(Baltimore) Harford Hackerspace » CNC Project

Can I Get an Update?

Squintz — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:09:19 +0000

I know I’m bad with these photo updates. Mostly because I am having too much fun at the Hackerspace that I just forget to take photos. I took a lot more photos than these but it turns out that my flash card was bad and my camera never let me know. I’ll try to recover those images later.

So, last week we finished building the Y axis for our CNC project and we talked about launching a payload into near space. Before that we built a Corstarch Monster for Electronica Fest and we were messing with some PIC kits (microncontrollers) using speakers and LCDs as outputs. Now that I have a new phone which actually takes decent photos (the above were taken with my Palm Pre) I will probably be able to share more of our hackerspace with those of you who don’t like to leave your computer chair.

Weekly Meetings Moved to Wednesday

Squintz — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:05:23 +0000

If you have been following our progress and have not been able to make our Thursday meetings then maybe Wednesday will work for you. Starting on August 12th 2009 our weekly meetings will be moving to Wednesday nights at 7pm. Contact info@harfordhackerspace.org.

Unfortunately, all the photos I took of our CNC Build over the last two weeks were currupted. Hopefully, I will get some photos this week for your enjoyment. It’s coming along nicely. We have added black paint which looks really nice with all the aluminum on it. We have started the y-axis by adding the y-bracket, y-rails, and y-bearings. We have also designed remaining components and are waiting for them to be cut.

Also, we have tested the X-Axis, Motor Controller, and Mach3 Software and all in working well.

Can’t complain about laptop issues!

Squintz — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:48:36 +0000

First, we would like to thank Loyala College in Maryland for their generous donation of a IBM Laptop.

We were all very excited to learn that the IBM laptop came with a built in parallel port. However, after a few hours of hacking and puting the stepper motor on the CNC we found out that the laptops port is not compatible with our CNC. So we will need to resort to a desktop for now. We loaded the laptop with Windows and Linux and I’m sure we will find a million other uses for it.

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X Axis is Finished, Now we take it apart!

Squintz — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:11:41 +0000

I could not help but smile really big during yesterdays meeting. There was the real feeling of a hackerspace with Miles building a prop gun, all of us pitching in on the CNC Machine and a few of us tearing into a work related project of mine. Then to top it all off Logan from Baltimore SDIY stoped by and demonstrated his projects. We all had a great time.

Now we need to take th CNC apart and paint it.

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Continuing the CNC Project

Squintz — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:30:37 +0000

We are really starting to look like a team now. Last night we built the base for the CNC Machine and accurately measured and drilled the holes for our linear bearings. I’m am happy to say we got the bearings marked and drilled correctly the first time. Here are some more photos of the progress.

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We are at it again!

Squintz — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:49:38 +0000

In April we were at RobotFest demonstrating Chris Cockrums CNC Machine. At our last meeting we decided that we would build one as a group which meets the needs of our members. Future projects ideas included etching circuit boards and milling knife handles and guitar necks.

Last Thursday we met in superfro’s garage where we gathered our tools and spare parts and started getting organized. You can find more details about the project on wiki.harfordhackerspace.org or www.harfordhackerspace.org/forum under the Projects section. Since I know everyone loves photos here are a few snap shots from Thursdays meeting.

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