Hammer A3-31 converted to "CNC"

[Lisa Starr]

I just completed converting my Hammer A3-31 to a "CNC" controlled table. It cost about $300.00 and it is working great. I'm awaiting the arrival of more PLA for the 3D printer and will print a case for the control/screen and a belt guard once it arrives. Here are a couple photos of the setup.
476749476750

I programmed an generic Arduino Mega with a 3.5" TFT touchscreen shield to control a stepper motor. Here are a couple shots of the screens.
476751476752476753

When it is powered up, it automatically "homes" the table and then presents screens depending on your desired actions. It moves at 400 RPM, so it takes about 18 seconds for it to traverse the entire travel distance of the table. I programmed it to allow you to move to an absolute position or to step up or down a particular distance. It has error checking programmed to prevent moving out of range and taking to large of a cut.

I planed with it yesterday for the first time and it worked very well.

Thought others might like to see.

[Steve Wurster]

Wow, that's awesome! And here I thought I was cool with just a little homemade disc that goes over the wheel so I can use a drill to lower and raise the table quickly. I didn't even do the belt / chain hookup. You went full tilt!

Do you have any pics of the stepper motor setup under the table there?

[Lisa Starr]

Here are the pics of the stepper motor. The first is shot from the rear of the machine and the second from the front, under the table.

476756476757

[Ron Selzer]

Nice workmanship, like what you have done
Ron

[ChrisA Edwards]

That's super cool, would love to see a YT video of the whole thing plus a list of components and sources if you would care to share.

I can't tell from your photos, but do you think it would be possible to keep the OEM dial gauge in place for (backup) reference?

It looks like you removed the table locking mechanism? If I don't lock my table, it guarantees snipe.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Lisa, that is awesome!!! Tell us more details.

What size stepper motor is that?

Does the stepper have an encoder and closed-loop control, or do you just rely on counting the number of steps?

Did you write all the software for the UI?

I did a similar motorization of mine, but left the interface manual, and used a brushed DC motor (not a stepper): https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?253281-DIY-PowerDrive-electronic-table-raise-lower-for-a-Hammer-A3-31&highlight=

[Lisa Starr]

Dan, It is a relatively cheap NEMA 23 High Torque stepper from StepperOnLine and can be purchased on Amazon. I also purchased the Stepper Driver and 36 Volt power supply from them.

I didn't go with the closed loop, but will upgrade if I have problems. I wrote the code and have a number of parameters on the setup page to fine tune the performance. After extensive testing, I'm not having any trouble with skipped steps, so probably won't make that upgrade.

I've measured the movement and the maximum it has been out of sync is .016 mm, so I think plenty close for wood. It isn't a project for the faint of heart, and a background in coding is a big help. I didn't have experience in C/C++, but was a programmer in FORTRAN, COBOL and BASIC, so it wasn't too difficult to pickup another language. There is large support community on the web that freely shares code.

[Jim Becker]

THAT...is very kewel!

[George Yetka]

Wow I only have a few hundred cranks left in me before my back is completely done from my Hammer, I should get on this.

[Bert McMahan]

Holy cow I need one of those. Any plans to post your code anywhere?

[Jacques Gagnon]

Fantastic work Lisa! Between your parallel guides for the slider and the motorized A3 you have given a lot of inspiration to some of us. Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

J.

PS: good thing you did not have to set up a reader for your FORTRAN cards 😂.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Fantastic work. Very cool to hear that it didn't require an encoder on the motor, as I imagine it simplifies it quite a lot.

[Ralph Okonieski]

Excellent! I am a big fan of Arduino and have done a few projects. I use the Arduino and a remote to open or close the gates on the dust collector so I do not have to bend to do that. It will open or close multiple gates at one button press. Your project is much more complicated so you have my respect and admiration! Well done!

[Chris Parks]

A bit of a story that I won't go into but I did the same thing a few years ago and had problems with it due to getting the electronic installation wrong and damaging the control electronics. It will be re-installed shortly but the difference with mine is no computer at all just some kind of chip with programming. I recently built a touch screen controlled router table and the A3 electronics are built around the same electronics. I have no electronic knowledge, a friend did it all including the coding.

Go to the top link in this search, why do we have to do this stupid work around to links on other fora I don't know. The conversion to the touch screen control is late in the thread so read it right through.
just another router table - Google Search (https://www.google.com/search?q=just+another+router+table&oq=just+another+router+table&aqs=edge..69i57j69i64.10014j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)

[John Barfield]

Hi Lisa,
That is very impressive. Do you get snipe without the lock handle? johnbarfielddesign.com (http://johnbarfielddesign.com/)

[Lisa Starr]

Hi to all that have commented. Thank you all for the kind comments.

At this time, I don't expect to make the parts list and code available, as my son is considering marketing a retrofit kit, as that dovetails nicely into his machine control retrofit business.

The removal of the locking handle has not caused snipe issues, as the stepper motor provides holding torque while idle. I'm not sure what will happen when I run heavier timbers, and may need to return the locking handle. I removed it to prevent attempting to move the table with it locked which would cause missed steps.

[George Yetka]

Let us know if he will need guinea pigs.

[Lisa Starr]

Thanks George. I'm sure he will need people to try out his kit. Especially to let him know that the mounting instructions are complete and easy to follow.

[Steve Wurster]

Let us know if he will need guinea pigs.

Totally agree with this. I would love to have something like this on my A3.

[Jacques Gagnon]

Lisa,

Please count me in if your son wants to run an « international » field validation exercise. 😁

Nice project to carry out with your son.

Regards,

J.

[George Yetka]

Lisa,

Please count me in if your son wants to run an « international » field validation exercise. 

Nice project to carry out with your son.

Regards,

J.

He would have to test foreign voltages I'm sure

[Steve Wurster]

He would have to test foreign voltages I'm sure

Jacques is in Québec, according to profile location, and I think Canada runs on the same voltage and frequency standards as the US. You are correct about dealing with electrical standards elsewhere though.

[Jacques Gagnon]

Steve,

Thanks for the clarification. We are indeed using 120/240 volts at 60Hz (residential customer). Certification (e.g. UL/CSA) would likely be required for export markets.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Lisa,
That is very impressive. Do you get snipe without the lock handle? johnbarfielddesign.com (http://johnbarfielddesign.com/)

Hi John, obviously I’m not Lisa however I don’t experience snipe without the table lock, in fact I never use it.

Every time I’ve had a complaint about snipe on a Hammer of Felder planer it has been due to improper feed roller adjustment…..Regards, Rod

[Rod Sheridan]

Steve,

Thanks for the clarification. We are indeed using 120/240 volts at 60Hz (residential customer). Certification (e.g. UL/CSA) would likely be required for export markets.

Salut Jacques, the modification Lisa has made uses a low voltage stepper motor, I’ve used 18 volt laptop “brick” supplies for this sort of thing, only requirement would be a brick with a Canadian approval……Regards, Rod.

[Jacques Gagnon]

Thanks Rod.

Always something new to learn everyday and this group is extremely knowledgeable and generous.

[Greg Quenneville]

Lisa, kudos on a very worthwhile upgrade to your machine. I would be happy to be a retail customer of your son’s business when this becomes an actual product. I have older Felder machines and would be happy to provide dimensioned drawings for the BF-6-260 and -310 combos.

Greg

[John Barfield]

Hi Rod,
Relative to other thickness planers, yes the snipe is very slight, easily planed or sanded out. But the adjustments of this machine allow you to work to very close tolerances, and the locking handle ensures consistency, and I tend to go with what works.johnbarfielddesign.com (http://johnbarfielddesign.com/)

[Bobby Robbinett]

This is totally badass Lisa! I wish someone would build a TigerStop clone for use on a miter saw setup. Would be nice if the community came together and came up with a DIY version of it. If someone could figure out the hardware and controller side of things I could get the code written as my neighbor is a software designer and proficient in many languages with regards to coding

[Alex Kapl]

Very cool.

[Leigh Betsch]

Now lets see you get fancy and plane tapers or maybe even "waves" into board faces!

[Bill Dufour]

I have always thought. a "Servo' brand power feeder would be the logical starting point for such a conversion. Often used as a power table feeder on a bridgeport type milling machine. You have to figure out how to attach the drive gear to the crank shaft.
As I understand them the gear drops out of engagement when the motor is not turning. this allows hand cranking with the power off for fine tuning.
Grizzly sells their own version.
Bill D.

[Walter Hayden]

Hi to all that have commented. Thank you all for the kind comments.

At this time, I don't expect to make the parts list and code available, as my son is considering marketing a retrofit kit, as that dovetails nicely into his machine control retrofit business.

The removal of the locking handle has not caused snipe issues, as the stepper motor provides holding torque while idle. I'm not sure what will happen when I run heavier timbers, and may need to return the locking handle. I removed it to prevent attempting to move the table with it locked which would cause missed steps.


Would you be willing to give your thoughts on the functionality of your program? I inferred you added limit detection and a max cut size, but what other functionality did you add. I was considering adding savable preset table values that could be stepped through in successive passes. Making it easier to do production work where several boards are being milled in a single session, and if another boards needs to be milled at a later date, then the same measurements can be recalled and used again; hopefully, ensuring continuity in material.

I appreciate you sharing your project. It has inspired me to see just how many tools I can automate in my own shop.

[Warren Lake]

put your old board in and turn your planer up till the knives are touching or close your choice you will hear the sound before they touch.
]
On my SCM you kick it out of gear and I like that better than a traveling board. Its simple and easy.

[Chris Parks]

Would you be willing to give your thoughts on the functionality of your program? I inferred you added limit detection and a max cut size, but what other functionality did you add. I was considering adding savable preset table values that could be stepped through in successive passes. Making it easier to do production work where several boards are being milled in a single session, and if another boards needs to be milled at a later date, then the same measurements can be recalled and used again; hopefully, ensuring continuity in material.

I appreciate you sharing your project. It has inspired me to see just how many tools I can automate in my own shop.


The system we developed can be configured on the screen to step through cuts and it can also save 200 job configurations as well.

[Bill Dufour]

Can it do stuff like chair seat cutouts or cut shallow circles?
BilL Î

[Chris Parks]

Can it do stuff like chair seat cutouts or cut shallow circles?
BilL Î

It does not have any automatic moveable axis ability because it is a router table, memory can be used for setting up bits, spindle speed, fence position, spindle height etc. The first thing that occurred to me was setting up lock mitre cuts, get it right and never have to do it again even when the bit is taken out and used again much later. The jury is still out on what it can do as the build allows custom tops (a top could be made as a circle jig), spindle placement can be moved as needed and locked front to back and a whole lot more. A sliding fence carriage can control the spindle height for gradually deeper cuts so set the travel limits on the carriage and then set the controller to increase the depth of cut after each pass.

[Joshua Bass]

I just completed converting my Hammer A3-31 to a "CNC" controlled table. It cost about $300.00 and it is working great. I'm awaiting the arrival of more PLA for the 3D printer and will print a case for the control/screen and a belt guard once it arrives. Here are a couple photos of the setup.
476749476750

I programmed an generic Arduino Mega with a 3.5" TFT touchscreen shield to control a stepper motor. Here are a couple shots of the screens.
476751476752476753

When it is powered up, it automatically "homes" the table and then presents screens depending on your desired actions. It moves at 400 RPM, so it takes about 18 seconds for it to traverse the entire travel distance of the table. I programmed it to allow you to move to an absolute position or to step up or down a particular distance. It has error checking programmed to prevent moving out of range and taking to large of a cut.

I planed with it yesterday for the first time and it worked very well.

Thought others might like to see.

Has their been any progress on producing this as a kit? This is something I really am interested in. If you don't plan to sell this, I'd love the code.

[Joshua Bass]

I just completed converting my Hammer A3-31 to a "CNC" controlled table. It cost about $300.00 and it is working great. I'm awaiting the arrival of more PLA for the 3D printer and will print a case for the control/screen and a belt guard once it arrives. Here are a couple photos of the setup.
476749476750

I programmed an generic Arduino Mega with a 3.5" TFT touchscreen shield to control a stepper motor. Here are a couple shots of the screens.
476751476752476753

When it is powered up, it automatically "homes" the table and then presents screens depending on your desired actions. It moves at 400 RPM, so it takes about 18 seconds for it to traverse the entire travel distance of the table. I programmed it to allow you to move to an absolute position or to step up or down a particular distance. It has error checking programmed to prevent moving out of range and taking to large of a cut.

I planed with it yesterday for the first time and it worked very well.

Thought others might like to see.

Looking for updates on this. Was any progress ever made to sell it?