Re: [Emc-users] SCARA robot arm 3D printer
Il giorno mar, 19/06/2012 alle 09.46 -0500, transis...@transistor-man.com ha scritto: Hi o I just went through integrating EMC2 for a 3d ABS/PLA printer Its detailed here: transistor-man.com/3dprintbot.html The control boards have their source files and pcbs listed, i;m working on pushing the schematics up this week. I ended up doing exactly what was suggested earlier in a previous thread, having MCodes call extrusion or heating, and that's about it. I didnt end up purchasing / going with the reprap/makerbot control boards as i didn't need the complexity. Overall it was simple but took many weeks to get up to speed, learn the innerworkings of emc2, and get stepgen to work with nontrivial kinematics. As the printer is a SCARA arm, the kinematics and setup make it quite a bit more difficult to calibrate, which also took a bit of time to work through. If there are any questions shoot over an email, hopefully the documentation will be helpful for those few folks working with non-cartesian platforms (scara / kuka) -Dane transis...@transistor-man.com Thanks for sharing! it's a very nice machine, explained deeply in a very clean way. -- Se non puoi aggiustare una cosa, non è tua. If you can't fix it, you don't own it. http://www.ifixit.com/Manifesto -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] CO2 Laser Control
2012/6/20 Jeshua Lacock jes...@3dtopo.com: It states that those power supplies can be controlled from a TTL PWM, so I assume that it will be easy to control from a standard parallel port with HAL and LinuxCNC. Is that correct? It _should_ be, based on the amount of information provided. Has anyone set up a servo or stepper drive to adjust the laser's focal point? Seems easy enough, guess I am just wondering how to tie it into g-code. IMHO You do not necessarily need it to be controlled from g-code - manual (probably through vcp) adjustment would work as well or do You expect the thickness and type of material to vary during single run of g-code file? I think that hardware design is the hardest part - those lenses will not like dust on them, so You would like to enclose them. And then also get them moving by a motor... I guess You will need someone more knowledgeable about lasers to share their experience, how exactly to set this up. I think that stepper motor would do, the problem might be homing the whole lense adjustment thing, but it really much depends on actual design, how You integrate lenses in the overall construction. -- Viesturs If you can't fix it, you don't own it. http://www.ifixit.com/Manifesto -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] CO2 Laser Control
On Jun 20, 2012, at 1:01 AM, Viesturs Lācis wrote: 2012/6/20 Jeshua Lacock jes...@3dtopo.com: It states that those power supplies can be controlled from a TTL PWM, so I assume that it will be easy to control from a standard parallel port with HAL and LinuxCNC. Is that correct? It _should_ be, based on the amount of information provided. Hi Viesturs, Excellent, thank you. Has anyone set up a servo or stepper drive to adjust the laser's focal point? Seems easy enough, guess I am just wondering how to tie it into g-code. IMHO You do not necessarily need it to be controlled from g-code - manual (probably through vcp) adjustment would work as well or do You expect the thickness and type of material to vary during single run of g-code file? My thought was to change the focal point as material is cut. I understand that these lasers have a very narrow depth of field when focused sharp enough to cut metal (or even wood). So, lets say my focal length is 0.05 inch, each pass I could move the focal length 0.05 down. Seems like it would allow me to cut essentially as thick material as practically needed, provided I did enough passes. I think that hardware design is the hardest part - those lenses will not like dust on them, so You would like to enclose them. And then also get them moving by a motor... I guess You will need someone more knowledgeable about lasers to share their experience, how exactly to set this up. I think that stepper motor would do, the problem might be homing the whole lense adjustment thing, but it really much depends on actual design, how You integrate lenses in the overall construction. True. Seems like Smoldering Dog (sorry I don't see any other name posted) is having some good success (website is linked from the wiki): http://nilno.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi But because his focal point is fixed, he cannot cut material any thicker than his lasers depth of field. Cheers, Jeshua Lacock Founder/Engineer 3DTOPO Incorporated http://3DTOPO.com Phone: 208.462.4171 -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Brushless Servo Selection?
Dave, I'm not sure that all of you guys on this list are aware of the fact that the US has introduced metric units since a long time. In 1866 Congress voted for the metric system, and in 1894 again administration passed bills in that direction. Only in 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Metric Conversion Act which, however, nobody seems to take notice of. People just didn't want or were too lazy. Nowadays, the US together with other important countries as Liberia and Birma are the only ones not using the metric system in the world (look at the world map at http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrisches_Einheitensystem). Regards Peter dave schrieb: Some places decided that they could increase the effective price by 10-20% by going metric because the customer wasn't smart enough to do the conversion. Ha! That crashed quickly. So much for greed. I do believe that if we (US) had used metric on signs for the interstate hwy system and provided incentives for selling gasoline and diesel using liters we'd be metric today. Instead we have a mixed system where international companies, eg. aerospace and automotive are metric and almost everything else is english/imperial. I once had a GM manufactured car that was part metric and part english; now that was a pain. Logic and politics are rarely in the same room. Dave -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] SCARA robot arm 3D printer
On Jun 19, 2012, at 9:46 AM, andy pugh wrote: On 19 June 2012 15:46, transis...@transistor-man.com wrote: As the printer is a SCARA arm This is an interesting development, as it has more printable components than a conventional RepRap. You could (in theory) print the arms, whereas printing linear slides is more tricky. Wow, that is a really great idea! Pretty much the only thing you couldn't print is the steppers (and electrical components) - but those things are cheap! Cheers, Jeshua Lacock Founder/Engineer 3DTOPO Incorporated http://3DTOPO.com Phone: 208.462.4171 -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] CO2 Laser Control
2012/6/20 Jeshua Lacock jes...@3dtopo.com: My thought was to change the focal point as material is cut. I understand that these lasers have a very narrow depth of field when focused sharp enough to cut metal (or even wood). So, lets say my focal length is 0.05 inch, each pass I could move the focal length 0.05 down. Seems like it would allow me to cut essentially as thick material as practically needed, provided I did enough passes. It depends on the focus angle. Make the angle smaller and You shall increase the focal length. That is why lasers are pretty limited about the material thickness they can cut. Anyway, I think that You certainly can forget about cutting metal that way - if the material is not pierced through, then there is no way for melted metal to escape the cutting zone, so only way to remove it would be evaporate it, which would make the process very slow, and You most certainly _do not_ want to do that, unless You have very high-tech ventilationfiltration system for the table, because metal vapors are very unhealthy. I do not know if this several passes approach would work for wood. This certainly is the first time I hear about this way, regarding laser cutting. True. Seems like Smoldering Dog (sorry I don't see any other name posted) is having some good success (website is linked from the wiki): http://nilno.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi How do You intend to deliver the laser beam from laser diode to cutting head? Mirrors? Fiber optics? I did not see it mentioned in the page You provided. -- Viesturs If you can't fix it, you don't own it. http://www.ifixit.com/Manifesto -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] 5i25 detected, but not the 7i77 yet
Hey Peter, Hey List, I wrote my standalone pyvcp panel which runs with halrun only for my lab setup and everything looks good at this moment. I ordered the 5i25 and the 7i77 together some weeks back. Not having the correct firmware does not matter, since I now know how to program it anyway. So a very big thanks to Michael Geszkiewicz for writing the linux flash program :) BR Max. On Mon, 18 Jun 2012, Maximilian H wrote: Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:55:37 +0200 From: Maximilian H mhemc2nos...@googlemail.com Reply-To: Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC) emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net To: Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC) emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [Emc-users] 5i25 detected, but not the 7i77 yet Hello Peter, thanks for your last answer. Power cycling the computer did solve my problem. The 5i25 now loads fine together with the 7i77. I will now proceed to write some pyvcp debugger gui for my intended setup to get things going. Big thanks to you for providing the answers to my problems on the weekend, second thanks for writing a firmware update tool for linux (that saved me putting the 5i25 in another windows pc). BR Max. We (mesa) dont deserve much thanks, if the 5I25 was shipped with the 7I77, it should have had the correct (7I77x2) firmware so you should not have had this trouble at all. And actually you should thank Michael Geszkiewicz for writing the Linux 5I25 flash utility. SNIP- [14170.506738] hm2/hm2_5i25.0: config.num_encoders=6, but only 2 are available, not loading driver [14170.506740] hm2/hm2_5i25.0: failed to parse Module Descriptor 2 [14170.506745] hm2_5i25.0: board fails HM2 registration SNIP Note that you need to cycle the motherboard power to load new firmware Peter Wallace Mesa Electronics -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users Peter Wallace Mesa Electronics (\__/) (='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your ()_() signature to help him gain world domination. -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] CO2 Laser Control
Jeshua, It states that those power supplies can be controlled from a TTL PWM, so I assume that it will be easy to control from a standard parallel port with HAL and LinuxCNC. Is that correct? Most lasers using PWM control require a frequency between 5Khz and 25Khz, then how long the signal is high (duty cycle) is a fraction of that frequency. So that may be a bit much for a standard parallel port. An inexpensive FPGA board like the Mesa 7i43 may make your life a whole lot easier. Has anyone set up a servo or stepper drive to adjust the laser's focal point? Seems easy enough, guess I am just wondering how to tie it into g-code. Using a Z axis to adjust the height should be a simple matter, controllable either as a direct motion command or tool offset. I suspect, however, that in the case of aluminum sintering you will have a very small usable depth of field since the energy imparted per unit area is going to decrease at the square of the increase in diameter of the spot size. Regards, Eric -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] CO2 Laser Control
Hi Jeshua, I spent a number of years feeding a Trumpf 4kW industrial laser. It has been a while but I'll dump what I know. 1. The output of the laser beam changes width as it exits the laser tube. The industrial machines use a patented fixed length beam delivery system. Think of this as a trombone arrangement with 2 90 degree mirrors mounted in the slider. As the carriage moves from left to right and front to back, the trombone slider moves in and out to keep the lens at the same distance from the laser tube throughout the travels of the machine. The beam waist (beam diameter) does not necessarily disperse to infinity like a solid state laser pointer. A CO2 will have nodes and anti-nodes where the waist diameter gets slightly larger and smaller as you move away from the laser head. This visual looks like the exhaust from a fighter jet when the afterburners are on - pockets of blue flame spaced about 1 foot apart. In the jet engine this is due to the resonance of the engine and in the laser due to the resonance of reflection, power supply frequency, etc. Most hobbyists use an adjustable length beam delivery because it is easier and takes fewer mirrors. 2. The beam delivery system is pressurized with clean moisture free air or other cutting/purge gas to keep splatter and fumes away from the cutting lens and any mirrors near the cutting lens. You can cut with pure O2 as this helps to oxidize the material as you cut. We used large nitrogen tanks for purge air as we were cutting 10-12 hours/day. Shop air can also be used if it is oil-less and dry. If no purge air is used deposits will build up on the lens. If you can see smoke or splatter and do not have a purge system the particulates will build up of the optical surfaces and degrade the output. 3. CO2 lenses have fixed focal lengths based on the beam delivery head. The beam delivery head has the output lens recessed back into it a bit with purge air passages around the lens. The air exits like a air gun but with a larger opening to allow the beam to exit. If you want to work with a longer focal length you need a lens specific to that focal length. Many industrial laser manufacturers have replacements lenses for under $100. We had several sets of lenses with different focal lengths. Stay away from Edmund Scientific or similar companies because they charge an arm and a leg for scientific lenses. They are good lenses but not priced as consumables. For your power level you should never have to replace a good high power $100 lens. Each lens was tailored (and prescribed by the manufacturer) for different materials. We ran mild steel, stainless and aluminum. Two of the three could get by with the same lens. Don't remember which two at the moment. A long focal length provides a small beam waist for a greater distance and is less subject to distance variation between the output lens and material. A shorter focal length was better for cutting steel as the bulk of the beam was able to disperse more completely into the material from what I remember. The long focal length has its advantages but once you pierce through the material the narrow beam keeps going into the support grating in the machine's bed (for a 1/2 or so). 4. All of our mirrors were mounted on machined aluminum blocks and water cooled. Controlling the temperature of the mirrors helps to stabilize thermal expansion and unwanted beam steering. As I remember the first surface mirrors were 99.5% or 99.75% reflective. A mirror that absorbed 0.25% of the beam's energy at 4kW resulted in 10W of dissipation. Not a lot of power but 10W builds up if not dissipated. A smaller system would only dissipate 0.5W at 0.5% loss a 100W tube. 5. Our system had a capacitive head to maintain a constant distance from the lens to the material. Some of the hot rolled we cut was not the flattest material in the world. If not cutting large pieces this is not as important. Capacitive sensing heads only work when cutting metals. If trying to cut wood or plastic with a capacitive head, the head would keep moving down until it crashes into the material. From the DIY standpoint you can use laser triangulation with a linear position sensing device, PSD, or a distance sensor like the Vishay VCNL4000 (http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=37T8990CMP=AFC-SF-T11). The VCNL4000 has an I2C interface and sensing distance of 1mm to 200mm. It is most sensitive to distances in the 1-5mm range and has a non-linear output. I have thought about rolling my own high power C02 system but just never had the time. I would use multiple tubes at right angles from one another for higher power and scalability. Start with one tube and add later. The tubes would use pyrex or similar tubing with machined end caps to support beam delivery and laser gas cycling with a vacuum pump. Direct electrode tubes like the one on ebay have a
Re: [Emc-users] SCARA robot arm 3D printer
This link is for a reprap SCARA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cquw7dvR80A There was a conversation a while back about how many plastic Yoda heads and other fast prototyped plastic waste would end up in land fills. I see the above reprap SCARA being a positive and constructive engineering use for a reprap machine. The HF06 used stepper motor and linear bearings but the rest is pretty much made with a reprap. Cool stuff. Dennis ---Original Message--- From: Jeshua Lacock jes...@3dtopo.com To: Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC) emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [Emc-users] SCARA robot arm 3D printer Sent: Jun 20 '12 02:25 On Jun 19, 2012, at 9:46 AM, andy pugh wrote: On 19 June 2012 15:46, transis...@transistor-man.com wrote: As the printer is a SCARA arm This is an interesting development, as it has more printable components than a conventional RepRap. You could (in theory) print the arms, whereas printing linear slides is more tricky. Wow, that is a really great idea! Pretty much the only thing you couldn't print is the steppers (and electrical components) - but those things are cheap! Cheers, Jeshua Lacock Founder/Engineer 3DTOPO Incorporated http://3DTOPO.com Phone: 208.462.4171 -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
