MechMate CNC Router Forum

Go Back   MechMate CNC Router Forum > Personal Build Histories > MechMates already cutting
Register Options Profile Last 1 | 3 | 7 Days Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #31  
Old Fri 12 June 2009, 05:53
MattyZee
Just call me: Matt
 
Adelaide
Australia
Painted!

I picked up the table from the painter today. It was too late in the day to take a pic of the table parts so heres a pic of the Y-car. I feel so much closer to finishing now thats its painted.

ycar2.JPG

And some other painted parts
painted parts.JPG

Actually, not all the parts are painted yet. Still have the Z axis parts and the E-chain brackets. I wanted to wait until i had the e-chain to make sure i installed it at the right height. Well it arrived today, so i should be able to finish off those over the weekend and get the final parts painted next week.

echain.JPG

Will post more pics of the painted table over the weekend....
Reply With Quote
  #32  
Old Fri 12 June 2009, 06:01
MattyZee
Just call me: Matt
 
Adelaide
Australia
Electronics progress

I have nearly all the parts for my control electronics now. I'm going with a slighty different layout to Geralds standard. I'm having all the geckos mounted in a vertical pattern. This will allow the motor power supply to enter from the left, the control signals from the right, and the motor wires will run under the heatsink up to the top ofthe box where they will pass through grommets outside the box.

electronics.JPG

Its hard to see, but the black heatsink has fins running vertically. This arrangement will also allow more natural convection but i will probably add a fan anyway.

I'm also doing my earthing a little differently. Rather than making the heatsink the earth point, i'm going to put a brass stud through the control box as the earth point. This will allow me to connect the earth wires more easily both outside and inside the control box. So having an anodised heatsink is no problem.

P.S. Man is that a big capacitor! I calculated i needed a 30,000uF and it was cheaper for me to get a 47,000uF than two 15,000uF ones. I hope it doesn't blow fuses on powerup with the current inrush!?

Last edited by MattyZee; Fri 12 June 2009 at 06:03..
Reply With Quote
  #33  
Old Fri 12 June 2009, 07:05
domino11
Just call me: Heath
 
Cornwall, Ontario
Canada
Matt,
I would not worry about the 47000u cap. It will just filter a little better. You wont get that much more inrush from the 47 to the 30. Just size your fuse accordingly.
Reply With Quote
  #34  
Old Sun 21 June 2009, 05:52
MattyZee
Just call me: Matt
 
Adelaide
Australia
a little more...

Finished the final parts that need to be painted now. Here is my spider plate with v-wheels fitted. (yes, i know i still have to drill the hole for the gas strut)
spider1.JPG
and the other side.
How does everyone bent that little tab over? my bender said it was too small to bend without the metal cracking. was thinking of just taking on a small tab or using a screw instead.
spider2.JPG
and with the z plate in place (rhs stiffener not fitted). got a local machine shop we use at work to machine this for me.
spider3.JPG

My X axis echain is the wider of the two option that Gerald has designed for. To better support the echain (and to use what i had on hand) i re-used the offcuts of the rail angle instead of the 10mm rod.
echaincarrier.JPG

I also purchased some enclosures for the control buttons. The enclosure is designed for the 22mm buttons and comes with the 3 holes predrilled. I don't like how the mushroom head button is so close to the pause button but theres nothing i can do about it now.
buttonbox.JPG

Didn't make as much progress as i'd hoped, but thats been the case since i started My deadline hasn't shifted though so the next two weeks will be busy!

Last edited by MattyZee; Sun 21 June 2009 at 05:56..
Reply With Quote
  #35  
Old Sun 21 June 2009, 09:31
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
Looks good Matt!

The bend of the small tab has no more chance of cracking than any other bend. I grab them in the vice and coax them 90 degrees with a hammer. If they really do crack (odd grade steel), they won't fall off - run a weld over the crack. Or, "pre-crack" them by grinding them 1/2 way through, bend, then weld.
Reply With Quote
  #36  
Old Sun 21 June 2009, 09:57
WFY
Just call me: Buzz #60
 
Pembroke, Ontario
Canada
Hi Matt,
Gerald beat me to it. Here is what I did to reinforce the crack.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg DSCN1900.JPG (38.4 KB, 2068 views)
File Type: jpg DSCN1901.JPG (42.5 KB, 2066 views)
Reply With Quote
  #37  
Old Sun 21 June 2009, 13:36
Alan_c
Just call me: Alan (#11)
 
Cape Town (Western Cape)
South Africa
Send a message via Skype™ to Alan_c
Nice clear sharp pics - good going.
Reply With Quote
  #38  
Old Mon 22 June 2009, 01:33
anton
Just call me: Anton
 
Cape Town
South Africa
Hi Matt (matty Zee),

Where did you get that spindle from? Internet perhaps?
What did you pay for it? WOuld be nice to replace the 2700 usd spindle option from the states with a cheaper option.

Anton
Reply With Quote
  #39  
Old Wed 24 June 2009, 04:28
MattyZee
Just call me: Matt
 
Adelaide
Australia
Yeah, got it from an eBay store that someone mentioned, linearbearings2008 i think is his user name. Paid about AU$770 (US$620) delivered. But make sure you ask for it to be really well packaged, particularly around the water connections. I had heard of some spindles arriving with broken water connections caused in transit.
Reply With Quote
  #40  
Old Sat 27 June 2009, 02:04
Jayson
Just call me: Jayson #18
 
Horsham
Australia
Making great progress Matt. It should be cutting soon.

Jayson.
Reply With Quote
  #41  
Old Mon 29 June 2009, 07:08
MattyZee
Just call me: Matt
 
Adelaide
Australia
power supply

I really hope it is cutting soon Jayson. can't wait! I moved the old router out of my shed tonight to make room for the MechMate. I will be moving the frame from my folks place later in the week so i can finish it off at home.

I had another job for the laser cutter and it came in under their minimum order so i added one of these to make use of the few extra dollars i was going to be charged either way.
bracket.JPG
I calculated my power supply needed to be 600VA and it was easier to find two 300VA transformers. This bracket allows me to attach both, and their fuses and the bridge rectifier neatly on the one bracket.
powersupply.JPG
Unnecessary, maybe, but it effectively didn't cost me anything.
Reply With Quote
  #42  
Old Mon 29 June 2009, 07:16
javeria
Just call me: Irfan #33
 
Bangalore
India
thats cool Matt!!!!
Reply With Quote
  #43  
Old Mon 29 June 2009, 07:58
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
I am a bit worried about coupling the 2 transformers in parallel, unless their voltages have been closely matched. Best to check with the transformer suppliers if they are happy that you do this.

This aspect further discussed in Two transformers in parallel?
Reply With Quote
  #44  
Old Sun 05 July 2009, 05:40
MattyZee
Just call me: Matt
 
Adelaide
Australia
Thanks Buzz for your pics. The little tab bent over rather easy and only a very small crack appear at one side. I didn't bother welding it as its still got plenty of strength.
bent tab.JPG

I promised pictures of the painted table but this is all i have at the moment. Its finally in my garage now and i have started aligning and shimming the x axis rails. The wooden blocks are used to hold a line of cotton as a straight guide to shim the rails. (i just sat the gantry on the rails for the photo)
painted table.JPG

I'm not sure how others attach the Y axis cable trays. 2mm wall is a bit thin to tap M6 holes. I know its not holding much weight but i decided to borrow the rivnut tool from work and installed some rivnuts.
rivnuts.JPG
And here is the cable tray installed
rivnut cable tray.JPG

For those in Australia you may find as i did that the 3M tape is not easy to get hold of particularly in short lengths (<50m). Jayson put me onto Husky tapes and i called their local distributor. The stuff they have which is 'equivalent' to the 3M tape is Acribond A5200W. Its 2mm thick. Its is cut to the required width on order. So i got it 15mm wide to match my rack. It comes in a 15m roll. Cost ~$50 including shipping. Pretty pricey for tape but the prices i was getting for the 3M stuff was many times that.
tape.JPG

Last edited by MattyZee; Sun 05 July 2009 at 05:46..
Reply With Quote
  #45  
Old Sun 05 July 2009, 17:50
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
1st class craftsmanship Matt. Beautiful.
Reply With Quote
  #46  
Old Sun 05 July 2009, 23:39
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
Matt, a weld here would have been good:

0001.gif
Reply With Quote
  #47  
Old Sun 05 July 2009, 23:52
MattyZee
Just call me: Matt
 
Adelaide
Australia
Yeah, i knew you were going to pick that up There is only a tiny tack weld there but the other welds are pretty big and i'm pretty confident i won't have any issues there. Thanks for picking out all my errors!
Reply With Quote
  #48  
Old Sun 19 July 2009, 06:55
MattyZee
Just call me: Matt
 
Adelaide
Australia
Pulley reduction drives

While a belt reduction is not a new idea i thought i'd share pics of my pulley reduction drives. I got a friend of a friend to machine them for me from 1/2" 6061. Its only a 2.4:1 drive.

Pulleys and pinion bored to size and shaft. Still have to put flats on the shafts.
pulleyparts.JPG

Machined plate. The counterbore for the motor is slotted by 3mm total (+/- 1.5mm) for belt tensioning.
plate1.JPG

Machined second plate. These were made to fit snuggly in the motor bracket plates.
plate2.JPG

The mounting screws protrude by a little over 2mm in the pics but i didn't have the spring washers fitted yet.
reduction1.JPG

reduction2.JPG

A with the pinion (not fastened yet, just sitting there)
reduction3.JPG

Yes, the belt does clear the spacers
reduction4.JPG

reduction5.JPG
Reply With Quote
  #49  
Old Sun 19 July 2009, 07:04
Jayson
Just call me: Jayson #18
 
Horsham
Australia
Well done Matt. Great pictures.
These should work well.

Jayson.
Reply With Quote
  #50  
Old Sun 19 July 2009, 07:58
jhiggins7
Just call me: John #26
 
Hebron, Ohio
United States of America
Great work Matt. Very professional. Thanks very much for sharing such detailed pictures. We are standing by to see how they work for you.
Reply With Quote
  #51  
Old Sun 19 July 2009, 11:19
javeria
Just call me: Irfan #33
 
Bangalore
India
Lovely matt - that Alu will sure help a lot to dissipate the heat from the motors, tellin from experience!
Reply With Quote
  #52  
Old Sun 19 July 2009, 17:47
Doug_Ford
Just call me: Doug #3
 
Conway (Arkansas)
United States of America
Wow!!! I told my wife that I'm getting a complex just looking at the beautiful work some guys are able to turn out. 1st class stuff.
Reply With Quote
  #53  
Old Mon 20 July 2009, 18:34
stan stuart
Just call me: stan
 
brisbane
Australia
Hi Matt
I've been lurking in the background watching your progress "DAM FINE JOB"

Stan
Reply With Quote
  #54  
Old Fri 07 August 2009, 05:30
MattyZee
Just call me: Matt
 
Adelaide
Australia
nearly there!

I have been progressing quite well behind the scenes and hope to have to motors driving the table this weekend. Here are some update pics.

Here is one of my motor mounts attached to the gantry. Fits great.
x motor.JPG

I decided to mount my control box on the side at the end of the cable chain carrier. This allows a neat flow of the cable into the box. Normally its a no-no to mount cables into the top of a box, but this is an indoors project not subject to weather and the grommets are rated at IP68 anyway. In the photo you can see the 4 motor cables entering the box. The other two grommets are for control cables. below the isolator switch is a sealed USB connector which wil interface my smoothstepper to my control PC.

control enclosure.JPG

And i've got the z axis all assembled. Still have some fiddling to do to get it plumb.
z axis.JPG

and here is the spindle attached. Still need to attach the z axis spring.
z axis2.JPG

As you can see, i still have to terminate my cables but once thats done, i'm pretty close to driving this thing around! Then once i sort out my spindle coolant circuit, i'll be making dust
Reply With Quote
  #55  
Old Fri 07 August 2009, 05:38
jhiggins7
Just call me: John #26
 
Hebron, Ohio
United States of America
Looking GOOD Matt. Good luck this weekend.
Reply With Quote
  #56  
Old Fri 07 August 2009, 05:42
MattyZee
Just call me: Matt
 
Adelaide
Australia
another pic

Thought i should add a overall shot...
almost there.JPG
Reply With Quote
  #57  
Old Fri 07 August 2009, 06:00
javeria
Just call me: Irfan #33
 
Bangalore
India
Matt - very good!

does one of your friend has a excitech router?? i was reading the Excitech on the zone thread and think a name similar to your was mentioned?
Reply With Quote
  #58  
Old Fri 07 August 2009, 06:02
Jayson
Just call me: Jayson #18
 
Horsham
Australia
Nice Matt, very nice.
Reply With Quote
  #59  
Old Fri 07 August 2009, 06:34
MattyZee
Just call me: Matt
 
Adelaide
Australia
Thanks guys.
Yeah, Rocket67 on CNCZone has his business only a couple of minutes from my work. He bought his Excitech about 18 months ago. He's a very nice and generous guy. Why do you ask?
Reply With Quote
  #60  
Old Fri 07 August 2009, 06:37
domino11
Just call me: Heath
 
Cornwall, Ontario
Canada
Looking good Matt. Good luck with the first cuts.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Register Options Profile Last 1 | 3 | 7 Days Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Mini Vacuum Table ! #100 - Adelaide AU clarson66 MechMates already cutting 117 Tue 14 December 2021 17:46
Solid State Relay (SSR) for switching Router under control of Mach3 Gerald_D 70. Control Systems 77 Tue 07 January 2020 18:43
HuanYang VFD, A.K.A. The Cheap Chinese VFD KenC 50. Toolheads 37 Thu 26 August 2010 13:10
Grills Finished and Installed sailfl The Show Room 13 Mon 14 December 2009 23:33
AC motor & VFD used with Mach3 in large CNC stone cutting system osman100 70. Control Systems 39 Sun 17 May 2009 09:16


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:31.


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