Backlash and First Part

I checked the X-axis backlash.  From my measurements I am getting .002 on the X-axis.  I have set this value in Mach3 for backlash compensation.  I;m quite impressed how accurate Mach3 compensates for the slop.  Below is a photo of my backlash testing setup.

I continued to tram the mill and made my first part.  Boy was it awful.  I threw it away. But I've learned many lessons in that short hour of mistakes.  The piece was supposed to be a mount for my X-axis limit and home switch.  It turns out it will not meet my needs.  Having the limit switch mounted horizontal proved to hinder the movement of the trigger arm in both direction because it hit the table.  I was able to turn the trigger arm around to face the back of the switch by loosening the four top screws.  By mounting the switch vertical I was able to achieve my goal of having one switch for both limits of X-axis travel.

I now have homing capability on the X-axis. Tomorrow I will tackle creating a mount for the Z-axis home.  Y will be the most difficult, i'm not looking forward to that.

Stepper Motors

I was able to get my stepper motors turning today.  Ordering some couplings tonight, they should be on the mill soon.

I will be using Nema 23 570 oz steppers for the X and Y.  The z axis will be a Nema 34 906 oz.  All motors were purchased from automation technologies.

I also put some work into mounting the X and Y axis ballscrews.  Below are some photos of the operation.  Took quite a bit more grinding than I expected to get the X axis not to bind up.  I had to remove some casting bumps from the bottom of the deck which was unexpected.  But considering the casting was made in China.....what should I expect. Go USA!

Mill laid to Rest

Cranked the tunes and cleaned up the 'to be shop' a bit tonight.  It was a challenge moving the mill into its new home.  Below is a photo of the mill in its final resting place.  3/8" expansion anchors now hold it to the concrete pad.

Another box from Amazon came today.  The final pieces needed for the CNC conversion have arrived. Also, my Tormach Super Fly cutter also arrived by USPS.

Parallel Port

After countless minutes of researching I have decided to take a chance on downgrading my old desktop machine to run on windows XP.  Mach3 (CNC) the industry standard controller software appears to be most supported (by forum users) and stable running XP.

My original plan was to purchase a USB smooth stepper to control the MX3660 stepper motor drivers.  Budget is tight, so I'm taking a chance with this a PCI to LP1 card.  On cnczone it seems like a crap-shoot if it is going to work or not.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124004

More Boxes

USA 2 Ghana 1, O yea.

Today UPS delivered some more boxes.  What's in the boxes;

• 4" Vise from Glacern Machine Tools
• new 16mm ball screws for the X and Y axis
• new 20mm ball screw for the Z axis
• CNC mounting kit from BDtools for the G0704
• 2 - Nema 23 Stepper Motors
• 1 - Nema 34 Stepper Motor
• Digital MX3660 driver
• Power supply

I need to look into cabling and a PCI LP1 card.  Gosh can you even find a computer with a parallel port anymore....grrrrrr.