Its "Blue-tiful"...!!
In truth a machine this size would work for me 80-90% of the time.....
Looking very good.

As posted by Surfcnc. Lol !!!!!!!!!!!!
Sounds like my V wheels.

"Find an engineer to bore the pulley.
Ring engineer on the day they say it is ready.
Discuss with engineer the job so they remember which job it was.
Engineer promises to call me back with an update.
No update is forthcoming or even forthcoming !!
Give engineer another 8 days to do job.
Ring engineer after another 8 days suggesting they were going to call back 8 days ago.
Success - the job is done (just this morning by chance).
But... it was tricky, had to machine up soft jaws... far more complicated than first anticipated ??
Payment time $99 AUD for two (2) holes.
Quality of job, pretty darn rough for a pro and visibly out of round."

Would have liked the full sized machine but space limitation.
Looked at building a workshop in the garden, had the space even with the coconut palm in the middle.
Wife said no due to the cost.
If this build generates a profit maybe next time.

Slow day
 

Not a lot done today.
Had to convert the office back into a bedroom as a sister will visit for 3 weeks.

Opened out the pilot holes in the racks to 8mm.
Tapped the M6 threads in the rails.

Bigger motors on order.

Walked out to the front balcony this afternoon to be greeted by a snake.
Bootlace thing, green & black.
Took no chances.
Sent him back downstairs with a broom.
Gave the tree it came up on a haircut.

A few small jobs planned for tomorrow.
What will delay me for a few days is the wait for the V wheels.

Phew, I hate snakes, when they startle me.

Wobbley spider
 

Some small progress today.

Y axis rails and racks fitted.

The spider plate had a wobble mainly due to the bending process.
When the machine shop made the bosses that are welded on to the spider
they hardened then.
I did not ask then to but they did.
A file was out of the question.

A few whacks with a club hammer and a skim over with a flap wheel in the grinder did the job.:D

That spider doesn't look very healthy...
I do have a spare spider. You can have if if you pay for the shipping.

Looking at that spider, it appears to be a good offer.

Thanks for the offer Ken, I will bear it in mind.
You dont happen to have a spare Mechmate by any chance:)

No work done yesterday on the machine, I had to build a bed.

I would take him up on that offer in a heart beat!

The spider is a critical part of your machine and difficult to adjust even with a well bent spider.. Your current spider is really damaged...

Spider need tender touch & care.

Spider
 

This sounds a bit serious & the other spider sounds lonely.
Can you inquire how much the shipping is please Ken.

Where about in Thailand you reside?
I don't think its expensive, most likely under 1000bath with Poslaju courier.
You want it bent as well? I can get it done for a song here.

Delay
 

Looking at a major delay.
Phoned the machine shop, worker doing the job has not turned in so far this week.
Cant do much more without wheels.
Motors due next week.
Made a few small brackets and cut a cable chain plate.

Full speed ahead
 

Today was a bit like Christmas.
The machine shop phoned to say the wheels were ready.
The profile shop phoned , the plates for the bigger motors were done.
Picked them all up, got the bearings (Ouch)

Fitted the base board.
Pressed in the bearings using the drill press.
Remember when fitting bearings, make sure the number on the bearing faces out. This makes identification possible for you or any subsequent owner.

Also the new motors arrived.
If you are not sure what the difference between a Nema 23 260 oz and a Nema 34 860 oz is , WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, should cover it.
I will post a comparison photo tomorrow.

Full speed ahead.
Any icebergs about ?

did you put some locktite on the bearings? they will fail on the time. i have some problem with them.. final solution was some MIG solder points.

is that a 6560 stepper board? i imagine that is NOT for the Mechmate.

6560 is cheap, if it burns, it won't burn a hole in the bank book :)

I second Fernando's loctite advice too.

ติดตามอ่านอยู่ครับ :)

Rail on
 

Thanks for the Loctite advise.
Is it red or blue, one is studlock the other is bearing lock.
Will ask Google, he knows everything.

Not a clue on the board, it came with the kit.
I bought the kit from the same company that I used for my first build.
No problems with them.
Everything worked well.
Longs Motor.

Got the gantry on today, everything went well.
Y car on, needs some shim washers, the shop was closed so I made some temporary ones.

Back ache from all the solo lifting.
Nobody available when you need them.
Who needs a gym when there is a Mechmate to be built.

Looks great. I really like it.

"Thanks for the Loctite advise.
Is it red or blue, one is studlock the other is bearing lock."

Have a look at this : http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/t_l...-Green-290.htm

Great advancement.....looks you'll be making dust soon !!

Not a lot of progress today.
A bit tired after all the lifting yesterday and again this morning.

Got some thin washers, Y car fitted.
New motor plates bored out.
Drilled the holes in them, tapped the Z axis motor plate.
Pinions in the machine shop for boring out.
Attached is the photo of the difference in size of the motors.
The smaller is a NEMA 23 from my first machine.
The larger is a NEMA 34 for this build.

Looking at how big and heavy this machine has got so far, safety has to be the number one priority.

It's Moved
 

Progress.
Its moved.
Twin motor axis.

It should have moved yesterday but a day got wasted due to the fact that the motor manufacturer wired the motors different to its information sheet.

A lot of headscratching and some rewiring sorted things out.
I will retune the motors when all the other parts are on.

Sick as a parrot yesterday, very worried this morning.
A relieved builder now.:)

2 Axis movement
 

Happy from my success on the twin motor axis
I wired up the other axis.

I made sure that I was not in the line of fire before
pressing any buttons.
All went well.
So now X & Y move.
I should sleep well tonight.

Sick as ?????
 

Funny, in your part of world the expression is sick as a parrot.
over here it is "sick as a dog".
When I lived in Venezuela the expression for having a good day
was " I feel like a grape". Best of luck it looks like you are
getting close to going live. Can't wait to see what you make.

No Parrots
 

No Parrots today.
Ground the Z axis plate.
Just got it finished then I heard a roaring in the distance.
Sounds like a train.
Get the gear under cover as quick as you can.
45mm rain in a hurry, some of it horizontal.

Is this you 1st rain season?
The rain came a month early this year in my part of the world.

No, I have been here 7 years.
Another cyclone brewing to the east.
80% rain forecast for the next few days, lets hope its not horizontal.:eek:

Lucky we don't get cyclone or typhoon where I'm.

Dead Spider
 

About time for an update.
You were all correct, the spider was sick, now dead.
The final straw was that the motor lug was too far out of square.

Ken C generously offered a replacement.
Having seen what went wrong I am unwilling to try another spider.
I am trying out an alternative. So far it looks good.
Tomorrow I should know if it works.

While grinding the Z slide plate I made an accidental discovery.
No need to rest the grinder on its back or side.
It will sit upright, photo attached.

As for the weather most Typhoons head north to China.
Any that come our way lose energy over Vietnam and Laos.
We just get the rain.
800 mm + one night.
Not sure what the record is but that was a wet night.

Hi Al

The machine is looking really great, I'm sure you have lots of fun ahead.

The TB650 and TB6600 boards work OK but it is advisable to keep the total power per axis you feed into them around 120W.

I tested a TB660 board to destruction and it was happy for a while at 48V and 2.5 amps but lasted only minutes at 48V and 3.5 Amps.
Running 36 volts at 3.3 Amps (or below) should be your safest bet.

Good luck with your build and it has been fun watching your progress... and your weather :).

Ross