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CarBEN EV open source electric car design

Discussion in 'Sketchup Gallery' started by NeilBlanchard, Jun 15, 2011.

  1. Evil-Tunes

    Evil-Tunes Moderator Staff Member

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    [​IMG]
    What MPG were you getting before the aero-mods on the Scion xA?

    The CarBEN EV is looking great.


    Cheers
    E-T
     
  2. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    I averaged ~37MPG year round before, and after this is up above 45MPG for a year round average.

    I'm hoping that the CarBEN EV5 will get 300+MPGe...
     
  3. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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  4. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    The stronger stepper motor I ordered for my X-axis came yesterday. It lacks a flat spot on the shaft -- I will mount it and then grind a flat spot on the shaft in the right spot. I've done this sort of thing for my slot cars before.

    I'm still waiting for the rails.
     
  5. TigerPilot

    TigerPilot Well-Known Member

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    Sheesh, Neil. Just grind a flat the length of the shaft and it will be on the right spot. It's much easier to grind it before you install the stepper and you want to have a play anyway for just in case or for future adjustment. I grounded mine about 3/4 down the length of the shaft.
     
  6. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    Okay, but I'll leave a bit of the round shaft at the tip, so that the pulley won't slip off. No worries.
     
  7. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    Okay, I'm confused: I remade the F1 sheet layout and exported the g-code in the same file that worked before; but the X-Axis motion is "compressed" by about half? I used the same settings file that I have before.

    I have the CNCUSB DIP switches all set to 1 (same as before). Can someone set me straight, please?

    I have another question: I have now replaced the X-axis stepper with a higher torque unit, and when I tried to jog it, it made about 3 or 4 jumps (not smooth motion) and promptly blew the fuse on the CNCUSB board for the X-axis. This cannot be good.
     
  8. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    It appears that the most depth that I can cut is about 1 7/8" in depth. I have the bit extending exactly 2" and it cannot use quite all of that, because the gantry hits the pressure rollers, and the bit still kisses the top of the foam with the gantry all the way up. Bummer -- I cannot cut all the way through my 50mm/1 15/16" thick foam.

    So even with the chuck extended so the jaws just clear the foam surface, the gantry cannot lift the tip of the 2" length of bit above the foam to traverse safely.

    Mark -- how much work would be involved with getting a gantry with about 2 1/2" of Z motion?
     
  9. dugd1013

    dugd1013 Member

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    With all the modifications you have been dealing with wouldn't it be easier to utilize a thinner sheet such as 1"? Seems like spliting a 4'x8'x1'' would be less of a challenge than working through all the 2" foam difficulties.
     
  10. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    That thought has crossed my mind. But doubling the number of section from 85 to 170 would be a lot more work. I am *this* close to getting this to work. I think I have solved the skewing issue, and then this compression of the X-axis happened...

    I'll swap the stock NEMA 23 motor back in (more LocTite and fussing with wires) and I'll double/triple check the .settings file, and the Phlatboyz Tools settings before I make the g-code file. It was running smoothly; just incorrectly.

    The DIP switches are all in the on/1 position, as they should be -- this worked fine before; except for the skewing. I don't know what could have changed to cause this.
     
  11. 66tbird

    66tbird Moderator Staff Member

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    Glad your almost there. Has the hot knife approach been run up the flagpole? I used it the other day with some thick bead foam for a rough cut. It was a simple welding rod in a big 400W soldering iron. Cut like butter at 4'' depth.
     
  12. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    Yes, a hot wire/knife has been suggested. I prefer the cut surface to a melted surface, the fumes would be nasty, and it would be a lot more work to build.

    A small update on CarBEN EV5: one step forward and two steps back on using the PhlatPrinter 3, unfortunately. It was working but I was having trouble with the sheet of foam skewing i.e. drifting so the second cut pass was not lining up with the first. I think I have the solution for that (side rails with rollers to hold the sheet straight) and I redid the layout of the parts on the sheet to reduce the length of the cuts, and to add attachment tabs so the bit lifted up out of the foam regularly to both cool it and to help clear the dust.

    But, when I tried to run the revised sheet, the X-axis direction was "compressed" to about half of what it was supposed to be. :(

    I had bought a stronger stepper motor on the X-axis (that I understood would still work with the Planet CNC driver board), and the stock motor was quite warm to the touch after this brief aborted run. The X-axis is doing a lot more work than the other two, since it has to move/accelerate the entire sheet of foam.

    I decided to then install the stronger stepper motor but the motor pulsed about 3 times, and blew the fuse. So, I reinstalled the original stepper motor, replaced the fuse (2.5A) and it blew the fuse after only a second of being powered up. :( :(

    Also, I have figured out that the deepest I can cut is ~1 7/8", due to the limits of the Z-axis rails on the gantry. I can live with this, but I have asked whether a revised gantry could be made with ~2 1/2" of Z range could be made. This would allow there to be 2 1/4" of cutting length on the bit, so ~1/16" would stick through the sheet, ~1/8" would be above the sheet so the dust / cuttings could be cleared out, about ~1/16" of straight shank out of the chuck, and there would be about 1/8" clearance on the topside when the bit is traversing.
     
  13. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

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    Sounds like the X drive chip has gone bad maybe from pulling to many amps from the bigger stepper.This is my fault as I thought that the bigger stepper may work out for this project.
    I am thinking that you may need to slow these cuts down a bit so that your not losing steps pulling that thick foam around? You can do this in cncusb by putting a check box next to the F: box and entering in a number lit 50 and hit enter. This should slow the whole process down and give you better results. As for redesigning the gantry for this project it can be done but as you say it would be a lot of work.
    I like the idea of attaching a hot knife and giving it a try, you could add the length of wire you need there would be very little toque and it would be much simpler to make then a new longer gantry. Maybe clamp one to the Z just to see if it would work at all first?
    I have driver chips here so if you need some let me know and I will shoot them out to you.
    Keep up the good work, this is an awesome project and the obstacles you need to overcome to complete it will expectantly be big as well.
    Mark and Trish
     
  14. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    I think that it must be the chip that is bad -- could it have been failing and caused the "compression" of the X motion?

    I had slowed the cutting down to 25" / minute and I think that it could be slightly faster, if the skew is kept in check by the side rail; which certainly seems doable. At that speed it did not lose *any* steps, and actually closed the longest cut (a total of at least 20 FEET) with less than 1/16". I have reduced that piece by about 8' and I've added tabs, so the cuts should be plenty good enough for my purposes.

    By the way, the percentage of depth setting for the tabs -- if I want to leave 10% of the material, do I insert 90% or 10% in the PhlatTools settings?

    I'm going to keep trying to use the rotary tool unless it simply cannot be made to work. So, I'll not worry about a heated cutter, just yet.

    Please do send the chip(s) I need. Is this under the heatsink? And I'll be happy to also purchase another (all metal?) pulley for the stepper; since I snapped off the set screw, and if it comes loose, I'll be up the creek.

    So, I need to figure out how to cut the last 1/8-1/4" in the bottom of the groove -- I think I'll clamp 2 hacksaw blades in the handle I have, and sharpen the tip. The single blade "wanders" and I end up hacking up my *precision* cut pieces... ;)

    I really want a reason to clear out my garage! Eventually, this project will require an addition to my 1-car garage. :eek: :D
     
  15. Evil-Tunes

    Evil-Tunes Moderator Staff Member

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    Put thin pieces of wood on one side of the saw or xcato blade to fill the 1/8 slot so it dosent wander and you can cut it from the top side using the slot as a guide?

    Cheers
    E-T
     
  16. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    Yes, but it is surprising how much the blade angles as it wanders around curves. I cut the entire 1/4 scale model of CarBEN by hand, and that was an education. And the 7 pieces I cut from the first sheet I cut got angled edges; though I was not taking my time.

    Let's just say I was hoping to cut all the way through, except for the tabs, but I will use a keyhole saw or something a bit more controllable than the compact hacksaw:
    [​IMG]
     
  17. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

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    I have been thinking about this and I think it could be done with a new attachment that allows for the spindle to be moved up so that a longer bit could be added
    This should work as the Z travel is about 3" and with the longer bit you would have plenty of room for the depth of the cut.
    Mark and Trish
     
  18. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    That would be awesome! I was told about a company that makes many bits, that is right in the next town from me:

    http://www.2linc.com/

    I'll be checking with them soon about longer foam cutting bits.
     
  19. Mark44

    Mark44 Member

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  20. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    The issue with a knife is the width of it -- it would have to be held in a caster so that it would work in the X and Y directions and all 360 degrees. That would be a challenge, for sure.
     
  21. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    It looks like the X-axis channel on my driver board has failed -- the fuse blows as soon as it is powered up; even with a new chip.

    Has anyone used the 10A version of the driver board in your PhlatPrinter 3?
     
  22. jovian

    jovian Member

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    Not sure if this helps but this is the hot knife I use. I got it at michaels by the foam/floral foam section about $20. works well blade is about 4-5" long. could easily make a z plate for this

    Attached files [​IMG]
     
  23. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    Thanks, but I need to get my PhlatPrinter 3 working again, and I *think* I've ironed out the main issues with the accuracy, so if I can get it running again, I can use the stock cutter to get what I need.

    I've got so much work to do *after* getting the ~85 foam sections cut, that unless it totally stalls with the rotary cutter, I am unlikely to take the steps to getting a hot cutter set up and troubleshooting that...

    Any thoughts on the 10 amp driver board? I will probably click "Buy" on that very soon.

    I'm headed into MIT tonight with my spouse's iPad, to attend their Energy Night:

    http://energynight.mit.edu/MIT_Enrgy_Night/Welcome.html
     
  24. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    Hey Neil, check this out for some inspiration. viewtopic.php?p=31337#p31337

    The 10 amp board looks nice but I don't know anything about it.
     
  25. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

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    Hi Neil,
    Not sure about the 10amp board but I have been drooling over it for a while now. I was hoping to get a sample board to try out (hint,hint) :D
    I think your best bet would be to talk with Hector (Easy-Cnc owner) and see if he thinks this will work with your setup. If you can give him the motor specs I am sure he can let you know.
    Here is his contact
    http://www.easy-cnc.com/contact.html
    Mark and Trish
     

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