Dual Head 4'x8" Router retrofit from Rich Auto DSP A11

[Grifftek]

Hi Guys

I am ready to start my next retrofit and I have the PC configured and bench tested already and I'm looking for some advice.

First off, this machine has dual spindles and dual inverters, The space between the spindles is adjustable and each spindle can be retracted independently from Z0.0









As I see it, it's possible to use one spindle for tool 1 and the other spindle for tool 2 if you account for the distance between the spindles, or you can use both spindles in conjunction with each other for machining the same part simultaneously if you can get the tool length to be the same. I imagine that there is some adjustable hard stop on the spindle which will make this a fairly easy adjustment, but I haven't looked into it yet.


Currently, the spindle on off and speed is controlled independently from VFD operator panels mounted on the front of the machine and spindle engaged or disengaged (spindle up or down) is currently controlled by an air valve turned on and off with a button from the control panel. having acorn control both spindles independently would be nice, but there is only one DAC and limited i/o but I'm sure there is some way to make this happen, but maybe it's not worth it?



The machine uses Leadshine motors and drives. I do not have a photo of the stepper motors at this time, but have many photos of the drive cabinet:





Currently, there are 2 motors on the gantry and the input to the drives are wired in parallel. I have the pro software so I intend on using the axis pairing to drive the dual motors.

One of the things I question is whether down the road I will miss having a 4th axis on the machine vs having the ease of gantry squaring via the homing routine. What have others done in this situation? How well does parallelling the dual drivers work? What does the squaring routine look like for parallel driven drivers? Can the axis be squared up and locked into position and then power up the drivers?

Maybe I just do the minimum amount of work to get the Acorn running in place of the Rich Auto DSP control and install some dial indicators on the gantry and see whats going on with it during homing and return to zero and then move on from there?

I'm also looking for input on whether to wire the existing controllers to the DB25 (no need for a 5 volt supply) or use the open collector outputs? I like using the DB25 as its a really clean way to make the connections, but then so are the phoenix connectors!

I have another router machine that only has one Yaskawa servo on the gantry and its dual rack and pinion drive via what looks to be about a 1 1/8" drive shaft running across the gantry. Not sure how well this situation works either, I cannot feel any play on either side of the rack and pinion. As the system wears, I'm sure the resulting error gets larger. I have not used either of these machines up to this point. I hope to replace the existing Syntec control with the acorn if the linear tool changer can be accommodated but that will be the subject of a different thread!

[cnckeith]

- torque tubes for one motor dual drive gantrys work really well if they are done right.

- for the dual head machine, are you trying to run them independently? or are they on the same Z axis? looks like they are on the same Z axis..just want to be sure.

- there is only one analog out on an Acorn control board.. so your options are to wire the signal in parallel for speed control so they both run a same speed when commanded with a S command or use the inverters remote control pad manually like alot of routers do.

[Grifftek]

Hi Keith, thanks for the reply!

Yes, both spindles are attached to the same ball screw driven Z-axis but each can be raised above Z zero pneumatically to engage or disengage them. Currently, they are only manually controlled but it would be more convenient if they were controlled by Acorn but there may not be enough outputs depending on the other features. If I connect them both to a single DAC, I guess I could use separate m codes to turn either of them on or off or both on but set at the same speed.

Just curious, does the Oak board have dual DAC outputs?

Regards

Bill Griffin

[cnckeith]

oak has an expansion card that gives you 4 additional analog in and out.

[dbunyip]

I've got a dual spindle router that I went from the richauto to acorn. My Y axis has dual motors and are wired in parallel, haven't done any measuring the change in the square but it has not been a problem in my parts as of yet. I run the spindles as T1 and T2, I got no help in setting them up but how I did it was using G52 offset. It works but the graph function is wrong when T2 is called. I'm sure there is a better way of doing it but thats the best I could figure out and works.

[Grifftek]

Do you have a retrofit log for your machine? Any photos etc?

I did a little bit more work last night, removed the old stepper drive cabling and replaced it with new shielded and grounded cable. I have ordered a few more parts, hopefully, they will arrive today. If they do, ill probably get to see it run under acorn power this evening.

It would be nice if centroid would either just provide a dual 5vdc / 24vdc so we don't have to source an additional power supply. Or at the very least have an upgrade option to pay a little more and get the 5 volt supply.

here are a couple more photos from last night:










Regards
Bill

[martyscncgarage]

Do you have a retrofit log for your machine? Any photos etc?

I did a little bit more work last night, removed the old stepper drive cabling and replaced it with new shielded and grounded cable. I have ordered a few more parts, hopefully, they will arrive today. If they do, ill probably get to see it run under acorn power this evening.

It would be nice if centroid would either just provide a dual 5vdc / 24vdc so we don't have to source an additional power supply. Or at the very least have an upgrade option to pay a little more and get the 5 volt supply.



Regards
Bill

Nice build Bill, keep the photos coming.
Last couple Acorns I got had the dual voltage output power supplies. When did you buy yours?
I thought they started to supply them???
Marty

[Grifftek]

My BAD!
I have now opened all of the 5 units and they all have dual voltage power supplies! It was only the first unit that was ordered for the plasma cutter that didn't have the dual supply!

[Grifftek]

A couple nights ago I was able to hook things up temporarily to "bench test" things while I was waiting for the new dual supplies to arrive as well as the DB 25 breakout (the side entry versions will work better for me with the wire ferrules).

Here are a few photos and a link to a video:



Please bear in mind this is not the finished product, this was simply to see some movement!







http://www.grifftek.com/grifftek/Custom ... 001301.mp4

http://www.grifftek.com/grifftek/Custom ... 234644.mp4

Bill

[Grifftek]

I am getting closer to doing the final finished wiring. What do people normally do with the open collector drive fault outputs? I seen Gary used a relay board to deal with this.

Can these outputs all be wired in parallel and hooked to the drive OK input? I know there will be no indication as to which drive faulted but it will at least stop motion if there is a fault. I have 4 stepper drives and 2 inverters. I haven't looked up the schematic for the inverter drives yet but I will be surprised if it isn't an open collector output also.

Thanks

Bill