AWillette
01-04-2011, 11:48 AM
I posted this over in the developer section of the forum, but realized that since there are a lot of DIY indexers being made that I could probably get a quicker response over here:
So over my winter vacation (one of the the perks of academia) I started sketching out an idea for custom tool that would require use of the A/B-axis, ideally with a small 12v stepper. Basically I saw some work people have done with a 6-axis arm and knew I could do similar with only a 4-axis machine (because thats what I have access to). I figured it would be something fun to work on so decided to hit the ground running when we started up after the break.
I have a couple questions that I thought I'd post here for some advice. I did go through the indexer installation documents that came with the machine as I figure that would be the best place to look, but they're for an earlier version of the control box and I wasn't able to gleam too much from it.
1. I have a PRSstandard with the latest control box and opened up the cabinet first thing when I got into the shop today. I see there are 4 stepper controllers - are the two X-axis's controlled separately or is the 4th controller available for the A-axis? I'd like to avoid having to buy a new controller as I don't own the machine and don't have too much money to be throwing into this project.
Answered this with some digging through the archive. Since I'll have to buy a stepper controller this project will be need to be put off for a bit. I wonder if ShopBot sponsors projects...
2. What are the properties of the stepper pulses (voltage, etc.). I'm hoping that I would be able to step-down the voltage in-line without degrading the pulses, but would need to know what I'm dealing with before I start developing the circuit for this.
So any help would be appreciated. I've done enough reading that I'm pretty sure that all the hardware pieces are in place, its just a matter of putting them all together properly. I'll be able to develop the G-code for the task via some basic scripting in Rhino so I'm not worried about that part of the project either.
Thanks in advance!
So over my winter vacation (one of the the perks of academia) I started sketching out an idea for custom tool that would require use of the A/B-axis, ideally with a small 12v stepper. Basically I saw some work people have done with a 6-axis arm and knew I could do similar with only a 4-axis machine (because thats what I have access to). I figured it would be something fun to work on so decided to hit the ground running when we started up after the break.
I have a couple questions that I thought I'd post here for some advice. I did go through the indexer installation documents that came with the machine as I figure that would be the best place to look, but they're for an earlier version of the control box and I wasn't able to gleam too much from it.
1. I have a PRSstandard with the latest control box and opened up the cabinet first thing when I got into the shop today. I see there are 4 stepper controllers - are the two X-axis's controlled separately or is the 4th controller available for the A-axis? I'd like to avoid having to buy a new controller as I don't own the machine and don't have too much money to be throwing into this project.
Answered this with some digging through the archive. Since I'll have to buy a stepper controller this project will be need to be put off for a bit. I wonder if ShopBot sponsors projects...
2. What are the properties of the stepper pulses (voltage, etc.). I'm hoping that I would be able to step-down the voltage in-line without degrading the pulses, but would need to know what I'm dealing with before I start developing the circuit for this.
So any help would be appreciated. I've done enough reading that I'm pretty sure that all the hardware pieces are in place, its just a matter of putting them all together properly. I'll be able to develop the G-code for the task via some basic scripting in Rhino so I'm not worried about that part of the project either.
Thanks in advance!