CNC machines require a way to transmit the power made from the actuators to drive its linear axes. The most popular linear drives used for CNC machines are: Leadscrews, ball screws, rack and pinion and belt drive. Each of these linear drive components has their own pro’s and con’s and I’ll be highlighting them, along with what machine they would best suit.
CNC machines require a way to transmit the power made from the actuators to drive its linear axes. The most popular linear drives used for CNC machines are: Leadscrews, ball screws, rack and pinion and belt drive. In this post I’ll be going over leadscrews – What they are, how to read their specifications and what type of machine they are best suited to.
Stepper motor drives are the devices which convert the signals coming from the computer, and the power coming from the power supply into high power electrical signals that will power and move the stepper motors.
Cartesian coordinate system is used in CNC to numerically assign direction and plane of movement. A Cartesian coordinate system is made up of reference lines called a coordinate axis, or just axis. These axes are all measured in the same unit of length (for CNC it would be inches or millimeters).
This coordinate system allows CNC machines to be controlled along each plane of movement. It is at the very heart of CNC technology and you will need to understand it well in order to be able to operate and program CNC machines.
Breakout boards are the interface between a computer and a CNC machines various different electronic components (motor drives, motor speed controllers, limit switches, etc). Breakout boards will break out every pin or wire from an interfaces connector so that we can easily interface with it. CNC breakout boards often have many features that allow us to more easily and safely add more functionality to our CNC machines.
SketchUp is a software produced by Google. It is a very unique CAD (Computer Aided Design) software that allows you to easy create complex, multi component parts just using your mouse. You can visit Google’s SketchUp website to download SketchUp for free and get started designing.
I’ll be going over the basics of setting up the units to use (Metric or Imperial) and creating components. Components are a very important part of using SketchUp.
Loading ...
The Different Types of CNC Machines
Build or Buy?
Where to Begin?