reeser's 2.x buildlog

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Re: reeser's 2.x buildlog

Postby reeser » Sun Mar 22, 2015 8:28 pm

Hi All;
It's been a while since I updated my buildlog, so I thought today was a good day to do it. Since the last post, I received my LO-X7 DSP controller. After a few false starts I finally figured it out and got it up to the point it will run the test program. I was originally trying to use the Laser/interface board that I had used for the Mach3 testing. My intent was to just use it for the stepper drivers and use all of the control circuitry from the new DSP. After changing the Schmidt trigger from a 74HC7014 to a 74HC14 I got the motors running but I could never sort out the limit switches. After messing around with it for a couple of weeks I ordered three 2m415 Stepper Drivers from Marco. After hooking these up to the new DSP everything worked as expected. I still don't know why I couldn't get the other board to work. It seemed so simple at the time :lol:
I pretty much finished up all of the wiring this afternoon and I think I am ready to order the Laser tube and Laser Power Supply.
I was pretty much able to fine tune my Manufacturing and User parameters in LaserCad. I think I am ready to see if I can get CorelDraw loaded and working with LaserCad. The version of CorelDraw I have is version 11, which is pretty old. (Circa 2002/2003.)
If anyone has any comments pro or con about using something this old I would appreciate hearing from you.
I have attached a few pictures showing the wiring compartment as it is at the moment. As I said I don't have the HV power supply yet. As always any comments are welcome.

Regards,
Dick
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reeser
 
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Re: reeser's 2.x buildlog

Postby Halfdead » Sun Mar 22, 2015 11:39 pm

Shouldn't the solid state relays be mounted to heatsinks?
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Re: reeser's 2.x buildlog

Postby sshwarts » Mon Mar 23, 2015 12:28 pm

Looks great. One suggestion, be sure to ground the chassis and the AWC-608(?) case. Remember that the aluminum extrusions have a clear anodized coating so you have to get through that for a good connection. Grounding the chassis is a safety issue, grounding the controller will avoid unexplained shut downs and resets. When that laser tube fires there's all kinds of RFI flying around in there! :D

Scott
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Re: reeser's 2.x buildlog

Postby reeser » Mon Mar 23, 2015 1:09 pm

Hi All:

Thanks for the comments.

Regarding the solid state relays they have a built in heatsink on the bottom which isn't apparent in the picture.

I understand the grounding comment. Thanks. I have a question though, the LO-X7 case is all plastic and there is no place to ground the case. Can I just run a ground from one of the ground terminals on the controller?

Thanks
Dick
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Re: reeser's 2.x buildlog

Postby sshwarts » Mon Mar 23, 2015 1:43 pm

It's the 708C box that needs to be grounded (I believe it's metal). I would just put a lug on one of the screws you used to mount it to the board and there to a nearby fastener on an extrusion. I didn't find a need to ground the control/display.

Scott
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Re: reeser's 2.x buildlog

Postby bloq » Mon Mar 23, 2015 2:51 pm

Hey Dick,

this looks (again) awesome! Is the wiring explained in the x7 manual or did you find out yourself? What are the relays used for? Are they meant to be for an optional subsystem?

thanks!

André
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Re: reeser's 2.x buildlog

Postby Halfdead » Mon Mar 23, 2015 3:01 pm

reeser wrote:Hi All:

Thanks for the comments.

Regarding the solid state relays they have a built in heatsink on the bottom which isn't apparent in the picture.

I understand the grounding comment. Thanks. I have a question though, the LO-X7 case is all plastic and there is no place to ground the case. Can I just run a ground from one of the ground terminals on the controller?

Thanks
Dick

If you're talking about the small metal plate built into the relay it's actually there to mount to a heatsink for better thermal transfer. If you're going to use them without a heatsink attached they need to be mounted with the plate facing upwards to transfer that heat into the air, but that's only good enough for around 5 amps depending on the relay.
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Re: reeser's 2.x buildlog

Postby reeser » Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:35 pm

Thanks for the headsup on the relays. I mistakenly thought the metal plate on the bottom was the heat sink. I'm planning on using one of the relays to turn on the water pump and the other to turn on the air assist. I added a third one since I'll probably want to do something in the future. I doubt either one has a significant current requirement but I haven't checked.

I tried to install the CorelDraw Macro this afternoon and had some issues. Could someone who has done this answer a question?
In Tim Wehr's document dated 8/21/11 he says to"Select Tool/Options then navigate to Workspace/Customization/Command Bars. (so far so good!) Select Macros (instead of visual basic which is written in the manual), then close CorelDraw."
In the copy of CorelDraw 11 I have you don't have an option of selecting Macros since it doesn't exist. I'm not sure where to go from here. I did try it using the visual Basic Selection and after running the DSP installer some grayed out icons did show up in CorelDraw. Am I on the right track???

Thanks
Dick
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Re: reeser's 2.x buildlog

Postby bloq » Tue Mar 24, 2015 6:39 pm

Hey again :)
do you have an article number for the Rail Connectors you were using? i found lots of them online but i am not yet sure which to use. Are the blocks
connected through the small metal strip you can see on the top? The connectors which i found online were open on the sides. Is this really meant to
be that way? Of course one could always separate them but i am not sure how this is meant to be.

thanks,

tm
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Re: reeser's 2.x buildlog

Postby reeser » Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:11 pm

Hi All:

Well I'm finally finished(almost) with my 2.x build. It has been a great learning experience for me and I enjoyed the whole thing very much.
I got to the point today of firing the laser for the first time, and to my surprise everything worked as it should.
I still have a couple of glitches that I need to iron out. I have two different water flow switches (Both from LightObject) and neither one of them function for me. The problem , I think is that I am not getting enough water flow to make the switches open and close. Once they close, when the water flow ceases they do not open. I bought an ECO 396 GPH pump which I thought I had read was more than adequate. I plumbed everything up with 1/4" ID X 3/8" OD tubing. The inlets and the outlets from the tube are the same so I would think that is the limiting factor. When I measure the flow rate it is only about 1 liter/minute. Can someone advise me as to what I would need to provide adequate cooling assuming normal usage. I have the pump in a five gallon bucket of water. I don't know if that is adequate but suppose I'll find out as I start using the laser.
At any rate neither flow switch seems to want to function properly at my flow rate ( I checked both switches and they are fine). Any suggestions would be welcomed.
I still have a couple of skins to cut on my mill and finish mounting the remainder. I think I will build a dedicated table for it and I still need to rig up the exhaust port.

I have included a few photos of the almost finished 2.x
Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way.
I appreciate it.
Regards,
Dick

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