electronics and hardware to overcome a few problems...
No.1 being a vibration or vibrations. Where do I start?
The worst direction was the Y axis. It was all over the place. During my initial cuts I got very disappointed. Pissed off even.
But I worked through a few options and it cutting fine now.
These are the points to be on the look out for-
1. Linear bearings work best in pairs and under load. Not alone and free running. I found there was quite a bit of play, not only between the bearing and housing but in the bearing itself.
So to counteract this issue I did this:
There are bearing on the other side too.
2.Steppers vibrate at low speeds if not under load. My flying optic moved quite freely and was essentially no load on the motor.
- Imagine if you will, what is happening at low step rate -
As the stepper moves from one pole to the next, the mass of the rotor is accelerated around. Ideally, it stops dead in it new step position.
But no! it actually overshoots a little, only to be pulled back and eventually settle in its new position. This equals vibration.
It disappears at higher speeds as the rotor is caught in its overshoot position only to be pulled on by the next step.
So what can we do?
I believe... add load to the motor shaft(make a heavier flying optic) or reduce the current to the motor to the absolute minimum to move the FO.
3.fix the bearings on the flying optic.
4. Also microstep. I upped mine to 1/16 and it was a huge help.
I also upped my air pressure to 2 bar from a compressor. It made a huge difference to the cut depth. A Very noisy solution!
To do: A water flow alarm. I'm working on that now. I will put up a post on that alone. Circuit etc. I managed to do a cut without the coolant water on at all. Crap! Probably 30 second or more.Thankfully the laser survived.
And the lid with safety cut off switch to stop me burning my eyes.
Here's a couple of pics!
