Author Topic: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill  (Read 4971 times)

Online Vixen

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Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« on: February 22, 2016, 03:16:10 PM »
The use of a ring of high intensity LED's to illuminate the work on a mill or drill is not a new idea, it has probably been discussed on many forums before. This is just my take and this is how I did it

I searched on E-bay for 'angle eyes', the name given for the Halo ring of LED's you see on BMW cars. There were many offerings from China described as 'cosmetic' lights, without any other specification. I found this company in England, who specialize in vehicle lighting, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231652224952?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT. They offered LED Halo rings in different diameters, from 80mm to 140mm. They are intended for use as Daylight Running Lights (DRL) which are now a legal requirement in many countries. These LED Halo rings were fitted with an array of high intensity SMD wide angle LED's each with an output of 1300 lm. and wired to run off a 12 volt supply

I ordered one 100mm Halo ring with 54 SMD LED's and also a 120mm ring with 66 SMD LED's. The Halo rings were to be mounted as a necklace around the quill of my Emco F1 milling machines and hopefully would provide a strong shadow-less source of illumination to replace the Halogen spotlight I had used for years. The Halogen spotlight shines it's beam in from the side, which produced long of shadows and the heat from the Halogen bulb is uncomfortable on the fingers while setting up.

I was concerned that the collet chuck would cast a shadow on the work when short or small diameter cutters were being used. That is why I ordered the two different diameters. As you can see from the photos. I need not have worried, the large chamfer on the collet closer nut certainly helped, even the smaller 100mm Halo ring did not produce a shadow. It may be different on other machines with other quill and collet arrangements, larger diameter Halo rings may be needed in some circumstances.

I mounted the Halo ring onto the mill using two pieces of aluminium angle and four rare earth magnets. A clear silicon adhesive was used to provide some flexibility and prevent distorting the circular PCB. The Halo light can be removed and re-positioned quickly and easily. I will apply a thin strip of black insulation tape to the edge of the Halo, to stop the light shining directly into the eyes.







The LED arrays are designed to operate off the cars 12 volt system but can accommodate a wider range of voltages. I am using a 12 volt (rated) wall wart power supply. It says 12 volts on the label but most of these seem to produce an output of about 18 volts. The illumination level is even brighter at 18 volts The current required is only milli-amps, so even the smallest wall wart will be adequate.

How well does it work? The light levels are good, bright and even, without shadows. The Halo ring is thin and unobtrusive, it does not get in the way of the view of the cutter or work. It appears to have ticked all the boxes, all that remains is to use the new lighting system for real, for a month or so and then decide.

Mike







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Offline Jasonb

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2016, 03:20:09 PM »
Looks to work well on your machine with its small collet Mike, I think a lot of the problems with them is that if using the usual ER collet chucks which are longer they cast a shadow right where you want the light

Offline CHP

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2016, 03:23:45 PM »
love it bright
I have the same mill do you use Mach3
if so what did you set the parameters for the stepper.???
cheers
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9x29 Mill, Emco 55 CNC mill.......

Online Vixen

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2016, 03:27:42 PM »
The Emco F1 mill uses ER25 collets. They have taken some care to champher the closing nut. With other quill and collet chuck arrangements, it may help to use a larger diameter Halo ring or to mount it lower (closer to the chuck) to avoid casting the shadow exactly where you want the light.

Mike
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Online Vixen

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2016, 03:32:47 PM »
Hello CHP

I have fitted different, 200 step, stepper motors and micro stepping drivers to my Emco F1. I also operate under LinuxCNC.

Which parameters are you interested in?

Mike
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Offline CHP

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2016, 07:46:10 PM »
Hi Vixen,
 yes I have new stepper motors and micro drivers,
I'm talking about the setting  number of pulse
acceleration
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Online Vixen

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2016, 08:26:15 PM »
Hello CHP

The settings I currently use for my EMCO F1 mill on LinuxCNC are as follows:

X and Y axes
200 steps per rev at 8 microsteps = 16256 steps per inch
Max clock rate = 8128 Hz
Max velocity = 0.5 inch/sec (30 inch/min)
Max acceleration = 3.0 inch/sec/sec
Time to Max speed = 0.1667sec
Distance to Max speed =0.0417 inch

Z axis which is much heavier load
200 steps per rev at 8 microsteps = 16256 steps per inch
Max clock rate = 8128 Hz
Max velocity = 0.5 inch/sec (30 inch/min)
Max acceleration = 2.0 inch/sec/sec
Time to Max speed = 0.25sec
Distance to Max speed =0.0625 inch

These acceleration figures appear to get the various axes into motion quickly without undue strain on the hardware.
You could further reduce the acceleration by a factor of two (i.e. twice the time and distance) without making much difference to the time to machine a part.

What figures are you or others using?

Mike
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Offline CHP

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2016, 08:39:07 PM »
Vixen

about 1/3 of that :Doh: :Doh:

no wonder I find it slow :disappointed: :disappointed:

I still have the metric rod should not change anything :headscratch:

Thanks
12x36 lathe,Seig7x10 lathe, Taig lathe
9x29 Mill, Emco 55 CNC mill.......

Offline Roger B

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2016, 08:42:04 PM »
Looks good  :ThumbsUp:  :ThumbsUp: Is SC RAP the part number of the piece on the mill?  :stir:
Best regards

Roger

Online Vixen

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2016, 08:48:40 PM »
Roger
Sometimes, when I peel the skin off a billet of metal, I find a nice engine part inside. Sometimes I only find a lousy piece of scrap :killcomputer:
MIke
« Last Edit: February 22, 2016, 09:13:44 PM by Vixen »
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Online Vixen

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2016, 09:12:03 PM »
Hello CHP

I have set the max speed at 30 inch/minute. This is the G00 Rapid Move speed. LinuxCNC has a slider to reduce this to a more manageable speed for positioning the tool. I normally set it to around 10 inch/minute, which is a better match to my reaction times :old: :old:

The programmed G01 feed rates are much, much slower and depend on the cutter and the material. The EMCO F1 is lightly constructed, therefore I prefer to make several shallow passes rather than a heavy (deep) cut. Again LinuxCNC has a slider to increase or decrease the feed rate during the machining operation. You can always tell when the machine or cutter are hurting and adjust the feed accordingly. Slower is always safer.

I have not changed the original metric lead screw.

Mike
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Offline CHP

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #11 on: February 22, 2016, 09:21:12 PM »
Hello Vixen

Thanks for all the info I shawl give it a try tomorrow  :cartwheel:

I'm doing a new front panel and pendent at this time

I'll keep you informed.

cheers
12x36 lathe,Seig7x10 lathe, Taig lathe
9x29 Mill, Emco 55 CNC mill.......

Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #12 on: February 22, 2016, 10:22:54 PM »
I don't know if this will help...

You might consider putting a clear guard under/around the lighting.

I use a lighted magnifier on a rolling stand and found the spray from oil and swarf eventually dimmed the light pretty badly. Oil and plastic makes cleaning the plastic pretty hard.

I intend to get another...and this time I'll put clear plastic in front. Much easier and cheaper to replace.
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Online Vixen

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #13 on: February 22, 2016, 10:28:35 PM »
Hello Zee

Dirt and oil, never thought about that. I could try some cling film or an acetate sheet. :thinking:

Thanks

Mike
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Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: Halo lighting for the vertical mill or drill
« Reply #14 on: February 22, 2016, 10:44:00 PM »
Although I hadn't noticed much grime up near the spindle. So it may not be needed.
Just worth keeping an eye on.

BTW I like the halo lighting idea. As I get older, the eyes don't contract as much so things don't come into focus well.
More light helps contract the iris.
Much like using a pinhole in a piece of paper as a magnifying glass.
Carl (aka Zee) Will sometimes respond to 'hey' but never 'hey you'.
"To work. To work."
Zee-Another Thread Trasher.

 

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