CNC projects history

Posted on 2017/10/09 by f1oat

2017: EMCO-120P lathe + BBB + MK + Modified Gmoccapy GUI
2015: C3000 machining center + BBB + MK + Qt based tablet remote GUI
2013: CNC-6040 router + PC + LCNC + Modified Gmoccapy GUI
Late 90s : Wolfcraft table based mill + PC + EMC/LCNC + Axis GUI

CNC-6040 4 axis milling test

Posted on 2017/09/21 by f1oat

3D mesh captured with David Laser Scanner.
G-CODE file generated with trial version of Deskproto.
Milling job achieved on a www.cnc-shop.ch CNC-6040 router and harmonic drive based fourth axis.

EATC-120 toolchanger controller released

Posted on 2017/03/28 by f1oat

This is a DIY controller for the original Emco Turn 120/220 toolchanger.
Software, PCB and schematic are now available at: https://github.com/f1oat/EATC-120

Many thanks to Tom for the original Toolerator 3000 design that inspired EATC-120.

Emco Turn 120P door switch rebuild

Posted on 2016/12/25 by f1oat

The little support for the lever of the door switch is broken.
Trying to glue it without success.
So, I switched to a 3D printed spare part!

New design with ViaCAD

Slicing with Simplify3D

The 3D printing job

EATC-120 toolchanger driver

Posted on 2016/12/06 by f1oat

The EATC-120 module is almost finished !

This is a driver for the EmcoTurn 120/220 original 8 positions ATC.
This design is derived from the excellent Toolerator 3000 USB controlled driver.
EATC-120 is adding MODBUS capabilities for easy integration with an industrial environment.
Single 24V power supply with embedded 5V DC/DC converter.
The “brain” of the module is an Arduino Micro.
The motor is driven by an LMD18245T providing current control.
The lock status is automatically detected by measuring the peak current when the motor stalls.
Everything is reported in MODBUS registers.
Integration with Machinekit/LinuxCNC is easy thanks to “mb2hal” HAL component.

I have found a nice empty DIN rail enclosure and designed a special PCB to fit with it.

I need to finalize integration and test with my Emco lathe before publishing.

Stay tuned !

Control panel bracket

Posted on 2016/08/31 by f1oat

Just built a strong bracket for the control panel.
The door can slide freely under the panel.
Nest step is electrical cabling of the link between the control panel and the motor controllers.

Motor drivers

Posted on 2016/08/31 by f1oat

VFD and stepper drivers installed in the electrical box.
Vexta driver autotest feature shows that motors are in good condition and 5 phases cabling is ok.
Need to integrate the control panel for further validation.

Emco Turn 120P retrofit electronics update

Posted on 2016/07/17 by f1oat

I have replaced the Probotix cape by a Furaday cape to get more I/O pins.
Here is the updated schematic diagram:

Adding velocity estimation in hal_pru_generic encoder

Posted on 2016/04/10 by f1oat

I needed this feature for my lathe control panel project. The goal is to drive the jog steps size by the rotation speed of the jog wheels.

The algorithm has been validated from 5 Hz to 100 kHz.
Maximum measurement error is 1%. See curves below.

The patch is available here: https://github.com/f1oat/machinekit

HAL configuration

loadusr -w ../setup.sh

loadrt threads name1=servo-thread period1=1000000
loadrt hal_pru_generic prucode=$(HAL_RTMOD_DIR)/xenomai/pru_generic.bin pru=0 num_encoders=1 num_pwmgens=1 pru_period=2500 halname=hpg
addf hpg.update servo-thread
addf hpg.capture-position servo-thread

setp hpg.encoder.00.chan.00.A-pin 7 #925 ENCxI
setp hpg.encoder.00.chan.00.counter-mode 2 #Up Counter (counts rising edges on A, always counts up, B ignored)

setp hpg.pwmgen.00.out.00.pin 921 #PWM1
setp hpg.pwmgen.00.out.00.enable 1
setp hpg.pwmgen.00.pwm_period 1000000
setp hpg.pwmgen.00.out.00.value 0.5

start
loadusr -w sleep 1
loadusr -w python encoder_test.py

encoder_test.py

#!/usr/bin/python

import subprocess
import time
import os

def readpin(p):
 r = subprocess.check_output('halcmd -s show pin ' + p + '|head -1',shell=True) 
 lst = r.split()
 return lst[3]

def setpin(p, v):
 subprocess.check_output('halcmd -s setp %s %d' % (p, v), shell=True)

freq = 5.0
prev_freq = 0.0
maxerror = 0
f = open('result.csv', 'w')
line = 'in(Hz), out(Hz), err(%), latency(ms)'
print line
f.write(line + '\n')
time.sleep(2)

while freq < 100e3:
 period = int(1e9/freq/2500) * 2500 # because pru_period=2500
 real_freq = 1e9/period
 if (real_freq <> prev_freq):
 prev_freq = real_freq
 setpin('hpg.pwmgen.00.pwm_period', period)
 time.sleep(0.2)
 measured_freq = float(readpin('hpg.encoder.00.chan.00.velocity'))
 latency = float(readpin('hpg.encoder.00.chan.00.latency')) * 1e-6
 error = abs(real_freq / measured_freq - 1.0)
 maxerror = max(maxerror, error)
 line = "%8.1f, %8.1f, %4.2f, %3.0f" % (real_freq, measured_freq, error*100.0, latency)
 print line
 f.write(line + '\n')
 freq = 1.1*freq

f.close()
print "Max error %.1f%s" % (maxerror*100.0, '%')

Emco Turn 120P Machinekit control panel

Posted on 2016/03/21 by f1oat

Brainstorming, CAD, CAM, simulation, wood, machining, gluing, sanding, HIPS … the control panel is almost ready!

The structure of the control panel is made of 5mm plywood. The red color is coming from a 1mm sheet of HIPS. Everything machined on my CNC-6040 router with 3.17mm carbide endmill.

The touchscreen is a Beetronics 12″ model. Connected through HDMI to the BeagleBone Black board. Easy configuration: there is native support for the touchscreen USB pointing device in the Machinekit Linux image!

Step by step manufacturing of the control panel.

First step was CAD design with ViaCAD software.

Some 3D rendering with ViaCAD.

High quality CG rendering and compositing with DAZ3D Carrara 8.5.On the real machine, I will add a frame to hang the panel above the sliding door area.