A 5 axis desktop CNC control electronics.

Geckodrive G320X servo drive (3/09/2010)

Geckodrive G320X servo controller

One potential servo drive evaluated for use. The Gecko is a very compact drive, with a professionally constructed enclosure.

Whale3 servo drive (5/16/2010)

Whale3 servo controller

5 whale3 servo drives will be used to control the mill.

Whale3 drives were chosen over the Gecko320X due to the advantages of a USB interface for computer controlled tuning, the ability to hold servo position without dithering between encoder counts, higher encoder supply current, and lower cost.

Whale3 servo drive stack (6/25/2010)

Set of 5 whale3servo drives.

Servo drive mounting plate (7/31/2010)

Mounting plate for servo drives.

Servo drive stack (7/31/2010)

Servo drives bolted to mounting plate.

Servo drive stack (7/31/2010)

Servo drive mounting plate bolted to mill and connected to 24V 16.6A switching power supply.

Servo drive control breakout (6/18/2011)

DC-DC converter to supply 12v to the servo drive logic, and parallel to RJ-54 breakout stack.

Smoothstepper motion controller (6/25/2010)

Smoothstepper motion controller

Motion controller is run with Mach3 through a USB port and provides step/dir signals to the whale 3 servo drives.

Smoothstepper motion controller (6/25/2010)

Mounted in metal box.

Smoothstepper motion controller (6/25/2010)

Box front.

Smoothstepper motion controller (6/25/2010)

Box back.

Manual control box (6/18/2011)

Provides start, hold, estop input buttons.

Spindle power supply (6/18/2011)

12V switch mode power supply for spindle power

Spindle speed controller (6/18/2011)

RC car brushless motor controller and servo PWM generator.

Servo control breakout (7/04/2011)

Board design in Eagle.

Servo control breakout (7/04/2011)

Board after milling and drilling.

Servo control breakout (7/04/2011)

Board with holes drilled to size and components soldered in.

Servo control breakout (7/04/2011)

DC-DC converter mounted.

Servo control breakout (7/04/2011)

Board top.

Servo control breakout (7/04/2011)

Board mounted on CNC

Optical limit switch connector (9/05/2011)

Aerotech stages have built in optical limit switches. These are powered off the 5V encoder supply and converted to an RJ45 jack.

Optical limit switch breakout(9/05/2011)

Temporary breakout connecting optical limit switches to DB25 ribbon cable.

Automatic tool setter (9/05/2011)

Automatic tool setter for CNC mill. Components: 10-32 insulating stud, tool setter body, spring, copper contact disk, retaining collar.

Automatic tool setter (9/05/2011)

Electrical connection to controller and alligator clip to connect to mill bit.

Automatic tool setter (9/05/2011)

Bit in position for zeroing with alligator clip attached.

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Copyright © 1998 - 2013 by Andrew Seltzman. All rights reserved.