if that would let me upgrade it from what appears to be a 1980s vintage control system to something a little newer (and possibly sell off the old control boards to offset my cost).

Aaron Z
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If I find another CNC mill for scrap price I might go this way.
The conversational programming makes it simple to run "canned" cycles on the lathe and mill without having to CAD/CAM every single operation.
 
aczlan said:
Good to know it can work.

I know enough to get myself into trouble, sometimes I can even get back out :grinpimp:

Aaron Z
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I'd love to find someone local that knows enough to make my fucking touchscreen work. :laughing:
 
CarterKraft said:
same...
You try this route? I haven't yet

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Mine's USB. There was a thread in GCC a couple months ago but I threw in the towel.

Basically, wheezy is too old to work with a usb touch without lots of linux fuckery. Whatever the latest release of linuxcnc is works well with the screen, but my wheezy install is so old that it's not immediately compatible with the new release (something about breaking axis and joints in the new that wasn't done in the old) so the only way for me to really migrate is to start over with a fresh config, which I also don't have the patience for.
 
bgaidan said:
Mine's USB. There was a thread in GCC a couple months ago but I threw in the towel.

Basically, wheezy is too old to work with a usb touch without lots of linux fuckery. Whatever the latest release of linuxcnc is works well with the screen, but my wheezy install is so old that it's not immediately compatible with the new release (something about breaking axis and joints in the new that wasn't done in the old) so the only way for me to really migrate is to start over with a fresh config, which I also don't have the patience for.
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I'm on the most current shit and my usb touch doesn't work... :lmao:
 
CarterKraft said:
I'm on the most current shit and my usb touch doesn't work... :lmao:
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Weird.

In one of my attempts, I installed the new version and the touch screen was mostly working right out of the box, other than needing to be calibrated. But, of course, LinuxCNC itself was useless with my old config. :shaking:

I did actually buy a second SSD and have the new version installed on it so whenever I have nothing better to be working on, I can take another crack at it without losing my working setup again.
 
bgaidan said:
Weird.

In one of my attempts, I installed the new version and the touch screen was mostly working right out of the box, other than needing to be calibrated. But, of course, LinuxCNC itself was useless with my old config. :shaking:

I did actually buy a second SSD and have the new version installed on it so whenever I have nothing better to be working on, I can take another crack at it without losing my working setup again.
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Damnit I didn't have that luck but who knows what I was doing wrong.
 
I'm working on installing my y axis motors and gears and have realized that my spur gear shafts are bent. Where is a good place to find gears? McMaster doesn't have what I need.
1000014517.jpg
 
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patooyee said:
I'm working on installing my y axis motors and gears and have realized that my spur gear shafts are bent. Where is a good place to find gears? McMaster doesn't have what I need.
1000014517.jpg
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Mcmaster has the parts

almost every single part on that table can be found online other than the dxf files for the brackets that came from TM including the electronics
 
and, you have to keep an eye on those gears, I wear mine out, but my table is working more than most
when your parts seem a 'little'off check them and swap them out,
this gear is a part I keep on the shelf
 
SomeGuyFromOlympia said:
and, you have to keep an eye on those gears, I wear mine out, but my table is working more than most
when your parts seem a 'little'off check them and swap them out,
this gear is a part I keep on the shelf
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Are they 20 degree pressure angle?
 
SomeGuyFromOlympia said:
www.mcmaster.com

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.
www.mcmaster.com www.mcmaster.com
double check, this is what I use
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My teeth don't look nearly as "square"on the tip as that. The 20 degree ones look more "pointy," like mine, but they're so small it's also just hard to tell with certainty.

I called TM today to ask and they said that their tech department is behind a couple weeks on calls but they would get back to me. 😤
 
patooyee said:
My teeth don't look nearly as "square"on the tip as that. The 20 degree ones look more "pointy," like mine, but they're so small it's also just hard to tell with certainty.

I called TM today to ask and they said that their tech department is behind a couple weeks on calls but they would get back to me. 😤
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So this might be a workable solution...

Go to the rack of the spec you think it is and then go to the CAD download in McMaster and print out the side profile then match it to your gear.

You could 3d print gears from the 3d files too but I don't think that's worthwhile.
 
CarterKraft said:
So this might be a workable solution...

Go to the rack of the spec you think it is and then go to the CAD download in McMaster and print out the side profile then match it to your gear.

You could 3d print gears from the 3d files too but I don't think that's worthwhile.
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I happen to be on a road trip where I am 20 minutes from McMaster Carr. I'm going to order the 3 gears they have that it could possibly be along with new shafts and have them set up as will call. I've got my gear with me. I'll bring it inside and compare, return any that aren't it tomorrow.
 
patooyee said:
My teeth don't look nearly as "square"on the tip as that. The 20 degree ones look more "pointy," like mine, but they're so small it's also just hard to tell with certainty.

I called TM today to ask and they said that their tech department is behind a couple weeks on calls but they would get back to me. 😤
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are they pointy because they are old?
because that is how mine wear, they just keep getting pointier

I am glad that place isn't by my house, I have a hard enough time ordering stuff from them as it is
 
I think McMaster had what I needed today. I'm going to wait until I get home to mesh it with the rack before I confirm though.

McMaster wasn't as big as I expected it to be given the massive online inventory they always seem to have at my house in one business day. I was kind of expecting something about 100x the size of a super Walmart. Instead it was only roughly about 4x. I will say that they seem like a very efficiently-run company. 🤣
 
patooyee said:
I think McMaster had what I needed today. I'm going to wait until I get home to mesh it with the rack before I confirm though.

McMaster wasn't as big as I expected it to be given the massive online inventory they always seem to have at my house in one business day. I was kind of expecting something about 100x the size of a super Walmart. Instead it was only roughly about 4x. I will say that they seem like a very efficiently-run company. 🤣
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I made an order
30 min later I realized I messed up, sent a email to fix it
they responded immediately, and told me too late, it is picked and gone :laughing:
I double check a little closer now
 
SomeGuyFromOlympia said:
I made an order
30 min later I realized I messed up, sent a email to fix it
they responded immediately, and told me too late, it is picked and gone :laughing:
I double check a little closer now
Click to expand...

They're insane. Order at 10pm and shits at my door at 8am.

And they actually respond to e-mails and messages. I had to get my tax exemption added to my account the other day and I think it was a total of 10 minutes from my first message, their reply, me replying with the form to them saying my account was good to go.
 
bgaidan said:
They're insane. Order at 10pm and shits at my door at 8am.

And they actually respond to e-mails and messages. I had to get my tax exemption added to my account the other day and I think it was a total of 10 minutes from my first message, their reply, me replying with the form to them saying my account was good to go.
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It is very refreshing in this day and age. The two people at at the will call desk were exuberantly happy and polite, delightful to work with.
 
The one spur gear was correct, but I don't know which of the three on my order was the one that I kept. I'll have to get a part number off the box next time I go to the shop. I also pressed one of the old gears off its shaft. They appear to have had splines cut on the inside of the gear that, when pressed over the shaft, cut their own mating splines. But the internal splines appear to be one-time use, because they're gone now. I pressed the old gear onto a new shaft but I'm not super-enthused about how tight it fits. I think, over time, the gear will spin on the shaft. I'm either going to use some sort of permanent Lok-Tite to put it on or use the new gears I got (which don't have any sort of locking method) and weld them to the shafts. Not sure on that yet. My biggest task left is to get the y-axis moving freely with the gear train attached, so figuring this out is my top priority now.

I got my electrical box made up, wired, and bench-tested (minus the motors and sensors that are on the table itself) as well as my torch mount and z-axis set up. Yes, I used speaker wire for the 48v from the supply to the drivers. I forgot to buy that specific wire online and the online wire size calculator called for 14-ga. I only needed 10 ft. and I didn't want to stop the project again to over-order wire from the internet that I'd probably never use again just to get the little that I needed. In retrospect, I think the online calculator is wrong, or I put some info in wrong, because none of the screw terminals on the power supply or drivers, were designed to accept 14-ga. But oh well, it's there and it's working for now.

I bought a machine torch from Plasmadyn but it arrived assembled incorrectly. They were happy to fix the problem, paid for return shipping, and turned it around the same day it arrived to them. It's due back to me today.

Unfortunately, I was laid off on my birthday last week, so I'm looking for a new job. I had already bought most of the parts for this though, so I'm looking to get this up and running this week so I can pick up some side-work to help cover the income gap until I find whatever is next. If anyone knows anyone hiring near Pensacola, FL, let me know. :(
 

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patooyee said:
The one spur gear was correct, but I don't know which of the three on my order was the one that I kept. I'll have to get a part number off the box next time I go to the shop. I also pressed one of the old gears off its shaft. They appear to have had splines cut on the inside of the gear that, when pressed over the shaft, cut their own mating splines. But the internal splines appear to be one-time use, because they're gone now. I pressed the old gear onto a new shaft but I'm not super-enthused about how tight it fits. I think, over time, the gear will spin on the shaft. I'm either going to use some sort of permanent Lok-Tite to put it on or use the new gears I got (which don't have any sort of locking method) and weld them to the shafts. Not sure on that yet. My biggest task left is to get the y-axis moving freely with the gear train attached, so figuring this out is my top priority now.

I got my electrical box made up, wired, and bench-tested (minus the motors and sensors that are on the table itself) as well as my torch mount and z-axis set up. Yes, I used speaker wire for the 48v from the supply to the drivers. I forgot to buy that specific wire online and the online wire size calculator called for 14-ga. I only needed 10 ft. and I didn't want to stop the project again to over-order wire from the internet that I'd probably never use again just to get the little that I needed. In retrospect, I think the online calculator is wrong, or I put some info in wrong, because none of the screw terminals on the power supply or drivers, were designed to accept 14-ga. But oh well, it's there and it's working for now.

I bought a machine torch from Plasmadyn but it arrived assembled incorrectly. They were happy to fix the problem, paid for return shipping, and turned it around the same day it arrived to them. It's due back to me today.

fortunately, I was laid off on my birthday last week, so I'm looking for a new job. I had already bought most of the parts for this though, so I'm looking to get this up and running this week so I can pick up some side-work to help cover the income gap until I find whatever is next. If anyone knows anyone hiring near Pensacola, FL, let me know. :(
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Those are consumables, you will replace them again with time
FIFY That is the best BD present :grinpimp:
 
To set the ppr on my drivers, is it just 360/motor step angle? (So a motor with step angle of 1.8 degrees would be 200 pulses per rotation?)

How do you determine step angle of an unknown motor?
 
patooyee said:
I'm going to the shop later today to get some good pics of the abortion. But in the meantime, I'll state what my requirements would be to bother messing with it at all:
  • Must run on modern computers / Windows 11.
  • Must run from a USB cable, not serial port.
  • Must be as open source as possible.
  • Must upgrade my motors.
  • Must have THC.
  • Would very much like to get away from the rack and pinion drive as well as belt reduction. I don't know what my options here are though.
  • Budget is a constraint.
One option I should mention that I have is 3d Printing capability. I've seen some pretty cool DIY CNC projects with 3d-printed components.
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Change the first two too..
Linux and Ethernet cable and you will have a very nice machine.
 
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