I am working on swapping the old lathe DRO with the new one. It mounts perfectly but the readers must be wired differently as the DRO isn't getting data from them. Its not the end of the world, I will have to compare the manuals and re-wire the connectors:



There are other interface problems; the laser's DSP controller is set to Chinese:



That's REALLY helpful! There was no manual and Google can't find one either. I downloaded a manual for a fairly similar model and hopefully the menus are the same.

Other projects went better today; I mounted a monitor on the CNC enclosure and figured out a spot to mount the PC:



The arm is a cheapo model from Bunnings but its rock solid and it will be easy to add a keyboard tray under the monitor.

The CNC mill progressed a little; the zero backlash couplings arrived and fit well. They look fragile but are rated to transmit double the torque the motors are capable of:



Now the motor adapter block can be designed - looks like a perfect first project for Fusion 360
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Success! The laser controller is set to English, now to wade thru the 44 page Chinglish manual.



Check out the Z axis on the right; the laser is apparently over 3 metres tall
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Your encoder or DRO might be be disagreeing on if they are using differential or not perhaps?
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Mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets

Could be - there isn't much info on the scales that came with the lathe. The DROpro unit has many config options so if it isn't a wiring problem, it might just need a tweak in the menu system.
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

very very exciting!
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Creative Instigation - Build Something Awesome!

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Fan, meet ceiling:

I finally got motivated to mount the exhaust fan for the laser; its quite heavy but a 25mm thick plywood bracket and M8 bolts have no give in them whatsoever:



The roof beam does a good job of dampening vibrations, so the fan is fairly quiet. Now to bash a 150mm hole in a perfectly good wall so the smoke can be vented outside.
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Nothing as painfull as cutting a big hole in a new shed ha ha- all looking awesome Nick 🤖
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Miles Blow - Julie Pitts
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-Pickasso- Vivid Sportsman champion 2015

Nick, this shop overhaul is colossal! My envy levels are somewhere in the stratosphere right now. So nice.
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Pulsar and friends.

Miles, I sized up the hole (186mm) and marked it out before the temperature got up to 42 Deg C, the hottest its been here this summer. Finding the vent cover was a real bitch; I had to order it online as no local suppliers have one large enough. While I am at it, I want to get some insulated duct and try your air-con trick.

Ellis: Thanks mate, just wait until the mill enclosure is finished, its definitely the centre-piece!
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Antweight:

The ant has a small but important upgrade; I added a boss with a recess for a nut to the M4 axle on the drum:



Any extra weight is more than offset by shortening the drum by 3.5mm. Now that upgrade wored out, its time to use that huge new lathe to make a teensy ant drum . Work starts as soon as the promised cool change blows thru and lower the the shed below the current 37 degrees.
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Side Project:

I'm not at all in to cosplay but when I saw this film clip, I really wanted to make Jay's hat:



That will be perfect for the Vivid event - I can walk around and fit right in with the other light displays As this is waaay off track for a robot build page, I will start a dedicated thread in the 'Other RC Toys section http://www.robowars.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2278
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

All about air:

The workshop's back wall got assaulted with power tools today and now has yet another hole in it. The Laser exhaust pipe fits so neatly that I'm not going to bother with a 'proper' vent cover:



The tube has a silicone feel to it and the sealant is also silicone so they should stick together. As well as the sealant, there will be some aluminium flashing and a hinged flap that covers the pipe but blows open when the fan is on.

The laser's air assist is pathetically designed; the fitting on the right attaches the air hose to the laser head and only has a 2mm ID that really restricts air flow and is very noisy.



I am replacing all the 6mm hose with 8mm and that fitting gets replaced with the one on the left. I don't have any way to measure the flow rate but its got to be at least four times better and will make a real difference to the cut speed & quality.
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Have you run the extractor and checked for noise?
Our extractor has a baffle about the same size at it to knock the noise down to not quite rage inducing levels for the neighbours
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Mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets

You mean the noise outside? I will go check. The back of the shed is at the back of everyone else's yard, so as far away as possible from them. If it IS noisy, I'm definitely aiming the outlet at the mean old Greek lady's place!
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Militant:

The antweight finally has a proper drum; its the first bot part on the new lathe in the new workshop - I feel so productive



Now it needs wiring for a spin-up test; the drum should be fairly well balanced but who knows, it could also shake itself apart.
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion