Here is an admittedly poor picture showing the expansion of a SuperMill board to 2.40 inches vertcially.· This imiginary circuit is made from a piece of scrap - I could have made·it 3 inches vertically but I didn't have that big a piece of scrap.· The overall size of the workpiece is 5 x 3 and the etched outline is 3 x 2.4.· The short etched line on the left side is the dividing line between the top half and the bottom half.· I etched and drilled the top, moved the board to the top row of registration holes using broken drills for registration pins.· I drilled and then etched the bottom half.· It is a bit time-consuming to make a board this way because you have to retrace the etch path so many times, but it can be done.· There is an 8-pin DIP in each half.· So...... don't limit the MF70 to 1.7 vertically.
As everyone probably knows, I'm using a VGA monitor for my Supermill program.· There are many occasions when I want to let the program just sit with the starting menu displayed.· I would like to be able to toggle the display on and off just by pressing the "T" on my keyboard.· Is there a way to do this without sending the program into catalyptic shock because it thinks the VGA is gone?
The VGA is initialized with:
text.start(16)
and the toggling would have to be done from the start menu, for instance:
Add a method to your copy of vga_text that just starts up the display like:
PUB restart : okay
okay := vga.start(@vga_status)
You should be able to do just a text.restart and text.stop to turn the display on and off. The routines that write to the screen buffer don't check whether the display is actually running. The VGA monitor will see the sync pulses disappear and think the "PC" power is off and probably go into sleep mode.
Alternatively, you can change the 2nd long in your VGA parameter block from non-zero to zero (to turn off) or from zero to non-zero (to turn on). Adding a method like:
PUB setEnable(flag)
vga_enable := flag
then calling text.setEnable(false) would turn the display off and text.setEnable(true) would turn it on.
Post Edited (Mike Green) : 8/5/2006 4:10:27 PM GMT
got sid's board in the mail today ( see pic he uploaded, firstprop ) its a com2serial using the 3 transistor setup... populated it and plugged it into a homemade board schematic i got off the early posts...it's alive !
works good... thanks sid [noparse]:)[/noparse]
Played around with my table speeds this afternoon.· I have the Y table up to 3 inches per minute and the X table up to 2.5 inches per minute, using an .020 cutter.· I think that is as fast as I want to go so I'll stop there.· Just to play safe, I'll probably drop the speeds a bit with the .015 cutter.
SuperMill is performing beautifully.· The resolution and repeatability are better than I had hoped for, and with the ability to increase the Y dimension to about 3 inches I can·make almost any board I want.· And now that I can toggle the VGA on and off - thanks to Mike Green - ·I couldn't ask for a better setup.
PL, have you ordered your MF70 yet?· Just think what it would be like to make your own PC boards!· The hardest part is the adapters for the handwheels so you can attach the shaft from a stepper.· I have a friend in Texas who would probably make them for you, since he made mine and has all the mechanical drawings.
I will be your personal Second Class Junior Apprentice Propeller guru Consultant.
have you considered adapting your registration pin setup to also do double sided boards? since you've already figured out a way to precicely position the board to a known position, it should be "fairly simple" to drill the registration holes, cut-drill one side then flip and cut again.
SuperMill and I made a little VGA adapter board for my old Prop board and then we made a little keyboard adapter board.· Now I have two identical setups, either of which can run SuperMill.·· When I want to change the program or try something new, I test it out ln the Prop board, leaving the Demo board attached to the mill.· When it is debugged and working then I load the new program into the Demo board -·no more down time for SuperMill while I check out a revised program.· Now if someone could just come up with a Stache for the Propeller!!
I thought I would post all the information required to come up with a mill installation like mine.·If you already have some of the equivalent parts, you can save money. Don’t pinch pennies on the stepper controllers – they are essential to accuracy and repeatability, and spending a few more dollars for a really good one will save you a lot of headaches. And you must have the dial indicator – that is the only way to measure travel and backlash. So here it what it takes:
3 STP-MTR-23055 steppers @ $29.00 each from Automation Direct
3 IB463 controllers @ $165.00 each from Intelligent Motion Systems
Dial Indicator, Magnetic Base and Point set @$19.95 from LittleMachineShop.com
3 handwheel adapters for attaching the stepper shaft to the handwheel. Mine were made by Russell Ferguson.··I’m sure he still has the drawings.
Plus many, many hours of connecting, tinkering and programming. This is not a true CNC machine – mine uses a DAT list to generate the etching instructions. If you are seriously considering this, I will be glad to help in whatever way possible,
Dan, the problem with that is that the Prop Demo board does not have a removable EEPROM.· If I were to make another Propeller board then I could do it, but then the Demo board would be sitting idle.
Newzed said...
PL, have you ordered your MF70 yet? Just think what it would be like to make your own PC boards!
Sid
Negative.
I'm thinking of a multipurpose system. Milling for material, and light source for PC boards (photo etch)
Once a robust platform is built the possibilities are endless.
Newzed said...
I will be your personal Second Class Junior Apprentice Propeller guru Consultant.
Sid
Copy that Sid!
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- - - PLJack - - -
Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add. It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.
Comments
Sid
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Sid Weaver
Do you have a Stamp Tester yet?
http://hometown.aol.com/newzed/index.html
The VGA is initialized with:
text.start(16)
and the toggling would have to be done from the start menu, for instance:
T - Toggle VGA
Any suggestions?
Sid
Sorry if this is all bull, I'm only learning [noparse]:)[/noparse]
Graham
You should be able to do just a text.restart and text.stop to turn the display on and off. The routines that write to the screen buffer don't check whether the display is actually running. The VGA monitor will see the sync pulses disappear and think the "PC" power is off and probably go into sleep mode.
Alternatively, you can change the 2nd long in your VGA parameter block from non-zero to zero (to turn off) or from zero to non-zero (to turn on). Adding a method like:
then calling text.setEnable(false) would turn the display off and text.setEnable(true) would turn it on.
Post Edited (Mike Green) : 8/5/2006 4:10:27 PM GMT
In VGA_Text I added
PUB restart: okay
· okay := vga.start(@vga_status)
and changed the file name to vga_textA.
In the top file I changed the OBJ to vga_textA, and added the following:
·text.str(string("T - Toggle VGA display",13,13))·· 'added to start menu.
Then I wrote:
elseif selection == "T"
····· text.stop
····· if kb.getkey
······· text.restart
I press "T" and the display snaps off.· I press any key and the display returns.· Neat!!
Sid
S.C.J.A.P.G
works good... thanks sid [noparse]:)[/noparse]
SuperMill is performing beautifully.· The resolution and repeatability are better than I had hoped for, and with the ability to increase the Y dimension to about 3 inches I can·make almost any board I want.· And now that I can toggle the VGA on and off - thanks to Mike Green - ·I couldn't ask for a better setup.
Get your MF70 today!
Sid
I will be your personal Second Class Junior Apprentice Propeller guru Consultant.
Sid
marty
Are you watching, PL?
Sid
MF70 mill = $290 from Ryland@RylandScott.Com
3 STP-MTR-23055 steppers @ $29.00 each from Automation Direct
3 IB463 controllers @ $165.00 each from Intelligent Motion Systems
Dial Indicator, Magnetic Base and Point set @$19.95 from LittleMachineShop.com
3 handwheel adapters for attaching the stepper shaft to the handwheel. Mine were made by Russell Ferguson.· ·I’m sure he still has the drawings.
Plus many, many hours of connecting, tinkering and programming. This is not a true CNC machine – mine uses a DAT list to generate the etching instructions. If you are seriously considering this, I will be glad to help in whatever way possible,
Sid
Post Edited (Newzed) : 8/10/2006 2:21:08 PM GMT
Now if someone could just come up with a Stache for the Propeller!!
we have one..sorta look at my post on copying EEproms
dan
Sid
i see now, you would have to take a solder iron to it, and you defintely dont need to do that...
sorry sid
dan
They were made out of aluminum bar stock.
It's to hot in Texas right now to work in the garage to make any more of them.
Sid traded some of his stuff for the time and materials·I invested in the metal working. I enjoyed playing a part in getting the SuperMill working.
Negative.
I'm thinking of a multipurpose system. Milling for material, and light source for PC boards (photo etch)
Once a robust platform is built the possibilities are endless.
Copy that Sid!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- - - PLJack - - -
Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.
As in, an eeprom duplicator?
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- - - PLJack - - -
Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.