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another Vacuum mod and an Exciting LED mod

Discussion in 'Phlatprinter MKII MODIFICATIONS' started by MartinT, Nov 28, 2009.

  1. MartinT

    MartinT Member

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    Ok here we go on with the Vacuummod, I am sure you have seen it before, but this one is still a bit different.
    The three main selling points of my version of the mod are:
    A) There is no drilling or changing the layout of the Phlatprinter involved, the parts just bolt onto the YZ gantry via the EXISTING holes.
    B) It does not limit any travel range of the Y axis.
    And C) The vacuum tubes can be taken off when changing bits, so no obstructions!!!

    Parts needed:

    2 pieces of MDF (preferably 8mm, 6 is ok too)
    2 connector pieces for electrical piping
    2 pieces of gardenhose that fit into the items above
    Some electrical pvc piping
    Bending spring
    1 Tierap
    4 retainers for electrical tubing (the nailtype, but remove the nails, and use screws to secure them to the wood)
    Connector with rubber collars + end piece (normally used for drainpipes and so) with a diameter that fits to your vacuumhose
    Some nuts, bolts washers
    Cable bundling thing “cabletiger”

    Since I do not exactly know all the correct English terms in detail for the items I just described above, look at the pictures so you’ll get the idea.
    And I have recently visited lowe’s and the Home Depot in the US, and found out that you actually use metal tubing as electrical conduit, something that is in Europe out of the question, but you might actually get some other pvc piping ( the white type) to make it work.



    Cut 2 pieces of mdf 14 cm by 6.5 cm (sorry guys but I did not have my ruler in inches at hand) Drill the 4 holes as indicated. On the closest set of holes screw the connector pipe with the retainers in place. There are different types of retainers, try to get the thinnest ones you can get. (The bolts in the second picture are in the wrong way, they should come out on the same side of the connectors.)
    Install the garden hose in the pipes and bolt the contraption to the holes in the YZ gantry. (use big washers as the holes are fairly large, but that is good so you can adjust it so it clears the housing of the X stepper motor when the YZgantry is almost all the way to the right side of the cabinet. (Adjust the left side accordingly, it should clear there as well, duh)
    On the bottom where the 2 gardenhoses hang below the YZ gantry clamp hem together using a tierap, do not omit this step, or else the hanging hoses will bind the gantry when it is almost on the outer edge of Y travel. (again just look at the pics to see how it should be) [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Now to prevent the gardenhoses from binding with the Rotozip hose, you install a “cabletiger” (that’s what we call them in Dutch, don’t know what you call them, but they are used to bundle cables together neatly. While you’re at it you can also put the Z steppermotor cable in there, so that from the YZ gantry there is only one cable(bundle) coming down. (One less wire that can get snagged somewhere) Just extend the steppermotor cable as you can see in the picture. Important: do not let the cabletiger run all the way up to the Rotozip holder in the gantry, instead keep it so that it is still below the bottom of the gantry when the Z is fully up. Again this is to prevent binding.

    [​IMG]
    See the grey cable tiger. it will still be below the gantry when the Z is fully up


    [​IMG]
    notice the control wire for the Z steppermotor. from the terminal block it runs to the CNC board


    Stuff the ends of the gardenhoses into the connector where the vacuum hose connects. (just make the holes a tad smaller than the hose diameter, so you don’t need glue or anything)
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    Take 2 pieces of electrical tubing, and bend the ends 90 degrees with a bending spring. (If you don’t have that you can also buy pre bend tubes, but they will have a slightly larger radius. Stick them in the top, and saw off at the correct length.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And done. Sorry for the extensive explanation, if you study the photos, you’ll get the picture probably anyhow ;-)


    The other mod I wanted was the so called LED mod, which I liked,seeing the white light shine through the foam.
    So I soldered 2 pairs of 2 white leds and put them just to the sides of the drillbit holder in the small recessions. The wire runs via the side, then down, and then via the flexible Rotozip “umbilical” (through the “Cabletiger”wirebundle)
    [​IMG]
    The LEDs in place

    [​IMG]
    And turned on, very bright!

    Next I made another addition, I put 2 red LEDs on the clear plastic indicator needle, (that is pointing out of the front of the printer) so you can see from a fr distance where the Y gantry is positioned. It looks really nice, just like a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica! LOL
    The leds are stuck with a piece of shrinktubing to the indicator needle, on on top and tha other one below. The wires run with a piece of coiled telephone cord to the right hand side of the cabinet. In the corner there is a little hole that Mark put there on purpose ;-) so you can let the cable through! It will end up where the Y steppermotor is. Sorry no Photo of that yet, I’ll make some and post them later…
    From here it runs the same way as the steppermotor wire to the back, where the leds get their power from a seperate walwart (or watchamacallthese things)

    The result is “oh verrrry nice” (free after Dave Powers) if I may say so myself ;-)
    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    Cylons rule!!!

    Mark, Trish and everybody on the forum, thanks for everything!
     
  2. rjarois

    rjarois Moderator Staff Member

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    MartinT, that looks great man!! not only the vacuum gets rid of the debris...it helps the cutting and tool life as the air moves by the tool, and gives its cooling effects. good job man. peace, randy.
     
  3. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    I like this one too. I like how both tube are so close to the cutter and are removable.
     
  4. MartinT

    MartinT Member

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    Thanks guys!
    The removeability was a requirement, or else the bit changing would have been a real pain, now it's just business as usual ;-)
     
  5. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

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    This is really nice! Martin you have really outdone yourself with these mods.
    You are the first person (that I know of) to successfully add the Cylon mod! Its really cool that you figured out the extra hole there for the wire ;)
    I was thinking of the coiled telephone cord for my MKII but never actually did it. I will do it now for sure.
    When you post the new pics can you include how you shrink tubed the leds in place, the light looks great.
    Super post! Thank you for sharing
    Mark
     
  6. xtremeRCpilot

    xtremeRCpilot Member

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    OK, Best mod so far for Vacuum, I like how your tubes extend under the bit, I have been pondering this as my mod was ineffective and running out of the stand the hose would bind with the Flex extension from the Roto tool. Great job my Friend!

    John
     
  7. MartinT

    MartinT Member

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    Thanks for the kind words guys, it's all a team effort, one idea just leads to another!

    here are the pics: the telephone wire
    [​IMG]

    And the LEDs in place: The heat shrink is fixed in place with some heatglue, this also acts as a strain relief for the wires
    [​IMG]




    More good news, Hector mailed me and asked me to try out 15 microsecs step pulse and direction pulse (on the motortuning) in Mach, to see if that fixed the bad steppermotor, and guess what?

    IT WORKS !!! YAHOO !!!

    (It's weird since on the tuning page it says 0-5 mSec but you can indeed fill in the value of 15, and it makes the stepper run smooth all the way, it callibrates right on the money now!) (If I fill in 10 or less ithe motor still stalls now and then, but 15 works fine, so it definately has the right effect!)

    So that brings me to the next thing: What to print first? ;-)

    Laterrrrr,
    Martin
     
  8. ToxicToast

    ToxicToast Down in the weeds. Staff Member

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    That is seriously bad-***! Love the cylon effect, any chance you can grab some video of a cut? I might trick mine out at some point, and this is seriously inspiring. Would've never thought of using a telephone coil to wire this but it makes perfect sense.

    Thanks for the ideas!
     
  9. MartinT

    MartinT Member

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    Thanks Toxic! I'll see if I can make a little vid, but I won't have time till next weekend...
     
  10. MartinT

    MartinT Member

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    BTW the wiring for the LEDs is as follows:

    For the powersource I used a little 12V 1Amp walwart,(in the future I'll change this to a 12 V regulator (with heatsink) that gets it's power directly from the HP powersource used for the Easy CNC board, but I did not have one at hand at the time)

    The 4 white LEDs are all wired in series and connected directly to the 12Volt power source

    The 2 red LEDs each has a 1kOhm resistor (1000 Ohm, but any ranging from say 700 to 2kOhm will do) soldered to it's cathode (the minus, the shorter of the 2 LEDlegs) and they are both wired parallel to the 12Volt source (so each LED gets 12Volt, but due to the resistor a reduced current)

    The LEDs can of course be puchased in an electronics specialty shop, or, you go to a Dollarstore type of shop and get some cheap bright red/white bycicle/flashlight LEDs that you cannibalize...
     

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