Popular Post MT Stringer Posted November 6, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 (edited) It's not very pretty but it works. A few months ago, I bought the touch off tool on Amaxon. Finally, I got the other parts yesterday while me and the missus were ridein' around. From watching a few videos, it appeared all I needed was a resistor, an led and some soldering skills! UGH! I scratched around the shop and found a plastic box with some screws in it. They now have a new home. The puck came with wire and an alligator clip already installed so all I had to do was solder in the led and the resistor. Dang, it worked first try! See that pretty red light shining brightly. Before ruining a board, I will double/triple check the zero on the "z" axis. I measured the puck 9 different ways and seem to get some slightly different results so I will need to check it with a feeler gauge and possibly change the indicated thickness. By entering .758 in the "Z" Axis, it appeared to be at zero when I lowered the bit to the work piece. I will check it to make sure. Now I know this isn't an automatic tool, but it should help me get better results when changing bits during a project. I hope to try it out soon...maybe tomorrow after I check in on my mom. Edited November 6, 2017 by MT Stringer Cal, joe the gas man, MEBCWD and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4DThinker Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 (edited) Not a bad idea. I made my own using a green LED (3V) and two AA cells in a 4-cell battery case. Included a switch to turn it off when stored away. I used the same exact puck as well and probably the same alligator clip. I'm sure I was inspired by someone else posting the idea on one of these forums. I also found the puck a bit uneven, and used my CNC to mill upside down the plastic bottom parallel to the metal center. I've since abandoned it and moved up to a touch plate that works from LinuxCNC though. Probotix was nice enough to do the software side in their configurator, and show how to do the wiring side on their wiki page. It is VERY convenient to let the software run a subroutine and do the math to set where Z0 is. All that is needed is a single wire running from the plate to the 2nd parallel port on your PC. The router I use is grounded all the way through its body. That passes the probe ground through the frame down through the metal bit. Not all routers ARE grounded through though, so you might need two wires from the parallel port and the alligator clip. 4D Edited November 6, 2017 by 4DThinker Cal, p_toad and MT Stringer 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beltramidave Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 That looks like the exact puck that Probotix sells with their machines, as I have one.. I think they work fine. p_toad and MT Stringer 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted November 7, 2017 Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 I really need to build one of these. When I do get to building this I'll do my best to make it as purty as yours, Mike. David MT Stringer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.