The surfer has a moving & cutting machine - Durban, South Africa
 

Hi guys ,

Started to build in Durban two weeks ago . Was a bit apprehensive about making the frame and all the metal work but a friend has opted to help with that . I was also supposed to wait until I had finished my bike (old Ural 650) and a FJ60 Landcruiser that was given to me . My wife doesn’t want me on anymore half finished projects ! So don’t tell her – I’m building it up at work .

I’ve got the power supply , BOB PMDX-122 , geckos #305’s , steppers , rack and Pinions and V-wheels . Connected half the electronics and all the motors are turning . Now I’ve got to get working with Clyde on the metal work . Not very good with metal , more of a wood and foam guy .

Hopefully I’ll get some photos on a the next couple days . I’m sure I’ll be posting a couple of stupid questions in the weeks to come .

Thanks in advance

Chad

Chad,

You seem to be well on your way. Happy building!:) Getting the motors turning is a pretty big milestone. Looking forward to your pictures.

Welcome Chad!
What is a gecko 305? I could not find reference to it on their site. Just wondering.

sorry Heath they are G 203's . Was typing quicker than I think :)

Hey no problem, just thought you had a new prototype or something. :)
I have the same typing/thinking problem. Only thing is I don't type all that fast. :eek:

A wood & foam guy from Durban . . . surfer? :)

Hi Gerald . Dont know how you get the time to read all the posts :) I'm a surfer who sometimes shapes the odd board for himself or a friend . I actually supply alot of the shapers country wide with foam blanks to shape .

Welcome Chad,...when I saw Durban..new build I nearly thought that a friend of mine called Kobus has started. Good luck and maybe in the near future there will be a second Durban MM running

been a while
 

Cant believe its two months since I've last done anything !! Got a fright today when I saw my frame rusting away - curse of living in Durban .

I have one question - Probably a stupid one ! How do I switch the router on and off using the PMDX-122 . Do I set up an outout in Mach3 to switch on relay ?

Yes, you set up an output in Mach3 that switches the relay sitting on the PMDX-122. In theory, you can use that relay to switch the router, but it isn't going to be easy to replace that relay on the PMDX if it burns. So, we typically use that small relay to switch a bigger relay/contactor somewhere else.

starting to happen
 

After Ignoring this project for long enough .This week we put all the rusting parts together . The motors are moving all 3 axis perfectly . Forgot I needed a router to cut the wood with so sourced a nice bosch from my workshop . Just waiting for the mounting plate and then we will be cutting !! here are some pics .

Well done Chad - not bad for a surfer bloke from Durban! ;)

Good progress Chad.

time to move this thread to "Construction Started, but not cutting yet"

So, is the bike running? :)

Looking good. Well done!

Hi Gerald , Bike was running but not as smooth as I’d like (considering they run rough normally ) . I decided to stop tinkering and do it properly , so I stripped it down completely . Got the frame sandblasted and powder coated . Rebuilt the engine , carbs and replaced the points with an electronic pickup . Started to reassemble it but time is a big issue !! I got the bike in Vietnam when I was working there 7years ago . Don’t think its had a proper service since the 80’s . A lot of the problems are small things , like the wrong nut put on an engine stud !! I’ll send a couple picks this weekend . Attached is what it will look like once complete .

cut our first test
 

Wednesday we cut the scorpian as a test . See attached pic .

Well done Chad! (I think that puts you in the lead as far as the rest of KZN is concerned :))

Ok...Ok! :)
Well done Chad!

Great achievement Chad, congrats for your first cuts !:)

Clap! Clap! Clap!
WELL DONE!

Chad,

Well done.... you just need the name on the machine.....

Well done Chad, just take a drive up NORTH and go wake up Lex...:D

Now you have ruined the friendship...:):o

Good going Chad .Lex will probably blame the heat.His rails are going to rust from not using them:)

Looks good Chad! Lets see some logos!

Still tiding the wiring and installing some switches , then a coat of paint then the logos . I assume they are vinyl cut ?? what font ??

what is a simple CAD package to draw 'constrained curves' . dont know if thats the correct term - A curve that goes through set X and Y points . I have 11 points that I want to draw a curve through .

Chad,
You should be able to do that with Autocad using a 'spline' line.

Sorry, should have added....if you need help with that line you are welcome to send me the x and y, or even ad the z co-ordinates of each piont and I will draw it for you.

The spline function in AutoCad is fine, but some manual judgement is needed at the ends of the spline. AutoCad wants to be told the direction of approach to the very end points of the spline. Here are 4 splines drawn through the same points:

Chad,

I used the MechMate logo design from one of the DXF files and blew them up to 9 and 6cm high.

Ries

You are right Gerald. I remember that one can adjust the parameters of the spline line. I am trying to find it in the program at the moment but.. where is it. Not sure if that wil work and give the right line in the end?

Hi Lex , thanks for the offer but I've got to do it myself . Otherwise you will have to do all my designs . I was also looking for a cheap CAD package to do it in . I've been using a demo version of Rino3d but dont want to pay that much for it .

Chad try Deltacad cheap and easy

thanks hennie will try it out today .

Hi reidcd

What do you want to do with the curves that pass through the 11 points that you have? what's that for? stringer? I can give you some help if it is... Using autoCAD works, but not the best option.
francis

Hi Francis , yes its for stringers . So far the best curves have come from Rhino3d . What option do you suggest ?

www.boardcad.org

let me know how you go.

What you want to do is... design your board and export the profile as dxf polyline.

Also you can use your 11 points coordinates. Just put the coordinates in the guide points box... and then manually pull the curves through them, it's much better than using autocad or whathaveyou.

francis

Chad

As francis says boardcad is pretty good for what your are doing. Only additional comment is that if this is all you want to do then just use the webstart version, the full version with CNC can require a little perseverance to get up and running (it also has a few bugs in the code generation).