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  #31  
Old Mon 26 November 2007, 08:46
Abdul
Just call me: Abdul
 
Karachi
Pakistan
Very Nice and Clean mounts, I am with gmessler for another spare one
Thanks for foto, if you could post from top ? To get how much spacing among boards is required for heat or interferences.
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  #32  
Old Mon 26 November 2007, 10:22
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
I'm sorry Abdul. I misunderstood what you wanted. I will take the correct picture this time. And I'll include some tape measures in the photo too. However, let me give you a word of caution. I'm probably the last guy on this forum that you should be copying when it comes to electronics.

Greg J, I'm dying to cut something. I even considered turning on the router and pushing the car and gantry around. It seems like there is always something else to work on. Some minor but necessary detail.

I know my brackets are kind of chunky and unsophisticated but I left them with extra material because I thought that I might want to mount my dust collection foot to them if I ever get around to designing it. I'm leaning toward having the dust collector foot raise and lower with the router rather than mounting it at a fixed height.
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  #33  
Old Mon 26 November 2007, 19:07
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
Gerald,

I checked the clearance and it is fine as long as I leave the spider mounted in the current holes. If I move it forward, I'll have a problem with clearance. If I move it back one set of holes, I won't be able to route the edge of the sheet. For what I plan to use it for, I don't think I'll have a problem. I can trim the bracket if it presents a problem later. Or I was thinking that I might just design a new one and use the MM to cut it out once I get it running. At least I have a way to hold the router if I choose that option.
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  #34  
Old Tue 27 November 2007, 05:53
Greg J
Just call me: Greg #13
 
Hagerman, New Mexico
United States of America
Doug,

What sheilded cable did you decide to use?

Is it a foil or wire braid?
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  #35  
Old Tue 27 November 2007, 06:24
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
Wire braid from Helukabel. A little on the expensive side. I posted the info in the cable thread.
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  #36  
Old Tue 27 November 2007, 06:36
Greg J
Just call me: Greg #13
 
Hagerman, New Mexico
United States of America
Thanks Doug,

Should've looked there first. Still on my first cup of coffee
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  #37  
Old Sat 01 December 2007, 18:58
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
Gerald,

My wife and I have gotten a good laugh out of your thread titles. Thanks.

Abdul: Here are a couple of pictures of my control panel with some tape measures included so you can see the spacing. Unfortunately, one of them has a lot of wires obscuring one of the tapes. My camera isn't too good so I couldn't tell what it looked like until I loaded it on the computer. Maybe it will be of use to you anyway.

Also, there is another picture of my router bracket without the router installed.

After it was too dark to take a picture, I finished mounting my control box enclosure on the wall. Actually, it isn't on the wall. I temporarily mounted it on my H-frame hydraulic press at the height I will mount it permanently in its new home one day. The control panel isn't installed yet. I just wanted the enclosure in place so I could cut and bend the conduit for my cables.

Yesterday, I received my ratcheting crimper pliers from Harbor Freight. Wow. I was surprised at the high quality. A lot of Harbor Freight's tools aren't something I would purchase if I planned to use them every day but I think these pliers will last a long time. For $9.99, they were definitely worth the money. Tonight, I plan to start crimping on my pin terminals.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Control Panel Bottom Part.jpg (65.0 KB, 1401 views)
File Type: jpg Control Panel Top Part.jpg (66.9 KB, 1399 views)
File Type: jpg Router Bracket Empty.JPG (47.0 KB, 1388 views)
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  #38  
Old Sun 02 December 2007, 09:28
Abdul
Just call me: Abdul
 
Karachi
Pakistan
OK, thanks
Its 14.5"x22" approx. I am receiving my Geckos (SALE) very soon. I will do this part first.
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  #39  
Old Sun 02 December 2007, 09:50
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
Doug, I read through this whole thread again, and it seems you are about a week or two away from cutting. Setting up and using Mach3 is probably your next big hurdle. Have you actually had the motors turning with short temporary wires yet? (I can see myself disappearing on holiday when your headaches with Mach3 start)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug_Ford View Post
. . . . I finished mounting my control box enclosure on the wall. Actually, it isn't on the wall. I temporarily mounted it on my H-frame hydraulic press at the height I will mount it permanently in its new home one day.
Something that I havn't spelled out yet; Mount the box about 40mm [1.5"] off the wall so that air can rise up past the back face as well. Either use 4 "stand-offs" or 2 vertical "studs". The air convects vertically....don't put horizontal stringers across the natural air flow.
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  #40  
Old Sun 02 December 2007, 13:23
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
Thanks for worrying about me Gerald but you are more optimistic than I am about when I will actually cut something. Over the next 10 days, I'll be busy at work so I won't be able to log much time in the garage. I predict February or late January at the earliest before I'm actually cutting. I'm still waiting for a couple of pieces of cable and I can't find a large ground wire that is flexible enough. Plus, I'm slow, methodical, and can't seem to focus on more than one task at a time so I get to the end of a project and realize I don't have the parts for my next project. Geez. You would think I would have learned by now. I have not hooked up my motors yet.

Thanks for the pointers on mounting my enclosure. I had already studied your setup so I used two 2" square vertical "studs" like you. It looks pretty good.

I LOVE my new pin conectors. They work great. The only problem I had was that I didn't pay close attention to the pin sizes when I ordered them so only the 14-16 AWG blue connectors would fit in my Gecko terminals and they were a very tight fit. The PMDX board terminals were larger so I didn't have a problem there.
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  #41  
Old Sun 02 December 2007, 16:38
domino11
Just call me: Heath
 
Cornwall, Ontario
Canada
Doug,
Have you thought about using a heavy copper braid for a flexible ground connection? We use that a lot when we need a good low impedance ground that needs to be flexable as well. How long do you need to run? Braid is much more flexible than say twisted copper.
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  #42  
Old Sun 02 December 2007, 17:45
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
Great idea Heath. Thanks. I'll start shopping for it. I planned to buy approximately 40 feet.
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  #43  
Old Sun 02 December 2007, 21:18
Greg J
Just call me: Greg #13
 
Hagerman, New Mexico
United States of America
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerald D View Post
(I can see myself disappearing on holiday when your headaches with Mach3 start)
Aaah, don't forget Gerald, Doug and the rest of us have the reputable Mr. Richards to fill in for those pesky software/electrical/electronic questions.

I "dry" fitted my table (before weld up) this evening. My new gantry crane is a back saver. Geez, this is one beast of a machine. Hoping to post pictures soon. If I don't, have a joyous holiday!!
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  #44  
Old Sun 02 December 2007, 21:52
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
And you also have two Mach forums.

On the ground cable, our very first table was done with 3-core power cord with the 3 cores twisted and crimped together in yellow crimps.
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  #45  
Old Mon 03 December 2007, 06:17
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
The other day at one of the electrical supply businesses in the area, a salesman told me that I needed MTW grade wire. MTW stands for machine tool wire. Last night, I found it on the McMaster Carr site and ordered 50 feet of AWG 10. I think that's the last thing I need to buy.
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  #46  
Old Mon 03 December 2007, 09:02
domino11
Just call me: Heath
 
Cornwall, Ontario
Canada
Doug,
If you are thinking of using the braid for a ground strap, for a termination, you can just part a hole in the flattened end and then put a fastener with a washer through it and then bolt it on to your ground plate or whatever. if you need a smaller termination you can solder a wire of needed size to the braid (then shrink wrap it for looks etc if you want ) and then use your prefered termination on the wire you want, say like crimp terminations.
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  #47  
Old Sun 16 December 2007, 07:07
Greg J
Just call me: Greg #13
 
Hagerman, New Mexico
United States of America
Doug,

Have you decided on a dust collection system yet?

I ordered the ClearVue unit yesterday. My decision was based on the lower cost, adequate performance curves for my shop, and, so far, good customer service.
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  #48  
Old Sun 16 December 2007, 16:45
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
Greg,

I'm thinking about building a system using Bill Pentz's instructions for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm cheap and 2) I like building stuff. Usually, I end up spending almost as much and taking 4 or 5 times longer that way but I enjoy the process. Let me know how you like it. I may end up ordering the Clearvue system too.

Have you figured out what kind of foot you'll use? I'm still thinking about using 6" duct that transitions to a long rectangle for part of it. I've seen the transitions at Lowes and Home Depot. When I finish connecting my cables, I'll start working on the foot.

This weekend, I finished bending the conduit (that connects the control box to the table) and constructing the clamping system that locks it all to the table. I'm pretty happy with it. And then I stuffed it all with cable. This week, I'll finish connecting them all.

What do you have left to do?
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  #49  
Old Sun 16 December 2007, 19:51
Greg J
Just call me: Greg #13
 
Hagerman, New Mexico
United States of America
Doug,

My DC system will arrive this week (early Christmas present). I'm taking all next week off and the following Monday (day before New Years). Guess what I'll be doing? Relaxing, watching TV ... NOPE ... I'll be constructing an equipment room external to my shop. The DC and air compressor will reside there. I'll be using 6 inch main ducting to the router table. From the main, I'll transition to the shortest possible 4 inch run (flex hose) to the router intake foot.

As for the "foot", I'm keeping it simple. With a minimum of 800 CFM [cubic feet per minute], I really think a minimual skirt will be required. Check out the video on the Clear Vue web site. It shows a CNC router with the cyclon DC.

As for my progress, I spent all day Saturday and Sunday, welding on the table. I've got the cross members welded to the main beam, and the base (legs and cross members) welded up. I wanted to attach (weld) the base to the main beams, but my wife said I was working to hard and to call it quits. I'll weld the base to the main beams Monday and start attaching the rails the rest of the week.
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  #50  
Old Sun 16 December 2007, 20:23
gmessler
Just call me: Greg #15
 
Chicago IL
United States of America
You guys are all killing me.
I've been so busy at work that I haven't been able to work on the Mechmate.
It's great to see everybody making such good progress.
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  #51  
Old Sun 16 December 2007, 23:55
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
Greg M: I'm not moving that quickly. Insomnia has been taking its toll lately and by the time I get home from work, I'm usually too exhausted to tinker in the garage. I probably won't get 4 hours sleep tonight and once I get locked into these sleepless cycles, it takes me several weeks of exhaustion to get out of them.

Greg: Have you checked to see if 6 inch flex hose will fit your car? It appears that it will fit in mine. The way I have my Z axis plate and router mounted leaves me just enough room to fit it all in. Of course, I haven't actually purchased the hardware but I took some measurements. Bill Pentz's site says a four inch restriction kills airflow so I want to keep mine as big as possible. I think a 6 inch round to rectangular sheetmetal transition can be soldered to seal it up and fitted with some additional metal to make a nice DC foot. If it works, I'll post pictures and instructions for others to follow.

I wish I had room to spread out like you. When we moved here, I let my wife talk me into living in a suburb rather than out in the country like I wanted. So I'm crammed into a two car garage with no way to add on.
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  #52  
Old Mon 17 December 2007, 06:33
Greg J
Just call me: Greg #13
 
Hagerman, New Mexico
United States of America
Doug,

Maybe I'm missing something (I'll re-read Bill Pentz's site again) but I don't think a short section of 4 inch hose will kill air flow. I'm guessing a 6 foot length of 4 inch flex hose from the router to the 6 inch main.

Again, check out the video. It shows a 4 inch hose at the router.

Give me time to re-read, and if I change my mind, I'll let you know.
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  #53  
Old Mon 17 December 2007, 06:42
sailfl
Just call me: Nils #12
 
Winter Park, FL
United States of America
Greg,

Which Clearview system did you buy?
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  #54  
Old Mon 17 December 2007, 07:00
Greg J
Just call me: Greg #13
 
Hagerman, New Mexico
United States of America
Doug,

I stand corrected. After reading the duct design section on the clear vue site, it recommends as short as possible run of 4 inch (3-4 feet), but 6 inch diameter is better. Let me think about this some more.


Nils,

I went with the LH Combo. Model CV 1800 cyclone and 15 inch blower housing. I'm just a one man shop, so didn't require the MAX model.
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  #55  
Old Fri 21 December 2007, 22:05
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
Here are some pictures of how I have my control box mounted and the conduit layout. I installed four pieces of 3/4 inch conduit hoping that I would have enough space in the tubes to pull the cables out with their pin connectors on them. The second picture was taken from up under the table. Those pieces of angle iron are not visible if you are standing beside the table. I plan to paint the mild steel brackets MM blue once the weather warms up. The two aluminum plates in the bottom of the control box are there to seal up the hole I had to cut in order to be able to run the parallel port cable into the box.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Conduit System.jpg (44.8 KB, 1225 views)
File Type: jpg Conduit Bracket Under Table.jpg (44.8 KB, 1223 views)
File Type: jpg Control Box Bottom.jpg (21.8 KB, 1223 views)
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  #56  
Old Sat 22 December 2007, 04:35
Allegheny
Just call me: Brian
 
Massachusetts
United States of America
Doug,

Nice job with the EMT, but you should consider placing threaded bushings on the ends of the conduit. These are little plastic rings that thread onto the very end of the connectors inside the box - they prevent the sharp edges of the conduit/connectors from cutting the insulation of the wire.

McMaster-Carr sells them and I'm sure you can also get them at HD or Lowes.

The stock number for 3/4" bushings for M-C is: 7513K212

Brian
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  #57  
Old Sat 22 December 2007, 07:33
smreish
Just call me: Sean - #5, 28, 58 and others
 
Orlando, Florida
United States of America
Doug....and you said you did "junky" work. Nice conduit runs. If you decide to move to Orlando, your hired.
Sean
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  #58  
Old Wed 26 December 2007, 09:53
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
Thanks Brian. I'll order some.

Thanks Sean. That is my second set of conduit. The first set didn't suit me.
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  #59  
Old Sat 12 January 2008, 05:37
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
I'm so close to finishing up I can't believe it. Unfortunately, due to my work schedule, I don't be able to touch it for the next 6 days. I knew that would happen!

Last night, I finally set up my shop computer and loaded Mach3. It ran perfectly with Vista. I hope I don't run into problems when I actually try to cut something. The computer was on sale at Office Depot for $249. It has 1GB of RAM, 2.6Ghz operating speed, and a 250 Gig harddrive. No monitor though.

The control box is finished I believe. I want to go over it one more time and double check the tightness of all the terminal screws. I still need to connect three of the motors to their cables and the router to it's cable and that will complete the electrical portion. One of my daughters helped me run a check on the E-stop, pause, and resume circuits using a multimeter and they worked perfectly. Just in case that last sentence was misinterpreted, my arms weren't long enough to press the buttons while I was standing at the control box. I didn't need her assistance in figuring out how to make the connections with the meter.

In regard to the mechanical portion, I need to reassemble the Z-axis and check to see that the V-rollers will tighten up and then set it perpendicular to the table surface. I finally found the bearing I needed for the car so I need to press it on the stub shaft and assemble that motor mount to the car. Oh yeah, I still need to fabricate and paint the small bracket that attaches the Z-axis motor's tensioning spring to the car.

Finally, I have to get the Mechmate logo. That's it. Next weekend, I'll have 4 days off. I hope I don't jinx anything but I expect to be cutting something then. This whole experience has been a blast. Thanks again Gerald.
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  #60  
Old Sat 12 January 2008, 05:41
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
Hey, why didn't I see this thread since I got back? There are some nice pictures here!

*turns off lawnmower for the weekend and settles in for some reading*
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