41
New from Old / Re: The Sequel - Oh Blimey I bought a CNC Lathe (Beaver TC 20)
« Last post by modeng200023 on January 19, 2026, 09:14:12 AM »Well done!
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42
New from Old / Re: The Sequel - Oh Blimey I bought a CNC Lathe (Beaver TC 20)
« Last post by awemawson on January 19, 2026, 09:07:19 AM »Still in the end I did end up with a fairly neat winding and when all was re-assembled and the two halves of the resistor paralleled up it measured exactly and precisely 3.3 ohms - phew what a load of bother for a simple wire wound resistor.
Re-assembling it all on the machine went reasonably well - I thought I'd leave testing to the following day. But in the night I woke up in a sweat thinking 'did I remove that melted dribble of resistance wire on the upper cage frame ?' Of course I had to pull it all apart again to check and sure enough I hadn't - the power of dreams - lucky really.
Anyway testing at least didn't result in the previous glowing fire that I'd had previously - controller came ready but when I pressed 'Reset' to initialise things it went into eStop and dropped the servo crate power displaying:
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
Decoding the error message it was implying that the Z position encoder was out of phase, shorted or disconnected. Now the encoder and it's wiring are not the easiest things to access and are far removed from where all the trouble had been. My first suspicion was the servo cards immediately below where that resistance wire had melted and dripped however changing them made not an iota of difference.
OK bite the bullet - open things up - get to the back of the Sinumerik controller by sliding it out of the cabinet onto its shelf so now at least I can see the Z axis encoder cable where it plugs into the Siemens 'measuring card' that takes all four encoders. Nothing looked amiss - suppose it's the measuring card itself? Fortunately I had a spare. A bit of gymnastics - old card out - new card in and lets see:
Whoohay - I can now jog X and Z axis for the first time in months
At that point I decided to quit while I was ahead and reserve more testing for tomorrow - there's only so much excitement I can take these days
Re-assembling it all on the machine went reasonably well - I thought I'd leave testing to the following day. But in the night I woke up in a sweat thinking 'did I remove that melted dribble of resistance wire on the upper cage frame ?' Of course I had to pull it all apart again to check and sure enough I hadn't - the power of dreams - lucky really.
Anyway testing at least didn't result in the previous glowing fire that I'd had previously - controller came ready but when I pressed 'Reset' to initialise things it went into eStop and dropped the servo crate power displaying:
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
Decoding the error message it was implying that the Z position encoder was out of phase, shorted or disconnected. Now the encoder and it's wiring are not the easiest things to access and are far removed from where all the trouble had been. My first suspicion was the servo cards immediately below where that resistance wire had melted and dripped however changing them made not an iota of difference.
OK bite the bullet - open things up - get to the back of the Sinumerik controller by sliding it out of the cabinet onto its shelf so now at least I can see the Z axis encoder cable where it plugs into the Siemens 'measuring card' that takes all four encoders. Nothing looked amiss - suppose it's the measuring card itself? Fortunately I had a spare. A bit of gymnastics - old card out - new card in and lets see:
Whoohay - I can now jog X and Z axis for the first time in months
At that point I decided to quit while I was ahead and reserve more testing for tomorrow - there's only so much excitement I can take these days
43
Software Tools / Re: Experiences, thoughts and rants about using Linux as a newbie after Windows
« Last post by sorveltaja on January 19, 2026, 08:41:55 AM »An example: that happened with Passmark - it launched only in a text mode in terminal, instead of gui, to do some of the tests.
I'll have to correct myself here. I've used passmark on Windows in the past, and assumed it to be the same on Linux. Passmark for Linux is actually text based, terminal app.
It's like a different app on Linux. Maybe it's because Windows version of Passmark uses DirectX or whatever functions in its 2D and 3D tests.
I can imagine if Linux version of Passmark was gui based, with 2D and 3D tests, it would use totally different graphics system - so perhaps the test results would not be comparable between Windows and Linux on their database.
So yeah, terms like "cross-platform" and "multi-platform" can be confusing at times.
44
New from Old / Re: The Sequel - Oh Blimey I bought a CNC Lathe (Beaver TC 20)
« Last post by awemawson on January 19, 2026, 08:40:51 AM »So time ticks by !
Several false starts winding the resistor: Firstly hand winding it is a pain (literally) the wire is very springy and hard to tension - anyway I persisted, got an ugly looking resistor but it's resistance was far too low.
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
Turns out my calculations were wrong on two counts - wire diameter was actually 1mm not 0.9 as measured - the bit I measured was wasted down by being repeatedly heated - and the turns count was wrong due to the mounting arrangement obscuring things as there were actually extra inactive turns used for the terminations. Re-working the calculations proved that it actually is wound from the more common Ni-Chrome wire. So I ordered up a reel of 1mm Ni-Chrome and wound another resistor. To aid winding I made up a bolt on adapter for the frame allowing me to mount it between centres on the lathe (still hand turned), this allow me to have better control on the tension - if only the reel of wire had been long enough
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
Several false starts winding the resistor: Firstly hand winding it is a pain (literally) the wire is very springy and hard to tension - anyway I persisted, got an ugly looking resistor but it's resistance was far too low.
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
Turns out my calculations were wrong on two counts - wire diameter was actually 1mm not 0.9 as measured - the bit I measured was wasted down by being repeatedly heated - and the turns count was wrong due to the mounting arrangement obscuring things as there were actually extra inactive turns used for the terminations. Re-working the calculations proved that it actually is wound from the more common Ni-Chrome wire. So I ordered up a reel of 1mm Ni-Chrome and wound another resistor. To aid winding I made up a bolt on adapter for the frame allowing me to mount it between centres on the lathe (still hand turned), this allow me to have better control on the tension - if only the reel of wire had been long enough
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
45
CNC / Re: It's new to me
« Last post by ddmckee54 on January 18, 2026, 11:46:27 PM »Some progress has been made on embiggening the Z axis carriage and spindle mount, this is where the design is now.
The magenta objects are the new Z carriage and the slide for the spindle mount. The carriage length increased from 96mm to 160mm, and the slide height went from 35mm to 48mm. The extra 64mm of carriage length gives me over 75mm of Z axis travel. The extra 13mm of slide height allows me to install two LM8UU linear bearings on each rail, instead of the original one per rail with 11mm of hole leftover to get packed full of shmutz.
Something's not computing in the listed specs on the anti-backlash nuts I bought. I just don't see how you can possibly install M3 bolts in a 16mm bolt circle, when the object you're trying to insert through that circle is 14mm in diameter. The numbers just don't add up. I'm going to have to wait until I have the parts in hand before finalizing the design and doing any printing.
The magenta objects are the new Z carriage and the slide for the spindle mount. The carriage length increased from 96mm to 160mm, and the slide height went from 35mm to 48mm. The extra 64mm of carriage length gives me over 75mm of Z axis travel. The extra 13mm of slide height allows me to install two LM8UU linear bearings on each rail, instead of the original one per rail with 11mm of hole leftover to get packed full of shmutz.
Something's not computing in the listed specs on the anti-backlash nuts I bought. I just don't see how you can possibly install M3 bolts in a 16mm bolt circle, when the object you're trying to insert through that circle is 14mm in diameter. The numbers just don't add up. I'm going to have to wait until I have the parts in hand before finalizing the design and doing any printing.
46
Software Tools / Re: Experiences, thoughts and rants about using Linux as a newbie after Windows
« Last post by sorveltaja on January 18, 2026, 09:20:17 AM »I've been experimenting with Debian server based Mate on my pc, just to find out, how it runs on hardware.
Observations so far:
Being server based, there will likely be missing, graphics-related libraries - lack of "desktop plumbing" as the saying goes.
In practice, even if one manages to install Nvidia driver, it works with apps like Blender just fine (it's quite easy to see if there's a real display acceleration, by making a scene with hundreds or thousands of objects).
As always, I insist on using benchmarking apps on a new system to see how the hardware performs. That's where the missing libraries are - well, missing.
An example: that happened with Passmark - it launched only in a text mode in terminal, instead of gui, to do some of the tests. It uses some older libraries, that aren't in Debian repository anymore. That can happen with other apps as well. Also, from what I've read, enabling and using old repositories might break the system.
One should know exactly how to handle such issues. At this point I think it's too much of a hassle. So, next one I'll be testing is a 'real' desktop' distro, Mint Mate.
Observations so far:
Being server based, there will likely be missing, graphics-related libraries - lack of "desktop plumbing" as the saying goes.
In practice, even if one manages to install Nvidia driver, it works with apps like Blender just fine (it's quite easy to see if there's a real display acceleration, by making a scene with hundreds or thousands of objects).
As always, I insist on using benchmarking apps on a new system to see how the hardware performs. That's where the missing libraries are - well, missing.
An example: that happened with Passmark - it launched only in a text mode in terminal, instead of gui, to do some of the tests. It uses some older libraries, that aren't in Debian repository anymore. That can happen with other apps as well. Also, from what I've read, enabling and using old repositories might break the system.
One should know exactly how to handle such issues. At this point I think it's too much of a hassle. So, next one I'll be testing is a 'real' desktop' distro, Mint Mate.
47
CNC / Re: It's new to me
« Last post by ddmckee54 on January 18, 2026, 12:47:53 AM »I've been working on figuring out just exactly how I'm going to attach the new pieces to the existing hardware, so I started 3D modeling the relevant bits. The hardest part of that was determining the actual location of the leadscrew in relation to the new linear rails. I could determine the position of the existing rails in relation to the mounting locations for the existing 2020 extrusions and I'm reusing those same mounting holes for my new 2040 extrusions. So I had a fixed starting point. As near as I can tell, the center of the leadscrew is on the vertical centerline of the existing 10mm rails. However, it is not centered BETWEEN those rails. Oh no, couldn't do that, that'd be too easy. The leadscrew's centerline is 1mm BELOW that center - and I am NOT moving that leadscrew.(Yet) After a lot of head scratching, and double-checking/triple-checking/quadruple-checking of measurements, I started modeling the important bits of the Y & Z axis. This is where I'm at now:
The orange colored bit is the Y axis leadscrew, the cyan bit is the mounting plate for the bearing blocks/lead nut holder/Z axis. I ordered enough anti-backlash lead nuts to replace all of what they used as lead nuts. I don't think any of them were actually bolted to anything, so far they've just been a push fit in the moldings. Before I ordered them though I figured it just MIGHT behoove me to determine what flavor of T8 trapezoidal screw they were. It turns out they are T8 screws with a 2mm pitch, 2 starts, and a 4mm lead, so that's the flavor that I ordered. Things will be a little "tight" where the Y axis lead nut will live - there's 19mm between the bearing blocks, and the lead nut will be occupying 14.5mm of that. I'm going to 3D print the lead nut holder and there's plenty of room above and below the lead screw to put plenty of meat for the lead nut to pull/push on. The Z axis is still just a figment of my imagination, once I can get it out of my head and into the computer I'll share it. I do know that I want to shoot for 75-80mm of Z travel, that'll let me fasten a replaceable spoil board to the bed and still give me a decent work envelope.
Don
The orange colored bit is the Y axis leadscrew, the cyan bit is the mounting plate for the bearing blocks/lead nut holder/Z axis. I ordered enough anti-backlash lead nuts to replace all of what they used as lead nuts. I don't think any of them were actually bolted to anything, so far they've just been a push fit in the moldings. Before I ordered them though I figured it just MIGHT behoove me to determine what flavor of T8 trapezoidal screw they were. It turns out they are T8 screws with a 2mm pitch, 2 starts, and a 4mm lead, so that's the flavor that I ordered. Things will be a little "tight" where the Y axis lead nut will live - there's 19mm between the bearing blocks, and the lead nut will be occupying 14.5mm of that. I'm going to 3D print the lead nut holder and there's plenty of room above and below the lead screw to put plenty of meat for the lead nut to pull/push on. The Z axis is still just a figment of my imagination, once I can get it out of my head and into the computer I'll share it. I do know that I want to shoot for 75-80mm of Z travel, that'll let me fasten a replaceable spoil board to the bed and still give me a decent work envelope.
Don
48
Electronics & IC Programing / Re: Pi PICO DRO/Quill-Knee combiner
« Last post by BillTodd on January 16, 2026, 10:32:20 AM »Thanks Steve,
looks like I'm a bit premature with the software though: there's a bug in the Z output (actually , less of a bug and more of a whoops, forgot to actually implement the function !)
I finally found it warm enough to fit the knee scale . It was a bit of a PITA because nothing is vaguely flat on the side of the column - I had to print a couple of spherical fitting to allow the scale mounting with just two screws .
Apart from the Z count direction bug , There are a few things that need improvement :
The I2C display is quite slow , compared to the SPI used in the previous dro tests, so the update feels laggy . I'll have to see how fast I can over-=clock the I2C
The Z output really need to be handled by a PIO . ATM it is possible to move the Quill faster than the Z can output resulting in a off-putting run-on/catch-up of the Z display.
looks like I'm a bit premature with the software though: there's a bug in the Z output (actually , less of a bug and more of a whoops, forgot to actually implement the function !)
I finally found it warm enough to fit the knee scale . It was a bit of a PITA because nothing is vaguely flat on the side of the column - I had to print a couple of spherical fitting to allow the scale mounting with just two screws .
Apart from the Z count direction bug , There are a few things that need improvement :
The I2C display is quite slow , compared to the SPI used in the previous dro tests, so the update feels laggy . I'll have to see how fast I can over-=clock the I2C
The Z output really need to be handled by a PIO . ATM it is possible to move the Quill faster than the Z can output resulting in a off-putting run-on/catch-up of the Z display.
49
CNC / Re: It's new to me
« Last post by ddmckee54 on January 15, 2026, 07:27:00 PM »Ade, straight out of the box there's so many ways these things can flex and bend that it isn't even funny. And I'm less than impressed with their "lead nuts", they WILL be replaced. I'm not expecting to be able to hog out tool steel with this thing when I'm done, but light cuts in brass/aluminum/plastic it should be able to handle. And if I'm really lucky, even lighter cuts in steel - Awesome CNC Freak has shown it can be done.
50
Software Tools / Re: Experiences, thoughts and rants about using Linux as a newbie after Windows
« Last post by sorveltaja on January 15, 2026, 10:47:38 AM »Another is that I've not been able to completely disable power management features. The screen still goes off after 10 minutes, if there's no activity.
One workaround that seems to work to disable screen blanking, is to edit xsessionrc file at /etc/X11/Xsession.d folder (in my system that file is called '40x11-common_xsessionrc').
It probably already exists, but if not, to create it or edit existing one, navigate to that folder, and right-click 'Open as Administrator'. This folder opens in a new window, and now it's possible to edit and save that file using Pluma, Gedit or other text editor.
As a default, the file looks like this:
Code: [Select]
# This file is sourced by Xsession(5), not executed.
#Source user defined xsessionrc (locales and other environment variables)
if [ -r "$USERXSESSIONRC" ]; then
. "$USERXSESSIONRC"
fiAfter editing:
Code: [Select]
# This file is sourced by Xsession(5), not executed.
#Source user defined xsessionrc (locales and other environment variables)
if [ -r "$USERXSESSIONRC" ]; then
. "$USERXSESSIONRC"
fi
xset s off
xset s noblank
xset -dpmsThen save the file and reboot.