about my 48" X 48" X 5" Techno/ISEL woodworking router build

today was filled with wonder and excitement. excitement about seeing some of the little details getting completed. and a lot of wondering about how other details are going to turn out.

i worked on trying to tidy up some wiring, so it looks better. going through a lot of zip-ties, and such.
the enclosure is getting a little cramped with hardware. i think the solution is to move the power converters out of the enclosure, and into a different one. then i can use buss bars to distribute power inside the enclosure. should be fairly straight forward. so far, the only thing using 5Vdc is the Mesa board, and the 5Vdc <==> 24Vdc logic level opto converters. relays use 12Vdc, but not much. 24Vdc for a lot of stuff. and the stepper drivers have their own power supply anyway.
one idea i have been toying with, is that with the relays making and breaking contact, and causing power spikes, i want to shield the ones in the control enclosure, and use them to switch 24Vdc that is routed out to an enclosure under the machine where i will have 24Vdc coil relays that will switch higher powered items, like the dust-collection system. but the 24Vdc for those relays will have an isolated power supply. this is due to an observation of the LEDs on the logic level opto converters blinking dimly when the relay breaks contact.

though what i say, and what i end up doing all depends on my mindset at the time. best i can do is outline my plans, and hope for the best.

as for the laser component, i think i will end up just using two independent configurations. that way it will be simpler. i can copy the basics from one to the other, and just make the needed modifications. i think i will find that i make more use of the spindle than the laser anyway.

something else i am toying around with, is to move the stepper drivers from the control enclosure to an enclosure on the machine. perhaps with the above mentioned relays. just an idea though, as i doubt i will try it. may just be too much complexity.

I can't seem to get my spindle to turn... the VFD responds to forward and reverse, but will not turn up. i suspect something is not connected in HAL, but i can't seem to figure out what. my configs are all here: github.com/travis-farmer/linuxcnc (currently up to date with my machine).
i still have to figure out why my XHC pendant will not jog, but that is for another day. don't want to overload my weak mind

~Travis

spent a little time going over the configs, after work today, and i got my spindle working again! took it up to 20000 rpm, just to celebrate, and it ran nice and smooth. though the general sound it made was terrifying. sounded like it was ready to take flight.
in any case, it works now. i had it in HAL, but it wasn't connected to anything in HAL, so it just didn't turn up. all i could do is select forward or reverse.

now i just have to go through the configs and see why my XHC LHB pendant won't jog...

~Travis

Been a while since an update...
i have been waiting for parts to arrive. i bought some DC circuit-breakers for my power supply cabinet, so no more directly powered circuits. i also ordered some wire to go between the power cabinet to my control cabinet. i thought the wire was somewhat local stock, but it turned out to be coming from China. it just arrived yesterday.

i removed the HAL connections from the coolant control (powers my dust collection vacuum), and instead i am using the pins from the spindle CW and CCW signals to turn on the vacuum, so it will start as soon as the spindle starts up. more of a convenience factor, really.

i have started to bundle the cables on the machine, just to make it look a little better. still looks like a bundle of spaghetti hanging off the machine, though.

even though i will have breakers in the power cabinet for each power buss, i may pickup some fuse blocks for each buss (5v, 12v, 24v, 36v). for example, the 24v buss has a 20A breaker, as that is what the PSU will supply. but i don't want the risk of a 20A short on, for instance, the light gauge wire for the homing switches. at the moment, i don't dare leave the machine powered, until i fuse the circuits. perhaps just paranoia...

~Travis

If you have a normal 20A PSU a 20A breaker will probably not trip. Depending from time and current your beaker has "tripping-curve". Normal PSU go fast into current limits and do not supply enough amps. For what you want you need good industrial grade PSU ore better electronic fuses.
But your solution looks probably cool

Mike

Hmm, had not considered that the PSU would have current limiting... well, i guess i have some fancy looking cut-off switches,

hopefully the smaller per-circuit fuses will keep things in order, when i buy them. bills took financial priority, so it may be just a bit before i can order them. (hate when bills get in the way )

~Travis

New configs at: github.com/travis-farmer/linuxcnc
with changes displayed at: github.com/travis-farmer/linuxcnc/commit...c366f06e50812100e64c
(for better clarity)

so, what i wanted was for the dust vacuum to come on ONLY if i am not using the coolant signals, but when the spindle comes on. what i came up with works, providing the coolant signals come on throughout the time the spindle is on, though that depends on the CAM post-processor config. i tried a few test G-Code files, and it seems to work quite well.

my intention here is that my woodworking CNC router is capable of milling plastics and soft metals. it is my plan to construct some sort of coolant containment system so that when i mill plastics and soft metals, the coolant doesn't make a complete mess. and when i want to mill wood, i can either remove the containment system (likely a PITA), or clean and dry the containment system after each use of coolant, and allow the containment system to aid in the containment of wood dust, while the vacuum picks up most of it.

now, i would obviously need to make provisions to plug the coolant sump from wood dust, and be able to physically turn off the coolant to prevent drips on the wood when not in use. i could also blow them clear with compressed air... perhaps.

so, what are all your thoughts here? i can't afford two machines, so i want to make it as versatile as i can.

~Travis