Nebula Controller Failure :(

Alas, the Fall 2017 semester has ended. The rotary axis on our Nebula was key to the success of a few student projects. Having a talented student employee handle many of the CNC job requests did ease up on my personal CNC work load, but didn't come close to eliminating it. A quick check of the files I have on the USB drive I carry around at all times has 54 unique Aspire files and 3x that many toolpath files with a fall 2017 date stamp on them. This is after I filter the CNC requests and turn many students away as their requests can often be done more easily/efficiently on other machines.

I've come up with a good way to connect leg parts that have to appear as if they pass through a table top or shelf, but it is a challenge to create toolpaths for when the leg parts are tapered and pass through the shelf at a compound angle. Drafting techniques I learned several decades ago in high school are how I solve these CNC joinery challenges. It appears current architectural college students aren't being taught drafting as I learned it though. CAD yes, but not problem solving using drafting techniques.

We also have concluded our Nebula is not as accurate as our Meteor is. When both halves of a joint are cut on the Meteor we can get repeatable precise fits. When the same files are used to cut one half on the Meteor and the other half on the Nebula the fit is less predictable.

I've put in a request to upgrade both CNCs to air cooled spindles, and add a new Comet to replace an old CNC-Shark. The Comet we want would have the new taller gantry sides and larger gantry beam from Probotix. That should make it a machine capable of cutting taller 3D furniture parts, and perhaps stiff enough to cut aluminum parts.

4D

I didn't look up the specs. How big is the frame for the V90?

The adjustable height work table/dual router work center I built is based on a RV scissor jack from Harbor Freight. I bought that model because it had the bolt head welded on the jack so a drill with a socket can easily operate it.

Maybe you can make something similar that would fit your frame. Might take two jacks so you can easily level the frame from each end.

Seems like even in the simplest form, you could jack it up (or down) and pin bolts through predrilled holes. That should be pretty easy to do.

Here is the link to my project.

http://www.routerforums.com/show-n-tell/46562-adjustable-height-workstation-router-table-more.html

Hope this helps and gives you some inspiration.
Mike

It appears the Delrin lead rod nut on our X axis (gantry) may be due for replacement. The Y axis nuts may be next. Probotix describes them: The Delrin anti-backlash nuts are designed to wear and may need to be replaced periodically,...

The Nebula was the most used CNC for the 2 years we were in temporary shop spaces. The nuts may be where the precision of our cuts is getting reduced. It looks like the stepper(s) will have to be unscrewed from their mounting plates, couplers loosened, and stop rings loosened from the lead rods to allow the nuts to spin off the end of the threaded rod. The nut mounting block with the limit switches attached may have to be disassembled so that the steppers don't have to have to be cut free to get out of the way.

A puzzle I'm not looking forward to.

4D