<whitequark>
(again, worldwide shipping included in price, keep that in mind)
<whitequark>
there's also the same class of CNC machines upgraded to 4-axis, but... there is no FOSS CAM software which can generate toolpaths for 4axis
<whitequark>
actually I don't think there is a whole lot of commercial CAM software which can do that
<whitequark>
so it's kind of useless
<whitequark>
not to mention the ridiculous reduction in X/Z range and weak C-axis motor
<nicksydney>
whitequark: with $1000 you can setup your whole lab :) unless if something breaks :)
<whitequark>
nicksydney: yeah, the catch is that you have to account for your time and expertise in the "real" price :)
<nicksydney>
whitequark: that's what "China" is all about :)... they know best -- pushing boxes :)
<wpwrak>
lovely prices :)
<nicksydney>
has anybody used tslib before for calibrating touch screen ?
<nicksydney>
whitequark: i learnt my lesson ... buying from eBay (HK and China) means you need to buy not only 1 of the item but at least 2-2.5x the item
<nicksydney>
so if i buy 100 pcs SMD LED I buy 200-250 to be safe :)
<whitequark>
nicksydney: I used tslib
<nicksydney>
whitequark: from what i've read it can produce 5 point calibration ... the thing that i'm not sure is how does it communicate to display in the screen during calibration ?
<whitequark>
and the case too, although I wonder if my machine can work with aluminium
<wpwrak>
hehe :) looks useful
<wpwrak>
your machine should be able to handle Al quite well. just go easy on the bits.
<wpwrak>
also, does Al make sense for that case ? looks more like an acrylic job
<whitequark>
mmm, it's originally done from Al
<whitequark>
I'd need quite a chunk of acrylic
<wpwrak>
just as much as Al. and i think acrylic is cheaper per ccm than Al
<wpwrak>
your next quest: find a shop that sells you pieces of "crystal" clear acrylic cut to manageable sizes of, say, 5 mm and 10 mm.
<wpwrak>
manageable size = no larger than the mill's range, preferably a bit smaller. if you plan to make relatively small things, use the size of these as a basis, multiply with up to 2 in each direction and add some borders, maybe 10 mm on the outside, 3-5 mm between parts
<whitequark>
right
<whitequark>
it's quite hard to buy acrylic sheets in less than 1x2m
<whitequark>
2x3 is even more common
<whitequark>
that's a tad too excessive
<wpwrak>
naw, the places that sell you big sheets often also sell you partial sheets
<wpwrak>
unless you go to the really large-scale suppliers
<whitequark>
mmm, worth a try
<wpwrak>
you may have to call them, though. they may not list all the options online
<whitequark>
I've bought exact same boxes locally... $5 for ONE
<whitequark>
this is so insulting
<nicksydney>
whitequark: welcome to capitalism :)
<nicksydney>
that's how the local business will rip you off because of high overhead
<DocScrutinizer05>
nicksydney: http://cd.textfiles.com/thegreatunsorted/texts/term_papers/lab5.dat >>Legend has it that Seymour Cray (who invented the Cray-1 supercomputer, and most of Control Data's computers) actually toggled the first operating system for the CDC-7600 in on the front panel from memory when it was first powered on.<<
<nicksydney>
DocScrutinizer05: very comforting to know that computer still relies on humans and not the other way round :)
<nicksydney>
sometimes i really wonder what kind of brain they have that they are able to come up with those kind of computer....oh well...back then it was abaout quality but now it's about quantity !
<DocScrutinizer05>
:nod:
<DocScrutinizer05>
>>When asked what kind of CAD tools he used for the Cray-1, Cray said that he liked #3 pencils with quad paper pads. Cray recommended using the backs of the pages so that the lines were not so dominant. When he was told that Apple Computer had just bought a Cray to help design the next Apple Macintosh, Cray commented that he had just bought a Macintosh to design the next Cray.<<
<nicksydney>
and press as well as govt complains about lacking of smart people...what you expect....nowadays they just want to program in the simplest way as they can without getting to know how it works !
<nicksydney>
haha...that's really interesting
<DocScrutinizer05>
whitequark: chinese sold your CNC? I heard they usually are open to reasonable arguments
<DocScrutinizer05>
explain to them that it's too much hassle and too expensive to send back
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<nicksydney>
if they don't go with the flow you can always open case if you bought them from eBay..done that few times
<DocScrutinizer05>
ask them to send you a spare Transformer
<DocScrutinizer05>
or refund
<whitequark>
DocScrutinizer05: already did exactly that
<whitequark>
they want to give me a full refund for the whole machine
<DocScrutinizer05>
hah
<whitequark>
meaning I need to send it for $300 back
<whitequark>
which I'm not going to do for obvious reasons
<DocScrutinizer05>
yeah, sure
<DocScrutinizer05>
tell them
<whitequark>
not to say I'll simply not be able to haul that 26kg beast to post office
<whitequark>
told them
<whitequark>
said I'll be satisfied with either a new control box or refund for repair
<DocScrutinizer05>
they are no japanese, but maybe chinese is sufficiently kind to listen to your problems
<DocScrutinizer05>
another topic: I just thought if that's a new patent I should register: Galden steam pistol rework tool
<DocScrutinizer05>
like hot air, just with Galden steam
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<whitequark>
sounds really expensive
<DocScrutinizer05>
and of course a tub underneath, that catches the liquid galden
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<whitequark>
doesn't it evaporate just when stored at room t°?
<whitequark>
and fly away
<DocScrutinizer05>
no
<whitequark>
hm
<whitequark>
I read somewhere that it does
<DocScrutinizer05>
very little
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<DocScrutinizer05>
when you blow into the SMD fryer, you get a terrible mess of condensed galden on your whole table
<wpwrak>
"... fry your fries until they are crisp and Galden" ...
<DocScrutinizer05>
hehe
<DocScrutinizer05>
yeah, they say you can fry sausages in Galden
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<wpwrak>
well, when microwaves were "new" there was a wave of books explaining how to cook with the microwave. maybe now there'll be some nerdy Galden cookbooks
<wpwrak>
i can already see the kickstarter campaign ...
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<DocScrutinizer05>
prolly not. NEVER heat to >260°C
<DocScrutinizer05>
or: HF + CF3
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<wpwrak>
ideal for dieting: no fat needed for frying, and if you overheat, you get thinner even more quickly :)
<DocScrutinizer05>
yeah
<DocScrutinizer05>
funny how that stuff is called like 3 or 4 different names. 2 of them LS-230, HT-230
<whitequark>
DocScrutinizer05: btw, do deep fryers even have proper temperature control?
<DocScrutinizer05>
not really
<whitequark>
ah well, I've a thermocouple and a PID controller anyway
<whitequark>
so doesn't matter.
<DocScrutinizer05>
that's fine :-)
<DocScrutinizer05>
the built-in thermostat is up to 190°C anyway
<DocScrutinizer05>
in that AEG fryer
<DocScrutinizer05>
needs some readjustment
<whitequark>
yeah all the ones I can see locally are up to 190°
<wpwrak>
whitequark: maybe also make sure you have the window open and nothing that would cause excessive injury in case you have to dive out of it. excessive injury that would reduce your speed when putting more distance between tomorrow's headline news and what may just not become your corpse that day
<DocScrutinizer05>
I think the was some acrylate issue that made them limit the temperature of fryers
<whitequark>
wpwrak: ... not sure I follow
<wpwrak>
"have a clear and unobstructed escape path" :)
<wpwrak>
nicksydney: "don't worry about argentina because it's already lost" ? in 2002 the same sources predicted ten years of misery, a military dictatorship, and so on ;-)
<wpwrak>
nicksydney: the truth is that we have a crappy government that made even crappier decisions. but don't underestimate the raw economical power of argentina. properly governed, it could look down on most of the rest of the world.
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<wpwrak>
nicksydney: thus, whenever the crisis is the thickest, the crazy ideas tend to be reigned in - in one way or another - and for a little while reasonable decisions tend to be made. then it almost instantly buoys back up. e.g., in 2002 it took just one year to mop up the worst of the crisis. it took a regime change before that could happen, though. we'll have to see how things play out this time.
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<nicksydney>
just now i was reading about Iceland when the crisis hits them in 2005 they let the bank failed and even though it was painful for them back then now they have the lowest unemployment (4%) compared to other EU ..and they are growing at 2.3% (something like that) and targetting unemployment to 2%
<nicksydney>
they just need "black sheep" to turn the attention away from the main problem t
<wpwrak>
(well, technically it was four regime changes. between 2001 and 2002, argentina had five different presidents in about as many weeks. but two were just automatic fallbacks after the real president resigned and the one in the middle was a dud who was rapidly persuaded to step down before he could do any real damage)
<wpwrak>
having someone to blame is always very important :)
<nicksydney>
wpwrak: with the taper that is going on in the US there will lots more of this kind of news popping up....Turkey Lira has dropped again even after the central banks has hiked their rate...soon it will be some other countries...just grab popcorns and enjoy :)
<nicksydney>
(pcb) backup for days when i'm too lazy to etch and need a QFP board stats :)
<wpwrak>
yeah, argentina isn't the only country in the world with problems, that's for sure
<wpwrak>
the whole i.MX line has been underappreciated
<roh>
true
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<roh>
mostly due to pricing i guess... quite expensive chips
<nicksydney>
is it really expensive compared to other ARM quad cores ?
<nicksydney>
like from TI or Qualcomm or NVidia ?
<wpwrak>
hmm, the i.MX28 seems to be fairly reasonably priced if you compare with other mid-range ARMs. not sure about the high end. that's a different territory anyway.
* nicksydney
wonder what's the best way to wire up 6 pins for a board without drilling a hole ?
<wpwrak>
the problem seems under-specified
<nicksydney>
thinking of making another board but need a pin for programming the IC but don't want to drill hole in the board...so either i use a pad that i solder a wire (don't like it) or use a pin that can be soldered into the board
<whitequark>
wires soldered like that are reasonably hard to tear off
<wpwrak>
although i wouldn't use MDF for it anymore :)
<nicksydney>
so the pins in that pic was solder onto the board ?
<nicksydney>
any pics without the mdf :)
<wpwrak>
hmm, i'm afraid not
<wpwrak>
but yes, there's soldered into/on the board. you get them with or without through-hole pin on the other side
<wpwrak>
(through-hole pin helps to center them)
<nicksydney>
will order few of them to have it handy
<wpwrak>
in y-box, the large pads at the bottom, spaces with 4 mm minimum center-to-center distance between each other, are for such a fixture
<wpwrak>
they're bloody expensive. but very useful to have around
<nicksydney>
wpwrak: did you cut mdf with laser ?
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<wpwrak>
all done with my mill
<nicksydney>
nice
<wpwrak>
also, laser can only do 2D (more or less). so you'd have to cut the Z profile with a mill anyway. and the good luck reaching down into the pits of that structure with a laser ;-)
<wpwrak>
the problem with MDF is that you get a lot of loose fibers. so you need a second run to trim them. then cut off more manually in the more delicate areas. it's a mess. acrylic doesn't have such issues.
<wpwrak>
so the next one will be acrylic. with a simplified stacking. instead of a MDF block that's milled on both sides (the inside of this one is hollow, with a raised border to that the pcb inside is a few mm from the case and can have components on top),
<wpwrak>
i'd have acrylic milled only from the top, then have the pcb flat on the bottom, components either on the bottom, under large cuts in the acrylic (e.g., for connectors), or with the PCB extending beyond the acrylic. then provide some vertical separation simply with the length of the screws
<paul_boddie>
Nice milling, wpwrak! Is this the thing you'll be using to enter your launch codes?
<wpwrak>
won't be as tidy as the MDF box but much easier to make
<wpwrak>
paul_boddie: yeah, that's the sort of things this kind of critter is used for
<wpwrak>
not sure if it actually did anything yet ;-)
<nicksydney>
wpwrak: in acrylic it will look more sexier :)
<paul_boddie>
nicksydney: Do you think the Opteron thing will "validate" ARM on server at last?
<nicksydney>
paul_boddie: most probably but i think it's more about taking market share from Intel for ARM more than anything
<paul_boddie>
I guess the whole thing needs a push after Calxeda (or whatever they were called) gave up.
<paul_boddie>
So much for HP's Project Moonshot! (If I remember the affiliations correctly.)
<whitequark>
I don't think that ARM "needs" to validate itself on servers
<whitequark>
the "damage" is already done, intel's latest chips are very power-efficient in servers
<paul_boddie>
Meanwhile, the Freescale stuff pops up in interesting places. I was shown the internals of an e-reader recently that makes a nice Freescale development board.
<whitequark>
MIPS/W is not the metric you'd use an ARM over Intel CPU today
<nicksydney>
Calxeda was really tragic don't undersatnd what really happened to them....because they had prototype ready
<paul_boddie>
AMD has the interconnect expertise, and maybe they'll put these in the SeaMicro products.
<paul_boddie>
Intel have got a lot better, but that Quark thing showed that they still have a way to go at the lower end of power consumption.
<whitequark>
Haswell is arguably on par with ARM, *in sleep*
<whitequark>
sure, when working it's pretty much the same as usual, but that's what you get for wanting x86
<paul_boddie>
nicksydney: Cool TQFP breakout boards! I like the simple way they accommodate different sizes of packages.
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<nicksydney>
interesting "When you buy a 64-bit ARM server later this year, it will be standardized, will support a standardized platform, will run standardized Operating System software, and will just work" https://plus.google.com/+JonMasters/posts/X7MPfoFwkTh
<nicksydney>
so India, Turkey, S.Africa has tick the box of increasing rate...now let's see who is next !
<nicksydney>
my best guess will be an Asian country
<nicksydney>
WTH...want to download the ARM server base spec and it is asking me to provide with personal details !!! http://ctrlv.in/288898 ... c'mon !
<wpwrak>
"if you want to know intimate personal details of our hardware, we'd like to know a few personal things about you, too ..."
<larsc>
I think he is busy playing valve games right now ;)
<nicksydney>
larsc: thanks
<nicksydney>
uwe_: just want to say thank you for your blog i came across your blog 1 year ago when starting learning about embedded and electronics :)