LED Lighting

[barrowj]

Hello all,

I am still going through the Shopbot I recently purchased (2nd one I've owned since selling the last one in '06 do to a move). I still have a couple of issues to get though, the worst one is the Y axes chatter, you can actually feel it during a cut. The X axes is fine, I have even swapped the motor with no change, then took apart the concentric rollers holding the Y axes down and lubed and re-shimmed them. This helped it some but not all.

Anyway, still wanting more lighting over the cutting area and not wanting to hang more lights from the ceiling (12ft), I came up with the idea of using LED strips. I have used these for my kitchen cabinets to light the countertop and replaced all of the lighting for the Aquariums. They are very inexpensive and durable. If anyone is interested I would be happy to share where to buy them and set them up, I used a relay board that came with my bot to turn them on when I turn on the bot, going to add more to the short rails around the spindle later this week.

[tlempicke]

Check your pinions. They are made to wear out rather than the much more expensive rack. They are cheap enough that I had the machine down for maintenance and replaced the X pinion in my buddy just because it is hard to get to. Shopbot has them for less than $20 each.

[barrowj]

Tom,

Yup, should have mentioned that it was the first thing I replaced. The pinion's were only $88 including shipping. Since it was used figured it couldn't hurt even though they didn't look bad, had to use a bearing puller on one of them... I was cutting the "Spoon_Shelf_June_2011_Project" from Vectric and using 2.0 feed rate for xy and on the profile cut out only plunging .125 per step figuring less is better. This was on Cherry and Bradford Pear pieces. Probably should try cutting down the speed.

[Brady Watson]

From here it looks like a PRT Alpha with AS911 motors. It appears to have plenty of grease slathered on the Y rack...and you said pinions are new. If you can FEEL the vibration in the cut, there could be a few things going on. The PRTs didn't have hardened rails, so taking a bastard file to them is probably in order at this point. *Carefully* run your finger and thumb down the rails *lightly* to feel them for roughness. In many cases you can visually spot how bad the rails are worn. They get roll forged and then get bumpy...

-B

[stump]

They are very inexpensive and durable. If anyone is interested I would be happy to share where to buy them and set them up, I used a relay board that came with my bot to turn them on when I turn on the bot, going to add more to the short rails around the spindle later this week.

I am interested. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be and I would appreciate some more light around the spindle.

[chuckster]

I'm interested as well. There is never really good lighting no matter how many fluorescent bulbs one uses in a shop!

[barrowj]

I have bought at least 6 reels and on eBay I pay approx $9ea or less including shipping from China. The strips have adhesive already on them, I just cleaned my rails with some denatured alcohol so they would stick well. Here are the specs including power requirements. I usually have plenty of 12volt adapters lying around that do the job, if not, they to are very inexpensive on eBay.

EATURES:
Superbright 5050 SMD top LED, high intensity and reliability.
Long life span 50,000+ hours
Cuttable every 3 LEDs along the cutting marks, according to pratical requirement.

This LED strip is completely flexible, you can twist it into any shape.

SPECIFICATIONS:
LED Type: 5050 SMT SMD LED (Non-Waterproof)
Color: COOL White
LED Quantity: 300 leds/5 Meter or 60 leds/Meter
Size: L500cm (5M) x W1.0cm x T0.25cm
Package: 5 Meters / Reel
View angle:120°
Working Input Voltage: 12V DC
Output power: 14.4W /Meter
Working Tempreture:-20℃ to ℃
Drive Mode:Contant Voltage
Package include：1×5m led strip

[Xray]

Nice setup.
I use alot of LEDS for edge lit acrylic, I always shy away from the waterproof ones as it is not necessary for edge lighting and its a hassle to get the waterproof plastic off to hook up the electronics.
For this purpose I think they would be better, not for water of course but for dust. Would be a chore to clean non waterproof, rag would easily snag the protruding LEDs, waterproof strips you could easily and quickly run a cloth along the strip to clean. Of course they can be blown off as well, which is better than nothing but for clinging CNC dust sometimes you have to break out a rag.
Just a thought, I have a full roll of waterproof that I ordered before I knew, will likely rig them to my machine when I get motivated.

They are also RGB, could in theory rig them up with a controller for a light show, though I fail to see the utility of doing that.

[barrowj]

Doug,

I have used the waterproof ones before and ended replacing them after 6months because the silicone degraded and I was only getting 50% of the light. I contacted the company I bought them from and they agreed that over time the silicone degraded from heat. Maybe another company may use a different process but given the cost ($9 for 16'), I'll stick with the plain ones. I am going to adding a second row on each rail this weekend just to get as much light as possible as my old eyes could use it.