Got some more work done
 

Here is some pic from this weekend. Let me know what you think. This is the Z slider coming together on the v rails.

Got the limit switch added to the Z slide. I will use a shorter proxy when final assembly is done

Started the belt drive units.. got them cut and fit and welded up

Pics of build
 

Every thing starting to come together. All this is just mocked up to see if they fit and move as they should. Still got my v rail that need to be ground, I will have to stop putting them off here soon.

Please if you see something do not hold back so this thing gets done right.

Thanks for all the help.
firechief

Stepper Motor
 

Your build is looking good so far. I noticed you have a round stepper motor, I am no expert on steppers but it is my understanding that this design makes use of ferrite magnets that degrade over time compared to rare earth magnets in the square type. I was offered some salvaged ones recently but have hesitated due to this. Is it an issue you have experienced or are yours new?

My stepper motors are new.. I got a case of them (8) for $50.00 total. I looked them up and they are Lin 8618 490oz. I called LIN and he told me that they would work for my machine. I will let you know how they work out. I can change them latter if I need to and will only be out the $50.00, so I will give them a try to start with.

For $50 you can't go wrong. You could probably eBay them for more than that if you decided to change them later.

Looking good Chief.
Keep at it.

I still have 4 new in box that I can sell or keep for spares as needed. When I get this thing cutting that will tell if they will work right or not. With the belt drives they should work good.

firechief

Thanks, It will not be to long before I start to think about paint... I thinking Blue.

Blue is a good color ;)

Nice progress you have there firechief.

Keep on with the work, don't see back, and be in no doubt. You'll be cutting before me.

Borko

Rails have started
 

This weekend I worked on my V rails. This was a big pain in the A##. I have over 12 hours in just cutting off and v grinding the rail... It is done and I,m glad. I think the out come was good and should work well.

Main rails
 

After we got the rails done we started on the main I beams. got them cut off to size and cleaned up before they get leveled up and welded. I drilled and tapped three 1/4 20 in the I beam bottom leg. I will use then to level the beams before welding. I will get some pic of this as we set the main beam.

Next I will get the mounting holes in the V rail along with the hard stops and proxy target holes. I will have this move on the rail soon I hope.

One more note on the grinding skate... you need to use button head harden bolts for the height adjustment with button turned down on the rail, Softer bolts will gail on the top of the rail and will not slide along the rail. I had a hard time at first with grade 5 bolts before I made the change.

As always If you see something please let me know.

An interesting acronym on your main beams.:)

Tim you are moving right along, thanks for posting , but why did you reference your cut of the rail off 2x wood that cups and twists? Instead of letting bolt heads ride on a steel beam, I haven't done rails yet but assume you will need to straighten that cut by removing the wood and grinding it?

The beam was not that wide (4") for the head of the bolts to ride on. I placed the board on the beam and the rail on top of that and clamped it all down to the beam. This was flat and worked great for me. It was a new 1"x10" so it had no twists and was flat to start with. I used round headed bolts to ride on the wood.

I did not have any thing that was 11' long and 6" to 7" wide for the rail and the skate to ride on, so this is how I come up with a way to cut the rails.

Here is how I adjusted the rails to be level.. Then I welded the beams to the table for good. The bolts were to adjust the beam, I had three of them on each beam, one on both ends and one in the middle.

Thanks for looking

Go the rail on and looking good.

This is how I got the Gantry rail bolted to the gantry. I used a rod that I threaded on one end, put the clamping plate inside the gantry tubes and threaded the shafts in the clamping plate on both ends of the gantry. I lower the rails over the shafts and set them on the gantry. Then I pulled the shafts up and clamped them in the up position. I then put the bolts in the remaining holes removed the shafts and put the two bolds in there place. Work get

firechief

Some more rail pics all together

Gantry and Y cart stops.

Every thing is ready for paint. It will be going Tuesday to get color.

Very good. I suspect you will be cutting in a short period of time.

This has been a big project to put together, but I had a lot of fun so far. I just got back from dropping it off to get painted "Sky Blue it is". I will be picking it up on Friday. Now I got to clean the shop from all the grinding dust before It gets back. Thanks for looking. I have been working on Mach 4 and all the coding to setup the e stops, limits, homing and so on, Then on to v carve pro "big learning curve all the way around".

If it was easy everyone would be doing it.

firechief

Did they show you a swatch on that color? Royal/Ford Blue is the typical Blue used. Just want to make sure your getting the color your looking for. I had an experience with sky blue once that the painter used powder blue instead...

They did show me a color chip... I hope it is the same and we will know Friday.

I will post pic when it is back in the shop... Will be looking for some stickers soon I hope, and get on the build list with a number???

Kornerking Bronze looks good also.:D

I got it back from paint... Not bad looking. Now it is time to resemble and make it move.