Hammer A3-31 converted to "CNC"

[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.
Attachment 476749Attachment 476750

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.
Attachment 476751Attachment 476752Attachment 476753

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.
Attachment 476749Attachment 476750

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.
Attachment 476751Attachment 476752Attachment 476753

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?