Conversation with Mike@ahha.com on April 7, 00

Ah-ha Pro-CNC software and card $526 US (10% off)
Ah-ha RC-500 Box power supply with drives for 3-axis with cables, 6A $1669 US (15% off)
3 motors made by Pacific Scientific 450 oz-in, bipolar, 5.6 A, cabled, max rpm approx 1000 $735 US ($245 each)

total US Dollars $ 2930
1.47 exchange ==> total Canadian $4307.10 + shipping

Software has offsets and backlash compensation
Can mount motors directly to leadscrews with helical coupler
A 486 with Dos would be fine

Limit switches for homing required. Homing repeatability of 0.0015-0.0001" or better. The cables are already on the box.

Conversation with Al on April 11, 00

Can switch on and off things like the mill and a coolant pump with software. The number of things that can be controled is dependant on which software you purchase. I am considering CNC-Pro software and it can control up to 4 devices. I assume more devices can be controlled with the Ah-ha Artisan software.

The 450 oz-in Pacific Scientific motors they suggested are the following product number in the Pacific Scientific catalogue: H32-NRFA-LDF-NS-00 or H32-NRFA-LNF-NS-00

The former has a double shaft so a hand wheel can be mounted on the back of the motor. The latter does not.

With the double shaft the hand wheel can be turned freely if the motor is off.

Ah-ha's main stepper driver box has two limit switch inputs per axis. So for a three axis system there are six limit switch inputs.

They said ball screws are a good idea. This is because regular lead screws wear out quickly in a CNC environment. CNC machines make the lead screws turn a lot in a short period of time.

They also suggested Rockford as a brand to look at for ball screws.

Homing

I had heard a lot of negative things about the homing capabilities of the Ah-ha system. I suspected that this was due to poor quality switches. Al confirmed this. With the optical switches that they sell it is possible to get homing in the 0.0001" repeatablity range. The optical switches are Omron part # EE-SX674 and about $80 each they plug straight into the Ah-ha driver box. Only one is needed per axis and cheep switches can be used for the other switch in each axis.

Conversation with Mike on April 11, 00

Mike suggested that I look at XL series 3/8" wide timing belts. These have 5 teeth per inch and the teeth are slightly rounded. They are about $5US each and the pulley sprockets are about $8-14US each. The sprockets have two set screws to mount on the flat spot on the motor shaft.

For a 2:1 drive ratio he suggested 18 and 36 tooth sprockets. He also said that only one sprocket per axis needs a flange to keep the belt on the sprockets.

With the 3/8" XL series belts the folks at Ah-ha have lifted a Bridgeport knee with Mike (200 lbs.) standing on the bed. That is certainly enough overkill for my mill/drill.

Suggested brand names of belts and sprockets to look for are Bando (http://www.bandousa.com/) and Martin (http://www.martinconveyor.com/). He said check to check the supplier Grainger (http://www.grainger.com/index.htm).