hello folk's , I plan to build a CNC controller for a 4 axis machine , I have the board & shield figgured out I think .One of my ? is , how is the spindle powered ? what do I need for that ?
& on some youtubes I have seen a small circuit board with what looks like just the power socket mounted & jumpers out to the controller . what s that board called ? I cant seem to find the right word combo to find them online
tks
animal
animal12:
hello folk's , I plan to build a CNC controller for a 4 axis machine , I have the board & shield figgured out I think .One of my ? is , how is the spindle powered ? what do I need for that ?
& on some youtubes I have seen a small circuit board with what looks like just the power socket mounted & jumpers out to the controller . what s that board called ? I cant seem to find the right word combo to find them online
tks
animal
What type of machine are you referring to? The spindle on my CNC milling machine is controlled by a knob controlling the current going to a DC motor.
I guess controlling the spindle with a computer will depend on the motor powering the spindle.
Paul
it's a old Maxnc 10 , the spindle motor is a old Dayton , with 4 Powermax II 1.8 steppers for the 4 axis's.
the old controller that came with it had at least 1 pot (it's at a bud's place ) I thought maybe was for a variable speed for the spindle . I haven't been able to find any hardware manuals for the machine so we're winging it & starting fresh with a arduino . time to see if I can teach a old dog new tricks.
tks
animal
Most router-based CNC's require you to turn on the motor and adjust the speed manually. The speed doesn't change during a run, so there's no reason to put it under the computer's control.
cool , that's one less thing to deal with
tks
animal
animal12:
it's a old Maxnc 10 , the spindle motor is a old Dayton , with 4 Powermax II 1.8 steppers for the 4 axis's.
the old controller that came with it had at least 1 pot (it's at a bud's place ) I thought maybe was for a variable speed for the spindle . I haven't been able to find any hardware manuals for the machine so we're winging it & starting fresh with a arduino . time to see if I can teach a old dog new tricks.
tks
animal
My CNC mill is an EMCO F1. About the same vintage as yours. Also a school classroom type device. I got it so we could machine plastic enclosures for a customer. We were paying another company to do it. Needed to mill a few small circular holes. the EMCO software could not support milling a complete circle. Also could not support many other needed functions.
I found a company in England that had controller boards and Windows software to modify the F1. Name was Wellmill. The engineer/professor who developed the upgrade died and no one took over the project. It works great. Runs G and M code text files on Win-XP. I just don't use it and really need to find another home for it.
I was going to check the motor manufacture this morning, but forgot. The motor has a gear set between the motor and the spindle. My unit is the wood working version, so the spindle is faster than the motor. I could turn the gear set over and make it the metal working version, but have not done it. As is, the spindle has more than enough power for aluminum, soft steel.
Good luck with your project.
Paul