Needs Pictures: 0
Results 1 to 15 of 39
-
20th April 2018, 06:59 PM #1Woodworking mechanic
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
- Location
- Sydney Upper North Shore
- Posts
- 4,470
Digital router lift - proof of concept
Not sure if this should be in the CNC section but it’s about routers, so I posted it here.
Back some time ago, Aldav posted re some rails and bearing blocks he bought and there was a discussion on building a motorised router lift. I bought some and decided to build a “proof of concept” digital lift to check if commonly available hardware such as Nema steppers and stepper drivers, Acme thread, Arduino boards etc. could handle the load and give the required accuracy at a reasonable price.
i’m on Holidays so I decided to put it all together.
I’m more than happy with the outcome.
I picked and poked various Sketches available and adapted, mixed them and re wrote some sections so I could use a keypad and an LCD screen, which is nice and clear.
The cheap keypads don’t have a decimal point so I set it up to measure and move in 1mm increments for the video, although it can go down to 0.0025mm, theoretically, with the gear I have. A simple programming change and I can move in 0.1mm increments so 0.1mm = 1 on the keyboard, 1mm = 10 on the keyboard and 10mm = 100 on the keyboard etc. It could easily be programmed to move in 0.01mm increments if you want that sort of accuracy but of course there are other limiting factors in achieving that degree of accuracy.
I will set it up for 0.1mm increments.
I used my Makita router as the Triton is in the table at the moment as I’m repairing some bathroom windows this week.
I took the the video with it lying down as it was easier to shoot, but vertically, it will lift the router plus an electric plane piled on top, to add weight
Heres some photos then a link to a YouTube video of it in operation.
49065A21-39CF-4CB6-85EF-A03F6EA0BA2F.jpg5C61A696-BD76-4E57-96FD-CE9A7795CF56.jpgFB3150A8-B8A3-4346-8013-11F3461521CF.jpg
Video link
https://youtu.be/hijosAryZxgLast edited by Lappa; 20th April 2018 at 07:01 PM. Reason: Spelling
-
20th April 2018 06:59 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
- Join Date
- Always
- Location
- Advertising world
- Posts
- Many
-
20th April 2018, 07:44 PM #2
Wow, that's awesome, I want one.
-
20th April 2018, 07:49 PM #3.
- Join Date
- Feb 2006
- Location
- Perth
- Posts
- 27,792
Looks good
Why not standardise on and program it to move in 0.1 mm steps?
ie 101 = 10.1mm
The screen should be programmable to display it as 10.1 mm.
Instead of measuring with a a ruler try measuring it with digital callipers coming from both directions and this will give you an indication of the back lash
-
20th April 2018, 08:07 PM #4Woodworking mechanic
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
- Location
- Sydney Upper North Shore
- Posts
- 4,470
Thanks.
This was just a rough build to check the concept. The new one will be aluminium and condensed.
- i said that I would use 0.1mm increments and my example in the text would infer that 101 was 10.1 when programmed in 0.1 increments.
- I have another keypad on the way as I want to have more keys for eg. setting a zero when fitting different router bits etc. so the decimal point shouldn’t be a problem.
- the weight tends to minimise any backlash but to prevent any “climb” movement when routing I used anti backlash fittings.
- I would have preferred to use a dial indicator but I didn’t have one on hand today so just used what I had on hand.
It was a fun build and kept me off the street
-
20th April 2018, 10:03 PM #5
Digital router lift - proof of concept
That is awesome Lappa!
-
25th April 2018, 01:39 PM #6Senior Member
- Join Date
- Feb 2018
- Location
- Ipswich
- Posts
- 103
Love it! Can't wait to see this refined
What size motor did you use?
-
26th April 2018, 10:13 PM #7Woodworking mechanic
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
- Location
- Sydney Upper North Shore
- Posts
- 4,470
Thanks. I’m using a Nema 23 at the moment. It puts out the minimum torque recommended for a largish “hobby” CNC (1000x1500mm).
I can go higher if needed - just more costly - so i’ll see how this handles it.
-
28th April 2018, 05:06 PM #8Woodworking mechanic
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
- Location
- Sydney Upper North Shore
- Posts
- 4,470
Added routines
Just an update. I’ve added two new routines to the router lift.
21B09E58-12A2-4BE5-862D-82F135236C1F.jpg
One is a simple Raise and Lower so you can move it relatively quickly to a new position. I am still playing with the speed settings.
The second routine is a Zero Height Set so you can add a new router bit and Zero it to the table. I’ve also added Limit Switches.
Link to a quick Youtube video
https://youtu.be/-KZDtdFxnF0
-
9th July 2018, 01:40 PM #9Woodworking mechanic
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
- Location
- Sydney Upper North Shore
- Posts
- 4,470
After a rather busy two weeks with end-of-years at work and a bereavement in the family, I’m finally able to get back the the router table build and the Igageing DRO I bought a couple of weeks ago.
First order of the day was to put together an interface board so I could access the cable pins to analyse signals with the oscilloscope, allow me to connect to the Arduino Board and disconnect individual circuits.
7986B3B7-8CEC-49FA-8C73-99E3AE90AD94.jpg
The first interesting observation was that the unit runs at 3v. It has two 3v button batteries but they are connected in parallel to raise capacity, not voltage. It has a plug-in power pin at the side and the specs for that are 5v. Now whether the scales will run at 5v or whether there is a regulator to drop the 5v to 3v I don’t know, so I ran everything on 3v just in case.
There’s been a lot of work on the WEB using digital calipers. Mitutoyu micrometers, Igaging micrometers etc. connected to Arduinos.
They can divided into two groups Clock In or Clock Out. Most are Clock In and relate to the data port that is now on the side of the latest DROs using the head units Clock signal - more about that later.
Using only the scales means you have to supply a Clock signal from the Arduino so its Clock Out.
Rather than reinvent the wheel I copied a number of sketches down from the WEB and ran them. Only one showed any form of changing values and it was nowhere near what the DRO said.
So some recoding and fun with HEX to binary and success
7BE0FD67-60A6-4514-9395-BF4ADE1CC588.jpg 883FBE82-40AB-4B1D-A448-5A74B1B7EC27.jpg
On a side note, you can buy an interface kit for Mitutoyo and Igaging units (look the same but maybe different?) to connect to a PC so you can record data. The Igageing unit is about $135.
i have ordered a Mitutoyo Data cable by itself for the DRO so I can have a look at the info from the Data port. From what I have read, it should give me all the output Data I require as well as being able to utilise the buttons on the head unit, without interfacing in the cables between the scales and head unit
One of the reasons for going down this path is to come up with a cheap build that is fully functional utilising the gear I already have ie. Arduino nano, cheap LCD screen, cheap keypad and the DRO head which I have already paid for
-
9th July 2018, 02:27 PM #10
There is a regulator in the unit. From memory 5V in gives 3V at the paralleled batteries (I think I just pulled the batteries after powering it and measured the voltage), the electronics and slide run interfaced to the normal 3.3v IO voltage supplied by 3.3v micros.
(1) Our small workshop layout __ (2) Bandsaw circle cutting jig __ (3) Spindle sander modifications __ (4) Dust Sensor
(5) Router table redesigned ____ (6) DC and where it all began __ (7) Bandsaw dust extraction build
-
9th July 2018, 03:11 PM #11Woodworking mechanic
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
- Location
- Sydney Upper North Shore
- Posts
- 4,470
I haven’t pulled mine apart - yet
The Arduino has a 3.3v supply pin which I used to supply the scales but I had to use a voltage divider circuit for the Clock Out signal as the Arduino output pins are 5v.
-
9th July 2018, 03:17 PM #12
I see, I have the opposite problem where all mine are 3.3v IO, although a few of the IO pins are 5V tolerant.
(1) Our small workshop layout __ (2) Bandsaw circle cutting jig __ (3) Spindle sander modifications __ (4) Dust Sensor
(5) Router table redesigned ____ (6) DC and where it all began __ (7) Bandsaw dust extraction build
-
9th July 2018, 06:58 PM #13
BTW The current consumption for the DRO is around 0.00008A (80uA) when powered on, when switched off (soft off) they draw around 50uA. If you want to be safe you could feed them with a 5k or 10k resistor. That current is for the head and slide, the slide by itself would draw less obviously. In my current table I'm powering the complete unit via a 5.6K 1/4 watt resistor so that any cable faults can't cause a problem sometime down the track , it also allows me to use a bypass capacitor with the resistor and the combination acts as an extra supply line filter to the unit.
(1) Our small workshop layout __ (2) Bandsaw circle cutting jig __ (3) Spindle sander modifications __ (4) Dust Sensor
(5) Router table redesigned ____ (6) DC and where it all began __ (7) Bandsaw dust extraction build
-
7th August 2018, 01:29 PM #14Woodworking mechanic
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
- Location
- Sydney Upper North Shore
- Posts
- 4,470
Another carefully delivered package by Australia Post
EBE330E3-1BB2-4F72-B5D9-D41D513B229C.jpeg 171F34C6-2ECA-4C4A-8869-E4FAB7FCDBB3.jpeg
-
7th August 2018, 03:07 PM #15
Seriously - they are just getting worse with every passing minute.
(1) Our small workshop layout __ (2) Bandsaw circle cutting jig __ (3) Spindle sander modifications __ (4) Dust Sensor
(5) Router table redesigned ____ (6) DC and where it all began __ (7) Bandsaw dust extraction build
Similar Threads
-
Incra, Elu router, Jessum router lift, Arch top raised panel templates
By treepowder in forum FOR SALE on eBay and external sites.Replies: 2Last Post: 31st December 2017, 03:02 PM -
Bosch Router with built in Router Lift
By TP1 in forum ROUTING FORUMReplies: 5Last Post: 8th March 2010, 02:22 PM -
Exacta router lift and Rout-R-lift
By zelk in forum ROUTING FORUMReplies: 8Last Post: 14th November 2007, 11:27 PM