ERC TimSav - Cheap DIY CNC Foamboard Cutter

[dutchmonkey]

Stock both drivers measured .66v and I though I saw in one of the threads that you should shoot for .7v Ill keep a eye out for temps, and maybe lower the voltage.

I had one driver out of the package at .89 and another at .45 during my diagnosis i turned up the vref and my steppers got quite hot. My new steppers are cold after a 35min cut file big improvement heat is inefficiency.

 

[dkj4linux]

I'm really not messing with my TimSav at the moment but I have entertained printing a couple of bits to securely hold the ends of an arrow shaft (aluminum, graphite, etc) that's been cut to length and braces the TimSav arm... similar to the brace on Tom McGuire's foam cutting machine, that has served as inspiration for my CNC-based needle cutter development over the years.

With removal of any arm flex in Edward's machine and tightening up all sources of slop in the cutter head itself, cut quality should improve greatly and result in a sturdier foam-cutter machine that should serve for years to come IMO.

-- David

 

[DaveBee72]

I'm kind of surprised you haven't hacked the Z to use a little 28BYJ servo with a printed screw setup like you've played with before

which of the 4 pins in the Z would you use for the 3 wires on the servo?
I'm setting up a Eleksmaker Mana with 3 axis and a servo output, ideal for motor and head lift control.

 

[Guy S.]

Did you actually cut or just test run? The extra drag of cutting might make that skip worse. Basically it shouldn't skip at all it just allows for inconsistent cutting and that's not good.

the time I measured it was a dry run.

 

[effdubya]

First off i put the wrong torque spec in for the stock stepper its 54 not 64. So are you building it stock or are you modifying it? I ask because the nema motors i used wont fit they are too tall. There is another option that might fit and still give you more torque then the suggested motors. He specs out a 37mm tall 54oz torque stepper, 17HS15-1504S-X1 is a motor i found on amazon that may fit and give you 64oz of torque it is 39mm tall stock is 37mm tall so i think this will work. If someone has a stock setup can you tell me how much clearance you have below the stepper motor and the floor?

Great news! I know what to look for now, shouldn't be too much of a problem to add a couple of mm to the printed supports Thanks again guys Dutchmonkey & guyS.

 

[dutchmonkey]

Great news! I know what to look for now, shouldn't be too much of a problem to add a couple of mm to the printed supports Thanks again guys

Your welcome share your success and failure with this or other mods

 

[Matagami Designs]

Please keep me informed on this i use solidworks daily and it would be nice to use it this way as well.

So i cut my 1st set of parts using my dxf2gcode method and my 1st set of parts that wasn't just a 1" square.
Turned out OK. I;m not sure if there are missed steps in the score cuts or they are an issue with my code.
I still need to check my RPM and probably sharpen the needle but so far so good.

If your interested in using Solidworks to draw your parts or Fsusion360 or any program with .dxf output i would recommend downloading dxf2gcode and trying it out Ive included some screenshots of my settings for the machine configuration settings and post processor.

The workflow is similar in that you must select the appropriate layers and have m3s60 (score) or m3s90 (full cut) in post processor before each shape and then combine files to make complete gcode.

let me know if you try doing this method but i am just starting myself.

 

[dutchmonkey]

Here are a two images of before and after swapping my X motor out these are the upper cowl for the commuter you can see how far off the alignment got. Then i have an image of my table setup i am able lift and hang my table so it folds out of the way. Lastly a nice clean cut airc_pirate t45 goshawk

 

[Edwardchew]

Here are a two images of before and after swapping my X motor out these are the upper cowl for the commuter you can see how far off the alignment got. Then i have an image of my table setup i am able lift and hang my table so it folds out of the way. Lastly a nice clean cut airc_pirate t45 goshawk

Ok i just realized your is a full metal! OMG!

 

[dutchmonkey]

Ok i just realized your is a full metal! OMG!

Yes all Aluminum . i am getting linear rails Friday going to start by removing the belt tensioner / support there is a lot of unwanted flex across this axis that i want to get rid of.

 

[dutchmonkey]

here are a few screen shots of my z-3.0 setup i am using a bearing on the servo arm to better control the height, i moved the slide bolts as far away from each other as possible as well this has made a big difference in tip slop. I am working on z-4.0 where the tip has a set height and the motor needle combo moves up and down to better control needle slop. the last screen shot is of my new x support setup with a linear rail/bearing i will get come pics of the final setup this weekend

 

[Guy S.]

here are a few screen shots of my z-3.0 setup i am using a bearing on the servo arm to better control the height, i moved the slide bolts as far away from each other as possible as well this has made a big difference in tip slop. I am working on z-4.0 where the tip has a set height and the motor needle combo moves up and down to better control needle slop. the last screen shot is of my new x support setup with a linear rail/bearing i will get come pics of the final setup this weekend

I’ve thought a lot about keeping the tip down and raising the motor. And you beat me to the bearing-slot for the z. I’d like to mount the motor on a block with some Teflon lined bushings, and have it slide up and down on 6mm shafting.

 

[dutchmonkey]

I’ve thought a lot about keeping the tip down and raising the motor. And you beat me to the bearing-slot for the z. I’d like to mount the motor on a block with some Teflon lined bushings, and have it slide up and down on 6mm shafting.

Yes something to this effect i am looking for light weight setup

 

[dutchmonkey]

i think i just found my z axis linear bearing slide setup 3mm x 30mm should be just enough z travel to work.

 

[dutchmonkey]

Got the x support rail set up and the z 3.0 is working great i have four diffent cut heights that i am using now 70-marking barley cut through the paper 0.5mm, 73- score cut about 1.5mm, 80- Folds and hinges 4mm and 90- full cut. With the marking cut on the hindges and wing leading edge i have been using a small hot wire and doing my bevel cuts nice and clean.

 

[dutchmonkey]

Couple more pics @FoamyDM mm-explorer with longer wing, @AircPirateNinsei 2 sheets for the mini mirage and almsot complete goshawk T-45. And in the background p-82, mm p-51d and two cut sheets for a commuter build

 

[dkj4linux]

Not really needing yet another needle-cutter, my ERC TimSav machine had been pushed to the side while I addressed a couple of other projects. But then the stars aligned and my SIL said he'd taken on a job where he needed to cut larger, thicker pieces of foam. So, with a couple of hot-wire designs I'd seen in mind, I decided that TWO TimSav's could be better than one, and... voila! TimSavX2 Hotwire foam cutting machine... a work in progress.

Since it is so closely related to ERC TimSav motion system I thought it might be of interest to some folks here. This is simply two almost-stock TimSav's (without stock electronics and needle cutter, of course...) standing on edge with enough room between that up to 6" thick styrofoam can be placed on edge and a hot-wire run through it. The towers are currently slaved to one another so no independent movement of the towers... straight-through cuts only -- no fancy tapers -- it's a simple 2-axis XY machine with 800mm X 600mm workarea. A simple Eleksmaker Mana SE 2-axis CNC controller is used to drive all four motors... two motors per axis and wired in series, just as with MPCNC. I don't want to hijack this thread so any further discussion and/or comments about this particular machine can be taken over to my rather eclectic needle-cutter thread... as I've got more testing and development to do.

-- David

 

[Keno]

Not really needing yet another needle-cutter, my ERC TimSav machine had been pushed to the side while I addressed a couple of other projects. But then the stars aligned and my SIL said he'd taken on a job where he needed to cut larger, thicker pieces of foam. So, with a couple of hot-wire designs I'd seen in mind, I decided that TWO TimSav's could be better than one, and... voila! TimSavX2 Hotwire foam cutting machine... a work in progress.

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Since it is so closely related to ERC TimSav motion system I thought it might be of interest to some folks here. This is simply two almost stock TimSav's (without needle cutter, of course) standing on edge with enough room between that up to 6" thick styrofoam can be placed on edge and a hot-wire run through it. The towers are currently slaved to one another so no independent movement of the towers... straight-through cuts only -- no fancy tapers -- it's a simple 2-axis XY machine with 800mm X 600mm workarea. A simple Eleksmaker Mana SE 2-axis CNC controller is used to drive all four motors... two motors per axis and wired in series. I don't want to hijack this thread so any further discussion and/or comments about this particular machine can be taken over to my rather eclectic needle-cutter thread... as I've got more testing and development to do.

-- David

This cool I use to cut a lot of foam. Had a foam cutter system I brought from a Texas feller and wife. Had two wires to cut top and bottom at the same time and the product pulled the foam with weights using timing belts and pullies. Still have the power supply and timing gear, table has be recycled. Keep the bows for a reminder of the past and sometimes give them a try.

 

[dkj4linux]

TimSavX2 hotwire machine in action and actual speed...

TimSavX2 hotwire machine cutting small penguin shape from 2" thick styrofoam. Using 100mm section of 30 AWG nichrome wire (6.5 ohms/ft) and 1.5 amp current. Feed rate is 1000 mm/min. Grbl 1.1 firmware running on inexpensive Eleksmaker Mana SE v3.2 2-axis CNC controller.

-- David

 

[dutchmonkey]

Well i got Z 4.0 designed i should have parts cut and welded tomorrow and printed parts done tonight. This version will have a stationary needle guide just moveing the motor/bearing guide up and down hopefull i will also have a needle lube setup also. If all goes well i should be doing my first cuts saturday. I am also working out a cross brace that should stiffen the x axis even more.