needy bitch???? GG, you always have me. Thanks.
Hi Gina! If you have any questions, I'm ready. I've been studying phpBB and I have to start with a name. I thought about 'Wayne5's Sanddollar Café but it may be too hokey. I goolgled sanddollar café and there are a lot of them.
Hi, I"m just passing my email to a friend, Gina.
Linda, send me a note.
Hope you are well Gina.
Here's a discussion board about old cnc equipment.
Have older CNC that only supports HPGL. What software to use?
This looked promising:
Myplasma CNC Controller — Plasma CNC Board |
It excepts HPGL files. You don't know about the stepper you need yet. Google the model numbers on the motor and see if it's off the shelf.
The pictures help a lot. The 15" version looks like it has a DB25 connector with an RS-232 serial port. The platin on the 15" looks a lot smaller than the 30". How often do you have to replace the platin?
I think I see a lead screw to move the cutter head back and forth. Is the LS driven directly by a stepper or does it have some kind of gearing system?
https://www.amazon.com/Linear-Motion-Ball-Screws/b?ie=UTF8&node=350657011
This is an expensive part if you have to have it made. You can use an off the shelf part as long as it's the same length or longer. You can make your unit longer by an inch or two and just to get a standard part. The big silver rod like guides are off the shelf and gliding guide parts are available, but you will have to adapt them for your application. You can have the cutter parts 3d printed if you can make a mechanical drawing of what you want.
Some of the parts are going to be too expensive to make/buy one at a time. You will have to have some cash to buy them in hundreds to get a good price. Inventory is a never ending battle. If you don't stock certain parts, you may need them and find they have a 6 month lead time.
It's just a process of You divide the project into little projects and figure them out, one at a time.
Do you have schematics of the controller board? Or a picture that shows the processor part number? If it's that old, it could be 8088 or a Z80. It also could have an EEPROM with firmware that could be disassembled, and a source file could be generated so you could rewrite the whole thing to avoid copyright problems and places where you would want to change the code. Or just use it as a pattern to compare to so you know things like how many HPGL instructions it has implemented.
"It has to be a rubber stencil cutter." Doesn't matter. You need to build up your knowledge base about all these things. An LED style laser would slice through that material without having to move. That's a big advantage. It may not be practical because of carbonization but that may not be an issue....you just don't know. You are doing research.
Here's something to consider. You could buy this cheep kit and build something that will build your knowledge base and be fun at the same time.
You most likely have some stepper motors for the old Gerber unit. That's a good place to start.
The specs. of the motor will tell you what kind of stepper driver board you will need. If you have schematics of the old unit you may find that the steppers are driven with discrete components. That may help. You do your research. You gather parts and build partial prototypes, like a single motor with a driver.
This is interesting. You need to watch lots of You tubes, even if you think it not what you are looking for. If you find just one thing that helps, it is worth it.
You should really consider a laser cutter. Here's a video showing a cutter, cutting 1/4 inch acrylic.
Hi Gina, sorry about misspelling your name. Going to feed cats.
You are going to need a mechanical drawing package of some kind. Document every thing.
A 3D package is best.
Another thing to think about. The drive systems, how you move the media, are patented....mostly. You may have to get a license.
This is where I will post information about Gena's plotter project.
Welcome to page 38 Wayne...
Yea....got a little behind. My kid (42) broke his right leg in three places and is camping in my living room for a few months. Did I tell you you I hate the VA?
I follow this guy and he fills in a lot of information.
This explains a lot:
Russia is asking for aid from China. The guy I saw this morning said Russia has run out of troops. I think Putin just doesn't want to call up him reserves because it's getting harder and harder to keep the truth out of Russia.
I’m sure China would be into excepting Russian gold at a large discount for stuff, but Rubles are not so good.
