MaxNCMill: Difference between revisions
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Cutting fiberglass (PCB) will eventually destroy any kind of steel cutting tool. You need carbide tooling. | Cutting fiberglass (PCB) will eventually destroy any kind of steel cutting tool. You need carbide tooling. | ||
Available from suppliers: http://www.precisebits.com/applications/pcbtools.htm http://thinktink.com/ Note that carbide is too brittle for most metals and will just snap. | Available from suppliers: http://www.precisebits.com/applications/pcbtools.htm http://thinktink.com/ Note that carbide is too brittle for most metals and will just snap. | ||
High Speed Stainless (HSS) tooling available here: http://littlemachineshop.com/ | |||
== Parallel port DB-25 pinout == | == Parallel port DB-25 pinout == | ||
Revision as of 13:18, 6 October 2009
Here's the beast: http://www.maxnc.com/maxnc_10_cl-b.htm
IMPORTANT!
Improperly used, the mill can destroy itself, its tools, and parts of you. Please know what you are doing and don't be afraid to ask questions.
- RTFM! Know how to home each axis, and what tools to use, how to shut down, etc. http://www.linuxcnc.org/docview/html/
- If you are not sure of your path, do a dry run.
- DO NOT UPGRADE THE UBUNTU 8.04 OR THE KERNEL ON THE HOST MACHINE!
- DO NOT MILL PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS WITH STEEL TOOLS! (Carbide only, see Tooling )
- USE EYE PROTECTION unless you like tweezering debris out of them
Software
We are using http://linuxcnc.org EMC2 and AXIS software to drive the mill. We had to hack the config files considerably and reverse-engineer the pinout. See here for documentation: http://www.linuxcnc.org/docview/html/
We have installed EMC2 and AXIS and some other software on the driver PC. This depends on a custom kernel and Ubuntu 8.04 -- PLEASE DON'T UPGRADE!
The EMC2/AXIS software takes GCode as motion control input files. More info here: http://www.linuxcnc.org/docview/html/
GCODE
Many tools exist for generating/converting to gcode. Here's a good list: http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl?Cam
In particular, here's how you generate gcode from
Cadsoft EagleCAD http://www.pcbgcode.org/
Inkscape : http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl?InkscapeHowto
text / truetype : http://www.timeguy.com/cradek/truetype
Tooling
Cutting fiberglass (PCB) will eventually destroy any kind of steel cutting tool. You need carbide tooling. Available from suppliers: http://www.precisebits.com/applications/pcbtools.htm http://thinktink.com/ Note that carbide is too brittle for most metals and will just snap.
High Speed Stainless (HSS) tooling available here: http://littlemachineshop.com/
Parallel port DB-25 pinout
- One pinout from http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1319.0;attach=891)
- http://www.super-tech.com/root/drawings/gif/SuperCam_pinouts.gif "setptype = user1" (confusingly not labeled MAXNC10)
OK, got a definitive pinout, seem to conform to those above. Jtfoote 23:11, 28 September 2009 (PDT)
Pin 1: Tool speed PWM, active low Pin 2,3: A quad input Pin 4,5: Y quad input Pin 6,7: X quad input Pin 8,9: Z quad input
Pin 10: 7420 quad nand output (motion complete ack?) Pin 11: NC Pin 12: X,Y,Z limit (or'ed active high when at limit) Pin 13: spare digital (unused header labeled "probe") Pin 14: Enable, active high Pin 15: NC Pin 16: input to 4x PICs: enable, active low (reset?) Pin 17: Enable, active high Pin 18: GND Pin 19-25 - NC
Misc other info
Manual: http://engineering.purdue.edu/AAE/Academics/Courses/Raisbeck/images/resources/cnc/MAXNCmanual.pdf
This guy rebuilt his, has derogatory things to say: http://hans-w.com/cnc.htm
This other guy has some interesting upgrades. Especially notable is the new motor mount, and appropriate dxf http://www.timeguy.com/cradek/cnc/motor-mount
User:seph was hacking on one. Some notes from him are at http://www.directionless.org/tmp/maxnc/
There's a pinout, and an emc2 config. He also recommends thinking about eventually upgrading a lot of the components.