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Tormach PCNC440 X Axis limit switch repair

A good reason why not to leave a parallel on the way cover

I was running a milling job on my 440 the other day and I had left a parallel on the Y axis front way cover when I had switched off in the evening. Next morning I switched on and homed the axis in the usual order of X axis and then the Y only to hear a crunch as it reached the homing position. The parallel had got jammed under the table front shroud. I reversed the motion, removed the parallel, homed Z and carried on.

Fast forward to the next day. Switched on and homed X which resulted in a very bad end stop stepper chatter. I stopped the motion and moved the X axis back. Something bad had happened. I stripped off my machine vice and my tooling table and removed the table front cover. The limit switch had been crushed, presumably by the parallel the previous day.

I’d like to say that this is the first time this has happened …. but it isn’t. (Hence the ding in the cover front edge …). A quick check on Amazon revealed quite a few identical looking replacement switches. There was also a twin pack available from China for much the same price but clearly much longer delivery time. A new switch was ordered and all is now up and running again (after re-tramming the tooling plate and then the mill vice etc etc …. what a pain ….)

In passing I do keep pondering the 440 limit switches and wondering if I could replace them with inductive sensors but it all looks a bit difficult having to sort out the additional wiring needed. Maybe another day ? (Sadly such a modification would still not stop me stupidly leaving things on the way cover ….)

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Adding a logo to a Fusion 360 model

How to take a PNG file and import it as a SVG

While you might think I write my activities on my blog for general interest, you might be surprised to know that the main reader of my blog is me ….. my posts act as an aid to remembering how I made something or the processes I use.

I recently had a item to make and this needed a logo inserted onto the Fusion 360 model. I had the logo as a PNG file and I needed this to be converted into a SVG for ease of import to Fusion. You can do this conversion online for free at the following link : –

https://convertio.co/png-svg/

Once you have the SVG file you import this into Fusion using the Insert menu in the Design workspace. The inserted SVG can be manipulated to fit the location on the model and can then be extruded either as a cut or a build on the surface selected.

There is a simple video covering this activity on YouTube on the following link : –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rAi1lvgxS4&ab_channel=RubenGuscott

Sorry that was nothing exciting but it will help me remember next time I need to do this.

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Two important Fusion 360 Preferences tips

One obvious and one more specific

If you already know these Fusion 360 Preferences tips then well done. If not check out below.

The first one is to set the default orientation to be Z up so your CAM output is already well on the way to being correctly configured.

The second one is not so obvious – scaling the entire sketch based on the first dimension you specify. Suppose you have an object that you want to draw to scale based on a photograph image. If you import this using Insert/Canvas you get a faint image of the photograph over which you can superimpose your sketch. Once you have created the sketch you can then draw a construction line that runs from any two extreme longest points of the sketch. Measure the distance on the real object and then specify this dimension on your sketch. Everything on the sketch will now be scaled accordingly. So useful ….

Probably the best example I have seen of this was by Clough42 in this video about his construction of a depanelizing tool for PCB biscuits. He has done a further video recently using the same technique with dual axis images. This is impressive to watch.

Minor update on the Qidi i-fast to say all is going well and I am getting some very good print results. I am still debating which slicer to run with and do seem to be getting more repeatable prints using Simplify 3D.

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Noga External Deburrer and Cut Screws

Making life easier on cut threads

Minor tip – You have a thread that is too long. You hacksaw it down to length and then have the pain of cleaning the end up so it looks square and more importantly the thread will start. If you are organised you will probably spin a nut onto the thread and use this to clear the cut end thread.

Step up the Noga Classic Rotadrive external deburring tool. This is meant to take a burr off the end of a cut rod but is equally good for clearing the start of a cut thread. File the cut end flat and spin the Noga on the end for a couple of spins. Magic. Admittedly you can’t go down to diameters less than 4mm but below this size threads are usually not quite so difficult to start after cutting.

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Qidi i-fast dual extruder 3D printer update

Experiences so far with the Qidi

I’ve had the Qidi i-fast 3D printer for few days now and the printing results have been excellent with all manner of geometry. It is particularly good on thin wall models. I am getting more adept at filament management (loading and unloading) which is different to the Sindoh as there is not a cassette system on the Qidi.

The Qidi slicer is a skinned version of Cura and has a significantly larger number of settings to tweak than the Sindoh. That having been said the Qidi has a number of preset configs for different print types and qualities. So far I have not needed to change any of the small print settings on these.

There are some differences to my old Sindoh. When I post a file to the Qidi from Fusion, a memory stick needs to be in the Qidi for the file to post to. On the Sindoh the file would post to the machine memory and be stored internally. This change is not a problem and does mean that there is a listing of previous prints on the memory stick for repeat prints.

The printing plate on the bed is magnetically held in place and works well. Providing the bed plate is removed and allowed to cool down, the prints just ‘pop off’.

The Perspex top cover is held in place by magnets. It has no tactile means of gripping it when you try to lift it off. I have printed two handles and fitted these to the lid to overcome this. See below.

Filament reels can be mounted in a number of ways. There is a suspension bar at the rear of the printer that the reels can be hung on (see above image) or there are two brackets supplied to support two supplied filament boxes to be mounted on the rear of the printer. There is also a extra buy option of a Dryer Box that can also be hung from the suspension bar. The Dryer Box is quite useful for protecting pre-dried filament from absorbing moisture. Beware that the inner hole on the filament reel needs to be 52mm or more to fit inside the Dryer Box.

None of these mounting options worked for my restricted depth of bench space. Instead I use either the Dryer Box or one of the standard filament boxes sat on the bench alongside the printer. For this location I bought in some 4mm OD/2mm ID PTFE tubing as a longer guide tube for the filament. This works well.

The only minor frustration is the abundance of long thin PLA strings that result from the printer warm up preamble. They seem to get everywhere. The Sindoh used to manage this better with a small waste box and nozzle wiper.

Overall a lovely machine which should meet my needs for a long time to come.

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