LaserUser.com Forum (formerly RDWorksLab)

So in CAD, I just basically turned the plate 90 degrees and made another set and lightened them as much as I could.



















Mounted in place



















But now I need to make another idler pulley bracket. The new one will be more of a traditional one with the bearings in the idler itself.

Got the 100 watt laser power supply a couple days ago

I'm working on the wiring and need help setting the DM542T drivers.
Do I set the amp side of the drivers to the "amp per phase" of the motors???

Now on to the steps.
Z axis lead screws are 3/8" 10 pitch and geared 4 to 1. So I'm setting that driver at 400 steps
Y axis is geared 2 to 1 and driven by a 20 tooth 3M pulley and starting out with 1600 steps
X axis has a 20 tooth 3M pulley and starting out with it set at 3200 steps

I'm using this motor on the X and Z axis


https://www.omc-stepperonline.com/nema- ... wires.html



and this motor on the Y axis wired Bipolar parallel


https://www.automationtechnologiesinc.c ... -282-oz-in

I turned 3 smooth idler pulleys, one for the X axis and the other two for the Y. The X axis has great alignment now. I'm in the process of making the brackets for the Y idlers.




























One step forward and two steps back.

Using my 10" machinist square, I squared my "Y" rails to the common beam on the back that will also hold the tube. When I did this, it threw the bed all out of wack and now have to go back and readjust the Z axis leadscrews. In the process, I think the NEMA 17 I had on it was missing steps, so I put a 175oz NEMA 23 like I have on the X axis. Mounted the driver and have the motor wired to it.

What sort of machine do you use to make your alum parts? I would love to make my own parts- beyond what I make now. Thanks Gene

Well Gene, the two machines I use the most is my Bridgeport mill (with DRO) and my 14" X 48" Clausing lathe. I also have a Harbor Freight mill drill (with DRO) and a HF mini mill that I converted to CNC. Along with a HF 7" X 10" lathe that will get converted to CNC. I also built a 14" X 24" CNC router that gets used once in a while.
Most of the stuff I make, I can turn it out faster manually than trying to set it up in one of the CNC machines. So they don't get used very often.

Very nice- I have a 24x48 CNC router but my nextdoor renter is a machinist with several Haas cncs if I really need something built. He has the unfortunate circumstance of having to make a living so I hate to ask him to do small stuff.
He is looking to buy a building soon so I will have a lot of space for new toys- the Sign shop will also take as much of that building as I am willing to give up. I like the idea of a small $2-3k mill as I do a lot of designing and fabricating to keep myself busy [and happy].

Gene Uselman wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 I like the idea of a small $2-3k mill as I do a lot of designing and fabricating to keep myself busy [and happy].

Yes, a mill is something you need for that kind of stuff. Once you get a mill, a lathe won't be far behind. I started out with the mill-drill in 1998 and bought the Bridgeport and Clausing in 2004.

Y brackets are done and belts is tight.
























Y motor and drive

Wasting some time figuring when it comes time to start entering stuff into the controller

X axis is driven by a 20 tooth, 3mm pitch pulley. So that means the head will move 60mm per rev. Driver set at 3200 steps. So divide 60 by 3200 and comes out with .01875 mm per step.

Y is driven 2 turns on the motor for 1 on the driven shaft with a 20 tooth, 3mm pitch pulley. So with the driver set at 1600 steps, I should have the same .01875mm per step.

The Z is driven by 3/8", 10 pitch leadscrews with 40 tooth GT2 pulleys. Motor has a 20 tooth, so the screws move 1/2 per motor rev. That equals to 1.27mm per rev of the motor. Driver set at 1600 so I get .00079375 movement per step.