#11 Has died a fiery death– Cape Town (S. Africa)

[Alan_c]

Greetings all

After being an active observer for some time and asking the odd question and making the odd observation, its time I started documenting my build. Firstly I want to thank the forum for all the input so far as all those bits of info and gems of knowledge helps make it easier. I am also fortunate enough to be within calling distance of Gerald (phone and visit) so no challenge or difficulty will be insurmountable.

I am building the machine for my Father to use in his business (makes wooden educational equipment) so he is supplying the budget, He gets a productive machine and I get to build it (aren’t Dads great?)

Currently I am busy with the control panel (kitchen table project, though in my case it’s more like the garage workbench project) and have acquired most of the electrical components except the Geckos (waiting for funds, should be this week) and spindle motor with VFD. The Spindle will come much later as that has to be imported and we don’t need it now anyway. I don’t know if the other guys who have gone this far will agree with me but most (80%) of the cost of the MechMate is in the electrics (incl spindle and VFD) so if you are going to build it, build it as big as possible that your space and work type allows, the steel for the table and gantry is a minor cost (relatively).

My Specs so far:

3 Phase 380V main supply.
Bob Campbell BOB and relay board.
300VA Power Supply.
4x Oriental Motor PK299-F4.5A 2.8V Stepper Motors
4x Gecko 203V stepper drives
Table size to take 2.75m x 1.83m (9’ x 6’) boards
3KW HSD Spindle
Delta VFD Inverter

The pics below show some of the electrical components, base plate for the panel with most of the components placed and my test rig to test the workings of the electrical panel.


I have gone with a slightly different layout on the panel due in part to the size of the Campbell BOB and relay board, and that I will be mounting the geckos on a heat sink mounted over a cut-out on the left side of the box, as seen on a project on CNCZone. This configuration will hopefully not need a fan inside, but if the internal temperature does get too high I can always add one. I am building the panel into a second hand (read free) box so there are some extra holes that will not be required, these will be closed up.

While doing some more reading last night, I fear I may have an underpowered power supply. I managed to get the steppers locally as part of a very sweet deal, but had already decided on a 300VA transformer as I assumed that it would be correct (yes yes I know never assume…) and got caught up in the excitement of buying components without checking every detail. The 300VA supply would work great for 1Amp motors, but these beautiful shiny new babies are rated at 4.5Amp Unipolar, which by my calculations will require at least 600VA (50x4.5x4x0.67 = 603). What should I do? I am sure (here he goes assuming again..) that the current power supply will work for the testing and building phase, but will I need to upgrade when it comes to doing the serious work?

[Alan_c]

An updated photo of the panel and test board with some of the wiring done.

I have used mostly 1.5mm wire as I had it on hand, but will be changing some of them to 0.75mm where possible. The lower bank houses from left to right the main disconnect with 4th pole, MCB to protect the control circuit, motor and PSU contactor, terminal blocks for internal power distribution, space for Siemens Thermistor Relay, Connector blocks for fan motor and thermistor, Connector blocks for 220V E-stop circuit and VFD control signals. In the space above is the relay board and connector block for the inputs to the BOB. The connections to the Gecko’s will be off the BOB on the right hand side. My aim is that all 220v wires will cross signal wires at 90 deg or be sufficiently separated from them. Most of the mains current will be on the left and the signal lines on the right.

[Gerald D]

You make it look too pretty! :)

Yes, the cost is mostly in the electrics. And for me that is also where the learning curve and sleepless nights lie. A "simulator" like this is worth its weight in gold. It is NOT wasted time before building the real thing - this is the real thing!

That big capacitor without any load on it can give a nasty surprise - it will probably take 10 minutes to discharge low enough to make connections to it.

You will find out if your 300VA transformer is too small if it gets hot. If it doesn't get hot, then it is okay. Don't loose any sleep over that now. (It doesn't cause loss of performance if it is too small). What you can do now is to see if your capacitor is big enough - quite simple to add a second cap in parallel.

No need to replace neat 1.5mm2 wiring with 0.75mm2. You will not gain anything by this.

Where will your cables enter your cabinet? Have you got enough space for the first stiff bit of cable after the gland before you can bend it in the right direction? One needs to be careful of working too close to the edges of the back plate inside the housing.

Don't underestimate the mass of wires going to the Gecko's for the simulator project. There are 9 wires per Gecko, 36 wires in total - some with nasty consequences if they come loose or short out. Moving the motor panel, the back panel and heat sink around on the kitchen table can be an enlightening (briefly) experience.

[Richards]

You've done a beautiful job in layout and design! As far as the 300W power supply goes, if it gets too hot (as Gerald explained), replace the current limit resistors in the G203 stepper drivers with resistors specified for 1.5A or 2A. That will reduce the usability of the 299-F4.5 motors (which are excellent motors) until you can upgrade the toroidal transformer to a larger unit. You may find that the 300W unit is perfectly adequate. It all depends on how many axes are active at the same time and how hard you are pushing the motors. On my test bench, my 500W transformer never gets hotter than room temperature, which means that a 300W transformer would be more than adequate. (However, a 'standard' transformer at my second test bench always runs hot, even though it is 2X the required size. It's just the difference between a toroid transformer and a standard transformer.)

[Marc Shlaes]

Beautiful!

What J.R. did to raise the bar on the mechanical side, Alan_c has done for the simulator. I intend to follow this lead precisely.

But... Gerald, we still owe it all to you. You are bringing out this level of excellence.

This is awesome!

[Alan_c]

Thanks Mike & Gerald

The cable will enter the top of the box on the left hand side (adjacent to the transformer) and enter the trunking just below the transformer, where it will then go to the top of the main disconnect.

The pics dont show it very clearly, but the panel is resting on a desk-top easel which has space for the Geckos and heatsink on the right. This allows me to change the angle of the panel so I dont have to reach over too far to get to items at the top. If the panel and Gecko heatsink are on the same support I should avoid any fireworks while moving things around:eek:

[Gerald D]

Marc, it is good to see this great work, but it makes it difficult for a lot of others to freely show what they have done. This is just a note to encourage everyone to share their progress, particularly those that have never tackled anything like this before and who are climbing a big mountain.

[Marc Shlaes]

Good point! I'll remember that.

[Greg J]

Alan,

Very nice work!!

Look forward to your progress.

Greg

[Alan_c]

Here is a PDF of my electrical panel circuit, just remember this is only applicable to my machine and I accept no responsibility for any faults in this document. This is neither a reccomended nor approved circuit diagram and I am sure MechMate accepts no responsibility.

With the legal disclaimer out of the way, please review and comment where anyone can see any major glaring faults. If you can use any ideas please do so, but if its wrong dont blame me - I am no electrical engineer.

[Alan_c]

Advise needed with my control circuit.

I am using the Bob Campbell Board with relay board. This relay board has 4 relays. The fourth relay (RL4) is activated by the charge pump so the NO contacts are closed. This enables one to use this relay to control the power to the PSU and Inverter.

I have wired my supply for the control circuit through this relay so when the charge pump signal is not present, the NC terminals will light a panel front light labeled FAULT. This also inhibits any current from the start button. When the charge pump signal is present, the NO contact will close, extinguishing the light and allowing current to flow to the start button. If the start button is pushed current flows to the coil to energise the contactor. As the contactor has a latching circuit the contactor will remain closed until one of the stop or E-stop buttons are depressed. When this contactor closes, current flows to the PSU and Inverter. So far so good…

The low voltage E-stop circuit also flows through a relay inside the inverter that is normally closed when all is good. Should the inverter “fault” for whatever reason, this relay contact will open causing the BOB to generate an E-stop signal to MACH which will stop sending the charge pump signal, this will cause RL4 to open.

Now I have two ways of wiring this circuit, see the attached drawings.

In the first circuit, when RL4 opens, the contactor will not release as it is not in line with the latching circuit. This means there is still power to the inverter and PSU although of course all motion and the spindle would have stopped because of the missing charge pump signal. The fan on the inverter would still be operational, as it would be receiving power.

In the second circuit, when RL4 opens, the contactor will release as it is in line with the latching circuit. This will cause all power to stop flowing to both the PSU and Inverter as would usually happen when one of the E-stop buttons is activated.

I am not too keen on the idea of cutting all power when the inverter faults (too much like pulling the plug from the wall). I can understand when there is blood or smoke that pushing an E-stop does this, but is it advisable for this drastic action with a relatively minor thing like an inverter fault?

Mind you when an overheating spindle triggers the thermal relay, it has the same effect as pushing an E-stop button (AC1Q2 Term 95 & 96), which is in line with the latching circuit causing the contactor to drop out, so am I being over sensitive to the needs of my inverter (sounds like Dr Phil) or is it just too late at night?

Any comments gladly accepted.

[Alan_c]

Here are the files as mentioned above

[Gerald D]

Hi Alan, I am getting some A3 paper to make a readable plot before I can comment - not avoiding you, promise. :)

[Alan_c]

If you need PDF files e-mailed to you directly, let me know as I dont know how well those images will print.

[Richards]

Alan,
I have no answer to your question because, it seems to me, that either option would work, depending on your personal preferences.

The design that I'm playing with allows only the E-stop switch to open the main contactor - which kills all power to the box just as if the the door switch were opened or the main breaker on the subpanel were opened. All other major circuits will have their own latching contactors. In other words, the VFD will receive its power from the main contactor, which is controlled by the E-stop switch, but it will also have a contactor that controls the low voltage circuit to the start/stop/run inputs. That circuit will require the main controller to output a steady-state signal to the contactor AND a manual momentary switch closure to latch the contactor ON before the spindle will start. The latch circuit for the spindle can then have its own stop switch as well as a temperature operated switch.

The steppers may also have a similar circuit. Power to the steppers might be controlled by the main contactor, but the common signal line for the step and direction signals might be controlled by a latching contactor. That would allow the main controller to activate the contactor with a steady-state signal WHEN the operator pressed a manual momentary switch to latch the contactor ON. That circuit could also incorporate limit switches (with manual bypass switches) as well as an emergency kill switch.

The idea behind multiple contactors is to be able to isolate any circuit so that the operator could perform some function without being injured. For instance, the contactor controlling the spindle could be locked out while the operator changed a cutter. (In my example, the spindle contactor circuit is not fail-safe, since only the run/start/stop circuit is disabled. Power would still be present at the spindle.) The contactor controlling the steppers could be locked out to enable the operator to position material on the table.

The complexity of a controller can easily become almost unmanagable if safety circuits are installed to preclude every possible problem. In a real-world situation, if I were the only person operating the machine, I would have minimal safety devices installed, with the hope that I would be prudent and cautious while operating the machine. However, if I hired someone else to run the machine, I would need more safety related circuitry to protect the operator - and to protect me from being sued in case of an accident. If more than one person were to operate the machine - at the same time - for instance, one person changing the cutter while another person positions material on the table, then I would have to maximize the safety circuits so that everyone is protected from the machine and from each other.

(If possible, consider visiting a computerized machine shop or woodworking shop that uses 'big iron' equipment. Note the various safety devices built into the machinery. The suppliers of 'big iron' equipment have to comply with all required safety regulations.)

[Gerald D]

Alan & Mike

Havn't looked at the questions in detail yet, but there is a general problem in trying to E-stop a VFD powered motor, not just for CNC.....

The quickest stop is to remove the command to the VFD, but leave the mains power connected - this applies "reverse current". But, will this always work if the VFD is faulty?

The surest way to stop the motor is to remove the mains power, but then the spindle/motor takes forever to come to standstill (will be quicker if it was gnawing at your hand)

[Gerald D]

Alan, have looked at this now and your first big pdf looks okay. You have a solid grasp of what does what and why so I am going to leave you to make your own choices :)

But a couple of comments could help to sway you......

If the VFD inverter faults, or if the spindle overheats, you can use this to sound an alarm before it stops the spindle, giving you time to stop the job elegantly without losing calibration positions. Snag is, this will be so rare that you won't recognise the alarm.....

Or you can relay inverter fault and overtemp to "feedhold" with a timer shutdown (spindle stop) a second later.....

Loss of charge pump signal is rather drastic. By then all calibration would have been lost. A "drastic" E-stop won't make the situation any worse.

A VFD inverter can cope with mains failure quite happily - no problem to switch mains (even under load) once or twice a day. The VFD guys just don't want you to use that as the primary method for stopping and starting a motor, but they accept that mains is cut under E-stop conditions.

If something makes the spindle stop, you want the steppers to stop pronto before mechanical damage results.

If the steppers stop mysteriously, the spindle should stop soonish before a fire breaks out.

Things can go wrong in mysterious ways and systems can be built to detect the causes, but the foolproof way is to shoot first and ask questions later.

Don't forget to (E) stop the dust collector and vacuum table if a fire situation is developing.

Consider a mechanical switch to lockout the spindle while you change cutters (We had one near miss....)

[Alan_c]

Thanks for the replies above.

Elsewhere in the forum the matter of grounding is discussed and the requirement to keep computer grounds seperate from the control panel ground, so am I correct in assuming that if I am to mount a Serial cable connector to the control panel enclosure (projecting through the side of the enclosure so that I connect the serial cable from the computer to the connector with the wire inside going to the BOB) that this connector must be isolated from the steel enclosure. I want to do this so that I dont have a big hole for the serial cable end to pass through that then needs to be closed/sealed against the dust.

[J.R. Hatcher]

Alan could you cut the end off the cable, fit a rubber gromet in the control box and get a new cable end and hood then solder it on from the inside? The only down side I see to this is if the cable goes bad later down the road you will do it again.

[Gerald D]

Alan, we have a big slot (yellow) in the bottom of the box where the connector enters. The plan was fit a (blue) cover plate with a (red) split grommet, but there is so little dust in the box that we havn't bothered to do it yet. (PS. it is a parallel cable, not serial)

267

[Alan_c]

With the Campbell board, you don't bring the printer cable all the way to the BOB - the ribbon apparently goes to the side of the box and that's where the printer cable meets it.

My question is must this cable port be isolated from the case?

If I measure mith my multimeter on the metal casing at either end of the PARALLEL cabel I get continuity, so if the port (which is metal) is connected to the cable, and the other end of the cable is connected to the computer which is also metal and is earthed, will I be inducing a ground loop?
The earth prong of the computer supply cable is connected back to the case of the control panel as it gets its power from there. The earth of the case is common with the earth of the computer.
Next question, is the "ground" that we have to keep seperate, isolated from earth at the computer side as well?

[Gerald D]

Everybody agrees a cable shield should not be connected at both ends, but there is no discussion that I can remember about the shield of a printer cable being connected at both ends. Maybe all printer cables are not like that?

On our PMDX it is not an issue because the whole BOB "floats" away from earth. We did earth it by mistake in the beginning and had some interference problems. PMDX does have "isolated" BOB's that can be grounded apparently, but I am not sure what exactly this means. Maybe your Campbell board is isolated, but that doesn't get rid of the ground loop, maybe the ground loop doesn't matter if the BOB is of the isolated type. It is all Greek to me!

Why not cut a big hole, mount a plastic sheet over it, and then mount the port in the isolated part? That could cut out a lot of "maybe" discussions.

[Richards]

If possible unscrew the covers from each end of the parallel cable to see if the shield is just soldered to the metal part of the connector. If that is the situation, cut the shield conductor and tape off the shield at one end of the cable (preferably the end that connects to the computer - but either end will work).

[Alan_c]

My parallel cable that I will be using has moulded ends so that is not an option. On an old severed cable I have, the shield is a mylar film with an uninsulated wire connecting the two metal cases at either end. To over come any doubts, I have made an insulating mounting for the port. pics to follow soon...

[Alan_c]

Here are some more update pics.

No1 shows the insulator I made for the parallel port

No2 shows the arrangement fitted to the case

No3 is an internal view

No4 Shows the Geckos mounted on the heatsink (darn those critters are small!) You may also notice all the labels on the interconnecting wires of the panel - that helps me make order of what could be a tangle of spagetti. All my circuit diagrams have corresponding labels and numbering and I have made a spreadsheet listing every wire with its identifier, source and destination, (still to add length), colour and size. my thinking is that if I make fault finding so easy, I hopefully wont have to...:rolleyes:

[Gerald D]

Yup, those Gecko's are small and light, and the first reaction is "Is this what all the fuss & expense is about?" :)

On printer cables....
There have been rare reports of printer cables that don't have the full 25 cores. They only have the minimum necessary to make a printer work.

[Belli]

Hi All,

Printer cables have all 25 connections, what you are referring to is 'Modem' cables which have nine connections and will be marked as such, worse offenders are 'Null modem' cables which have nine and two connections reversed. If if it has the centronics connectors it's a printer cable for sure but they are very difficult to find now and rarely used.

Cheers

[Gerald D]

An 18 core cable is sufficient to make a printer (and a BOB for CNC) work (pin no.'s 18 to 25 can be served by a single core - all ground).

I shouldn't have said "printer" cable - as Belli points out, there are a variety of cables with DB25 connectors on the ends and funny things happening on the cores.

[Richards]

Modem cables usually have 9-pin or 25-pin connectors on both ends while a printer cable that is used with a PC has a 25-pin male connector at the computer end and a male Centronics connector at the printer/BOB end.

Belli is correct about serial cables. Before IBM joined the Personal Computer arena, it seemed that each device manufacturer tried to invent their own wiring schemes. Instead of standardizing on DTE or DCE (depending on whether the device was considered to be a terminal or a computer) and using the protocol that defined how each conductor/signal was to be used, everyone danced to their own tune. Back then, I owned several break-out-boxes so that I could switch conductors around until I found a combination that worked for a particular device. Even after figuring out the wiring scheme, we often had to write custom serial drivers to use the "handshake" signals in non-standard ways.

But, back to printer cables. I've found that printer cables that are designed to work with Laser Printers have worked properly with my PMDX-122 BOB.

[Alan_c]

Whoohoo it lives...:D:D:D:D:D

Just completed wiring the test panel, gingerly switched on, checked BOB as per instructions - all OK, switched on power supply - no exploding caps (what a releif), but the system keeps faulting indicating a limit is activated - not using shielded cable on test bench so the 220V signal lines are causing inteference, moved them away from the input signal lines, now it starts with no fault...pushed left arrow on keyboard...HOORAAAAH Ive got that stepper motor motion rush, I'm sure you wont get the smile off my face for a week.

All motors turn on command, no smoke from any possible sources, no heat at all (should I be worried), ran some G-code files and all seems cool, the system e-stopped occaisonally but I am sure it is only because of the unshielded cables.

Busy enjoying an ice cold Windhoek (best local beer) and thoughts of thanks to all on the forum and especially to Gerald, this would not have been possible without you - THANK YOU

[Greg J]

CONGRATULATIONS Alan!!!!!!!!!!!

It is a rush, isn't it :D And for some odd reason,I bet that beer taste better than usual.

Lets see some pictures.

Greg

[Gerald D]

Well done Alan!

I'll have a glass (or 3) of red wine in your honour tonight.

[Alan_c]

Here we go Greg A quick pic to prove there is no smoke :D

The black and white propellor disks on the motor shaft ends helps one to see small movements.

Gerald, I'll match your glass(s) with my own thanks

[Greg J]

WOW!!! Very nice setup. The only problem is, my wife wants to know how come my setup isn't in the shop :)

Nice work Alan. I'll have a beer (after my evening run) and toast to your success.

Greg

[Gerald D]

Greg, have you noticed that your Miller beer is produced by SABMiller. Ever wondered where the SAB part comes from? :)

[Greg J]

Gerald,

I'm not a big Miller drinker, but do drink allot of Henry Weinhard's when I can find it. Its also produced by SABmiller. This forum is just full of valuable information :)

I am going to try and locate some Windhoek. I worked in a winery for quite some time (they couldn't get rid of me). SA produces some very fine wines.

Geeez, I'm getting thirsty. I think I'll go for my run early. I'll have a toast to SA.

Greg

[Belli]

Hi Alan,

No need to rewire your chassis plate, just go to General config and change your debounce timing to a small value like 10 or 20 and won't have any further trouble.

Cheers,
Greg:)

[Alan_c]

Thanks Greg, I will give that a try but I am going to replace those wires with shielded ones eventually.

Now can anyone recommend any good G-code tutorials/downloads, I have the MACH manual but am looking for more details and examples. I am used to programming on proprietry software (Biesse and SCM) so most of the coding happens in the background.

Regards
Al

[Gerald D]

Alan if you had to program something for the Biesse, where would you start?

[Alan_c]

It would depend on the type of item I was working on. If it was a complex item such as a toilet seat (lots of curves with very few straight lines) I would obviously start in my CAD package and export a dxf to the Biesse software. Then would start a long and laborious process of ordering the lines and changing directions depending on how they were originally drawn. If this process was successful (make one wrong selection and you have to start again with the import...? The Italians know how to complicate matters:mad:) the software is then able to generate the coding for the program based on tool parameters entered etc. If it is a simple item such as a cabinet side panel for example all the programming is done within the software by just telling it outside dimensions, hole positions and depths etc. One does not get to actually work on the coding directly.

I have worked with Enroute before which is MUCH more user friendly and intuitive. I know I will be able to achieve most of what I want by using LasyCAM but I still want to understand how the machine thinks and processes code... I know, I'm inquisitive, that is usually what gets me into trouble :rolleyes:

[Gerald D]

I once helped someone with a Biesse program and they didn't even have the facility (or know about it) to start with a dxf. We were so used to CAD and DXF's before CNC, that even a simple rectangle gets drawn in CAD first and then via CAM to code. Result is that we never bother to understand code either.

(Hope you don't mind that I moved the mystery poster to the Market thread. I reckon if a guy doesn't want to give a name and location he has another agenda?)

[Alan_c]

No problem with moving the mystery poster, I agree if they dont want to be identified maybe we dont want to know them...

Have been scratching around and found the EMC NIST site which has some useful info here (http://www.linuxcnc.org/handbook/RS274NGC_3/RS274NGC_33a.html#999262) it is open source so hopefully there is no problem with placing the link. I realise that it is specifically aimed at the Linux guys but the coding and interpratation seems the same.

[Alan_c]

I received this recently from CNC Direct (http://www.cncdirect.co.za)here in South Africa to test as an alternative to the other more well known boards available.

At first glance it is a very nice compact well made board with a good finish and it has some interesting features, most notable that it can be used as a full six axis board (obviously at the expense of other general outputs and charge pump output). Overall size is 160 x 100 x 50 (inc supplied standoffs) for the metrically challenged that’s 6.3” x 4” x 2”.

The board is powered by a 7v and 17v (AC) input supplied by the torroid transformer in the background. There are on-board rectifiers and caps to provide 10V and 24V DC (protected by 1amp fuses). The 24V is available to power off board load and as the positive for the 5 inputs (24V – Pin – Gnd). That should supply enough current to keep the switch contacts clean (discussed on another thread) and would work with appropriate proximity switches.

The bank of relays is driven by the outputs of pins 1, 14, 16 & 17 if these pins are not being used as step and direction signals – selectable by a row of jumpers behind the parallel port. Although these relays are rated at 12A, the manufacturer recommends keeping this to about 2amps because of the PCB track limitations.

The board is also capable of supplying a 0 to 10v signal for a VFD but I am not yet sure how to configure this, must be something to do with PWM and ports and pin settings? There is an input for a vari-pot so it is possible to manually override the set spindle speed.

The outputs to the Geckos (would one use anything else :rolleyes:) can supply both +5v and 0v so is compatible with both gnd common and +5v common drives.

Currently the Campbell board is working well in my test setup and I’m not too keen at this stage to go and rebuild that portion of the panel (note to self: must cut back on the time spent just admiring what I have achieved so far – is there a support group for someone with this affliction or does the forum suffice???) however this will definitely form the core of the panel for machine no 2 due to its size and features.

CNC Direct also has a power supply board to simplify the PSU construction and may also be working on an I/O board that has got my interest piqued – must have more inputs… the possibilities of things I can do with more inputs is endless and besides power is nothing without control.

(PS I am not employed by CNC Direct nor do I have any affiliation with the company and I am not endorsing this product but will give feedback to the forum once I have tested it. The decision to use the information supplied is entirely your own)

[Alan_c]

Speaking of inputs I have managed with only the four inputs to achieve full homing and limits and pause and resume. I have wired the microswitches for Z, Y and X-left in series to one input and X-right to a second input. This works because when you home the machine in MACH it first moves the Z axis until the switch opens, and then backs off slightly, then the Y to the switch and off and then X. When the two X switches open (NC switches) the gantry backs off until both switches close again, then the X-right motor reverses again until that switch opens and then it backs off until its closed to leave the machine homed. The position of the switch ramp for the second x motor determines the squareness of the gantry. The other two inputs I have used for pause and start buttons as Gerald has done.

I still would like to be able to set up a Z-zero plate but have no more inputs, hence my desire mentioned above.

Does anyone know how to set up MACH to be able to do Z-zero with a touch plate of known thickness and how that offset can be fed into MACH so that tool length compensation takes place automatically?

I will not have an auto tool changer so every time a bit is changed the tool must be zeroed which tends to be fraught will all sorts of dangers and frustrations to achieve accuracy.

(mental picture in my mind of a young assistant doing a tool zero on a Multicam but forgetting to place the ground clamp on the tool as the spindle had ceramic bearings – the sound of an expensive solid tungsten tool disintegrating as it tries to force its way through the touch plate is not one you erase from your mind in a hurry :eek:)

[Alan_c]

I have been working on the design of my angle iron trimming machine and decided to make a wooden prototype to test the concept. It is a combination of Geralds original idea and a sample on J.R.'s thread.

I felt it would be difficult to move a 3m (10ft) length of angle iron past a fixed grinder and still keep it under control. My moving grinder attachment rides on alwayse (http://www.alwayse.co.uk) ball units (a steel ball riding on many smaller balls held captive in a cup). I had originally thought of using normal bearings on edge but was concerned with the tendency that they would have of moving off line if not travelling 100% parallel to the angle iron. With these ball units I will be able to apply side pressure as well as longitudinal pressure.

The prototype was made of some ply I had laying around in the garage so excuse the odd bit of paint and pen marks - I will be making a production model with steel as the ply has too much flex.

I am using a Ryobi angle grinder as its what I had available but then it comes with a hidden advantage. The gear head has metal threaded bushings that were originally used to mount the guard, this makes it easy to mount to the holding plate. It has three M4 threads and one M5 thread. I have used SS cap screws to mount the holding plate.

The four set bolts allow me to adjust the height of the cutting disk off the table as well as allowing me move it higher to mount a grinding disk to polish the top of the cut angle iron.

I dont like that bit of cutting disk exposed at the back so the production model will have a modified holding plate to cover the disk.

I did not have a sample piece of angle iron at hand so I have shown the assembled unit next to a length of timber instead.

[J.R. Hatcher]

Don't try to cut deep, I found this out the hard way. The cut will heat up and the 1/16" disc will suffer loss. The first 12' rail I cut down took about 4 disc, the second took almost as many. When I started the 8' rails I worked smarter by taking longer faster passes. The 8' rails took 1 disc each and a lot less time. Go easy when the disc cuts through, this is another place where you use up a lot of disc.

[Gerald D]

Yes, you don't use a grinder like a table saw. A grinder touching red-hot metal just chews up the disk. Use an oscillating motion that moves the disk to cold metal all the time. (Those chop-saw cut-off grinders are terrible at chewing up disks)

[Doug_Ford]

Beautiful craftsmanship Alan. I like the idea of moving the tool rather than the angle iron. I moved the iron and it was a real bear. I started out cutting the 8 foot pieces in case I screwed one up it would be cheaper to replace it. When I started cutting the 12 footers, I switched to a new silicon spray and it ended up creating a gooey mess that actually made it harder to push the steel. I didn't figure that out until I had cut for a couple of hours. I just assumed the 12 foot lengths were much heavier than the 8 foot lengths.

[Alan_c]

Gerald

While doing the countersinks on the y car end plates and gantry carrier plate (10 20 454) I noticed for the first time that the two carrier plates are bent up the same - not mirror images of each other. Will this cause a problem?

I know one of the other guys had the same problem but couldn't find that message to see the answer so sorry for the repeat question.

[Gerald D]

Jeesh, you should find yourself a new supplier! ;)

No problem with "handing" those plates. I drew them handed originally because I believed at that time I would be drawing wiring harnesses down to the last 10mm. This "mistake" is only going to affect which gantry tube you might use to pass the cable through . . . . if you run the cable up along the spring.

Which reminds me...do try and install the motors with their cable entry pointing down so that dust falls out. We have already destroyed the bearings in 2 stepper motors due to dust ingress.

[Alan_c]

Jeesh, you should find yourself a new supplier! ;)

Naah - He's too valuable :rolleyes:

[Alan_c]

I received these this morning from Superior Bearings, thanks Rick.

Quality looks very good and the price was extremely reasonable. The price of the complete package with shipping to South Africa was less than what I could get the V-tyres turned for here in Cape Town, and that was using ductile cast iron, it would have been more had I had the wheels turned from special steel and then hardened with the possibility of distortion etc. It would be cheaper if I could do them myself, but I dont have the equipment.

Overall a very good deal.

[Gerald D]

Rick was a late discovery. I went down the DIY route when the local BWC/Hepco agents wanted about $60 per size 2 wheel. ("Star Pneumatics" or someone like that)

[Alan_c]

Spent the day at work today (as I have been last 3 weekends) doing major maintenance and cleaning on our auto spray machine so progress has been slow (not to mention financial constraints) but I have managed to weld up the Y car in the interim - pics to follow

[Gerald D]

If you want help with welding the table, my welder guys would be happy to help. They take on "private jobs" which they are allowed to do in their own time on my premises - they know how to read my drawings :)

[Alan_c]

Thanks for the offer Gerald, but its the steel purchase thats holding me up, not the welding ability (I used to be a coded mig welder - certification since lapsed) and I know your drawings so well by now, I could probably draw them from memory...:D

[Alan_c]

I am sure Gerald and the rest of my online friends had given up on me as there had'nt been a post for some months, but things are moving forward again...;)

Collected all the nuts, bolts, washers and other fasteners on friday - all in for R135.00 (about $20.00).

I have had some more laser cut parts done: Cable tray parts, grinder skate, cutter skate (my design), stiffening closures, upper strut bracket and hold down swing plate. Laser cutting and bending for these parts (11 items) R815 ($113) which is a bit steep, but as I dont have an established relationship with the laser cutters, they tend to rip the ring on the bending charging about R40 per bend. Guys with established business with them pay in the single figures for bending :eek:

Welded up the gantry today and tested the angle cutting jig on a piece of offcut 60x60. - works like a charm. I am hoping to cut down the two angles for the gantry tomorrow and then start on the bevel grinding.

I made some mods to the grinder skate to fit my Ryobi grinder but it has ended up putting the grinding wheel in a different position to the standard item, this means I have to drop lower to the angle to get the full grind. I may just extend the slots so that the grinder holding plate is able to move further across. ( this means I will also have to extend the cut out in the base plate as the grinding wheel will foul the edge) - pics to follow...

[smreish]

Alan,
Glad to see your back on the wagon! Nice rail cutting tool...I sure bet it glides nice.
Sean

[Greg J]

Hey Alan,

I never gave up on ya. I spent over 2 months working on my skate design (we won't talk about that any more) and a gantry crane, and people thought I had given up. Never happen!!

Finished up on the X and Y cable chains last night. I'll post pic's tonight.

All the discussion about limit switches, homing ... Man, I can't wait to get my MM moving. :)

Keep the pictures coming. It's looking good guy !!

[Doug_Ford]

Looking good Alan!!

[Gerald D]

This Alan bloke is a perfectionist. I just noticed in his photo of the V-rollers, he has turned all the Superior Bearing logos in the same direction!!! :eek::eek:

[Alan_c]

Thanks Guys, I hope Doug doesn't mind the shiny blue paint on the rail cutting tool :D

Thanks for the compliment Gerald, that comes from my years doing product photography and pack shots. (other people just think I'm APITA)

That rail cutting tool does move sweetly, I have just closed the holes in the top of the ball bearing units to stop the grinding dust getting in there.

[Gerald D]

Right, the post of Official MechMate Photographer has just been filled!
To earn your keep you need to tell us how you get your lighting and focus so good. :)

[revved_up]

Right, the post of Official MechMate Photographer has just been filled!
To earn your keep you need to tell us how you get your lighting and focus so good. :)

I don't know if I can afford the travel fees and per diem to bring him here! :D

[Alan_c]

How about a "group buy", spread the costs over the country and I get to see it all ;) :D

[Gerald D]

Hey, he didn't get the job of Roving Official MechMate Photographer - that's on my portfolio. :mad:

[Alan_c]

Lighting: try to balance the flash with the daylight or use daylight and reflectors only - flash tends to blow out the details if not controlled properly. When taking pics after dark I have a 85w CFL (= 500w) above the work station that gives a nice even light which I then balance with the on camera flash (i.e. turn down the output of the flash)

Focus: no tricks there, just focus 1/3 in, use the smallest apperture possible and if necessary use a tripod to eliminate camera shake (the biggest cause of fuzzy pics). I take all my pics into Photoshop, resize and apply unsharp mask to help bring out that extra bit of detail.

[Greg J]

Thanks Alan,

I'll start working on the lighting. My pictures do need some work.

[Gerald D]

If Alan agrees, for daylight light, avoid direct sunlight (too many shadows on machinery). Overcast day is ideal.

[Doug_Ford]

I hope Doug doesn't mind the shiny blue paint on the rail cutting tool :D

I actually wrote a comment about the fact that you even painted the skate but changed my mind about posting it for fear that you might take it wrong. :) I can already see indications that I'm not going to want pictures of my machine on the same forum with the one you build. :rolleyes:

[domino11]

Doug,
Don't worry, when my pics start coming in you will definitely feel good about yours. :)

[cobra427mnsi]

Ditto, here as well.

[Alan_c]

Here are some pics of the mods and final assembled grinding skate.

I modified the mounting position to suit the Ryobi grinder, it attaches with those cap screws into metal inserts in the gear head. That gear head bearing holder is plastic so we will have to see the long term wisdom of my decision. Because of that mounting position, the plate sits proud of the grinder body so I extended the shape around the back to cover the grinding wheel. The recess in the plate is to mount it as close as possible to the grinder and also helps it locate. (I have the same arrangement on the cutting jig). To attach the bearings I used countersunk cap screws and just machined most of the head away to make a very low profile fastener and its still plenty strong enough.

The second shot shows the skate assembled with the bearings. I am using the Superior Bearings cam bushes here, but have also made shorter versions to hold only one bearing if necessary.

The next two pics show the skate in working position on the rail - I still have enough space below the bearing bolts to drop the height of the rail closer to the required spec, its currently sitting at 28mm on that test piece.

The last one shows my hand position when testing the contraption - one hand on the body near the switch and one hand gripping one of the height adjusting bolts. I am considering welding a nut to the outside edge of the grinder holding plate to mount the handle that usually fits into the side of the grinding head. This will, I think, add just a little bit more control and comfort. :confused:

912

913

914

915

916

[smreish]

Yep, that's what mine looks like too!
I found if I kept my left hand on the center [(in a glove:) ] and my right hand on the aft (cord end) it had great balance.
I also added threaded handles to the "studs" sticking up at a 45 Deg angle and it push and pulled well.
* NOTE *
I also recommend zip tieing the cord to the top side of the grinder. I knicked my jacket on the cord and required a little "e-tape" repair.

Alan,
Also, on the vertical adjustment bolts don't forget to round them over on the bench grinder. The lead on the threads wants to try galling the top of the rail. I replaced my bolts with Bullet tipped hex head cap screws after the Beta test.

NICE WORK......Is that polish residue on your hand from manicuring for the photos :D

Have fun grinding...it's a Hoot!

[stefanv]

Alan, did you buy a new grinder to make these pictures? :cool:
Man, looks like we have the beginning here of the official Mechmate manual comming to Amazon soon! Wow great pictures!
The parts also look nice :)

Stefan

[Doug_Ford]

Okay Alan, it's official, you're banned.:D

[Gerald D]

I know of a bloke in Cape Town that would like to borrow your grinder!

JR, can you see what you started here. Everybody, blame JR for this! :D

[Alan_c]

That can certainly be arranged, lets just hope I dont burn it out doing the rails :eek:

[cobra427mnsi]

Alan, you win the award for the nicest pictures! Keep them coming, please. I am enjoying them.

Paul

[bbreaker]

wow superb, nice pictures, i just whait for my laser cut parts for the skate, i've got the roller and the grinder.

[sailfl]

Alan,

Tell them what kind of camera you are using. I suspect that is why the quality is so good.

[Gerald D]

The camera is pretty old - he still ducks under a black hood.

[Alan_c]

Its not the tool, its how its applied - same as a cnc...

For the record I use a Canon G5 (5M Pix) built in lens with auto focus and "mickey mouse" flash - not what one would describe as a top of the range pro model camera (some cellphones I know have a higher pixel count)

I have not used any auxiliary lighting or flashes besides the 85w CFL mentioned and reflected daylight.

(background info - I did my trade in the Air Force as a photographer 27 years ago and although not currently doing any commercial, money earning photography I have done a broad range of work from weddings, advertising, aerial and technical photography in that period. The Air Force gave a very good background, just like Geralds experience in the Navy - Those might have been difficult years but we are richer for the experience)

[Greg J]

The Air Force gave a very good background, just like Gerald's experience in the Navy - Those might have been difficult years but we are richer for the experience)

As a former "squid" (US Navy), the above statement is so true. I owe everything I am today to the U.S. Navy.

[sailfl]

Alan,

The truth comes out....... it is all those 27 years. Well you do an excellent job.

[Gerald D]

Nils, it was 27 years ago.

[Alan_c]

I assembled the Z-slide today, had it machined at an engineering works I use for most of my maintenance work for the factory - not entirely happy with the end result, I get so frustrated when I know what I want and how to do it but dont have the tools at my disposal :mad:

I decided to go with the 6 wheel option on the spider even though I have a pre-Mamba unit, its close to the edge but works - as an aside I notice the spider has quite a bit of flex, if you lift the guage plate out of the bottom set so that it is only held by the top four rollers, the bottom pair spring back inwards slightly - when the plate is lowered again it seems to catch as it enters the rollers. Admittedly it was very roughly set up, will have to play with it some more once its fully assembled with spindle, gas strut and power.

948

949

As you can see I have added the cable chain mounting point as per the Mamba design - building a hybrid Classic/Mamba Mechmate

Started cutting the Y axis angle iron for the rail - the cutting jig works great but seems to use disks at a rapid rate, went through 3 1/2 disks to cut just one rail, and no I wasn't pushing too hard. When the disk is new, it cuts with a good flow of sparks, but once past halway, the sparks get less and the disk wears at a much higher rate. I was using the thin (1mm) disks from both Norton and Klingspor. The Norton ones wore down much faster.

As I didn't have any more disks on hand and the closest supplier is over the Mountain, I decided to call it a day and join the Kids in the pool (temps over 30 deg C today, but predicting thunderstorms for tomorrow) :D:D

[Gerald D]

The flex you see, ie. the v-rollers "bending" apart for the slide and springing back when the slide is out, is about right. I think it is also the 8mm bolts flexing a bit. All this doesn't seem to cause any problems though.

The good cutting disks are by Pferd - ask them for the thin Inox (Stainless Steel) disks.

[Greg J]

Alan,

Easy on the pictures. Those are nice enough to go into a manual. :)

[Alan_c]

Pferd disks rule, cut the second Y rail tonight with only one disk and it stayed cutting all the way down to the centre. Will do the bevels tomorrow.

Another small job I have to do tomorrow is remove and reweld the lower mounting point for the gas spring, it seems in my haste I bent it the wrong way...:o:o:o

To bend it neatly, I cut halway through, bent it and welded up the open groove producing a very strong mounting point - only in the wrong direction - we have one of those lovely Afrikaans words to describe how I feel, but I am not allowed to use it on the site :D

Gerald, What is the tolerance on the height of the track - I currently have a variation of about 0.2mm along the length

[Gerald D]

Height of track tolerance . . . .

I don't actually have a figure for it. All I know is that at the end of the day the rail is shimmed as straight as you can with the methods at your disposal. (we laid an extruded alu section on top and checked the gaps with a feeler gauge - light finger pressure closed the last gaps). Suppose you have to figure out how much shimming you want to, or can, do?

[Alan_c]

Finally got the Y-axis rails ground complete today, had a slight detour after the first grinder started emitting puffs of smoke (it was a cheap Ryobi I had on hand) so hauled out some cash, bought a Bosch grinder and modified my jig plates to accept this grinder. What a difference! more power, less vibration and almost lash free gear head.

I also had problems with the disk glazing which ended up with it just rubbing against the bevel and not producing any sparks, so then I tried a trick I read about here on the forum (cant remember whose thread but thanks very much) Adjust the height bolts so that the skate is slightly lower on the front leading edge - this makes the disk grind more with the outer edge so that the whole disk is not in contact with the bevel. On the final pass, lower the back edge of the skate so the whole width of the disk makes contact. A slow process (maybe I was just being carefull - wanted to avoid anymore escaping smoke) but still the cheapest and I would guess most accurate way of producing the bevel, as long as the angle is cut accurately to height.

1019
Final version of the grinding skate with front handle

1020
Yours truly happy to have this stage completed

[Gerald D]

Interesting handle application! :)

How bad is the grind dust in the garage? For me that would be an outdoor job. (Open drum of thinners under the rail? :))

[Alan_c]

Grind dust is everywhere :eek: major clean up tomorrow.

Dont worry, thats an empty (cleaned out) paint drum I use as a dustbin - extra carefull after a recent fire in Somerset West where a guys garage, car and some of his house burnt down after sparks from a grinder ignited old oil on the floor :eek::eek::eek:

[Gerald D]

Ja, I know you would be careful about open drums. Just mentioned it so that other folk realise there is a fire hazard involved - glad to have your reinforcement of that message! This is a looong grinding job and folk might not notice the flames before it is too late. Old oily rags, sawdust, paper, lawnmower, are all flammable - another reason to do this outside.

[Marc Shlaes]

I really like the handle. Good Job. I'm going to do the very same thing! Unless you have additional improvement ideas once you actually used it.

[Alan_c]

Thanks Marc, the only improvement I would consider is to dream up some sort of compact bearing arrangement for the height adjusting mechanism. Even with using HT bolts and rounded over ends,I had a lot of galling and the ends of the bolts developed a groove very quickly. I found using a spray lubricant helped, but the smaller the top land became the more it galled.

Need to get creative before I do the X rails.

[Alan_c]

Although it's been a while since I posted in this personal thread, things have been moving along slowly, I suppose some progress is better than none.:o

I now have the Gantry, Y-Car, Z-Slide, motor mounts and control box sprayed blue and logo'd.

1416

Next step is to get the steel for the table and do the X-axis rails - then I can assemble and cut.

[Marc Shlaes]

Alan,

Is that a smooth finish on your control box or a "hammered" or "crinkle" finish? My box came with a "crinkle" finish and I am thinking of sanding it down smooth.

Basically wondering if the Mechmate decal will work and/or look odd on a "crinkle" finish.

[Alan_c]

Marc

That box used to be bright orange with a hammered finish, I just sanded lightly and sprayed the blue over it. The vinyl decal sticks well and looks good.

[Doug_Ford]

Your parts look beautiful Alan. Good luck with the rest of it.

[Greg J]

Although it's been a while since I posted in this personal thread, things have been moving along slowly, I suppose some progress is better than none.:o



Alan,

Your progress (and quality) is excellent! I was getting hung up on the pace of my progress. It's a moot point. Everyone has different capabilties and available time. To hell with trying to complete in three months. If I had all the equipment and employee's to help lift the other end of the beam, then time to complete would be less. Quality and end results are the measure.

Keep up the good work.

[Kobus_Joubert]

Hi Alan, That IS a nice colour. I am basically where you are...still no painted control box, but my X-Rails are 99% finished at present, then the table and something I am far behind...my KITCHEN project.

[Alan_c]

Guys, thanks for the comments.

I am not competing with anybody, just very eager to get it finished.

Mind you its very seldom that we Stormers allow the opportunity to show up the Sharks slip us by, especially as they effectivley took us out of the semi's (well done Sharks). For those not familiar with the situation in SA, there is great competitiveness between the major Rugby playing centres in the country, except when the boys put on the Green & Gold - then we become one.

[Kobus_Joubert]

I think I will repaint my MM black after the weekend results...not Stormers black, but Shark black.:)

[hennie]

Hi Alan

Colour looks good! maybe we must pimp a MM with Green and Gold with some blue and black pin stripes

[hennie]

Question for Alan ?

Do you have a one stop shop on your side of the Cape where you got all of your electrical wires and hardware from or was it from JHB.
I can get the standard electrical box and some switches in George but the cable that goes from the control box to the motors. that is the ones with the shield ( don`t know what it is called)is a bit of a problem.On my side of the town we are limited to what we can get or buy over the counter.

[Alan_c]

If only it were that easy... no almost all the major groups of items came from different suppliers. Any good electrical supply house should be able to supply most of the electrical components - contactors, din rail & connectors, isolator etc. The electronics stuff I got from Communica (021 447 0949)

The cables to the gantry (shielded) will be a special purchase, the closest to you is Lapp Cables CT - 021 982 1770 (Andre)

[hennie]

Thank you for the info i will give them a call

[Belli]

Hi Hennie,

We have used normal 4-core cabtyre on a number of machines including Mechmates without difficulty. Should cost around R9/m for 0.5mm^2 compared to about 10x that figure for screened. We have even run them next to spindles cables from an invertor and have never had an issue with noise. Stepper motors and drives are very immune to noise due to the very low impedance of the output stage.

Regarding power supplies, we now offer a 12A and a 16A power board, no longer necessary to double up on the 8A unit like before.

Regards,
Greg
:eek:

[hennie]

HI GREG

Nice to hear from you.Do I need to order another board like the one you supplied?Be advised that I am not very confident at the moment that I will use the right size motors :confused:?? Do I need to use two transformers to power each board or only one.What would you suggest what size motors to use with the MM.If you recall at some stage we spoke about using the 34hsx-308 but on your machine you used 34hsx-104d steppers for your x-axis and it works ( advice required), and on your wiring diagram you have only one transformer and one power board.

I also have a suggestion.Would you put together a standard component package for the MM.( electrical box with all the goodies, steppers with pinions & racks)
The hardware & steel one can get from the local suppliers.

Alan I got my MM logo from my buurman next to my workshop for 90 c cheeper .

[Alan_c]

Update on build Cost...

Somebody asked earlier about build cost in SA but cant remember who, you know the age thing, but anyway I did some re-calculations today and got a bit of a shock, the steel being the biggest offender.

Projected cost now just creeping over R60 000.00 (about $7700)

[Doug_Ford]

Projected cost now just creeping over R60 000.00 (about $7700)

That's still pretty cheap when you consider how well it is designed and functions.

[Alan_c]

Doug

Sure its still cheap, but when I started the cost was below R50 000, the increase is because of steel increases and forex fluctuations.

[hennie]

Hi Alan

I have calculated that the steel and cnc cut parts that I have spent so far cost me R 7 583.89

[Alan_c]

Having done some more assembly on the Y-car today I noticed one small item that may need a mod. Once the gas strut (Gabriel Gaslift mod 4047 - 257mm stroke) is in place and the Z slide moves up to the max up position, the pinion is on the very end of the rack and when the Z slide is moved to the lowest position, there is still about 15mm of rack exposed at the top.

I know this will not affect the performance as I am getting the full 250mm stroke (actually slightly more) but it might be worth considering either moving the rack slightly lower on the slide or making the offset on the upper strut bracket longer. If the offset is made longer the slide will be able to plunge a little lower but will also sit lower when fully up.

[Alan_c]

Sorry it took so long to get back on this but I took the family out to lunch at Dassiesfontein (http://www.dassies.co.za/restaurant.php), been spending too much time in the garage and the mood was getting testy...

Here are some pics of the situation, as I said, it does not affect the performance but the pinion does get very close to the end of the rack in the fully up position

1685
pinion on end of rack when slide fully up

1686
rack still exposed when slide fully down

1687
distance from lowest point on spider to bottom of slide when fully up - 54mm (this shows that the middle wheels could be positioned a little lower if required)

1688
distance from lowest point of spider to bottom of slide when fully down - 200mm. (photo has parallex error)

[Gerald D]

Ah Dassiesfontein, one of those gems that 80% of tourists to this country drive past and don't bother to stop.

Alan, you couldn't have made it clearer than that!

If that was mine, I would like:
a. the rack to be longer to the bottom so that,
b. the slide could go further up until it nearly gets to the center of the middle rollers, to achieve this I would
c. Mount the upper strut anchor bracket lower down on the rect. tube., because
d. I would be happy to lose some of that 200mm because that puts the collet against the table.

Does that make sense?

[Alan_c]

That sounds like a good plan, I think I have some spare rack I can cut and drill to suit...watch this space :)

[Robert M]

Ah Dassiesfontein :eek:
Woawy woaw, now that is a very nice place to go indeed. Some nice photos to look at from that web site.
Anyone in your “neck of the woods” in need of a “talented” :rolleyes: woodworker for a short trade-guild exchange period.
Very nice place to be !!
Robert ;)

[Gerald D]

Alan, I found the "missing" dimension ...... racks needs to be 300 long and not 280. (Well, you did get 250 stroke, so you can't really complain ;)). I see that Kobus sommer stuck all his leftover rack behind the slide - that's not a bad idea either!
http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13229&postcount=159

[Kobus_Joubert]

I had the extra rack, so just used it...Boer maak 'n Plan...

[Alan_c]

Rack and upper strut mount modified:

a) made rack longer - 315mm
b) placed first mounting hole 45mm from top end of rack
c) moved upper strut bracket down by 15mm

1689 1690
full travel with equal amount of rack to spare

1691 1692
slide almost in centre of middle pair of wheels 67mm above spider, slide at lowest point 187mm below spider = 254mm of travel (10")

That looks better ;)

[Gerald D]

If it wasn't for the limitation imposed by the gas spring, there would be a lot more travel offered by the rack.

Can't stop admiring the photography!

[Kobus_Joubert]

Me too..time I bought myself a proper camera :p

[Alan_c]

Advice needed on the bolt together option.

I will need to bolt my main table together as moving it (which I will have to do) will be problematic if I can't take it apart. I will be using 180 x 70 PFC (parallel flange channel) for the main beams and 100 x 50 PFC for the cross bearers. I will also be bolting the legs and braces to the main beams using bolt on flanges. (much like Mickey did)

I have two proposals below, should I use 12mm bolts (only one at each end of the cross bearers) or 10mm bolts (two at each end) :confused:

1757

[hennie]

Alan I am also doing it bolt together.

On the legs I am using example no 1 -12 MM bolts ( no bolt in the centre )
On the cross bearer I am using example no. 2 - 10 mm bolts.
I will also be using pratley on the joints of the legs.
I have also added some req tubing as cross bearers to bolt some brackets onto later.

[Gerald D]

Alan, if you have the diagonal braces/gussets, you only need one bolt between the leg and the main beam. Yes, only one.

If you want to leave out the diagonals, then go for at least 5 bolts (as per your right hand view)

[Alan_c]

Gerald, if one bolt is good enough for the legs, can I safely assume that only one would be needed for each end of the cross bearer as the MDF sheet will keep the table square?

Hennie, what brackets do you have in mind, for a vacuum plenum maybe?

As some more finance has become available, it looks like I am on the home stretch now, Steel has been orded and delivered to my Fathers factory where I will do the rest of the construction, taken the plunge and ordered cable chain from RS (Thanks Gerald), even with having to buy full meter lengths, it still worked out about R600 cheaper than buying the exact same items from the local agents :confused: (note, it has to come from the UK and will be delivered to my door at no extra cost)

Having worked on big iron machines and been involved with factory moves, I have never cherised the idea of the cables to the control box being hard wired into the box as when moving the machine and the box there is a good opportunity for cables to be pulled loose so I have been trying to source multipole industrial connectors as used by the big boys. My first enquiries left me with severe chest pains and a racing pulse, but I have found what I am looking for and at a reasonable price (a third of what I was quoted by IGUS and the like) from one of the elctrical supply warehouses here in Cape Town. These are made by GEWISS (I suspect in China) and seem pretty good quality, they are not going to be plugged and unplugged very often so I dont think I need the Rolls Royce quality. These will be used for all the cables running the the MM, 16 pin for the motor cables, 6 pin for the spindle fan and HV E-stop, 10 pin for the control circuit, 10 pin for the VFD control circuit.

1762

If you look carefully, you will also see that I have used braided cable sleeving on the stepper motor wires, this is more flexible than heatshrink and gives a neater appearance. Those connectors on the stepper are also from GEWISS and are good for 10Amp at 240/400V and latch very well. Price R47.50 per motor (cheaper than 4 pin Neutrek XLR connectors).

The only items still outstanding now are the screened cables, computer and Mach licence. The spindle will have to wait until I have started making back some of the green stuff ;).

[Gerald D]

Nice connectors . . . the HSD spindles also have them fitted.

Yes, the table top makes one huge "gusset" in the flat plane. I am currently drilling all the beams for single bolt connections.

[smreish]

Alan,
You have more $$$ in connectors than I do in my entire building! :) Jealous I am.

[Greg J]

Alan,

Very nice !!!

[hennie]

I have those on the vacume press they work well, good seal against dust.

[sailfl]

Those are industrial grade connectors. Nice!

[kaartman]

More Alan
Could you please post a close-up picture of a Gecko drive that wil show the wrighting clearly, just curious to know why there is so many connection pins.
Thank you

[Gerald D]

Surely you have already seen this thread (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164)?

[kaartman]

Yes i did thank you, so the labeling stayed the same on the 203V.
Regards

[Gerald D]

Yes, the pin labelling (and locations) and the resistor values are the same for G201/2/3

[kaartman]

Baie dankie, thank you

[hennie]

Hi Alan

got my cables prices after 4 weeks

40 meters of lapp olflex 115 4 core shielded .75 R 856.00 excl vat.
other lapp cable cost me R 490.00 ( cable will hopefully be in town on Monday )

I dont know if R 856 .00 is reasonable as I don`t know what these things realy cost.

also got proxy`s R 398.00 excl. each ( ouch!!!!) also don`t know if it is reasonable.

[Alan_c]

Hi Hennie

That price on the cable seems to tie up with my quotes here in CT, its not reasonable but that is the going price. The price on the proxy seems high, Electromechanca has them for about R270 ea (12mm) but their prices are going up 25% end of this month :eek:

Spent the day at my Dad's factory doing some of the steel work. When I arrived there today I saw the steel that was delivered last week, for the first time...I had ordered parallel flange channel and paid a litle bit more for it, guess what... it was all taper flange :mad::mad: needless to say the words that followed would have made an old sailor blush. Phone calls to the supplier were fruitless so decided to carry on anyway, too much time has been lost already, I will just have to get taper washers for the assembly, not what I wanted to do but it wont affect the strength.

Managed to drill the two main beams with all holes for assembly (not the track mounting holes) and cut the ends to shape, I am not suprised Greg built a gantry, these beams are HEAVY. I also did the holes in two cross supports before running out of time. I have brought the cross supports back home with me so I will be able to work on them in the week (its about 60 Km's to the factory, not a trip I want to do every night with the current petrol prices). Sore hands and back tonight so its bath and off to bed...pics to follow

[hennie]

I think my supplier got the proxy`s from acdc in CT.I also have to pay delivey charges to Plet on every thing so that also pushes the price up.Did notice that there are four wires on the proxy`s and not three as per wiring in another thread.

I do know that when this machine is complete and the chance is good that I will build another one ( 4 meters long for my wooden tops ) I would make a road trip to one of our big city`s and do the shopping myself.Cape Town would be first as I have never explored your area.I did flew in once to get a client to sign a contract and also did the one good thing and drove to Houtbay and had fish and flew straight back to Jozi so it is more raeson to do my shopping there.

[Gerald D]

RS Components has 12mm proxies at R251. They are next door to ElectroMechanica, but only hold a tiny range in Cape Town. This is true of a lot of companies in Cape Town - best to pre-order everything by phone first, and then just do a trip to collect.

[Alan_c]

Considering your location, and if their price is good or better, it will pay you to order the goodies from RS, if the invoice value is high enough (4 proxies will be) they will deliver to your door, free of charge. Dont let that stop you from coming to CT though, Grabouw is on your road in and Gerald is right next to the airport, visits will have to paid...:)

[hennie]

Would like to come that way soon and a visit is one of the reasons .Probably for a long weekend.As you know when one lives where we live there is a lot of up country visitors:(:D..Next visitors will be Caroline`s parents and they will bring my motors down with them so you can imagine this will be one visit from the mother in law that I can`t wait for:D.Pitty they can`t bring my racks with but I will have to make a trip to Jozi still have a lot of stuff up there.

Alan I have a question to ask?
On your machines at work you do framed doors for mirrors.
Does the vacume cups hold the frame doors or do they sometimes come lose? I do know that the material is raised from the surface.I need to brainwave a hold down sistem for my machine as I would like to nest my glass framed doors as the frame of the doors are 65 mm wide.I can do tabs for the outer side of the door but then I need to manually trim it off with an edge trimmer.

[Alan_c]

Hennie

Racks are also available here in CT if you want to avoid going up to the big smoke (who wouldn't :p)

I assume you are talking about the MDF doors for the bathroom cabinets? (all other fames and doors are done by mitering and underpinning) I have never used the machine cups to hold small items like doors as they dont have sufficient holding power. On the Biesse I make intermediate jigs (using 20mm HDPE) that I clamp onto the cups. In the top of the jig I have two grooves, 6mm wide x 5mm deep, 3mm in from the outside and inside perimeter. In these grooves I place 7mm rubber cord that act as gaskets. Between the two gasket grooves, I rout a third groove for vacuum. I drill and tap from the bottom of the jig into this groove and insert a 8mm push fit air hose coupler. (making sure it will not fall in the area where the jig is held to the machine cups) The vacuum on the Biesse is split so that I can hold the jigs down with constant vacuum and the vacuum that holds the job is switchable. I also make the centre portion of the jig into a clamping area by putting in a gasket groove and vacuum port (this is to ensure that the centre portion of the door cannot move when cut loose).

Because doors are generally a square or rectangle shape, we dont worry trying to optimise the sheet by nesting the doors on the CNC, but bring the blanks cut on a panel saw (5mm oversize) to the CNC for cutting out and trimming to size. Depending on the face profiles (complex or simple) I use two different approaches when it comes to actual machining. If it is a simple radius profile around the perimeter of the door and a square profile where the mirror is, I do all the machining from the back of the door - First cut is made using a custom made cutter which is an inverted radius cutter (widest part of cutter is at the bottom with the radius facing up - note jig must be correspondingly smaller to allow wide part of cutter to fit in under the door) this does the outside of the door, second cut is made with a 12mm cutter to cut the rebate and then the through cut to make the mirror opening.

If the door has complex profiles on the outside and around the mirror I use a 2 stage machining process - Machine the front first - outside perimeter, inside perimeter and through cut (usually two cutters) then turn the door over to machine the rebate. This can be done two ways - either on a second vacuum jig or a simple frame jig as you will not be machining the outside perimeter, the most important thing to remember though is that this second jig must be accurately positioned and referenced so that the rebate is in the correct position.

On the SCM which does not have vacuum pods I use a similar process as above but the jigs dont have seperate vacuum pipes coming to them, the table on the SCM has grooves for placing gasket material in whatever arrangement is required and has referencing pins on the perimeter. The jig and material is placed on the table against these pins and sucked down together. If I want to follow the first method as outlined above, the jig has to be double thickness to allow the cutter to get in underneath without cutting into the table (very expensive aluminium extrusion).

On the MechMate I would use a system similar the SCM one, but clamp the jig to the table and use external vacuum to hold the part (vacuum can be generated by vacuum pump of compressed air vacuum generator) With a sufficiently sized jig and vacuum source almost anything can be held as long as it is not too small, big thing to remember when deisgning the jig is to make sure that the vacuum area is not breached when cutting the part, if that could happen you must place gasket either side of the cut area to maintain that integrity.

We used to make a type of mirror that was joined with butt joints or half laps at the corners and had strange shapes , obviously you cant run the rebate before assembly so we used to do the rebate on the SCM with the same sort of vacuum jigs which used to work very well. We seldom had any work coming loose and when it did it was because of warped or knotty timber.

Hope that helps, if unclear just ask.

[Greg J]

Alan,

Would you mind posting a picture of the jig/setup?

[Alan_c]

Not at work today, off with the flu, will snap some shots and post when I am back.

[hennie]

Hi Alan

Thanks for the explination.What is the 7 mm rubber cord and where can one get some can it be obtained in long lengths?

I can take vacume from the press so that is not a problem ,I would like to do the doors by nesting them ( cutting out human operation on the pannel saw).I supply a lot of framed doors for kitchens and mainly vanity`s doing them the old way some 22 mm mdf doors I do on the multiborer with dowels in the joints even shaker doors.(mostly one size).

Maybe one option is to do a full size board with all the groves cut in for vacume and seals and split the board up in zones.that is for this specific size doors. On completion of the nesting one remove the board and put it in storage.Would use mdf but have to seal the board with a sealer as the vacume would be lost through the mdf.

All the other guys that already built their machines did you seal the bottom side of your spoil board?

Something that I did notice from working with s/f white mdf is that whith the one side covered with melamine it tends to warp/bow/bend but once it is covered on the other side with sealer,paint , pvc foil it tends to go flat.It might be something for thought when fitting the spoil board is to coat it with acrilic sealer on bottom side and edges and top with automotive body putty 3-4 mm thick it would stop moist from being absorbed and would give me a spoil board that I would not mind cutting into and is easy to fix and resurface.

[Alan_c]

Austro stocks "expensive" Biesse cup rubber (actually a D shape) and "cheap" round rubber that comes in long lengths, but I have found that 7mm rubber cord (on a roll) from Rubber Products & Mouldings in Maitland CT is about 1/3 the price of their "cheap" option and works just as well.

I used to use MDF for jigs and found that spraying them with lacquer both sides after cutting the rubber grooves and vacuum grooves worked well to seal it, but somehow the MDF still managed to take up moisture and the thin areas started to break up, thats why I changed to HDPE, much more durable and impervious to moisture, only snag is its not available in MDF sheet sizes (1mx2m).

I dont know about sealing the bottom of the spoilboard as it may hinder the gluing down to the base board, lets see what the others say who have more actual experience with this.

[J.R. Hatcher]

My router has 3/4" mdf bolted to the cross members, then a 1/2" mdf plenum (Brady Watson SB style) laying on top of that ..... not attached, then the 3/4" mdf spoil board ..... again not attached. I did put sealer (polyester resin) on the bottom of the mdf attached to the cross members, and all the edges of everything. It seems to be working good.

[Alan_c]

Some progress today...

Fitted control switch boxes and junction boxes.

1833

1834

1835
lots of wires in and out of this one

[smreish]

jealous, I am. Superb work.

[sailfl]

Fancy.... looks great.

[J.R. Hatcher]

Alan that looks good, I like the black rails.

[domino11]

Great progress. Love the pictures. :)

[Greg J]

Looks great Alan, but I don't understand the "Blue" button on the box's.

Is that southern hemisphere speak for "I wish warm weather was here". :)

[Lex]

I have just realized how many hours of fun is waiting for me.:) Alan, you work quality is outstanding! It is good thing to set high standards for us that follows. I will do my best but I doubt if I can reach your level. Well done.

[Alan_c]

Thanks all,

J.R. the rails are not black, I have not got around to painting them yet :o, the blue button is to "START" the cut and the yellow button is to "PAUSE or FEEDHOLD" - but warm weather would be greatly appreciated.

[J.R. Hatcher]

Well, they sure would look good black and the Z plate too.;):cool:

[hennie]

So close but still so far.Don`t you wish the end is near? Nice finish!:)

[Kobus_Joubert]

Nice going Alan, I can now see why you are a little behind me.;) You really put a lot of effort into building your MM....but it will be covered in dust one of these days.

[Roadkill_321]

Alan,

I only wish my machine looked like yours. Excellent quality judging from the pictures.

John

[Alan_c]

Cables have arrived

1864
These are the sprogs “decorated” with R2200 worth of shielded and ground cable.

Well today was a momentous one, The company I work for has recently been taken over by another corporation and it has been decided that they no longer need a Technical Manager…so after five years its cheers with one weeks pay for every year worked.

Thankfully I have the Mechmate so there are at least options open to me, further incentive to get the beast finished before the end of the month. I know I am not in a unique situation and many have been there before (some inspiring posts on the Shopbot forum) so its not doom and gloom but another wonderful opportunity even if it is a little sooner than planned, sometimes we need a little push every now and then to get us moving in the right direction.

Thank you to Gerald and all the other inspiring folk on this forum for giving me the means to be able to be self sufficient, its all up to me now.

[domino11]

Alan,
Sorry to hear of the downsizing. Hopefully all will work out positively for you! :)

[Gerald D]

That's a good attitude Alan - it is going to serve you well.

[hennie]

Good Luck Alan Experiance Is On Your Side!

[Greg J]

Great picture Alan. :)

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." ~Milton Berle

[Robert M]

Alan, everybody has its story. But with your attitude towards your future, only the best can be waiting for you !
I’m flying solo for the past 8yrs after quitting MGR an office of 18 people and it is the best thing ever happened to me. Salary wise, well…. I’m still working on that ! Maybe the making of my MM will give this extra push to :D:D
Best of luck buddy, Robert ;)

( OT : One fun thing about “Attitude”. Take it’s alpha numerical value and add them all up to find a positive answer to what’s ahead of you….., you’ll see why and what’s all about. [A=1, T=20 etc] = Attitude ! ).

[Kobus_Joubert]

Sorry to hear that sad news, but I am sure with your new MM and your experience with CNC it will work out. Maybe you can go and help Sean D....since he will be operating so many MM's

[Lex]

All the best for your new future. It will be better!

[Alan_c]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement, its greatly appreciated.:)

[Alan_c]

Did some more work today, welded nuts on the flange plates and started assembling the first side - ran out of time so did not get as far as I had wanted to.

1873 1874
Laser cut flange plates nuts welded on

1875
foot plate in position on the bottom of the leg

1876
foot plate welded

1877
side frame assembled - still to do bracing

1878
detail of support pipe welded to flange, bolted to bottom of main beam

[hennie]

I see that you will be cutting next weekend!

[Alan_c]

Not cutting yet but at least the table is standing. Only finishing up at Natwood 11 Sept, so still only have weekends to work on machine. All the parts are at my Dads factory (70 Km's away) so can't work on it in the week :(

1979

For those looking at adjustable feet...my simple solution - weld 16mm nut to foot plate, turn 4 disks with dimple, 16mm bolt and lock nut = ample adjustment for the worst floors, simple cheap and strong. The same system is used on our moulders at work and they only use 10mm bolts :eek:

1980

[J.R. Hatcher]

Alan first thing I want to say is I like your feet. I was writing a post about feet at the same time you were. After I posted it I looked to see if there were any new post and there was ... yours. When I read it, it sounded as if my post was in response to yours. I promise I did not see your post until after I had posted mine. Sometimes things can be so weird.
Have a look and you'll see what I mean.

http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=941

[liaoh75]

I really like the bolt together design. Nice job! Can't wait to see how it looks fully painted.

[Kobus_Joubert]

Hi Alan, Are you putting some more steel on the table ? Don't you need some bracing on the front and back sides. When that thing is moving / cutting the Y-Axis movement will shake the table like you cannot believe.

[Alan_c]

Thanks David

Dont worry Kobus, still lots of steel to add to that frame, time just caught up to me on Saturday - at least I missed watching the humiliating defeat...:mad:

[Kobus_Joubert]

I would rather sit on my roof or play with BBB before watching the NEW rugby...I call it NEW because in the old day's the people played without payment or political interference...they were REAL sportsmen.
Glad to hear that more steel wil be added.

[hennie]

Kept myself busy with my rails got better results than to watch the rugby!

[Alan_c]

Have completed the control box ready for installation. The hole on the door is a result of the boxes' previous life and will be covered with a nicely engraved plaque bearing the serial number once complete.

2033

2032
The Gecko's mounted on the heatsink on the side of the box

2034
wiring to the industrial connectors mounted on the bottom of the box

[Gerald D]

Amazing attention to detail!

[Robert M]

Wwwooouaawwwyy…Very nice & neat Alan !!
Congratulation. A little over a year you started to show us your kitchen project, now more than ever it’s real !!

Inspirering for me and I’m convince for others too :D
Amicalement, Robert ;)

[smreish]

...okay, I quit. Just when you think you did a nice job wiring - Alan does a MIL SPEC wiring job on the panel! :)
Kudo's Alan - nice work.
Sean

[William McGuire]

Looks great Alan!

I do have two questions...
1. What are the two breadboards? and
2. How did you get the parallel connection out of the box?

Again... beautiful work!

[liaoh75]

Thats a really nice wiring job Alan! I really like the attention to detail as Gerald mentioned. Sometimes taking that extra 15 minutes makes all the difference. I'll be taking some pointers from you when I wire my box if you don't mind.:)

[domino11]

Alan,
That is a very professional job on the control box. :)

[Doug_Ford]

Gorgeous!!

[Greg J]

WOW :eek:

A man with that kind of detail and quality should be operating his own company. ;)

Outstanding work is never boring to look at. Nice job Alan.

[Kobus_Joubert]

Pragtig

[isladelobos]

Maravilloso

[hennie]

Mooi

[Gerald D]

I like how the back of the transformer, the back mounting plate side, is turned towards the BOB for some shielding. :)

. . . . not that it is essential (see non-toroid transformer direct on the BOB), but all these little details do help in the end. That little transformer probably radiates a lot more noise than the big toroid. Toroids are simply amazingly quiet (and cool) by comparison.

[Alan_c]

Thanks Guys, after having worked on quite a few different types of machines (and being military trained) I found that neat accurate wiring makes fault finding much easier.

Bill

The BOB is a Bob Cambell Sound Logic board with relay sub board. The parallel connection is out the top of the box see here (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=401), post 25.

If anybody want any clearer or close up pics, just say the word.

[Marc Shlaes]

SICK!

That is what my kids say these days to mean REALLY, REALLY, GOOD!

This is the new "gold standard" for control boxes. Well done! errrr... SICK!

[Just trying to keep up with my "modern" kids :-) ]

[krabenaldt]

I have noticed that the panels (most panels?) shown have not had any labels directing the use of the panel. I would think this would be a OSHA requirement in the US. If the MM is used to build something for sale, then you are subject to inspection (not likely but possible).

Kevin

[Gerald D]

Good observation Kevin, labels should be added. Particularly if there are a couple of other personnel operating the equipment.

[javeria]

Hi Alan, can you email me some detailed pics, I have PM'd my email id to you.

RGDS
IRfan

[kaartman]

Very nice, clean, tidy and well arranged well done Alan

[Lex]

Uitstekende werk! Not to far from starting it up!:)

[Alan_c]

Labels are done, still have to be applied :o, will be on before installation.

[Alan_c]

Here are some more pics for those that requested them, sorry its taken so long, but I have been down with a bad case of the flu ( been told this flu is like Bill Clinton - once it gets you into bed, it doesn't let you get out :D) and had a visit from my sister from the UK, I only get to see her every two or three years so I suppose the MechMate had to stand down and let me give my attention to her.:rolleyes:


2076
cut out on the side of the control box for the heatsink mounted Geckos.


2077
Heatsink mounted on the side of the control box.

2078
Industrial connectors mounted on the bottom of the box, gland for power lead to Router/Spindle.

2079
Insulating mounting for parallel port connector.

2080
All trunking open to show routing of cables and wires.

2081
Typical terminations at din connectors, same at Geckos/BOB.

2082
Boot lace ferrule crimper and sample terminations.

[J.R. Hatcher]

Nice job Alan! I have a question, is the terminal end of the Boot lace ferrules solid or hollow?

[Gerald D]

Look at your bootlaces . . . ;)

[domino11]

Alan,
That panel is looking really good. :) I like the way you mounted your heatsink, will keep a lot of the heat out of the box. Did you use heatsink grease, phase change material or some kind of thermal pad on the geckos?

[Robert M]

Very sexy... this is exiting :rolleyes:
Nice work Alan ;)

[Alan_c]

Bootlace ferrules are hollow tubes, if you strip too much insulation off the excess copper sticks out the end (if so, needs to be trimmed off!)

No heatsink grease or pads under the Geckos, my motors are only 4.5 amp, the Geckos should not get so hot that the thermal paste becomes a requirement to maximise effeciency of the heat sink (but if youve got it, no harm in using it)

[domino11]

Alan,
The thermal interface compound is really a good thing to have. Even if the geckos will survive with only 4.5 amps output, that heat if not coupled to your heatsink effectively, will radiate more in the cabinet. By maximizing the thermal transfer to the heatsink, you move the excess heat outside and take advantage of your externally mounted heatsink. Also the internal temperature rise for the components in the gecko will be remarkably lower, reducing failure mechanisms due to heat. :)

[Gerald D]

Heath, I suspect that you havn't actually run a Gecko yet? You will wonder what all the heatsinking fuss is about when you feel how cool it stays ;). I agree with Alan that the grease is more trouble than what it is worth.

(Alan's Gecko's will be dissipating only about 5 Watts each - it really is that little)

[domino11]

Gerald,
No, have not run one yet. I guess I am merely falling back on design principles I use in my day job. 5 watts per unit does seem like it should be ok without thermal interface material. Sorry I just like to err on the side of caution. :)

[J.R. Hatcher]

I am with Heath on the thermal grease for the Geckos. I am only pulling 3 amps and mine got surprisingly hot until I installed a fan and I was using thermal grease between gecko and heat sink. I will admit it's not much of a heat sink but if memory serves me right it was getting over 130 F before adding the fan. I think it's just a good idea to get all the heat you can out of the box.

[javeria]

Hi Alan thanks for the pictures - these throw a lot on insight to the controller Box.

And even I think the thermal compound is necessary.

RGDS
Irfan

[Alan_c]

Hi Guys

No, I have not fallen off the earth, but as those who know, setting up ones own's business takes way more time than is available in the day...;).

Progress has been slow but steady (work interruptions seem to get in the way all the time) below is a shot of one job that has been taking some of my time, its a mixer for mixing polyethelene beads with colour pigment for a big injection moulding company here in Cape Town.

2413

All the parts of the MechMate are now primered and I am now busy applying the top coat, cross supports are done, below are the side frames (without the main beams) with the first side sprayed blue. Picture taken in the metalwork shop at the family business, woodwork shop is through the door on the left of frame)

2414

I hope to have all the spraying done by Thursday, with asembly starting on Friday.

[Gerald D]

A Blue Bazooka Machine! :D

[domino11]

That Mechmate blue is spreading into your day job too. :)

[William McGuire]

Cool... looks like a prototype for a carnival ride!

[Kobus_Joubert]

Could be used for the LOTTO draw as well.
Nice to see the progress Alan.

[Lex]

Good workmanship:cool:

[hennie]

bakgat vreemdeling!:)

[Alan_c]

Assembly is going well, albeit with some minor problems. This being a bolt together, I assembled the complete table, got it squared up and plumb then tacked in the lower cross supports and braces...I did not complete all the welds in place, but finished them after I had taken the whole thing apart - big mistake, everything moved (even areas where i did not weld) and not all of the threaded holes in the frame structure lined up with the holes in the bottom web of the main beams (if the first two bolts were inserted, the other end was off by as much as 15mm :eek:) However there was enough flex in the side frames that I was able to pull the flanges into position with a ratchet load securing strap (the type used on big trucks to secure the load). My Father did not think I would be able to move it that much with only a strap and he was getting ready to start cutting and re-welding to get things to line up, but after some terse words best not repeated he let my try with the strap and was left speechless ;).

Here is the sequence of assembly:

2422 2423 2424 2425 2426 2427 2428

[Alan_c]

Table frame bolted, squared and plumb with the support board bolted into place...its starting to look like a MechMate now

2429

[Gerald D]

About a week or two away from cutting? :)

[gmessler]

Looks Great Alan!!:)

I've had a similar experience with my bolt together.
I did complete most of the welds but touched up a few after I had taken it apart. That was all it took to have the same problem as you. I got most of the bolts in before I ran out of time. I'll have to use your method of ratchet straps for the other holes. :)

[Greg J]

Looking good Alan,

Both the BB and the pictures. :)

[Lex]

I have been playing the assembly of my table in my head a couple of times. Handling and bolting each section together. Top channels must be the most akward and heavy to handle. It is a lot better to see it happening in photo sequence. Thanks Alan for showing it like that. Looks good!:cool:

[javeria]

Ah beautiful - hope to see it cutting soon!

[Alan_c]

Assembly done, and wires have been routed ready for connecting up, not long to go now...

2521

2522
I had some cable chain left, so I used it to support the cables running to the spindle/router

[javeria]

Looks Pretty Alan, hope to see it zip zap zoooom ! :D

RGDS
IRfan

[domino11]

Alan,
In the first picture it looks as if your Mechmate had an accident on the floor. Bad Mechmate.

[Gerald D]

When are you inviting me over for the wetting ceremony? :)

[hennie]

Looks like it was done already:)

[Gerald D]

That was Alan . . . . when he walked into the end of the x-rail . . .

[gmessler]

Looks Great Alan!!:)

Nice idea for the z cable management.

[gmessler]

Maybe he was just excited to see how far along his machine is.:D

[domino11]

OH OH,
Somehow I think I will be blamed for all of this. :o :eek:

[Alan_c]

You Guys are too sharp, thanks for that Heath :D, as can be seen by all the plastic sheeting in the background, the roof in this section of the factory is less than watertight so the machine gets covered at night and when it rains. (another chore to tackle before serious production starts)

Note also the black rails as suggested by J.R., thanks for the idea, they look cool.

[Doug_Ford]

I know Gerald doesn't like background clutter in shops because it eats up bandwidth but I sure like looking at the stuff people have in their shops and drooling over the raw materials in racks. You've got some great stuff there Alan. Sure wish I could come over and poke around.

Oh yeah and your machine is first class just like your photography skills.

[hennie]

Ok, everybody post pics of the side of your workshop that you don`t want to show:)

So close but o so far, Nice Alan get it cutting!

[Kobus_Joubert]

Looking good Alan. That spot on the floor I would have called BLOOD, SWEAT and TEARS

[Lex]

Well done Alan. I am sure you can't wait to start cutting!

[Alan_c]

After what must the slowest build on record :), the end is truly in sight. Finished all the wiring tonight so I will be able to flash her up in the morning, after doing a couple more tests to make sure all the connections are correct :eek:.

This is the gantry box where all the wires (excluding motor cables) from the X chain pass through to their final destinations.

2612

[Gerald D]

Holding thumbs for you! <---(Apparently this is a rare expression in American - means same as crossing fingers)

That is a busy, and essential, junction box. A lot of work goes into that wiring point. This would also be the point where I would locate the relays for the proxy switches. But then I would use glands (cord grips) that take multiple cables, if I could find them in this country.

[Kobus_Joubert]

Hi Alan, I hope you are documenting where all these cables start and end up. While building it is easy to trace, but after 6 months you open up this box and scratch your head wondering where what is connected. But on the other hand knowing how well you build things I assume this MM is well documented.....and with nice pictures.

[Gerald D]

An example of a "multi-hole cord grip (http://www.tnb.com/ps/fulltilt/index.cgi?part=25404)" Basically, it is just the rubber part that has a special shape. The ones that I used in Germany actually had slits between the hole and outer diameter - you could put/clip the rubber in afterwards. The hole in the body was big enough to pass a proxy through. We got 4 proxise through one gland/grip and could change a single proxy without disturbing the others.

[Alan_c]

IT MOVES.....!!!!!

Finally we have lift off and no smoke has escaped from anywhere :D

As I dont have a spindle/router yet, a pen works just as well

2616
As you can see, I had some issues with the CV setting.

The one major problem I am experiencing is that the feed hold on Mach is constantly being triggered. The LED's on the board are off (come on when a switch is activated) but the 2 LED's on the diagnostics page are permanently lit (one keeps toggeling). They extinguish when the buttons are pushed, shouldnt they only come ON when the button is pushed :confused: I have tried changing from active high to active low - no change, can only get the machine to run if "emulated" ticks are green - not correct.

Seeing as though everybody else is bragging with their cabinets here is a shot of my (incomplete) computer trolley (still needs to get gas struts - work surface raises for working standing up, and paint)

2617
White box at the bottom is a UPS, Dell GX 280, 15" LCD Screen
Wheels are so that I can wheel the computer into the safe at night - security risk

[domino11]

Congratulations Alan! :eek::):eek::D:D

[javeria]

very nice Alan, - the trolley just needs the Blue color :D

[hennie]

BAIE GELUK ALAN.!!!

Nou kan jy lekker werk. Ek is amper daar.

[Gerald D]

Well done Alan!

Suggest you disconnect the feedhold button from the BOB to see if the problem is at the button/wire end. If the problem is down there, increase the Debounce setting.