Mini Lathe Controller - TB6600 - USBMach - DC Power

grabcad

Pole mounted USB controller, step modules, and power supplies for mini lathe conversion. Mounts under bench welded to a 2x2in. pole that extends above to support a VESA mounted monitor.The chinese TB6600 modules (actually based on TB67S109AFTG) were modified to allow the heatsinks to physically contact spacer (manufacturer's hack, not mine) on top of the driver ICs - instead of relying on extremely thick blobs of thermal compound on either side of the spacer (which was all that was holding the spacers in place). Several opto isolators on the BL-USBMach controller (at least one of which couldn't keep up with a 42Hz spindle index pulse...) were replaced with real components.The 12V 18A power supplies are bricks from old Dell small form factor PCs, one each for controller and the PC. DB9 connectors are for X and Y axis outputs, input index from spindle, and 0-10VDC output for spindle speed. Dual 8 position terminal block mounting locations provide option for those who can't make up their mind until the last minute.Tests of the $12 controller and modified $8 step modules under load in fixture with Mach3 over several days did not reveal any lost steps with passive cooling - which I didn't expect.Under normal circumstances Gecko or IMS step modules would have been installed along with an FPGA based controller and (at least) 24V power supply. Any combination of these options would have exceeded the value ($100+/-) of the converted and functional Harbor Freight "Precision" (sic) Mini Lathe...