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  #91  
Old Fri 20 May 2011, 11:34
Regnar
Just call me: Russell #69
 
Mobile, Alabama
United States of America
Collins,

You win some and you loose some. I will never fault anyone for trying something different to meet the needs at the time. I think it is great that you were able to come online and share your experience with everyone here even if it didnt meet your needs.

The entertainment centers do have me scratching my head though. They look great but is the TV of center or is the black area for components and the Tv sits on top?
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  #92  
Old Fri 20 May 2011, 11:44
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
Hey, give the man a number!
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  #93  
Old Fri 20 May 2011, 12:15
cmd1991
Just call me: Collin
 
New Haven, IN
United States of America
Haha, Thanks Gerald! Do I get #62b or something?

@ Brad
Scot had many ideas for making the chain work better too. A high tension spring may work. I Don't think there would be many problems with it on a light duty machine such as a plasma cutter, laser, etc. The Chain needs a lot of tension to eliminate any backlash, and to eliminate that, you basically are going to end up with a stretched chain. However, on a laser or plasma, you could use a lighter chain (like #25) similar to the machines at buildyourcnc.com and it might work very well. I was also thinking that maybe if you fastened the chain to the gantry and made a loop with the steppers on the end of the machine you would eliminate some sprockets too. But, that would be drastically altering the design of the Mechmate.

It's also good to remind ourselves that it DID work for about 10 months of moderate to heavy usage.

@ Regnar
The entertainment centers get a granite top on them yet, then the TV sets on top, and the components go inside.
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  #94  
Old Fri 20 May 2011, 17:36
aussie_mick
Just call me: Mick
 
Nowra
Australia
Very nice machine. Love the colour as well.

I am only just starting my build but I do like your table.

keep up the excellent work.

michael
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  #95  
Old Sat 21 May 2011, 11:11
louloute30
Just call me: Laurent
 
CHAUNY
France
Hello collins.

I am french, excuse me for my bad english.

I build my CNC based mechmate, and I wanted to try chain. But I wanted to put the chain on a bar to improve tension and use it as-rack:




I am disappointed... The chain seemed to work well on videos.

PS: I difusion photos of my CNC once completed.

Last edited by louloute30; Sat 21 May 2011 at 11:15..
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  #96  
Old Sat 21 May 2011, 13:20
skillalot
Just call me: Sascha
 
Gelderland
Netherlands
by the way, using a chain as a rack&pinion isn't as accurate as normal rack&pinion, cause of some play.
But if you do want to use chains, then this is the only way.

If you use a chaindrive for positioning systems, and work with chainwheels, be aware of the polygon effect when using chainwheels. Chainwheels are not perfect circles, but act like polygons, and will give positioning errors!
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  #97  
Old Sat 21 May 2011, 17:57
scot
Just call me: scot #62
 
Ft. Wayne In.
United States of America
Chain Drive

Hey you guys,
I think Collin is being a little hard on the chain drive. It did work very well for several months under true commercial conditions and was still working very well before the change to the rack drive. I wouldn't say it was a failure just that it has it's limitations. I think for home hobby use it is an excellent way to go.
What do you think Collin? Am i being stubborn?
Louloute30 that is a very fine looking machine let us know when it's running.
Thanks, Scot
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  #98  
Old Sun 22 May 2011, 07:02
cmd1991
Just call me: Collin
 
New Haven, IN
United States of America
Exactly,
I'm not writing it off as a total failure. I Did say that it did work fine for quite a while. I think there are a few options one could try to improve the idea. I simply didn't want to "experiment" with mine right now. But, if I had the time and needed to build another one, I would definitely try some other ideas with the chain.

@ Skillalot
The sprockets not being perfectly round makes sense. I kind of figured as much wich is why I suggested that maybe a loop with the chain attached to the gantry would be better.
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  #99  
Old Sun 22 May 2011, 07:10
louloute30
Just call me: Laurent
 
CHAUNY
France
Collin,

Thanks for your confirmation.
I'll try then the mechanism of chain.
I'll see, and I will share with you

See you soon
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  #100  
Old Sun 22 May 2011, 12:11
louloute30
Just call me: Laurent
 
CHAUNY
France
Else I did that




And, I added a bracket to support the chain and prevent earthquakes
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