Started on some of the smaller parts I have already created CAD drawings of. I don't have everything I need gathered up for the build but though I'd try & get a few things out of the way.

Pictured below is a bearing truck I am going to use on the X axis. Have more to go on it but at least it's a start.

The bearings I used for this are high precision double row left over from another job.

Hi:
I will follow your project. I will like to build one. Fisrt I will see how it goes.

ATT
chakill

Hi:
I will follow your project. I will like to build one. Fisrt I will see how it goes.

ATT
chakill

I am making enough CAD drawings to get myself through this build without having to backtrack & do over. At least keep it to a minimum. I am also keeping a list of materials purchased.

It will by no means be a complete set of plans or parts list. But I will of course be most willing to share any plans or ideas I might have.

And as always, I'm open to suggestions.

Not much building going on right now. Mostly gathering up parts, Ebay etc. I have ordered & received a large part of the steel, tubing, etc. for my basic table frame. I'm wanting to hold off on the table itself till I have lots of the smaller components, like the piece pictured above, built. I don't want to commit enough of my floor space for the table to just sit there in my way while I machine & fit all these smaller parts together.

I have my stepper motor sizes calculated & a few other things. Hoping to get started on motor mounts & primary belt reductions soon. I need to get notched belts & pulleys plus some bearings in. & I'll begin construction on those

Why not build the Mechmate? The hard work is already done and there is a support forum.

Looked at the Mechmate, As with most other plans & kits out there there are things I like & things I dislike about them. So I decided to "roll my own".

In my case the table will most likely be used daily & will be used by more than 1 person. If I were the only one using it I could pop rivet tin together & make it last for years. If the hired help uses it It needs to be built & precision parts protected to the point you could park a truck on it & use it for a grease rack....

I understand what you mean. I used to buy the finest tools because I wanted my guys to have the best allowing them to do excellent work but they destroyed everything I ever brought into the shop. Now I buy adequate tools and they still do excellent work but I save a bundle when they tear up the tools.

I am using round rail 1 1/8" 1045 CRR for my "X" axis. Below is a picture of 1/4" strap iron I have drilled plug weld holes & 5-40 tapped holes for set screws to clamp the rail in.

This will allow me to rotate the round rail or replace it if wear develops where the bearings contact it.

Looks good! Keep it going and don't let the weather slow you down!:)

Managed to get one of my beams & rail fabricated up. On to the other side now.

Managed to get one of my beams & rail fabricated up.
Congratulations & thanks for the photos!

It looks as if you are off to a good start!
That beam & rail looks just like your drawing a couple posts back.

The Hobart MG in the last photo, is like one that I have fed miles of wire with.

Congratulations & thanks for the photos!

It looks as if you are off to a good start!
That beam & rail looks just like your drawing a couple posts back.

The Hobart MG in the last photo, is like one that I have fed miles of wire with.

That old rascal has the best arc of anything in my shop. In fact it may be the best MIG welding machine I have ever used. If it just wasn't so noisy LOL. I mainly use it anymore as a back up machine. I ran it for about a week & 1/2 recently. The fan motor went out in my 400A Linde (another piece of history). ESAB didn't have a replacement on the shelf. so I had to improvise. Thank goodness for Ebay.....

Finished the second beam & rail. Shown in the pictures below, first one on the left, I had to mill the edge of my box tubing. It was sunken in the center about .015" I was afraid it would cup the CRS flat bar when I bolted it down. The other 3 are of the finished rail. Whew, Glad that project is over with. There is 29 tapped holes in the beam & of course slightly oversized holes in the rail to allow for some alignment after table is welded up.

I am going to put them back on the rack for now. Lots of other small stuff to fab up.

Haven't posted in a while. I have accumulated most of what I need for my table now. Rack & pinion gearing, notched belts, pulleys & bearings for the reductions. Should have most all the structure steel I need here, other than the burning slats.

I've been sidetracked a couple weeks because of equipment breakdowns, increased work load & my grandaughter cheerleading for her schools basketball team :banana:

Received word form the fine folks at CandCNC that my goodies I have ordered from them will be arriving soon. This prompted me to make a little time to make another part for my table

Decided to mount my linear rail across the gantry. I had everything ready to drill & tap the holes for the precision rail & found the box tubing to be cupped between .005 & .020. More than I really wanted to live with. So I milled the tube from end to end before mounting the rail.

I have included a CAD drawing of the end view of my table & gantry as it stands now. It is a drawing in progress, I wanted something to build from. I will ammend the drawing as I make changes in the actual design.

More later tonight or in the morning.

Yipee!! Have the linear rail mounted now. I had some trouble tapping the 42 metric screw threads to mount the rail. I usually don't have any trouble with small threads like these. I'm going to blame the tap(s). Most of what I do in my machine shop is larger fractional size threading. I don't normally keep small metric taps on hand. So I decided Imports would be ok for this 1 off job. NOT! Be American, Buy American I guess. Or at least high quality European.

The linear rail is in (2) pieces. I was worried about getting the ends to mate good enough that the slide wouldn't "bump" as it went across the joint. I snugged the screws slightly, then bumped the rails side to side using a small piece of nylon & wood mallet. After a bit of trial & error I had the truck gliding across the joint. Then as a final test I laid a 40" precision straight edge beside the rails, across the joint, to be sure I didn't have to much of a "U" across the 2 pieces of linear rail. I couldn't get a .004 feeler gauge to slide in anywhere, so all is good.

Below is a CAD drawing of my Ox/A torch mount. I am going to use a linear actuator & manual jog on the OX/Fuel torch. When I mount the plasma in the near future I will use my THC on it.

Worked on my OX/FUEL torch heigh control today. I scrounged the angle attachment on eBay. It's from a L-Tec cantilever machine torch. Thought it might come in handy sometime down the line.

I Hope to get my linear actuator mounted later this evening.

Then on to the rack & pinion gear & belt reduction for the gantry

Lookin' good, Millman!
Have you thought about making an "A" axis, so you can automate the rotation of the torch in your software, for beveling?
Still impressed with the attention to detail and the excellent workmanship, keep it up!

Lookin' good, Millman!
Have you thought about making an "A" axis, so you can automate the rotation of the torch in your software, for beveling?
Still impressed with the attention to detail and the excellent workmanship, keep it up!

Boy that would be slicker-N- Well I'll save that thought.

I think I'll concentrate on just getting it cutting for right now.

I do cut a part though that it would be very handy for. It's a rectangle of 1" that has to have the short ends beveled back for welding. sure would be nice not to have that 2nd. operation to deal with.

Well, something to chew on for later thought, I suppose.
Either way your machine looks slicker than anything so far!

Finished up fabrication on the THC for the oxy/fuel side of my gantry. Semi-automatic I guess is the best way to describe it. It will be operated by a jog control, saving the automatic THC for a plasma rig to be installed later on the opposite side of the gantry.

I have 6" of travel built into this unit. I sometimes need to cut 4" steel so I needed over 4" It along with the hand wheel on the angle attachment will allow me to retract the Oxy torch above the bottom of the gantry when using plasma.

The first pic shows the Z slide with the linear actuator attached. The second is showing the actuator & slide in full down position. 3rd. is full retracted, & 4th is just some detail on mounting of the actuator.

I am enjoying seeing your progress.

1. I had no idea that linear rail had so many closely spaced bolt holes.
2. Will you use a similar linear actuator for your plasma rig?

I like that the shafting is shielded whereas mine is exposed.

Keep up the good work!

Tom

I am enjoying seeing your progress.

1. I had no idea that linear rail had so many closely spaced bolt holes.
2. Will you use a similar linear actuator for your plasma rig?

I like that the shafting is shielded whereas mine is exposed.

Keep up the good work!

Tom

Thanks for the encouraging comments. The actuator on the ox/fuel torch will not be CNC controlled. it's a simple 12V. actuator I'll operate it from manual jog.

I haven't started any design details on the plasma carrier. I don't know what I might end up with there. I'm trying to keep things as small as possible yet still durable & hopefully as trouble free as possible.

I mounted my 3/8" rack gear to a length of 1/4" strap today. I drilled a series of holes 3" center to allow me to plug weld the rack gear on the back side. I also drilled another row of holes on 6" centers to allow me to bolt the rack gear to the gantry.

This will allow me to move or shim the gear if necessary, to get the smallest amount of lash allowable on the pinion.

From the photo, it looks like the rack welded up nicely to the flat bar.

What pitch rack did you use?

Is this photo for your gantry or your X axis?

Tom

From the photo, it looks like the rack welded up nicely to the flat bar.

What pitch rack did you use?

Is this photo for your gantry or your X axis?

Tom

These pictures are of the gantry rail.

I used 3/8" 20P gear rack

Here are a few snapshots of the pinion gear assembly for the gantry.

The pinion shaft is turned on the end for a .0015 press fit of the pinion to the shaft. Then threaded for a 3/8" X 24 locking nut. It was assembled using Locktite.

I have slotted holes in the pinion carrier to allow adjustment of the pinion lash. Everything works very smooth with next to no backlash at all throughout the entire length of the gantry.

I will trim the ends to proper length once gantry is fitted to the X axis, & exact travel end points are determined.

I couldn't stand the thoughts of that single bearing truck on my torch carrier. It doesn't have any detectable movement in it, it just doesn't look "beefy" enough to suit me.

I had been watching eBay for another short piece of linear rail & bearings for my plasma "Z" axis. Sure enough I was able to get 2 pieces of rail 8" long & (4) bearing trucks that match My gantry linear rail, for the right money.

Hope to make the conversion for that this weekend along with some more progress on the table build.

Dear Millman,

What type / brand of bearing is the one used for your gantry pinion shaft and where do you get it?

Obviously it must have a bearing each side and provide sufficient support for a reasonably arduous application.

I am making a plasma table using timing belts for the X,Y&Z motion rather than rack and pinion. I was going to support the timing belt pinion shaft with a self centring bearings at each end.

This would require two plates separated by spacers. The one bearing idea like yours is a far more elegant solution.

Best wishes,

Richard Honey
Western Australia:wave:

Take a good look at the center picture in post #28 it is actually (2) of these http://cgi.ebay.com/1-2-Two-Bolt-Flange-Bearing_W0QQitemZ7576556713QQcategoryZ1267QQcmdZViewItem With the piece of 5/16 flat steel sandwiched between. I drilled a 5/8" hole in the flat bar to allow the shaft to fit through & then (2) 5/16" holes to allow bolts to fit through the entire assembly. It made a very rigid set up.

Bolted the ends to the main frame rails today. I made 4 screw jacks to use for leveling & alignment during the build. This will allow me to move the table around the shop & quicklt re level. during the remainder of the build.

On the far left corner of the table sits one bearing truch for the gantry.

Hopefully things will move along a bit quicker now that I have most everything in hand to complete the build.

Great machine you are creating Millman. :)

Nice clear photos showing construction details!
Thanks, WT

Below is pictured my 2nd long axis truck for the gantry. I have spaced the bearings off the mounting plate .200" by drilling & then parting off in the lathe 4 .200 thick spacers.

For the top (load carrying) bearings I drilled & tapped the plate they are mounted to. The lower bearings are mounted in slotted holes to allow them to be adjusted to the bottom side of the rail to keep any chance of the gantry rocking on sudden direction changes.

The bearings asr a part# 1621RS 1/2" ID X 1.375" OD I purchased these specifically for this job as the id fits a 1/2" bolt. This made for easy mounting without having to make special bolts or use metric bolts.

Before installation is complete I'll probably make a shield for the bearings & bolt it over them to help keep any wandering sparks off the seals.

Is the faltbar you are using CRS or did you spring for the fancy ground & polishing stuff?

Torchmate sold this stuff and IMO is way to exact for the precision received in this process.

Your table is looking great by-the-way:)

Both the round & the flat is CRS The flat is 1018 grade & the round bar is 1045 grade. I can rotate or replace the round bar by removing a series of set screws if wear develops. Same thing with the flat bar. The row of bolt holes is on the center of the bar. It can be turned over for a new surface or buy a new piece & drill the holes. Before I went with the CRS I checked to see what other options I could go to if wear is quicker than I think it will be. I can get hardened round & replace that. The flat bar I can go to stainless if necessary.

I am trying to built the table to be easily repairable & even expandable if I end up needing a larger cutting surface.

As for the ground & polished. I can't see paying the price for apx. .002" less runout. If it were a tougher material that would resist wear then ok, but it's not.

With the design I am using as wear develops it still shouldn't do anything but settle vertically. Especially if when burning drops or less than a full sheet you move your "0" position to somewhere besides your normal X & Y zero point. Also that will help in not cratering out a hole in your table slats.

Have made up a good bit of mounting hardware to be able to adjust the gantry to as exact square to the table as possible. Will also be able to make adjustments to get the torch as perpindicular to the cutting surface as possible too.

There is still several braces, gussets to be added for rigidity.

The gantry rolls along the rails with the slightest touch. I am very pleased so far.

I'll be starting the task of mounting my rack gear to both long rails of the "X" axis today.

Made a fixture to hold the 3/8 X 3/8 rack gear straight while drilling. I milled the 3/16" groove in the bottom of the fixture to allow the drill tip to break through the gear & so any burr created by the drill tip would not have to be removed before clamping the rack when moving to index the next holes.

The rack is in 6' sections so there will be a splice mid way. I wanted something to hold the rack straight while drilling & also to serve as support to help keep the gear pitch accurate across the splice. I used a short piece of rack clamped teeth to teeth to get proper spacing across the joint.

Wanted to show my method of keeping rack gear pitch accurate across a joint without purchasing it with matched ends. I realized I hadn't taken a picture of it on my previous post.

This same method has been described many times in other posts. I have never noticed a picture of it posted before.

I managed to get the rack gearing mounted to 1/4" thick strap. I am mounting the gear in this manner so in the event of the gear getting damaged I can simply purchase a new strip of gear, drill it & mount it. I also wanted the rack set out from the table frame to allow the pinion full surface width without fear of any end play causing the end of the pinion to contact the frame rail.

I used hot roll strap for 1 side & cold rolled for the second. I highly recomend the use of cold rolled. It was much easier to get the gear accurately placed, for obvious reasons, the CRS is much more uniform. It wasn't worth the little bit of savings to struggle with the HRS.

What is the size of your main frame pieces? They look like at least 2"x8"x.25

DeviousMW

2" X 6" X 3/16"

Below are some pictures of the rack gear mounted to the "X" rail(s) I have 8" hole spacing on the strap the rack gear is mounted to. I tapped the holes in the main rails on 4" spacing to allow me to move the rack gear in 4"increments for final positioning. The 4th. picture is showing some spots where I have heated the bottom of one of the rails to straighten it. It was necessary because of welding the parts on top to clamp in the replacable round CRS that I am using for one of my linear rails.

Below is a few pictures of some machined parts that will make up The X drive for one side of my table. The opposite side is the same other than the flanged shaft has a different base mounting.

Finally caught a couple hours to mount up my X drive motor, reduction assemblys. I still gave to fab up & install springs to hold the pinion gear in constant mesh to the rack.

I thought about using small nitrogen gas filled shocks, similar to what is on most hood & deck lids these days. I have never seen gas filled shocks used for this & wondered what others may think of using them for this application.

they might work, or how about a small air cylinder? Then you could push/pull.
I don't know how many small gas shocks you will find that will pull in the direction needed, you might have to make a rocker arm to do that.

KISS. :)

Don't complicate a simple task. Spring will work. It's simple, cheap and doesn't care about a gritty environment.

Greg

With paying work & loosing personel getting in the way the last few weeks I haven't been getting much done on my table. Things are settling down a bit again & I am wanting to get back on it today if possible.

managed to get the slat holders burned out from 5/16" material this evening. I will bolt them to the sides of the framework that will make up the material support table. I'll post some pictures later this weekend if all goes well.

Finally got some time to work on my torch a bit. Made a cross member to tie the long X rails together in the center and also double as support for the slat holder rails. Below are some pics of the work.

The slat holders are made from 5/16" HRS burned in 24" sections. They are bolted to the side of 2 X 2 X 1/4 wall box tubing. I designed them to be bolted in short sections. In case of damage small sections can be replaced easily.

The entire slat rail assemblys are then bolted to the main frame ends & center cross member.

The slats are from 1/4" X 4" HRS strap sawn to length then pushed into place.

Made legs fot the outside 4 corners from 2 1/4" Cold rolled steel. Overkill I know but I had them left over from other jobs.

I made bolt blocks to attach to the main frame from 1" X 2" HRS & welded them in place. I used 1" to space the 3 sides down level with the front edge of the table. I dropped the front frame rail 1 " to help protect the precision rail from damage while loading the table with sheet stock

The triangle shaped pieces are from 1/2" HRS with the 2 1/4" legs welded to them. The entire leg assembly bolts to the bottom of the table.

I have made my own design leveling feet for the legs I'll detail them in my next post.

I did the same thing with the slat holders that you did (make them bolt-able). When I finished my table... I thought, 'what have I done? I've wasted to much money on these stupid holders!' But, a few weeks latter I visited a cutting shop which runs non-stop and their table is similar to mine but without the bolt-able slat holders. Basically... their slats are fused to the table and they can't get the slats out... and the dross keeps building up and they are having problems with the fumes now. So... I was pleased with myself knowing I'm not going to have such maintenance problems.

With the legs mounted & the adjusters made & installed, I flipped the table back right-side-up. It was super simple to adjust the table to level & lock the adjustments in place.

I welded 1 of the sockets from the temporary jack stands in the center of the table. Just in case additional support is needed

Nice machine!
Did you purchase the rack from an online source? Looking for a reasonably priced, low hasal source.

Nice machine!
Did you purchase the rack from an online source? Looking for a reasonably priced, low hasal source.

I purchased mine from McMaster Carr It may not have been the least expensive. It was however hastle free. I ordered & had it 2 days later it was packaged great & arrived with no damage. The pinion gears & the notched belt pulleys came from economy belt. I have read in other posts there is a rack & pinion manufacturer somewhere here in the north east US that sells direct. I was tired of searching when I went with McMaster. I have used them for lots of other supplies & their service is second to none.

Been a while since I posted. Not much more real progress on the table. Just kind of burned out on the project for a while. Am hoping to get back with it soon.

Finally, back in the mood to work on my table. I have built brackets & installed them to keep my X axis drive pinions spring loaded into the rack gear.

I purchased some Igus echain from ebay to contain all my hoses & wires. After spending the larger part of a day trying to figure a way to mount the stuff to keep it out of harms way & out of the way of normal operation of the table along the long X axis I have decided to not use it. I have decided to build a couple of arms to attach to each end of the table & extend apx 5' vertically. Stretch cable between them & simply use a festoon system. It might not look as nice as the echain but a festoon is very functional & much easier to add to or remove from than the echain. Pictues to follow.

Here are a couple pics of my spring tensioners one for each side of the table.

I decided to build my own festoon rollers as most of them that can be purchased are above $20.00 each & made from plastic.

I still have to weld the threaded bottom tab to complete the yoke. The bottom tab is threaded so I can attach a swivel on which to mount all hoses & wires.

Millman, two reasons for this reply; one to motivate you some more; great looking table. Have seen many home built tables and some have not been impressed with at all. Two because i have the plasma cnc table fever and would like to build my own table. Temporarily in a bind because my partner going through a divorce. Lost much equipement and our shop but are slowly getting back on our feet. I am searching the internet for a table to build and found this one months ago and have been watching progress; I LIKE!! Have you thought about electronics yet. Servoes or steppers? Who`s drives and how about height control. Keep up the good work! You have motivated me to begin to accumulate material.

Millman, two reasons for this reply; one to motivate you some more; great looking table. Have seen many home built tables and some have not been impressed with at all. Two because i have the plasma cnc table fever and would like to build my own table. Temporarily in a bind because my partner going through a divorce. Lost much equipement and our shop but are slowly getting back on our feet. I am searching the internet for a table to build and found this one months ago and have been watching progress; I LIKE!! Have you thought about electronics yet. Servoes or steppers? Who`s drives and how about height control. Keep up the good work! You have motivated me to begin to accumulate material.

Thanks for your encouraging words. I spent many hours looking at other home builds as well as everything I could find in both kit form & "bolt together & run". From those I took what I thought were sound ideas & added some of my own. Already if I had it to do over there are a few things I'd most likely do different. As far as the design goes It would still be about the same only 6' X 12'. I'd add a couple more inches of clearance underneath the gantry. I purchased steel pulleys (4") for the notched belts, I wish I had gone with alum. because of the weight.

As for electronics I have purchased a package deal from www.CandCNC.com Including their MP 1000 THC. I am using stepper motors & am setting up my table to run Ox/Fuel as well as Plasma. I really can't pro nor con the electronics package as I haven't actually put it to use. As far as the looks of everything in the package all looks really good & is extremely neat. I have contacted CandCNC's web support page a few times & have receieved timely & satisfactory answers every time.

Software: Most home shop guys seem to be using some of the less expensive CAD programs. Then Sheetcam for G code processing. & of course Mach3. There are other options of course but I'm not the one to guide you here. I already had AutoCAD so I purchased Sheetcam to go with that. Mach3 comes with the package deal of electronics I purchased. I also have Corel Draw. but haven't learned how to use that either. Just not enough hours in a day

I run an industrial shop & need a shape cutting table almost every day. I decided I also wanted a nesting software so I also purchased BobCAD/CAM/With BobNEST. At this point I am very disapointed with that.

You will find you really do not need any cad programs for most shape cutting.I have bobcadv21 and I really do not use it all that much.Coreldraw is much quicker and easier.CandCNC is good stuff and Torchhead(Tom Caudle) is real helpful.

I use corel for cutting in a laser machine and it is very easy to use, do you think it can work ok with mach3, for plasma cutting?

I use corel for cutting in a laser machine and it is very easy to use, do you think it can work ok with mach3, for plasma cutting?

As I stated earlier I haven't used Corel but others tell me it works fine for plasma. I do know that www.CandCNC.com has a dxf tool that is supposed to make using corel draw a breeze to use with Mach.

Again I'm not all that familiar with mach or corel at this point. I'm sure there is a Mach forum somewhere on the Zone. Look for it & post your question there.

Last few days I have been struggling with learning Sheetcam & trying to configure mach to my machine. This is most definitely my weak link to getting this thing to work. As yet I haven't hooked the computer to my table I am just trying to get some simulations to run in mach.

Millman 52,

Look in your Mach folder look in G code folder. There is a file called roadrunner.

I use this for simulation. You can also use a file from sheetcan that you are learning with. My table is not set up yet but I run the simulation on mach to see if my sheetcam files I create will run.

Keep up the good work

GG

It's been a while since I updated with any photos of my progress.

I have managed to make & mount switches for my safety limits.
Made posts, mounted my cable & rollers for the cable/hose festoon.
Made brackets & mounted the PSC-650 quad stepper controller from Cand CNC.
Made & mounted the channel for & the Igus E chain for the Y axis.

About all I have remaining with the physical build is routing hose, wiring & some paint (If I can get motivated for the paint).

Millman, the cable carriers are from IGUS? How much did it cost? This item is very expensive, Im trying to make it termoforming polystirene previously cut with the laser, this is the figure previous to the bend, hope it works ...

Millman, the cable carriers are from IGUS? How much did it cost? This item is very expensive, Im trying to make it termoforming polystirene previously cut with the laser, this is the figure previous to the bend, hope it works ...

I bought mine (new) from Ebay for about 1/2 what it costs from an industrial supplier. If you look closly I installes (2) runs of it on my Y axis. It's smaller E chain. It worked out great though the channel I made for it to run in is the same width ad my gantry rail. As an end result I'll be able to attach my plasma Z axis & torch on the opposite side from my Oxy torch.

I didn't use the Igus chain on my long axis simply because I didn't want it in my way for getting cut parts & scrap off the table. As the pictures show I am hanging all my wires, hoses on an overhead festoon alon the X axis.

How are you planning on pinning your polystirene together in the hinge joints?

I' going to use rivets, and on top ( i've not make the holes) it will have a polyestirene bridge, maybe I finish the samples for tomorrow..
Can you put all the wiring in the same carier with the plasma wire? isolated is needed?

I have seen people rout the plasma torch cable in the carrier with their other wiring. I am not routing mine that way. At this point I am rigging for oxy/fuel. I will install Plasma at a later date. I most likely will route the plasma cable overhead on a boom much like a high pressure car wash hose.

My table finally has life !!! It's still crawling on hands & knees but at least I have movement under keyboard jog commands.

I'll probably try to bring the build log up to date a bit tomorrow.

My table finally has life !!!
Congratulations on bringing your CNC table to life!:cheers:

Those first moves sure are a thrilling experience after a lot of work put into a project.

Your project log updates will be sure to inspire other viewers.

Below are several pictures.
The first 4 (on top row):

(1) The anchor point for all the wires & hoses. The chunk of closed cell foam worked very well to tension the group of wires & hoses th the clamps.

(2) The group of 3 rollers, clamps, swivels that support everything along a piece of 3/16" nylon coated cable. The cable O.D., with coating is 1/4". The roller/swivel assemblys have a ball bearing in the wheels which pretty much makes the friction free. They glide very quiet & hang free.

(3&4) Are of the festoon stretched out with the gantry run down the table apx 2/3 of the table length. Then of it retracted to the gantry home position.


Bottom row:

(1) Solenoid valves mounted to the torch carrier to operate turning on the gases for the preheat. The solenoid on top is to control the pierce oxygen.

(2) PSC 650 Quad Stepper Controller & table I/O card from CandCNC with the covers removed.

(3) Close up of table I/O card.

(4) Torch mounted with hoses attached.

At some point in the near future I am planning to install a plasma torch to the back side of the gantry so the table will be dual use without having to remove & replace torches.

Hi millman, why you have 3 hoses for the torch(2 greens and one red??)
Like your z axis, mine was too complicated. Is it gear rack or screw?
Congrats on your first move!!! Are you going to paint it ? after you start to work that will be hard to do it....
luis

Hi millman, why you have 3 hoses for the torch(2 greens and one red??)

luis

I use 2 regulators at the ox tanks. This allows really great control of your preheat flame when leaving the ox & acet valves open on the torch. Also you can adjust the torch on during a cut cycle. I have found having just the exact right mix on the preheat makes for a much cleaner cut.

I'd love to have paint on it. I hate the idea of having to mask off or even worse removing what I don't want pain on. So I don't really know.

The Z axis for the Ox torch is a linear actuator. Enclosed ball screw. On the down side though it isn't controlled by the computer. As slow as Ox/Fuel is I have made a little hand held control to manually jog the torch up or down. Another reason I built it this way is. I am mounting plasma on the back side of the gantry on the same Y carrier. I'll be using my THC1000 on it. I just didn't want to have to be changing out between the ox & plasma setup. I have to cut steel regularly in thickness from 1/4" to 3"

I have spent most of the day tuning & adjusting.

Also spen a good bit of time reading the Sheetcam manual.

I was able to create 4 files ( 4' X 8' sheets) of real world parts I use on a daily basis. Got Gcode to generate. Transfered that into mach & was able to see the machine actually run the files.:wee:

Now I need to make some sort of a spring loaded pen holder & actually draw the parts on some paper with the machine.......

Figured that would be a good way to tell for sure if I have all my settings correct. Make sure it will cut a circle & not an oval etc.

I managed to get my steppers tuned up today. Not having anything to really go by for starters fot the acceleration & velocity. I took my best guess from what I could make of the Mach 3 & Mp1000 THC manuals.

needless to say I was way off base. I continued to make adjustments, run a test string of G code. Adjust, run, adjust, run, after 4 hours I still didn't feel like I had made any progress.

At that point I was pretty much convinced I had other problems. I gave up for a while & worked on some other things that was needing finished up.

Finally this afternoon I couldn't stand it any longer & I began to adjust again. Finally I could tell I was making improvement.

As it worked out for my machine the ratio between Velocity & Acceleration was about 30:1 Example: if velocity is set at 500, Acceleration is near 16. These numbers are nowhere near my final settings (which are a good bit lower) This is just an example.

I'm sure these #s vary widely based on amount of microstepping, reduction ratios & who knows what else.

I finally got there from some luck & the attitude that this table isn't gonna beat me.

Have run the table with several different 4'X8' sheets of parts nested on them. Haven't actually cut any parts yet. Just running different scenarios of parts in real time cut speeds. Everything seems to be running ok. After running an hour long programs & the torch stops at the end of cut. It returns to "0" Index marks I have placed on the table & gantry itself After every run. This tells me I am not loosing steps & everything is staying the way it should be.

Hey Millman, I have my machine conected now but my motors dont run , make a sound half turn and stall, any idea?
Are`you working with Mach?

Hey Millman, I have my machine conected now but my motors dont run , make a sound half turn and stall, any idea?
Are`you working with Mach?

Yes I am using mach3.

I didn't have time to go back to your build log & see whose motors/drivers you are using. Hobby cnc, Xylotex, etc. I really don't remember how you have them arranged either Is your X axis Master/slave? if it is are they turning the same direction?

I'll be the first to admit I'm not all that up on the electronics end of making this stuff work. I'd be willing to bet however the problem probably isn't with mach. That is if you have your ports & pins set correctly. As far as motor tuning, Have you matched your #'s there?

Hi millman, I found the problem, it was the 5v source, now i 'm running the machine, but when i hit the arrow key to the rigth the gantry moves to that side correctly, but when i hit to left it twist the gantry... do you know what that could be?
Other issue i cant get is about the z axis, i dont know where push to move it.
luis

Hi millman, I found the problem, it was the 5v source, now i 'm running the machine, but when i hit the arrow key to the rigth the gantry moves to that side correctly, but when i hit to left it twist the gantry... do you know what that could be?
Other issue i cant get is about the z axis, i dont know where push to move it.
luis

Both your X & slaved A motors moves the gantry to the right when you push the right arrow key? Then when you push the left arrow key the motors try to run in opposite directions? Or is 1 motor going left & the other not running at all?

First be sure you have them configured correctly. Go: Config/ Slave xais/ Then you should have a dot in the (A) underneath the colum for your X axis. Then your "Y" should be checked None, & your "Z" should be None

Your Y axis should run when you use your Up & down arrows.


Although this wouldn't cause Your X to move evenly in 1 direction but not the other. Have you set up your steps per in motor tuning? There your X & A numbers MUST be exactly the same. & assuming you have the same gearing, reduction, etc on your Y it must be exactly the same as your X & A also.

Thanks, that last is the problem, when i enter in the motor tuning the steps per mm are different then i'll set that.
Also have too slow movement, in the full vel and acc point.
I have to change the z axis gear, the motor cant do it with the weigth, i have it with gear rack, i'll change it for a screw.

I have problems with the Homing, when i hiot reference all the Z goes to the limit but do not reverse enough to deactivate it, in the diagnostic layer the ligths are off but it left the movement blocked, . i have check and uncheck the low signals, but nothing happen. Does the reverseto zero has any option to change it? Maybe the thread screw is too fine. It is 11mm two threads.
Luis

I have problems with the Homing, when i hiot reference all the Z goes to the limit but do not reverse enough to deactivate it, in the diagnostic layer the ligths are off but it left the movement blocked, . i have check and uncheck the low signals, but nothing happen. Does the reverseto zero has any option to change it? Maybe the thread screw is too fine. It is 11mm two threads.
Luis

Luis, I don't remember what system you have. On mine, CandCNC, The limit & home connections are on a table Imput/Output (I/O) card along with my relays to operate pierce solenoid, etc.. My home switches work off a NO switch & the safety limits are NC. There is a set of terminals for home and another set for safety limits for each of the 4 axis.

I used 1 switch for X home & jumpered to A at the I/O card terminals. another switch for Y. I have yet to install one on Z

When I finish running a string of G code, Hit "Go Home" each axis returns to "0" position on the DROs . Then when I use Ref XY button each axis will move onto its home switch then just far enough off to put out the LED. Mine wil Ref. X & A, then Ref Y.

I can only assume it will work the same for Z.

CandCNC has a seperate manual that came with my THC 1000, Table I/O card, & the PC card that goes with the plasma machine. All the instructions for the limit & home was included there. I did not take the time to cross reference it with the Mach manual.

Is this similar to your setup?

I could only guess that you may have a Home switch wired NC rather than NO. Or possibly a faulty switch. Possibly have the insulation scuffed off one of the wires & the signal going to ground.

Also if you have a safety limit alongside your home switches the safety limit has to be far enough behind the home that you don't have a limit triggered.

By the way. I really like the attention you have paid to the finishing details on your table. Everything has guards, shields, & a nice paint job. If you can get it to perform as good as it looks. You really have a first class job there.

Thanks Millman, i'm going to try that. I'm good at mechanics but dont have the chip for electronics, learning now.
My card is from keling 4030 . Im using the NC limits , let me change it and try.
I've still have the problem of the twisting gantry, it appears after a while working good, I have some ghost there...
Thanks again, How is your machine doing?
Luis

Thanks Millman, i'm going to try that. I'm good at mechanics but dont have the chip for electronics, learning now.
My card is from keling 4030 . Im using the NC limits , let me change it and try.
I've still have the problem of the twisting gantry, it appears after a while working good, I have some ghost there...
Thanks again, How is your machine doing?
Luis

I pulled an all nighter last night building a nice Z axis linear actuater very small. yet has 6" of actual travel.

So your table works Ok for a while!!!

I'll bet if you don't have

(1) Virus program disabled.

(2) Windows automatic updates disabled

(3) Your modem or LAN card disabled

(4) Everything else you can think of turned off or disabled except what you need to run your torch.

(5) Don't have any other windows opened in your taskbar, I will not even leave sheetcam open

If anything in Windows trys to do anything besides run the torch You will have all sorts of wierd stuff go on. I fought similar problems for 3 days. I finally Called Tom at C&CNC AKA (Torchhead) & he got me straightened out.

I'll check that , thanks

I just finished converting a standard 12 V. linear actuator over to stepper motor drive for my Z axis.

My objectives here was to keep it light small & all the contamination I could off the ball screw.

As with lots of things I get myself involved in. I thought this thing over & came up with a plan. I didn't get very far along till I had changed directions.

The original 12 V DC motor was mounted to the side of the gear head with a worm on the motor & a spur on the ball screw. 15:1 reduction My original thought was to make an adapeter plate of some sort & go through the reduction. I didn't take time to calculate what kind of IPM I could achieve but didn't figure It would be fast enough.

Plan B.

I cut the top off the gear housing & set to making it direct drive to the screw.

I'll pretty much let the pictures below describe the remainder of the project.

This really worked out great. It took several hours but much of the time was used trying to think of a better way to mount or attach the items together & maintain good alignment.

This actuator was manufactured by Morton & has a couple really nice features. (1) there is an O-ring seal at the bottom of the outer tube to keep dirt out. (2) They have some sort of built in limiting device that lets the screw freewheel at each end of its travel so there is no way to either stall the motor, or twist the screw in half. Yet there is next to no back lash or free travel.

Ok, Millman, that worked, now I have my table running , But Y axis is running inverted from arrows I changed to negative but still the same.
When you use two motors for the same axis (x and A in this case) you need to fix a home limit for the A axis too? This question because if I jog the gantry to home it is ok, but if I ref all the A axis loose steeps when close to home.
Luis

Ok, Millman, that worked, now I have my table running , But Y axis is running inverted from arrows I changed to negative but still the same.
When you use two motors for the same axis (x and A in this case) you need to fix a home limit for the A axis too? This question because if I jog the gantry to home it is ok, but if I ref all the A axis loose steeps when close to home.
Luis

For your Y axis go to Config/port&pin/motor outputs. For your Y axis you will either have green checks or red X under the 2 headings. direction low active & step low active. If they are both green change them both to red & that should reverse your direction.

I have a home switch only on one side of my table for both X & A I am using a custom plasma screen provided by CandCNC with my kit When I hit ref XY all axis X,A & Y move to the home switch then back off to "0" Both the X & A move together. (I do have a jumper on my table I/O card between the X & A connectors.

You shouldn't be loosing steps if X & A are slaved together proper.

Two points to make here.

1. To reverse an axis the recommended way is to go to Config / Homing-limits and check the "reversed" column. Not in "Ports and Pins"

2. When you have two axis slaved together there is two ways to home.

The first is to have a home switch on each side and Mach will home them separately. This will "Square" the axis each time it is homed.

The second is to have one home switch. Then you must set General Config / "Home Slave with Master Axis"

Greg

Two points to make here.

1. To reverse an axis the recommended way is to go to Config / Homing-limits and check the "reversed" column. Not in "Ports and Pins"

2. When you have two axis slaved together there is two ways to home.

The first is to have a home switch on each side and Mach will home them separately. This will "Square" the axis each time it is homed.

The second is to have one home switch. Then you must set General Config / "Home Slave with Master Axis"

Greg

Greolt,

Thanks loads for pointing that out. I need to reconfigure mine in that way.
Although It is working the way I have it now. That may clear up a small glitch I encounter now & then.

Thanks Greolt and Millman, I think you kick the dog! Tomorrow I will try. That is in gral config .

Do you know where to find a tutorial to work with Mach3, there are some videos, but only for settings, not for working with the files, i'm stuck there.. sheetcam.. nice program, really easy, easy tutorial

Wich version of Mack are you using? Im using Mach3 Release 1.84.002 , I think will download a newer because this version is not accepting the registration code...

Wich version of Mack are you using? Im using Mach3 Release 1.84.002 , I think will download a newer because this version is not accepting the registration code...


I'm using the latest version that's out in lockdown.

As far as your license for mach3 I receieved my license as an attachment to an email. I opened it to my desktop then. I installed mine by going to: my computer/rt. click on C drive/explore. Once the list of all your folders come up simply drag your license from your deshtop & drop in the mach 3 folder.

To check that it is installed: Open mach & click on the help dropdown then click about. In my case it was part of my package from CandCNC so mine shows up as registered to them & the serial #also appears. If you purchased directly from Art, your name may appear there.

Ok, If I install the new version do I have to erase the older one?

You do not have to erase the old one. It's a good idea though to back up your Mach files though before you install the newer version.

Ok, I reinstall the new version Mach2.61, made all the changes at the inputs, and now is working correctly, homing. Now I use a sheetcam demo, use a gcode to try the machine, it only starts and go to some place 50 cmts away and doesnt move more, the motors are energized, can notice that but doesn't move. In the screen the cutting continues to the end, then I use the roadrunner gcode sample thet comes with Mach, it worked the same, any idea?

Ok, I reinstall the new version Mach2.61, made all the changes at the inputs, and now is working correctly, homing. Now I use a sheetcam demo, use a gcode to try the machine, it only starts and go to some place 50 cmts away and doesnt move more, the motors are energized, can notice that but doesn't move. In the screen the cutting continues to the end, then I use the roadrunner gcode sample thet comes with Mach, it worked the same, any idea?

Am I correct your table is Oxy/Fuel?

Do you have a relay imput/output card in your system? If so do you have AC voltage running through any of the relay(s) to power solenoid(s) to turn on/off oxygen for piercing. Or any other AC voltage device?

I had a couple problems with mine kicking off mid cycle when the relay would energise a 110V solenoid. I had a bad wire that just looking at the wire didn't show a problem. It was arcing or creating enough electrical interferance or back feed to shut mine down.

I also know grounding can be an issue. My power supply is housed in a fiberglass box along with my Gecko drivers. The box is electrically isolated from my table. The ground to the electronics is supplied through the 110V AC outlet to the inside of the box.

My table has a seperate safety ground, to prevent electric shock hazard, run back to the ground terminal block in my power center(breaker box).

Then I also have a seperate 7' ground rod drove just outside the building where my torch sits, with a ground wire from the table to the ground rod. Once I have a plasma machine, it will use that same ground rod.

Here is a link to a reply Tom gave me on my problem. I fixed the grounding as recommended by Tom. It was better but still had the problem. As I said earlier I found my problem in a faulty wire.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CandCNCSupport/message/2987

I don't know if any of this will help as we have different hardware packages. but some of it may apply to you.

I have also the electonics box isolated from the machine and grounded as you.
Zoltan(from the forum) tells me that maybe i have to much acceleration and speed at the setings, and yes, I rised it yesterday before start, maybe that be the problem.
My cnc is both plasma and oxyfuel, but i dont have yet the solenoid, I was thinking to use a little stepper to make half turn to trigger the oxygen.
I'm going to use a relay to fire the plasma, it is only signal ( the dealer says), because i have a contactor for this issue but only 5 volts to get it on.
Thanks, going to try and let you know
Luis

I have also the electonics box isolated from the machine and grounded as you.
Zoltan(from the forum) tells me that maybe i have to much acceleration and speed at the setings, and yes, I rised it yesterday before start, maybe that be the problem.
My cnc is both plasma and oxyfuel, but i dont have yet the solenoid, I was thinking to use a little stepper to make half turn to trigger the oxygen.
I'm going to use a relay to fire the plasma, it is only signal ( the dealer says), because i have a contactor for this issue but only 5 volts to get it on.
Thanks, going to try and let you know
Luis

Unless you have a 3 line torch like the one mounted on my machine you'll have to use either a stepper actuator or a solenoid actuator on the pierce lever itself.

If you use a stepper though you will have to add a 5th axis.

You are rigth about the 5th axis.
Now I have another problem, Iget the machine jogging with the arrow keys in the rigth direction after when <i do ref all theZ and y axis runs to the opposite side, then I got to soft limits and change to negative dir, and it ref all the correct way, but it is running negative in the display, when >I upload the gcode it is placed in the negative outside of the table area, sorry for bothering to much I know you have to work,,,,
Thanks
Luis

You are rigth about the 5th axis.
Now I have another problem, Iget the machine jogging with the arrow keys in the rigth direction after when <i do ref all theZ and y axis runs to the opposite side, then I got to soft limits and change to negative dir, and it ref all the correct way, but it is running negative in the display, when >I upload the gcode it is placed in the negative outside of the table area, sorry for bothering to much I know you have to work,,,,
Thanks
Luis

I'm not sure what you have going on there. My home switches are also my ref switches one and the same. You should not have to change direction pins in mach to referance your table.

My table parks X home to the left when facing the side I load the table from. It also moves left when I hit ref XY the back off the home switch to 0. My Y parks to the side I load from also and also moves on to the home switch then just back off to 0 when the ref xy is hit.

You have to have Sheetcam set up the same way as your table. By the G code wanting to run everything to the negative I'd suspect you just do not have Sheetcam configured correctly.

Please don't worry about asking me questions I have gone through or am going through many of the same issues. I'll get back to you when and as soon as I can. I may not know the answer, but at least I'll try not to pretend I do.

Look where i have the g code neg and outside of the table, also check the coordinate numbers on display that the y negative...

I think I found it, HOT KEYS!!!, they were wrong, the keyboard is a new one, Sh&/t!!!
Ok, now have this one , i´m using mm, the machine is too slooooow. if I enter the G0 x10 y10 z 10, I cant see it moving but is moving!
Then I input g20 x100 y100 z 100 but still no speed.
i reference all in the rigth way, now have to try to upload the gcodes.
What should I check(cases) in gral config? What do you have there?
Luis

Now have the machine moving ok, but i think i have wrong numbers in the motors tuning. Ihave this
spur 20 th , 20 pitch, to the gear rack, and pulleys with a gear ratio of 3:1 One turn of the spur over the gear rack is 75.3mm / divided for the ratio 3 will be 25.1 then i take the 2000 steps divide and have 79.68 that i input in the steps per, is it correct? But the machine moves around 4mm in the roadrunner gcode, then <I input 796.8 and the machine works bigger about 50 cmts. Then >I think Im wrong with my maths........ Emailed kelling to ask how many steps are the drivers for and he replies ..:

Selectable resolutions, 1,1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64
Most of people use 1/8 to run the system

dont understand ,

Lamicron

Microsteps are set on the kelling driver. Probably with dip switches. Check in the docs. Set these to 1/8.

Then do the calculation with 1600 steps per motor rev. Should be about 63.745 steps per mm.

Then set the motor velocity and acceleration. If you have not done this yet just start at about 1000 velocity and 500 acceleration. You can tweak this up after you get going.

Greg

Thanks Greg, in the current wich one will i have to choose? i did not find any info about.
Luis

Thanks Greg, in the current wich one will i have to choose? i did not find any info about.
Luis

Luis, sorry I haven't had a chance today to check posts.. I was literally covered in the shop today.

I don't understand your question in this post, Please re phrase.

Hi Millman, problem resolved, thanks, i've seen your post at mach forum, you're having troubles with the flotating head? Is this any device with a microswitch that you use in the z ?
Other question, when cutting anything , you jog to the position jog down the z and then regnerate the toolpath, after that you press the cycle start button, thats it? Because I choose the z heith to material but it is not enough travel down,
Luis

Hi Millman, problem resolved, thanks, i've seen your post at mach forum, you're having troubles with the flotating head? Is this any device with a microswitch that you use in the z ?
Other question, when cutting anything , you jog to the position jog down the z and then regnerate the toolpath, after that you press the cycle start button, thats it? Because I choose the z heith to material but it is not enough travel down,
Luis


I don't really have the Z axis all figured out yet myself. I Don't have a home switch on the Z. Still thinking on a couple possibilities of mounting it to keep it out of the heat of the Oxy/Fuel torch.

I have several 4' X 8' sheets of parts drawn saved in sheetcam. I placed a pair of index tabs on my table so I can quickly line up a full sheet of metal on the table & the ends/edges are in the same exact location. I know then in sheetcam exactly what the distance from 0,0 that X & Y need to move to be on the edge of the plate.

Hi Millman, Ok, machine working, really smooth, thats very nice, but, .... i still cant get the gcodes from sheetcam, do you have some gcodes to cut? Im using to from mach, roadrunner and crosses, buit need something like chain gears, or any mechanical part.
Here the photos of the cable carrier, we finish the molds,very artisanal , now start to make it , i think i'll get it for the weekend.
Luis

I can't load a file with .tap "G code" to the board here. send me a PM with your email & I'll try tosend you a generated file email.

Hi , have a problem, dont know where to conect the plasma, input or output, and what to check in the settings.
Also have noticed that when the energy is shut down th mach loose all the settings, is there any way to lock the settings?.............Help!
Thanks
Luis

Hi , have a problem, dont know where to conect the plasma, input or output, and what to check in the settings.
Also have noticed that when the energy is shut down th mach loose all the settings, is there any way to lock the settings?.............Help!
Thanks
Luis

I haven't hooked a plasma to my table as yet. If you are asking about the trigger wires to control the pierce-cut . There has to be a relay switch somewhere that hooks to.

In my case with the MP1000 THC there is a small PC board that mounts in or near the plasma machine that controls the cut cycle. There is a DB9 serial cable from the THC box to the PC card.

Are you saying every time you turn your computer off you are loosing your Mach settings? Mine must save automatically. I know that in some of the config settings you must answer "save settings" Then re-start Mach before they become effective.

Sometimes on exiting Mach I get a small pop up that aske if I want to save fixture. I answer yes there.

Ye sI hve saved it but one of the guys trow away the wire and shut down the energy, and then again I had to reset everything.
Ok, you have the thc, but I only have one free output, #1 the other wire will go to the ground pin? And in the setings where do I have to set it, spindle , pwm, ????
I have made a few grawing with the machine, if i im port from corel as plt the parts become bigger, I haven't import from autocad yet.

Luis

I had to reset everything.
And in the setings where do I have to set it, spindle , pwm, ????
I have made a few grawing with the machine, if i im port from corel as plt the parts become bigger, I haven't import from autocad yet.

Luis

Luis, hope I'm not interfering here.
Perhaps your set-up would be better in the discussion area?

-To "save" in Mach, touch the "OK" before leaving a screen that you have made changes on.

-As Millman answered, yes the torch trigger wires need to connect to the relay to "start" the plasma arc.

Settings 1 & 2 below, work for me. :)

-1 Check these: CONFIG, PORTS & PINS, OUTPUT SIGNALS
to be set as: output 1 checked, port 2, pin 14, active low X

-2 Next: CONFIG, PORTS & PINS, SPINDLE SETUP, RELAY CONTROL
to be set as: DISABLE SPINDLE RELAYS [CHECK] in the box before the word disable.

-Since you have Autocad try a simple circle, square, or doughnut DXF to put through Sheetcam to test your machine.
WT

THANKS!!! WT< , You are not interfering, you are saving me!!! Ok, but where will I conect the realay to output pin #1 and ground (the next pin to it?)? I dont have port 2 nor pin 14 ...? I'm using a Keling board....only have pins 1, 17,16,12 anyone will be ??
Luis

Sorry, I'm not familar enough with your specific set-up.

Thanks anyway,
Luis

Luis,

I might be a bit lost here, If you are connecting the control wires for your plasma there isn't a + & a - wire there it's merely a siginal wire, one of the leads will go to the common terminal on your relay board. The other will go on the NO (Normally Open) connection on the relay.

Mine came configured to operate from the spindle

Hope this helps.

Below is a picture of the first full 4' X 8' sheet of 3/8" plate.

It went almost without a hitch. In fact went much better than I had hoped for. I only had to pause the program 1 time & clean the tip. :cheers:

I still have several things I want to do before I call the table done.

I want to add a home switch to my A side drive. This will allow for the table to self correct any miss alignment.

I still have to add a home to my Z oxy

Still have to build a seperate Z for addition of Plasma.

Then there is paint

All the work has paid off!

Have another one on me.:cheers:

Will you be adding a CNC tip cleaner next? :confused:

Hi Millman, Ok, machine working, really smooth, thats very nice, but, .... i still cant get the gcodes from sheetcam, do you have some gcodes to cut? Im using to from mach, roadrunner and crosses, buit need something like chain gears, or any mechanical part.
Here the photos of the cable carrier, we finish the molds,very artisanal , now start to make it , i think i'll get it for the weekend.
Luis


how are u casting these, what material and process for casting ,,,hmm interesting idea

I'm using polystyrene, 3 mm, made a mold in mdf, and then heating it i can thermoform in two steps, the holes are ready to thread itself with the screw directly, the cost ,,, just cents, tomorrow i will post more pics .
Luis

Ok, now have the conection for plasma, tomorrow will try it. But know tryied with autocad and the size was different, made a square of 200 mm and the machine draws one of 315mm, i set the drive pins at 1/16 that gives me 3200 steps.In one turn of the motor the spur moves 25.3mm that gives 3200 / 25.3 =126.48, then i changed the steps per until they fit the 200mm square, that give me 79.5 really far... no other 1/8 or 1/4 or other gives that number, anyway i 'll leave it like that. dont you think so? or am i wrong?
Luis

Ok, now have the conection for plasma, tomorrow will try it. But know tryied with autocad and the size was different, made a square of 200 mm and the machine draws one of 315mm, i set the drive pins at 1/16 that gives me 3200 steps.In one turn of the motor the spur moves 25.3mm that gives 3200 / 25.3 =126.48, then i changed the steps per until they fit the 200mm square, that give me 79.5 really far... no other 1/8 or 1/4 or other gives that number, anyway i 'll leave it like that. dont you think so? or am i wrong?
Luis


I had to juggle my steps per till I got it running the correct size also. My table was also cutting large on the calculated steps per #. I just kept decreasing till it was moving the correct amount.

Good to know i'm going ok for once.....

This is my first plasma cut,!!! neat cut, no problems, tomorrow will try more.
I only have the sheetcam demo, then cant get any more complicated than this, need som tap files to cut, anyone???
mThanks
Luis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9S98biSeFg

Now I have some questions, if I want to cut thicker material, or cut with oxy flame, how can i locate the drilled holes to do the inside cuts?
Do I have to do the nesting in the cad program? Does sheetcam have nesting?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9S98biSeFg

Now I have some questions, if I want to cut thicker material, or cut with oxy flame, how can i locate the drilled holes to do the inside cuts?
Do I have to do the nesting in the cad program? Does sheetcam have nesting?


Nesting is done in Sheetcam. I design my parts in AutoCAD, save, export in .dxf file. Save again in a Sheetcam file. Open part to whatever size plate you have "material" set up for in Sheetcam. Once there Move first part where you want it on the plate. then click contour on the inside cut first save to whatever you want to call the layer fo me usually In or Inside. then click on "create new plasma cut process" fill in the spaces hit OK with the contour button still clicked use your cursor to select the outside line of your part. Again new layer, save it as what you want usually out or outside. again "create new palsma process" fill in those dialogs. hit OK.

Now click the move part Icon select the part on the sheet you want to array, Rt click select array & fill in that dialog box.

You can also duplicate 1 part from that command also. If you look on the lower right of the screen you will see mirroe check boxes. also there is a degree box there you can enter how many degrees to rotate a part.

Hope this helps.

Ok, that helps , and when you previously make a hole to run the flame thru to do the inside cut, how you get the torch go there?

So what you have is a pre drilled hole in your plate so you son't have to pierce thic metal.


I really don't know if there is a way to just put your piece of pre drilled metal on the table, jog out there & tell it to cut from there.

Be a question to ask on the Sheetcam Yahoo group.

I know How I'd do it to get a part if needed one fast. I'd Create my code in Sheetcam as normal for the part I was going to cut. Just set sheetcam up for the size of the chunk of metal you have. Once that's done & you havr code for it. I'd dry run the machine out to the first pierce point & hit feed hold, mark the table somehow where the torch tip is. Go Home Place my metal out there with the pre drilled hole over my marked position then dry run the program again to see if it hits where you want it.

Sheetcam will only place a start/pierce point at the end of a line segment. AutoCad places 4 segments in a circle 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00 o'clock. You can rotate those segments by using the rotate command on the bottom SC task bar.

I know Thick stuff is harder to pierce But I have done it I've just not done it enough to be good at it. I get 4" material cut at my steel supplier all the time. The drops that come from a hole they cut for me are pierced. I'd say the preheat time is in several minutes & it looks like they are using about a 1"-1 1/4" arc lead in. From The looks of the pierce I don't think it's going straight through but is burning through as the torch starts moving in on the lead in. I'll edit with a couple pics in a few min.

I bought close to 200 of these this year. I priced the raw steel & had the quoted to me burned out. It isn't worth it to me to deal with it. Hard to handle, Hard to get apart after burning It's just a real PITA.

I use Oxweld torches in my business However If I am not mistaken they (My metal supplier) are using what's called a High Speed torch tip too. http://products.esabna.com/index.php/EN/home/gas_apparatus_catalog/gas_apparatus_category_page/q/display_id.id4367f4600e6c74.69200138/category_id.1561/path.gas_apparatus_cutting_nozzles_oxweld%C2%AE_1500_series_acetylene_nozzles_1563_series

These tips use a divergent bore (funnel shape) Cut at higher IPM than standard. & use around 90-120# on the pierce/cut. & is a must to have a 3 line torch. Preheat Oxy is in the 20-65# range depending on thickness of metal

I assume Victor , Harris & others have the same sort of tip also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9S98biSeFg


Feel really good to watch those first cuts . Good to see you have it working.

Congratulations:cheers:

Neil

Thanks, hey are you having trouble with the config of THC control? I see some posts in Mach forum, I want toget one and will be fine to have some advice....
Do you know about that punch pointers used to mark centers, that use a spring and you only have to push them and the inside mechanism hits the plate itself..?

Luis

Thanks, hey are you having trouble with the config of THC control? I see some posts in Mach forum, I want toget one and will be fine to have some advice....
Do you know about that punch pointers used to mark centers, that use a spring and you only have to push them and the inside mechanism hits the plate itself..?

Luis

Yes I actually have one of Them. The one I have doesn't leave a very heavy mark but they do work.

I haven't really studied on setting up the THC. I've been dealing with what I though was computer issues. Turns out I have a bad stepper drive.

Ever since I've had my table running I've had trouble with the slaved A. It will work fine for a while then all of a sudden it will go to shuttering & sounding like the motor is gonna blow.

I began having horrible problems yesterday evening. I worked & worked on it. grasping at straws really.


For some unknown reason My Mach became corrupted too. All of a sudden It was just making jibberish out of previously working .tap files. If I tried to Jog on the arrow keys it might go a ways then 1 motor lock & the gantry try to twist sideways. The table would be sitting a rest Then just take off unexpectedly too.

I finally reloaded Mach & had to reconfigure everything. Thank God I remembered most of it.

I didn't know whether I had one of the interface boards bad that hook to the Geckos or just what was going on. I swapped the X & A motor wires out & re set the direction in config. The problem moved to the other side of the table. All the time I was thinking I had something wrong with the way I had the X & A slaved, pins set, Etc.

Finally I took the Gecko drive off the A position & swapped it out with The Y. The problem moved to the Y axis. & the X ran better than it ever has.
Just to be 100% certain it is the Gecko I moved it 1 more time to the Z. Problem moved again.

All along this thing would start acting up. I'd reboot the computer & it would work for a while. It seemed like it was in the computer. It's been a bad Gecko drive all along.


What THC controller are you going to get? Campbell designs, Or CNC's THC 1000/

That problem you had , the way you solved it, if it would happen to me ....
Now you'll have to work again with the steps per numbers....
The THC from campbell I think, have not to much money, but is not the same ? I don't understand how is that the relation between campbell and Tom and the difference of the two systems..
what is that pic about, gecko driver or THC?
Where can I get one of these punch center points?
Luis

Tomorrow i'll try to cut with the plate one water, i have sore throat because of the plasma fumes.
The contact of the arc with the water will not generate any interference ?

http://www.jlindustrial.com/CGI/JISRCH?ns=1&oldNtt=&oldNtk=&oldURLVar=&scrNtt=spring+center+punch&Ntk=Keyword+Search. looks like they have many to choose from. Might also try www.useenco.com or www.mcmastercarr.com www.mscdirect.com www.wttool.com to name a few.

The picture is what the guts of my power supply, geckos, break out board(s) Driver interface cards( so there isn't 50 wires to have to hook to the drivers.)

Not sure but I think Tom & Bob Campbell worked together on developing Bob's THC.. I know that tom is always answering questions for people about the thc300 on the Yahoo C&CNC support group. If not mistaken Tom builds it too. It's supposed to work good. They must have a a good relationship.

Yeah I have things back up & running except for the Z that now has the bad Gecko on it.
I'm going to find out how to back up all the files so if it happens ever again It will not take so long.

Tomorrow i'll try to cut with the plate one water, i have sore throat because of the plasma fumes.
The contact of the arc with the water will not generate any interference ?


Just bring the water to, or even touching the bottom of the metal you are cutting. Just don't get your plasma tip in the water. It can short out the tip.

Be sure you hook your Ground nip from the plasma to the sheet of metal & not to your table.

I wanted to mention if you got to..... START/ALL PROGRAMS/SHEETCAM.... (don't click on sheetcam) look in the drop out menu there is a .pdf sheetcam manual that goes much more in detail about how to use SC. I printed it out & put it in a 3 ring binder. It didn't take long at all then to start unserstanding how SC works. Much better than the tutorials.

Neil.

here is a short clip of my table movin at 400 IPM

http://www.youtube.com/nmillman52

Feliz navidad !! To all of you guys, thanks for help, i have a really nice toy thanks to your help.
Luis

Just wondering if others would be interested in more detailed CAD plans/materials list on my table build.

Just checking for interest. At this point all I have is several individual drawings. If there is enough interest I might consider trying to generate more complete drawings.

I think if you could get enough to be worth your while I would be interested in seeing more on your table. The more info the better.

travis
(burnin' an learnin')

Finally, I got my cable chain done.... Laser cut Polystyrene (2mx1m 3mm plate), thermo formed, and some screws (those should be black.)About $30 us

Finally, I got my cable chain done.... Laser cut Polystyrene (2mx1m 3mm plate), thermo formed, and some screws (those should be black.)About $30 us

Great looking job!!

I have 1 question though.

What is keeping the nuts from backing off of the bolts?

There is no nut there, When i cut with the laser i make the inside holes to be threaded with the screw itself getting there like glued, then the screw acts as a hinge. The only problem I have there is when the gantry comes close to the home the upper section of the chain goes down to the lower section and get stuck. I think of using something to keep it tensioned to the outside, like a spring wire ....

There is no nut there, When i cut with the laser i make the inside holes to be threaded with the screw itself getting there like glued, then the screw acts as a hinge. The only problem I have there is when the gantry comes close to the home the upper section of the chain goes down to the lower section and get stuck. I think of using something to keep it tensioned to the outside, like a spring wire ....

From looking at the picture. It looks to me as if there would be enough room to place a strip of thin metal above the anchor point of your chain towards the home end of your table. That would let the E chain rest above the lower mounting point when the gantry is toward your home end of table.

Will try it, thanks
Luis

I've been buisy for a while now using my table. It works great. Hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to post a few pictures of some cut parts & a video or 2 of it in action. I still have plans of some paint (just can't decide on a color) & other sprucing up of the table so it appears a bit more finished.

Any progress on the drawings? I would be interested in anything you have.
Scott

Hi Scott,

Since the first of the year I have been busier than a 1 arm paper hanger. Things had been a bit slow at the shop. Sinse Jan 1 we have gone from jobs running about 2-3 days of lead time to 3 weeks. So the answer is no. I hadn't had but 1 responce about plans so I just hadn't gave any priority to it. I'll try to begin cleaning up what drawings I have & adding what's not there. They will most likely be a series of drawings rather than it all being on 1 file. What I have already is individual drawings created as I needed that particular part for my machine.

Thanks for the interest NEIL

Thank you for the effort. Please keep me advised.

Scott

here are 3 short video clips of my table cutting parts from 1/2" A-36 sheet metal.

It is cutting @ 21 IPM

YouTube - CNC O/A Cutting 1/2&quot; Sheet

YouTube - CNC O/A Cutting 1/2&quot; Sheet #2

YouTube - CNC O/A Cutting 1/2&quot; Sheet #3

I would be interested in more detailed plans as well whenever you have the time. Either posted here as an attachment or email. Thanks

Millman, I just went through your build log the other day & saw your videos, nice work man! I have the same issue with paint, I don't want to paint it now because of the tape-off issue or take apart issue, forget it, I was thinking of just using some tung oil on some of the parts I am a little concerned about.

Does the pipe bearing side of your machine lag behind the drive side at all due to deflection of the gantry arm? It seems that on hard acceleration it would twist your uprights a little & the pipe side would lag behind. . . . ?

I'm jealous of the speeds you can get!

Nice work!

Millman,

Does the pipe bearing side of your machine lag behind the drive side at all due to deflection of the gantry arm? It seems that on hard acceleration it would twist your uprights a little & the pipe side would lag behind. . . . ?

I'm jealous of the speeds you can get!

Nice work!

There isn't any pipe. There is a solid cold rolled round bar along 1 side of the X axis. Both sides of the X axis have drive motors & rack & pinion ( X motor with A slaved to the same axis) There is no lag.

Without having the dual drive on the X. My gantry would tweak wildly

Well, I thought it ought to be slaved, but did not see anything about it, so wondered maybe you'd done some kind of awesome engineering to get it to do that . . .

My bad on mistaking the cold rolled solid for pipe . . . & the other issue too.

Very nice work Millman!

I couldn't be more pleased with the cut edge my machine leaves on cut parts. With 300 or so operating hours on it now there is at this point no wear developing even though the round rail is 1045 mild steel bar. I just can't see the point in spending the money for precision linear rail.

If I were going to build another I'd use the same design again. There are a few things I'd do different in the mounting but the design seems to be sound & will last a very long time. On top of that it will not cost much at all to replace when necessary.

I'm glad I built my table to be expandable. I am alredy needing to burn 12' material. I just took an order requiring 14 sheets of 1" X 4' X 12' mild steel. For now I'll be able to cut the first 65" of the sheet then move the remainder of the sheet to get through the job.

I'll begin ordering items I need for the expansion soon & start making components up. Hopefully I can get far enough ahead to pull off the expansion over a long weekend sometime in the near future.

Nice Millman! One should always think of how it can be changed & improved . . . kinetic design rather than static.

I've got a job coming in that will justify and cover the cost of THC & larger motors on my X/A, & Y axes, so I'm working on upgrading that for my machine. I also have drawings in the works to lighten up the gantry & the Z axis for the machine. A new Plasma machine so I can get my brother's Miller unit back to him, then go to rack & spur gear drive on the X/A . . . I think eventually, I'll have replaced the entire table, but one piece at a time as I do projects that justify & cover the time & expense of it.

Are you using the MP1000-THC from CandCNC? I figure that's what I'll use, but was trying to figure out if I'd be able to have the X/A,Y, Z, AND add a rotary(5th) axis with a chuck to rotate stock about the X axis. After reading the MP1000 manual, it would seem that it only supports 4 axes step & dir. to the power supply/motor drives . . . you know anything about that?

--Mike

Mike,

I am using the MP1000 but not to any of it's potential. I am doing mostly stuff that requires Ox/Fuel so at this point I haven't installed a plasma cutter. About the only feature of it that I am using through the MP1000 is the hand pendant control.

I suggest you call Tom at www.CandCNC.com & ask your questions to him directly. I have spoke with him over the phone several times. Once the both of you are on the same page as to what you want from your system He will tell you whether it will work or not.

Happy cutting Neil.

The MP1000C series we currently ship supports 5 axis or 5.5 axis (6 motors, one hardware slaved) operation. We are currently building a "4" axis table with 5 motors. It has a separate outboard rotary table for cutting pipe or indexing for square tube. While we don't foresee a true 5 axis toolpath need, (articulated Z functions) we can use the rotary table without plugging and unplugging motors/drives and cables.

We also have customers that need added Z axis functions like a scriber or center punch without having to stop the machine and make physical mods.

More info at http://www.CandCNC.com/MP1000C.htm and on the PlazPak products page.



We are the only vendor that has a controller that supports 5 axis of drives and motors. The new ESP series controller and the 4, 5 and 5.5 axis units are on the Package Deals/PlasmaPaks page.

TOM CAUDLE
www.CandCNC.com

EMC2 supports 9 axis and is free...

John

EMC is a software controller. So is MACH (which supports 6 axis). The interface hardware and power controller/drives need to be able to support the number of axis you need as well.

MACH is not free, but if an extra 160.00 bucks in a 5 axis project is going to cause a budget problem, I would advise against doing something that complex with so many unknowns and being that critical on cost.

As a hobby, a lot of builders consider their time to be of no value. If you are trying to build something that needs to work in a time frame or is for profit, then paying yourself low or no wages starts to become an issue.

I have no problems with those persons that want to do a true DIY project (build their own motor drives, handwire their own controller, design/build their own power supply, build their own BOB and even their own THC, BUT they need to be aware it's like building your own car from parts you make or find. It will take you hundreds of hours of your "free" time to do and you will spend an almost equal amount of time working out the bugs and fixing the mistakes. The real value is the sense of accomplishment but that's hard to use to buy food!

Sometimes Free is just a perception. (:-)

TOM CAUDLE
www.CandCNC.com

The $160 wasn't even a consideration when building my cnc plasma cutter. Not using windows was. So for free I can not use windows and have 9 axis and for $160 I have windows and 6 axis. For me number one was the choice. Your time building the machine makes no difference if you use mach or EMC. EMC runs big iron like mazaks and other large as well as small equipment and robots if your trying very hard to say that EMC is for toys and Mach is not your way off.

I did build the machine but used off the shelf electronics to power my machine. If I wanted to DIY I at least could go as deep as I wanted with EMC or just use proven hardware... It was my choice.

And your right you have to have enough hardware to run 9 axis (or 6 for mach) if you need/want that many. At least I have the option to have 9.

As for the EMC team they are the most helpful folks around and do it for FREE! As for setting up a standard stepper machine it can be done in about the time it takes you to gather up the information about your hardware....

John

I went with Mach, Sheetcam, & alredy had AutoCAD. I wanted the "Lets get it running" phase of my table build to be as easy as possible. There was & is plenty of help & information "FREE" on them. The price for Mach, When alredy spending the money to build a nice burning table was non issue.

Hi Millman, I have some problems with the HF. I´ve already use the debounce that works well in one of the machines , but for the first machine, the plasma resets the PC, crash it!!ª!
Is there any accesory to avoid it? Some one tell me about that noise suprressors used in the old cars to avoid the noise from the sparks in the radio. Anything to work with?
Thanks
Luis

I went with Mach, Sheetcam, & alredy had AutoCAD. I wanted the "Lets get it running" phase of my table build to be as easy as possible. There was & is plenty of help & information "FREE" on them. The price for Mach, When alredy spending the money to build a nice burning table was non issue.


Have you done any cutting of thin material that has lots of short lines and arcs mixed together like letters or artsy stuff? I'm wondering what kind of speed you can get and how smooth the movement is...

Thanks
John

Have you done any cutting of thin material that has lots of short lines and arcs mixed together like letters or artsy stuff? I'm wondering what kind of speed you can get and how smooth the movement is...

Thanks
John

John,

Thus far I have used only Ox/Fuel & 1/4" is the thinest material I have cut & the speed was 27 IPM. The 1/4 I cut was rectangles. I drew them in AutoCad with square corners (no radius what so ever). It worked perfectly at that speed & gave the square corners with no wiggle or shake evident in the kerf lines.

I have dry run the machine with fairly intricate "test" drawings using radical direction changes at 150 IPM without losing steps, & it will go faster I just haven't pushed it to find the outer limit. I'm sure there would be some kerf wiggle at that speed, as I am using a single 15 MM linear rail for my torch carrier on the gantry. Under rapid direction changes I can visibly detect a slight wiggle in the torch body. A second linear rail would eliminate all wiggle.

I'm quite sure the machine electronics, motors drive assemblys, etc. are capable of doing what you are asking. As I stated the torch carrier might need a second linear rail to be rock solid.

The Only time I have lost any steps was an accidental "E Stop" While the machine was under rapid move at over 200 IPM. I reset the e stop & came home then referenced the X & Y & was only off a few thousandths.

Hope this helps.

Neil

Hi Millman, I have some problems with the HF. I´ve already use the debounce that works well in one of the machines , but for the first machine, the plasma resets the PC, crash it!!ª!
Is there any accesory to avoid it? Some one tell me about that noise suprressors used in the old cars to avoid the noise from the sparks in the radio. Anything to work with?
Thanks
Luis

Luis,

I don't have any Idea how to help you with this problem.