The ~Process~
- Milling Something I was *really* hosed this week and knew I wouldn't be able to finish clank before wednesday, so I milled something in the PCB mill in EDS. I imported the png file into the software and had some scaling issues. We tried a couple different ratios and ended up getting closest with a scaling factor of 7% (although it was a bit on the small side and 8% was on the bigger side so 7.5% likely would've been best but 7% worked).
- Soldering After the PCB was milled, it was time to solder. It was a bit tricky with components so small and without a helping hand thing (Update: apparently the home lab did have one that I didn't see until later). But it went fairly well. Here is what it looked like populated:
- Clank! Once I had more time, it was time to build clank. I first started with the frame which was fairly straightforward.
- Clank Software Once clank was built I set up the software to be able to flash firmware for the different motors and to be able to interface with clank to actually mill things. I had a problem with the initial build of the software in platformio. I think this is because of a known issue with path lengths in Windows. Anthony said I could get away with this, so for now I will leave it like that. I ran through the software setup for clank fairly without a hitch, until I tried opening the webpage. To fix it I went into my browser and typed localhost:8080, for some reason it doesn't work the other way.
Then I put together the X, Y Left, Y Right and the spindle carriage thingy. This took 5ever and I actually stripped two of the screws on one of the motors. After briefly freaking out I scoured the internet for tips. What ended up working was taking a hammer to the screwdriver after placing it into the stripped screw. This way the screwdriver had more grip (?) and could be turned.
I then added the belts and put together the power supply stuff. Once this was all done this is what it looked like. I ended up with a couple extra parts which still really makes me nervous but...we will see what happens lol.(Update: *screams*)
