Dave_D

personally, yes because these 8-bit controllers and their displays feel really clunky now. soon as i get my duetwifi into the machine the better

hmmm... not sure if this bearing is big enough...

yeah. i've got it running with octoprint at the moment but i'm seriously considering replacing the existing mobo with my duetwifi. i've cultivated a bit of a dislike for 8 bit controllers now i've been corrupted with 32bit printer boards and esp32 microcontrollers

0.4mm and the stl from here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2808258

amazon. if you can, get one sold by Comgrow i've heard that there are copies being sold that have 3D printed parts like the power supply cover, but this is the one i got and it's a genuine Ender3 Pro (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07GYXP9ZL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), from what i've heard, Comgrow have very good support. so far i'm really impressed. only done 1 print yet but this would have made my AM8 curl it's toes up. that's a 1p coin it's stood on

i caught the postman trying to shove this through my letterbox today so far it works WAY better than my anet AM8

i got the 1000mm x 750mm screw driven because it fits perfectly into my balcony alcove. i *would* have gone for the 1500mm x 1500mm if i had space. the screw driven is definitely better than the belt version. also, i went for a proper spindle as the dewalt and makita trim routers ooznest supplies, although quite functional, are hella loud in use.

todays progress... the base is all cut and ready to paint. just deciding on a 16 inch lazy susan... anyone had experience of these? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unilocks-Aluminum-Turntable-Revolving-turntable/dp/B00BHSPAJU/ref=sr_1_50?rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1544281198&sr=8-50&keywords=lazy+susan&refinements=p_76%3A419158031 or recommend a better one? and just as a shameless bit of plugging, if anyone is planning to get a CNC router, i can honestly say this Ooznest Workbee is fantastic.

i really hate the camera in my tablet ? added carrying handles, flip out rear panel (not shown as it was being painted) for mirror access and 50mm x 3.5mm steel brackets fitted through the mirror box to mount the truss pole connections, bolted with 2 M6 bolts each bracket and big enough to spread the load across the box. need to dremel 10mm off the 6 handled bolts holding the runners on as the middle bolts currently interfere with the mirror cell just need to make the mirror retention clips and waiting for the smooth edging strips to arrive for the runners having trouble finding suitable springs for the cell though... anyone got any suggestions?

yeah i was considering those, but there's practically no weight on the hinges as they only need to hold the rear panel

been pondering the bearings... i've allowed 10mm between the rocker arms and the base to fit something like a formica edging and teflon blocks to the runners i've got these 2 great big lumps of teflon from where i used to work... need to find someone with a band saw to cut 2 disks off about 10-12 mm thick which hopefully, i can machine down to the required thickness with a fly cutting bit on my CNC. never tried machining plastics though.

i think i made a bit of a gaff with the position of the 3 handled bolts... the rearmost one could really do with being 2 or 3 inches higher to give a bit more stablility... tis not a problem though.

almost ready to paint the mirror box just need to machine an inset into the rear panel so the hinges can extend fully

taking shape...

I look like Bane when i've got my respirator on

for the truss poles and attachments, i've decided to go with these they're ball butterfly clamps in aluminium and i can get them for £4.50 each. for the balls, my local wood supplier has 25mm diameter drawer handles in nickel plated steel that will screw into a plug in the end of the truss poles for £4 for 2 so a hell of a lot cheaper (similar to this but a much better finish)

it's moisture resistant medite exterior MDF and supposed to be far tougher and more dimensionally stable than standard MDF... cost me 60 quid or so for a 8' x 4' sheet. no point skimping and have the scope fall apart because of this lousy climate

Mirror cell fits juuuuuust nice... just remembered i have to hinge the bottom of the mirror box, otherwise the mirror will be getting a life sentence lololol

Making steady progress, and yeah, had to add the text to the front of the mirror box and with a 14" mirror, it better HAD be full of stars lol It's a bit dark cause the camera on my tablet is rubbish and Criske, this is the machine. An Ooznest 1000x750mm Workbee. using a proper spindle instead of a trim router cause trim routers are noisy as hell... I've also removed the T-slot bed i added (and damn expensive too ? ) and used a piece of MDF which i can skim easily as i was having trouble levelling the T-spot accurately enough

Forever on the quest to find much cheaper options for astro gear, because as we all know, as soon as an item is labelled for astronomy, the price shoots up a few hundred percent, i stumbled across these on fleabay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Diving-Lights-Ball-Butterfly-Clip-Arm-Clamp-Mount-For-GOPRO-3-4-5-Xiaoyi-Gitup/323380801421?_trkparms=aid%3D555017%26algo%3DPL.CASSINI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D55149%26meid%3D7d9a06518b1e4247bab881ab505969ad%26pid%3D100505%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26%26itm%3D323380801421&_trksid=p2045573.c100505.m3226 looks plenty sturdy enough for truss pole fixings... and WAY cheaper than anything i've seen elsewhere

material has finally arrived... first runner off the CNC

Secondary holder coming along nicely... just eed to get the right length bolts

bit of a delay with the medite delivery ? will have to wait til next weekend. thought i'd do a tolerance test on a couple of the rocker box parts. To give clearance to the truss poles, i've added a crescent shaped insert into the main runners to move them 10mm away from the mirror box and inserted 5mm into the main runner so i can glue it for a good solid joint. for some very odd reason when i cut the pieces on my CNC, i had to make the pocket 0.45mm larger than the insert. not sure if it's just me being a fusion360 noob and not setting up the tool paths properly or some other issue... enlarging the pocket worked well though on a bit of scrap MDF

right... that's the truss attachments sorted and no 3D printing involved https://knowledge.autodesk.com/search-result/caas/screencast/Main/Details/fcb30d12-54c4-4908-b6b2-2eaa95ab07f4.html

So, now i've got my CNC kicked into shape, it's time to start my 14" dob build. I've had the optics since i was 21... i'm now 52 HAHA so yeah... Anyway, i've got the rocker box designed (see the vid linked below) and the 18mm water resistant Medite Tricoya arrives in a couple of days, can't see anything that would cause a problem but opinions are welcome. https://knowledge.autodesk.com/community/screencast/8ff926f8-95a9-4b09-bb89-37a5fb6cf8dc and the mirror cell is 80% complete I was originally going to 3D print the blocks and have already made a test version which seems plenty strong enough but it's a load of faffing about and i'm sure a simpler method would be less of a headache to make all the parts. I'm really not sure yet how i'm going to do the truss attachments so if anyone has any good ideas...