CNC machine

All posts tagged CNC machine

Animabot Rev2 – Electronic Integration

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 09/07/2014
Posted in: Animabot Rev2. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Hello 🙂

I finally finished the integration of the boards inside the body ! It took a little more time than I thought but I wanted the most reliable solution.

For the fixation I will use a carbon fiber support (which I will machine with my CNC). This support will also reinforce the body’s structure 😉 and so far, everything  is fitting well inside so  I hope it will be the same for the head…

However, I still have to integrate the Raspebby Pi, which will be placed above the STM32.

Top view
Rear view
Rear view with STM32
Top view with STM32
Side cut view

So, the next step is to put the Pi inside and then begin the head design.

CNC – Electronic

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 26/03/2014
Posted in: CNC. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

The electronic of the CNC is quite simple. You need a power supply, a motor controller and a variable speed drive for the spindle.

I search a long time for the motor driver, I first use a TB6560 controller but it was a disaster, it never worked 😦

So I switched for a Gecko G540. I chose this controller for 2 main reasons :

  1. The configuration is directly available in Linux EMC² (this save time).
  2. There no added functions, it just drive the motors as needed, and it does it very well.

This costs a bit (300$) but it definitely worth it !

g540

 

The documentation is complete and well explained, I succeed to make it work it a day. The Gecko is plug and play, you just have to put a resistance into the db9 connector if you are using motors below 3.5A (See user manual).

Then, just follow the schematic and that’s it 😉

 

Gecko g540 wiring
Gecko g540 wiring

I also made a case for the electronic parts (all machined with the CNC) :

Electronic Case
Electronic Components
Gecko g540

 

CNC – Assembling

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 26/03/2014
Posted in: CNC. Tagged: . Leave a comment

The advantage of aluminium shapes is that it’s easy to use and to integrate. You have a very strong structure with a reasonable weight.

I started by fixing the linear guides and the ball bearings on the lower structure :

Then I fixed the Y gantry :

 

CNC – Y gantry
CNC – Y gantry
CNC – Y gantry
CNC – Y gantry

And finally the Z axis :

 

For the driving screws I used normal screws that you can find in any DIY shop. I chose  them because they are cheap, and they have a low pitch (advance in mm per rotation) . Here I have 1.5mm per rotation, which leads to a better precision, but it is also easier to find or make a driving nut. For the nuts I used a block of PEHD I made myself an then threaded with a standard tap. For blocking the driving screws I used Nylon Hex Locknuts which are pushed against a nylon washer. This system is easy to integrate and I didn’t had any problem with this solution.

After fixing the cables carriers, here is the final result :

CNC
CNC
SAMSUNG
CNC
CNC
CNC
CNC

 

CNC – Design

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 26/03/2014
Posted in: CNC. Tagged: . Leave a comment

Since a long time I wanted to be able to do my own parts for my robots, so I decided to make my own CNC Machine (Computerized Numerical Control). It is also an advantage compared to online machining because it’s faster, cheaper if you make a lot of parts.

I first checked on internet to get inspiration and ideas, and I came up with this modelisation :

CNC

 

The structure is simple, because I think that more the design is simple, more it will be efficient (for the CNC at least).

The structure is composed of :

The electronic is composed of :

  • The spindle is a Kress FM 530
  • The motors are Nema 17 from eBay
  • The motor driver is a Gecko G540
  • The power supply (24v , 14.6A)  comes also from eBay

I use the following software :

  • Parts design : Solidworks
  • Tool path processing : CamBam
  • Machine control software : Emc²