Constructing Janus, by Dirk

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Re: Constructing Janus, by Dirk

Postby bdring » Sat Jun 04, 2011 3:00 pm

The board runs off 5V...after the power supply. I would just tap 5V onto the power connector or you could use probably use a phone charger to do it.
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Cables to Go DB25 color coding

Postby dirktheeng » Sat Jun 04, 2011 3:29 pm

I purchased a 3 foot DB25 cable to hook up to the Pololu driver board from CablesOnline for about 6 bucks. It is a cables 2 go brand. I don't know if this is a standard color coding, but it was quite easy to identify, but tedious. I thought I would share this with everybody. The first 12 colors repeat themselves from pin 14 on, but have a black stripe on them. Black is pin 13 and is the only one without a mate. This is handy information to have. I would assume that all DB25 cables from cables 2 go are made this way. However, I doubt that there is a universal standard for all DB25 cables. Anyhow, I hope this information can help others if they want to use a premade cable. I'm going to use this to connect my arduinos.

Pin Color
1 light brown
2 dark red
3 orange
4 pink
5 yellow
6 forrest green
7 teel
8 dark blue
9 baby blue
10 purple
11 grey
12 white
13 black
14 light brown with stripe
15 dark red with stripe
16 orange with stripe
17 pink with stripe
18 yellow with stripe
19 forrest green with stripe
20 teel with stripe
21 dark blue with stripe
22 baby blue with stripe
23 purple with stripe
24 grey with stripe
25 white with stripe
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Re: Constructing Janus, by Dirk

Postby dirktheeng » Sat Jun 04, 2011 3:44 pm

bdring wrote:The board runs off 5V...after the power supply. I would just tap 5V onto the power connector or you could use probably use a phone charger to do it.


The problem is that the manufacturer and forums say that anything less than 6V runs the risk of being unstable and not having all functions work properly. That's why they reccomend 7-12 volts. I won't necessarily have my computer connected, so I want to be sure to supply it with more than 5V power. A 9v batery works well and my more permanent solution is going to be the PSU.
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Re: Constructing Janus, by Dirk

Postby bdring » Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:00 pm

That is the for the power supply. It is a linear regulator. You would hook up on the other side with a stable 5V. That is how you can power it by a USB cable.
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First Motion

Postby dirktheeng » Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:28 pm

Well, today is an exciting day! I was able to hack together a solution that worked! I was able to move the x-axis motor turning via G-code commands. Here is a picture and the link to the youtube video:




I tried to post a video through the buildlog site, but it didn't work. I think the file was too big.

I used the Arduino Uno connected to my computer to execute G-code from a serial communication window. It works well and runs smooth.
Last edited by dirktheeng on Sun Jun 26, 2011 9:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Constructing Janus, by Dirk

Postby swaggs21 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:35 pm

Dirk,

I just wanted to drop in and say hi. My name is Chris and I have a large format CNC about 40 minutes south of you outside of Clarksburg. If you ever have parts that you need cut, feel free to give me a call.

I will be making a laser engraver at some point, but I need to pay off the behemoth I just built first :D

Feel free to PM me if you need any help with materials or supplies, I have a lot of leftover stuff from my CNC build.
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Re: Constructing Janus, by Dirk

Postby dirktheeng » Sat Jun 11, 2011 7:51 pm

swaggs21 wrote:Dirk,

I just wanted to drop in and say hi. My name is Chris and I have a large format CNC about 40 minutes south of you outside of Clarksburg. If you ever have parts that you need cut, feel free to give me a call.

I will be making a laser engraver at some point, but I need to pay off the behemoth I just built first :D

Feel free to PM me if you need any help with materials or supplies, I have a lot of leftover stuff from my CNC build.


Wow, cool. We should maybe get together sometime. I'd love to show you the laser and see your build. I'm a newby when it comes to cnc, but quickly learning as you will see from my next post. I really messed up when I was getting my arduino installed... fried a chip... oops!
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Installing the Pololu backwards will mess up driver/board

Postby dirktheeng » Sat Jun 11, 2011 8:04 pm

All,

Well, I made a pretty good mistake this time. I got my arduino installed and wired permenantly and was in the middle of diagnosing a problem when I messed up. I noticed that one of my drivers was only driving in one direction. When I examined the chip, I noticed that one of the pins wasnt' soldered on and it was the direction pin, so I took the pololu driver out and soldered it up and put it back. What I didn't notice is that I installed it backwards! I know that installing it backwards is a no-no and I even reminded myself to ckeck and doublecheck, but I got distracted by something in the middle of installing it and I forgot to double check. Well needless to say it fried really quickly. It got really hot and it was done for. I took the driver out and switch in one of my good ones (installed in the right direction this time) and ironically, it only moves in one direction so I mucked up something on the driver board too. Switching the driver board back, it works fine on the other axis. So now, I have no X axis :cry:

Just in case you didn't believe the instructions, it will mess up your board and driver if you put them in backwards.

Bart: I need a new driver and need help figuring out what else busted on the driver board. :oops:
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Re: Installing the Pololu backwards will mess up driver/boar

Postby dirktheeng » Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:17 pm

dirktheeng wrote:All,

Well, I made a pretty good mistake this time. I got my arduino installed and wired permenantly and was in the middle of diagnosing a problem when I messed up. I noticed that one of my drivers was only driving in one direction. When I examined the chip, I noticed that one of the pins wasnt' soldered on and it was the direction pin, so I took the pololu driver out and soldered it up and put it back. What I didn't notice is that I installed it backwards! I know that installing it backwards is a no-no and I even reminded myself to ckeck and doublecheck, but I got distracted by something in the middle of installing it and I forgot to double check. Well needless to say it fried really quickly. It got really hot and it was done for. I took the driver out and switch in one of my good ones (installed in the right direction this time) and ironically, it only moves in one direction so I mucked up something on the driver board too. Switching the driver board back, it works fine on the other axis. So now, I have no X axis :cry:

Just in case you didn't believe the instructions, it will mess up your board and driver if you put them in backwards.

Bart: I need a new driver and need help figuring out what else busted on the driver board. :oops:


Well, I figured out what fried on the board... the schmidt trigger. I jumpered the connections and tried moving the good driver to the x driver slot (yes I did put it in right this time :lol:). It moved correctly. Here's a pick of the jumpered socket.

DSCN3491.JPG
Jumpered Schmidt Trigger Socket


I ordered a new one from Digikey for $1.51 (actually ordered a couple to have spares in case i screw up again or find a new way to screw up).

unfortunately, I can't find a replacement A4988 at any US vendor right now... they are all out of stock as far as I could find.
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Driver Arduino Installed

Postby dirktheeng » Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:25 pm

I got the Arduino UNO installed today and connected. All drive pins are connected via matching pin plugs through the chopped off DB25 connector. The UNO is supported on standoffs which are glued to the MDF.

DSCN3492.JPG
Arduino Board Install


I haven't chopped off the wires from the connector yet because I have a few more connections to make. I will clean it up later.

the other arduino will sit beside it with an SD card sheild attached. I will not have the USB attached to the UNO, but the MEGA and will develop a visual C interface to run on my computer, but it will run headless in both engraving and cutting modes.
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