The Z axis magnets were moved off axis to increase holding power. During testing, the biggest weakness that was observed was its inability to handle heavy pieces. Increasing load capacity is now top priority. The machine needs to be a workhorse. It needs to do work that would be difficult or painful to do manually
Dual motors and more drive rollers should increase torque and reduce drift
Offset magnets dramatically increase load capacity, meeting the design goal of 5 pounds. Of course, actually controlling a 5 pound piece of spinning hot glass will probably be challenging, with lots of new problems, but progress is being made
New handle mount and steel flex conduit to protect the wires. Wires are rated at 200 degrees C (392F). This should survive the radiant heat of a large piece or an occasional brush with a torch
Added left side lever. Current controls are..
Left lever - Squeeze to release brakes
Front button - On/off
Back button - Horiz brake on/off
Thumbwheel - Speed
Footpedal - Pause, reverse, step when in step mode
I used to work in the musical instrument biz. Designing UI controls for artists is tricky, and it's almost never right the first time
Wiring complete, all functions work as designed. Time to use it to make some glass thing
Initial concept rendering with horizontal locking
After using it without horizontal locking. Matt Gieseler and I both agreed that it would work fine without horizontal locking for most purposes, but for those times when horizontal locking is needed, development continues
It's stronger than ever, but Matt can still stall it. As it gets stronger, it gets heavier and harder to move around. I'm building the horizontal lock parts, even though I believe horizontal lock will rarely be needed and it makes everything heavier
A balance must be found
First set of parts complete for horizontal locking
After a few mods, horizontal locking works
Ready for a road trip to Marcel's studio
On the bench, next to Proto 9, at Marcel's studio