[brainchild]

So here begins the micRo journey.

The concept in a micRo-nut shell is this: A tiny-ish gantry RoBOT...a pet of sorts. It doesn't cost much but does plenty useful....heck, its 10"x12"x2.5" working environment may be all you need (base dimensions 16.5" x 19"). By building micRo, you will learn the fundamentals of CNC robotics, while having constructed a "bridge automaton"; a "facilitator".

That said (sure to change soon):

A spindle for such a (router) machine is not obvious...what do you think about this AC-syncro motor developing 20,000 RPM and some 1/12th HP at stall? Yay!!
 spindle.jpg (97.49K)
Number of downloads: 175

[Styrofoam_Guy]

So will you be supplying kits for this also?

[brainchild]

Styrofoam_Guy, on May 6 2008, 01:20 AM, said:

So will you be supplying kits for this also?

Yep. They'll retail all-inclusive for around $400-500.

[SupraGuy]

That's a nice price, and given the limits of space available to me and the fat that most projects I'm looking at can be fairly small, this is starting to look much more reasonable.

Sweet. Now I gotta teach myself autocad/solidworks...

[brainchild]

SupraGuy, on May 6 2008, 02:32 PM, said:

That's a nice price, and given the limits of space available to me and the fat that most projects I'm looking at can be fairly small, this is starting to look much more reasonable.

Sweet. Now I gotta teach myself autocad/solidworks...

You may consider many of the possible programs and file types you can use...a tiny sampling:

.ai - Adobe Illustrator Artwork (AI) is a proprietary file format developed by Adobe Systems for representing single-page vector-based drawings in either the EPS or PDF formats. The .ai filename extension is used by Adobe Illustrator.

.eps - Encapsulated PostScript, or EPS, is a DSC-conforming PostScript document with additional restrictions intended to make EPS files usable as a graphics file format.

.hpgl - HPGL, sometimes hyphenated as HP-GL, is the primary printer control language used by Hewlett-Packard plotters. The name is a set of initials for Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language. It later became a standard for almost all plotters.

.dxf - AutoCAD DXF (Drawing Interchange Format, or Drawing Exchange Format) is a CAD data file format, developed by Autodesk as their solution for enabling data between AutoCAD and other programs.

.dwg - DWG ("drawing") is a format used for storing two and three dimensional design data and BIM metadata, it is the internal format for the AutoCAD Computer Aided Design package.

.3dm - The main file format of Rhino3D is called 3dm. It is very useful especially for the exchange of NURBS geometry because it is released as an Open Source Toolkit called openNURBS, which is provided by the developers of Rhino3D.

[SIMUL8R]

brainchild, on May 6 2008, 09:25 AM, said:

Yep. They'll retail all-inclusive for around $300.

BC, I might be the same as Supra but I intend to carve out aluminum as well. Will the micro be able to perform such a task aside from obtaining a good router of course.

[brainchild]

SIMUL8R, on May 7 2008, 01:04 AM, said:

BC, I might be the same as Supra but I intend to carve out aluminum as well. Will the micro be able to perform such a task aside from obtaining a good router of course.

All day long and then some...

I don't intend to make any machine that can't take a flogging...and hell, if it breaks you know exactly what to do.

The micRo is small yet powerful. It is designed to test extremes in a model way. There is a notion that certain materials can't be machined without sufficient force: nonsense! micRo can cut to China given sufficient time. Maybe you've heard of the Chinese-water-torture? The oft rejected emphasis is on time... I mean, if you can "set it and forget it", 8 hours isn't a bad time at all.

[Styrofoam_Guy]

I know I hate being asked this question but I am curious as to a guestimate on the time frame for this project.

Sorry to put you on the spot as I know stuff happens that can push deadlines back a lot.

[brainchild]

Styrofoam_Guy, on May 7 2008, 09:02 AM, said:

I know I hate being asked this question but I am curious as to a guestimate on the time frame for this project.

Sorry to put you on the spot as I know stuff happens that can push deadlines back a lot.

The design is finished. I could probably have it finished in two days' time if I could find two days.

[brainchild]

Today was a good RoBOT day, in that all of the micRo parts are ordered! The mighty micRo has a massive 19" x 16" footprint! (4 on a desk ) All 3 axes* use 10mm Acme screws that run in ABEC 7 bearings [edit: Z runs on 6,, screw]. micRo uses Delrin anti-backlash nuts, and uses 3 NEMA 17 motors; one for each axis, complete with drivers. The gantry rides on supported 16mm ways. The Y ways are 12mm and the Z ways are 10mm (downright dinky, but so cute!) All bearings can be clamp-tightened for very high precision; a bigger version used on RoGR:

 split_bearing.jpg (59.84K)
Number of downloads: 78


The platform can be alum plate, mdf, rigid composite etc. Very little machining is required and the micRo can be built with just a drill and a tap (drill-press highly recommended). A single SMS power supply (included) is all that is required; you get to wire the motors, the power supply and the parallel-port breakout. I'll supply all of the small annoyingly hard-to-find stuff as well, so you can concentrate putting micRo together while focusing on the principles of robotics, rather than hundreds of hours of painstaking research! I will also supply the software configuration files for EMC2 with an explanation of the programming, so you don't need a 2 year degree just to start using micRo, and you can later tweak the parametrics when you're ready... (OC'd micRO???? bzzz). More soon....


*(Axes is a heteronym; the plural of both axis and axe.)

[Styrofoam_Guy]

Oh my this is excellent news. Excuse me while I go wipe the drool off my chin.

[KingOfSwords]

With the $300 price point, I think this machine will be very accessible. I will probably jump on one of the kits myself. It would be especially worth it since it can machine the aluminum parts for its big brother.

[brainchild]

KingOfSwords, on May 11 2008, 01:00 PM, said:

With the $300 price point, I think this machine will be very accessible. I will probably jump on one of the kits myself. It would be especially worth it since it can machine the aluminum parts for its big brother.

Yep, as well as route circuit boards, apply solder masks, pick and place SMDs etc...

[brainchild]

Weee, I finished the micRo motor kit today! Isn't it cute? It works excellent too...High fives!

 micromk1024.jpg (107.15K)
Number of downloads: 140

[KingOfSwords]

How did that spindle motor work out?

[brainchild]

KingOfSwords, on May 13 2008, 01:15 AM, said:

How did that spindle motor work out?

Still testing. Currently awaiting the Pluto-P FPGA to signal the PWM required by the AC syncro motor controllers. I have two AC syncros to test as spindles; the larger of them I posted at the beginning of the thread. The smaller motor is more impressive though. The smaller motor has far higher tolerances; it is very precise, and can hit 40,000 RPM. Alas, until they are cutting, it is pointless to surmise!

Aside from that, the main goal for MY micRo is an SMD pick-and-place bot with hot-air in-situ reflow (why not???).

 acsyncro.jpg (124.65K)
Number of downloads: 77

[KingOfSwords]

any leads on a bigger spindle motor for RoGR, or is it more cost effective/practical to just use a standard vari-speed router?

[brainchild]

KingOfSwords, on May 13 2008, 09:21 PM, said:

any leads on a bigger spindle motor for RoGR, or is it more cost effective/practical to just use a standard vari-speed router?

Bigger than what? RoGR uses the "big" router per se...although "routing" is a minor RoGR capability....

More important is the question: What do you want to do?

[brainchild]

micRonuts:

 micRonuts.jpg (188.84K)
Number of downloads: 88

 micRonuts2.jpg (189.41K)
Number of downloads: 77

What the hell is Robin doing in the micRonuts post???

 micRonuts3.jpg (139.16K)
Number of downloads: 75

[CT Miles]

I know you get a lot of these kind of post but still
OMG That's SO Cool!!

just a few redundant questions tho

How soon can i get my mitts on one?
How much will it dink my bank account?


found this in RoGR fourm
"micRo parts sourcing is nearing completion, about 95% done. A full micRo kit is ~ 2 weeks off."

This post has been edited by CT Miles: 17 May 2008 - 06:35 AM

[brainchild]

CT Miles, on May 17 2008, 02:22 AM, said:

I know you get a lot of these kind of post but still
OMG That's SO Cool!!

just a few redundant questions tho

How soon can i get my mitts on one?
How much will it dink my bank account?

micRo is almost finished; within the next 3 weeks certainly.

I'm waiting on a few concluding pieces and working out some bugs in the supply chain (arrrrghhh!!)...speaking of supply hiccups...the price necessarily has crept up to $500 due to an "underabundance" of quality screws @ micRo sizes, blah. Screws must currently come from Japan which is 4x the price of China...but I'm not giving up.. I'll never let micRo rise above $500; even if I lose money on it. micRo is my "RoBaby" and it must live!

(FWIW, much of the micRo is USA-made, and more US-made parts are coming online daily. I mention this because I think that America is rife for the next "American Revolution", and not some pithy "revolution" marketing crap, but a real "transformation event". CNC robotics will transform man's being as much (or more) than computers, the web, refrigeration....)

[CT Miles]

500$ and about 1 month?
sign me up!

[Hirudin]

Forgive me, as a total novice it's not obvious to me why we would want to use micro-size screws. I can appreciate that visually they may be a better match proportionally, but any other reason isn't jumping out at me. If small screws are 4 times more than large screws: lets use large ones!

Also, is the computer PSU part of the $500 price? I don't know about anyone else, but I've got a PSU that's just begging to be put to use. I figure the savings wouldn't be much, but a combined shipping and product savings of, say, $25 would be nice...

This post has been edited by Hirudin: 17 May 2008 - 10:37 AM

[brainchild]

Hirudin, on May 17 2008, 06:31 AM, said:

Forgive me, as a total novice it's not obvious to me why we would want to use micro-size screws. I can appreciate that visually they may be a better match proportionally, but any other reason isn't jumping out at me. If small screws are 4 times more than large screws: lets use large ones!

Also, is the computer PSU part of the $500 price? I don't know about anyone else, but I've got a PSU that's just begging to be put to use. I figure the savings wouldn't be much, but a combined shipping and product savings of, say, $25 would be nice...

I've factored a 24v, 5A power supply into the $500 cost. The drivers top out @ 30V, so 24V is an excellent choice for speed and safety. Recent advances on the driver-front have offered some excellent options.

A way, screw and motor must be carefully matched for constant torque loads, + delta . A big screw is of little use to a small motor, since most of the motor power is consumed turning the big screw instead of doing the actual work (10th gear uphill on your bike).

[joecnc2006]

I see you using the dumpster Anti-backlash lead nuts and clamp on couplers, Good choice, I use them in my 4x4 with no problems at all and i have 323 hours on it so far.

Joe