#linuxcnc Logs
Oct 19 2025
#linuxcnc Calendar
02:17 AM Deejay: moin
04:10 AM Tom_L: morning
04:12 AM lcnc-relay: <lucid.nonsense@> Shwmae
04:15 AM lcnc-relay: <lucid.nonsense@> I need to do some scraping at some point on my mill. Just having some idle thoughts on whether carbide oscilating tool blades is a feasible tool
04:15 AM lcnc-relay: <lucid.nonsense@> Will have to do a test
04:16 AM Tom_L: might be too agressive
04:17 AM lcnc-relay: <lucid.nonsense@> Yeah, might depend a lot on the actual blade, my makita has speed control though
04:19 AM lcnc-relay: <lucid.nonsense@> Think it would be a lot less physically draining than one of those power scrapers or modified reciprocating saw blade
05:19 AM lcnc-relay: <meisterdippel@> moin
05:21 AM lcnc-relay: <lucid.nonsense@> Lo
05:22 AM lcnc-relay: <lucid.nonsense@> Bit depressing how much stuff on Vevor UK is cheaper than I could buy the materials to make them for
07:33 AM lcnc-relay: <100jch@> Hi everyone! Im using linuxcnc for years now and right now im building new machine. I went with ethercat servos and I/O since this seems like a future. Now i have test workbench and currently im stuck with servo motors - i cannot communicate with them, but I have sucessfully tested I/O on beckhoff EK1100. Is there anyone who was building linuxcnc with ethercat priviously and could help me with some issues?
07:46 AM pcw_at_home1: The LinuxCNC forum ( Which has a Ethercat section) is probably a better place for more complex setup questions
07:49 AM lcnc-relay: <100jch@> Just wanted to make sure if anyone could help me here since this could be quicker help with faster answers.
08:02 AM JT-Cave: afaik no one here uses ethercat at least I've not seen anyone talk about it
08:41 AM JT-Shop: I think I can turn the AC's off in the shops and garage
08:55 AM lcnc-relay: <tom_cell@> It was in the 40's here overnight
09:33 AM rdtsc: lucid.nonsense - I think I'd actually prefer the finer control afforded by manual scraping - one slip with a power-tool could mean hours more work
09:35 AM rdtsc: rmu - interesting (imgui) - looks like there is a cimgui wrapper, but things look pretty far "in the weeds" in terms of setup
09:52 AM JT-Shop: rpi5 is out for delivery which means I have a 25% chance of getting and a 75% chance it is dropped off on a similar name street about 15 miles away
09:53 AM * JT-Shop needs to clean up in here
09:59 AM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> Well, as long as this one doesn't go missing as well.
10:02 AM rdtsc: once (before gps nav) I had to go to a long and rounded "L" shaped-street. couldn't find the address... come to find out, the street was named "a" on the horizontal section, "b" on the curve, and "a" again on the vertical section - why oh why?
10:04 AM lcnc-relay: <lucid.nonsense@> rdtsc: Yeah getcha, but think this one will involve a lot of roughing do have a Rennsteig hand scraper as well
10:06 AM rdtsc: sounds like a "fun" project, wish you good luck
10:07 AM lcnc-relay: <lucid.nonsense@> Yes, can hardly contain my excitement...
10:08 AM rdtsc: it won't be that bad... hardest part is getting it apart
10:08 AM rdtsc: maybe :
10:12 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> got some big stainless steel pans to soak the mill head parts in, and the parts I was waiting on for the tractor project are here. Once I reach more optimal caffeination levels, it's off to the shop. Was watching a yt vid later in a series, and I'm laughing at how he goes from a gallon of evaporust, to 5 gallons, to this video, where he has like a 1280 liter tote of it and using a forklift to dunk parts
10:12 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> laughing because I've had similar ideas
10:13 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> although I'd mix my own
10:15 AM rdtsc: lasers do a great job of removing rust, but are still rather pricey
10:19 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> yeah, I'd love one of the $10k rust removing lasers, but that is a lot of cash for me
10:20 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> and I've found a really good rust chelating formula that isn't super spendy, and does a great job
10:20 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> pretty non toxic, also
10:21 AM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> You can get a 1200 watt fiber laser for removing rust for much less than $10,000 these days.
10:21 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> what are they down to?
10:21 AM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> About 4,000
10:21 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> much better, but still a lot
10:21 AM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> Agreed.
10:22 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> they get it down to like 1200, I'll start to be tempted
10:22 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> meantime, I should look at prices on totes
10:24 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> ~ 300-400 usd for a 1250 liter one
10:28 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> lol, 60kg of citric acid, 600 liters of water, 24kg of sodium carbonate, and some dish soap
10:33 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> ok, looks like roughly $800 to set up a tote with 600 liters of solution
10:34 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> the benefit of lasers over this chem is that they will also take off paint, and grease, and don't care what the substrate material is
10:35 AM Tom_L: one shop i worked at year (eons) ago had a caustic soak tank
10:36 AM Tom_L: heated
10:36 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> those are nice, take off paint and grease very well
10:36 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> lots of government regulation, though
10:36 AM Tom_L: back when VWs were the rage
10:36 AM Tom_L: in and out in a day
10:36 AM Tom_L: motor
10:37 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> have built a fair few air cooled VW engines
10:38 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> but then there was this place in So Cal we found that would do a rebuilt with a 1 year warranty for $225 exchange. After you got it in, you had to take it back to them so they could verify ignition timing was correct, and the cooling system was working
10:38 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> then they'd validate the warranty
10:38 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> good rebuilds, too
10:38 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> Oval Motorsports
10:43 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> https://imgur.com/INEoIPg
10:43 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> internet points if you know what this is
10:45 AM ampolloso24 is now known as ampolloso
10:50 AM Tom_L: thermostat
10:53 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> the legendary air cooled vw thermostat
10:54 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> it's fun to mess with people on that one
10:54 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> like water pumps for 1983 corvettes
10:54 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> except it actually exists
10:56 AM Tom_L: jt is restoring a C3
10:57 AM Tom_L: lesliet, not very many
10:58 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> not very many?
10:58 AM Tom_L: he in fact probably just saw one of the rare ones since he just visited Bowling Green
10:58 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> the thermostats?
10:58 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> oh, the corvettes
10:58 AM roycroft: i sold one of those thermostats, nos for $275 a couple years ago
10:58 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> wow
10:58 AM roycroft: they are exceedingly rare these days
10:59 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> I've definitely gotten to the point where I avoid doing much work on the old air cooleds, just due to parts availability, and taxing the counter staff at my job
11:00 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> roycroft: would have thought they were still made in Brazil, but yeah. The times they have changed
11:00 AM roycroft: no, they're not
11:01 AM roycroft: they haven't been made anywhere for at least 20 years
11:01 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> I believe it, I really haven't paid much attention to air cooled vw in at least that long
11:02 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> so many people just threw them away, too
11:02 AM roycroft: yup
11:04 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> reminds me of doing a near complete suspension overhaul on a Corvair a few years ago. Customer found his own parts, a lot of which were bushings made in a shed somewhere in the usa by pouring bushing material into steel shells. He came back about a year later, with the car having mostly sat in a body shop, and every single bushing had big cracks in the "rubber"
11:06 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> hard to find good repro parts for a lot of these old cars
11:12 AM roycroft: when i moved i sold my vw buses and all my vw parts
11:13 AM roycroft: i was kind of sad to do it - i've owned air cooled vw buses almost all my adult life - but it was also a huge weight off my shoulders to be rid of that stuff
11:14 AM roycroft: and selling them is paying for my new shop roof
11:14 AM roycroft: and some other things
11:14 AM _unreal_: My god!!! since I purchased this house and moved in I've been trying to find the two "mouse" pens one for a drawing tablet, one that is a stand alone and the end is an optical mouse but designed like a pen.
11:14 AM _unreal_: I just! found them
11:15 AM _unreal_: In a box that makes sense but had no idea and couldnt find it
11:24 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> I hate moving, so much
11:24 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> takes years to find everything again, if you ever do
11:24 AM lcnc-relay: <Mister Wallace> Relatable
11:24 AM lcnc-relay: <Mister Wallace> Still finding stuff from when we moved a year ago
11:26 AM _unreal_: I was forced to rush out of the old home. but thats related to family and my late father etc.....
11:27 AM _unreal_: Now I'm just trying to dig my self out from under tons of excess stuff that was not mine to begin with.
11:27 AM _unreal_: and in a smaller house
11:30 AM fluffywolf: I have so much crap that moving sounds like an utter nightmare.
11:31 AM _unreal_: I'm also starting to get drown in clients again
11:41 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> _unreal_: better to have that problem, than the reverse
11:41 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> at least for my line of work, I can often just schedule stuff out farther
11:42 AM lcnc-relay: <lucid.nonsense@> Having moved way too many times, including different countries, I'm avoiding it like the plague
11:42 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> at this point, with several large and heavy machine tools, I really don't want to ever move again
11:43 AM lcnc-relay: <lucid.nonsense@> Having said that, when my kid is on his own two feet, I'll probably leave the UK
12:32 PM lcnc-relay: <roguish> Mister Wallace: you out there?
12:33 PM lcnc-relay: <Mister Wallace> Yes but just leaving to pick something up, back thus afternoon. Swinging by for that welder later, too.
12:34 PM lcnc-relay: <roguish> you should come by here... info on mesa boards, ext.
12:34 PM lcnc-relay: <roguish> etc
12:34 PM lcnc-relay: <Mister Wallace> I’ll call ya when I’m back in the area
12:34 PM lcnc-relay: <roguish> ok
01:16 PM _unreal_: lesleit I have a full time job plus my privet clients
01:17 PM _unreal_: everything from cnc stuff to boat work (fiberglass, technical, hardware)
01:17 PM _unreal_: heck last week I did 2 laser engravings on serving boards, they changed the name of the boat. that was $150 for ? an hour of work
01:18 PM _unreal_: I'm trying to figure out how I want to IF I even should bother... to use my kerio ng500
01:19 PM xxcoder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGhGd4ldoLw interesting tool
01:19 PM _unreal_: in the end its just an intel i5 with a custom motheboard that has onboard 7 ethernet ports 2 usb and thats it for external IO plus it has ONE expansion port. though if mem serves I'm missing the riser card?
02:11 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> _unreal_: ok, yeah, that would be way too much for me
02:17 PM rdtsc: rmu, https://github.com/floooh/cimgui-sokol-starterkit is also interesting
02:32 PM JT-MShop: well my odds for actually getting a package from amazon on sunday just doubled to 50%
02:37 PM Tom_L: heh cool
02:55 PM JT-MShop: what kernel are you using on the rpi5?
02:56 PM JT-MShop: and do you compile on linux pc for rpi?
03:23 PM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
03:36 PM Tom_L: i'm using the Jan 2025 kernel and yes i can compile on either platform for both
03:38 PM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
03:38 PM JT-Shop: cool
03:38 PM Tom_L: if you need to change the kernel, copy the image to a blank SD and boot from it
03:38 PM Tom_L: if you see a green screen after a few sec... success
03:39 PM Tom_L: red.... fail
03:39 PM Tom_itx: https://www.cytron.io/tutorial/raspberry-pi-imager-updating-bootloader
03:39 PM Tom_L: just load it like a regular image... ignore all their bs
03:39 PM Tom_itx: https://raspberry.piaustralia.com.au/pages/raspberry-pi-5-eeprom-recovery-guide
03:40 PM Tom_L: there's a github you get them from if you need one but it's nearly steak time!
03:40 PM Tom_L: i'll find it when i get back if you need it
03:40 PM JT-Shop: ok
03:41 PM Tom_L: go ahead and burn the lcnc iso on the nvme with the same rpi downloader thingie
03:41 PM Tom_L: same as you would a SD
03:42 PM Tom_L: use the special attachment for the nvme holder: http://tom-itx.no-ip.biz:443/~webpage/cnc/Rpi5/pics/Nvme_custom_holder.jpg
03:42 PM Tom_L: screws are a pita
03:42 PM JT-Shop: must be why I got 3 screwdrivers with the kit
03:43 PM Tom_L: yeah they're pretty cheap but the thought was nice
03:44 PM Tom_L: if you get to the ethernet stuff follow this to a T for success: http://tom-itx.no-ip.biz:443/~webpage/cnc/Rpi5/rpi5_wifi_steps.txt
03:44 PM Tom_L: http://tom-itx.no-ip.biz:443/~webpage/cnc/Rpi5/boot_order.txt
03:44 PM Tom_L: you can check the boot order if you want but it's probably ok
03:45 PM Tom_L: i think the default on mine was 0xf461
03:46 PM Tom_L: anyway the kid think's he's starving so bbiab
03:46 PM JT-Shop: ok
03:47 PM Tom_L: the eeprom image should be fine but we found Jan 2025 the best so far
03:48 PM JT-Shop: where did you get the image?
03:48 PM Tom_L: one sec
03:49 PM Tom_L: https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-eeprom
03:49 PM Tom_L: click on the 30+ releases on the right
03:50 PM Tom_L: scroll down to the one you want
03:50 PM Tom_L: click on assets and get the SD one
03:50 PM Tom_L: burn to a blank SD
03:50 PM Tom_L: it will self install
03:50 PM Tom_L: turn the screen green for +
03:51 PM Tom_L: rpi-boot-eeprom-recovery-2025-02-11-vl805-000138c0
03:51 PM Tom_L: i think that's the one
03:51 PM Tom_L: no
03:51 PM Tom_L: find Jan
03:51 PM Tom_L: rpi-boot-eeprom-recovery-2025-01-22-2712
03:51 PM Tom_L: there
03:52 PM Tom_L: 5 assets... you want SD
03:52 PM Tom_L: bbl
03:53 PM Tom_L: unplug the nvme when you do it
04:05 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> https://imgur.com/a/bniRGlk
04:05 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> today's efforts.
04:05 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> R2E4 head is stripped down about as far as I'm going to take it
04:05 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> parts ordered
04:06 PM JT-Shop: nice, is that a rigid head bp?
04:06 PM xxcoder: looked like pretty good shape, besides nutella
04:07 PM xxcoder: ah not greased. yeah pretty good though I think
04:09 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> JT-Shop: yes
04:09 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> and yeah, somebody thought it was a good idea to grease the ballscrew for some reason
04:09 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> part of why I decided to strip it down so far was just to clean all that out
04:09 PM JT-Shop: nice, mine is not so any extra pressure will tilt the head which is a pia
04:10 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> but also found loose hardware in a few places
04:11 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> according to the sharpie writing on the back gear, it got new bearings throughout the head a few years ago
04:11 PM JT-Shop: that's great to find
04:11 PM xxcoder: hopefully it was correctly installed but nice
04:11 PM xxcoder: considering grease was used it might not be
04:19 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> exactly
04:19 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> so i figured I'd better go through it and make sure everything is properly torqued, and adjusted
04:19 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> did find one bad bearing
04:20 PM xxcoder: yeah after all that work pull apart and clean it, doing those is almost free
04:34 PM Unterhaus_ is now known as Unterhausen
04:46 PM lcnc-relay: <greg_cnc@> I rebuilt a lathe spindle that had dates just a few years prior. and there was only 1500 hours on the spindle in ~12 years or so. why it needed two rebuilds in that time? who knows.
04:51 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> got a new drive belt coming, the bearing that was bad, some Bijur oil line and parts, and the plastic bushing rebuild kit for both shafts
04:52 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> greg_cnc@: for me it's kind of a confidence thing
04:52 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> If I don't know if a machine was in service, and I'm getting hints it was down, I probably want to go through it before trusting it not to kill me
05:01 PM lcnc-relay: <greg_cnc@> Sure, it helps to know it's ready to use. Old CNC machines seem to need constant repair. I really should replace ALL the 20 year old air lines in this lathe. I'm doing them as they die.
05:03 PM xxcoder: lesliet yeah. one of yt channels, they was figuring why spindle had so much backlash. apparently thrust bearings was installed backwards on the lathe
05:03 PM xxcoder: so it couldnt be properly tightened
05:05 PM xxcoder: well "spindle" isnt exactly correct word but whatever lol
05:08 PM lcnc-relay: <greg_cnc@> It also helps if you don't make it worse during the repair. I forgot to mark the orientation of the drawbar actuator, to the spindle. I tried to balance it but couldn't get it quite right. Ran it that way for years, never above 4kRPM. Realized my balancer wasn't set up correctly and fixed it recently. Much better now, but still not perfect. Need pro equipment or hire it out to get it perfect.
05:09 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> trying to get pics as I go, I make drawings as needed. But yeah, sometimes I miss a key detail
05:09 PM Tom_L: JT-Shop, you up and runnin?
05:09 PM JT-Shop: I'm coasting at the moment
05:09 PM JT-Shop: I'll start in the morning
05:10 PM lcnc-relay: <greg_cnc@> my mistake was going straight for balancing, instead of incrementing the four possible positions. it would have taken all day due to access, but could have been much better, but maybe not.
05:11 PM Tom_L: ok
05:13 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> greg_cnc@: I like watching vids of machine restoration, and there's this one guy that routinely seems to just pull all the gears off a shaft, and clean them in a big pile, and I'm cringing so hard watching. I guess he gets it right, since the stuff runs when he's done, but I have to take a lot of pics, and study details on a gear train. Lots of gotchas
05:15 PM lcnc-relay: <greg_cnc@> Manual and cutaways help a lot. it's the little not so obvious stuff that would be in a service manual that gets you.
05:15 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> nice when there is a service manual
05:15 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> lol
05:16 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> luckily, I found one for this machine
06:08 PM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> Woot, finally have movement on my X axis... Had a bad driver, reversed polarity on the 1st replacement (36v), 2nd one worked a treat.
06:08 PM lcnc-relay: Now to fix homing direction.
06:09 PM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> Going to have to post on the forum for Y homing, it's going the correct way, triggering, backing off, then ramming past the trigger point until hit e-stop
07:15 PM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> Ugh, think i figured it out "home_offset" wasn't set correctly.... had to re-read the docs. a better name for that variable would be "home_switch_location"
07:15 PM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> i had it set to -0.5 ..... thinking it would back off 0.5mm
07:15 PM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> _sighs_
07:40 PM rdtsc: lesliet does the service manual include tolerances? good idea to check those while apart
07:42 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> I haven't seen any called out in the book I have, no. It gives disassembly/assembly, and some maintenance stuff, and a lot about programming the original control
07:43 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> but I may be missing a section or something, will double check
09:05 PM _unreal_: can anyone else open https://www.alibaba.com/
09:05 PM _unreal_: ?
09:10 PM _unreal_: anyone live?
09:11 PM _unreal_: when roycroft dosent even answer its DEAD dead in here
09:15 PM _unreal_: there it goes just loaded
10:27 PM roycroft: i just got home from work
10:28 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> I'm not here either
10:28 PM roycroft: i may not even be real
10:29 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> Fake real or real fake?
10:29 PM roycroft: i could be a figment of someone's imagination
10:29 PM roycroft: someone with a really warped imagination
10:30 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> @roycroft how's the back? I can almost walk like a grown up again.
10:30 PM roycroft: it hurts a lot right now, as a matter of fact
10:30 PM roycroft: but not due to the surgery
10:30 PM roycroft: due to work
10:30 PM roycroft: my boss is moving office, which is why i was at work on a sunday
10:31 PM roycroft: my task is to move the network gear
10:31 PM roycroft: and installing some of the servers in the rack is a 2 person job, even for 2 young, able people
10:31 PM roycroft: my boss asked me how my back was today and i told him it was hurting because moving the servers was a two person job
10:32 PM roycroft: his response was "don't strain yourself"
10:32 PM roycroft: with no help forthcoming
10:37 PM roycroft: other than having to do stuff like that, my back is mostly recovered now
10:37 PM roycroft: i don't have a lot of feeling in parts of it, but nerves take up to a couple years to regenerate
10:37 PM roycroft: and i'm getting more feeling as time goes on
10:38 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> My surgery was about 3 months ago. I started having mild pain just recently.
10:39 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> As the nerves grow back and the swelling goes down.
10:40 PM roycroft: i'm fortunate in that i did not experience anything like that
10:40 PM roycroft: the muscle tightness is all but completely gone
10:41 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> I had a brain tumor just larger than a golf ball for the past 10+ years that 2 hospitals missed.
10:42 PM roycroft: yikes
10:42 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> Benign but pressed on my brain stem.
10:43 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> So I got used to the nerves being distorted under pressure
10:44 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> I was walking within days of the surgery., but everything was just off a little bit.
10:44 PM roycroft: yeah, they had me walking while i was still in hospital
10:45 PM roycroft: but things are still a bit off
10:45 PM roycroft: i experienced mild vertigo several times today while installing the servers
10:45 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> People say I walk fine but it just doesn't feel right.
10:47 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> I had issues with vertigo before surgery. I couldn't do anything lying down or overhead.
10:47 PM roycroft: fortunately, after my pt sessions, the vertigo is not too bad
10:47 PM roycroft: and i know when to expect it, so i'm prepared
10:50 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> I lost hearing in one ear. Getting used to not being able to tell where sounds are coming from is not easy.
10:52 PM lcnc-relay: <captainhindsight_.@> I was in a noisy video arcade last week and it actually helped. Kids screaming, loud music, etc etc
11:10 PM roycroft: at least you're still alive
11:10 PM roycroft: and doing better, it seems
11:10 PM xxcoder: indeed