MaslowCNC
Regarding the Maslow CNC, I'm still supposed to cut a new sled for it, but I think people can start using it if they like
I'm not very familiar with CNC workflows, I mostly just followed the setup instructions to get it to the point it is now. The firmware on the arduino is up to date as of yesterday and shouldn't need to be touched for now. The program that is used to control the machine is called Ground Control
http://maslowcommunitygarden.org/GroundControl.html?instructions=true
That link has the instructions for installing it and link to the user guide.
We don't have a dedicated machine for the Maslow CNC so did the testing and calibration on my laptop. To share the results of the calibration, According to a note on the Maslow forums: *"groundcontrol.ini’ is the file you need. It is found in your home directory. The serial connection and the path to the .nc file will probably be different on a different PC*, but everything else will be the same." (edited)
Our machine has the z-axis installed, but you may want to double check that the zero point for it is correct. It looks like we load gcode files into ground control, so that file would need to be generated by other means.
Here is a link to the Maslow github: https://github.com/MaslowCNC
Please feel free to start using the machine. the caveat is that it the final sled should improve the accuracy of the machine once it is installed. The directions for the final sled are toward the bottom of this page: http://maslowcommunitygarden.org/Maslow-Ring-System.html?instructions=true (edited) The final sled has been cut but needs to be attached to the router. (Matt A)
The manual and wrenches for the rounter are in the orange/black nylon bag under the machine. There is also a vacuum attachment for the router in there.
Ground Control
Ground Control is the software which controls the MaslowCNC. Most control is stanard GCode, but some instructions are adjusted on the fly for stability. The software is installed on the PC which is also connected to the Roland MDX-40. The calibration settings file has been ported to that machine, and the final sled was cut while connected to that machine.
One issue I have seen is that the USB port drops connections occasionally during cuts. This is annoying to troublesome as it may cause calibration issues (just try and continue anyways) or stop the cut completely.
Try this fix: https://helpdeskgeek.com/how-to/prevent-windows-from-powering-off-usb-device/
groundcontrol.ini
https://github.com/noisebridge/config/tree/master/maslow_cnc
groundcontrol.ini holds all the settings required for GroundControl. The file must be placed in the home directory of the user. in Linux, for example, this is $HOME. In windows it is the variable $userprofile%. It will also store the last file opened, which may be different for anyone using someone elses' file. It will say the file cannot be found, but it's not a big deal.
[Computed Settings] distperrot = 63.5 kpposmain = 1300 kiposmain = 0 kdposmain = 34 propweightmain = 1 kpposz = 1300 kiposz = 0 kdposz = 34 propweightz = 1 distperrotrightchaintolerance = 63.50000 kpvmain = 5 kivmain = 0 kdvmain = 0.28 kpvz = 5 kivz = 0 kdvz = 0.28 chainoversprocketcomputed = 2 fpwmcomputed = 3 kinematicstypecomputed = 2 distperrotleftchaintolerance = 63.50000 [Maslow Settings] bedheight = 1219.2 openfile = motoroffsety = 430.0 sledwidth = 310 zaxissafeheight = 5 bufferon = 0 bedwidth = 2438.4 comport = COM3 macro1_title = Macro 1 sledheight = 139 macro2 = macro1 = zaxis = 1 sledcg = 79 macro2_title = Macro 2 colorscheme = Light zdistperrot = 3.17 motorspacingx = 2994.12 [Advanced Settings] rotationradius = 124.2 chainextendlength = 1650 kiv = 0 gearteeth = 10 spindleautomate = None kdvz = 0.28 chainsagcorrection = 22.089103 chainpitch = 6.35 chainlength = 3360 propweightz = 1 zencodersteps = 7560.0 maxfeedrate = 800 enablepospidvalues = 0 rightchaintolerance = 0 enablevpidvalues = 0 maxtouchprobeplungedistance = 0.0 kpvz = 5 kdposz = 34 chainoversprocket = Bottom kpposz = 1300 fpwm = 490Hz kdpos = 34 encodersteps = 8113.73 truncate = 0 homex = 0.0 homey = 0.0 kinematicstype = Triangular kipos = 0 kdv = 0.28 kiposz = 0 digits = 4 kppos = 1300 kpv = 5 propweight = 1 positionerrorlimit = 2.0 kivz = 0 leftchaintolerance = 0 [Ground Control Settings] zoomout = pagedown centercanvasonresize = 0 viewscale = .45 zoomin = pageup validextensions = .nc, .ngc, .text, .gcode [Background Settings] backgroundfile = manualreg = []
Final Sled
The final sled gcode is here: https://github.com/noisebridge/config/tree/master/maslow_cnc named part.nc