Table Coming Together! 48"x48" - BC, Canada

[rkd]

Hi there. I have been a member here since 2007 I think. I have wanted to build a Mechmate since then. Kids being born, career changes, and moves have all prevented it until this year.
In March I ordered the laser cut parts, and have been collecting parts and studying the plans since then. I am going to build a machine with a 48"x48" cutting area. I am a just a hobbyist, so I have no idea what I would ever need more than that for.
I work with electronics everyday in my job on the railway, so that part doesn't worry me. It was the welding and fabrication that would be the biggest problem for me. So I started with those. Now I have a huge hunk of welded steel in my garage so I am commited to finish.
I have been plugging away for about a month on evenings and weekends when I can. I have 2 little boys, so I don't get too much time in the shop.
I have managed to get the base table mostly welded up. Just need to put in some diagonals. I Made hockey puck leveling feet as well.
I've gotten the y-car welded as well as the gantry.
I have 3 out of 4 rails cut to height. I am using 2.5x2.5 angle iron so when the cutting disk gets worn down about half, it wont cut all the way through with the skate attatched. I underestimated home many disks I would need, so now I have 3 cut rails, 1 mostly cut rail, and 5 cutting disks about half worn down. A trip to town tomorrow, and I should have what I need to finish the last rail. I will probably grind the rails tomorrow as well. Hopefully start on the z axis in the next few weeks as well.
Anyway, my progress isn't going to be as quick as some, but I will update as I go.
Thanks for looking.

[lonestaral]

Well done Ryan.
It looks like a proper workshop with all the gear.
Keep at it.

[racedirector]

Looking good Ryan, coming along nicely. Going to follow your build with interest as I too am looking at building a small machine close to a 4x4.

Cheers
Bruce

[jask]

Congratulations Ryan! I guess this means you are not selling your v-wheels and power supply any more:)
I look forward to seeing your build progress.

John

[rkd]

Some more progress. Got all my rails ground. A lot easier than I was expecting, but still really not much fun. Z plate ground as well. I have a rolling gantry now with a rolling y car. I had the z axis all done but took it apart for paint.
Still have to put some diagonal braces on, just waiting for a trip out of town to pick up the metal, maybe next weekend. Definitley need to put some stops on the rails, almost lost the gantry a few times while admiring my handywork. My gear rack should show up this week, I will mount that. Lots of little things left to do, but I will probably start on the electronics as well now.
A thought for anyone planning a build, plan all the components you will use ahead of time so you can order all the parts, and have them handy when you are ready for them. I didn't do that so now I have to wait for things to come in the mail while a half finished machine sits in the garage.

[rkd]

Speaking of not planning ahead, do any Canadian builders have a line on somewhere to purchase a gas spring? McMaster wont do business with Canadians, and I don't know what the equivalent company is up here.
Thanks, Ryan

[lonestaral]

It looks like it is coming along nicely.

I put some G clamps on my rails until I got the hard stops installed.
I am waiting on a price and delivery for a gas spring.
The one I got from a garage was too strong.
Making do with a compression spring for now.

Jobs big or small, they all need doing.

[racedirector]

Just saw your update, looking very nice indeed. Jealous as hell now :)

[smreish]

Ryan,
The gas strut is like the same variety used on the trunk of some auto's. If you spend some time searching the forum, you should find the appropriate size/length mentioned. If not, REID supply should service you in Canada with the correct part.

Good luck

[darren salyer]

Like Al mentioned, I used clamps to keep the gantry from rolling off.
Downside of doing that? Still had them on 3 months later.
Great job so far.

[rkd]

Google is your friend. I searched for gas springs and this company was one of the top results. Turns out they are only a few hours from me and have exactly what I wanted in stock. Should be here in a day or 2. Looks like a good source for Canadians or anyone else who can't do buisness with McMaster Carr.
http://geminigassprings.com

[smreish]

A quick, easy (and have done it) solution....plug weld on a fender washer on the VEE rail end as a temporary stop. Grinds off easily without affecting the machine or rail.

Did this on all 3 builds until stops were placed.

You can see them in this picture:

http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7669&postcount=122

[Mrayhursh]

Ryan
Do you have the part number of the Gas Spring that you order?

[rkd]

I ended up ordering #405. It is the same as 404 except 404 is custom made due to having M6 ends. 405 has M8 ends and is a stocked item. The item numbers are for the physical size of the spring, then you specify stroke length, pressure, extended length, etc. You have to order by email, so they let you know what they have in stock right away. They didn't have the exact length I wantedin that size spring so they are adding an adapter to make the overall length.
Pretty good service for an $18 part.

[rkd]

I might have to copy those temporary stops for now, to save some heartache while I'm working on and around and under the table. With the rails on it, that gantry is pretty heavy.

[rkd]

Some more progress over the last couple weeks. Got my gear racks all mounted. Got the machine moved to its permanent corner in the shop, and all leveled again. Got my idler hold down finished.
I have tons of smaller jobs and parts to do still but I couldn't resist hooking up the motors and gearboxes for a quick test. Just jogging around I had it going way faster than it had any business going for a 48" table. To the guys that have a machine running, what is everyone using as a reasonable rapid speed? I had 600ipm on the z axis, which seemed ok. I had it up to 1500 on the x and y with no lost steps. Way way to fast. 1000 seems fast on a table this small.
I have to order more cable for the motors, I have it all temporary with shorter ones right now. I have to finish the cable carriers also. I don't have any limits or push buttons or anything right now, so that is still all to be done.
Nowhere near done, but I am happy. I hit a big milestone today.
I tried to take video but I was to scared to jog it with one hand on the camera and not on the estop.
Some crappy cell phone pictures.

[racedirector]

Well done, looking real good. I notice you are using cncrouterparts R&P units, was there a reason for using those over the stick MM versions?

[rkd]

I notice you are using cncrouterparts R&P units, was there a reason for using those over the stick MM versions?

I already had them from another machine that I built, as well as the motors and
g540. We will see how they perform when I have a cutting load on the machine but for now I am happy with them. I am just a hobbiest so I am trying to keep the costs down where I can. Living in Canada means paying ridiculous shipping and customs charges when buying things like these.

[lonestaral]

Looking good Ryan.
Progress indeed.

My machine is not full size (1200 x 700mm travel)

My rapids are 6000mm/min on X & Y.
2500mm/min in Z.

Probably go faster but you run out of room very quickly.
If time was money and I had a production run, yes I would up the rates.

[Helsingtwelve]

Just wondering:D

[rkd]

No number yet. Will still be quite a while before I am ready for that. I am down to the slower moving stuff like wiring and control box stuff.

I managed to build a cheap mount for my router, based on a drawing by Gerald here. Very easy, cheap and pretty strong too. I will take a picture when I get back out to the shop.
http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=732

[smreish]

...and it works well. Don't let the simple nature of it fool you!

[rkd]

Some progress today. Got the z all squared up. And a little bit of wiring done. Also learned a huge lesson.
If you have small children who like to "help" in the shop, always hit an estop or press the estop on the mach 3 screen, if you are stepping away from the controls. My son wandered over to the keyboard and mashed a fist onto the keys driving the gantry at 1000ipm into the stops, while I was reached over behind the gantry about to work on something on the z. Lucky I decided to put the stops on, lucky I wasn't on the other side of the gantry. Lots of lucky's. Eye opener for sure. I think I am going to put an estop on the control side of the machine that doesn't move with the gantry. I don't want to chase an estop ever again.
Anyway, I might be cutting this weekend if everything goes good. Should have some pictures if I do.

[lonestaral]

Yes, I have some little devils that visit from time to time.
I have to remind my wife how dangerous machines and gremlins can be.
Deadly as a matter of fact.
I will turn off the control box or press the reset button if I am away.
Better do a reference all home than a hospital run or worse.
Glad you are ok.

[rkd]

Ive made some more progress over the last few weeks. To the point that I was making sawdust today. I cut out a couple of squares and circles out of plywood to test the accuracy of the machine. The square was as close to square as my eyes could see with a machinists square, and dimensions were all on. The circle looked good, just a little blip where the tool plunged into the wood. Maybe loose wheels on the z? Or maybe the bit is just a tiny bit off vertical. I ran another circle but used a ramp-in and didn't notice the tool marks this time.
I still have lots to do. Waiting on a proper cable carrier, just have the cables tie wrapped to a hinged arm that moves with the carriage. Cheap, but not very pretty. Here is a picture of the machine with some sawdust on it. And a picture from earlier of my router mount.
Im really happy with how well it went together and how well it works. I will need to find some logos here pretty quickly I think.

[darren salyer]

Always an exciting time.... looks great.

[Andrew_standen]

Looks good, keep up the good work.
These Mechmates cut a lot better than you would expect.
I run two large cnc machine s at work. And I don't think that they produce better results.
In some cases I get better and faster results at home on the mechmate
For example I can load a 9meg file at home and it takes 9 seconds. Program run for just over two hours.
The machine s at work will not load a program bigger than 2.5meg and that take s 45mins to load.

Mechmates can produce excellent results.
Good luck with your build.
Regards
Andrew

[MetalHead]

Sweet !!! Now we just need to see those logos !!!

[pblackburn]

Excellent Job!!!!!!!!!!