jhovel
1st Sep 2019, 10:38 PM
Well, I finally did it...
I bought a desktop fixed gantry CNC engraver.
381724
It is a few years old and came from an industrial environment but appears to have very little wear - other than the spindle brearings.
It weighs about 60kg + and is almost entirely made from ribbed cast iron castings and sections.
The control system was proprietary and driven by serial port - and it didn't come with it.
So my intention is to fit new stepper drivers and an off-line motion controller, that reads G-code from a USB or memory stick.
I also intend to raise the gantry by about 3" (75mm) to enable me to get taller work pieces under it. I can slide the motor down by the corresponding amount in its clamp to enable flat work to be machined.
A question remains, in that I don't know how to select a motion controller: what pulse rate should it be able to deliver? How can I know? There seem to be $150 50kHz ones and $250 500kHz ones ....
Anyone want to clarify that for me?
Last question: I intend to generate G-code in Fusion360 Cam module, but what do I need to know to get the right "dialect"?
I bought a desktop fixed gantry CNC engraver.
381724
It is a few years old and came from an industrial environment but appears to have very little wear - other than the spindle brearings.
It weighs about 60kg + and is almost entirely made from ribbed cast iron castings and sections.
The control system was proprietary and driven by serial port - and it didn't come with it.
So my intention is to fit new stepper drivers and an off-line motion controller, that reads G-code from a USB or memory stick.
I also intend to raise the gantry by about 3" (75mm) to enable me to get taller work pieces under it. I can slide the motor down by the corresponding amount in its clamp to enable flat work to be machined.
A question remains, in that I don't know how to select a motion controller: what pulse rate should it be able to deliver? How can I know? There seem to be $150 50kHz ones and $250 500kHz ones ....
Anyone want to clarify that for me?
Last question: I intend to generate G-code in Fusion360 Cam module, but what do I need to know to get the right "dialect"?