DIYLILCNC Forum » Tag: EMC

DIYLILCNC Forum » Tag: EMC - Recent Posts http://diylilcnc.org/forum/tags/emc Free, open-source plans for a low-cost 3-axis CNC mill by Taylor Hokanson and Chris Reilly. Sponsored by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. en-US Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:32:42 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://diylilcnc.org/forum/search.php Chris on "MY PVC Build" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/my-pvc-build/page/2#post-743 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 02:50:39 +0000 Chris 743@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ @amigaman, very cool -- congrats! Please send some pictures along when you get a chance. amigaman on "MY PVC Build" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/my-pvc-build#post-742 Sun, 20 Feb 2011 19:58:49 +0000 amigaman 742@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ I was able to cut my first part last week on the PVC DIYLILCNC machine. I used some of the sample files that came withthe software. next step is to learn how to convert Autocad files into CAM. amigaman on "MY PVC Build" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/my-pvc-build#post-741 Sun, 20 Feb 2011 19:57:45 +0000 amigaman 741@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ PVC glue is going to weld (think melt) the pieces together into one very strong piece. You can use the same stuff that plumbers use for the pipes in your home. Taylor on "EMC2" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/emc2#post-724 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:49:50 +0000 Taylor 724@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ @OFA Glad to hear you're functional! Don't worry about the lack of limits - as you say, careful model and machine zeros work fine for the most part. a: The motors do get pretty hot! Metal CNC chases do have the benefit of acting like a giant heat sink. Try turning on "idle current reduction" on your HobbyCNC board. This will also address the noise a little bit. b: Oh yeah! This is one noisy machine. You are running the files pretty slow though, which is why you're getting those sing-song sounds. Slow stepping speed equals higher torque, and I wouldn't be surprised if that generates more current/heat. I believe Alden Hart of TinyG once told me that steppers draw the most current when standing still. c: Have a look at this <a href="http://linuxcnc.org/docs/html/gcode.html">G code command library</a>. There are only about 80 commands, so it's pretty easy to do a search and replace on G code files if the settings aren't cooperating on post. Try bumping up the Feed (or F) rate incrementally - you should be able to go much faster through foam, especially if the plunge is conservative. Go ahead and experiment! Once you know that your model won't sent the tool into hard limits, the worst you'll do is cause erratic motor behavior/skip steps, or maybe break your bit if you're cutting wood (nothing will blow up). jimmycakes on "EMC2" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/emc2#post-722 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:50:59 +0000 jimmycakes 722@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ Those pictures are great. What did you use for the 3D model? Should be getting my parts next week. I can't wait. Going to try and get my computer set up and installed with Linux and goodies. Look forward to reading more about your problems so I can solve mine when they arise. Open Form Architecture on "EMC2" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/emc2#post-720 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:54:27 +0000 Open Form Architecture 720@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ @Taylor, Our problems were mostly with the PINS (as I suspected). We had "All limits" in Pin #10 which seemed to cause all the problems. Following the larger tutorial on the SAIC website (thanks!) I erased the 10-15 pins as "unused" and we inverted the Z-Axis direction. We had to tweak our table limits to a larger dimension, which scares us because there are no limits, and the steppers could just keep going, but we'll regulate this with actual model. Screenshot: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/darrel_ronald/5405381284/in/set-72157625822258783/" rel="nofollow">http://www.flickr.com/photos/darrel_ronald/5405381284/in/set-72157625822258783/</a> Questions: a) The motors are always quite hot. We found online (or manuals?) that they should run about 140 Ferhenheit (is this okay)? b) The steppers are quite loud -did you have this same issue? Are there quieting techniques? c) How do you change the speed of the steppers depending on which material you're using (i.e. Wood versus softer Foam?) SHould we overwrite a feed rate somewhere to speed it up? jimmycakes on "EMC2" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/emc2#post-717 Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:25:18 +0000 jimmycakes 717@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ After building this and trouble shooting, would you recommend upgrading the board or software for people building now? I'm going to be ordering mine soon and if I can spend an extra $50+ to minimize headache or make the machine more flexible I'd be interested in hearing about Pro vs. non-pro. Hope things are working out for you. Good luck! Taylor on "EMC2" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/emc2#post-716 Sat, 29 Jan 2011 02:12:36 +0000 Taylor 716@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ So you are able to jog the machine but cannot run a gcode file? Do you get errors, or just nothing at all? Open Form Architecture on "EMC2" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/emc2#post-715 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:36:52 +0000 Open Form Architecture 715@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ @Chris, Problem 1: It turns out that the above Error in the Traceback concerns having the StepConfig open at the same time as the EMC2 software. <ul><a href="http://www.linuxcnc.org/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=20&func=view&catid=16&id=4080&lang=english" rel="nofollow">http://www.linuxcnc.org/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=20&func=view&catid=16&id=4080&lang=english</a></ul> Problem 2: We have everything communicating, but cannot actually SEND or PLOT the cut lines from EMC 2 to our CNC machine. For some reason, the EMC2 software will not recognize the machine, even though the config is setup and everything. We're able to move the axis forward and backward. We think it could be related to a couple issues: a) That our pins are wrong, since we're using the NON-PRO version of the HobbyCNC driver and steppers. I am trying to find out what the pins should be (or if they're different from the Pro version). b) That for some reason we've incorrectly configured that StepConfig -but we've followed everything pretty closely. Otherwise, we're pretty stumped as to why the machine isn't recognized. I'll try to get some screenshots and other photos and post them soon. Chris on "EMC2" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/emc2#post-714 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 03:33:55 +0000 Chris 714@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ Hey guys, that's great news, congrats! I can't speak to the error above, I'd recommend redoing the latency test and a fresh configuration just to make sure. <a href="http://blogs.saic.edu/axisofoutput/2010/09/17/cheap-cnc-linux-pc/">Here's a link</a> to a better walk-through of all the steps involved. For the travel limits, I usually enter in plus or minus the maximum travel, eg -12 and 12 for the x axis, as shown in the link above. This will allow me to manually set the home to wherever I need it for a given job. It's just something that I have to plan for when I'm working on my digital design. If you wanted, you could add limit switches and have the machine do a homing routine on startup; then the home locations would be more relevant. Open Form Architecture on "EMC2" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/emc2#post-713 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 22:54:05 +0000 Open Form Architecture 713@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ @All, All of the sudden, after having our machine working yesterday, where we were able to test movements, we've started to get problems while in the StepConfig of EMC2: <code> Traceback (most recent call last): File "/usr/bin/stepconf", line 1911, in on_jogplus_pressed self.update_axis_params() File "/usr/bin/stepconf", line 1900, in update_axis_params halrun.flush() IOError: [Errno 32] Broken pipe </code> This appears when we're modifying the stepconfig file in the X, Y or Z axis screens. I cannot find anything helpful online, and am debating whether to create a new config file and see if that works. The only other help I've found suggests that you "deselect" the options when creating a stepconfig file on the first screen (such as send a copy to the desktop, etc.). Open Form Architecture on "EMC2" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/emc2#post-711 Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:10:24 +0000 Open Form Architecture 711@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ @Chris, Question concerning the "Home Location" and "Table Travel" for the X, Y and Z coordinates: I cannot find decisive information about how to configure the "Home Location" or "Table Travel" parameters of the EMC 2.4 Stepconfig. What did you guys do? Did you locate the "Home Location" at all - for example at the front-left of the table with the Z-axis at the highest point? I saw in another post that you've found the real cutting zone to be around 12" x 12" x 2". I've also read that the "Table Travel" cannot be the same dimensions as the "Home Location". Along the same lines: If I load a cutting file into EMC2's interface, and define the 0,0,0 for that model, will the machine know where to begin based on the 0,0,0 point given in the EMC2 StepConfig? Thanks! jimmycakes on "Driver alternative" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/driver-alternative#post-664 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 22:47:14 +0000 jimmycakes 664@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ I'll be looking for a board pretty quick. Let me know how those boards are going. Thanks! jimmycakes on "MY PVC Build" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/my-pvc-build#post-663 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:45:56 +0000 jimmycakes 663@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ I'm researching making the bed for a PVC build I will be making. I see that when using MDF you guys use wood glue. What if I were to make the bed from PVC. What would one use for adhearing added spans? PVC glue? I feel like that would just fall apart over time. DIYengineer on "MY PVC Build" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/my-pvc-build#post-642 Mon, 08 Nov 2010 05:17:46 +0000 DIYengineer 642@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ Ever finish?