Taking the CNC Plunge

Trying to figure out how to post picture.. hard to see the faciting but if you look to the right side you can see some of it..
 
Are you running the ESS on a dedicated 5v power supply?

For your finishes to degrade after changing the electronics suggests a problem with the settings or possibly electrical interference. I will see if I can get screen captures of my ESS configuration for comparison.

Jay - I agree with you that it's a configuration issue or electrical interference. That's the only thing that's changed since I ran parts with good surface finish. Screen shots of your configuration would be great.

Thanks
 
Jay - I agree with you that it's a configuration issue or electrical interference. That's the only thing that's changed since I ran parts with good surface finish. Screen shots of your configuration would be great.

Thanks
Will do. I should have some time tonight to do that. Between work and remodeling a bathroom there has been no time to play!
 
Will do. I should have some time tonight to do that. Between work and remodeling a bathroom there has been no time to play!

Thanks. Good luck with your remodel project.
 
Tom PM me your email. I thought I had it but I'm not finding it. I had to take photos of the screen since my machine pc does not have a way to properly save screen captures. The files will reduce too much if I post them here to be useful.
 
Another thought. I can get poor finishes if the coolant isn't filtered or the coolant spray isn't flushing the chips away quickly enough.
 
Another thought. I can get poor finishes if the coolant isn't filtered or the coolant spray isn't flushing the chips away quickly enough.

Don't think it's coolant because straight cuts in X or Y leave a very smooth finish. The rough surface finish appears on radius', angle cuts, and circular pockets.

I've read quiet a bit about improving surface finish and found a few tweaks for my CAM software and Mach3. Tried them out today and no change. Next I tightened the X and Y gibs until the motors stalled then backed off the gib adjuster until the motors would move the table and saddle to there extremes without missing steps. Still no improvement in surface finish.

I've got a Gates drive belt on order to replace the eBay import belt I'm running now. You never know.

I've heard that some people have had surface finish problems with angular contact bearings. I don't understand that comment mainly because high end precision spindles almost universally use AC bearings. On the other hand I could have a bad bearing. If the new belt doesn't help the situation I'll start looking for a new lower bearing.
 
Don't think it's coolant because straight cuts in X or Y leave a very smooth finish. The rough surface finish appears on radius', angle cuts, and circular pockets.

I've read quiet a bit about improving surface finish and found a few tweaks for my CAM software and Mach3. Tried them out today and no change. Next I tightened the X and Y gibs until the motors stalled then backed off the gib adjuster until the motors would move the table and saddle to there extremes without missing steps. Still no improvement in surface finish.

I've got a Gates drive belt on order to replace the eBay import belt I'm running now. You never know.

I've heard that some people have had surface finish problems with angular contact bearings. I don't understand that comment mainly because high end precision spindles almost universally use AC bearings. On the other hand I could have a bad bearing. If the new belt doesn't help the situation I'll start looking for a new lower bearing.

If the straight cuts are smooth I would not suspect the bearings.

I'm not sure this is related to your problem but have you tinkered with the CV setting in Mach3?

http://www.machsupport.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Mach3_CVSettings_v2.pdf
 
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