Sebastien St-Laurent's (AKA Sebby) WebLog : Hardware

Moving my Main Blog From MSDN to WWW.SebbyLive.Com

sebby1234 — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 06:06:00 GMT

The time has come to finally move away from hosting my blog on MSDN. There are a few reasons for this transition but the two main deciding factors were that posting personal posts on a MSDN blog seemed odd (at least to me) and that I already had my own website to document my various side-projects so it would make more sense to have everything in a single place.

My blog now resides with my homepage at www.SebbyLive.com. In the future I may cross-post relevant technical posts onto MSDN but you should update your feeds to point to the new "main" blog...

The syndication link which can be used to subscribe to my blog directly is: http://www.sebbylive.com/syndication.axd

Finally Updated www.SebbyLive.Com on 06/17!!!

sebby1234 — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 11:46:00 GMT

Had lots of CNC related data to post to the site. Finally took some time this evening to go through and update the website

http://www.sebbylive.com/projects/hardware/cnc-mill.aspx

I've also added a donation page (I know, that's lame) but in case anyone has used gear or expertise they are willing to share towards my projects...

http://www.sebbylive.com/about-me/donate-for-my-projects.aspx

Now it is time for me to go pass out... :)

CNC Mill Motors Turning...

sebby1234 — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:22:00 GMT

Here is a video I captured of the action I posted about yesterday. Not that much to look at unless you're into step motors ;)

CNC Mill Update 06/12... It Turns!!!

sebby1234 — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 02:10:00 GMT

Got the new gear I had ordered last weekend and spent a few hours hooking it up. Using Mach 3 I was finally able to get the motors turning. Now, there is a few wierd things going on in regards to the settings I have to use to get them to turn at the expected rate. But this is most likely a configuration issue.

Now that I have the basic gear setup, I need to start building the frame. But then again I am broke... :)

So I will take the time to update www.SebbyLive.com and plan how I will setup the actual frame.

For the frame, I was planning on using aluminium extrusion from 80/20 Inc for all of the frame.

That way, I can buy their surplus on eBay for a decent price.

CNC Mill Update 06/03/07... Some Problems :(

sebby1234 — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:28:00 GMT

Finally got everything wierd and hooked up. But so this weekend I tried to get one of the motors turning. No luck.

I of course don't have all the gear needed to diagnosis all the possible sources of the problems. But I do know the power supply is yielding the right output. I do also know the controller board is getting its inputs and generating output voltages in response (but since I don't have an oscilloscope I can't tell if the wave output is okay.). But the voltages seem to be in direct response to the movements I try to apply to the motor so there is some correlation there.

So the problem is either in the way I wierd the motor or the motor itself. I tried to freely move the motor myself after my tests and it was significantly "stiffer" than my other two motors. So I am unsure if it is either a bad one of I somehow fried it. Also, looking at the specs of the controller board and the motors. I am unsure they are fully compatible with each other in terms of specifications. The other thing that is of worry, is that the motors I had only had a torque of 200 oz/in which might not be enough for the X/Y axies.

So I went back to the vendor from which I bought the motors (was on eBay but they actually have a store at www.kelinginc.net). They actually have complete kits with the controllers and motors, meaning I know they are compatible with each other. So I've decided to move forward and upgrade to 495 oz/in motors and get the whole kit. Somewhat of another unexpected expense but this time I know for sure the setup will work. And the newer motors are actually true bipolar, which should make their setup and wireing so much easier! The only big drawback is that the gear for the new motors is somewhat larger and I am unsure it will fit into the current PC case encosure I had setup. But I won't know for sure untill I get the gear.

Oh, and turns out the software I was planning on using (Mach 3) needs a screen resolution higher than 800x600. This makes the touchscreen setup I had going pretty much useless. Darn. Well at least the screen was initially purchased for another project so it is not a lost cause but this means i'll either have to find something else. I'll either have to go for a touchpad or a larger touchscreen but I want to stay away from a mouse since I want to keep the footprint of the unit as small as possible.

CNC Mill Project Update.

sebby1234 — Thu, 31 May 2007 22:08:00 GMT

Actually, there is not too much of an update. Was hoping to take advantage of the 3 day weekend to make some progress but we finally got our paddle boat onto the lake and took advantage of the nice weather. Was nice to get some fresh air and take in some sun rays.

Did manage to spend a little time hooking up the power supply for the motors. Essentially routed wires from the PC's power supply 110 Volt input to the power supply and then routed the 12V output to the controller board. Technically, I could have used the 12V output from the power supply directly to the board. But I plan on upgrading the power supply to a 24V source (which is recommended for the controller board to avoid overheating).

I've also connected a mini keyboard and 8" LCD touchscreen to ther case. So essentially all the core wireing is done. Next step is to install some software and give the motors a try.

In the meantime, I have also been looking into my options for linear actuators and aluminium framing options. Some options are realy expensive so I have been mostly looking on ebay for good overstock deals.

I have not updated www.sebbylive.com with the latest details but I plan on doing so later this week.

Surface Computing... Neat-O...

sebby1234 — Thu, 31 May 2007 00:24:00 GMT

Popular Meechanics got a sneak peak of Microsoft Research's Surface Computing Technology.

This is really cool technology. Not usefull for all applications but I can see a few things for which this would be useful!! :)

Little More Work on my CNC Mill

sebby1234 — Mon, 21 May 2007 04:27:00 GMT

This weekend, I spent a few hours working on my CNC Mill setup, most of it consisted of wiring. The motor controller board and putting it together. I have yet to complete my www.sebbylive.com post for this, but thought i'd write a quick blog-up on this.

In the first picture below, is the controller board with the initial wiring. The three white cables are sets of four wire that control the motors. They end with a 6 pin molex connector so that I can connect the actual motor cabling to the computer. The grey cable are a set of various control signals, which essentially route through various unused pins of the parallel port. The last two dangling wires essentially go to the power supply.

The motor hook-up, as shown bellow looks a little more complicated than it really is. The output is four wires which go to a molex connector. The motor itself has eight wires and some wires need to be crossed together to put the motor into the parallel bipolar mode that I want to use.

And finally, below is the current assembled setup. The board has been mounted to the computer and wires routed and mounted to the outside of the computer. Also notice the monitor on top. It is a 8" touchscreen VGA monitor that I bought on ebay (for about $125) for another project. I will route the cabling for the monitor inside the case and also add a small form factor keyboard to the top of the case.

What's next? At this point, I need to finish routing a few cables for the monitor, keyboard and power supply. After this I should be set to start testing the motors, which should be pretty thrilling!!

Putting the CNC Controller Together - Part 1

sebby1234 — Tue, 15 May 2007 19:13:00 GMT

I decided to start putting my CNC Mill CPU together today. Felt like modding a little so it semed like the best possible project. I probably should have tested all the components before I put them in (ok nothing isn't working so far) but was a little too impulsive and wanted to get to it.

As you can see from the title, this is Just Part 1, as I went forward, I realized a few needed parts were missing. So I will complete the project next time I have a chance to go to the store.

Here is what I had to put together

And here is the rough layour for the parts as to how I wanted to lay them out...

Step 1: Making Room

So obviously, the drive bays are mostly in the way. I wanted the computer to have 1 CDROM drive and one HDD. So I have decided to put them on the opposite end of the case (one at top and bottom). Then to make room, I decided to take the saw to the bay enclosure and essentially remove the unused parts.

Turns out the "soft aluminium" was harder to cut with the metal saw than I expected. I should have gotten the metal cutting attachement for my dremel. The job did leave a few pointy aluminium edges and I will likely constantly poke myself on them but should do the trick overall.

Step 2: Mounting the Power Supply

The next step is to mount the power supply, I essentially used a piece of paper in which I punched holes where the screw holes at the bottom of the power supply are located. I then drilled holes through the case side panel using the template and then simple screwed in the power supply.

Step 3: Mounting the Motor Controller

I decided to mount the controller at the bottom of the case since this is where there was most availible room. I essentially drilled four holes and used screw-in risers (the same thing used to mount a motherboard) to secure the board in.

The next step, is to start wiring things, but however at this time I need a few little extra pieces of hardware to get this done and will keep making progress after my next trip to Fry's :)

All the CNC Mill Hardware is In. Need to Put it Together...

sebby1234 — Mon, 14 May 2007 18:44:00 GMT

From: http://www.sebbylive.com/projects/hardware/cnc-mill/hardware-to-control-and-drive-motors/all-the-required-hardware-is-in-need-to-put-it-together.aspx

Finally, all the hardware needed to control the motors for the CNC is in...

The power supply shown in this picture is only 12v 1.5A, which is really marginal for the requirements of the application (24v 3A is recommended). So such a setup would likely heat up (if not blow a fuse) under strain. I have ordered a bigger power supply (24V 6A) online but the 12V one was the only one I coulde find locally and should be sufficent for initial setup and testing.

To run all of these components, I will need a computer. Since the computer didn't need to be anything really powerfull, I looked at the local recycling shops. But at 200-300$, I thought I could do better (especially since I had a fair number of components around. I went to the local Fry's and got a cheap Case, Mobo and CPU. All the other components I already had. So this CNC controller computer came up to about $120.

As I am writing this, I am essentially installing the operating system and software on the machine. But now this leaves me with a question. How do I fit all the gear into a simple case.

I want to try and have everything inside a single box. So I need to fit 1 CDROM drive, 1 HDD, the motor controller board and the motor power supply. If it weren't for the CDROM/HDD, I could easily knock out the bays for these drives (which is still an option). I will likely start tearing the case appart later today :)

The Tahoe Devkit is In!

sebby1234 — Mon, 14 May 2007 18:30:00 GMT

After a long wait, my "Tahoe" dev kit has finally come in a few days ago.

Comes in a nice little case, with everything needed to get started. The CD does contain a CD with a wide variety of samples. I have not had a chance to play with it yet, but the first things I need to determine are:

LCD Support: What is the built-in driver and what type of screen it can accomodate. Although the 2.5" screen that comes with the board is nice, I would prefer something in the 4-5" range with touchscreen support for my application.
Ethernet Support: The kit does not have support for this "out of the box" but there are several add-on modules which can do this using the I2C or SPI ports. I need to locate what is the best option for my application
User Interface: The .NET Micro Framework does support basic graphical capabilities, but I may need a higher-level system to tie it all together.
User Input: I have recieved samples of the capacitive touch sensors. However, to test them, I need to create a PCB. At this point, I am unsure whether or not I will wait for my CNC to be ready or simply have a few test boards pre-fabbed so I can start working on it.

CNC Mill Motor Controller Board is in!

sebby1234 — Wed, 09 May 2007 01:46:00 GMT

It has finally come in through the mail yesterday. Sure took forever!

Unfortunately, I don't have time to do much with it until the end of the week. Looking over the documentation, all looks good except for the power supply I had ordered which is insufficent. I van order another one online but might just end up going to Fry's as I know they have the type of power supply I need (just don't know if the prices are good).

Hope to have some motors turning this weekend :)

Quick Project Update.

sebby1234 — Sun, 06 May 2007 20:35:00 GMT

Had a few emails asking abouy my various projects. Thought a little update would be warranted. The short answer is that not much has happened since my last post. But here is an overview of the individual projects:

CNC Mill: Still waiting on the motor controller board. Since this is the key component that ties everything together, I cannot make much progress until I get this part. It has shipped from the UK but since they have shipped it parcel post, I am unsure exactly when it will come in. I have contacted them about this and they say that based on when it was shipped, I should get it early this week. *keeping fingers crossed*
Home Automation: I am still waiting on the "Thaoe" development board before I can start experienting with the electronics. Also, since I want to use the CNC Mill to engineer the circuit boards and panels, I cannot make much progress on this front.
Cell Phone / Smartphone: Little progress on this front. I have mainly read the documentation on the GSM/GPS module and really need to start playing with it. Although my overall design goal is to create a UMPC/Smartphone hybrid; I am thinking of starting off with a more basic cell phone design for me to experiment and concentrate on the core functionality of the cell phone.

So overall, most projects are dependant on the CNC Mill project, not just for my little projects but for some of the renovation projects around the house. At least I do have all the main parts and most of the work needed will be to put the pieces together and build a frame for the machine.

With my finger still in a splint, it is hard yo get any significant manual labor done. Even typing is somewhat difficult. On the bring side, the splint does come off on tuesday so I should be a little more "mobile"...

The One-Haned Post... :)

sebby1234 — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:30:00 GMT

No, nothing twisted. Just still have my splint on my right hand so I almost have to type using a single hand :) Its been a while since i've posted a general update. So I thought today would be as good a day as any...

Health

Last week has been pretty bad health wise. If you factor in my finger surgery and the fact that my IBS has returned full-force. It has been somewhat of a "crappy" (pun intended) week.

My finger isn't doing bad. But the splint has caused my to overcompensate and now my wrist hurts... Hehe. Guess I should have not been using that hand but then again I had work and other things to do.

For the digestive issues, well at least now that it's back full-force this means I am officially off the clinical trial I have been on. With the addition of a little $300 check, I now know the medecine which they are investigating (although not FDA approved for this use) so I can try and bug my Dr. to get a prescription for a full treatment (since I am not even sure if I ever got any meds).

My bipolar has been doing pretty well over the past week, especially considering all the other health issues that have been going on. Tomorrow, I will cut my anti-depressants in half again (i.e going from 10mg to 5mg of Lexapro). The reduction so far seems to have made my mood less volatile. So hopefully by cutting off completely, I will finally even out (or at least be a little more predictable).

Home Projects

Not much has happened on this front. At this point, I am mainly waiting on parts to come in. Hopefuly I will be able to start playing with some of the components later this week and will start making some progress on my CNC Mill project. Since my last post, I have recieved the actuall router for the mill and the Z-axis slide for the router, the main component that is missing at this point is the controller board for the step motors, which is what I really need to start hooking things together...

The only other things that will be missing is what I need to build a frame, but I am still debating which material to use, on one hand wood would be cheap and easy but I worry that it will warp over time. The ideal solution would be an extruded aluminium frame but these are more expensive, especially for Version 1.0 of my mill :)

In the meantime, I am focusing mostly on household projects such as cleaning and painting, nothing too exciting there :) I've also kept my eBay garage sale going. Books are selling really well and i'm probably about 30-40% through my inventory. This should really help clear up some garage space. And I have been using the proceeds to partially pay off some debts and finance my other home projects.

Publishing

Just recieved the proof for the second edition of Practical .NET 2 and C#2. I am going through it this week and gathering the funds needed for the print run. The book should be fresh out of the printer by the end of May and with a little luck, on bookshelves around July. As a side note, I will be offering an "upgrade" program for those who already purchased the first edition and want to get the new revised edition. I also plan on having the new edition for sale at a special launch price before it officially hits the shelves... I have two other books in the works at the moment. One relates to VS 2005 express however the author has been MIA for the past few months and with the upcoming release of Orca, the title might be delayed so it can be updated for the new release. The other title is related to Ruby on Rails, we are a little behind schedule on the translation (my hand surgery isn't helping there!) but hope to have this title out by the end of the summer.

Work

Work is going well. The Flight Simulator service pack is almost out the door and I have been busy mostly helping fix a last few pending bugs. Of course, this week, it is really hard to be efficient typing with 1 1/2 hand. But I do the best I can...

Currently, I am still on part-time work but will be ramping up my schedule and will be back full time at the end of May. Hopefuly by ramping up I can get my sleep/work balance back to normal and be more energetic on a daily basis (of course, some sunshine outside would help!!)

CNC Mill Components Comming In...

sebby1234 — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 06:01:00 GMT

Some of my components have finally started comming in. So far I have recieved my motors, linear actuators and power supply. Unfortunately, i'm still missing the controller board (which is shipping from the UK) before I can really start putting anything together.

In the meantime, I have been looking at software options to run the mill. I have not been able to find a decent opensource or low cost option out there. The best cost/feature option I have found so far is Mach 3. Not too bad for $159, considering some of the other options out there are in the thousands of dollar. Who knows, maybe someday i'll write my own software. But I think I have enough projects on my plate for now :)

My only other worry so far is in regards to the linear actuators I have purchased. They use a timing belt and have a decent precision. This was the only option I could find within a reasonable price range. The ideal would be the use of a ball screw system (which is a combination of a high precision screw and a ballbearing nut). But the drawback is that these are really expensive. From the prices i've seen so far, a 2' rail can easily cost $300+

Since the motor controller board supports microstepping, that should give me about 0.0006" precision with my current actuators, which I think should be sufficent.