Shapeoko 2 #7353 is Operational

[Brian Stone]

I'm happy to say that #7353 is operational! The "Hello, World!" test passed with flying colors (mostly highlighter-pink).

I'm not going to write a comprehensive build log for this, since there are already plenty, but I will update this thread with some of the problems that I ran across and the solutions I used to mow them down. I'll also share some of the unique things that I plan to do with this unit. The first of those things is going to be a soundproof enclosure. I live in an apartment, so reducing the noise to acceptable levels is a requirement. I spent a lot of time designing an enclosure that should be both simple and effective (and I'm crossing my fingers on the "effective" part of that statement). I'm going to build the enclosure this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some pictures of it to share very soon.

Before I go too far, though, I still need to re-check all the mechanics (tighten bolts, adjust v-wheel contact, apply Loctite, etc.), I need to square the machine, and I need to run a couple of custom draw jobs with the highlighter pen to get the hang of g-code and see if I can actually figure out how to operate this machine without destroying it (which is always a good thing). I don't think I'll actually start cutting anything until well into next week, and that's largely going to depend upon how soundproof my soundproof enclosure turns out to be.

Here are some pictures of the machine just after finishing run #1. The diagonal line crossing out "Shapeoko 2" was drawn when I hit Return To Zero. I expected the z-axis to raise up and then return to zero, but what happened was that the z-axis when down a couple of mm. Clearly there's something that I need to learn about that function before I use it again. I expect a lot of people have made that mistake.

[Brian Stone]

Wonder in amazement at this precision American engineering achievement. It's barely 1/4" off square! How did he do it!?

Well... that's about as good as you can get from the panel saws at Home Depot. But they cut it for free, so I can't complain.

This is supposed to be my soundproof enclosure. It's made out of seven pieces of 3/4" MDF. Unfortunately, for all of the mass that 3/4" MDF has, it isn't quite enough on its own to reduce the noise from the dremel to apartment-acceptable levels. I never really thought that it would be enough, but I was crossing my fingers that I could start cutting tests this week. The overall volume is greatly reduced, of course, but the untunable high-pitched whine of the dremel is still audible even from two rooms away, which means that both of my neighbors can also probably hear it (or at least detect it), and that'll just get worse when I start cutting material. So, I need to get some rubber feet to isolate the box from the table, and I may need to add an external shell with dampers around the whole thing to make it as quiet as possible.

I'm really happy with the LED lighting, though. I used about 4.25 meters of coolwhite 5050 waterproof LED strip (60 LED's per meter), and I'm using a MeanWell 12V/8.5A power supply to drive it. That's plenty of light for working and video capture. I'm planning to install a dedicated camera in the box for monitoring, so I wanted to make sure I had enough light in there from the start.

[ronniemcd]

Polystyrene foam sheets, 1/2 inch thick, lining the box will block most, if not all the rest of the noise. I used to run a generator in it's own little cabinet with air intake and exhaust ports with styrene lining, and you could barely hear it when closed.

Edit: I should note, make sure it's dense foam, not light. Light stuff won't do much.

[tjshape]

Are you using a webcam to live monitor the cutting? I built a similar sound deadening enclosure for my Shapeoko (which I haven't posted about here yet) and contemplated using a webcam to watch the cutting in case I needed to flip the emergency stop switch quickly. I opted for a viewing window though.

[Brian Stone]

I scavenged some 1" insulation foam today. It's just regular polystyrene with mylar backing, though. I'll install it tomorrow and see how well it works.

Are you using a webcam to live monitor the cutting?

Yup, I'm just going to go with a webcam for now. It fits with my work style, since I'm always sitting at my PC at home. I might add a window to the enclosure later on, it would definitely be a nice thing to have, but I don't think it'll be as convenient for me as a dedicated camera. Plus, I'd need a jigsaw or something to cut the window, which I don't have. That's one more tool to put on the wish list.

[tjshape]

How do you like the webcam? Are you able to clearly see the entire work area?


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[Brian Stone]

It works pretty well and I can see the entire work surface with the camera mounted flush to the corner of my enclosure. For the moment, I'm using a Logitech HD Pro. I also have an older 720p camera that has a considerably wider field of view and manually adjusted focus, but I need to buy a longer mini-USB cable for it.

Here's a screen capture of the HD Pro.

[tjshape]

Awesome. I might have to get one of those simply to record the cutting sessions.


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[Brian Stone]

I bought a sound level meter and ran some tests with and without rubber vibration isolation pads. separating the Shapeoko from the enclosure. I'm using 4 solid rubber pads purchased at Home Depot, they measure 1-3/4" base diameter and 1" thick and a made of a fairly tough rubber.

The results are pretty conclusive. With the stock dremel: Without the isolation pads, I get about 67db. With the isolation pads, I get about 61db. While the difference isn't really huge, it is noticeable. The ambient noise level in the room hovers around around 55db.

I should also clarify that this is just a motor spin test. It wasn't cutting any material. I'll do those tests later this week.

I think Sorbothane sheet might work better than these hard rubber hockey-puck pads. That's something I'll probably try in the future.

Ambient Noise Level


Without Vibration Isolation


With Vibration Isolation


It's even quiet enough for the cat...

[Brian Stone]

Anyone who wants to use the DNP611 with the Z-axis belt drive upgrade might be interested in this.

I tore down my SO2 this weekend to begin upgrades and reinforcement mods to install the DNP611, and I quickly discovered (as other's have also discovered) that the spindle doesn't clear the stepper motor plate even with the spindle shimmed as far forward as possible in its mount. The head of the DNP611 is just too fat to fit, but luckily only by a few millimeters. There's a good inch, or so, of Z-axis travel that is lost if you don't do anything about it. Some folks might be okay with that, but it was unacceptable to me since I want at least 3" of plunge depth.

I saw two ways of solving this. I could either shim the entire spindle mount forward by a few millimeters so the DNP611's cap clears the Z-axis plate, which is how most people seemed to have solved the problem. But I realized that could also remove some material from the cap so that the Z-axis plate doesn't interfere. Since shimming the entire spindle forward means that torque effects would be slightly amplified (but probably not much), and it would require hardware that I don't have on hand, I opted to attempt the second idea.

I removed the cap of the DNP611, which is held on by four T20 torx (star socket) screws and comes off easily. I then reved up my dremel with a cutting bit and went to work chopping out a square hole on the side of the cap. I used a sharp Exacto blade to clean up the sides, and then lined the hole with black electrical tape. To make sure the tape stays in place, I rubbed in some CA glue around the edges. It's not the prettiest thing to look at, but it works.

With that, I had reclaimed nearly all of the travel of the MakerSlide. My longest endmill is nearly flush with the bottom when the carriage is as far up as it can go. This simple mod gives me approximately 3.8 inches of plunge depth total.