Category Archives: Electronics

CNC Build, Day 9 – under the gun

Posted on August 12, 2010 by jimbo

I realized last night that if I got the “wood parts” of the CNC machine up and running, I would still need to have the “electronic” parts working. I also realized that I am essentially out of time before the … Continue reading →

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CNC – It’s on

Posted on August 3, 2010 by jimbo

After a weekend of hard labor in the garage, I’ve cleared enough space to get started on the CNC project. Today, I ordered the electronics package from KelingInc: Gecko G540 3x 425oz-in stepper motors 48v/7.3A power supply E-stop switch and … Continue reading →

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CNC software – designing Cerberus

Posted on July 29, 2010 by jimbo

CNC software is a three-headed beast (hence “Cerberus”). To go from “idea” to “cut piece”, you need: – CAD software, to build the 3D model of the object (or the “2.5D” layout, or the 2D circuit diagram or whatever); – … Continue reading →

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CNC plans on hold

Posted on July 21, 2010 by jimbo

I will continue researching CNC software and firmware, maybe build out my CNC Etch-a-Sketch like I’d been wanting to. I don’t know if the Ladyada Motor shield can juice the motors up enough to drive the EaS, but I can … Continue reading →

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CNC – Electronics

Posted on July 19, 2010 by jimbo

The electronics for a CNC machine are reasonably complicated, and consist of: – 3 motors, one per axis, which drive the leadscrews that position the axes, driven by – 3 “motor drivers”, one per motor; the boards convert TTL-level “step” … Continue reading →

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CNC – design ideas

Posted on July 18, 2010 by jimbo

After much research, I have decided that I should aim to build a moving-gantry, 3-axis mill, with a 2′ x 4′ bed (sized for a 1/4 sheet of plywood, although I will only be able to use about 20″x40″ of … Continue reading →

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DIY CNC – A Mathematically Constrained Robot

Posted on July 9, 2010 by jimbo

Ah, CNC. The promise of turning idea into creation. The idea of owning a CNC machine appeals to me on many levels. I often have project ideas that I can’t figure out how to construct because of my limited toolset … Continue reading →

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Sidereal time

Posted on July 2, 2010 by jimbo

The stars rise about 4 minutes earlier every day, making them seem to march ever-westward across the sky. I received the gift of a real-time clock (RTC) circuit last week, and it got me to thinking about how to convert … Continue reading →

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RFID Reader kit, redux

Posted on June 25, 2010 by jimbo

My last build of the RFID kit was a little messy, so I decided to re-wire it from scratch on a clean breadboard.

Posted in Electronics | 2 Comments

RFID Reader Kit

Posted on June 21, 2010 by jimbo

I have been wanting to learn RFID lately, so I picked up an Arduino-based RFID reader/writer kit while at Maker Faire last month. I built the kit according to the photos I found on the author’s (is a kit maker … Continue reading →

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