5 ms·

What is your goal with improving the cnc machine? I’ve used a capacitive distance sensor to measure vibrations in the micrometers and nanometers. At that scale

by d-sc 7y ago

What is your goal with improving the cnc machine? I’ve used a capacitive distance sensor to measure vibrations in the micrometers and nanometers. At that scale things get unintuitive pretty quickly. I doubt your motors and linear tables will be able to keep up with much precision beyond what you can measure with a cheapish digital caliper.

colechristensen 7y ago
Eh. When I'm following my own drives I tend to build something up from basics and improve it's ability to do X until it reaches a certain level of usefulness and I get bored and move on because my goal was building the thing not ever actually doing anything in particular with it. That section of the journey appeals to me. Ultra-precise laser range finders scratch a particular itch. I so often have found myself wanting one and being unable to find something suitable to buy. Let's say, 1mm to 50µm precision at 1cm to 10m distances, in that ballpark. What could I do with it? * Characterize and quantify improvements in machine precision, most of what I do seems to be wild shots in the dark without some better measurement tools. * Add feedback mechanisms to machines – work around imprecise parts and close the loop with cheap and super-precise measurement tools. * Lasers. The key features are programability and range+precision.
- d-sc 7y ago
  Cool! Here’s a couple thoughts I have, forgive me if you already have these in mind. Feedback and Controls: I’ve found that feedback suddenly made a lot more sense and seemed less mysterious once I understood the math behind it. This is the textbook I used: Control System Engineering - Nise And these videos were particularly helpful: https://www.youtube.com/user/ControlLectures https://www.youtube.com/user/ControlLectures Regarding Precise Measurement: It’s hard, something that might not look moving to the naked eye might be vibrating back and forth several uM. I’ve heard that lasers are subject to error from the atmospheres but I’ve never used them myself. Good luck!

by d-sc 7y ago

colechristensen 7y ago

Eh. When I'm following my own drives I tend to build something up from basics and improve it's ability to do X until it reaches a certain level of usefulness and I get bored and move on because my goal was building the thing not ever actually doing anything in particular with it. That section of the journey appeals to me. Ultra-precise laser range finders scratch a particular itch. I so often have found myself wanting one and being unable to find something suitable to buy. Let's say, 1mm to 50µm precision at 1cm to 10m distances, in that ballpark. What could I do with it? * Characterize and quantify improvements in machine precision, most of what I do seems to be wild shots in the dark without some better measurement tools. * Add feedback mechanisms to machines – work around imprecise parts and close the loop with cheap and super-precise measurement tools. * Lasers. The key features are programability and range+precision.

d-sc 7y ago
Cool! Here’s a couple thoughts I have, forgive me if you already have these in mind. Feedback and Controls: I’ve found that feedback suddenly made a lot more sense and seemed less mysterious once I understood the math behind it. This is the textbook I used: Control System Engineering - Nise And these videos were particularly helpful: https://www.youtube.com/user/ControlLectures https://www.youtube.com/user/ControlLectures Regarding Precise Measurement: It’s hard, something that might not look moving to the naked eye might be vibrating back and forth several uM. I’ve heard that lasers are subject to error from the atmospheres but I’ve never used them myself. Good luck!