by BrianV | Dec 12, 2017 | HobbyCNC Blog
One of the things I like to use my DIY CNC router for is to make PC boards using the isolation routing technique. My latest prototype is Isolation routed PCB with solder mask for an opto isolator board to be used with the HobbyCNC Pro when the user experiences...
by BrianV | Sep 20, 2017 | HobbyCNC Blog
I’ve started using checklists. A few nights ago I made a small, careless mistake and wrecked one of my nice 60 degree milling bits (at $14 a pop). My ‘favorite’ mistakes include: restarting LinuxCNC and forgetting to reload my program forgetting to...
by BrianV | Aug 5, 2017 | HobbyCNC Blog
Making sure your stepper motor wiring is robust and secure is critical. Most (all?) stepper motor driver instructions include the warning “do not connect/disconnect motors while power is applied”. Curious why? A brief-yet-incomplete intro to stepper motors...
by BrianV | Jul 14, 2017 | HobbyCNC Blog
I recently assembled 5 PRO 4-axis boards. I’m pretty careful. I follow directions. I am quite familiar with the boards. Only 60% (three out of five for you non-math types) worked first time! Oh the shame. Careful(er) visual inspection revealed the problems: One...
by BrianV | Jun 15, 2017 | HobbyCNC Blog
Had an interesting tech support problem last week. The customer was measuring wrong voltages all over his HobbyCNC board. The 5 Volt test point measured 4.85 Volts. The test point should be between 4.95 and 5.05 Volts (5 Volts +/- 1%). The output of the LM317HV should...
by BrianV | Apr 22, 2017 | HobbyCNC Blog
Should you use shielded wire or not? I don’t use any shielded wire on my DIY CNC, and I haven’t had any noise or ‘phantom triggers’. I do notice interference (like a ‘fuzzyness’) on my computer monitor when I hit the power to my...
