Tuesday, March 1st 2011 - 7:58 PM

I have started sourcing and fabricating parts for my buildup of the Buildlog.net first version laser cutter.
Planning to run Lightobjects DSP controller on it
This build will hopefully be finished at the most in 6 months time as the budget is limited.
So far all the 6mm acrylic parts have been cut, next is to purchase the bearings and fasteners then the aluminium extrusions are next on the list
I have found a local supplier of the V track but its expensive at $57/m they also sell the v wheels but they are also pricey at $40 a v wheel

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Friday, March 4th 2011 - 9:35 PM

Got a friend who's going to make me the small v wheels so thats one less thing to worry about.
Still don't know what to do about the v track might try and make it from acrylic or some other hard plastic, the proper steel one is just too expensive here

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Friday, March 18th 2011 - 9:00 PM

V wheels are done, I cut them from 8mm PVC on the CNC Router at work and then had a friend put the groove in on a lathe, I made 20 just in case, also got the bearings for them

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Friday, April 15th 2011 - 6:49 PM

I cut and glued the Z axis carriage together today, cut it from 6mm Satin Ice Acrylic because its a offcut I had.
Extrusions will be ordered in a few weeks time along with the tube and power supply.
I haven't decided on the motors or drivers yet.[

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Monday, April 18th 2011 - 7:08 PM

I found someone here in Cape Town, SA selling used Nema 17 stepper motors for the equivalent of $4 im gonna check if he has ones with similar specs as the ones the buildlog.net 1.0 laser requires.

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Thursday, April 28th 2011 - 6:54 PM

Since I can't find a local supplier of the MXL timing pulleys, I have been toying around the thought of making my own.
Here's one I made today, using the iges file from stock drive I still need to drill and thread the hub for the M3 grubscrews but otherwise it came out quite nice.
I also have a 1910mm length of 20mm wide MXL open ended belt that I somehow need to cut down to 6mm wide, if I can figure out a way I should have enough belting to do the X and Y axis.

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Friday, April 29th 2011 - 6:20 PM

I actually laser cut the orange cogged part and the front flange and then cut the hubs on a cnc router, it sure is handy having access to a laser cutter at work.
I then line the parts up by using a dowel pin and then glue them together using acrylic adhesive.
They are made from 6mm and 1.5mm acrylic.
They might not work but they are worth a try and they cost me nothing to make.
I'm going to finish assembling them all tonight.

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Saturday, April 30th 2011 - 8:31 PM

Got 3 stepper motors today, they are all single shaft though the guy had a few double shafted ones but they were a different make and specs they also had a MXL timing pulley on one side and a flywheel/resonance damper on the other side the only specs they had on them was 6.2 ohms. I might get 2 of the double shaft and another single shaft one, maybe I can make the double shaft one work otherwise i will just use 2 motors on the y axis and slave them in Mach 3, but then I need a 4 axis stepper driver.
The specs on the 3 motors I got are as follows:
2.6V
1.2A
1.8 degree step angle
44oz/in holding torque
6 wire
They also came with 20 tooth MXL timing pulleys on them a real bonus, I hope they work and that the torque isn't too low.
Attachements...

stepper motors

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Wednesday, May 4th 2011 - 5:26 AM

I managed to slit the 20mm x 1900mm MXL open ended timing belt in 3 pieces 6.5mm wide.
I made a little jig which has a 2 different slots to place a blade in to accomodate the 1st and 2nd cut and then made 2 bottom pieces of the jig with a 20mm groove and a 13.5mm groove.
The jig worked a treat, only took about 2 minutes to slit the belt, I found the idea for the jig on a old reprap blog post.
I also checked to make sure that the pulleys that my steppers came with are actually MXL units, the belt meshes perfectly in them.

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Tuesday, May 17th 2011 - 7:06 PM

I made some of the V rails from 6mm acrylic jigging them up and then cutting the bevel with a 45degree router bit, they came out awesome.
I finally sold my CNC Router so have some funds for this build, so Im ordering the following shortly:
40W Laser Tube and Power Supply - CNCColetech or lovehappyshopping
Extrusions - RScomponents(Bosch Rexroth Units in 3000mm lengths)
Polulu A4988 drivers from ultimachine.com
Polulu Driver Board Rev2 from Bart when they are available along with a few other goodies
Optics Kit from Lightobject
Fasteners from Boltfast
24V 6.5A Power Supply from Mantech Electronics
Attachements...

y v rails

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Wednesday, May 18th 2011 - 7:58 PM

I got some more Nema 17 stepper motors free from my local stepper supplier unfortunately he only still has the 6.2ohm double shaft ones, I think these will be too weak to drive both sides of the Y axis.
I might use a motor on either side of the Y axis or mount one at the back and synch the front pulleys with a long shaft as suggested by Bart supported with a bearing in the middle somehow to prevent the shaft whiping maybe use some 6mm linear slide rod if I can find some.

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Friday, May 20th 2011 - 6:37 PM

Got the fasteners today, cost me the equivalent of $24 luckily I have a fastener place just around the corner from my work that has all the types of fasteners at very reasonable prices, busy sorting them out now and see they forgot to pack the M3 x 12mm socket head cap screws and the M8 T nuts

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Sunday, May 22nd 2011 - 10:42 AM

Z axis belt has been ordered from Econobelt, I ordered 2 of them since no one in SA stocks then.
Big up to Bart for letting me have Econobelt ship them to his address, unfortunately they only had 1 in stock so it might be up to a week before they ship.
I had them ship the belts UPS 3 day select as they don't dosplay shipping costs so this one sounded the most reasonable one.

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Tuesday, May 24th 2011 - 7:37 PM

Mirror and Lens Kit along with the Digital Current Meter have been ordered from lightobject now.

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Thursday, May 26th 2011 - 6:53 PM

Timing belts are scheduled for delivery to Barts address, that way everything can be shipped in one go saving additional shipping costs to SA.
Bearings were ordered locally today and should be delivered tomorrow.
Aluminium profiles,brackets and T nuts will be ordered by the latest early next week along with the laser tube and power supply.

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Friday, May 27th 2011 - 9:56 PM

got the bearings today and ups delivered the z axis belts to Bart.
I have ordered a rev 3 interface/driver from Bart along with a few other goodies so that should be on its way soon

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Wednesday, June 1st 2011 - 7:13 PM

The Aluminium extrusions and brackets were ordered last night, they shpuld be here next week unfortunately the supplier is out of stock of the T nuts until 04 July so I might see if I can get them somewhere else.
I ordered the Bosch Rexroth strut profiles in 3000mm lengths, its all I can get locally, I also ordered 70 corner brackets which come with T nuts and screws.

I plan on ordering the Laser Tube and PS from love-happyshopping tomorrow

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Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 6:46 PM

While the rand to dollar exchange was good, I ordered the laser tube and power supply from love-happy shopping on ebay, they were really well priced.

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Monday, June 6th 2011 - 6:23 PM

Anyone know how long love-happyshopping take to send tracking numbers, I ordered the tube and PS on Thursday but have recieved no tracking number yet.
I assembled the laser car and the Y plates with the V wheels.
My mirror/lens kit and milliammeter should be out of customs and waiting at my local post office by the weekend so hopefully I can collect that really soon.
I also got a water pump and an air pump the weekend.
Extrusions and brackets have been despatched for delivery sometime in the week.

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Monday, June 6th 2011 - 6:42 PM

BenJackson wrote:I got the tracking number about 2 days before the tube arrived after I specifically requested it. The PSU actually took another day (which unfortunately fell over a holiday).

Did you just email them requesting it or sent them a message via Ebay.
They claim to send the tracking number within 24hrs after shipping I saw that on Ebay now.

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Tuesday, June 7th 2011 - 8:10 AM

They dont even reply to my messages, so much for the good feedback they recieve.
That automatic emailing thing is a load of BS
If they dont come thru guess im gonna have to lodge a complaint against them as this was a lot of money I spent.

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Tuesday, June 7th 2011 - 6:58 PM

I will give them a chance, they did send me a message saying the person who deals with the shipping was off sick so they will get back to me tomorrow.

Got my brackets today for the alu profiles delivered to my door from RS Components, they are really a good company to deal with, they kept me updated all the time about my order status, the profiles should be here friday this week, coming from their UK branch so maybe I can start building the frame this weekend.

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Wednesday, June 8th 2011 - 5:57 PM

Got a email from love-happyshopping but its bad news, I need to add another $197 for shipping the laser tube and another $27 for the PSU
I might have to put this project on hold as I simply can not afford to spend another $197 +$27 this works out to about R1525 im my currency, I only just had enough funds as it is before the extra shipping costs came along.
I have invested way too much money in this project already to shelf it, but will try tomake a plan to see it finished

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Friday, June 10th 2011 - 8:16 PM

I fetched the optics kit and current meter today at the post office today, the mirror mounts and focus lens mount are nicely made and the current meter is tiny.
Should be expecting my driver/interface board and timing belts anyday now from Bart.
I have just ordered the laser tube power supply from love-happyshopping and asked them to refund me the money for the laser tube.

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Saturday, June 11th 2011 - 9:11 PM

I built up the driver/interface board I bought from Bart, it took about 2 hours there's a lot of soldering on it but it's straightforward to assemble.
Just waiting on the 20 x 20 and 20 x 40 profiles to arrive so I can start with the frame.

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Thursday, June 16th 2011 - 6:32 PM

1 length of 20 x 40mm profile arrived yesterday, the 7 lengths of 20 x 20mm profile have still not arrived, they seem to have got lost between the UK and SA, RS components cant tell me yet where they are or why, so much for the 4-6 working days they say guess it will be the last time I use them.
I really wanted to start on the frame tomorrow, it looks like everything is going wrong on this build

On a better note the Laser PSU is on its way from love-happyshopping and there is a parcel from Bart waiting at the post office for me

I started assembling the idler pulley brackets and sorting out all the fasteners.

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Sunday, June 19th 2011 - 6:44 PM

Made a little progress this weekend, assembled the acrylic parts

I got the interface panel components and timing belts from the Post Office on Saturday, thanks again Bart.
I need to cut and engrave the interface panel this week, so that can be assembled and wired up so long.
Still waiting to find out what happened to my 7 x 3m lengths of 20 x 20mm strut profile, hopefully they will let me know tomorrow.

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Monday, June 20th 2011 - 6:56 PM

The laser power supply arrived today, all I can say is WOW 4 days to get from China to Cape Town, will definitely use love-happyshopping again, I noticed it has a test button and 3 leds on the side labelled TL,WP and Laser are these standard on thes PSU's

The 20 x 20mm strut profiles are on the way or so they say.

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Tuesday, June 21st 2011 - 7:06 PM

Heres a pic of the 40W 220V model Laser PSU I got from love-happyshopping

The 20 x 20mm strut profiles should be here on Thursday, big up to RS Components for sorting them out, they were still laying at their freight companies depot.

I made the interface panel today, will take a pic of it tomorrow with all the switches and meter installed, I engraved all the text for the various controls and then filled them with white paint, btw I made it from 3mm black cast acrylic

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Wednesday, June 22nd 2011 - 7:20 PM

Yes 220V is right for South Africa.
Thanks for the test firing tip Ben, I will try it when I get my laser tube

I made some more timing pulleys today, the bigger ones for the Z axis.

Looks like there's a curse on my 20 x 20mm strut profiles, I found out today that they are still at the freight depot in the UK and not the freight depot in SA like they told me yesterday, so holding thumbs they get delivered next week sometime, its a pity there are only 2 suppliers of the strut profiles in SA, I think next time I will try the other supplier but they are 15% more expensive but they hold the stock locally.

I have the 20 x 40mm strut profile safely tucked in my garage, so will cut it the weekend, I dont know what to with the gantry and Y strut profile as Bosch Rexroth only make a 20 x 40mm profile with 6 grooves it unlike the 4 groove flat top 20 x 40mm Misumi profile, if push comes to shove I will use 2mm aluminium strips to make the flat on top or see how else I can mount the V rails, maybe redrill them and use M3 button head cap screws.

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Friday, June 24th 2011 - 8:38 PM

I finshed the Interface Panel this evening and also started drilling and tapping the holes for the V rails on the Gantry
Attachements...

Interface Panel

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Saturday, June 25th 2011 - 8:59 PM

Thanks for the nice remarks

I drew it up in Corel Draw X3 then laser engraved all the lettering and cut the panel out, I then filled the engraved text with automotive white paint or any other nitrocellulose based paint carefully wiping the excess paint off with a methylated spirits soaked cloth, I done it on the one laser engraver I operate at work in my own time.I used 3mm cast black acrylic as the material of choice.

I started assembling the gantry tonight but have a few hitches to sort out, I need to remake the laser car this time moving the belt attachment slots 4mm towards the front of the laser car to get the belt to run straight as my stepper motors have non removable timing pulleys on them, I also need to make a plan with the idler bearing, it has way to much slop, I might try making the bracket out of a thicker material to accomodate two bearings and using 6mm rod instead of a machine screw, I woould just have to mill a step where the bracket attaches to the gantry so that piece remains 6mm thick to avoid belt alignment issues.

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Tuesday, June 28th 2011 - 6:50 PM

Finally my 20mm x 20mm strut profiles arrived after waiting almost a month, so maybe I can start building the frame this weekend.

I have made the modified brackets for the gantry motor and idler they work perfect spacing the motor and idler bearing 4mm out from the gantry, Im also running double bearings on the idler bracket and will switch to 6mm rod to get rid of some of the slop. The diy timing pulleys dont quite work, the belt tries to climb out of them, so im gonna make some smooth idler pulleys and order 2 x 20tooth 6mm bore MXL timing pulleys from Stock Drive, unless someone on this forum has 2 they want to part with

I need to buy a few sockets,plugs and wire to sort out the electronics, will try to get them this Saturday.

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Monday, July 4th 2011 - 6:49 PM

I started cutting the 20mm x 20mm extrusions into the various lengths this past weekend, I managed to assemble the table extrusions but the special T nuts that come with the corner brackets have a mind of their own. they sometimes rotate and pull out the groove.

I made some smooth idler pulleys, they work like a charm.

I managed to get some D Sub 9 and 25 pin sockets,plugs and hoods to make up a parallel port cable and for the interface board connectors. It cost me about $5 for 2 x 9 pin plugs, 2 x 9 pin sockets,4 x 9 pin hoods,2 x 25 pin sockets and 2 x 25 pin hoods and 1m length of screened 8 core cable

I plan on assembling the frame this coming weekend, I still need to order another length of 20 x 40mm profile.

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Sunday, July 17th 2011 - 7:30 PM

At long last I got a chance to work on the frame and completed it, I ran out of 20 x 40mm profile and since my budget has already run out, I made a plan for the bottom braces drilling and tapping then bolting two 20 x 20mm profiles together, as soon as the machine is up and running and making money I will replace it with the proper 20 x 40mm profile.

I started on the Y rails and assembling a little of the Z lift pieces in the frame, next weekend I want to finish the Y rails and assemble the whole XY assembly in the frame.
Electronics will be next on my list after that.

I discovered a cheap alternative here in SA for the T nuts, simply use M5 square nuts they drop in the profile grooves even when you cant access the ends but as soon as you thread screws in them they pull straight and sit nicely in the groove as the screws prevent them from pulling out, they just catch in the slot but it should be ok for mounting the skins etc, for rigid joints I will still use the special T nuts that come with the corner brackets.
Attachements...

frame

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Monday, July 25th 2011 - 6:55 PM

I made some good progress this weekend, I installed the Y axis rails and the Z axis lift components I still need to add the idler belt tensioner.
Next on the list is to install the gantry and sort out the electronics
Attachements...

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Sunday, July 31st 2011 - 8:43 PM

I tried to assemble and fit the gantry but ran into some problems see my other post.

I managed to get the funds together for the laser tube and the other bits I still need so during the week I need to order the tube from Coletech.

I might also order the proper timing pulleys from Stock Drive.

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Saturday, August 6th 2011 - 5:59 PM

Laser tube was ordered 5 minutes ago from digitalzoneproducts(one of lovehappyshoppings many aliases) shipping costs were almost $300 has to get sent via DHL Express.

Gantry seems to be running ok, busy with the Y axis mechanics now.

Also got the 24V 6.5A SWPSU for the stepper driver board and got some wire along with 6 microswitches for the limit switches.

Extractor tubing is on its way too and I have a Ryobi portable extractor I plan to use going to stick the extractor output pipe into my outdoor built in bbq's chimney.

I plan to be up and running by the end of the month hold thumbs

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Tuesday, August 9th 2011 - 6:49 PM

Started wiring up the stepper motors, limit switches etc.

Wood electronics mounting base will get cut tomorrow and then all the electronics will get installed over this coming weekend.

Got confirmation of my laser tube been shipped from digitalzoneproducts(aka lovehappyshopping) so it might be here by friday.

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Thursday, August 11th 2011 - 5:46 PM

more diaster, the laser tube won't ship out unless I pay another $80 for the extra packaging costs and because i live in a remote area seriously wtf
Im going to get them to refund me my money and rather get my tube from cnccoletech.

A more positive note is that a found a local supplier of Tygon tubing for about $4/m for the 1/4" one

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Saturday, August 13th 2011 - 6:46 PM

Tube has been ordered from CNCColetech, so far I have had excellent communication from them, I didn't buy it off ebay i ordered it directly from CNCColetech.

I started installing the electrics today, positioning the driver and power supply units etc.

I plan on cutting some of the skins during next week I will cut them from foam board(forex) in the meantime but eventually will replace them with Alupanel ones for safety as the beam cannot penetrate them.

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Monday, August 15th 2011 - 6:28 PM

So am I, I did specify it must be the 700mm x 50mm dia 40W tube and they do say they will send another tube if it arrives broken, we will see

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Friday, August 19th 2011 - 3:01 PM

The laser tube is on its way, I even got a tracking number .

Some of the skins were cut today as well

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Sunday, August 21st 2011 - 6:41 PM

I gave working on the machine a break this weekend but will start on it agan next weekend.

I need to finish wiring up the electronics and then test them and the motion systems, I still need to get a parallel port card for my old pc.

I also need to finish the skins, the machine will have a blue and black skin theme.

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Tuesday, August 23rd 2011 - 7:09 PM

My tube arrived this morning via DHL Express, and its in 100% condition even though the packaging isn't as good as lovehappyshopping's ones.

Its the 700mm x 50mm model as per the details I gave CNCColetech, will definitely order from them again, excellent communication, speedy shipping from them.

I noticed the tube has some moisture inside, is this from them checking for leaks by dipping the tube in water.
I also see I can use 5/16" tubing on the glass barbs, seems a good enough fit and will secure it with cable ties just to be double sure it stays there.
Should I replace the milky coloured tubing connecting the mirror coolers to the laser main body


Attachements...

The tube in all its glory

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Monday, September 12th 2011 - 8:09 PM

I recut a new interface panel, the previous one placed the scres right against the alu profiles so I made the new one 15mm smaller all around.

I wired up the interface panel as well as the back electrics panel, need to test the interface board then finish the wiring.

I also need to get some distilled water for the cooling system, not quite sure what antifreeze to use, can I use coolant designed for a PC water cooling system.

Also hoping to get some expanded steel flat shhet for the table.

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Sunday, October 9th 2011 - 9:43 AM

I had put the machine on the backburner for a few weeks, had bigger priorities in life but now it's back on track.

I got a nice PC for controlling it Celeron 2.4Ghz with 1.25Gb ram and a small 64Mb graphics card, so was busy loading and congiguring Mach 3 today.
I am still undecided on what CAM program to use, I have Enroute 3 and Visualmill 5.0 I would just need to write a custom post processor for either one I guess.

My homemade pulleys don't quite work so im ordering some from Stock Drive, also need to find a local supllier of 6mm drill rod.

I also got some 5/16" and 3/16" tygon tubing as well

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Saturday, December 10th 2011 - 9:30 PM

I finally found some time to work on my machine this weekend spent most of the time sorting out the electronics and testing the driver/interface board.

It works, I have motion but only on the X and Z axis the Y axis is dead I tried swapping motors but its still dead so I think the Y axis Pololu driver is fried or faulty so I think I need to order a replacement plus a spare sometime from Bart.

I also made a air assist nozzle out of plexiglas came out really good but don't know if it will hold out.

I never got around to ordering the pulleys but my homemade ones don't seem to work to bad when the steppers are running the drive mechanisms.

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Saturday, January 14th 2012 - 10:25 PM

Im in the process of stripping down the machine in order to fit the new makerslide profiles I've ordered from Bart.

Also ordered some V wheels from Bart, my ones had the v machined too shallow so they dont ride nicely on the V rail.

I got 3 A4988 Pololu drivers on the way too, but will see if I can get the current ones to work.

I have loaded Cut2d on my PC, battled to get the post processor to work so modified it slightly, it works 100% in mm in Mach3

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Tuesday, January 17th 2012 - 6:27 PM

All the stepper motor problems have been sorted out now, just waiting for my stuff Bart sent and then it's upgrade time and tube plus optics install

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Saturday, February 4th 2012 - 10:04 PM

Collected my parcel that Bart sent me from my Post Office this morning, it contained the makerslide, new dual bearing v wheels and 3 spare pololu stepper drivers.
Bart packed it extremely well and it arrived in perfect shape.

I spent 3 hours tonight fitting the makerslide and v wheels and wow what a difference, the X and Y axis are as smooth as silk now. This makerslide is awesome stuff, thanks Bart for making this available to us hobbyists.

Next up is installing the tube and its cooling system and then tiding up the wiring a bit, with a bit of luck I might be up and running by next weekend.
Attachements...

makerslide installed

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Saturday, February 11th 2012 - 10:11 PM

I done a bit more on the machine this weekend, mirrors installed and aligned, table is installed but I still need to fasten down the diamond mesh and make some rulers and a lay for the material on the table.
Laser tube power supply still needs to be wired up along with the limit switches.

I found a nice heater radiator from a car, its a copper unit just need some fans for it.

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Sunday, February 26th 2012 - 6:36 PM

Machine is almost up and running, fired up the laser tube for the first time today just to see where I stand with the mirror alignment, they are a bit off but I love the sound and blue glow of the laser tube when its firing.

The wiring is a bit of a rats nest must still try and tidy it up a bit.

Also the tube is just running a makeshift cooling system using a 10l bucket and a water feature pump.

I had to modify the Mach3 post processor for Cut2d it kept changing to imperial units when I opened the G code in Mach3, found the problem just changed G70 to G71 and its sorted, if anyone wants the mm post processor drop me a pm or I will attach it with my next update.

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Tuesday, February 28th 2012 - 6:31 PM

Heres the mm mach3 post processor for Cut2d as promised.
Open it up in notepad and save as a .pp file
Attachements...

Laser_Mach3.txt

(4.42 KiB) Downloaded 1287 times

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Thursday, March 1st 2012 - 6:51 PM

Ok thanks Greolt, I just used Barts post processor and adding the metric g code in it, I did not change anything else except its name.

In the imperial unit there is a G70 and a G20, I initially just changed the G20 to G21 but it was still loading up in Mach3 as an imperial unit file so I changed the G70 to G71 otherwise everything is the same.

Is it possible if anyone could give it a test run and maybe check its all good.
It worked fine in Mach 3 but my tube is not aligned yet so can't check the laser switch on/off.

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Sunday, March 11th 2012 - 9:28 AM

A bit more progress this weekend, lid is finished and I started skinning the machine.
I still need to find some short gas struts/springs for the lid.

I've got 2 radiators and a better water pump on the way too.

I used simona foamboard for the lid and a purple tint 5mm perspex for the window.
Attachements...

lid is finished

skinning the machine

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Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 9:47 PM

It's alive but needs a little fine tuning see my other post.

I haven't finished skinning the machine yet but have managed to do a few test runs on some wood on minimum power as I have no extractor hooked up yet, so thats the end of the test runs till the machine is moved into my spare room and the extractor hooked up,

The post processor works perfect, E1P1 command working 100% on lines and arcs, don't even need to add a little jog away at the end as the laser turns off as soon as its finished its last cut then races towards 0,0.

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Tuesday, March 27th 2012 - 6:36 PM

Im busy making two cable carriers for the machine as well as cutting the rest of the skins.

Also busy building a exhaust scrubber unit for the machine.

The machine seems to cut better now after I tightened the timing belts.

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Sunday, May 6th 2012 - 7:53 PM

Here are some of the latest pics of the machine.

Also got some gas springs for the lid and the skins are almost finished

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Tuesday, June 12th 2012 - 6:54 PM

Its been a while since an update.

A few weeks ago I moved the machine to its final place, on top of my workbench, took out the tube to avoid any costly accidents.

I have finished cutting and fitting the new alubond skins on the bottom of the machine, also fitted the lid but need to find weaker gas lifts/springs, the ones I purchased were rated at 250N or 25kg way too strong I need 100N or 10kg ones.

I have reinstalled the laser tube and have started wiring the tube and connecting the cooling system up again, just need to check the mirror alignment before making some smoke this weekend.

I have ordered 10 pounds or 5kg of activated carbon for the fume filter/scrubber that I am building.

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Wednesday, June 13th 2012 - 6:34 PM

Ordered the cable drag chain from Ebay using this link http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dl ... OU:US:1123 from a seller in china $10.50 per metre including shipping to South Africa.

The cheapest cable chain I could find here in SA was about $50 or R400 for a 800mm length and end pieces.

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Monday, July 2nd 2012 - 7:37 PM

I started making a proper cooling system for the laser tube using a heater radiator from a Ford Fiesta, its a nice aluminium unit which measures about 170 x 200mm.

I have fabricated a custom made perspex fan shroud/cowling and onto this have mounted a 120mm x 120mm x 38mm 220V ball bearing fan.

I just need a reservoir to stick the pump in and get a few more barbed hose fittings then it's sorted.
Attachements...

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Monday, September 24th 2012 - 7:06 PM

Bad News, the radiator/heater core I got a few months ago has a big leak on the core and have been advised by a few radiator repair shops that the aluminium heater radiators are too tricky to repair so im on the lookout for a good s/h one.

On a better note the cable drag chain finally arrived from China after a 3month and 1 week wait, it only cost me about $14 inc customs charges for a 1000mm length of 20mm x 10mm drag chain with the end pieces. Seller thought it had got lost about a month ago so he sent another replacement one so should be expecting that one day.

I have a stronger 1000l/hr water pump now but have a problem purging air from the system, the bubbles seem to get stuck in the laser tube and take about 15 minutes to get out if I manually pause the water flow every few seconds, there must be a better way, all the cooling ports on the laser tube face upwards.

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Tuesday, September 25th 2012 - 7:18 PM

henrivdr wrote:Hi
Can you tell me who the supplier is for the Tygon tubing?
I am in Jo'burg.
Henri

Sweet another fellow South African.

I got the tubing from a place called Bio-Smart Scientific Supplies in Cape Town I can't seem to find the telephone number but I do have it at work, will give it to you tomorrow

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Thursday, September 27th 2012 - 7:15 PM

Henri, the Tel No. for Bio Smart is 021 558 2791 or sales@biosmart.co.za, you can speak to a guy called Grant

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Saturday, February 9th 2013 - 9:42 PM

Cooling system is finally sorted out ended up using a radiator from a ZXR750 motorcycle, works like a charm and by luck the existing fan shroud and fan fitted with little modifications.

I still need to sort out the dust extraction, I have a Ryobi portable dust collector but its really noisy, are there any alternatives to this, would one of those inline exhaust fans for a kitchen or bathroom work, similar to this

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Wednesday, April 24th 2013 - 7:25 PM

More progress finally

I managed to track down 2 x 10kg gas springs and fitted those to the lid, I now have a lid that stays open.

Mirror alignment was fine tuned and I finally made one of these 22mm OD 18mmID acrylic centering rings for the focus lens as per Ben Jackson's thread.
Mirrors have been replaced with the ones cut from the HDD platter, much more scratch and dirt resistant than the Chinese cheapies

Work has also started on the carbon filtration unit using a big 225L HDPE plastic drum as the foundation.
I have already cut the two holes for the inlet and outlet pipes in the drum, just waiting for payday so I can get some expanded diamond mesh steel grid as well ass some filter foam.

Also looking at getting a better water pump my 1000L/hr unit still flows way too slow, preferably an inline unit that doesn't have to sit in a tank so I can build a sealed cooling system with a small expansion tank, im thinking of maybe a small washing machine drain pump or a small 12Vdc pump like a PC water cooling pump

Pics to follow the weekend.

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Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 7:15 PM

Hi Gus

Dit gaan lekker in SA. Hoe gaan dit in die UK

Thanks for the kind comments

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Tuesday, September 24th 2013 - 6:16 PM

Busy moving house at the moment so the tube has been taken out the machine, pc and water cooling system packed away, should be up and running properly in the next few months tucked away in a corner in my moms garage

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