First Successful Testing

After sorting out with the manufacturer that the lead screws are in fact imperial, not metric, everything makes a lot more sense.  I had been wondering whether…

First Metal!

I made my first part out of aluminum last evening.  I’ve been slowly designing the electronics enclosure, and I needed a means to mount and cool the…

Progress

So the CNC conversion is really not quite done, even though I’ve been using the machine to create parts.  Still lots of cleanup, fine tuning, and other…

Sloppy Z

So I’m having some major trouble with slop in my Z axis, regardless of how tightly I’ve cranked down the gib adjuster.   While what follows may not…

It’s Like Christmas

Here’s the result of a lot of small ebay auctions last week… Our office manager gave me quite a look when she walked in with no fewer…

Pendant Links

So I don’t lose these links, here are some fancy advanced pendants that someone has implemented for EMC2, along with the underlying software necessary. I have already…

Home Is Where You Hang Your Hat

Unfortunately, back in October, I discovered that my level of conversion kit for my mill did not include the hardware for home sensors for each axis.  Everything…

Groove Ho(l)mes

After more work than I anticipated making the Y homing sensor mounting block and making a bracket and sensor setup for the Z axis, tearing down half…

Engraving Test

[singlepic id=107 w=340] [singlepic id=108 w=340] Did an engraving test tonight with some new engraving bits that I got from this eBay seller.  Decent results, though I…

High Speed Spindle Mount

[singlepic id=123 w=360] I’ve been working for the last week or so on a mount to hold an auxiliary high speed spindle on my mill.  I chose…

Birth of the Smoke-O-Tron Enclosure

Before… [singlepic id=149 w=300] After… [singlepic id=143 w=300] My friend Dan built the electronics for a temperature controller for his electric smoker.  I figured since I have…

USB Pendant Hacking

I’ve been knee-deep in USB and LCD hacking, playing around some concepts for a control pendant for my CNC mill.  It was a good excuse to exercise…

Tormach Tooling Has Arrived!

[singlepic id=151 w=600] I quite literally turned a mountain of spare change (65lbs worth, to be exact) that I had been collecting for ten years into a…

CNC’d Side Stand Plate

[singlepic id=172 w=400] I recently got a motorcycle, and since I have a CNC milling machine, there’s plenty of excuse to try my hand at making some…

CNC Moto Bar Risers

[singlepic id=198 w=640] My little EX500 bike is a bit cramped for me.  One of the worst problems is that my wrists, especially my throttle wrist, have…