To late to ask but, clamp strip?

[riesvantwisk]

Hey all,

I know it's way to late to ask for my build, but I am trying to find a thread on the exact use of the clamp strip.
My rails are lined up and looks good, so far (but needs checking though)
However, I am trying to find where the clap strip comes into place when building the MM.

A search in google and this site didn't find anything.

Anybody care to shine a light on this?

regards,
Ries

[Gerald D]

Think about screwing the y-rails to the gantry tubes. The gantry tubes are too thin for tapping threads, so you must get nuts inside the gantry tubes. But you cannot get your hand into the tube . . . . .

[jhiggins7]

The clamp strips (2 of them) are used to bolt the Y rails to the Gantry. The rectangular tubes used for the Gantry are too thin to hold threads. So you drill and tap the clamp strips and place them inside the Gantry tubes and bolt the Y rails through the rectangular tubes to the clamp strips. The process is that you cut the clamp strips to size, drill the holes in the clamp strips and used these holes to guide you in drilling the holes in the Gantry tubes and the Y rails. Then you tap the holes in the clamp strips. This way your holes in the Gantry tubes will line-up with the holes in the clamp strips. Since there are holes in the ends of the Y Gantry, it's never too late to install the clamp strips. Just insert the camp strip through the hole in the end of the Gantry.

Hope this helps.

[riesvantwisk]

Gerald, John,

this makes perfectly sense now.
We currently indeed where using taps to place the y-rails.
From the drawing 10 20 225 I could never make that clear how it was used.

Would it be a good idea to draw the clamp strip on 10 20 000?
Recently I was asked on the IRC channel #EMC the exact same question, he was also building a Mechmate.

thanks for the explanation!

Ries

[Gerald D]

I think the drawings can be improved a bit. I will make a note of it.

[Johannescnc]

http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=750

[riesvantwisk]

John,

I can't believe I missed that thread!
Thanks for pointing it out though

Ries

[Gerald D]

Ja, you also missed 10 20 235 Placement question - where does this part go?

[lumberjack_jeff]

I'm uncertain if this suggestion is incorporated in the latest version of the plans.

http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showt...23&postcount=1

[riesvantwisk]

I have totally overlooked it, sorry guys...

When I searched in google I didn't got any hits, now it seems like that google finds the mechmate site using the following query : clamp strip

anyways,

gerald, do you want me to make a suggestion for modification of drawing 10 20 000 ??

Ries

[Gerald D]

Did you see the note I made in Drawing problems and revisions required, considered and intended . . . . . yesterday?:

Drawings 10 20 200 A and 10 20 225 A:

- Show the clamp strip in cross-section, showing the tapped hole

- Add the gantry tube in cross-section, through a hole

- Add another view with the whole system tightened together (in addition to the exploded view)

I don't believe that 10 20 000 needs a special modification just for the clamp strip. The changes described above will be enough.

[riesvantwisk]

Gerald,

I think it's my non technical eye and I am non native english that made me think that the clamp strip needs to be put directly under the Y-Rail, and since that didn't sounds right I 'forgot' about that, my bad for sure...

Here is a sample of what I had in mind for drawing 10 20 000 A to clarify the clap strip position.

Ries
PS: I don't want to drag the clamp strip discussion to long though, I did my search incorrectly I think and didn't find the correct threads about it in the first place.

[Johannescnc]

I hope in the future all will ask questions... that´s why I am here... looking for answers. But the question I don't ask, doesn't get answered!

[JamesJ]

I have a quick question about the clamp strip, would it be a problem if I welded it in place inside the gantry beam tube before the gantry is assembled?
Really enjoying this forum and all the people that contribute.

[Gerald D]

That will limit the amount of adjustment you could have for lining up the rails.