Has anybody made their own cable chain carrier, I know energy chain is the IGES brand name for it but that sort of thing is what I am talking about.

I had a go at making some with some 3mm LDPE but didn't have very good results, with my router nearing completion I would like to use it to make some parts for itself, namely cable chain, better stepper mounts, blah blah blah.

Anyone have something to start with, or should I start drawing something up myself ?

Cheers.

Russell.

i have seen the energy chain used, and i have also seen people use what looked like a bicycle flag pole, to just hold the wires up and bend when the axis' move... seems to be the way cheaper way to go to get the machine working... i would love to have some energy chain, but its just outside the scope of my budget...

I have been playing with the thought of using normal curtain slides, you know like T-slots with those plastic things you attache the curtains to running in a groove. Ofcause they have to be upside down, so you need a enclosure or be close to a wall or something. The upside of it, is that its pratically free

Hi ,
If you have your machines working use plexiglas & glue .
make all sort of neet cbl.carriers.
Bear

Has anybody made their own cable chain carrier, I know energy chain is the IGES brand name for it but that sort of thing is what I am talking about.

I had a go at making some with some 3mm LDPE but didn't have very good results, with my router nearing completion I would like to use it to make some parts for itself, namely cable chain, better stepper mounts, blah blah blah.

Anyone have something to start with, or should I start drawing something up myself ?

Cheers.

Russell.



At the bottom of this page is a start. http://solsylva.com/cnc/5cnc54.html

Jason

Yeah, I'm thinking of rigging something up temporarily - probably loom tube and then making some chain with the machine, just thought someone might have a design I could "borrow" lol

No matter, I might start a design that is simple to machine, with minimal amount of components, I'm sure I'm not the only one that would like to give their machine that professional finish...

I am thinking three different pieces, one rectangular piece with rounded ends to form the sides and pieces that lock into these to form the top and bottom sections, using something like a rivet/eyelet to hold the sides together and allow movement, OK so maybe I better draw it out... man the "to do" list aint gettin any smaller.

Russell.

At the bottom of this page is a start. Jason


Lol I came across that photo lookin around yesterday, I was thinking of something similiar using rectangular cable duct, cut into pieces in the same way, the advantage is a lid that is made to click on... might do for a temp fix.

Hmmm could even use small hinges, cheap and soooo easy to make, only seen it in white and sometimes brown, looks like I am goin searchin the bowels of the workshop tommorrow for some black duct.

Even if I had to buy a length, 4 metre length of cable chain for around $10.00... priceless !!!

Watch this space...

Russell.

Well I got some duct, cut it up into pieces, but haven't been able to locate any hinges yet... work in progress.

I did try to glue a length of webbing to the underside hoping this would make a nice hinge, alas nothing sticks to the duct AND the webbing. Tried PVC glue, Super Glue, contact glue, Super glue again to make sure, thought that sounded too easy.

To rub salt into the wounds, talking to our storeman today he informs me that during our last store upgrade, about 2 LARGE boxes of cable chain were thrown out !!! They were supposedly sitting for a couple of years left over from a job. Dammit

Russell.

I did see somewhere that a normal wide measuring steel tape can support and control cable if it is bent around with the curve inside.
Hope this helps. tapes are cheap these days at the local hardware.

I did see somewhere that a normal wide measuring steel tape can support and control cable if it is bent around with the curve inside.


That would work, you could also measure the cable run at the same time - lol.

I guess I should probably concentrate on finishing the router first, then look at using it to make this stuff, shame the duct is being difficult.

Especially when I basically just have to bolt it together and do all the adjusting for the final time, then start on the software side of things.

Russell.

perhaps using canvas as a backing similar to a roll to desk may suffice.
i have seen cups with a pin on either side, this might reduce the twisting effect.
... just a thought ...

why not do the simple and cheap route and use the blue plastic electrical conduit from lowes or homedepot or and hardware store, it is flexible enough and you can use a bolt to strap the ends to so it can bow across the for the Y and Z axis.

I like the bow that shopbot uses...in fact I like a lot that shopbot uses. Lionclaw made a nice diy take on the Y-Z cable routing:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showpost.php?p=180597&postcount=142

Not fond of the wood. I'll use some phenolic, but the same way. I got some nice big echains from a zoner for cheap. Will use for both of my big table's X axes.

why not do the simple and cheap route and use the blue plastic electrical conduit from lowes or homedepot or and hardware store, it is flexible enough and you can use a bolt to strap the ends to so it can bow across the for the Y and Z axis.

Yeah, that is pretty much how my machine is at the moment, 'cept I used black loom tube, I'm guessing same stuff - flexible with a cut along its length to push the cable in.

Just wanted to "flash" it up a bit.



I like the bow that shopbot uses...in fact I like a lot that shopbot uses. Lionclaw made a nice diy take on the Y-Z cable routing:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showpost.php?p=180597&postcount=142

Not fond of the wood. I'll use some phenolic, but the same way. I got some nice big echains from a zoner for cheap. Will use for both of my big table's X axes.

Yeah that was a nice simple idea that would work fine, I'm goin to use what I can and then hopefully make something on the machine, with the intention of posting the g-code so others can do the same (hopefully it works...)

Last attempt is drying as we speak, got something to work, just need time to dry, only have two links at the moment, I think it will hold together long enough for some photo's and who knows, maybe the machine's first cuts before it catches fire...

Russell.

OK, here is the first attempt, try not to laugh too hard when you have a look, I used 40mm by 25mm dual channel duct, it is used to run phone/data cabling alongside power cabling and keep segregation between the two. It was also the first bit of scrap I picked up from our workshop... sold!!!

I cut it into small pieces as you can see then glued them to a piece of webbing that started life on my teenage daughters carry bag, don't worry, she doesn't read any cnc posts... lol.

Used PVC conduit glue and had to let it all sit clamped for a few hours to set well enough.

Pretty happy with the result, only issue is that it tends to bend too well and the radius sometimes goes too small. I think I can fix this fairly easily by including a stiffening rod, maybe fibreglass spars you see on cheap kites, something that will not bend too tightly and also not intefere with the cables.

The black colour is from me "painting" one side with permanent marker.

Anyway it will do until the router lives.

Russell.

OK, here is the first attempt, try not to laugh too hard when you have a look, I used 40mm by 25mm dual channel duct, it is used to run phone/data cabling alongside power cabling and keep segregation between the two. It was also the first bit of scrap I picked up from our workshop... sold!!!

I cut it into small pieces as you can see then glued them to a piece of webbing that started life on my teenage daughters carry bag, don't worry, she doesn't read any cnc posts... lol.

Used PVC conduit glue and had to let it all sit clamped for a few hours to set well enough.

Pretty happy with the result, only issue is that it tends to bend too well and the radius sometimes goes too small. I think I can fix this fairly easily by including a stiffening rod, maybe fibreglass spars you see on cheap kites, something that will not bend too tightly and also not intefere with the cables.

The black colour is from me "painting" one side with permanent marker.

Anyway it will do until the router lives.

Russell.


I think your concept is ok, but you may want to try to bend in other direction and make slant cuts at about 5° or what will work with the radius you need, so when it bends it hold itself up, that is how the commercial ones work. Here is a sample drawing i threw together.

Joe

Instead of using glue to attach the backing strip, you might consider pop rivets. Just make sure that the head is on the inside so that the wire is not abraded.

Ken

Joe, yep you are right, that would work perfectly, back to the drawing board.

Ken, I thought of using pop rivets, but I wanted to keep the "hinge" as close to the edge as possible and the stuff I am using is very thin plastic, probably wouldn't hold without some damage. I guess I could rivet a small rectangular plate alongside the edge to hold it in place.

Well version II should be better, after all, this first attempt cost, well nothing, all from scrap lying around.

Russell.

If you used Joe's idea with the channel bending his way, cut your dual channel into sections with sloping ends. Then cut the just through the thicker ridges on the snap-on lid at the same intervals as the lengths of the channel, and use the flat surface of the lid as the hinge.
If it's too stiff, cut half way through it.
I think the amount of flexing would allow quite a long lifetime before it started to crack up.
John

Great idea Epinah.

Thanks bigz1 :)

John, I thought of doing that, I don't know how well it would hold up to the flexing, guess for the amount it will be doing it might be ok. The webbing is quite easy to glue on, just needs a bit of pressure to take.

I could also cut the duct as you had mentioned, leaving the bottom to act as a hinge. Hmmm more things to try. The upside is that I am only using scrap so far, so I can experiment with this a fair bit.

Russell.

I'll probably use this method when I get that far on my own set up, and it occurs to me that to mend a split piece I'd use a strong self adhesive tape.
In which case it would seem sensible to try that right from the start !
I'd just have to identify the strongest adhesive for the duct that I intend to use. With the 'chain' turning inwards, the tape will not be trying to peel off, so this should make the demands on the adhesive less. Just turn the ends over into the inside of the first and last link should make it pretty secure.
To 'flash it up' - how about "chrome spray" from the nearest auto shop - I found it sits well on most plastics, especially if you give it a coat of spray varnish afterwards.

John

I just upgraded the steppers and controller on my router and went with some approx 1/2" ID clear vinyl tubing I had lying around for another project. So far it seems to work great for keeping the wires in check, a couple screws and/or duct tape secured the ends (couldn't find my zipties at the time)

epineh - I've been thinking(always dangerous) about which way to cut the trunking.
If you cut through just the U-shaped part, leaving the top off, then you can set up the saw to chop it into short lengths, with the ends at 5 degrees.
Then modifying the top, if necessary, is a seperate job.
However, if you cut through the top and the upper walls of the trunk, leaving the bottom as a hinge, you then have a long 'snake' flopping about, while you're trying to do the cutting.
Whereas handling the top piece on its own might prove easier, as it's not going to change much by nicking through part of its depth.

John

Hmm it would be nice to have some sort of computer controlled router thingy to cut these parts out...(chair) lol

The biggest problem as I see it is that the chain has to support itself two ways, one as Joe has drawn it, the 5 degree angle cut so it doesn't bend in on itself (like mine does at the moment) and also to hold itself together when the "top" section floats at the other end of travel and not droop down and "snake" as John puts it. At the moment my chain will support itself from one end easily, but it bends in too easy so the radius caves in under the top section's weight, as it gains size.

If I was to leave the chain as it is and put in a piece of something like a paper-clip shaped wire, with pins attached to the seperator divider, allowing it to open as it does now, but only a small amount, then it should work.

OK so I am rambling on now, I will try that, and also your ideas John, not now, just got the kids to sleep...

I like the idea of painting it when finished, reckon a coat of matte black would make it look like the bought stuff.

Russell.

Mine will have an electric blue go-faster stripe along it :D :D
Just re-read your post, and see the problem with it drooping when fully extended.
Must put thinking hat on.
J

The biggest problem as I see it is that the chain has to support itself two ways, one as Joe has drawn it, the 5 degree angle cut so it doesn't bend in on itself (like mine does at the moment) and also to hold itself together when the "top" section floats at the other end of travel and not droop down and "snake" as John puts it. At the moment my chain will support itself from one end easily, but it bends in too easy so the radius caves in under the top section's weight, as it gains size.



Correct. The commercial stuff only bends in one direction, and a limited amount in that direction.

Mine will have an electric blue go-faster stripe along it :D :D
Just re-read your post, and see the problem with it drooping when fully extended.
Must put thinking hat on.
J

Think you are on the wrong track, everyone knows that it will go faster if it is a red stripe ... lol :stickpoke

You could have the hinge point in the middle of the side/ends like the commercial stuff (what I've seen anyway) and possibly have better control over its movement, but that will add complexity with duct and the idea of this is to keep it simple, without the need for CNC machine to start with.

I had previously tried to make some with LDPE, with a middle hinge but couldnt get it happening, needed the router finished to make better parts, the old chicken and egg thing again.

Russell.

Your reference to a middle hinge prompted this idea- but then it might be what you were thinking :)
The lid pieces(cut separately afterwards) prevent the hinge bending up, but the saw cut(width to suit) allows the trunking to bend down till the base prevents further movement.
John

ps surely red is for gas go faster and blue is electric (chair)

If you can get hold of it without buying a full sheet try a strip of polycarbonate, 1/8" or 3/16" in place of the webbing. It flexes very nicely but has enough stiffness that it will not sag.

Lol I had to look again at your drawing twice John, it was early for me (any excuse!). At first glance I thought you had drawn a plan view with the lid and base shown as cut away views, couldn't work out how on earth that would work, what can I say, I confuse easily...

What you have drawn is pretty much what I meant by a middle hinge, only I was going to make a seperate hinge to bolt on. I could easily try your method, and I have a perfect way of testing for hinge life - a two year old daughter and a four year old son... expected operational life = time with kids (measured in minutes) multiplied by 30 (days in a month) should give roughly how many months the chain would last :)

Of course there may need to be a scaling factor if the kids have snuck into the cupboard and helped themselves to the red cordial.

Geof I was thinking of something along those lines, using another piece of the lid with the sides cut away to form a strip to act as the hinge/backbone, getting something already flat certainly seems easier than cutting up more lid.


Russell.

I think this is going to be my best throw. I hope the drawing is self explanatory. :D

John

Ha, now we are getting somewhere, bout time duct tape came in and saved the day !!!

This time it's for those who can't find the duct tape :)

The idea, though not accurately drawn, is for all the pieces to be identical, but each alternate piece is reversed, back to front.

The longer face goes inside the clip-on top, so that the vertical movement is restricted, one way it can rotate, but the`other way it locks.

John

This time it's for those who can't find the duct tape :)

The idea, though not accurately drawn, is for all the pieces to be identical, but each alternate piece is reversed, back to front.

The longer face goes inside the clip-on top, so that the vertical movement is restricted, one way it can rotate, but the`other way it locks.

John

You are getting dangerously close to what is commercially available; that's cheating :) .

Next thing you will suggest using 3" diameter vacuum cleaner hose which is what Haas use on the Mini Mills. Or it should say it looks like it.

Ah, but mine will be sprayed chrome, with an electric blue go-faster stripe :D

I suppose convergent design is inevitable even if unknowing.

John

I still think that the red stripe would be faster :p

I think if you improve the chain any more you had better put a patent pending on it lol

Looks like I might have to go looking for some small plastic bolts. I know normal steel ones will be easier to find, but might as well keep it plastic.

Good work.

Russell.

Thanks Russell, and OK, I bow to your greater experience of the optical frequency/velocity ratio controversy.
Regards
John

Thanks Russell, and OK, I bow to your greater experience of the optical frequency/velocity ratio controversy.
Regards
John

So you admit that red would be faster then ?

Russell.

I'm prepared to accept a position of aquiescence, until experimental verification is able to provide unequivocal evidence to the contrary.
I propose to paint the top stripe blue and the lower stripe red and then see which way it curves.
("heh,heh,heh....he'll never spot the plot, Moriarty")

John

Lol while we are waiting on the verdict on the red/blue quantam physics anomaly, I guess I should get some more duct and see if it will work.

Then I can test the nominal velocity of propagation within the different colour spectrum.

Russell.

Here's my diy cable carrier. I used 12x20x2mm aluminum U profile and some flexible plastic belt. The aluminum parts are cut to 40mm lenght with 10 degree angle and riveted to the plastic belt. Works like a charm :D

http://www.eoz.lv/forum/showthread.php?t=3041&page=7

Hi jetijs,
Nice carrier. How well does it resist drooping when the gantry has extended it fully out ?

Russell - how far does the carrier have to extend when fully out ?

John

Nice work jetijs.

John, well I guess that would be a bit over half the Y axis travel, say about 400mm.

Russell.

Thanks Russell, but I should also have asked what sort of minimum cross sectional space your going to need for the cable, so I can get a good idea of what the load is going to be pulling the carrier downwards.

John

Very little, I am only going to have the Z stepper cable, one limit/home switch cable (fig.8 or speaker cable) and the router power cable, lets say the combined thickness will be about the same as your average thumb, a 16 by 25 mm duct would be heaps.

I have some 20mm loom tube that I was going to use initially.

I seem to have hit a wall as far as progress goes on the machine, maybe this weekend will see something happening.

Russell.

Have a good weekend - I'm trying to shift a propshaft off a transit with twenty years of torque tightening the bolts up !
John

all of this is great, but i have to interject that a yellow stripe is definately faster than red or blue... hehehe

and i'm beginning to think that some old shopvac hose will be good enough for my machine, yea itll droop a bit, or maby i'll just leave it droopy in the first place... kinda like the hose in a self car wash, it just hangs from the roof, and droops and follows you around...

all of this is great, but i have to interject that a yellow stripe is definately faster than red or blue... hehehe



Hmm I am seeing a pattern here, maybe blue is faster in the UK, yellow in the USA and red here in Australia, possibly a specific Earth polar coordinate phenomenon ...or possibly I need to catch up on some sleep.

Still got my money on red though hehe

Russell.

Seeing immediately the connection between the polar coordinate and the spectral order, I asked my wife which way round the colours went in the rainbow - " It depends which side your'e standing on" - but then she hasn't had much sleep lately, either.

John

Here is my go of an energy chain, it runs fine though a bit rough, proberly because i was to busy making it work to makeing fine cuts
Pictures and links for a video of it in action in my log: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23658

I know it sometimes more fun to build your own than buy. But found this Cavotec energy chain in in RS components.

RS Stock no. 454-6235

at £12 + VAT its not much more expensive than if I bought some trunking and bolts.

Nice, i plowed through the rs catalogue several times never noticed this, for that price i dont even bother making it myself:-)

Hi
I have been pondering cable chains for some time and think I have come up with a workable solution.

A strip of 0.15" steel shim 1.250" wide anchor each leaving a loop and attach the cables with lose woven "Chinese finger and cable ties threaded through holes drilled at regular intervals.

If the weight of your cables is too heavy for the shim to support add more shim strip, with each end permanently anchored and the radius of the bend roughly constant the shims will not slide against each other enough to shear the ties

My Machine www.foundry-fopars.co.uk and navigate to CNC Project.

Roger

Have you got any pics of your chain roger ?

I looked on your site at your machine and couldn't see any chain. Nice build btw.

I have seen your site before, loved it, my father was a moulder by trade, and we often talk about making some aluminium rollers for my boat trailer. We visited your site for inspiration quite a few times...

As for buying ready made stuff, unfortunately the "cheap" chain seems to increase exponentially as soon as it travels over a few oceans and lands on my doorstep, I think I will still be making my own.

Russell.

Hi Russell,

No I have not taken any, to be honest i am waning in enthusiasm at the moment, but your comments will certainly result in a bit more work.

Thanks for the comment on the website.

as to the cable chain, it has evolved slightly, the basic design remains the same using the steel shim strip, but i have made 15 plastic rectangle carrying clips that i will screw to the shim using M2.5mm screws at regular intervals, so watch this space or www.foundry-fopars.co.uk for photographic details.

Roger

Has anyone thought of using metal curtain rails to carry the cable?

Hi, My experance with the metal curtan rails is that they jam just by looking at them.

Roger

I agree their are many poor designs. But how about these types inteneded for heavy curtains.

The 3rd photo is very inexpensive at £18 for 3m.

http://www.curtainsware.com/id21.html

I would think with all the kinks being done with all the hangers, it is more places where the cable can get snaged or bend to much in one place unlike the cable cariers, which has a uniform and even curve for the cables not to mention protection from anything snagging it or chance of something falling against the cables...

joe

I have used loom tube on my router for the moment, it seems to support itself OK and as Joe mentions protects the cable a bit. You can see what I mean on my build log.

Just gotta draw up some design's for a DIY carrier then I'm in business.

Oh yeah I gotta get the machine going first...(chair)

Hopefully this week, been fishing hehe.

Russell.

I have used loom tube on my router for the moment, it seems to support itself OK and as Joe mentions protects the cable a bit. You can see what I mean on my build log.

Just gotta draw up some design's for a DIY carrier then I'm in business.

Oh yeah I gotta get the machine going first...(chair)

Hopefully this week, been fishing hehe.

Russell.

yes the flexible, electrical conduit should work good, and here it is only 5 dollars for a 10'x3/4" so you can see this is a inexpensive rout to take.

joe

Yup works well on my machine, although it would with only one axis going... hehe

Russell.

Another fairly cheap way that works good on short travel machines is either non-metallic flexible conduit, or metallic liquid-seal super flex conduit.
This can be obtained by the foot complete with end fittings, from local Electrical supply houses.
Just form a loop that will extend out to the max. travel. Simple ways can be used to prevent catching of the loop.
The advantage is it offers good protection from oil & chips on Mills etc.
In N.Am. Thomas & Betts is one supplier.
If you are looking at the curtain idea (called Festooning), use 3/4" pipe for a hanger and get industrial curtain loops, from Home Depot (Like shower curtain hangers but steel).
Al.

OK Guys, This is my two pennys worth.

I started with a length of 36mm wide 0.25mm steel shim, i drilled a set of 3mm holes 2,5mm in on each side 100mm apart, to this i screwd 10 plastic "U" shaped cable retaininers, this suprisingly stiffend the shim, i next loaded the cable chain slimchain reg with 8 x 2.5mm2 cables much more than what i will ever need, do look at the photos and give me your opinion.........forget the spelling ....i have!!!

Roger

I hope the photos come out

Neat, that is totally different to what I had in my mind as to what you meant.

Only prob I could see is if you had different diameter cables, the smaller ones might "float" around a bit, not that it would probably matter.

Definately would work. How do you think the steel would hold up to repeated flexing ?

Russell.

The only place that will suffer is where the strip is anchord, but by adding a couple of thicknesses just at the end the spring action would be greatly improved and therefor increase the bend radius and reduce the tendancy to break, as to diferant size cables well tie then to each other or to the plastic clips

roger

As for buying ready made stuff, unfortunately the "cheap" chain seems to increase exponentially as soon as it travels over a few oceans and lands on my doorstep, I think I will still be making my own.

Russell.

Russel their is a RS components located in Australia. The chain costs $44.10.

http://www.rsaustralia.com/cgi-bin/bv/rswww/searchBrowseAction.do?D=cavotec&Ntk=I18NAll&Nr=avl%3aau&Nty=1&Ntt=cavotec&N=0&callingPage=/jsp/search/search.jsp&Ns=I18NPrc1_au&No=0&BV_SessionID=@@@@0799708850.1162924510@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccjaddjfdhfhlmcefeceeldgondhgm.0&cacheID=aunetscape

Liam

Russel their is a RS components located in Australia. The chain costs $14.80.
Liam

The only thing I can see for $14.80 is a bracket for the end of the chain. Not the chain its self. Do you have the stock number of what you were looking at.

Paul

Sorry Paul. Updated price. For all options put "Cavotec" and "price" in the sort options. Also try "Igus".

Liam

Their catalog is quite confusing. I think you were originally looking at the price for an end bracket. The cheapest chain I can see is $44.10. Thats for 29x23mm x 1 metre length. RS Stock No. 454-6207. Then I think you need to add on a couple of the end brackets at $14.80 and GST. Not so cheap.
Paul

Still, 44 bucks isn't bad, I would hate to think how much time it is going to take me to perfect my DIY version, but there is the satisfaction of doing it myself blah blah blah...

Russell.

More like $80 for one axis. You proberbly need 2.
As this thread is for the do it your self version I will stop there.
If I can save a buck on cable management, its money I can use elsewhere.
Paul

I was thinking of something like this... Only 2 different parts
Modelled with 1/4" mdf rounded parts are 4" x 2" bottom part is 2 " square. Probably used the same piece to cover the top, or figure out a way to latch it on for easy cable routing or rerouting. use 1/4" bolts to connect the 2 sections nylock nuts to adjust tension for movement. Could build in stops to limit range of motion.

Out of 2 2'x4' pice of mdf ($4 at HD) could cut 120 side pieces and 120 top/bottoms... enough for 180" of cable guide. Screws to hold the top/bottom and 1/4" bolts should be < $50

To make it self supporting I think you need to change the outside semicircle to a quadrant with the same radius and then have the flats on both parts touch.

Looking at both Igus and Cavotec chains they have 3 options. One that folds back on its self and slides on the lower chain or 2 self supporting options. One of the self supporting options holds itself flat(this make sense?). The other has a slight banana shape(this is so the same dimmension chain can cover a longer travel before failing under the additional load).

More like $80 for one axis. You proberbly need 2.
As this thread is for the do it your self version I will stop there.
If I can save a buck on cable management, its money I can use elsewhere.
Paul

I'm with you there, and since I am now looking at servo's instead of steppers (yes I have the steppers and drivers setup already (chair) ), every penny counts (not that we have pennies here anymore...)

That is why my machine has the flexible conduit version at the moment, which works very well I might add, it just doesn't look the goods.

Randy I was looking at a similiar approach, only using black LDPE, it looks like the real thing, but is a PITA to work with as far as glueing or screwing is concerned, which is why my machine cut stuff will (hopefully) lock together and stay together. I went to a supplier to purchase some and after I told him what it was for he gave me about a one metre by half metre piece (3mm thick) for free, he must have liked my story.

As for the movement side of things, strategic placing of the cross pieces should allow for the required movement.

Cheers.

Russell.




Russell.

Here's my solution. I cut PVC eletrical ducting using a sled on the saw table. A little clean up cut on a band saw then drilled with a jig to speed things up and maintain some degree of acuracy. (A bit out on the acuracy but its not causing problems.) Then used 4mm eyelets to fasten the joints. I'm quite pleased with the eyelets because they are inserted with a manual plier the tension is not large and I have control of the process. I can remove the eyelets fairley easily so if any carriers break I can replace them. I inserted the eyelets from the inside outward so the rough edge is outward rather than against the cables. With the hinge central to the duct I think the cable should follow around curves better than a bottom hinge. I just hope I havent weakened the plastic too much. Time will tell. Moves quite well. It is a little time consuming I would estimate 2 hours per meter now that I have my jigs.

Paul

That is sweet... well done, I think I might go and raid my wife's eyelet collection.

Russell.

Great Paul - all it needs are go-faster stripes and you're there. :D :D

Great Paul - all it needs are go-faster stripes and you're there. :D :D

... Of relevant colour of course, but that is another story ... hehe

Russell.

Thanks guys. Hope to attach some to the machine next weekend.
Paul

How to tell if you are addicted to cnc stuff, I have been away from home due to work commitments a lot lately, and today found myself passing time at an airport lounge drawing concepts for my version of a DIY cable chain. Sure beats reading novels to pass the time. Good news is that hopefully my machine will be going soon, just need to sort out the Z axis a bit better (just as soon as I am home for more than five minutes...:violin: )

Expect to see the first cuts on the weekend, then its onto making chain !!!

Russell.

Hi Russel, And All,

Finaly got my cable carrier installed and wired as to the ends breaking off a good point raised i have hinged each end by making the pin where the shim fixes a swivel, or somthing that rotated on its axisis.
Aha the mess on the table.....well where else am i going to put it!!!!!!

Roger

Nice work Roger, and its not mess, its experimentation, there is a difference!

Russell.

Now this isn't by any means finished, but here is what my chain (sides) will look like, I know I will have to put in allowance for the surfaces to move as required, that is to rotate about 30deg in one direction and not in the other. I plan to include this functionality into the side pieces, but haven't yet.

My intention is to make the parts as shown, 10mm thick, with the top pieces simply screwed to the sides as required. My router is now ready to make these parts, but alas I am outta time, other commitments have again reared their nasty head(s) but I will be on the case next weekend.

I started looking for a converter to make a jpg from the DXF, then got lazy and snapped a piccy with the digi-cam and posted that... hehe

Credit for the drawing goes to my 14yr old daughter, I drew it up on paper and she did the rest (in about 5 mins flat!) Who said CNC isn't a family hobby?

Russell.

I can't see how it will rotate unless you leave a gap in the receased arc(make sense?).

Liam

Yup spot on, that is the part that isn't finished...

Next is to do that and incorporate its allowable travel.

Russell.

Love the concept.
I was thinking a male connector one end and female the other. But your idea means you can route all from one side. What were you thinking of making it out of? High density plastic? (my source is chopping boards)

On printing pictures. Press Alt print Screen this should copy the active window to clipboard. Then run paintbrush and paste. paintbrush can then save it as a jpg. You can crop the image by doing another cut and paste.
I set the default attributes of paintbrush to 20x20 then when you paste it expands to meet what you are pasting. Quick and dirty but it does me.

Paul

FWIW, a couple of ideas presented in this thread, one by CNCezee and Al the man were what I made use of in a lathe retrofit. I ran my wire in a piece of flex conduit but because flex conduit might kink off, to provide a backbone I used some 1.5" wide steel pallet strapping. This stuff is heat treated and quite springy so long as you do not bend it over any sharp corners. It took two or three layers of the strapping to make it stiff enough, and I secured the strapping to the flex conduit with cable ties. I anchored one end of the strapping to the machine base to restrict its motion to one plane.

Heres a picture of the cable carrier I bought(flat across radius hits the cross piece so it cant bend backwards). Looks almost identical to your design Russell.

Cheers Paul, yeah I was going to use plastic, I have some black plastic sheet (poly?) 10mm thick that I was going to use for the sides and some 3mm thick stuff for the top pieces. It is glossy on one side and sort of matte finished on the other, I was going to have the matte side visible, to look a bit like the "real" thing. Thanks for the heads up on the old print screen, didn't even think of that...

HuFlung, nice idea, does the strapping tend to "eat" the ties or the flex conduit at all ? I am using the conduit minus any kind of backbone, just kinda point it so it sits nicely, its working OK for now, until I can get some time to make some chain.

Bigz, that is almost scary, mine certainly looks similiar, hope no patent lawers pick up this thread... lol. Hopefully I will get some time on the weekend to burn plastic... maybe even get something resembling the CAD drawing...

Russell.

Now please understand this is the first attempt for the chain. The job was setup with both the spigot and hole on the same side, to make things simpler for now, and to work out feeds and so on. It is cut out of 10mm HDPE sheet.

I think I will go for 2 different pieces for the sides, which means I only need to cut one side and not worry about turning over and cutting again. I also have to clean up the g-code, for some reason the spigot diameter is oversize. I posted this to show I haven't given up on the chain, and I need to get some more router bits as the endmill I used here isn't long enough to cut to depth (chair) so it might be a while before you see any more progress.

Any Hoo, here is the guinea pig piece...

Russell.

Looks good.

You could buy some upcut or downcut spirals online, not sure of shipping to Australia though.

My Whiteside 1/8" (3.175mm) upcut bit has a 1/2" (12.7mm) depth of cut with a 1/4" shank.

Cost around $14.00 USD from routerbits.com, code #RU1600 (buy at least five)

Jason

I'm going router bit shopping this morning, I can't leave the machine sit idle this weekend, especially as I am only now getting used to how to use it. I have thought of cutting a 1/4 drill bit down, resharpening and using that, hehe I have spent so much money building the silly looking router I can't afford to buy tooling... lol

It's not really that bad, time is the biggest problem really as in I have none. I might get some more next year...

Russell.

Looks great.
Think you may have to import router bits. You can import 3 bits for the local price of one here, think its the same in Aussie.
Paul

Looks great.
Think you may have to import router bits. You can import 3 bits for the local price of one here, think its the same in Aussie.
Paul

Yeah, I was thinking something similiar, but in the meantime, here is attempt #1...

There is a glaring mistake in this one, but I was happy with everything else. One spigot is not centred correctly, it is towards the middle of the piece. I think it is a drawing mistake, I will check tonight.

The pieces move nicely, just gotta fix the top and bottom pieces and its finished. Once the spigot is fixed, I will do a production run and make about a 1.5 metre length of finished chain. The pieces are a little fuzzy, I haven't cleaned them up much after machining.

Russell.

This is what I came up with. Check it out! (http://pacosarea.blogspot.com/2007/02/wires-guide-for-my-cnc-router.html)

I like the hose from vacuum cable carrier although the one in the pic would be too big for my machine I do recall VERY flexible hose on my wifes vacuum of a smaller diameter!!! (now how do I distract her and snatch it!) well I will likely have to test with hers and then go buy some from a shop.


Thanks for the idea!

Coog

Coog,

2" Shop-Vac hose is probably what you want... and there's the 1-1/4" too. I believe you can get them only without the vacuum.

Good luck!

I for one am banned from using the vacuum cleaner, all I did was to use it at work one day to pull a small parachute through an underground conduit, problem was the conduit had been there a while and was full of water, it is surprising just how quick a vacuum can suck water, unfortunately it wasn't one of those wet vac's and never really survived.

Wasn't into CNC at the time either, so the whole lot went into the bin...(chair)

Russell.

I for one am banned from using the vacuum cleaner, all I did was to use it at work one day to pull a small parachute through an underground conduit, problem was the conduit had been there a while and was full of water, it is surprising just how quick a vacuum can suck water, unfortunately it wasn't one of those wet vac's and never really survived.

Wasn't into CNC at the time either, so the whole lot went into the bin...(chair)

Russell.

Epineh your gonna get all the wives/girlfriends together and mad at us so they take away our stolen cutlery and vacuum hoses and such! Be careful so we dont all end up on group restriction!

Coog

A few weeks of typing in (E chain, E-chain, energy chain, wire channel, wire guide, Igus) into eBay search netted me a nice E-Channel (enclosed E-chain) for just $15. Yeah, after adding in the shipping it is $30 total, but it is long enough and large enough to do the trick. The blue flex conduit was $16 at the local building emporium so I feel I did okay for a much better product.

There are deals out there.

Hi,
I made mine from Aussie Duct.manufactured a machining jig to machine using drills.when complete you assemble the parts .Hence you have a energy cable.They want $120 for .9m. they can keep it!

I'll get back to you with pics soon.

at work and the boss is cracking the whip.

colin300

Coog,

2" Shop-Vac hose is probably what you want... and there's the 1-1/4" too. I believe you can get them only without the vacuum.

Good luck!


Go to any place that sells vacuum cleaners or repairs them. Sometimes if you talk nice they will give you an old one cheap or for free if one of the ends are messed up. If you can get one for a central vaccum they can go to 30 feet or more in length and in various diameters.

cheers

Don

Here is my first attempt at making some cable chain, the chain is about 60mm wide. Prices here in NZ are ridiculous and theres also shipping costs when ordering from the US. Needs a few tweaks to work properly and I will make it out of acrylic or something once I am happy with the design.

Shannon.

http://www.cnczone.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/4775/cat/500/ppuser/24311
http://www.cnczone.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/4776/cat/500/ppuser/24311
http://www.cnczone.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/4774/cat/500/ppuser/24311

Here is my first attempt at making some cable chain, the chain is about 60mm wide. Needs a few tweaks to work properly and I will make it out of acrylic or something once I am happy with the design.

Shannon.

Shannon,

Excellent job. Given the looks of your first attempt, you should have it nailed on round two. Any chance you can be persuaded to share the 2D CAD file so we all don't have to reinvent the 'chain'?

Thanks for sharing what you've done so far.

Here is my first attempt at making some cable chain, the chain is about 60mm wide. Prices here in NZ are ridiculous and theres also shipping costs when ordering from the US. Needs a few tweaks to work properly and I will make it out of acrylic or something once I am happy with the design.


Real nice job.
All my similar ideas needed machining on two sides. Your version is brilliant.
Paul

Shannon,

Excellent job. Given the looks of your first attempt, you should have it nailed on round two. Any chance you can be persuaded to share the 2D CAD file so we all don't have to reinvent the 'chain'?

Thanks for sharing what you've done so far.

No problems with supplying the CAD file, I will just make sure that it works right first. The one in the pics has a slight bow to it when it is supposed to sit flat. a small dimension change will fix that though.

Shannon.

No problems with supplying the CAD file, I will just make sure that it works right first. The one in the pics has a slight bow to it when it is supposed to sit flat. a small dimension change will fix that though.

Shannon.

Sounds great. I look forward to it. I know I've got a sheet of something around here that would be ideal for the E-Chain project. It'll give me a chance to find it while waiting for the CAD file.

Appreciate it, big time, Big S,

That is nice work Big S, it looks like it would work quite nicely as a mold using plastic injection as well.

Good job !

Russell.

Nice work Shannon!

Keep us post!

Here is the new acrylic chain. It works really great, nothing is glued together but it takes a bit of tuning to get the offsets for the tight fit right. The red top plates are clear red acrylic as an experiment to see how it looked.

how do I go about uploading the dxf?

http://www.cnczone.com/gallery/data/500/medium/DSC02733.JPG
http://www.cnczone.com/gallery/data/500/medium/DSC02735.JPG
http://www.cnczone.com/gallery/data/500/medium/DSC02735.JPG

Shannon.

Here is the new acrylic chain. It works really great...

how do I go about uploading the dxf?

Shannon, Super Job!

As long as the DXF files are <= 500K in size you can upload them when posting a reply by scrolling down to the 'Attach Files' section and clicking on the 'Manage Attachments' button. From there it should be fairly obvious but if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Give it a go. You can also upload any of the other file formats listed as long as they are less than the allowed file size(s) listed in the 'Manage Attachments' dialog box. Oh, and if the files are too large all you have to do is compress them into a single, or multiple, ZIP file(s) using your favorite ZIP compression utility before uploading them.

IHTH & Thanks a lot,

Great job on the chain, you are using 1/8" acrylic?

Joe

Great job on the chain, you are using 1/8" acrylic?

Joe

Hi Joe,

I used 6mm for the side plates and 3mm acrylic for the tops, I can change the drawings to suit 1/4" and 1/8" easy enough though.


I am still having issues with the file upload as the manage attachments button seems to be missing when I look at the attach files box???

Thanks,

Shannon.

Hi Joe,

I used 6mm for the side plates and 3mm acrylic for the tops, I can change the drawings to suit 1/4" and 1/8" easy enough though.


I am still having issues with the file upload as the manage attachments button seems to be missing when I look at the attach files box???

Thanks,

Shannon...


If you want to e-mail them to me i can upload here.

Joe

OK... i can upload files using MS internet explorer but not with firefox(chair)

Here is the Dxf, thanks for the offer though Joe:cheers:

If anyone wants any changes, just let me know.


Shannon.

Glad it worked for you.

You may want to tell people the depth of cuts, and alot of people use v-carve not sure if you do or not.

Thanks for your contribution to the e-chain.

Joe

Glad it worked for you.

You may want to tell people the depth of cuts, and alot of people use v-carve not sure if you do or not.

Thanks for your contribution to the e-chain.

Joe

I used toolpath on the multicam router at my work to cut these, I haven't used v-carve before though. My total CNC machining experience is about a month on the job :eek:

I cut the circles where the links overlap to just over halfway through (3.1mm also set the drawings up to be cut with a 1/8" cutter.
deep) The top and bottom plates might need a different tool offset depending on the material used, if it is harder like acrylic they will need a slightly bigger tool offset. The triangular end pieces in the drawing have two different size center circles, the smaller ones are for the pins and the bigger ones for the holes. I think it will take some trial and error for the first few links to get them to fit properly, then its make heaps of them and make a chain.

I also set up the drawing to be cut with a 1/8" cutter.

Shannon.

Big S,

Thanks for sharing. I see your contribution leading to a lot of machine upgrades here on CNCzone. ;)

I'll have to tack on a few 3mm & 6mm plastic sheets when I place my order for the ¾" HDPE I'm sure I'll need for Joe's CNC 4x4 Hybrid build... coming soon!

In the mean time, I'll experiment on some scraps I've got laying about to get a feel for the tolerances.

The best to you,

Shannon,

Great job. Stumbled across this thread the other day as i have been looking for something like this for my own chains along with a mini cyclone(Damn MDF dust clogs the filters) for my next couple of projects for my mahcine.

This is another one of these great posts that everyone will refere to and it will help every hobbyist make a professional looking machine cheaply and easily. Again its another step towards a completely homemade machine. Great work.

Looking forward to cutting my own chains for my machine soon. You've just saved me alot of money.

Thanks again.
Daniel

P.S Now if only someone can't make their own cheap CO2 laser. lol

I'm trying to see what keeps them locked together?

Joe

Hi Joe,

The outsides face each other so one link is comprised of two 'pin' side pieces facing inwards, the next link is comprised of two 'hole' side pieces facing outwards. When the top and bottom plates are attached they then hold the whole lot together.

I can put up some pics to make it clearer if you like?


Shannon.

Here's some pics to make it clearer.

Enjoy....:D

i see how you have it, i was just curious what keeps the sides from sliding outwards other than a tight fit of the top and bottom pieces, but i tight fit should work fine.

Joe

Friction fit.:D

I am thinking with the acrylic they can be glued (carefully) with some sort of solvent, the chain in my previous photos is a really tight fit and shouldn't come apart under normal use. Saying that, I may still end up gluing it all together.

Shannon.

Thanks for sharing. Just found the thread after seeing the pics in the gallery a few days ago. Great job. I've been thinking about this for a while. Kudos on your work.

No problemo :D I now need to finish a machine so I can use some of it

Everyone don't forget to put some pics up when/if you have made some.


Shannon.

good job:)
if some body still copying then pls post some more pics:)

I have been using some bonded hydraulic hose for a cable carrier. It is basically four 3/16" dia. hoses bonded together side by side. The hose is very flexible so it has a good bend radius, but it doesn't "walk" around as it rolls. I can pass my motor wires through one wire, limit switch wires through another, and 110V through yet another. I have about 10 months of use without any failure. You can find this in various diameters and numbers of "circuits". I crimped regular hydraulic fittings on the ends of the hoses and then used bulkhead fittings to attach them to my machine.

drafterman