Last week, in another thread, I promised to design a jog pendant if Carbide would re-enable the full jog functionality via the keypad. Of course, I quickly learned that Carbide has already done this in a more recent version of CM than the one I was using. (I was using 407. It is in the current release, 412.) I’ve spent the last few days trying to make good on my promise. I’m not done yet, but I thought I’d share my progress in this thread. I’ll show what I’ve done so far and I’ll continue to update this thread as I make progress. I hope I’ll have something working in a week or two.
I’m using this project as an excuse to learn Fusion 360, so that’s where I started. After a few days of beating my head against the screen, I finally have a design that probably would have taken a Fusion 360 veteran less than an hour to finish. Still, I’m pretty proud of it.
The idea is that the z-axis control will be done via two buttons on the front, which will be operated by your index finger. The flat part on top will have a 5-way directional switch for x- and y-axis control using your thumb, as well as the jog increment mode switch (NUM LOCK). Three more switches above or below the directional switch will be used to select the jog increment - Fast, 1mm, or 0.1mm. (I don’t use 0.01mm.)
Below are some pictures of a 3D print of the prototype case. I’m using this to verify the overall size and shape and to help me locate the best place for the switches. I still have to add features inside the top shell to mount the wireless module and all of the switches. I also need to add a battery compartment to the bottom shell.
Once I’m sure that everything works and the design is stable, I’ll share all of my files (Fusion 360, STLs, & gerbers, if applicable).
