electronic lead screw

Reply to Guns:

When you say "someone here just bent the 5 connectors" that was me. Rather than burn out another LED&KEY board in the control panel by trying to de-solder the 5 pin connector, I bent the pins over by about 60 degrees and pushed in the connectors I was using. However the length exposed was insufficient to hold the connectors securely so I pulled the end insulators off, soldered the ends to the 5 pin on the LED&KEY board then applied heat shrink tubing. Overall it is a bit thicker than Clough42's approach but it was easier for me. It still meant that there were 5 solder points to be done.

Regarding the daughter board/booster board, I suggest you look at it again. There are two 20 pin connector blocks (requiring 40 solder points), 4 solder points for the 5v supply, 6 for the stepper control connector, and 5 for feed to the control panel.

Including the control panel that adds up to 60 individual solder joints.
 
Man! I just don't remember soldering anything to the boost board but the 5 pin connector you just spoke of. The TI launch board wasn't much more either. I like soldering...maybe I had such a good time I'm blacking out that experience?
 
Guns, I don't like soldering. But I do like drinking and I have such a good time I often black out as well.
 
GunsOfNavarone said:
Man! I just don't remember soldering anything to the boost board but the 5 pin connector you just spoke of...
Click to expand...
During the Clough42 video where he assembled one of his boards, he mentioned that some lucky buyer would get that assembled unit. It's quite possible that you got it.
 
Last edited:
wow, this thread has a life of it's own. I didn't intend it to be a single ELS specific thread but it seems everyone is using the clough42 board.

I recently found a very good write up of what looks like a solid implementation which addresses a few issues with the clough42 board which can be found here: https://github.com/prototypicall/Didge/blob/master/doc/How.md Unfortunately the toolchain is gnu-arm and building it isn't quite as simple as an arduino sketch.

I finally dusted off my original project and got to work finishing it. I have it running on an esp32 with web configuration. The multi core seems to be working well driving the web server, buttons, display, and stepper. The step generation can also be offloaded to the RMT peripheral. It's pre-alpha state is hooked up to the lathe and feeding. Before I commit to the controller design I wanted to ask if anyone has a good interface they think is easy to use, it doesn't need to be an ELS, it could be any interface you can describe which would be good for lathe operation.

From my limited testing I see a few things:

1. in slave mode, where the lead screw is just slaved to the spindle and waits for the spindle to turn you only really need a mode selector, mode on/off and a left/right button to set the rotation direction.
2. When using a virtual stop things get more interesting. You need a way to set the stops, a way to feed to the stops, and finally a way to jog to the stops.
3. Jogging to a shoulder is difficult with no haptic feedback. An encoder jog wheel (MPI like) would be handy but then you need an intuitive and easy way to set the steps per encoder click.
4. I found a very interesting project to give haptic feedback for semi-manual machining. https://hackaday.com/2020/03/24/turn-by-wire-is-a-machinists-sixth-sense/
5. Stout beefy levers seem better, i think I need the left/right controls to be a solidly mounted momentary-off-momentary switch with some big detents. I've made m-off-m switches, anyone have a good design to share?
6. I just don't like touch screens. there is no feedback and they can be fiddly.
7. blister buttons are no good, the rocketronics ELS 4 looks very very capable and the UI on the screen is nice, but those buttons....
 
ian999 said:
Just a minor update on the Clough42 ELS.

I needed to add a 22 tpi option so I added a line in the file "tables.cpp".



{ .display = {BLANK, BLANK, ONE, EIGHT}, .leds = LED_THREAD | LED_TPI, TPI_FRACTION(180) },

{ .display = {BLANK, BLANK, ONE, NINE}, .leds = LED_THREAD | LED_TPI, TPI_FRACTION(190) },

{ .display = {BLANK, BLANK, TWO, ZERO}, .leds = LED_THREAD | LED_TPI, TPI_FRACTION(200) },

{ .display = {BLANK, BLANK, TWO, TWO}, .leds = LED_THREAD | LED_TPI, TPI_FRACTION(220) },

{ .display = {BLANK, BLANK, TWO, FOUR}, .leds = LED_THREAD | LED_TPI, TPI_FRACTION(240) },

{ .display = {BLANK, BLANK, TWO, SIX}, .leds = LED_THREAD | LED_TPI, TPI_FRACTION(260) },





Save, flash and reboot.

22 tpi comes up on the Control Panel and actually gives a 22 tpi cut.

This has been the easiest part of dealing with this software.

Of course you can try any thread pitch you desire. I am now going to try loading BA threads which for some totally obscure Brit reason are all decimal inch threads!
Click to expand...
I don't foresee any need as of right now, but besides your example of the edit....doesn't that just give the LED screen to show the number 22? Don't you have to do any tables programing? The relation of spindle to stepper ratio? Is editing really that simple?
 
greenail said:
wow, this thread has a life of it's own. I didn't intend it to be a single ELS specific thread but it seems everyone is using the clough42 board.

I recently found a very good write up of what looks like a solid implementation which addresses a few issues with the clough42 board which can be found here: https://github.com/prototypicall/Didge/blob/master/doc/How.md Unfortunately the toolchain is gnu-arm and building it isn't quite as simple as an arduino sketch.

I finally dusted off my original project and got to work finishing it. I have it running on an esp32 with web configuration. The multi core seems to be working well driving the web server, buttons, display, and stepper. The step generation can also be offloaded to the RMT peripheral. It's pre-alpha state is hooked up to the lathe and feeding. Before I commit to the controller design I wanted to ask if anyone has a good interface they think is easy to use, it doesn't need to be an ELS, it could be any interface you can describe which would be good for lathe operation.

From my limited testing I see a few things:

1. in slave mode, where the lead screw is just slaved to the spindle and waits for the spindle to turn you only really need a mode selector, mode on/off and a left/right button to set the rotation direction.
2. When using a virtual stop things get more interesting. You need a way to set the stops, a way to feed to the stops, and finally a way to jog to the stops.
3. Jogging to a shoulder is difficult with no haptic feedback. An encoder jog wheel (MPI like) would be handy but then you need an intuitive and easy way to set the steps per encoder click.
4. I found a very interesting project to give haptic feedback for semi-manual machining. https://hackaday.com/2020/03/24/turn-by-wire-is-a-machinists-sixth-sense/
5. Stout beefy levers seem better, i think I need the left/right controls to be a solidly mounted momentary-off-momentary switch with some big detents. I've made m-off-m switches, anyone have a good design to share?
6. I just don't like touch screens. there is no feedback and they can be fiddly.
7. blister buttons are no good, the rocketronics ELS 4 looks very very capable and the UI on the screen is nice, but those buttons....
Click to expand...
Ok....read it. At the end of the day, what are your thoughts and did you make any modifications based on that pages finding? I will have to read it AT LEAST one more time to get much understanding from it.
 
I wanted to post an update and ask for some feedback from folks. I've been playing with haptic feedback and I think you could make a pretty intuitive ELS controller. My requirement is to limit the buttons/knobs and be something you don't have to look at to operate. The idea is to have a single "smart lever" which can act as a toggle, or 3 position switch, or variable detent rotary encoder, even have variable spring load per mode (e.g. rapid mode would have a stronger "virtual spring") etc etc.

I'm wondering what folks think about the control setup I describe below?


P.S. This morning I have fixed the oscillations in the PID loop in a very robust way.
 
I like the whole concept of what you folks are working on, but it’s not for me. My lathe is easily switched to whatever feed and pitch needed just using levers, and after spending my entire career designing computers, processors, printers, disk drives, internet edge devices, control systems and software for all this, I am in no mood to mess up my hobby by pulling in a bunch of work issues. :)

But I applaud your progress and enthusiasm!
 
Winegrower said:
I like the whole concept of what you folks are working on, but it’s not for me. My lathe is easily switched to whatever feed and pitch needed just using levers, and after spending my entire career designing computers, processors, printers, disk drives, internet edge devices, control systems and software for all this, I am in no mood to mess up my hobby by pulling in a bunch of work issues. :)

But I applaud your progress and enthusiasm!
Click to expand...

Unfortunately my lathe came with a banjo designed for a different gear train. It also lacked any clear documentation and the finest feed was very fast. This thread isn't for folks who are happy with their existing gearboxes.
 
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