Newest number ripping up hardwood #75 - Arlington, WA
 

Hello all,

I have been a member since 2006 and was around for the 1st release of the drawings and I remember watching Fabrica build one of the 1st ones. I remember knowing that one day, I was going to build this beast. Well that day has finally come. I have been in and out of the forum saving notes for the day I would finally have the opportunity to build.

I want to thank Gerald, Mike, Heath, Doug, and Sean and many others for being patient with those who are learning. This forum great to be apart of and is very different from others on the net.

The Specs on my build-

50” x 105” cutting area

4- OM PK296A2A-SG7.2 motors

30-tooth spur gear

4- Gecko-203v

PMDX-122 with standoffs for stacking a 2nd board to daisy chain

800w 70v power supply

Wiring full coil

Control panel 18”x24”x8” Enclosure

5hp Colombo Spindle

Table will be made out of I-beam, channel, and square tubing.

I’m designing the table to allow me to add growth to the machine later down the road. Table is drawn on center line due to the extra room for a second spindle. There is also room for an A-axis off the ends of the table. As you’ll notice, there is room for 3 more gecko’s in the control box when called for.

I wanted to tackle the hard part 1st. For me that was the control box. I knew if I got motors turning, I could relax and enjoy then the rest of the build.

The project started making a lot more sense when I started getting components in. Then things started to really happen.

After checking and re-checking, I flipped the switch and got power in all the right places, then hit the on button and after about 3 seconds I knew I was good. Green lights in all the right places!

Next step was to get those motors hooked up and Mach3 configured.

Things went well here as well. Motors are turning and tuned! I couldn’t imagine trying to do this on the machine! Take Gerald’s advice and do it on the bench table.

Shuttle Pro 2 is configured and up and running as well.

My steel list is off to the supplier so I can have it all here for the X-mas break.

I'll be clearing the garage to make room for the steel this week.

Hi Travis,
Nice to know your back and will finally making your wish, a beast of your own. Well prepared to :D
I too was waiting for a loooong time before start, so I can truly relate with your enthusiasm to achieve it.
Well, looking forward to see your steps too and WISHING you all the best on your build !
Amicalement, Robert ;)

Well done Travis!

Travis

Your controller box looks great. Looks like you picked a large box which makes it easier to work in if you have to plus it gives you more room while you are wiring it.

Look forward to seeing you table.

Travis,
Well done! Looks like you will be making wood dust in no time.

Large control panel is a very clever decision, like real estate, one can never have enough space.

Travis, looking at your table pics above, realise that the table top is typically not centered between the main beams. ie. the table is not symmetrical in the x-direction. See 10 10 300 W and notes at the bottom about centerlines.

Thanks for keeping an eye out Gerald. Perhaps you may have forgotten about our discussion about the table on centerline here- http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2185 . I extended the rail length by 4.0" on each end rather than adding 8.0" to one end. Your right, it's not typical per the standard 3.9" offsett in the drawing.

Oh, it was you! :D (I can't keep track of who's who anymore :))

Travis: Your control box looks good. Any chance we can get together at some point so I can get pointers on setting mine up? I have all the pieces but, frankly, am a little lost in the wiring stage. Thanks Joe

Gerald- Ha! Lol, no worries! your doing great!

Joe! Sure, come on by anytime. Give me a ring.

My steel is coming this friday, so I'll be busy over the break! Looking good so far.

Cheers,
Travis

Latest progress- Table is Standing
 

Here are some pictures of my progress over the x-mas break. I met my goal of having the table standing before I have to go back to work. Welding for the 1st time went well. I recycled and old speaker box and made a little welding cart with some wheels. After the steal came in, I cut everything to length with a chop saw and bandsaw. I spent two full days just cutting! :eek: Then another 2 days drilling and prepping for weld. Then the fun part came of putting it all together. I used a digital level which made life easy. The whole table went together well. I'm very pleased to have it standing finally! this week I will be disasembling the main rails to do some more drilling for the table supports and etc.

Cheers,
Travis

Those welds look good. Great job!

BEAUTIFUL job Travis!

Nice work....when I see this, it makes me want to start another build!:)

Beautiful work & nice progress…. I like this I-beam thing :D
Thanks for sharing too you build steps !
Amicalement, Robert ;)

Looking Good Travis! :)

Well done Travis! Glad to see the progress. And thanks again for your help over the holiday break. Joe

Travis,
Nice "W" shape beam. Welds - pretty. Really, your 1st time welding!
I will have to say, you have the "mass" part of the table down pat. How are you going to flip that monster! LOL

Thanks all for the comments! Yeah, I'm really having a blast putting it all together. As far as welding goes, I practiced 1st on a few flat plates in all the different positions to see what works and etc, did some reading and off I went. My plan was to start from the ground up and learn control, and hopefully the gantry and Y car will go smoothly.

I'm very pleased with the solidness of the table. Yeah the table has to come apart to flip it over for sure. I have some more drilling to do on the main beams for the table supports anyways, so it was a nice break finally do some welding after all the drilling and cutting.

Update- Y car Welded and Frame is Rolling
 

Hi Guys, I have been caught up with various things lately and am way behind on sharing my progress. Here are some pics that are past due. I should be starting the rails here shortly with my new "Super Skate" I made. I did a test pc on a short pc, and it is sweet to use. It is fully adjustable. The skates 4.0" 10.0" plate is slotted so it allows for a quick set and alignment of the grinding disk to the rail, then it's locked down and ready to go. The height adjustment rollers allow for a .105" drop when the pins are rotated 180 degrees. This making it a quick and easy visual. When the pins are pointed up it's ready to go, and when the pins are down, I'm done grinding.

I also got the Y Car welded as well. I machined a pair of plates so that it was square and tapped holes in the ends so that I could bolt it up and keep things square and paralell.

Cheers

Great skate setup. Nice Y car pics. Nice welds and cool bolt together base

Thanks Mike!

One thing I forgot to add was the Castor wheels are removable as well. I just unbolt and the whole braket comes off. Since I had the castors and extra material laying around I decided to use what I had. So once it's in place I lower the table feet and level the table, and remove the wheels if I feel I want to. The table glides with little effort.

Travis, it looks like you you missed the fact that you have to offset the table surface (and its cross supports) towards the "home" end of the main X beams, because the router does not sit in the center of the y-car.

Oops, forgot the 14 December discussion .......again!

Travis I think the skate adjustment is a good design. Let us know how it grinds?

http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showt...0&postcount=66

Hi J.R.,

Yes, I'll agree that having the adjustment on board makes it too easy to use.

I have had limited use with it but have ground a few test cuts with it on some 1/4" plate and the skate grinds really well and is quick and easy to use. I have eccentric bushings on the front rollers and I machined a 16mm hex on it to be able to hold it while I tighten the thru bolt down to the plate. The rear rollers are fixed and the bearing pins sit in a precision c'bore to keep them from moving on the plate. All adjustments can be made while the skate is still on the rail which should make grinding go smoothly. I'm curious to see how it rolls on the hot rolled angle iron. Using the larger wheels should help it roll smoother. I'll keep you posted on the results.

Travis: That is the most beautiful skate I have ever seen! Wow!:) I should have waited until you were finished with it and then borrowed it.:D

Nice job. Looks like you are getting close.

Joe

I think you could rent that skate out to members. Looks nice.

Professional Job all the way!
 

Professional Job all the way!
I live near the shop bot place in Durham, been there to see their stuff, what you built is 10 times heavier

i just wonder what was the reason for bolting table parts together rather than just solid welding everything? would it not be a more solid unit if all joints were welded?
and what size steel you used?

Yes, making the Bolt together was for my needs only. I wanted something I could easily transport and move with my own hands to shop space as I grow. I needed something heavy and solid that would resist and moving and skewing if I had a rough load with the boards or a heavy piece of timber. It also needed to handle moving the table around in the garage or even the driveway as I am always changing the work layout depending on what tools I'm using to utilize space. This design is not for everyone. There is a lot of added time and materials to the table, but I am very happy with how it is coming along.

I got the Rails cut down 1.15 tall and holes drilled in the rails and is ready for grinding. Hopefully the rain stops here in Washington so I can get outside to grind some rail action.

grinding the Vee rail
 

yes, i noticed when you were showing that skate grinder you made.
(out standing job!)
i noticed the rail, was seperate from the main table, so you will bolt to the table after you grind the angles
i was wondering
maybe i am missing some big piece of information,
but i wonder if it would not be more accurate to just buy the Vee rail from the same manufacturer that supplies the Vee bearing , rather than grinding by hand?
As i have been examing, the set up on some of the manufactured routers
Ez- router, shop sabre, shop bot, i noticed they all use the similiar type vee rail most likely supplied by the vee bearing manufacturer.
what are your thoughts?

Superior Bearing makes the hardened rails at a good price that come pre-drilled or blank so you can pic your holes. As it turns out, there are a handfull of people here that are using this setup. Take a look at the plans for more details and have a look thru the build threads as well. At 1st I was going to go that route but was challeged by making my own, and saw that others where doing it with great results so I said why not. I can always go that route later on, but I dought I will. If anything I can re-dress the rails with my Jig I built.

The rail grind you see in the photo is just a test pc of material I had to try on, not the actual rail going on the machine.

yeah it would be good to know how the grinding set up compares to the premanufactured rails, might be there is no real noticable difference, or might be that only after many hours of service life , that is would become evident which set up was better....
I do nto know if you have decided on the rack and pinion drive yet, but i found this company Nexen that makes a set up that has better contact between the pinion gear and rack, they say zero back lash in either direction.
seems to be better than the standard zig zag pattern..
i did nto get as far as pricing with them yet. but here is the web site if you are interested. http://www.nexengroup.com/rps/

how is hte build going? you grind the rails yet?

Build is going well, but slow and steady. I am close to grinding the rails. I spent Sunday drilling and tapping the 32 M8 holes in the main beams and thru holes for the X rails.

Nice work... I like the I beams that you used for your table... on a next build I would definitely go to I beams as well, my 8" C channel table doesn't feel nearly as solid as I had expected when the machine is running and the gantry is slewing back and forth..
cheers

We have Grindage of the X Rail's
 

I thought that I could get the rails done outside on the weekends, but it has been raining here a ton. After getting frustrated with the progress and the setup time moving in and outside I finally setup the grinding inside. I opened up the doors and tuned a fan on and started grinding like mad. The whole process took longer than I was expecting, but there was a huge learning curve with the grinding as we all have found. I have the X rails finished. I spent about 10 hrs yesterday semi-finishing and finishing up the rails. They turned out really well in the end. Over the past couple weeks I roughed them down and roughed the 45's and then skimmed the tops and then finished off the rails. The rails were parallel within .002 all the way down before I finished the 45's, so I was really happy with the results. My grinding fixture was very pleasant to use and rolled like a champ. Here are a few pics for those awaiting the results.

Enjoy,
Travis

Travis:

Beautiful job! Well done! Am looking forward to seeing the beats move.

All the best

Joe

Thanks Joe!

I finished off the Y rails saturday. It only took me 3.5 hrs to rough and finish them off. I'm sure glad to be over and done with them. I'm off the the Gantry now. My steel pile is finally all off the floor. I plan on having it rolling by the weekend.

Cheers,
Travis

Good stuff! Now the hard work is over, should expect to see some smooth progress here on.