Tobias 🌾

Almost done, of course I'm missing a D-SUB connector for the back panel... 🙃

Finally getting around to installing the I/O expansion card for the wireless probe and lubrication system. While I'm at it, I'll also put in the driver for the 4th axis. ✌️

This is the size difference between my current probe (right) and my own wireless design. This would give me quite a bit more Z travel which is nice, plus the benefit of not having to plug in the wire every time. Still needs a lot of testing. I'm also just using a makeshift receiver at the moment.

I haven't posted much about the design yet, since I'm still tweaking things. It uses the common 3-leg mechanism for simplicity. Spring loaded contacts then connect it to the main board.

Yes, the goal is a small wireless probe. Small is the important part, since I'm pretty limited in Z travel on my machine.

I made some progress, still far from done, but already doing some repeatability testing. So far I didn't break anything. 🤞

Guess what, it happened again. 🥲

Rending of a circuit board, Components and soldermask look pretty realistic.

Spun up a new design to add an ESP32-C3 module to the back of the flip-dot module, along with DC power input.

Got a little carried away in inkscape for the silkscreen.
Trying out github.com/30350n/pcb2b..., a plugin that is in the KiCad PCM for exporting textures directly into blender, works great

Can't let this become another 'It still needs firmware' project. 🙃

This cute little voltage regulator makes 0603 capacitors look huge by comparison. 😅

This happens when capacitors get a little too cozy during reflow. 🧐

Well infrared meaning the trigger signal is transmitted wirelessly. There are a few on the market that are mainly for bigger milling machines and are way too big and expensive for my use case.
I'm currently using this one from Sorotec but it's already a bit long for my machine and ofc wired.

Don't want to go into too much detail yet, since there is still a lot of work to be done. But the goal is to build a small IR touch probe for my cnc. This top part will provide power to the main pcb via the pogo pins and handle charging via USB port. Hopefully I'll be able to show more soon.🤞

First board assembled. 😇
Also decided to get the housing 3D-printed, rather than trying to mill it myself, for the time being.

Finally working on some electronics stuff again. Got 2 boards that I need to assemble.
I've spent most of the last year building the CNC, so it's been a while. Maybe I should get some fresh solder paste. 🤔

Tried milling M2 threads for this part, which worked surprisingly well. I thought for sure I was going to break this tiny thread mill. 😅
But I have a few more parts in the works that also require M2 threads, so there will still be enough opportunities for me to break it. 🙃

Nice, I've done a few of these over the holidays, very fun! 😊

Good luck on all that comes next, excited to see what you'll be up to at Opulo! ✌️

Was looking through the config files of my cnc controller and found this.
Guessing this is used to check if the config file is complete?
Love it! ☕😄

I hate routing circular boards, even simple ones like this.
Parts at odd angles, free angle routing, uneven numbers... Uhhh nightmare fuel. 😨

This part will be interesting to machine. I'm not even sure this will even work with my current setup 😅. I'll need to add a 4th axis for sure.

This tool rack from End-CNC was quite a big inspiration for this: makerworld.com/de/models/11...

Needed something to store my HSK32 tool holders. Couldn't find anything off the shelf, so I'm making my own tool rack. I think 12 slots will be enough for now, my wallet will thank me for this. 😅

The thought of crashing this beauty is a constant source of anxiety. 😰

It looks so cozy. 😊

YouTube video by Tobi's Lab Milling a Base Plate for Mod Vise

Here is the cut down version of how I milled the plate 🎥: youtu.be/7WwDZHnVcdU

However, milling the 24 M6 threads worked great. I was a bit worried about having to buy another thread mill. 😬
I'll be uploading a video of it at some point. It'll probably take a few days though.

Finished machining the plate today! Ran into a few minor issues, but learned a ton! Clamping wasn't ideal, since I didn't have a big enough vise. My compressor shut off at times, so my minimal lubrication system didn't always work. Also probing the part for OP2 by it's sawed edges: don't recommend.😅

Only missing the last ~30 seconds, could have been worse.😮‍💨

I just finished machining the first OP of the fixture/base plate. Took off the action cam to stop the recording, only to find out it overheated at some point, nice... Hopefully not too much is missing. 🫠