MechMate CNC Router Forum

MechMate CNC Router Forum (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/index.php)
-   MechMates already cutting (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=78)
-   -   New /old Machine making dust #124 - Golden, CO (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4979)

Rocky Mountain Teardrops Fri 15 May 2015 11:58

New /old Machine making dust #124 - Golden, CO
 
Hello everybody.
This post has been a while coming....
I actually finished my Mechmate a year ago (2014)

I never made a build thread because there is nothing special about my Mechmate.
It's a typical 4'x8' machine, 7" Z axis , welded base, geared motors etc, etc, etc.

However, I have done a couple of things that I haven't seen or heard about very much, so I decided to share them here.

First, a picture of the Mech is all of it's glorious blue-ness.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...pscv5r2vfh.jpg


Obligatory picture of the control box.
Not a tidy as most, but a lot better than my usual wire tangle.:o
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psair8atcv.jpg


Some of the interesting things I have done.
I've always had problems with Mach3 starting the router I'm using (Porter Cable 7518). The onboard relay on the PMDX doesn't have enough amps to run it, and I could never get a Solid State Relay to work correctly with the electronic router speed control.

Many months of on and off work and thinking brought me to a solution.
We know that the SSR needs a load to engage. (a 40watt light bulb wired in parallel to the electronic router will make everything work just fine)

So I came up with this solution.
Wire a small resistor in parallel with the router. (kind of a parasitic load)
So after some maths, I decided on a 10K resistor, hooked to the output side of the SSR going to neutral line (here in USA, we have three wire systems, hot, neutral, and ground)
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psq52ji4t1.jpg

Now the electronic router will start via Mach3 with the SSR relay.
Keeping my control box very tidy.


Next project:
I put a vacuum hold down table system on it with three zones.
First layer on the table is the standard MDF with the bolt holes to hold everything down.
Next layer is another standard 3/4" MDF with grooves machined in it for vacuum flow, grooves sealed with polyurethane.
No picture, but here's the simulation.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psm1ngbvm8.jpg

Top layer is a sheet of ultralite MDF for vacuum flow.
Mounted under the table top are three industrial vacuum motors.

Since the vast majority of my cutting involves 4'x8' plywood sheets, this system works very well to keep everything flat and in place.
I still use some edge hold down clamps just to make sure.

Next thing is the dust collection.
I have very limited headroom (8'), so I needed some way to make it fit.
I have seen other people use a LONG hose suspended from a tall ceiling, but that won't work for me. I also didn't want to run the hose along the cable tray or build another tray to run it along the gantry.

So what I did was got some strut (I used Unistrut), got some strut trollies (from McMaster), and made a sliding hose support.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psgszu5xz7.jpg

Another short piece of strut along with a modified conduit clamp and a piece of HVAC duct.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psufavf3v9.jpg

Dust foot. Just a flat piece of sheet metal, bent edges, with conveyor brush (McMaster) around the edge.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psy4vav6qy.jpg

Sorry about the sorry shape, I hit a clamp a while ago and haven't bothered to repair it.

Hope this will be usefull to somebody.

Thanks,
Lee

(HEY MIKE! How about a serial number? ;) )

timberlinemd Fri 15 May 2015 15:09

To be completely compliant in getting a serial number you need to show us something that you have cut with your M/M,:D but outside of that it looks great! Congrats!

Rocky Mountain Teardrops Fri 15 May 2015 15:25

This is the first thing ever cut.
"Das Blinkenlights" (Google for explanation) on 3/4" melamine.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psym33hq7o.jpg

Here's a picture of the vacuum bag platten and half of a door.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps0cohhlgk.jpg

A router cabinet for doing round overs and misc jobs.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psxzosxmmd.jpg


Well, here's a picture of me making off center holes. :(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps91btdaly.jpg

Or out of square drawer fronts. :(
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...pspzpubyuu.jpg

If anybody has an idea on what could be going on (it's not loose grub screws), :confused:
I would appreciate it.
http://mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4978

Lee

KenC Sat 16 May 2015 00:55

Looks very much like a mechanical problem. I would start by yanking parts of the machine to see if they are totally secured, such as the router holder, W-wheels, etc etc.

lonestaral Sat 16 May 2015 05:28

The Flashing Lights.

A good looking machine.

Sorry to hear of your problems.
Check for loose components.
Check for Exact stop / Constant velocity settings if using Mach 3.

Rocky Mountain Teardrops Sat 16 May 2015 10:06

Constant velocity settings are off.

Cut this today
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psuuakhmre.jpg

This is the problem I'm having.
This step is at approx 11:00 (on a clock face)
There is an identical step / gouge at 1:00 also.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps9sdk72ap.jpg

This is a circle cut where the Y travel is shifting to X angle.
I get flattened circles if they are small enough, and bumps where the circle is big.

Here's another strange thing. This was set to run on the vector (VCarvePro).
Why is one corner round, and the other square?
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psocuzrobl.jpg


Spent the better part of two hours this morning shaking, twisting, and all around checking everything and I can't find anything loose. (except for the slop in the motor gearboxes - please see my troubleshooting thread about that).

Thanks,
Lee

Regnar Sat 16 May 2015 11:14

V wheels are free from compacted dust? Also adding direction of the axis in the photos will help further with which axis is causing the trouble. Have you tried different speeds? Make a series of squares and circles going at different speeds. Did this problem just surface or did you change or upgrade any software like Vcarve?

Rocky Mountain Teardrops Sat 16 May 2015 11:30

Quote:
Originally Posted by Regnar View Post
V wheels are free from compacted dust? Also adding direction of the axis in the photos will help further with which axis is causing the trouble. Have you tried different speeds? Make a series of squares and circles going at different speeds. Did this problem just surface or did you change or upgrade any software like Vcarve?
Rollers are dust free. (I'm very careful about that)

All pictures are X (long axis) running top to bottom.
Y axis (short) are left to right.

All straight cuts are perfect. No wobbles or gouges.
I am just having problems where the motion to shifting from one axis to another. (like a curve/circle, or corner)

barry99705 Sat 16 May 2015 15:44

It's not your spindle bearings is it?

Rocky Mountain Teardrops Sat 16 May 2015 16:07

Not that I can feel.
See this thread for more test run today.
http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showt...1826#post71826

KenC Sun 17 May 2015 00:41

Spindle holder? Something came loose. U gotta find it.

HomeMadeCnc Tue 19 May 2015 12:32

I've found on my own machine that I have some wear in the planetary gearbox on the y car. With power on I have .044" free movement. I'm taking mine apart this afternoon with the hopes of shimming to fix the issue.

HomeMadeCnc Tue 19 May 2015 13:41

I took the main shaft out of the gearbox, rotated it 180 and put it back in. Regreased it and it tested to .005 now .

Rocky Mountain Teardrops Tue 19 May 2015 13:46

Problem solved.
Combination of a few things.

CV being on :o (now changed to be "off for angles greater than 89°")
I thought it was turned off, but Gerry in the troubleshooting thread walked me to the correct screen in Mach3

Shimmed the motor to get a much better gear to rack contact.

Loosened the motor pivot bolts to allow the motor to actually....pivot, and keep in full contact with the racks. (I had them too tight, they could not freely move)

Changed the motor acceleration to 20 ips (from 6). Makes the motors much quieter and "crisper" in their movements.

I think the sloppy cutting was due to the gears and racks not being perfect, and the rounded corners caused by the CV still being on.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Lee

Rocky Mountain Teardrops Tue 19 May 2015 13:52

Quote:
Originally Posted by HomeMadeCnc View Post
I've found on my own machine that I have some wear in the planetary gearbox on the y car. With power on I have .044" free movement. I'm taking mine apart this afternoon with the hopes of shimming to fix the issue.
Does it come back to zero when you release the gantry?
(dial indicator clamped to rail, motors on, push and pull gantry to get .044"?)
Release gantry, what does the dial indicator go back to?

I have about .030" push/pull of the gantry, but when I let it go, it goes back to zero on the dial indicator.

Tried to measure backlash today also. I can't measure any. (+/- .001")
(dial indicator clamped to rail, run gantry up to it. Check measurement on Mach3, run gantry away, compare dial to Mach3......no difference.)

Lee

HomeMadeCnc Tue 19 May 2015 15:20

I had a dead zone. When released it didn't move. I'm going to keep a closer eye on it and see what happens over time.

Tim

MetalHead Tue 19 May 2015 21:24

Nice build !! Glad to see another MM finished!! You get #124

hennie Tue 19 May 2015 23:19

Lee, show some of those Teardrops that you build.

jhiggins7 Wed 20 May 2015 05:30

Builder's Log Update
 
Lee,

Congratulations on completing your MechMate and earning Serial Number 124.

Here is the Updated Builder's Log with your entry added.

For the record, please give us some idea of your build start and completion dates. Rough approximations are fine.

darren salyer Wed 20 May 2015 06:07

Congratulations to #124 from #101. Job well done, Sir.

IMMark Sat 23 May 2015 06:29

Congratulations on #124, very nice looking machine.
Enjoy!!
Mark

pblackburn Sun 24 May 2015 12:25

Congratulations 124.

Rocky Mountain Teardrops Sun 24 May 2015 14:59

Thank you all.
Couldn't have done it without the knowledge on this board.

I bought the plans in June of 2013, and made first cuts on Jan 15, 2014.
So about 7 month to build.

Sorry about my slow response, I'm still having repeatability issues.
Trying to get a handle on that.

I'll get some pictures of what I'm working on soon.

Thanks,
Lee

jhiggins7 Sun 24 May 2015 16:29

Thanks for the info. I've updated the Builder's Log.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:43.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.