Im CUTTING #121 - Monrovia, CA - Page 4

Tokamak · #91 Thu 17 April 2014, 07:24

Before welding I leveled and shimmed the x-beams on the the floor parallel and square. Diagonal measurement difference less than 1mm.

I got the ends bolted in and welded. I added shims prior to welding to allow Plus and Minus shimming if ever needed. Had the thought after reading reading Surfcnc X-Beam alignment.
http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showt...t=2398&page=32

Still need to add stringers for my plywood shelf.
After that the "plan" is to disassemble, clean, paint, re assemble right side up.

darren salyer · #92 Sat 19 April 2014, 06:31

That's looking really good.
Time spent now in alignment and squaring pays big dividends later.

Tokamak · #93 Mon 21 April 2014, 06:39

Thanks Darren and others for the comments. Good motivation.

Added stringers for under table shelf.
Marked all joints for re assembly.
Disassembled, degreased, wiped down with acetone, painted.
Hid Easter Eggs.

darren salyer · #94 Mon 21 April 2014, 06:50

Great use for an auto body rotisserie, as well...

Tokamak · #95 Mon 21 April 2014, 14:01

I'm working on a wiring diagram for my machine. The first installment is clearing up the details and interconnects from the Gecko 203V to the Keling Motors, Power Supply and PMDX 122.
If you see any errors or have comments I'd appreciate the feedback.

Tokamak · #96 Wed 23 April 2014, 16:12

Got it bolted back together. Need to align it and install the base board.

Tokamak · #97 Mon 28 April 2014, 07:05

One of the X-Beams was bent .070 in 6 feet (1.78mm in 1.8m). Decided to straighten it. Welding a verticle line one the inside of the beam did nothing. There were marks on the beam where they probably chained it down and bent it

I cut a slot and welding moved the beam .010 (.25mm). Ended up cutting two slots. Used a chain and hydraulic ram to move the beam. When using the ram, by the time the chains lifted off the table (no slack) the beam was straight. Almost no pressure required.

Inserted shims to prevent the gap from closing up during welding.

Tokamak · #98 Mon 28 April 2014, 07:07

Homemade countersink stop for the base board.

Tokamak · #99 Mon 28 April 2014, 07:18

Measured and drilled pilot holes in the rails. Shimmed them off the X-beams so I knew when I was thru. Flipped them over and made an X-Rail Gauge (well marked to keep it from being welded into some other project

).

Aligned the X Rails, clamped and drilled. Drilled and tapped complete.

Next step is the gear segments, stop blocks and proximity hole.

smreish · #**100** Mon 28 April 2014, 17:43

brilliant

Tokamak · #**101** Tue 29 April 2014, 07:05

Thanks Sean, we all have our moments.

Last night I took on the X-gear Racks. Out of the four 6 ft segments I cut one in half to make two each 9 ft. Figured I would have enough extra to goof it up 10 times.

Clamped the sides with copper to keep the weld away from the teeth. Ground it flat then drilled the holes from the back.

Had to stop when the Princess came out to the garage wondering where I wandered off to.

Need to cut them to length. Drill and tap the mounting holes. Drill the proximity holes.

Gerald + all the contributers to this forum, excellent drawings, details and documented experience. I have not needed to stop for long to ponder what to do next like other projects. The answers are all here. Thanks

.

Fox · #**102** Wed 30 April 2014, 00:41

Being doing the same thing past week; what module is your rack ?

alan254 · #**103** Wed 30 April 2014, 04:39

Hi John,

Looking good. I actually clamped the joint to a another piece of rail to keep the alignment of the teeth and spacing proper.

Al

Tokamak · #**104** Wed 30 April 2014, 06:53

Fox,
Not sure what you mean by module. It is 20 degree x 20 pitch x 6 ft long from McMaster Carr.

Al,
Thanks. I didn't take any chances and did the same, in this picture you can see the bottom reference rack.

Tokamak · #**105** Mon 05 May 2014, 08:30

Painted and installed the X Rails and Gear Racks.
Measured and cut the tubing for the Gantry.
Welded the Gantry end pieces.

Tokamak · #**106** Mon 05 May 2014, 08:32

Painted and assembled the belt drives.

Tokamak · #**107** Tue 06 May 2014, 07:10

Drilling Y beams and nut plates.

Fox · #**108** Tue 06 May 2014, 07:42

smart work !
I did it similair, now working on electrics, first powered my vfd and spindle today also a milestone.
Will prepare a big update my buildthread soon.
Must admit the electrics weigh heavier on me then the metal.

Tokamak · #**109** Tue 06 May 2014, 08:14

Fox,

I got the tack weld method from you. It was a good idea. I have only thought about the electrical so far. I need to dive into that soon.

Attached is my wiring diagram so far. It is not complete and I cannot assure you that it is 100% correct until I try it.

John

Fox · #**110** Tue 06 May 2014, 09:35

Did you ? ... dunno if I actually posted that ? Well .... maybe I forget more then I know already

Schedule looks ok one first glance... you made it look pretty... mine is just on scraps of paper, untill it finally get's done definitive (changed so much stuff everytime I stopped updateing the CAD)
I will make it pretty in CAD and put it on the inside of the door when I am 100 % done.

My kitchentable project will hopefully be done by the end of next week with motors moving by the PC, then I need to mount it on the machine and run all the wires....
Damn ... did I strip a lot of wires. Trying to tie my 0-10 volt and Z brake unit controlprint to the VFD and brake tonight, last major hurdles.

Too often life get's in the way of this project, but aiming to be running in June, but I kinda let go on deadlines on this cause I keep having to break them for family life or the job

Well... I better stop hijacking your thread get of my arse and update mine soon ...
Or maybe I put those hours into finishing it first and then show all steps taken in one go....that makes me look better

.

Tokamak · #**111** Tue 06 May 2014, 10:24

You're right, it wasn't you it was 1planeguy post #117
http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showt...?t=3730&page=4

I try to post the morning after I do something otherwise it get's so back logged that I never have time to catch up. Looked at your build and it looks sweet. I like that assembly table!

Tokamak · #**112** Thu 08 May 2014, 07:25

Set up the gantry tubes on the Mechmate, shimmed, leveled, and squared. Clamped temporary blocks on the corners to hook the tape measure for accurate diagonal measurements.

Adjusted the frame until the diagonal mesurements were equal within a half a line width on my imperial tape measure. Checked it with a metric tape measure and it was about a half a line width also.

Layed in the X Rail guide spacer to see how much adjustment I will have for shimming the X-wheels. Picture shows .180" (4.5mm) shim.

Tack welded according to the ABCD 123. Will finish up the welding tonight and see how it rolls.

dbinokc · #**113** Thu 08 May 2014, 08:14

Looks good. Be sure to verify the level of the roller mounting holes relative to the rail as well. I managed to get mine a little out of level and had to do a little filing of the hole. The gantry rails were level, but the end plates got a little tilted.

Tokamak · #**114** Thu 08 May 2014, 08:25

Thanks for the input DB. Those are the little things that you don't find out until all the welds are done.

When I was ready to do tack weld #2 I noticed a gap where the plate had moved away from the tube much the same way your're describing. Had to grind weld #1 to knock the plate back down into place. The tubes are clamped down to the table but the end plates were not.

Tokamak · #**115** Fri 09 May 2014, 07:10

Although I thought I was careful, the gantry moved after weld 4,5,6. It was about 1/16" out of square from one tube to the next. It moved back into square without any poping or other bad noises.

Clamped it back to the table and finished welding 7,8,9. Stopped for the night to let it cool. I will unclamp it tonight and see if it moved.

Ordered my chinese 2.2kW WC VFD and Spindle Tuesday, tracking numbers say it will arrive Saturday. Its the one on eBay from

San Leandro, CA, United States
Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Sydney, Australia

Need to set it up on a test so I can run it each day to see if there is any magic smoke that is trying to get out.

dbinokc · #**116** Fri 09 May 2014, 08:14

Looks good. I like how you have made use of the portable hydraulic set. I am going to have to pick one up at HF the next time I am there.

Tokamak · #**117** Fri 09 May 2014, 08:45

Thanks, I pick that up to straighten the frame on my Toyota. Now that I have it, it really comes in handy. Hope I don't need it tonight.

timberlinemd · #**118** Fri 09 May 2014, 20:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tokamak

Ordered my chinese 2.2kW WC VFD and Spindle Tuesday, tracking numbers say it will arrive Saturday. Its the one on eBay from

San Leandro, CA, United States
Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Sydney, Australia

Need to set it up on a test so I can run it each day to see if there is any magic smoke that is trying to get out.

You must mean 'Love-happyshopping'

Tokamak · #**119** Fri 09 May 2014, 21:19

That's the one. I actually got it today. Looks good so far. Need to set it up for testing.

Fox · #**120** Sun 11 May 2014, 10:20

Make sure you set the vd to the correct parameters, make sure again, and again

.... and any aquarium pump or even water straight from an open tap will do for testing. Blow compressed air trough the cooling channels first, before connecting hoses. Warm it up thoroughly this first start. Run 25 min at 20%, 25 at 50%, 25 at 20 % 25 at 50 %, 25 at 100% for example as you don't know how long it's been laying on a shelve. For testing do connect earth, later on the machine don't (ground loop)...

Good luck ... should be fine.

Ps. Hold it on the start from zero .(or up it in a clamp).. It's round and will move off the table ! Once its running it don't jerks anymore when power is increased...