#linuxcnc Logs

Mar 22 2023

#linuxcnc Calendar

12:37 AM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
01:17 AM travis_farmer[m]: G'Morning ☕️
01:29 AM XXCoder: lol https://www.reddit.com/r/Machinists/comments/11y9gwm/it_aint_stupid_if_it_works/
01:32 AM randy: morning
01:51 AM Deejay: moin
03:41 AM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
03:43 AM Loetmichel: unterhaus: well, if you give up on every minor setback you'll never get anything done. If the finger was able to be stitched back on everything is fine again, no?
03:45 AM Loetmichel: roguish[m]1: well, i just touched the top of the spinning blade with the back of 2 fingers. shaved off a bit of skin but didnt even need stitches. Talk about lucky. Was quite the scare after the fact though, the moment you notice what just happend and how it COULD have ended makes you pretty somber.
04:53 AM Tom_L: morning
05:04 AM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
05:04 AM JT-Cave: morning
05:06 AM JT-Cave: looks like the c5 is worth 20-25k
06:54 AM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
07:24 AM JT-Cave: geez fix one thing and break another one
08:05 AM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
08:07 AM JT-Shop: well now it says the modem is out for delivery
08:17 AM JT-Shop: well fb marketplace says the c5 is worth 15k maybe
08:24 AM travis_farmer[m]: that's more than i paid for my pickup truck...
08:26 AM * travis_farmer[m] ponders what to do today...
08:29 AM JT-Shop: you could find my flashlight
08:31 AM travis_farmer[m]: i found mine... it is right behind me... it's red, and says Snap-On
08:35 AM JT-Shop: mine is black and hiding somewhere...
08:36 AM travis_farmer[m]: have you tried calling for it? maybe it will answer back.
08:48 AM Lcvette[m]: <Tom_L> "what's it for?" <- its a no longer available fitting for a 1964 corvette Rochester fuel injection unit
08:49 AM travis_farmer[m]: i think there is something wrong with the YouTube algorithm today... it recommended a show for me called "wow wow wubzie" or something like that...
09:13 AM JT-Shop: morning Lcvette[m]
09:13 AM Lcvette[m]: morning
09:13 AM Lcvette[m]: o/
09:46 AM roycroft: my laser cutter/engraver is arriving early, today
09:46 AM perry_j1987: morning
09:46 AM roycroft: i'm not ready for it - i guess i'll have to make some time to clear a space for it
09:49 AM perry_j1987: what one did you get
09:52 AM roycroft: xtool d1 pro
09:53 AM roycroft: i got it with a 5w diode laser, as my primary use will be finely engraving wood
09:53 AM roycroft: the 5w diode has a higher resolution than the more powerful ones
09:53 AM roycroft: but one reason i got that model is that there are multiple laser heads available for it, and they can be swapped out in seconds
09:54 AM JT-Shop: which one did you get?
09:54 AM roycroft: see above :)
09:57 AM perry_j1987: why diode over c02?
09:59 AM roycroft: because i'm engraving wood
09:59 AM roycroft: diode is perfect for what i'm doing
09:59 AM roycroft: but as i said, i can swap out the laser head later if i want
10:00 AM roycroft: if i decide to engrave metal they have an ir laser head that will work for that
10:00 AM perry_j1987: those k40 lasers are 350 for a 40 watt diode laser
10:00 AM perry_j1987: er c02 laser
10:01 AM perry_j1987: could strap diode heads onto the carriage with a bit of 3d printing :)
10:09 AM roycroft: there are lots of options - the one i got looked like a good fit for my needs
10:09 AM roycroft: i like how modular the product is too
10:09 AM roycroft: if i want to cut/engrave larger objects, there's a frame extension kit for it
10:09 AM roycroft: there are a half dozen laser heads for it
10:10 AM perry_j1987: nice
10:10 AM roycroft: there's a rotary attachment that handles four different types of products, and just plugs in
10:10 AM roycroft: this is someting i want to just start using as soon as i get it, and not have to tinker with
10:11 AM perry_j1987: aye
10:11 AM perry_j1987: push buttons vs kit
10:38 AM HelpyHelperton[m: I found this in the manual for an old mill I'm trying to setup with LinuxCNC, "Steps/U at 1/10-Step Control 2000". Does that mean I should set my motor steps per revolution to 1000 and driver micro stepping to 10? (sorry if this is the wrong place to ask things like this... I'm new to LinuxCNC and I'm new here and my heads still spinning from getting homing to work 🙃 )
10:58 AM CloudEvil: It's a right place tro ask that
11:09 AM jpa-: often it is easiest to just test and see how far it moves with given number of steps
11:10 AM Thorhian7490[m]: Nice to see Ondsel is pushing for an official FreeCAD assembly workbench.
11:10 AM Thorhian7490[m]: https://ondsel.com/blog
11:22 AM roycroft: it's about time
11:22 AM roycroft: two decades late :)
11:51 AM Thorhian7490[m]: Lol two decades?
11:52 AM Thorhian7490[m]: Salty as always about FreeCAD I see.
11:54 AM roycroft: it's my only major nit about freecad
11:55 AM Thorhian7490[m]: Well now there is an open core business trying to push FreeCAD, so I’d expect to see some more momentum on that and a more sane transition to more TNP mitigations.
11:57 AM roycroft: that would be great
11:57 AM roycroft: i've long been a supporter of freecad, but it's not a viable product until it has an official assembly workbench
11:58 AM roycroft: i mean, if you're going to design a small part to 3d print, it's ok
11:58 AM roycroft: but if you need to design a product with multiple parts you need software that can handle assemblies
11:59 AM roycroft: and the way it's done now is insane - several assembly workbenches, all incompatible with the others
12:00 PM roycroft: anyway, we all know my position on this
12:00 PM roycroft: i'm happy to see there's an active, real push to fix the problem
12:01 PM Thorhian7490[m]: Yeah, but I’ve seen other open core businesses use FreeCAD and an assembly workbench of their choice with great success, such as https://opulo.io . It’s a problem, but not a totally blocking one even now.
12:02 PM roycroft: and what if they picked the wrong assembly workbench?
12:02 PM roycroft: sure, they all work, to a degree at least, now
12:02 PM roycroft: but at some point there will be an official one
12:02 PM roycroft: and folks will migrate to that one and abondon the unofficial ones
12:03 PM roycroft: at which point all your projects with assemblies will be orphaned
12:03 PM Thorhian7490[m]: True, like I said, it is a problem, but not one that is insurmountable, especially if you can about FOSS design.
12:03 PM roycroft: having to recreate your assemblies with the new, official workbench can incur a significant cost
12:04 PM Thorhian7490[m]: care about*
12:04 PM roycroft: i would say that it's true that it's not an absolutely blocking problem
12:04 PM Thorhian7490[m]: They wanted out of Fusion, and that was really their only choice for a decent FOSS option.
12:04 PM roycroft: but i also say that it is a practical blocking problem for many companies
12:05 PM Thorhian7490[m]: I’m just glad Brad/sliptonic decided to start the company.
12:06 PM Thorhian7490[m]: You may have seen him around here occasionally. He is/was one of the main people working on the Path workbench.
12:07 PM roycroft: yes, i've seen him around
12:08 PM Thorhian7490[m]: Once I get my machine in better working order I’ll need to get back to work on my rust implementation of my 3D constant engagement roughing algorithm.
12:09 PM Thorhian7490[m]: My job writing C# on M$ platforms is kind of draining lol, eats a lot of time and energy.
12:09 PM bjorkintosh: Thorhian7490[m], is it for CRUD?
12:10 PM Thorhian7490[m]: Sometimes, just depends on the ticket I’m working on.
12:10 PM Thorhian7490[m]: It’s a pre-existing code base.
12:12 PM Thorhian7490[m]: I just hate dealing with windows and the bloat in the platform that comes with it. Much more comfortable on Linux.
12:12 PM bjorkintosh: oh hateful things are $$$ I realize now.
12:13 PM bjorkintosh: most hateful thing of all? webapps with javascript frameworks!
12:13 PM bjorkintosh: what are they really? $$$
12:13 PM bjorkintosh: I hold my nose.
12:13 PM bjorkintosh: and wipe my tears with the dollar bills (usually singles).
12:14 PM bjorkintosh: nicer if it could be 100s but I'm merely a code monkey so ... 1 dollar bills for now.
12:15 PM Thorhian7490[m]: I’m glad it’s not a node application at least.
12:15 PM bjorkintosh: just gotta wait long enough! someone will sell it!
12:16 PM Thorhian7490[m]: I’d prefer to sell them on Elixir lol.
12:16 PM bjorkintosh: is it good?
12:16 PM bjorkintosh: I know it's based on Erlang/OTP
12:16 PM bjorkintosh: but that's about all I know.
12:17 PM Thorhian7490[m]: In my opinion yes, at least for web applications and anything networking/soft real time related. It’s machine learning capabilities are also getting better and better.
12:18 PM bjorkintosh: hmm. what's the front end framework? something erlangy?
12:20 PM Thorhian7490[m]: It’s a far more robust and sane platform compared to writing servers in JavaScript. In terms of frameworks, the major web dev framework is Phoenix Framework. You can use it to just build an API/backend and use whatever JavaScript stuff you want in the client, or you can churn out MVC Crud stuff pretty fast (and regular JS too), or you can use Phoenix Liveview, which is pretty impressive IMO.
12:21 PM Thorhian7490[m]: Elixir’s syntax is like reading Ruby. I’ve been tricked before, but the functional programming paradigm on the BEAM VM makes it very different at the same time.
12:23 PM bjorkintosh: hmm. and it comes with an ORM? or is it good enough to use sql?
12:24 PM Thorhian7490[m]: Ecto is the ORM essentially. It’s integrated with Phoenix fairly well, and includes generators for creating models and migrations too.
12:24 PM Thorhian7490[m]: You can of course use Ecto by itself too.
12:25 PM Thorhian7490[m]: Ecto has various adaptors to different SQL databases.
12:30 PM Thorhian7490[m]: One of the things I do like is that Elixir is very scalable, horizontally and vertically unlike JS.
12:32 PM bjorkintosh: hmm. how hard is the frontend bit to work with?
12:33 PM bjorkintosh: Liveview was it?
12:38 PM Thorhian7490[m]: If you know elixir then from what I know it’s not bad. https://youtu.be/U_Pe8Ru06fM
12:52 PM bjorkintosh: hmm. you very well might have persuaded me.
12:56 PM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
12:58 PM JT-Shop: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2R9Y6Y2?ref=emc_p_m_5_i
12:58 PM JT-Shop: that one?
01:09 PM roycroft: that is the exact model i bought, jt-shop
01:10 PM roycroft: i should be able to report on how well it works within a day or so
01:10 PM roycroft: i've already loaded the machine profile into lightburn and have imported my logo
01:11 PM roycroft: so as soon as the machine is set up (which should take 20 minutes or so) i'll be able to do a test
01:11 PM roycroft: it may take a few tests to get the speed/power dialed in
01:12 PM * JT-Shop is tired of waiting on FedSex and goes to take a nap
01:12 PM roycroft: it's almost lunchtime
01:12 PM roycroft: i need to go put the dashboard back together in my pickup
01:12 PM roycroft: i pulled the instrument panel out yesterday and did an led lamp ugrade
01:12 PM roycroft: which was incredible
01:13 PM roycroft: but i needed to wait until it was dark to be sure i had installed all the lamps with the correct polarity, and did not want to mess around with putting it all back together in the dark
01:13 PM * roycroft highly recommends led upgrades
01:13 PM * JT-Shop is upgrading
01:14 PM roycroft: i'm not sure if it's the leds per se, or that the old incandescent bulbs are 20ish years old and have dimmed significantly over the years
01:15 PM roycroft: but it's a night and day difference
01:30 PM unterhausen: penn state started up a makerspace. I wonder when their grant runs out
01:30 PM unterhausen: https://www.statecollege.com/articles/state-college/penn-states-originlabs-offers-community-access-to-prototyping-and-fabrication-technology-resources/?fbclid=IwAR3sCLc-Kn7YPWUY9TzfMBf8J4o4TMCcQDrkz1H1ehnrrY4_dEbr2r3iUPA
01:30 PM unterhausen: I guess $65 a month is not too bad
01:33 PM unterhausen: to weld you need 100% cotton clothes. Can you even buy 100% cotton clothes nowadays?
01:34 PM CloudEvil: Of course. And you really don't.
01:34 PM CloudEvil: You need clotrhes that are resistant to the impact of the particles you are going to impact them with, which is a slightly different thing.
01:35 PM CloudEvil: There are many ways to achieve this.
01:35 PM CloudEvil: Cotton is decent.
01:35 PM ZincBoy[CAON][m]: Most of my shop cloths are 100% cotton. Makes it easy to not have to worry about melting things to my skin.
01:36 PM ZincBoy[CAON][m]: I am sure they are just erring on the side of caution as defining a "safe" and "unsafe" level of synthetic fibers would be difficult.
01:36 PM ZincBoy[CAON][m]: Could always just mandate 100% nomex like race suits 🙂
01:45 PM CloudEvil: Leather is obviously fine too
01:45 PM roycroft: i wear all natural fabrics
01:45 PM roycroft: cotton and hemp, mostly
01:45 PM roycroft: and my shop aprons are cotton or leather
01:45 PM roycroft: both for comfort and safety reasons
01:46 PM ZincBoy[CAON][m]: I have caught on fire a few times so I try to wear a leather welding jacket when doing hot work.
01:47 PM roycroft: polyester is sticky and very uncomfortable to wear
01:48 PM * roycroft starts sweating even thinking about polyester clothing
01:48 PM travis_farmer[m]: polyester resin, or fabric? i can understand if it is the first ;-)
01:48 PM roycroft: fabric
01:49 PM travis_farmer[m]: kinda flammable, too
01:49 PM roycroft: hemp is really a superior fabric
01:49 PM roycroft: it's comfortable like cotton, but the fibers are hollow like wool
01:49 PM roycroft: so it insulates better and handles being wet better than cotton
01:49 PM travis_farmer[m]: and you can smoke it when it wears out (i know, not the same ) ;-)
01:49 PM travis_farmer[m]: i have a help motorcycle jacket
01:51 PM roycroft: i have to give ford motor company kudos
01:52 PM roycroft: it took me about 15 minutes to reassemble the dash after the led lamp upgrade
01:52 PM roycroft: maybe 25 minutes to disassemble it in the first place
01:52 PM roycroft: vs my vw new beetle, that took about a day to disassemble to the point where i could get to the lamps
01:53 PM roycroft: i did have to buy a radio removal tool to do the job, but that cost me about $10 on ebay
01:55 PM CloudEvil: How new?
01:58 PM roycroft: it was a '98
01:58 PM roycroft: the new beetle
01:58 PM roycroft: the pickup is a 2001
01:58 PM travis_farmer[m]: so fairly new, then ;-)
01:59 PM roycroft: "new beetle" is the model name from volkswagen
01:59 PM roycroft: it's not that it is a "new" beetle
01:59 PM roycroft: as in recently manufactured
01:59 PM roycroft: it's the redesigned, water-cooled beetle that came out in '98
02:03 PM unterhausen: they require 100% cotton clothing to weld. I suppose that's one way to handle the problem
02:04 PM roycroft: my welding jacket is cotton and leather
02:04 PM unterhausen: my wool polyester blend socks saved me from a nasty burn. Dropped something on my foot that went right through my sneaker
02:07 PM unterhausen: it's nice that they started a makerspace though, looks otherwise well-equipped
02:23 PM HelpyHelperton[m: It's makes some unpleasant noises though with some numbers. I will try again though.
02:32 PM roycroft: my replacement pid arrived while i was finishing up the vehicle work, and that's installed and tested
02:32 PM roycroft: so my heat treatment oven is now ready for service again
02:32 PM roycroft: yay
02:32 PM roycroft: but that also consumed the time i was going to use to make a space for the laser machine
02:33 PM roycroft: which i'll probably test on my joinery bench in the shop first anyway
03:05 PM JT-Shop: fedex says they delivered my modem... I wonder who they delivered it to?
03:06 PM XXCoder: sigh
03:08 PM roycroft: the bbq shack, of course
03:09 PM XXCoder: probably "fell off back of van" then marked as delivered
03:11 PM JT-Shop: Left at gated driveway. Signature Service not requested.
03:11 PM JT-Shop: that gate has not been closed since we moved in the house
03:14 PM JT-Shop: when fedex delivers a package the scanner says put the package under the carport
03:14 PM XXCoder: either its wrong gate or they just ophoned it in
03:14 PM XXCoder: often deliver companies give them too tight timeline so they sometimes skip stuff :(
03:15 PM Tom_L: who would dare do a half ass job in merica?
03:15 PM Tom_L: refueling tankers have been flying steady overhead today and not just at the base but at the main airport too
03:16 PM * roycroft respectfully declines answering that question
03:17 PM JT-Shop: I think I'll shut down the lan and bring each pc back up one at a time
03:18 PM JT-Shop: hopefully the lan gets on line and the chicken coops can get the correct astral data tonight
03:43 PM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
03:47 PM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
03:48 PM unterhausen: I recently saw a pic of a amazon package that the recipient didn't find until the snow melted
03:48 PM JT-Cave: what an whordeal
03:51 PM JT-Shop: finally I can get to the nas while online...
03:54 PM XXCoder: joe finished his cannon. I wonder what he will make next
04:00 PM unterhausen: makerspace has a 1 hour training for the sandblaster. Also 1 hour training for the laser engraver
04:01 PM unterhausen: I'm thinking they could fold the sandblaster training in with the drill press training, which also takes an hour
04:01 PM JT-Woodshop: wow I'm here there everywhere
04:02 PM ZincBoy[CAON][m]: The laser engraver I could see. Mostly on the software and laser safety. I really can't figure out how you get an hour on a sandblaster.
04:03 PM travis_farmer[m]: congrats JT, on being back fully online :-)
04:04 PM xxcoder8265[m]: https://tenor.com/view/speed-gif-5593963
04:04 PM xxcoder8265[m]: jt after using phone networking and now on main isp connection
04:05 PM travis_farmer[m]: lol, XX
04:05 PM unterhausen: I definitely think I would like longer training on the laser
04:06 PM JT-Woodshop: it was a learning experience for sure
04:08 PM JT-Woodshop: at least both coops will open on time now that they have internet
04:15 PM Thorhian7490[m]: https://elixir-lang.org
04:16 PM roycroft: i could see an hour of training on a media blaster
04:16 PM roycroft: not a day, but an hour
04:19 PM roycroft: there's a makerspace in portland that tried to recruit me
04:20 PM roycroft: first of all, 2 hours each way to use some machines, probably not
04:20 PM JT-Shop: 10 minutes to master a media blaster unless...
04:21 PM roycroft: but also, they have a key card access system for each machine, and require people to pay for and complete a training course on every machine they want to use, and they charge the monthly fee based on the number of machines one is certified on
04:21 PM roycroft: jt-shop: there are different types of blasting media for different uses
04:21 PM roycroft: some folks are hard to catch on to that
04:22 PM JT-Shop: yup, I wonder if they change it ever...
04:22 PM roycroft: yes
04:22 PM roycroft: and in that case, 10 minutes is too long
04:23 PM roycroft: "we filled it up with aluminium oxide a few years ago and haven't changed the media since"
04:23 PM roycroft: "so stick your part in the blaster, aim the nozzle at the part, pull the trigger, and wait for nothing to happen"
04:23 PM roycroft: training complete
04:24 PM JT-Shop: lol
04:24 PM JT-Shop: I just the same media all the time the black stuff
04:24 PM roycroft: that's what i use 90+% of the time
04:25 PM roycroft: but glass beads or walnut shells are useful if you're working with something delicate
04:25 PM roycroft: the latter especially useful if you're cleaning copper-based metal but don't want to remove the patina
04:26 PM roycroft: it's a hassle cleaning the blasting cabinet to change media, so i don't do it often
04:28 PM * JT-Shop watches Leo
04:38 PM JT-Shop: Leo has quite a collection of Powermatic and Festool by EP100
04:40 PM Tom_L: welcome back to the world
04:40 PM JT-Shop: thanks
04:42 PM Tom_L: i think i either have a mb or memory problem
04:42 PM Tom_L: every time i boot 64 bit i get the blue screen
04:42 PM JT-Shop: rpi?
04:42 PM Tom_L: tried the ssd on another mb and it was fine
04:42 PM Tom_L: no main pc
04:43 PM JT-Shop: ouch
04:43 PM Tom_L: i may just swap mb and memory out
04:43 PM JT-Shop: brb
04:43 PM Tom_L: i have a spare board that is nearly the same as the current one
04:43 PM Tom_L: 32bit is fine
04:45 PM Tom_L: i could swap out memory and try it i suppose
04:48 PM JT-Shop: can you run the memtest?
04:56 PM Tom_L: when i boot 64bit windows it doesn't stay booted long enough, possibly in 32 bit mode
04:59 PM JT-Shop: did you reseat the memory chips?
04:59 PM Tom_L: not for a while.. i will this evening
04:59 PM Tom_L: i hadn't needed 64bit for a while so it didn't show it's ugly face til last night
04:59 PM JT-Shop: ouch
05:00 PM Tom_L: i've noticed it now and then but it seems to be getting worse
05:02 PM Tom_L: i'll run their 32bit version and see what happens
05:03 PM XXCoder: roy just have 3 blasting bins ;)
05:06 PM JT-Shop: Starlink gave me a credit for a month... I'm much happier now
05:07 PM Tom_L: :)
05:08 PM XXCoder: nice
05:09 PM Tom_L: no mem problems in 32bit mode
05:09 PM JT-Shop: odd
05:13 PM Tom_L: i'll swap out memory and boot and see what happens
05:15 PM JT-Shop: hmm the PM1500 has been shipped
06:32 PM unterhausen: so far google bard is pretty useless
06:34 PM unterhausen: I asked it for feeds and speeds for 6061 aluminum and it told me it depends on the material
06:38 PM unterhausen: OSH cut might start cutting tubes.
06:39 PM roycroft: s/bard//
06:52 PM unterhausen: I am wondering if it gives better answers than google search, at least for now
06:52 PM unterhausen: google search is fully optimized to make google money
06:53 PM unterhausen: at least it tells you that the answers it gives you aren't copyrighted
07:08 PM Tom_L: unterhausen, put FS wizzard on your phone
07:08 PM Tom_L: it's pretty decent
07:08 PM Tom_L: and the free version is good enough.. all it adds it more materials afik
07:11 PM Tom_L: https://fswizard.com/
07:14 PM Tom_L: The fully functional free version, FSWizard Lite, is designed to let users become familiar with the tool and comes with just a handful of materials, while the FSWizard PRO ($29.95) comes loaded with more than 150 of the most commonly machined materials ranging from wood types to exotic metal alloys.
07:23 PM * CloudEvil ponders fiber reinforced aluminium
07:42 PM unterhausen: Tom_L good idea. I was mostly thinking of something to ask it
07:43 PM unterhausen: there was boron reinforced aluminum bicycle tubing, so it was a thing
08:01 PM unterhausen: Bard's answer for "what is spindle metrology?" went fairly far afield
08:03 PM unterhausen: It suggests that linuxcnc is good for beginners, due to ease of setting up :)
08:10 PM Tom_L: of course it is
09:39 PM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
10:01 PM roycroft: well, it's almost time to do a test with laser #2
10:02 PM roycroft: it took 20ish minutes to assemble
10:02 PM roycroft: i just need to install lightburn on my mbp and then i'm ready to go
10:02 PM XXCoder: awesome
10:02 PM XXCoder: hope it goes well!
10:04 PM Tom_L: put some shades on
10:15 PM roycroft: i'm engraving a logo
10:15 PM roycroft: and it looks pretty good for a first go
10:16 PM XXCoder: as with anything built I bet it would need some adjustment
10:16 PM roycroft: well, i engraved the text
10:16 PM XXCoder: but if its quite good at start it'll be even better
10:16 PM roycroft: the logo was off to the left, and i hit the limit switch when going there
10:17 PM roycroft: i guess in need to tweak where home is
10:17 PM XXCoder: yeah. and didnt it have any preview square?
10:23 PM roycroft: yes, there's some other issue
10:23 PM roycroft: the framing looked fine
10:24 PM roycroft: or so i thought
10:24 PM XXCoder: *if it looks good* correction for my earlier statement lol dog
10:24 PM XXCoder: *doh
10:24 PM roycroft: the framing laser is to the left of the main laser
10:24 PM roycroft: so i set it to the upper left corner-ish for homing
10:25 PM roycroft: but it needed to move farther to the left for the main laser to get where it needed to be
10:26 PM roycroft: what's important is that i was able to engrave my logo the first time, and i have just over an hour invested in this, including assembly
10:26 PM XXCoder: not too bad then
10:26 PM XXCoder: wonder how square it is
10:26 PM roycroft: square enough for printing a logo :)
10:27 PM roycroft: i'll try cutting something eventually
10:27 PM XXCoder: true lol you would evenually want to cut something...
10:27 PM XXCoder: like you said lol
10:27 PM roycroft: i'll probably want a bit more laser if i start cutting things
10:31 PM roycroft: yeah, i should have gotten this one, or one similar, in the first place
10:32 PM roycroft: i so much liked the idea of that tiny one that sits on a tripod that i didn't weigh all its potential drawbacks heavily enough
10:33 PM XXCoder: first one being locked to cloud and awkward software
10:33 PM XXCoder: that said
10:33 PM XXCoder: hows that laser software?
10:34 PM roycroft: i'm using lightburn, and it just works
10:34 PM XXCoder: perfect
10:35 PM roycroft: it costs $60, but i don't think i'll even bother trying the bundled software - i'll just pay the $60 when the trial period expires
10:35 PM roycroft: i am really pleased with how easy it is to focus the laser
10:36 PM XXCoder: my cheapie one it was pretty annoying
10:37 PM roycroft: with this one, i unlock the laser head (with a lever), lift it up, flip down a lever on the back of the laser, lower the laser until the lever touchs the part, lock it, and lift the focusing lever
10:37 PM roycroft: and that took about 5 times longer to type than it takes to do
10:37 PM roycroft: it's literally 3-4 seconds
10:38 PM XXCoder: nice. one I have its twist len till spot is sharo
10:38 PM XXCoder: which means I would have to rise or lower part as I was testing materials
10:39 PM roycroft: it's one of the features that made me pick this model
10:40 PM roycroft: i know i'll be engraving parts of varying thicknesses
10:40 PM roycroft: like changing often
10:40 PM roycroft: so i wanted the setup and focusing to be as easy as possible
10:40 PM XXCoder: makes sense
10:43 PM roycroft: the first go was in birch plywood, and it wasn't as dark as i'd like
10:43 PM roycroft: the second go is in jatoba, which is a much darker wood, so i both increased the power and decreased the speed
10:43 PM roycroft: i may have overcompensated a bit
10:44 PM roycroft: i need to wait until it finishes, and lightly sand it
10:44 PM XXCoder: as long as youd dint make fireplace its just matter of adjustment ;)
10:45 PM XXCoder: ugh youtube is doing that thing where autocaptions dont come in for days
10:45 PM roycroft: yeah, i was actually amazed at how well it worked for the first go
10:45 PM roycroft: having no guidelines on how to set it
10:45 PM roycroft: i was at 80% power, btw (it's a 5w diode laser), and 100mm/s
10:45 PM roycroft: i changed it to 100% power and 80mm/s
10:45 PM XXCoder: watching fun clickspring videos
10:46 PM roycroft: i also don't have the air system hooked up
10:46 PM roycroft: so that is probably why the surface is a little smudgy this go
10:46 PM roycroft: but a quick sand should take care of it
10:47 PM roycroft: btw, speaking of clickspring, i just got a really good guilloché book
10:47 PM XXCoder: smoke would definitely affect laser, same for black marking on wood burning more due to color
10:47 PM roycroft: some day i want to buy or build a rose engine and linear engine
10:47 PM XXCoder: i saw 3d printed one on youtube. interesting
10:47 PM XXCoder: not all of it was printed, some wood and some metal
10:47 PM XXCoder: the pattern wheels or whatever its called was printed
10:48 PM roycroft: rosettes
10:49 PM XXCoder: ok
10:49 PM roycroft: i don't like how much space this machine takes up
10:49 PM roycroft: i really like what it does, though
10:50 PM roycroft: i was planning on buying a second 3d printer at some point, but i think this laser can live where that printer would have lived
10:51 PM XXCoder: its light enough that you could make custom wall mounts for it
10:51 PM roycroft: yes, i could easily hang it up, as it is
10:51 PM roycroft: but i'll probably want an enclosure for it, so i can manage the smoke, and a honeycomb plate for underneath
10:51 PM XXCoder: true
10:52 PM roycroft: all that could be made portable, but the point of this is so that i can use it whenever i want with no fuss
10:53 PM roycroft: ok, that worked great
10:53 PM roycroft: i have some more tweaking to do, and i'll post something when i get results that i'm really happy with
10:54 PM XXCoder: cool
10:54 PM roycroft: i think i'me done for the night though - it's getting late, and i have other things to do
10:54 PM roycroft: but i *know* this is going to work great
10:56 PM roycroft: i was concerned that the text in my logo would be too thin when i shrunk it down for laser engraving, but it looks beautiful, and is actually too big
10:56 PM roycroft: i think i can make it way smaller and it will still work
10:56 PM roycroft: which means i won't have to pay my graphics designer to redo it in a way that renders better in the smaller size
10:56 PM XXCoder: thats good
10:57 PM roycroft: i'm off to do other stuff now
10:57 PM roycroft: but i give the xtool d1 pro an initial thumbs up
10:57 PM XXCoder: :)
11:00 PM CaptHindsight[m]: https://scrollprize.org/
11:01 PM XXCoder: thats cool