Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't think Dave would appreciate me
selling machines built with his plans. If he sold the actual machines, or
even a kit, I would contact him about packaging his stuff with my controller
or my reselling his machines in quantity.

Again, what I need is a little machine that I can sell, ready made, for
around $500 along with my controller and software from
http://www.quickstepper.com

I don't want to make the machines, making the controller is enough of a
pain. I don't want to sell the controller by itself or sell kits because I
think the market that hasn't been reached is for people with minimal
technical skills who have an artistic or other need for CNC machines. E.g.
Artists who want to crank out jewelry designs. Electronics hobbyists (with
little or no mechanical ability) who want to mill PCBs. Modelers who want
pattern cutouts. 

I've sold a lot of linistepper kits and I wonder if half of them ever
actually end up running anything. The mechanical stuff is hard for
electronics majors. Hardware is hard for software people (me for example)
and trons and bits are geek for machinists. CNC is the place where it all
meets and so few people can get all that working together...

I really want to provide everything, together, ready to plug in and go.

---
James.
 
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu 
> [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On Behalf Of Lee McLaren
> Sent: 2005 Feb 04, Fri 15:25
> To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public.
> Subject: Re: [AD]: (will be) Small CNC mill, controller and 
> software for ~$500
> Importance: Low
> 
> Hi James,
> 
> Have you checked out www.hobbycnc.com, Dave has plans and 
> stepper motors and he's in the US.
> 
> regards
> 
> Lee McLaren
> 
> 
> James Newtons Massmind wrote:
> 
> >The controller is ready... I just can't seem to find anyone 
> to try them 
> >out with a small CNC unit before I start advertising the 
> combination. I 
> >really don't want to have to build the physical unit as well as the 
> >controller. I am working on my own design for one, but I 
> don't see that 
> >being complete anytime soon and that has never been my intention.
> >
> >I want to find someone who can make a small hobby CNC mill for not a 
> >ton of money and sell my controller with it. I am working 
> with a guy in 
> >Finland who has produced a good design for a basic unit but 
> shipping it 
> >from their would be dumb so selling the plans is the only 
> option for that unit.
> >
> >I currently have the driver units in kit form but no CNC machine to 
> >sell with them. If you have something that could be 
> controlled with it, 
> >I would be happy to sell you one for $30 (my cost)
> >
> >--- AND THEN ---
> >
> >IF you build it and connected it to something and send me a 
> picture I 
> >will pay you back $10 (via PayPal)
> >
> >If you describe the operation of the system (positive or 
> negative) in 
> >at least 200 useful words, I will pay you another $10.
> >
> >If you send detailed pictures of something that was made 
> with your unit 
> >while driven by the Quickstepper, I will send you another $10.
> >
> >The end result is that I will give away the unit, in kit form, to 
> >anyone who will actually try it.
> >
> >I can't send any more units out for free no matter how solid 
> a promise 
> >I get that it will be tried and reported back. (Do you smell 
> something 
> >burning?)
> >
> >And of course, if your CNC machine works ok with the 
> Quickstepper and 
> >can be sold for a reasonable price, I will be happy to help 
> market and 
> >resell the combination.
> >
> >Pictures and online manual are at
> >http://www.quickstepper.com
> >
> >For anyone who might be interested, the design is simple 
> with regard to 
> >the hardware, just a standard unipolar drive, no chopping, 
> simple PC PS 
> >connector, TTL level serial (use an adapter
> >http://www.piclist.com/io/serial/rcl1
> > or just wire it up yourself with a resistor) and screw 
> terminals for 
> >the stepper wires.
> >
> >But the software is unique. It communicates with a Windows PC over 
> >RS-232 serial. The stepping waveforms are generated in a 
> >microcontroller; the Windows PC sends line segments to the 
> >microcontroller, and the microcontroller turns a request to 
> "move in a 
> >straight line 0.100 to the left and 0.500 forwards" into a 
> sequence of steps to the x and y motors.
> >
> >This allows us to generate precisely-timed waveforms from a 
> Windows PC; 
> >Windows does not provide accurate timing, so we could not do 
> this if we 
> >generated the waveforms on the PC. It allows us to drive the stepper 
> >motors faster, and ramp up the speed slowly instead of starting 
> >abruptly from a dead stop.
> >
> >So we get to work in Windows, and still run the motors as fast as 
> >possible, including ramping up and down without missing steps.
> >
> >Future versions will drive 3 of the linistepper units 
> >http://www.piclist.com/io/stepper/linistepper
> > to provide fantastically smooth linear microstepping and 
> may begin to 
> >support chopping for digital microstepping. Basic G-code support is 
> >also possible. Support for bi-polar steppers is not planned.
> >
> >---
> >James.
> > 


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