How do i contact TMToronto? I would like to get some files from him. I looking for the brackets for the proximity sensor on X50.
I think you will find these and some of my other files here …
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@TMToronto I don’t know a lot about how these inductive proximity sensors but I have a question about mounting the sensors with a bolt passing in front of the sensor as you’ve configured it. If I had a controller that supported auto-squaring, how does on ensure that the two sensors on the Y axes are perfectly aligned. Do you have to nudge the bolt ever so slightly so that it turns on at exactly the same time as the other Y axis? I would have thought having a bolt that travels inline with the sensor would make this adjustment far easier, no?
I prefer to have the sensing object approach parallel to the sensing surface - it gave me peace of mind when I first started building my machine, so I didn’t worry about the gantry crashing into the sensors. It gives a little more control over sensing distance and hysteresis, but I tend to fixate on little things, and try to get accuracy and repeatability down to the micron capability of the particular sensor.
The short answer is that adjusting a screw that approaches perpendicular to the sensing surface would likely be easier, but again I am happy to work at it using my setup no matter how long it takes, especially since you should only need to do it once.
I use my pendant on the smallest sub-mm increment, and adjust the sensors until they both trigger at the exact same time (to the best of my ability). I then carefully check the square of my X/Y axes using a 600 mm precision ruler and the crosshairs of a USB endoscope camera. I keep adjusting until it is as perfect as possible to my eyes. Here is the method (which also involves confirming the accuracy of the axes’ travel)… https://youtu.be/7UsFWfy-J6k
I am still using 3D printed mounts for the sensor, and now a metal strip for the trigger, so it is conceivable that changes in temperature and the structure of the PLA mounts will impact the repeatability. Also, these sensors are not particularly expensive or highly precise models. Having said that, this setup has proven to be extremely repeatable when tested using both MDI commands and various measuring instruments.
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Thanks. Yeah, I’ve read similar posts in other forums about not having the sensor inline with the plate exactly for this reason (any problem basically means your sensor is going to be destroyed assuming there aren’t hard stops that prevent that from happening). It just wasn’t clear to me how these proximity sensors work when the field sink enters into the field…at what point does the sensor actually trigger and that seems harder to calibrate in this configuration (not that I’ve tried…still scoping out the work involved).
Thanks!
I didn’t find it particularly difficult, just time consuming, but the end result is definitely worth it regardless of how you end up mounting/triggering the sensors.
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