Sod's Law Of Land Rovers http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/ 2026-04-15T05:00:47+00:00 http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/ http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=wiki:dokuwiki.svg text/html 2019-05-15T23:44:38+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:1-my_mill&rev=1557963878&do=diff Step 1: See mill, get mill My Proxxon MF70 CNC Proxxon product page This was something of an impulse purchase on eBay, and I have to thank TSD for offering experience in what's good and bad in mills and CNC conversions. The owner was using this as a key-cutting machine but was upgrading. The only slight drawback was a small pocket milled into the bed at one end which held the key-cutting fixture, but that's no biggie. More importantly, it was a tidy conversion using decent motors and the m… text/html 2019-05-15T23:44:38+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:2-install_vm&rev=1557963878&do=diff Step 2: LinuxCNC Installing LinuxCNC in a Virtual Machine WARNING! This is a terrible idea and I am only doing it as an experiment! LinuxCNC runs on a specially-compiled realtime linux kernel to avoid the many ways things can go horribly wrong if you try to run a physical device (especially one that can cause chaos, death and destruction) from a computer that is also thinking about other things like moving the mouse or streaming a YouTube video. text/html 2020-02-01T18:23:31+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:3-mill_something&rev=1580581411&do=diff Step 3: Mill something! OK so this is really where the rubber meets the road and is definitely harder than it looks. WARNING! I am writing this as I learn it myself so there's going to be ridiculous mistakes, mangled terminology and half-understood stuff littered throughout! As I learn more I'll try and come back and correct things but for the love of Jeebus don't think this is an example of how it should be done! text/html 2019-05-15T23:44:38+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:4-more_software&rev=1557963878&do=diff Step 4: Get More Software! If you're new to all this (like wot I is) you might think LinuxCNC is all you need - after all, we just got it to write its name using the mill, right? WRONG! LinuxCNC takes G-Code (a very low-level sort of code describing the toolpath) and spits out motor control signals for the mill's electronics. If you learn G-Code you can do some stuff by hand-coding but if you want to draw something fancy in a 3D CAD package and then make it on the mill there's a few more step… text/html 2020-02-01T18:28:05+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:5-svg_to_g&rev=1580581685&do=diff Step 5: Don't mill another thing Or: Getting an actual shape from a drawing to the mill OK so we've had the mill write something using the default LinuxCNC example code, but LinuxCNC is not for designing anything, it only runs G-code generated by a CAM or CAD package. text/html 2019-10-31T17:13:13+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:6-get_pc&rev=1572541993&do=diff Step 6: Get a real computer! LinuxCNC comes as a complete system - a specially compiled realtime Debian Linux operating system with the LinuxCNC software installed. That means you have to either re-format a computer to install it or get fancy and install it alongside your existing text/html 2019-05-15T23:44:38+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:7-put-in-shed&rev=1557963878&do=diff Step 7: Put it in the shed! You may have already done this like a sensible person, but as I was “testing” in the house with a virtual machine I now need to transplant the mill & my CNC PC into the shed so I can make mess. ...also maybe build an enclosure for it if I get time. text/html 2019-10-31T17:17:56+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:8-mill-something&rev=1572542276&do=diff Step 8: Mill Something Specifically I decided to try with a 0.1mm engraving cutter (from a cheap eBay pack of 10) into a bit of black anodised aluminium: And here's how it came out: All work and no play So while I'm counting it as a success that I text/html 2019-10-31T17:19:48+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:9-more-bits&rev=1572542388&do=diff Step 9: Buy more bits! So far I've been using cheap eBay cutters whcih cost less than £5 for a pack of 10, which is fine for first steps where you are likely to be doing stuff wrong, but not so great once you're doing stuff you actually care about. text/html 2019-09-12T14:35:21+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:10-backlash&rev=1568298921&do=diff Step 10: The inevitable backlash! In Step 8 we found some backlash and reduced it by tightening the end nuts, but that's not a perfect solution - too tight and the nuts bind up as the shaft spins, too loose and the thing comes undone again! So, I bought some M6 half-nuts (left-hand thread for the Y axis, normal for the X axis) to allow me to take the play out and then lock the nut in place. text/html 2019-10-31T17:20:40+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:11-nativecam&rev=1572542440&do=diff Step 11: Install NativeCAM in LinuxCNC * Download & install NativeCAM * To make it appear inside LinuxCNC you'll need to tell it to modify your machine's .ini file: * From a normal user terminal, change directory to the one that contains your inifile. text/html 2022-01-25T14:05:41+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:12-yo_dawg&rev=1643119541&do=diff Step 12: Mill bits of mill After a bit of faffing around, it became obvious that the best way to remove backlash was by making new ends of the ways to add ball bearings. Work in progress Step 1: Model it Because I don't (yet) have a CAD setup, I'm basically coding stuff up in NativeCAM which is tacked onto LinuxCNC. This is OK for simple stuff but gets incredibly tedious very quickly, especially standing at a machine in the corner of the shed. It's also a pain that you have to constantly a… text/html 2022-01-25T16:09:59+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:13-step_trip&rev=1643126999&do=diff Step 13: Tripping over After the initial success of having set the mill up, worked out what I was doing with the basics of NativeCAM and not breaking too many cutters, I noticed strange things afoot when the mill ran for longer periods. At first I thought I had messed something up, pushed too hard or otherwise just had a loose connection, but then it became very obvious when the machine started moving by itself when it was supposed to be sat there doing nothing. text/html 2023-01-09T15:50:39+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:14-practice&rev=1673279439&do=diff Step 14: Practice This could be it for now... mostly the mill works and does what I want, the issues are either in my bad programming or the limitations of the setup; very small mill, no coolant system, spindle is too fast for some materials, or I just don't have good feeds/speeds or suitable cutters. text/html 2022-02-18T16:34:25+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=cnc:cnc_adventures:start&rev=1645202065&do=diff Learning CNC Step-by-step What? I bought a Proxxon MF70 micro-mill with a basic but neatly done CNC conversion from a key-cutting outfit and I am going to learn from zero to hopefully turning out some useful stuff. Why? If you have a lathe and a mill you can