Fwd: Fw: machine as a new resource for the electron club

[Andrew Back]

On 02/11/17 08:27, Kenny Duffus wrote:
> On Wednesday, 1 November 2017 20:57:53 GMT Jerzy Dziewierz wrote:
>> * It is heavy. I am not sure how much does it weigh, but it might be in
>> range of 300-500kg.
>>
> 
> I think the first stage has to be narrowing down a bit the weight of the 
> machine on its own and its table.
> 
> Also the dimensions of them both.
> 
> Without this we can't really work out how we could move it i.e. Vehicles, 
> trolleys and number of people.
> 
> We'd then also need to check if there were any issues depending on its 
> weight with having it in the EC room from a structural point of view
> 
>> I have talked to Blair about this, and he rightfully points out that
>> generated noise and dust might be a problem. To answer this, *
>> Currently, the machine has no end effector (no spindle, no 3D printing
>> head e.t.c.) meaning no noise for now. We can decide together what
>> effector to put on it, and what the environmental consequences would
>> be. This will not happen for at least a few months due to the fact that
>> this machine has no driver at this point. Still, this is something to
>> clear up with the EC management so that there are no misunderstandings
>> later.
>>
> 
> I agree that this is something needing solving and that it could probably 
> be done as you say at the stage of working out tools for it.

Using it as a router/mill will be very messy and you'd need a pretty
good enclosure plus extraction to avoid getting dust everywhere.

It does look like a very solid machine and had me wondering if you could
achieve a high degree of positional accuracy and repeatability with it.
If so one very cool project could be to make a laser cutter. CO2 tubes
are a bit of a pain, due to high voltages and need for liquid coolant,
but we are now starting to see 6W and 10W laser diodes, and I've also
wondered about combining these, e.g. via a knife edge combiner.

That said, even a DIY solid state laser cutter has its own set of
problems, namely laser safety — best fully enclosed, with interlocks and
a laser safe window — and fume extraction.

In terms of motion control, I'd be inclined to throw away whatever
electronics it uses, save for the stepper motor drives, and to hook
these and the sensors up to a BeagleBone Black running Machinekit.

Cheers,

Andrew