So my workshop was begining to become littered with metal bits from my new Grizzly G0463 Metalworking Mill. So I got a good deal on a iROBOT dirt dawg. This little guy has been great. I have been a long time consumer of the iRobots but have found that having 3 100lbs+ dogs tend to “tire” the robots out faster than normal. That being said this shop cleaning robot seems to preform as expected cleaning the workshop. In all honesty I am very impressed with it.
However, My metal cutting table has clamping T’s that little bits of metal would fall down into and become very much of a pain to clean. So I decided to fab a part in google sketchup for the T slots to help extract the junk. So a few quick measurements with my digital caliper and I was good to go.
The progress of my Mini-CNC build is going along great. I finished my X Table axis this last holiday weekend. Here is a video of the newest working section of my CNC running a stepper test program from the arduino.
I placed a 35Lbs weight on the table to get a feel for how sturdy the table was. The platform is made from two 1/8th” hardboard (masonite) pieces screwed together. You can view the video below to see it moving the weight np. The stepper motor used is a NEMA 23 Alltronics stepper. I am driving the stepper from the older 1.2V Reprap driver board. I had built these boards a long time ago and have not had the chance to get the newer (cheaper / better) models. I currently am waiting for the reprap stepper driver v3 board to become a reality. This board support microstepping also! Which should make the accuracy of the Mini-CNC even more accurate while suppressing vibrations throughout.
I still need to finish the Y and Z axis. This I am hoping show go much faster not that I have the basic idea in what is required for the linear motion using steel tubes to progress. I am hoping for this week to at least finish 1 axis. In a perfect work I would get both done. However I have a work project that is going to need my attention to get together pretty quickly. So we will see. I will make updates as I make progress. Check my flickr photostream for more frequent updates.
This is my first attempt at creating a custom enclosure for the Buss Pirate V3. I think these plexi-glass cases are pretty awesome. They take very little resources to make and can be pumped out pretty quickly. On the opposite side (see below) I etched a “cheat sheet” on the bottom for quick commands.
I could not find my spray paint last night (due to re-organizing my workshop.. I guess a little too well ) so I used a magic marker. This provided ok results for the prototype but if you zoom in perhaps you can see that the letters “bled” a bit. I will fix this on the next version. I like the size of this enclosure but I am thinking that the top might benefit from 1 more 1/8 layer or possibly a 1/16 layer to cover the USB connector. I will post this on Thingiverse in the next few days.
My first attempt at a rack for a rack and pinion setup on the laser cutter.. All by hand in sketchup.. not super great so far but getting close… Once more unto the breach..
