Paco's area

Whirlpooling with electric elements - follow-up

2010-02-16T13:36:00.006-05:00

It worked!... fairly well.

I brewed a 20 liters batch of Pale Ale and I whirlpool to the best I could with the elements in my way.

(Click to enlarge)

I used a lot of hop pellet leftover for this one. That explain the amount of hop trub for this size batch. It's an experiment I wanted to try. ;o) Also, the cone as flatten when the wort level lowered.

I hope this will help me with the hop pellet lots I had problem with...?

Whirlpooling with electric elements

2010-01-27T11:04:00.003-05:00

Is it possible? Would it be effective as without elements in the way? Well, it appear it's just a feasible.

I decided to conduct a simple test tonight to see (keyword here) if I could whirlpool in my kettle and how well the particles pilled up in the center.

I filled the kettle half way and I throw a handful of oatmeal flakes. Then I start whirpooling with the plastic spoon for a couple of minutes then let sit for 10-15 minutes.

I accidentally bump the kettle while the volume was low. The flakes were more concentrate in the center before I took the pictures.

Click on the slideshow pictures to enlarge in an other windows/tabs.

The true test is still be with hot/cold break and hop trub though... sometime, it's far from just a handful. ;o)

On the next brew, I will whirlpool even more intensely and will let it sit and decant for 10-20 minutes before gradually pumping.

It's a discussion over HomeBrewTallk convinced me to dig for an answer.

Easy Sanke keg top cut

2010-01-16T18:33:00.002-05:00

Friends from the MontreAlers, the homebrewing club of which I'm member, asked me to convert their Sanke kegs for brewing vessels. I had to cut 3 tops off and I knew that I would have to do more so I decided to make a cutting JIG for the purpose. I've been inspired by other brewers on HomeBrewTalk that made their own version of the top cutting JIG (link 1, link 2).

Here's what I came up with.

From keg top cutter JIG

Like some other who have done it, I wanted the JIG to have possible adjustment as I could have to cut the top of different dimensions. Also, from the first three Sanke kegs I had to cut the top off, I had to different pickup tube fitting type. The interior of the keg pickup tube fitting were of different size (threaded and with lock pins). Luckily, the outside diameter was the same; 2-1/2". I decided to make the pivot use the outside of the keg pickup tube fitting. I made the assumption that the next kegs I will have to convert will probably have the same specification regarding this.

Running an home based CNC routing services business (USINUM) allowed me to machine the pivot from MDF. I do welding on a regular basis so the grinder mounting wasn't a problem. The hardest aspect was probably figuring the dimensions for the JIG. You position the grinder in cutting position then try to picture the JIG assembly.

Tips on usage of similar JIGs:

Use light pressure and try to move steadily. Let the cutting disk do it's job. The cut will look better and rounder.
Don't cut through all around. Leave some thin tabs to keep the the top attached. Remove the top with a rubber mallet or something similar after the cutting job is done.
As the disk wear, the diameter may slightly change (depending on your JIG design). You may want to use a new disk for each keg if accuracy is important.

I hope this help other like I've been inspired looking around the Internet.

Cheers!

MoI official first release

2008-01-19T10:07:00.000-05:00

MoI 1.0 is finally release! Get MoI!

MoI discussion forum: "After 4 years of development, I am proud to announce that the final release of MoI version 1.0 is now available!

It can be ordered here: https://moi3d.plimus.com/jsp/buynow.jsp?contractId=1726316

Please let me know if you run into any problems or have any questions.

I want to thank all beta testers and everyone who sent in comments and encouragement!

There is also a new purchase link at the top of the MoI home page at http://moi3d.com .

After things have settled down a bit I'll be trying to do some tune ups of the web site and forum.

- Michael"

Congratulations Micheal on the release of a nice 3D tool! All the best!

All acrylic gate valve for the vacuum hold down... no more fighting!

2007-12-18T21:52:00.000-05:00

I always found the plastic ball valves I get somewhat hard to turn. After some time under dusty condition, they pretty much all end up stuck. Without the water lubricant usually encountered under their normal operational condition, the rubber seal get very sticky and prevent the ball inside to rotate.

I've considered brass ball valve then commercial gate valve used in ponds. The brass one aren't cheap and the gate valve found at the plumbing specialist are built similarly to the plastic ball valve; with a rubber seal normally use with liquid (water). I tend to believe they will eventually get hard to actuate.

I just had to figure a way to built it simply yet having a unit that wouldn't leak.

This is what I came up with. In the slide show bellow, you can have a peak at it.

I've been using 'em for a while now and they are working just like expected; no leakage and very easy to actuate.

I'm still wondering why I haven't think of it before (spending hundreds on plastic ball valves)!

I don't think it's relevant for me to produce any diagram or detailed drawing since, if someone want to built similar units, one will have to consider the piping dimensions. One key point is to have the valve body spacers the very same thickness than the gate or it will either leak or wont slide easily. The acrylic parts are solvent weld with a solvent formulated for welding (gluing) acrylics. Very easy to use though not very forgiving after a few seconds.

Let me know if you need more informations. I hope it may save you the dollars I haven't save soon enough... though it's never too late, isn't?!

First batch of home brewed beer!

2007-12-04T10:10:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! I just bottled my first batch of beer!

I'm a beer lover for long now but it's just recently that I got into brewing my beer. In fact started with wine with my father. He didn't knew much about beer brewing but that didn't stop my curiosity! It didn't took long before I founded tons of informations on the Internet.

My two first share would be How to brew and HomeBrewTalk. How to brew is a book that is available online. If you prefer you can buy a print copy at many home brew related store, both online or near you. HomeBrewTalk is an online brewer community. Lots of informations shared by very friendly experienced brewers.

I could wait the first batch to be ready for a taste to start another one. The first was a Wheat and this second one is a Bock.

This is so cool! Make me wonder why I didn't start brewing my beer years ago!?

Stay tune for some more home brewing links and updates.

Cheers!

Blender's Suzanne chocolate version

2007-10-24T15:33:00.000-04:00

Now talk about being a Blender fan!...

Chocolate Monkey Heads! at BlenderNation

Chocolate Monkey Heads

Hmmm... could be fun to mill Suzanne chocolate mold on my Bot...?

MoI news

2007-09-28T12:44:00.000-04:00

First (the second one in fact) of MoI documentation is available to download.

MoI first official release is announce for soon. Here another post about the price MoI will be.

MoI appear as it may be a pretty cool revelation in NURBS modeling yet quite affordable. I'm personally impress with the user interface simplicity yet still have plenty of tools and features for modeling very intricate and complex projects!

Check out all about Triple Squid's MoI at the web site.

Blender primers

2007-09-26T20:12:00.000-04:00

Here's two Blender resources that newbies and even familiar ones should know about. Blender Underground and Blender Newbies.

Blender Underground's Blender basics (part 1 to 4) videos are a must see primers. Apollos (author) made a superb tutorial work! Videos are a bit large file to download but very well worth it. Meet Blender Underground agents and affiliates on Blender Underground's forum.

Kernon's Blender Newbies blog is loaded with videos and various documents tutorials. Kernon demonstrate numerous cool techniques with Blender. Blender Newbies have it's own user forum too where one can reach out for help or just plain fun. If your a Blender fan, you may want to get your hand on Blender toolbar. It keep you inform of about everything related to Blender.

Both of those resources are quite recent findings for me and my preferred these days. Lots of other resources to learn about on Blender Underground and Blender Newbies. Check it out and happy blendering!

Picasa to Blogger publishing

2007-08-12T20:46:00.000-04:00

Checking out Google Picasa publish to Blogger capabilities. Look like there is some issue on the image posting formating; left and right doesn't seem to work...

Picasa is a pretty cool images manager. Moreover, it can make minors tweaks and modifications such as contrast and highlight changes, blurring and sepia renders, it can create movies and so on! For free! Thanks Google!

This is a Google SketchUp sketchy render of a MDF puzzle I regularly mill at USINUM.

Paco's (shared) bookmarks

2007-08-03T11:47:00.000-04:00

Hey! It's been a moment since my last post. I've been busy running my business along with many other small projects. I've discovered and toyed with many things and one of them is the Google Docs & Spreadsheet. I new it's been around before as Writley but so far haven't come up with an interesting use for it. Now I got one; I find myself frequently redirecting peoples to links I've gathered in my personal bookmarks so I thought I should share the most interesting ones. So here is the Paco's (shared) bookmarks! It still under work has I need to sort and clean the content I want to share.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

CEGEP de Drummundville Mini BAJA project sponsorship

2007-04-24T20:13:00.000-04:00

Last march, a student contact me for a sponsoring request. They were in a bad position; their sponsor dropped them off at the last minute.
They urgently needed to have the body molds for their Mini-BAJA vehicle. We decided the quickest way to have it done was to slice their models and mill the slices from 1 inch MDF.
At that moment (weekend) I was playing with Triple Squid's MoI so I decided to try the new march features to slice and then nest the slices.

Next the nested slices models were loaded into Vectric's Cut 3D for toolpathing.

After five 4' X 8'sheets of 1 inch MDF, the kids were on their way back for gluing up all those slices into molds for their Mini-BAJA body parts.

A few weeks later they announce they finished 13 out of 75 team competing for the best Mini-BAJA vehicle... not too bad I'd say!

Here's the driver "digging" his way to victory!

Milwaukee router 5626 with a lower shield bearing might not be a so good idea...

2007-04-19T21:45:00.000-04:00

This is an update on my trial of a shield bearing (lower larger one that is). The shield bearing failed this week. Dust got into it; shield bearing might not be "dust resistant" enough to withstand the wood routing condition.

I have replaced it with a factory (Milwaukee) supplied bearing which is a sealed one. I may look for something better than this PEER (low cost) for a one that is sealed but can reach RPM up to 18 000... probably an SKF low friction seal type.

The good thing is that I now have trained myself on MK 5625 bearing replacement within half an hour!

Stick with sealed bearing... or let me know of any better findings...

Millwaukee 5625 router bearing pre-load

2007-03-27T23:03:00.000-04:00

--- >>> UPDATED <<< --- Still, might be worth to read...

Thanks to Gerald (meet Gerald at MechMate forum), I found what I was looking for to get rid of the end play I had with my new bearings. The part is a wave spring and Smalley Steel Ring Co. had just the kind of on line documentation and catalog I was looking for to find the specific part.

I ordered the part through my local bearing reseller. I was a little concerned at first about the work load since I estimate the compressed thickness to be too tight on the router motor. I did got very good specifications regarding the Smalley wave springs but I couldn't get any accurate reading on the router motor regarding the room above the upper bearing and the motor frame (black plastic) where the bearing sit.

Upon assembly, the spring didn't seem too compressed and the test I made after reveal no problem. In fact, the bearing seem to be cooler than before!? With the shield bearing, it was already more cooler than with the factory sealed one but even at 18 000 RPM, the shield bearing was not even that warm to the touch. Those tests were made with without tool load (not cutting). I did read, on Smalley Steel Ring Co. web site, that they were actually proposing the wave spring to reduce bearing wear.

The following picture show how the wave spring is install. When the motor cover screws are tighten back in place, the bearings are now pre-load; their is a downward push effect that sit the bearing's balls into both the inner and outer races which, in theory, keep them from being "loose" (bearing clearance) between the two races. Pre-loading the bearings do fix the end play problem too which add to cutting depth accuracy... which I was looking for at first.

If you decided to go this route, once the wave spring is installed, test the router at the very slower speed first for the first few minutes then gradually raise the RPM and monitor the lower bearing temperature. The SKF shield bearing I installed (the lower one) is rate to up to about 18 000 RPM; I don't think it is wise to run the motor above that speed even if it can. When I ran my tests up to 18 000, I promptly removed the cover to monitor the upper bearing and it was slightly warmer than the lower one and I assume it is because the electrical rotating "connection" on the armature get quite hot.

As I post this, the bearings have been running with the wave spring for a weeks (say some 30 hours) and still cool so far and no end play what so ever.

Basic GIMP'ing; resizing an image with a few options

2007-03-11T22:48:00.000-04:00

Resizing an image is a very common task and The GIMP as all you need a more to do this.
In this post I will assume that you already have The GIMP installed. If not yet, you can find the relevant installation information on The GIMP web site and follow the respective platform installation. You can get The GIMP and find all the information about it on it's dedicate web site and at many other place on the Internet like the official English GIMP user group (GUG). Just Google 'The GIMP' and you'll see how much information you can find about the GIMP.
The GIMP is free; both as "it cost nothing" and as in freedom. It's an Open source project under the GNU General Public License!

So here's the basic screen you get with a picture open with the GIMP. By default, three windows a loaded organizing the tools sets. The image is open in it's own windows. You can have more than one image open at once. It may be new to you to have this kind of windows organization but you should soon realize that when you work on images, you want all the space you can.

Before going further, once again, save your work on a different name. ALWAYS work on copy whenever you can so you don't mess up the original... safety first.

If you expand the saving menu, you get an enhanced interface...

Many file formats offer various options; in this case JPEG (*.jpg) has it's own. You can use the default setting but I find 'Progressive' option to be nice for web publishing. This option refer to the way the image is loaded by the Internet browser; non-progressive images open at full resolution from top to bottom while progressive start to load at low resolution but full size in the page. If you click on the images on this post, you'll see that I've saved those images with the 'Progressive' option checked.
The other "option" worth to mention is the 'Quality' slider on top. You can reduce the image size in term of disk space by sliding to the left. Check the 'Show Preview in image window' to see in real time the effect of the quality option slider. Of course, the more you slide to the left, the smaller your image file size will be but the image will start to loose it's resolution. I generally slide between the default (85) and 50 with the 'Show Preview in image window' checked to see how it look.

Now we're ready to make the resizing of the image. On the image's window menu, use the 'Image' menu to reach the 'Scale image...' dialog.

That will produce a dialog where you can specify all the size parameters, including Height, Width, and XY resolutions. Note the bit of chain next to the Width and Height boxes. You can click on that to link or unlink the height and width values. If the chain is intact, then the aspect ratio will be preserved. Let's assume that your image is 1280x960 pixels (4:3 aspect ratio). If you change the Width to 640, then the Height will automatically change to 480 (still 4:3) when you leave the Width box (by tabbing out or clicking another box). If you break the chain, by clicking on it, then you could make your image 640x500 (not 4:3), if you wished.

That conclude this post about resizing an image in The GIMP. The inspiration was to help some friends with their images publishing on forums. While at it why not introduce to some basic optimizations too!?
A lot more should (could) be covered about images formats, optimizing, web publishing and options related to their respective formats and I may very well post some more about using The GIMP for those.
There are a few more nice things I plan to post about using The GIMP such as nice way to watermark your images, image manipulations such as red eye removal and touch up of pictures and a cool one I recently learn about is making people Jedi knight (kids love that one)... stay tuned!

Thanks to Denver Hull for his contribution on this post. Bot on Denver!

Milwaukee router 5625 bearings replacement

2007-03-03T19:38:00.000-05:00

--- >>> UPDATED <<< --- Still, might be worth to read...

About a week after I've changed the brushes, the router went zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... I sort of knew this was going to be some time soon!

I've managed to take plenty of pictures while replacing the bearings but when they actually failed, I hurry myself at disassembly to make sure of what parts I may need other than the two bearings. It was a Friday afternoon and I had to get the order on it's way. I was wise to do so since the collet shank (sometime referred as the chuck) had its inside threads damaged. Long story short; when I rebuilt the motor I've took care to take pictures that depicted the disassembly stage but I may have missed something too obvious to me.

The bearing can be purchased at your local bearing supply or you can get them from MK service center.

Once you have the cover, the electronic feedback module and the brushes off (that part is covered in my previous post about the brushes service), you need to tap out the motor frame (black plastic) from the motor housing (aluminum). Then you reach for the field insulator inside to have only the housing with the armature assembly still attached by the collet shank. At this point, you're ready to remove the collet shank and then press the armature out of the lower bearing. As recommend in the MK 5625 service parts list, you should soften the locking compound with mild heat to aid the disassembly of the collet shank. No need to make the collet shank red! Just make it hot; that's a few seconds while turning the armature at the other end. Be ready with your tools which should be 3/8" allan hex key and 1-1/8" wrench. There's (if your a lucky one) an inside hex fit for the allan key at the end of the armature shaft. The MK 5625 service parts list have very worthy informations regarding your tool; you can get it on the MK web site.

When the collet shank is removed, you need to press the armature shaft out unless there was no locking compound and it slide off with a hand pull which wasn't my case.

After that's done, press the lower bearing out of the motor housing...

The upper (small) bearing can be pulled off with the appropriate puller or if you're like me and don't have all the tool you may need some day, you can press it out... remove the tachometer first by pulling it out with your hand only.

That's it!... for half the work!

The next step is to clean the armature shaft where the bearings fit along with the lower bearing seat on the motor housing.

You need to install the lower bearing in the motor housing first. The lower bearing only needed to be slide on in my case, both in the housing seat and on the armature shaft in my case; you may need to press them in. Make sure the armature and the collet shank threads are surgically clean (screw on the collet shank dry prior to be ready; it should be easy to turn until it reach the bearing) and put two drops of locking compound on the threads 180 deg. apart when ready to screw on the collet shank. I decide to put locking compound on the housing seat too because there's only two small screw to retain the bearing in the housing once assembled. Screw back the two lower bearing retaining screws with the contamination shield (black plastic grid).

The upper bearing have to pressed in. Put back the tachometer with the help of your fingers only.

Don't forget to drop the field insulator back inside the motor housing before placing the motor frame back on the housing. Help yourself to align the upper bearing with your fingers...

The rest is pretty easy since it's just placing back the remaining parts. Again, I strongly caution about over tightening anything, mostly where you'll screw in plastic. I do recommend to run the tool at low RPM for the first 15 minutes without any load to set the bearings. Check for any overheating and abnormal sound.

Check out the complete set of photos that I've placed on my public gallery at Google Picasa Web Album. There's pictures of exploded views of the main components which layout the parts pretty much as they go inside. My armature shaft thread were damaged and I show how I managed to "repair" them.

Keep in mind that this is not any kind of "official Milwaukee service" procedure. I'm not neither an engineer nor a qualified electrician but rather the "average do-it-yourself handy guy". I only wanted to share this easy (for me) procedure to service this Milwaukee router motor.

The bearings are fairly cheap but I can say that I've decided to install something different from what MK provided. The bearings that I got from MK are sealed which can do the job but I've chosen to get a shield type to keep it cooler under high RPM. If you decide to install something else as I did, bring the original, or make sure you can provide the specs, to your local bearing supplier and either know what you do or discuss with the technician what is the best to get for the application as there's probably many bearing that can fit in but may not work in the long run. In fact, the critical specification to be cautious about is the clearance; enough but not too much...

The whole procedure take around an hour the first time I did it.

Let me know if something doesn't seem right or doesn't make sense (leave a comment or use the Get in touch link in the Links section) and I'll make it up to your suggestions and recommendations.

I plan to try to find the proper preload spring for the upper bearing so I can get rid of the free play from the lower bearing clearance... I'll post if I find it.

Wires guide for my CNC router

2007-02-18T14:40:00.000-05:00

Since I first posted about my wires guide modifications for my ShopBot PRT Alpha CNC router, many have commented and asked for more details pictures and specifications. A fellow Botter even came up with own modifications. First off, it started as a prototype and somewhat still is. Since I couldn't accommodate the factory default arch design wire guide from ShopBot, I had to quickly though of another way to route the motors and input signal wires and router power cord. I came up with this design because, at that time, I couldn't source cable carrier (wires guide) fast enough. Today, I know where I could find cable carrier but I discovered that the price tag would refrain me to buy 'em... maybe I simply prefer the simplicity of my design. Often, when I can't find something that I need, I start thinking about some way I could built it.

On the bellow pictures the router motor is removed for servicing (hint, hint; stay tunned for a Milwaukee 5625 motor bearing service procedure in the next few days). I've fitted a wires guide for the carriage to gantry only since I route the motors wires, power cord, compressed air and dust collector hoses differently from the gantry to their respective destinations. You may notice a small wires guide on the top of the Z axis; it's there to route ground and input signal wires nicely rather than have them hanging loose.

Even though it still a prototype (always under development) and it's not [good] looking like a factory made unit, it work really well. The shelf and the carriage mounting is made from wood (mostly plywood), the guide is made from 1/8" UHMW and the wires separators are made from hard wood. If I had to say sell the unit, I would make the shelf from steel, probably 16G thick, with a couple of bent a the right places. The carriage mounting would too be made with steel; a nice design in CAD would be in order to have this part laser cut (water jet or plasma cut would work too but laser is just more sexy and yet price competitive anyway around here). I would keep the wires guide made from 1/8" UHMW because it's affordable, easy to source, it's very flexible (up to a certain thickness) and you just can break that material but it still machine pretty well. Wires separators I'm not sure which way would be the cheapest yet retained the original concept which is to keep electrical noise sensitive wires (motors and input signal wires) separated from power cord and compressed air hose(s) and still allow those to slide as the wires guide flex when the carriage move. Maybe a bent steel piece or simply machined from thick plastic like the way I did but in hard wood.

I didn't have any problem (so far) routing the dust collector hose on the wires guide but I'm not sure it's best way. It is in my situation (low ceiling height) but generally, the straighter and the shorter the better. I'd prefer to have the dust collector hose hanging from higher above reaching right at the carriage.

I believe that the pictures I've provide should enable tinkerer to figure how things were done but I would be happy to answer specific questions. I suggest to ask anything through comments (link at the end of each post of this blog) rather than through email so it could be share with the whole planet community here. Here's the link to my Google Picasa wires guide project album.

I hope this will answer most of the questions and details requests I had before. Let me know (through comments bellow) if you come up with modifications of your own or have any nice ideas to share.

Point roundover bit; sign maker delight

2007-02-13T20:10:00.000-05:00

Here's a batch of small letters (2 inches) I've done today. They're part of an complete sign kit I've been ask to do.

The special part about 'em is that they have a roundover edge made with a small diameter Point roundover bit. The point allow the bit to reach into tight corners which create a very nice looking letter. This kind of bit shape come in a few roundover radius (1/4-3/8-1/2" CED) which is unfortunate because I could use more possibilities (1/8" and larger than 1/2").

Magnate point roundover bit

Many of my sign maker customers really like the effect that bit shape make and the very affordable price I can make them compared to 3D carved letters. It's only a matter of profiling the edge at the proper depth and that's it.

Surfacing along axis, a ShopBot routine

2007-02-11T15:08:00.001-05:00

This is about something I wanted to do for a moment already. I've been using this small program quite often and find it very useful. It first start from a fellow Botter who shared some code about a surfacing routine and from that point, I and another Botter join in and hacked the guy code. After using it for about two years, and making some minor modifications to the hacked code version. I decide it was time for a tidy and some improvements I've been thinking about for some time. Recently, someone asked about a such utility and this give me the final kick to hacked the code some more up to a vision I had myself about it.

Here's the file's code to study with the README following it and a diagram demonstrating the code's behavior and relation between it's different block. (here's the link to download the package)

The ShopBot part file.

surfacing_along_XorY_axis.sbp

'PACO - 2007
'-----------
'See 'surfacing_along_XorY_axis_README.txt' for details and instructions.
'-----------

IF &work_axis = x THEN GOTO WANNA_SKIP
IF &work_axis = y THEN GOTO WANNA_SKIP

START:
INPUT "Surfacing along X or Y" &work_axis
IF &work_axis = x THEN GOTO CONFIG
IF &work_axis = y THEN GOTO CONFIG
IF &work_axis <> x OR y THEN GOSUB MAKE_A_CHOICE

CONFIG:
INPUT "X distance?" &x_size
INPUT "Y distance?" &y_size
INPUT "Tool diameter?" &tool_diam
&tool_radius = &tool_diam / 2
INPUT "% Stepover?" &stepover
&stepover = &stepover / 100
&tool_stepover = &tool_diam * &stepover
INPUT "Stepdown? (Enter a positive value like 0.02 or 0.06)" &stepdown
&half_stepdown = &stepdown / 2
SKIP:
&start_x = %(1)
&start_y = %(2)

'Ready?
PAUSE
SO,1,1
SO,2,1
PAUSE 1
&depth = &stepdown
IF &work_axis = x THEN GOSUB X_AXIS
IF &work_axis = y THEN GOSUB Y_AXIS

X_AXIS:
BEGIN_X:
PRINT "Now at "; &depth; " of an inch deep."
J3,&start_x - &tool_radius,&start_y,0.03 - (&depth - &stepdown)
M3,&start_x + (2 * &tool_diam),&start_y,-&depth / 2
M3,&start_x - &tool_radius,&start_y,-&depth
LOOP_X:
MX, &start_x + &x_size + &tool_radius
&yvalue = %(2) + &tool_stepover
IF &yvalue > &y_size THEN GOTO FINISHED_X
MY,&yvalue
MX,&start_x - &tool_radius
&yvalue = %(2) + &tool_stepover
IF &yvalue > &y_size THEN GOTO FINISHED_X
MY,&yvalue
GOTO LOOP_X
FINISHED_X:
JZ,%(28)
INPUT "Another pass? Y to continue, H for an half pass or N to end" &cont
IF &cont = h THEN &stepdown = &half_stepdown
IF &cont = n THEN GOSUB THATS_IT
&depth = &depth + &stepdown
J2,&start_x,&start_y
GOTO BEGIN_X
RETURN

Y_AXIS:
BEGIN_Y:
PRINT "Now at "; &depth; " of an inch deep."
J3,&start_x,&start_y - &tool_radius,0.03 - (&depth - &stepdown)
M3,&start_x,&start_y + (2 * &tool_diam),-&depth / 2
M3,&start_x,&start_y - &tool_radius,-&depth
LOOP_Y:
MY, &start_y + &y_size + &tool_radius
&xvalue = %(1) + &tool_stepover
IF &xvalue > &x_size THEN GOTO FINISHED_Y
MX,&xvalue
MY,&start_y - &tool_radius
&xvalue = %(1) + &tool_stepover
IF &xvalue > &x_size THEN GOTO FINISHED_Y
MX,&xvalue
GOTO LOOP_Y
FINISHED_Y:
JZ,%(28)
INPUT "Another pass? Y to continue, H for an half pass or N to end" &cont
IF &cont = h THEN &stepdown = &half_stepdown
IF &cont = n THEN GOSUB THATS_IT
&depth = &depth + &stepdown
J2,&start_x,&start_y
GOTO BEGIN_Y
RETURN

MAKE_A_CHOICE:
'Enter either X or Y!
PAUSE
GOTO START

WANNA_SKIP:
INPUT "Skip settings? Y or N" &skip
IF &skip = y THEN GOTO SKIP
IF &skip <> y THEN GOTO START

THATS_IT:
SO,1,0
SO,2,0
JH
PRINT "You removed a total of "; &depth; " of an inch of material."
IF &depth > 0.5 THEN PRINT "I hope that there still something remaining?"
END

The README text file about it.

surfacing_along_XorY_axis_README.txt

PACO - 2007
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David Buchsbaum (original idea) and Mike Richard (contributor) deserve credit on this project (2005).  See the bellow URL for forum discussion...
http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/messages/29/7427.html?1113888158#POST23422
http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/messages/312/18228.html?1171076306#POST46411
I have personally benefit from other programming skill and I'm very happy to share this particular project with any body else completely freely...  just give me, and the previously mentioned author and contributor, credit for the code.  Thanks!  This is, from all small SB coding I made, the one that I use the most aside Z zero and X&Y zeroing customizations.  I believe you may find it handy too.  Let me know!
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The program is intend for surfacing material such as warped lumber, glue up board or anything that you need to be as flat as possible.  It could be use for surfacing the spoilboard too; this actually prove to faster than with the pocketing strategy.
The program start by checking if a specifically related variable has one of the two relevant values (&working axis=x or y).  If so, the user is offered to skip the settings configuration part and proceed on the surfacing from previously entered setting values.  This is good if you just want repeat the process.  The user still have the option to re-edit the settings.  If the test variable doesn't contain a relevant value (&working axis=not x or y or even nothing), you have to go through the settings configurations part.
The settings configuration start by asking the user to choose either X or Y axis to work along with.  The tool will go back and forth along the chosen axis.  Next is the X size of the material to surface then the Y size.  Cutter diameter is the fourth setting, stepover is the fifth and stepdown is the sixth. For the stepover, the user just need to enter a percentage value (of the cutter diameter) he want to use without any '%' character.  Stepdown refer to depth of cut; the user enter the depth of cut per pass without the '-' sign.  Passes (stepdown) are cumulative and displayed (PRINT on the 'Part file message screen').
Once all settings are configured, the user get a last prompt (Ready?) and then the tool proceed to surfacing.  The tool will ramp in the cut both as gradually plunging (a first stroke of twice the tool diameter and half the stepdown) and start from outside the material size (see bellow for further details *5).  It'll go back and forth along the chosen axis, overshooting the ends until it surface all the material area then raise to 'Safe Z' (VC value) and ask if the user want to perform another pass or an half pass (half the stepdown or depth of cut).  This last option has prove valuable when you and to rough out the bulk first then make final pass with less material removal.  At the point where the user chose to not do any further pass and answer N when prompt to, the tool will jog back the home (initial X and Y and VC Safe Z).
PLEASE, READ THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT POINTS AS THEY ARE CRITICAL TO GOOD OPERATION OF THE PROGRAM.
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*1 - There's lines in the code that you may want to change depending on your tool configuration; line 31-32 and 101-102 are used to turn on and off devices (in my case it's the router and the dust collector).
*2 - The program assume that the tool bit is zeroed on top of the material (warped lumber: highest point).
*3 - The program assume the user will have zeroed X & Y axis at the lower left corner (center of the tool bit at the lower left bounding box working envelope).
*4 - The program assume the user have previously set the tool to correct RPM, feed speed, plunge speed and any other related configuration (ramping settings).
*5 - The program will overshoot the ends to avoid tool marking as it ramp down to a stop.  Plan ahead that you need a working envelope of at least the longest measurement plus the tool bit diameter (the program overshoot the tool bit radius at each ends).
*6 - Don't be surprised to see the tool ramping in as it start a pass; some fly cutter can't be plunge in very deep.
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04/2005 - Original idea came up from David Buchsbaum.  I and Mike Richard hacked David's code to play with and challenge ourselves coding the ShopBot part file code.
07/2006 - Implemented the Y axis version.
12/2006 - Implemented a main file (custom cut) to choose one or the other axis version.
02/2007 - Major clean up and tidy of the code.  Implementation of a few ideas: simplifications, half pass (half stepdown), overshoot the ends (to avoid tool marking), re-use of previous settings, display (print on the Part file message screen) of the depth of cut progression. To do: new stepover algorithm to avoid air cutting the final stroke or leaving a thin strip of not machined material.  This can happen under certain tool diameter, stepover and material width settings combinations...
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surfacing_along_XorY_axis diagram

Enjoy the utility. Let know of any bugs. I welcome feedback (good or bad). Let me know what you think.

Paco 8-)

Curved Crown molding

2007-02-04T00:02:00.000-05:00

This is a project that been presented to me by a customer that came in with crown molding sample and a print out of is kitchen CAD design with the basic measurements. I took up the challenge and quote the project and I was in my way for something new!

Once the sample was scanned, I vectorized it and create the curve to extrude it on. The curved molding was modeled in nurbs based software MoI (January 2007 beta release) and toolpath in VETRIC's Cut 3D and V Carve PRO (profiling cutout). The molding has been machined on my ShopBot PRT Alpha.

Making the 3D model and program the toolpath wasn't much of the challenge as the 'How the #!*? I'm gonna machine that 3-3/4" thick part out of it's upper side?!'...

That what the machine look like once the rough toolpath was done! Guess what the surrounding floor was looking like...

Another view of the "chip load".

The customer was advised that I was going to "redraw" the molding profile from a scan so he prefer to have a straight section made for a perfect fit at the miter cut. The finish curved molding is 82" wide and about 12" tall from the front. I left both ends "as it" so the customer has final word on the miter cut. The profile itself is about 3-3/4" X 3-3/4" from it's normal view position.

The curved one took about 6 hours total (rough, finish and cut toolpath) to machine. I probably put 2 hours here and there for the sanding part as I wanted to provide this customer with a "almost-ready-to-install-pieces".
I end up cutting out the curved one with a band saw to remove most of the remaining and finish with a large flush trim bit and the belt sander. Even with a 2" cutting length of cut bit, I still had a 1-3/4" "anchor" to cut out...

Here you have proud Paco holding the finish part high, ready for delivery!

Stay tuned, more to come about "medium size" carving!

Servicing the Milwaukee 3.25HP router 5625 motor brushes

2007-01-29T21:45:00.000-05:00

Servicing the Milwaukee router 5625 motor brushes couldn't be easier. The motor cover screws are of the Torx type (T-25). Four (4) of them you need to remove (green arrows) to gain access to the brushes.

Once the motor cover is removed, you can view the 'Electronic Feedback Module' (speed feedback control) and the brushes tubes assemblies.
The 'Electronic Feedback Module' is retained by only one (1) screw (green arrow); Torx type (T-20) and aligned with a pin underneath (red arrow). Before pulling the EFM, it's better to unplug the two (2) black wires connectors point by the yellow arrow (see next picture too). You may want to mark them now to avoid any confusion upon reassembly even though they cannot really be connected anywhere else.

Now swing the EFM to free the working area to reach one of the motor brushes that under the EFM. At this step, I keep the big white wire connected. The two motor brushes are now easy to reach for.

The motor brushes tube assemblies are held down with two (2) screw each of the Torx type (T-20) point by the four (4) magenta arrows. Removing them will allow you to pull up* the brushes tubes assemblies.

*See the text accompanying the next picture regarding the note...

It's interesting to point out how the brushes connect to the circuitry (red arrow).

Once the brushes tubes assemblies screws are removed (cyan arrows), you can now get the brushes tubes out of there. I have personally experienced some difficulty (minor breakage) to pull the brush tube; I have founded it more easy and less prone to breakage to gently pry the brush tube from under with a pointy tool.

The motor brushes should be service BEFORE they are wear out and not pushing any more on the armature's contacts. While pulling or prying them out, you should observed that they still have some spring pushing the brush (they pop out as they are removed). Once removed, you can check the amount of brush material there's left. From the previous pictures, you can see that the brush material is normally almost completely back in the tube assembly. On this picture, you can see that there are still a viable brush. Ideally, you shouldn't wait for the brushes to be completely wear before servicing.

While the brushes tubes assemblies are removed, it's a good idea to blow some compressed air around to clean the area...

The brush assembly are retained in the tube with clip which are very easy to disassemble.

Here are the old brush in the tube assembly and the new brush on it's left. Go on to next picture...

... the two brushes assemblies; above is the new one and bellow the one that need to be replaced. At the right the brush tube assembly.

From that point is pretty much going backward the previous detailed steps. A word of caution regarding reassembly; don't over tighten the screws. Those screws screw into plastic so it would be easy to strip the "thread". Anyway, nothing here need high torque load. When pushing back the brushes tube, take care for proper alignment, especially the electrical connection.

That concluded this post about servicing the MK5625 motor brushes. I hope it'll serve some one some day. Even though it's fairly easy to perform this task, I believe that the pictures might help visualize the process before anything.

Keep in mind that this is not any kind of "official Milwaukee service" procedure. I'm not neither an engineer nor a qualified electrician but rather the "average do-it-yourself handy guy". I only wanted to share this easy (for me) procedure to service this Milwaukee router motor. The brushes are fairly cheap and can be obtained from your local Milwaukee service center. The whole procedure take around half an hour.

Let me know if something doesn't seem right or doesn't make sense (leave a comment or use the Get in touch link in the Links section) and I'll make it up to your suggestions and recommendations.

I may, sooner or later, get to the point where I need to service the bearing so stay tunned!

SILO render - cartoon tree study

2007-01-28T20:21:00.000-05:00

This is a challenge I made up to myself from a fellow SILO user model. The idea was to practice my SILO modeling skills from an inspiring idea. Apart from the basic stuff, I'm happy to have work my way to avoid all non quads which seem to be a basic fundamental of subdivision modeling. On top of that I've render the model with relevant colors.