Hi guys,

I have recently (read today) received a 1530 Excitech router from China. It will be another week and a half until we get the power connected. There are a few minor niggles (to be expected) but overall very happy with the amount of machine for the price.

Here are some pics.

Shannon.

G`day Shannon, Welcome to the wonderful world of Excitech cnc Routing!

Great pics, looks like you did not need the chains to get the crate out of the container. From the pics it appears to have come out quite easily.

Good looking compressor too!

So what are your initial thoughts of the machine?

Rocket.http://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

Shannon,

Looks like they have re-designed the control compartment that normally sits along-side the router. Perhaps they have addressed the problems Rocket was having with connecting the hand-held controller.

Did you get the vacuum/T-slot table in preparation for vacuum later? If so, how many vacuum zones does it have and how is the table divided?

Thanks,

Spencer.

are those alignment pins on the table and how about a down photo of the table!! looking good jim

G`day Shannon, Welcome to the wonderful world of Excitech cnc Routing!

Great pics, looks like you did not need the chains to get the crate out of the container. From the pics it appears to have come out quite easily.

Good looking compressor too!

So what are your initial thoughts of the machine?

Rocket.http://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

I think it is a solid machine and very good value for the money, We did use the chain for a little to drag the crate further away from the container but with a decent forklift (longer forks) even that would not have been needed.

Getting the machine onto the car transporter was a bit of a drama, we ended up taking some of the side panels off the machine and putting the forks through the side to lift it onto the trailer. Getting it off was easy :D

I will re lay the T-slot aluminum that is on the bed, its not the most level bed in the world. and quite a few other mods planned too.

Shannon.

Shannon,

Looks like they have re-designed the control compartment that normally sits along-side the router. Perhaps they have addressed the problems Rocket was having with connecting the hand-held controller.

Did you get the vacuum/T-slot table in preparation for vacuum later? If so, how many vacuum zones does it have and how is the table divided?

Thanks,

Spencer.

I was hoping to get the box that sits along the side of the machine like rockets one but its not too much of an issue as I am planning to install the electrics under the bed anyway. Other purchasers may be best to specify what type of control box they want. as I will be doing if/when we get a future purchase :D

I didn't get a vacuum bed of any sort just a T-slot table, but I am going to make my own. I hope to divide the bed into a separate 4' x 8' vacuum zone for doing smaller sheets as well as the ability to hold down large sheets.

Shannon.

Here is a few more random pics, I will try to get a good shot looking down on the bed too.

Shannon.

whats in the big wrap behind router on trailer cotton or hay ?? jim

Thats hay, for the dairy cows.

Shannon.

Hello Big S,

I just ordered my 1530 so I'm really enjoying your pictures and unloading experience. In a previous post you said you did not order the dust extraction unit but got the dust shoe which you pictured above. Is the shoe standard or did you order it as an option.

Thanks, Mitch

Mitch,

I didn't order the dust shoe but it came with the machine, It will be quite handy but I may change the design of it so we can get at the tools easier to change them.

A couple more pics .

Shannon.

Thanks Big S,

That's what I thought, but I wanted to make sure. I look forward to your continued pictures and experiences with the Router.

Mitch

I have installed the DSP driver on my computer and also the Ucancam v8 software.

I had a few issue with getting the DSP to be recognized. I ended up installing the software off the CD first, then rebooting the computer before connecting the DSP to the USB cable. I am not entirely sure why the DSP needs to have drivers installed on the computer as it doesn't seem to be able to connect or anything.

The Ucancam software seems to be ok, its sort of a cross between autocad and corel draw but fairly basic 2D CAD and 2.5D CAM. It should be usable and I intend to try it out as soon as the machine is connected up to the power.
The Ucancam software has some neat features like wave board and cam preview.

Shannon.

I removed the HSD spindle off the router tonight and cleaned out the rust inside the ISO30 taper. It was probably the biggest disappointment on the whole machine as it is a very critical surface. The rust looks a lot worse in the pics than it really was, there is a VERY slight pitting in places now but the tool holders sit in nice and neat. I don't think it will be an issue at all.

I cleaned it out by putting a clean piece of rag in the hole. Then starting with a blunt scalpel knife to get the worst of the rust then used some steel wool, then finally the wire wheel on the dremmel. I deliberately avoided sandpaper as it would have removed the good metal from the precision ground surface. There is plenty of good surface left to make a good contact tool holders so all is good.

I have advised Taney and he is going to sort out the issue in future by putting a plug or something over the hole so the moisture cannot get in when the routers are shipped.

In the photos you can see the four bearings the grip on the under surface of the pull stud on the tool holder at the inside of the taper.

The last pic is with the rag stopping junk from getting inside the drawbar.

Shannon.

I had a look at the damaged Zaxis bearing block seal today, I ended up taking three of the blocks off the Zaxis and cleaning them. One had the grease nipple facing the wrong way too, so that is sorted out now. The swarf on some of the blocks is how they came off the machine, there was no swarf inside of the blocks however. I don't think it will be too much of an issue not cleaning it off as dust and all sorts is going to get all over these areas when machining. The seals on the linear rails should stop anything getting into the bearings.

I did notice that there has been no grease of any sort put into the blocks, something people need to be aware of when getting their machine. I was quite surprised that Rockets machine was binding up when not greased for a while, the multicam at work goes ages between lubrications (not good for it really). When it gets done the grease comes out past the seals on the blocks, so there must be a fair bit in there.

Also pics of the ball screw and nut on the Z, and the insides of the back half of the control box.

More to come.

Shannon.

Hi Shannon - Fantastic photos and commentary!

I would not have the balls to pull apart a new machine. You obviously know your stuff.

It was good to have a look at the inside of those blocks too. When our machine was binding up - as you describe it - i put a few shots of grease into the blocks. It was possible that as the rails had not been wiped or oiled for a while, that a sliver of mdf had become wedged under the block and was pushed out by the grease.

Even though the rails down the side of the machine are protected by the spill tray on the edge of the table, it is incredible to see how quickly the MDF dust builds up on the rails. So it is very important to wipe the rails with a cloth and oil them daily.

Rocket.

That MDF dust is a killer, its bad to breath in and seems to get EVERYWHERE.

Here's a few more pics, we can't have too many can we :) Oh theres one of our cat.. how did that get in there :D

I am not sure what the small pressure bottle is for and haven't got around to asking Taney about it, any guesses?

Shannon.

Did a little more today, cleaned out the side covers on the gantry, took the covers off the Y-axis rails and cleaned them down. I also started working out a movable material rack.

Also shifted the machine closer to where it is going to sit in the workshop, although it still needs to be leveled.


Shannon.

I have been sorting out the DSP unit, got the computer software (Signtek) to work with the DSP. It takes a few tries at reconnecting the USB cable to get it to link properly. There seems to be a bug in there (surprise surprise, its Chinese software) that needs a setting changed in the 'MENU, SYSTEM SETUP,Function config, traditional mode' setting to get it to link sometimes when using the computer USB link.

When the DSP is connected to the computer but the Signtek software isn't open the red LED should be solid red, Once the software is open the LED keeps flashing as long as it's open. Its still a bit hit and miss as to when it does link up.

There is also a toolpath preview in the Signtek software as in the screenshot below.

I have uploaded our company logo of sorts onto the DSP startup screen. The resolution is only 128x64 pixels(chair) so it doesn't allow for much room. 256 colour SXGA would be good J/K:D

Shannon.

I removed the HSD spindle .............

When we sent our spindles to HSD-USA to be rebuilt, they returned them with a soft, thick plastic cap that slips onto the entire bottom of the spindle. I would have to think that HSD makes these, and although they are probably for shipping spindles separately, they would probably prevent what happened to yours.

When we sent our spindles to HSD-USA to be rebuilt, they returned them with a soft, thick plastic cap that slips onto the entire bottom of the spindle. I would have to think that HSD makes these, and although they are probably for shipping spindles separately, they would probably prevent what happened to yours.

I was aware that HSD made the caps as I have had a pdf copy of the manual for a few months now. I was a little surprised and quite disappointed that one wasn't fitted when the router was shipped. I have MSN'ed Taney about it and sent a photo of the damage before I cleaned it up. Hopefully Excitech get the next ones protected during shipping.

I am considering making something to cover the hole for when the machine is not in use as the HSD manual recommends that tool holders be removed when the machine is not in use overnight. There is also a blank tool that covers the taper that can be put in a tool changer to be selected at the end of the day. I have not seen pictures of one however.

Shannon.

Did a bit more today...

Made up some parts on work CNC for the pressure plates while in town last night. Put them all together today. I hope to cut the rods in half so I also have a plate with the small hole in it. The rods will have some springs between the pressure plate and the mounting on the spindle (once I source some ).

I also will attach a dust extractor brush on the tops of the rods so it follows the pressure plate height and gets rid of all the dust.

More planned for tomorrow :D

Shannon.

Its not that the spindle is missing.

(group)

1) The gantry side cover is off.

2) The gantry is at the opposite end to the home position.

3) The machine is sitting on blocks.

4) Is that a straight edge sitting on the bakelite top or have you set something into the table top?

5) I have no fockin idea. - What are you on about? http://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

Rocket.

Hi Rocket,

Re #4 thats just masking tape to work out where i want to put the vacuum bed sections.

Hint, what should be on this side of the machine but isn't?

Give up?

Shannon.

Must be the wiring tracks and or spilltray.

Rocket.

Spot on,

I have shifted the cable chain to the other side of the machine, and making the home position on the other side of the Y-axis too. The home position will now be more like the screen layout in CAD with the X,Y origin in a similar location.

I cut a small part of the gantry sides away so that I could remove the wires without disconnecting too much, only had to do the E-stops and the X-axis home sensor. The stepper motors unplugged and the wiring for each one seems the same however the X-axis direction may now need reversing. I also hope to install all the electrics under the bed where the cable chain now ends. I need to make or get a cabinet made that will fit in the hole.

The last pic has the gantry pushed to the other end and the cable chain shortened to the new ending location. I still need to cut down the channel that it sits in. The masking tape 'marking' is more obvious in this pic too.

Enough mods yet :D:D:D:D:D:banana:

Shannon.

Enough mods yet :D:D:D:D:D:banana:

You are on the right track.http://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

1) How about a pair of wings? - A flying Excitech!

2) Jet propulsion - Another surfin Excitech.

3) A nice set of mag wheels and a self charging electric motor - An energy efficient mobile Excitech.

Rocket.

Clear side panels and neon lighting to go with the mag wheels? :D

Shannon.

and i thought i had cajones!! jim

and i thought i had cajones!! jim

I just hope my brother doesn't mind too much (50% business partner and living in Auckland) :D nobody tell him till its done. :D

Should be good once its all done,

Shannon.

Big S,

Nice work. Might as well get things set-up the way you want them at the start. Nice to see your not leery of diggin in. Also the best way to find out how it all works together.

Did you ever find out what the gas cylinder was for? Just curious.

Was hoping the CNC would not arrive till the week of May 3rd. Received notice yesterday that our machine will be in Vancouver at the docks on April 21st. Taney was actually early shipping the unit out and ocean freight didn't take quite 20 days. Now I will be in Mexico with my family on holiday when it arrives.:(

Oh well. Unit will have to sit in the C-can here for a few weeks once it arrives because the existing tenant in our (soon to be) shop is in the hospital and can't move his stuff out by May 1st. It's going to suck staring at a C-can knowing what's inside but not being able to play with it.

Hope the machine is ready to rock and roll once we get going because our plans will already be a month behind.

Apparently our RouterCAD software package is sitting in Vancouver waiting to clear customs as well. Hopefully it arrives before Friday so I have time to install it on my laptop and take it to Mexico with me. Thought I could learn how to build cabinets while sitting on the beach drinking Margarita's.:banana:

I am following your posts carefully. Keep them coming!

Spencer.

Spencer,

Looks like you are almost all set, I haven't yet found out what the small air cylinder is for:confused:

If the weather is dry where you are it may pay to open the container doors and let any moisture out, The pallet ours came on was quite damp when we received the machine. Another three to four weeks of damp could cause chaos with your machine.

Ours sat in the container for about an hour and a half once it was delivered :wee: but I still have a bit longer to wait until we get the power on, Hopefully its on Friday, but could be longer as our electrician (cousin) is going to Wellington for the week next week:(.

Good idea about learning to use the software while on holiday, I find that knowing the software is about 50% of using the machine effectively.

Shannon.

Shannon,

Good idea about the moisture. I will definitely open it up, maybe even install a small electric heater to act as an anti-condensation heater.

We are in opposite boats, my electric should be done in the building before we have the OK to move in. Currently the shop only has single phase so we are working with the owner to get the service upgraded to three phase. The utility should have their end done by the time I get back from holiday.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas.

Spencer.

if i remember correctly you are a cabinetmaker? and is customs required for software in cn?

Cabnet,

I am actually not a cabinet maker by trade. I have a college diploma in business, but both my grandfather and step father were british cabinet makers, so i have worked with wood ever since I could crawl into the shop. Building furniture has always been a hobby for me.

I have been on disability for the last 2.5 years (severed my right arm at the elbow while building my house, still have it, just doesn't work 100%). So I have been looking for a business to start myself. Thought the CNC thing was nice as I can still handle sheets of material, just can't safely put them through a table saw. I also like working with computers, have a drafting background and enjoy graphic design, so it all kinda fits together.

I approached a local custom kitchen shop and we have come to an agreement where I will cut and assemble all his cabinets. We will also be looking at starting a line of MDF doors. Lots of other markets to go after as well, but this alone is enough to get us going and pay the bills.

Yes everything coming into Canada goes through customs. There is no duty on software, or cnc's for that matter, still have to pay GST though. My broker cleared the software today, but he told me they want to do an inspection, so that will hold up the release a few days i am sure:confused:

What do they really think is in a package with a declared value of $2500 that weighs a pound?.......on second thoughts:)

Spencer.

Shannon,

Good idea about the moisture. I will definitely open it up, maybe even install a small electric heater to act as an anti-condensation heater.

We are in opposite boats, my electric should be done in the building before we have the OK to move in. Currently the shop only has single phase so we are working with the owner to get the service upgraded to three phase. The utility should have their end done by the time I get back from holiday.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas.

Spencer.

The other thing I may suggest, is that you knock a hole in the thin plywood of the crate and grab the plastic bin full of goodies out, Then you can have a play with the dsp as it powers from a computer USB port.

Our workshop currently has single phase at 40amps but no three phase (as yet)

Shannon.

i put my thumb in the table saw twice in one year so i can relate! i also am looking to change a lot of what i do as well, jim

Shannon,

If you only have single phase are you going to try and run it with a Phase Converter?

I don't think we have the same DSP, our machine has the Syntec controller, which is different than yours (I think). If you look at the Excitech book Taney sent you with the CNC, we ordered the SHMS1530C in about the middle of the book (I guess they couldn't afford page numbers).

we did this with the machine and using vcarve pro for machining parts and cabinetparts pro for the cabs jim

Shannon,

If you only have single phase are you going to try and run it with a Phase Converter?

I don't think we have the same DSP, our machine has the Syntec controller, which is different than yours (I think). If you look at the Excitech book Taney sent you with the CNC, we ordered the SHMS1530C in about the middle of the book (I guess they couldn't afford page numbers).

I don't have the book, but I do have a downloaded brochure of sorts.
We don't have a phase converter but the trench for wiring the three phase has been dug :cheers:


Shannon.

we did this with the machine and using vcarve pro for machining parts and cabinetparts pro for the cabs jim

Nice work Jim. I love natural finishes, wood that looks like wood.

You seem to have cabinetpartspro working well for you.

Spencer.

had to match woods on historic broad street in charleston sc

cab parts pro is really quite a program, but like you i am looking at enroute

jim

Did a tiny bit more today, hooked up the Y-axis sensor and metal sensor tab and sorted out the length of the X-axis cable chain ready to lock down. No pics because someone left the camera at home (chair)

I also spoke to our cousin who is doing the wiring and its looking very good for the power being hooked up this weekend :D:wee::banana::cheers::devious:

Shannon.

I need to get this machine running before I mod it beyond recognition. Today I made a plate for the spindle air and power cable to exit the side of the Z-axis cover instead of on top. It will also mean the the cover can be removed without the cables still being attached to it.

Also a picture of the trench waiting patiently for the cable.

Shannon.

Todays results are in.

I ground the sharp corners off the stops for the gantry, I haven't walked into them yet, although I think that is more from the fear of a sore leg. Whats to bet someone walks into a corner and hurts themselves now :D:D:rolleyes:

I cut the cover for the Z-axis out so it fits over the cable/air hose block, its not the neatest fit but no-one would notice.

I cut the rods for the pressure plate in half and made the second plate up. There is a bit of a trick to cutting case hardened rod in half:cool:, Luckily it is only case hardened or I wouldn't have been able to drill and tap it too:cool::cool:.

I also removed some of the wall panels to make it easier for the electrician to install the wiring.

Shannon.

A very dumb question - I take it the pressure plate is there to stop sheet material lifting from the table while you cut?

I ask as I've not seen one before, have this problem (material lifting from the table), and was wondering how effective such a device might be.

Thanks.

I wouldn't say that is a dumb question :D the pressure plate is indeed to stop the material lifting, It works great on small parts as the vacuum tends to leak under the edge and the part lifts before it is cutout. The plate with the small hole in it works great on very small parts, lettering etc and also stops things catching on the pressure plate (as they sometimes do with the more open one). The small plate will not allow tool changes through it (for what should be very obvious reasons:p) so often the bigger one is best to use (has to be kept an eye on in case a cutout part lifts and jams ).

We get a reduced amount of tool breakage due to material grabbing when he machine is finishing the cut due to small pieces being held from moving.:cool:
The pressure plates also reduces the amount of 'notching' at the start and end of the machining path on parts when tabs aren't used.

I have made the pressure plates right away as I don't have a vacuum pump and will have to be relying on clamping for the next while at least. I am in the process of sourcing a vacuum pump.

The power goes on today...hopefully:confused::)

Shannon.

So... the cable hasn't arrived for the three phase power and the electrician is in Wellington next week(nuts). It will be another week before I get the power on(chair).

I took the T-slot alloy off the bed today, Pics below, the black stuff is quite soft but it has been machined flat before the T-slot alloy was laid. Its a pity there isn't a lot more of it supporting the alloy though. The last photo shows where some of the black stuff wasn't completely machined flat. I have drawn the bed up in CAD and I intend to cut some sheets of something solid to lay the alloy on top of. Should make the t-slots a lot stronger.

Shannon.

Hi Shannon, I don`t believe you should be disappointed with your progress so far. You have done more in a week than we would get done in six months.

The pressure plates look to be a great idea.

What about a MDF board under your T Slot table? You can machine it perfectly flat before the T Slot is put back on.

Rocket.

Hi Rocket,

I was considering MDF, but now I am thinking sign foam or Signex as its called here, might be a better option. It won't change shape with humidity and machines like butter. Any opinions??
Getting it dead flat will be a piece of cake, I just need to work out how thick to make the pieces at the back where the machine can't reach.

I 'stole' the pressure plate idea off the Multicam at work :D they work a treat, I only made one with a small hole for at work recently and now it gets used ALL the time... used to only have the more open one. I am not sure if anyone has tried to do a tool change with the small one on:D:D:D:p

Shannon.

I wouldn't say that is a dumb question :D the pressure plate is indeed to stop the material lifting...

Thanks for the info Shannon. I'd just never seen a system like it before, but as my experience extends only to smaller hobbyist machines I was wondering if this was just a normal piece of kit in the pro arena (hence it being a dumb question).

We get a reduced amount of tool breakage due to material grabbing when he machine is finishing the cut due to small pieces being held from moving.:cool:
The pressure plates also reduces the amount of 'notching' at the start and end of the machining path on parts when tabs aren't used.

Yea, I'm just clamping at the moment (no vacuum) and I do get the notches problem on occasion. I would've thought that when cutting a part without tabs, the pressure plate would end up dragging a part when the cut finishes. Or is that not a problem?

How much pressure does the plate need to apply? I ask as my machine is more lightweight, and probably couldn't handle something too strong, but I'd be interested to see if one would help me.

Getting it dead flat will be a piece of cake, I just need to work out how thick to make the pieces at the back where the machine can't reach.

On my machine, I surfaced a sheet of plywood, and on top of that I always use a 1/8" sheet of hardboard as a spoilboard. For the areas of the table the machine can't reach, I measured the depth of the surfaced board at the relevant ends, and surfaced a small piece before moving it to the unreachable area. It's not perfect, but it stops material hanging over the ends of the surfaced board.

I was wondering if this was just a normal piece of kit in the pro the pressure plate would end up dragging a part when the cut finishes. Or is that not a problem?

How much pressure does the plate need to apply? I ask as my machine is more lightweight, and probably couldn't handle something too strong, but I'd be interested to see if one would help me.

I think the pressure plate works best when there is vacuum, it doesn't seem to drag the parts very often. The white base of the pressure plate is nylon which helps it to slide. You could possibly use something like teflon but it might cost more. The pressure plate at work has around 1-2kg or so, its more to hold the material against the vacuum rather than doing all the holding for machining. I haven't tried it much without vacuum, but I can't see how it wouldn't help. I guess I get to try it out as soon as the power goes on (no vacuum pump yet :rolleyes: )

I will try machining the bed spacers for the back of the machine, the hard part is knowing how thick they need to be and if they are tapered at all. I guess a long straightedge hanging off the end of the machined area should help.


Shannon.

Nothing much to update today, I have sourced the 20mm sign foam for under the T-slots and worked out what size longer screws that will be needed to hold the bed down, apart from that all quiet on the western front:D

Shannon.

I have prepared the bed for the sign foam today, The black stuff was held on by the stickiest glue known to man :D. I had to use some gentle persuasion to get it off. Luckily the glue dissolves with mineral turps so I could get most of it off giving a solid surface for the sign foam. I won't say flat surface because the bed is 5mm from the highest point to the lowest point. The last pic is with a (sorta) straight steel tube across the bed.

None of the bowing was evident in the alloy before it was lifted as the black stuff was machined flat before the alloy was screwed down. I will machine the sign foam flat all over before re-laying the alloy.

Someone somewhere said something about web etiquette and not posting multiple times in a row... :D:D:D:D I guess if no-one else is then I get to make some noise :D j/k

And hey if you don't like all the pictures, you don't have to look :D j/k

Shannon.

am watching with great interest,

jim

Do not be concerned about web etiquette Shannon.

I think we are all gob - smacked with what you are doing.

Fantastic photos and commentary - thoroughly enjoying it.

Looking forward to your next instalment.

Rocket.http://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gifhttp://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gifhttp://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gifhttp://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gifhttp://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

Went shopping today, pic shows what I got.

I'm now off surfing, its pumping out there, I am leaving the Excitech in the shed so no surfing for it :D It would probably try and drop in on me anyhow :D:D

More on the machine to do tonight.

Shannon.

Did a tiny bit more tonight, but left the camera at home (who on earth keeps doing that?? (chair):D). Realized that the threaded rod is the wrong pitch. I hadn't had a close enough look at the legs (being underneath) to pick that the thread pitch was wrong when buying the threaded rod. I don't think there is any of the right pitch available anyhow at the place we have an account with. I might just tap out the thread to the bigger pitch. The plates on the bottoms of the legs are about 10mm thick steel, so I think it should be alright. If it isn't I will just weld a nut onto the bottoms of the legs. I also managed to cut the threaded rod into 6 parts before I realized that the thread pitch was wrong.(nuts)(chair):mad: some nights it pays to stay home :D:D:D

The bottoms of the legs on my machine are very rusty where they have sat on the damp pallet when shipped. A clean up with a flapper disk on the angle grinder and a coat of paint will fix that though.

I will sort out the feet tomorrow unless something else easier gets in the way :D.

Shannon.

A few more pics, I have tapped the feet out for the larger pitch thread, I am not real happy with the amount of metal remaining so I will weld some half nuts onto the bottom of the feet. There is also quite a bit of rust on the feet that is visible in the photos.

One very good level sitting on the machine there.

Also I have mapped the bed and I will cut the bottom of the sign foam to fit the bed and will require less to machine off the top to get it level. The reason for this will become clearer later :D

Shannon.

Got the Signfoam cut for the bed, its only half done though. I have something else up my sleeve yet :D Cheap router bits work great on the signfoam, just have to watch the speeds they are run at so they don't fly apart.
The ridges in the signfoam are where it is adjusted for the change in depth of the bed, its fits okay but needs a little sanding in a few spots to get it to sit really level.

Stepper motor specs pages, the 86HS2A118-308 is what is in my machine. Seems to be 1200 Oz/in motors.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://www.chinautic.com/2_86.htm&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D86HS2A118%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DG
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://www.apexmotor.com/cs01.htm&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=3&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D86HS2A118%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DG

and a couple of other random pics of things...anyone wanna try and guess what the last picture is of?:D

Shannon.

air hose connectors or locator pins, shannon i gotta what you are doing is great and i never know what to expect next!!!! jim

Three hours work and only some measly slots in the signfoam (nuts)!!!!! :D:D

Design work takes a while, I am not saying what the slots are for but it become clearer...eventually :D

Over 2 hours to draw and 45 mins to setup and cut on the work machine.

Shannon.

good job done so far:) keep it up..

Today I have cut through the soft black stuff on top of the bed and separated the T-slot extrusions. The little skill saw and a 2mm blade makes really neat cuts. Cleaning the glue off the alloy was a bit of a pain. I may end up taking the black stuff off the T-slots completely as I think the vacuum will leak under where they aren't quite stuck down well enough.

Shannon.

The power 'may' be connected on Monday, the trench is covered over again with the cables in the ground for the three phase power. It just need the wall sockets installed and to be connected to the meter board.

Did a little more today, decided to take the spindle plate off and mill the bottoms of the holes flat instead of tapered. I also drew up some drawings for the new electronics cabinet and things like that.

Shannon.

As Jim would say " CRANK IT UP SON!! "

Rocket.

CRANK IT UP SON!!!!


jim

here is my new router and spindle

We have the final power cables on order, along with some other 3 phase plugs.
We picked up a few of the switched sockets from Southern Demolition in Christchurch. They have piles of them there for sale at very reasonable prices.

I have made the new cover for the X-axis cable chain. The wires will eventually go directly into the new electronics cabinet.

Shannon.

See pic below, WE HAVE POWER.

The machine moves pretty fast, jogging up to 30m/min on the Y-axis and about 24m/min on the X-axis. I wouldn't cut anything at that speed as its near the limits of the stepper motors. Should cut Mdf at 10m/min easy.

I had to swap the outputs to the stepper drives and limit switches over as the X-axis was set across the machine and the Y-Axis along. Its now X-axis as the long axis. Also my fan for the spindle wasn't working, turns out that the internal plug had a pin inside that wasn't inserted properly in its connector at the HSD factory and was intermittant on the connection. The fan needs to run the whole time to cool the spindle, its fixed now though.

The tool release on the spindle doesn't seem to have the safety set up correctly. There is an output from the spindle that stops the tool being released if its turning, but it doesn't seem to be implemented as I can spin the tool holder by hand and it will release before it has stopped spinning. The HSD spindle at work won't release until its at a dead stop. I will have to fix this as a tool coming out at 24,000 rpm won't be pretty.

I have also been in contact with Kent (from Norway) about setting up Mach3 on our machines. I think I will get onto this reasonably soon.

Now to machine the bed signex flat (I have glued it all down) and to put the T-slots back in place.


Shannon.

Back to the workshop tonight and had another go on the machine.

I have yet to machine the signex flat, I did screw a piece of MDF onto it and machined it flat so I could square the spindle. A few shims made from something I found in the rubbish, an old spatula, got it pretty good and true. It wasn't very far out but is much better now :banana:

I then decided to try machining part of our company logo into the MDF. Painting it green first (while still on the bed :D) helps with seeing the cutout. It was my first time running a file from Ucancanv8 and I managed to get the start point in the wrong location so i had to restart the file and now there is a chew out of our logo (nuts) The next try (in flouro orange no less) came out much better although I couldn't cut right through on the last pass (or would hit the signex) and had to cut the last mm with a box cutter.


I shortened the Z-axis homing tab (pic below) to allow a bit more travel, I also moved the Y-axis one slightly too.

Oh yeah, 4m/min is too fast 1/4" for el-cheapo router bits, I only broke two :D was fun while they lasted.

Shannon.

The machine look well design.

i made this clamp using the festool table clamps! they lay flat at .625" and fit into a hole .7838" x .625 deep , they have a travel of .125" and come woth a matching holder piece per clamp, about 80.00us per pair but so far worth every penny
jim

I wonder if they do those clamps for T-slots?

I have got a more done on the CNC in the last two days, I have machined the signex flat and laid all the T-slots back down.

The signex machines well and it only has a few small areas that are still a bit low. The sign foam tends to change shape when you machine the hard surface off it so I machined it in two passes. I will also give it another 0.2mm pass once it has settled in a week or so.

I took ages to get the first T-slot extrusion down as I wanted it as straight and as parallel to the gantry as I could get it. I managed to get it within 0.05mm before I clamped the others along beside it. Once I was through with the clamping it had moved to within 0.1mm along the length.
Laying the next strips was easy, First I had to enlarge the countersunk hole slightly as the bolt heads were bigger than the originals. Then I cleaned the T-slot extrusion down with some fine sandpaper and wiped all the dust off. Then I clamped the extrusion in place, drilled the hole at 4mm through the signex and steel, then drilled the signex out to 5mm. I tapped the holes with a M5 tap and then put the cap screw in to hold down the alloy. Rinse and repeat about 80 times and there you have it, the bed is down.

I have to lift it again but it won't be hard to get down as all the holes are there.

I then proceeded to machine all the black stuff off. I would have left it but I want the vacuum to run through the insides of the T-slots, it wasn't stuck down flat enough to stop the vacuum leaking under it so it had to go. There were a couple of spots where the alloy wasn't sitting flat enough and got some impromptu machining :D Now to break out the turps and get all the Glue off the alloy.


Shannon.

Shannon,

Good idea about the moisture. I will definitely open it up, maybe even install a small electric heater to act as an anti-condensation heater.

We are in opposite boats, my electric should be done in the building before we have the OK to move in. Currently the shop only has single phase so we are working with the owner to get the service upgraded to three phase. The utility should have their end done by the time I get back from holiday.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas.

Spencer.

Hi Spencer,

I'm wondering if you are back from vacation and had a chance to fire up your router. I believe I bought the same router and configuration as you bought. My router should ship on 05/21 and I'm really interested in how your router is working.

Thanks, Mitch

Mitch,

Yes I am back, was home for a day before driving eight hours to Vancouver to pick it up. Took a little while to drive back but made it in one piece, was slow going up the mountain passes though.

I have it inside my shop but I am still renovating the shop, tearing down walls, moving doors, new office floors, etc.

I am also still waiting for the local utility to come and replace the pole outside with a larger one that can support the weight of a new 3 phase transformer.

So unfortunately I have not fired it up as of yet. She sure does look pretty. Doesn't seem to be any rust and nothing visually seems damaged, except for a small nick in the bakelight table, but I haven't removed the spindle to inspect the tool holder yet.

I am off for the weekend camping with the family. My business partner is down next week and we are doing an online tutorial with RouterCad on Tuesday. We will be working on getting the shop finished and software figured out next week.

I will keep you posted, and will post a few pictures next week.

Spencer.

The pictures can't come fast enough :D

Shannon.

Well here's a few to tie you over till next week.

Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to see. I was upset that they shipped everything on the bed, after I specifically asked Taney not to. I had it shipped in it's own container so there was lots of room for the compressor and vacuum pump to be packaged separately if needed, but they did at least place a sheet of 1/4" hardboard over the bed before laying stuff on it. The vacuum pump which weighs about 650kgs alone was on top of an additional sheet of 1/2" plastic.

There was only a small nick/wear spot in the bakelight table where one of the compressor wheels wore through the 1/4" hardboard.

Not sure how level the table is yet, but really once the 3/4" spoil board is down and machined flat, any discrepancy should be eliminated.

Spencer - Your ATC Excitech looks great.

I gotta save a bit harder and get me one of them!

A bit of a let down to see that they shipped it with the heavy items on top of the table, but as you mentioned - You can machine your spoilboard flat anyway.

There was not much room left in our container, so i can see why they ship it that way.

Can`t wait to see how it performs.

Congratulations

Rocket.

Looks great, I WANT ONE... Oh I Already have one :D:D:D It will be interesting to see how the Syntec system works out.

The two little guys don't seem too interested..yet :D

Shannon.

The two little guys don't seem too interested..yet :D

Shannon.

Ya, my older son looks like he is picking his butt, while the little guy is busting some kinda move. They were good helpers though.

Great Pictures Spencer,

now I'm really excited about getting mine. Great looking kids, I can see why you want to go camping with them this weekend. Picking your butt is allowed when you're camping. I took my kids camping all the time in Kentucky when they were your kids age all the time when I lived in Cincinnati. Great fun and memories. Keep the pictures comming.

Mitch

I can only say "wow".My father in law said to me;"How in
the world did you find out you should buy one of these.What can it do?"...
I guess if one of these showed up I guess I could have
had some fun saying "it builds houses" :-D

To bad they shipped it with the goods on the bed thou.

I'll keep on working on mine to get it going with that 4th axis.
Mine would be like a small stamp compared to these machines
he he.

Keep those pic's coming.It was interesting to see that dust
shoe.How would that work with the ATC?

K

Here's what I have been up to over the past few days. Got all that sticky glue off the bed, made some springs for the pressure plates and then machined some MDF. The MDF is 2.5mm with a 2.5mm waste sheet under it, Holds down great with no vacuum and just the pressure plates. Clamps around the edge stop it moving sideways.


Shannon.

O.K Shannon, You have cut it , spliced it , diced it and it still works!

I think that you have shown all of us that you understand what makes these things tick.

How about a report on what you think of it and it`s capabilities?

Rocket.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

I think its great, Excellent value for the $30+ grand NZD we have spent so far, This beast will jog around at 30m/min and it will probably cut at 10+m/min if the tooling can handle it. It's all I expected and faster. If someone has $100K to blow on a router then there are better options you can spend your money on, but under say $50K its going be tough to beat.

All in all I am very impressed.. so far :D:D:D

If you think its going great now, just wait to see whats in store for this router, I am only about 1/3 the way through the mods to do list.

My Bro has just decided that we have some aluminium (aluminum for the US guys :D) sheets to cut in about two weeks. I need some more ER32 collets, Carbide cutters and to make a mister unit so we can do that.

Shannon.

Another update, I have made an extractor hose support and mounted a coiled air line on the side of it. Its hard to get a clear photo of it but you should be able to make it out in the pics. I still have to make the moving parts on the top out of steel to support the ducting.

I have purchased a three hose magnetic coolant block, I don't need the block, just the hoses. Two are going to be used for the mister/microdrop unit and the other one is what I made below.

I also took some bits of aluminium and made a tubular object with one of the adjustable hoses on it, Can anyone guess what it is? :D

The last pic is classic spelling.

Shannon.

i am beginning to worry that you'll have that thing sooo souped up!! you'll get hurt when you start racing!! or is it still a cnc :)

jim

LOL, I am still on my list of mods that I had made up before I ordered the machine :D:D:D

I REALLY want to paint it metallic blue like the compressor. :banana:

Shannon.

Have no idea on what that last tube thingy is going to be used for...
Pressured air to be posted in the mill area?

You must spend a lot of time in that garage Shannon ;-)

K

If you google a vortex tube or cold tube, you will see what it does.

Shannon.

Here is some cutting I did today, its 'ONLY' 3.7meter wingspan, and its now hanging on the wall :D

Shannon.

your new controller box in the background, and what is the material for the bird??
jim

Jim,

That is the controller box that came with the machine, I hope to make another one that is hidden away under the bed.
I used 10mm sign foam to make the Pterodactyl.

Shannon.

Here is some of what I achieved last evening, I am making the pivoting arm the the dust collection hose runs out the spindle on. The black material is some left over ramp armor from the skate parks that we build. I hope to get the arm mostly finished tonight.

Shannon

THE BIG S,nice work
Interesting info ,great idea`s and photos ,Shannon,

I look forward to seeing what you do next.

How did you end up surfacing the signex where the machine dosnt get to, I am in the middle of doing that now with MDF ,any ideas?


Regards
Jubee

I used an electric hand planer to get the last bits, Just make sure the blade is set so that it doesn't cut below the 'shoe'. I lay it on the surfaced area at an edge and move it diagonally across the area that needs surfacing, this stops the planer from digging into areas already surfaced and gets the remaining area in one hit. I hope that makes sense? I am going to take another 0.2mm or so off the signex on mine when I pull the T-slots up to cut the vacuum holes in them, I could get some pics then but it may be a while. :D

I have mostly finished the dust hose guide tonight. My welding isn't very good as I haven't done much for a few years. Not grinding the zinc coating off didn't help either. Looks all good once painted Grey. It took me a while to work out how I can make the hose easy to remove (its really handy as a floor vacuum too) and I came up with the two piece holders in the photos below. I had to make two sizes for the different size steel sections. We have some black bungee cable around but I can't find it. I just chopped up a bungee cord that already had clips on the end :D:D, pity its in red. The black material is made in the USA, its called ramp armor and its for outdoor skateboard ramps. I kept the offcuts from the last skate park we built. They are coming in handy now and they also machine great.

I also made up a hook to hang the blow gun on, I will screw it on once I am happy with the height, hence the clamp ATM :D

Lots more photos from tonight :banana:

Shannon.

Very nice. :)

now i want one!!
bravo!!
jim

A slow night tonight, have been having issues with UcancamV8, it keeps closing and crashed the laptop too. I am looking at getting Rhino3D and RhinoCAM as a CAD/CAM package.

I am also looking into the mach3 setup, Using a smooth stepper card and then a breakout board is looking good at this stage.

Made a mount for my collet spanner and also started making some brushes for the dust foot. Not a lot else got done.

Shannon.

Made a logo for the gantry today, the pics show it all, I may make another one in black ACM like on the side of the Z-axis box and see if it looks better as the brushed silver isn't very bold.

Shannon.

Changed the logo to black, I think it looks far better YMMV :D.

I have also made some brush holders for the bristles out of a $8.00 broom. Some of the brush strip I was trying to source was around $150 for 2 meters. It has taken a while to sort out how to make it, but in the end it will also be mostly see-thru.
I cut the pieces out and then mounted them in a drill vice and drilled all the hole with the cnc. I was running the spindle too fast and the feed rate too slow to start with, causing the polycarb to melt a little. It drilled well at a drill rate of 2.5m/min and 6000rpm. Now to insert all the bristles.

Shannon.

Have still been modding my machine, just been slow on the updates.
I have half finished the see-thru dust foot, I may change it before its finished. I have also started making some products to sell.

Shannon.

Hi Shannon,

Great idea for the dust hood. I did the same thing - butcher a broom head, as it's much cheaper than buying brush strip.

I got a natural bristle headed broom, pulled out each 'loop' of fibres, then packed them into a routed channel (that had glue in the bottom). Works well.

http://spikyfish.com/DustExtraction/images/Hood-Bottom.jpg
http://spikyfish.com/DustExtraction/images/Hood-Top.jpg
http://spikyfish.com/DustExtraction/images/Hood-without-hose.jpg
http://spikyfish.com/DustExtraction/images/Hood-on-machine.jpg

Hi Shannon,

Great idea for the dust hood. I did the same thing - butcher a broom head, as it's much cheaper than buying brush strip.

I got a natural bristle headed broom, pulled out each 'loop' of fibres, then packed them into a routed channel (that had glue in the bottom). Works well.

http://spikyfish.com/DustExtraction/images/Hood-Bottom.jpg
http://spikyfish.com/DustExtraction/images/Hood-Top.jpg
http://spikyfish.com/DustExtraction/images/Hood-without-hose.jpg
http://spikyfish.com/DustExtraction/images/Hood-on-machine.jpg

A good dust shoe is for me a very important point of the machine. It would save both me and my machines health since some of the more exotic woods would kill you.
However, I would have preferred to remove more of the MDFs belly to reduce weight and momentum on the axis. Most likely not a big issue, but just my stomach feeling.
Changing tools with this, do you loose that screw fixating the metal rod (holding the shoe) ?

K

A good dust shoe is for me a very important point of the machine. It would save both me and my machines health since some of the more exotic woods would kill you.

Absolutely. It keeps things much cleaner too!

The only problem is the noise and power use of the dust extractor. If I had enough space, I'd have the CNC machine in a separate room, to trap dust and noise, and I probably wouldn't use the dust extractor during jobs.

With the dust shoe present, it stops dust flying about pretty well, so I'd just leave it like that, then turn on the extractor for a few seconds to clean up once the job was finished.


However, I would have preferred to remove more of the MDFs belly to reduce weight and momentum on the axis. Most likely not a big issue, but just my stomach feeling.

To be honest, the weight of the dust shoe is tiny in comparison to the weight of the router, so I've not noticed any difference in performance.



Changing tools with this, do you loose that screw fixating the metal rod (holding the shoe) ?

Yes - you move the Z axis to the top, then loosen the screws and slide the rod and shoe down. There is actually another screw on the top metal clamp but you can't see it because of the top piece of MDF.

Well here's a few to tie you over till next week.

Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to see. . . . . .

Spencer,

I am close to purchasing a 1530C but still feel a bit uncertain about the Syntec controler. So I am very curious about your experiences with it.

Did you get your 1530 running? Did you encounter problems with the controler?

And a second question I have is, how many kW is the spindle? Do you have the 3.8 kW or the 8 kW version?

Gerrit

Spencer,

I am close to purchasing a 1530C but still feel a bit uncertain about the Syntec controler. So I am very curious about your experiences with it.

Did you get your 1530 running? Did you encounter problems with the controler?

And a second question I have is, how many kW is the spindle? Do you have the 3.8 kW or the 8 kW version?

Gerrit

Gerrit,

Sorry no news. We are still waiting for our local utility to get three phase to our building. All I can say is it must be nice to own a monopoly. I am very pi**ed off that we have been waiting since May 6th, and if it isn't going to be done with-in the next few weeks I am tempted to rent a 3Ph generator so that we can at least get this machine figured out. We are supposed to find out the utlities schedule today.

Sorry, wish I had great things to share with you. I am confident the machine will work fine, the only unknown is how much work will it take to get our software sending the right code to the controller. I've been told that if we use the Fanuc post processor, it will be close, but we will have to go and modify some codes as we come across them.

Spencer.

Gerrit,

Sorry no news. We are still waiting for our local utility to get three phase to our building. All I can say is it must be nice to own a monopoly.

Spencer.

Hi Spencer,


I really feel sorry, it must be hard to bring up a monk's patience. And I can imagine that at a point you'r going to hire some mobile energy.

Let's hope you have it soon.

Good luck,

Gerrit

Gerrit,

Sorry I forgot to mention that we upgraded to the 10HP spindle, wasn't much of cost difference, only had to pay for the larger VFD.

Spencer.

Another update, I have been running some ramp armor for a kitset stake park that will be installed in Auckland somewhere. also in the picture is another dust foot. I am not entirely happy with the foot as it restricts the airflow too much and the larger foot area gets in the way of the clamps etc.

The dust extractor hose support works great.

Shannon.

Time for another update. I have machined the alloy bed extrusions for the vacuum. The holes will line up with the slots on the bed to allow the vacuum in. I will use the machine to drill some holes in the top of the alloy once it is glued down.

In the photos below are the opal acrylic blanks to go in the slots in the alloy to partition off the vacuum areas being machined. A pile of blanks. Then the machined holes in the T-slot alloy.

Shannon.

Here are a few more pics of the blanking plates that go inside the T-slot alloy.

Also is the roller I made up to flatten the T-slots out so they sit flat on the sign foam bed. They had a lot of distortion from when they were made. I rolled them so there is a slight negative V on the bottom so the edges touch the bed and not the middle. This should stabilize them on the bed.

Also pics of how the vacuum holes line up with the slots in the bed and the first T-slot glued down with liquid nails. It will take a while to set but once it is its not going anywhere:devious:

Did I mention that the T-slot extrusions aren't very straight :D:D

Shannon.

You never stop impressing me :)
I would get my hands on my machine next month and I guess I have to read you're thread from start to ... and get inspired.

K

Kent,

There should be one or two ideas for you to try anyhow :D

I am considering getting Vcarve pro and Cut3D for software. I think they will cover the majority of the types of jobs I will be doing.
I haven't done any more about the Mach3 conversion yet, its on my to do list but I will get there eventually :D

Shannon.

I have glued all the bed back down now. I will give it some time to set and then skim it off level. I hope to add some 3mm alloy on top to make a raised area that can be machined completely flat. If you look closely at the last pic you can see the clamps I used on the back of the machine still.

Shannon.

Hello Shannon,

I'm hoping you can give me a clue on understanding and fixing what might be causing what I believe are limit errors. I have a 1530C with a Syntec controller and have just been able to manually move the CNC at this point.
The question I have concerning the X & Y axis travel is when I manually Jog the X & Y axis to their + limits they get software limit errors ( I believe this is normal). When I Jog the X&Y to their - limits s they go beyond the software limits and go into the hardware limits( I do not believe this is normal). The X axis goes so far that it loses it pulse and I have to restart the controller to recover. I have attached pictures of the error messages and the position of the X axis during the - stops.

You seem to have torn down and put back together you CNC to the extent that I could never dream of, so I was hoping you came accross this issue and solved it.

I've writtenTaney about this, but have not received any specific responce.

Over my head, Mitch

Hi Mitch,

I don't have the Syntec system on my machine so I can't help you with the specific issue. I would like to point out that it may or may not be a problem when you are using the machine as you can see where the spindle is in relation to the bed. I don't tend to use the negative limits as much as the positive ones, even then it's not very often.

The previous machine that I used at my job didn't have positive limits at all and could be jogged well past its negative limits. It wasn't really a big issue in practice. Generally the jobs are a lot smaller than the machine so shouldn't go anywhere near the limits.

Does it goto the home position or the origin position okay? This is generally how I get mine back towards the negative limits most of the time.

Shannon.

Today I got a lot done, First couple of pics are a test cut for a homebuilt aircraft I would like to build. The CNC router will take hundreds of hours off the build time I would think.

The Sign is about 4.5 meters across

The next pics are of the dismantling of the X-Axis drives (X on my machine now anyway). There was starting to get a bit of backlash in the rack and pinion. I was just going to adjust it... but got sidetracked :D Its back together and tight now though. I have been running a tap through the holes and thread locking some things whenever I take stuff apart. Makes it easier to get the bolts back in and the thread lock stops things coming loose.

I also shifted the E-stop off the sides of the gantry and placed them on the front. I was having issues when loading full sheets, that if I accidentally lent it on the side of the machine, it would E-stop and I would have to restart it. The E-stops are a bit closer to the spindle now though but there still should be plenty of clearance. The side covers are getting cut down and changed a little too :D :D the replacement part for the hole is 10mm sign foam.

A few pics of the other side 'adjustments' and also some of the cutting of the covers.

If there's not enough pics in this post for you.... to bad :D:D (chair)

Shannon.

over on woodweb there is a thread about dust collection and mounting of dc hoses, after seeing that most were not even close to what you had built in quality i posted a photo of your assembly. hope hope you don't mind!.

i am using many of your technic's as i am getting ready to move the entire shop and will have the opportunity to set up the new and older machine as i want.

jim

Jim,

No worries about the pic, I hope it inspires someone to make their own. Let us see some of your pics once you have your shop sorted out.

Shannon.

I was considering buying a dual drive gantry homing circuit, but I have decided to make my own. Basically the circuit needs to square the gantry when it goes onto the home sensors making the gantry square (only if the sensors are adjusted right though.

How it works is when one side of the gantry hits its sensor that side is stopped until the other sensor becomes active. Once both sensors are active a homing signal is sent to the breakout board. Also the gantry can keep moving onto the sensors or can be moved in the opposite direction. The way I plan to implement this will not need any other parts except for an additional sensor and the circuit itself.

I have already drawn the logic diagram and purchased the IC's.

The circuit will use about $10 worth of components.

More details to come.

Shannon.

I have cut the aluminium for on top of the T-slot area. I will surface the T-slot aluminium flat then glue the 3mm aluminium strips on top. It should make the bed a lot stronger and I will be able to machine that to within 0.1mm quite easily.

Cutting the aluminium worked very well with just the cold tube and no lubricant.

I also had an issue with my machine today, I hit a clamp when cutting mdf and it caused the gantry to get out of square badly. I had homed the machine and continued using it and it started to bind up momentarily while traveling. I turned the machine off and pushed it onto the end stops to square it again, then re started it. I will try and get some done on the gantry squaring circuitry tonight.

Shannon.

i saw a countertop where a guy saved his aluminum shavings then set them in amold with epoxy at 25" wide x length, after demolding he polished it into a unique counter top!!! did the same thing with oyster shells

jim

Sounds an idea, we usually keep them for their scrape value:D. I have seen a cool decoration made where they are used as really coarse glitter too.

Shannon.

Hello Big S,
Sorry to barge in on your thread, you guys are certainly making some interesting change to your machines...following your progress with interest.

I noticed your very cool horizontal clamps ....could I ask where you got them.

They would be just the job for my 1530...which I might add, is sadly unmodified apart from the prototype dust extractor head......would like to take up some of your good ideas, but its been going flat out since we got it ...

Regards
From the UK

would these help

http://grizzly.com/products/Shop-Fox-Cam-Clamp/H5740

Thanks Cabinet636,
Yeah, they look real good.
I love the description... 'grip of death'.... in the sales blurb...

Cheers !!

i purchased 6 of them have yet to makr the table but they look great jim

Hi Jim,
They dont seem to have a spec for the clamp t slot on the website, You couldnt measure yours for me could you ?

My Slots are 13/16 wide, 1/4" High & 1/2 deep overall, and a 7/16 gap.

Regards
Graham.

i'll do it today, i did notice there is basically a larger t-slot and a smaller i did not measure them as i have plenty of both but i do know it is the smaller one!! actually i'll call down to the shop and have someone measure it.

3/4" wide, 1/2" tall outside, 5/16 gap

i did have to go find some longer screws and even file them down a bit to "get it right" but it was worth it!

I have noticed that the Excitech I have has slightly narrower T-slots than say our mill drill. I am considering using the machine to route them out a little wider so that I can use our standard T-nuts. As it is it will fit a 10mm bolt but not much more.

Shannon.

Hi Big S
Yes, we had that problem, but made some of our own to fit, as per pics,

Graham.

They look great.

Shannon.

I have made a couple of circuit boards, The first one wasn't very successful (see first pic) The next one was better but the design still isn't quite right but it should work, I had to drill the holes with a cordless drill, hence one being crooked :D. I need to get a small drill collet chuck for the cnc or maybe use the drill press next time.

The other letters and stuff are for the youth conference at my church this week. I got asked if I was a sign writer when someone saw them, I said " No, I just make stuff :D" I guess they came out more than half good :D:D

You can also see the Vcarve car test cut in the background of one of the pics.

Shannon.

You have done good :) I have just ordered some precision collets and some mini end mills so hopefully I have something to show soon as well.

Any more thoughts on the B.O.Card and Mach3? I have been starting in the other end and searching for a 4th axis which I can actually afford and use.

I do not feel the need to start tampering with the setup if I don't find a payable 4th axis.

Looking forward to get started.

Keep up the good work so I have something to get inspired by :D

K

Hi Big S
Yes, we had that problem, but made some of our own to fit, as per pics,

Graham.

Is that OneCNC on the machine in the bottom left corner ?

K

Kent,

I hope you can find a suitable fourth axis, Have you had a look over in the DIY CNC area of this forum?

A few more pics of some signage and a random custom wood thingee. I was using it to hold the threaded rod feet adjusters on the machine straight while I welded the nuts onto the bottoms of the legs of the machine. I only ended up using it on one of the legs as it was just as easy to use a straight edge on the rest.

Shannon.

'Is that OneCNC on the machine in the bottom left corner ?

Hi Kent,
Yeah it is.. Opted for XR2 mill advantage as this was our first step into CNC, found it really easy to pick as a newby, but now finding its limitations as we have developed, thinking about upgrading now !!

Good job on the circuit boards Shannon, I think youve just saved us 500.00 quid a year with that idea, never even occurred to us that we could cut our own, like your innovative ideas for this process,

Do you dream in G code ??? Ha ha :)

Graham.

Hi Graham,

Nah, I don't dream in G-code...yet :D There's still far more things that can be made on a cnc router..just wait until I build my next radio controlled helicopter :D:D:D

Shannon.

I just purchased Vcarve pro, Cut3D and PhotoVcarve, I had run one or two of the samples and it was very easy to setup and cut. I think it will save a LOT of time when setting up things to cut.

Shannon.

'Is that OneCNC on the machine in the bottom left corner ?

Hi Kent,
Yeah it is.. Opted for XR2 mill advantage as this was our first step into CNC, found it really easy to pick as a newby, but now finding its limitations as we have developed, thinking about upgrading now !!

Good job on the circuit boards Shannon, I think youve just saved us 500.00 quid a year with that idea, never even occurred to us that we could cut our own, like your innovative ideas for this process,

Do you dream in G code ??? Ha ha :)

Graham.

Graham;

That's cool. I have XR3 in a demo but have not applied it yet. It's for me a very good program but I would do my first try on it tomorrow. Did you use Isel as a output format of the G-Code? Was just wondering since I have not tried it and was keen on having a test.

Are you updating for a later version of OneCNC with more functions or are you migrating to another heavy to use SW package ?

K

Kent,

I hope you can find a suitable fourth axis, Have you had a look over in the DIY CNC area of this forum?

A few more pics of some signage and a random custom wood thingee. I was using it to hold the threaded rod feet adjusters on the machine straight while I welded the nuts onto the bottoms of the legs of the machine. I only ended up using it on one of the legs as it was just as easy to use a straight edge on the rest.

Shannon.

Shannon;

I have not looked at the DIY pages but I would do some searches there now. I have now 4.5 week of vacation and so for sure some of it would be spend on the machine :)

K

'Is that OneCNC on the machine in the bottom left corner ?

Hi Kent,
Onecnc has its own NC generator, posting code straight from the NC manager screen, and an editor for any changes, couldnt be easier really.
Our experience of onecnc has been good, its done exactly what we asked of it, I dont have a comparison unfortunately, but from our first experience, I think we would stick with it.

G

A few more pics.


I have machined the tops of the Tslots flat and then glued the 3mm 5083 aluminium strips down. I think it will be flat to within 0.1mm but I will machine the top off the alloy for a really flat bed.

I had started to machine the tops down with the cuts running along the long axis of the bed but I soon changed to cutting across as the heat buildup in the aluminium was causing it to distort and cut too deep. You can see some areas that aren't quite level with the surrounding alloy. I did the final pass across the full width of the bed and ran the cutter at about 6m/min. The last pass took around 45mins.

Shannon.

Shannon;

When you use Ucancam, do you export as normal G code or do you apply a "Machine" setup to fit the code to our machines?

I have used Export to G Code but it seems like the x=0,y=0 is out .. ?

K

Kent,

When using Ucancam, when you have the pop up screen to save a toolpath, there is the box to set the x,y zero. you can select the corner or you can use the mouse to pick the point that you want the x,y zero to be. I can take a pic of the screen if you like?

Shannon.

Kent,

When using Ucancam, when you have the pop up screen to save a toolpath, there is the box to set the x,y zero. you can select the corner or you can use the mouse to pick the point that you want the x,y zero to be. I can take a pic of the screen if you like?

Shannon.

This is fine. I did not notice this so I would do a test run later.
I started ripping apart the lathe last night, eager to figure out how to mount it :D

I'll let you know how it goes. Planning to give a colleague a phone call and have a oscilloscope shipped to me :D

K

Do you have any pics of your soon to be fourth axis?

Heres a few more of my new bed surface. I hope to machine the ends of the caps and T-slot alloy sections flush eventually, I will get that done once the drive splitter is installed (still not much progress on that part)


Shannon.

Have just been in the garage sorting out some of the bit's for the 4th axis. Note that this is just the revolving axis which would be controlled by a DC motor (400-3000Rpm) just to be able to do CNC lathe operation.

I need to surface cut my table as well to make it 100% flat and my plan is to do so on the original T slot surface. I also need to make a wider T-slot opening so my lathe parts would fit.

Would work on that tonight - heading for a birthday now...

I'll also do a check of that zeroing of the XY as you mentioned and I have a T.I.R indicator which I would use to do some measurements on the spindle and in positioning.

Most likely update my own thread in this respect.

K

Here is a sneak preview of one of the jobs that I have run on the machine. More pics to come.


Shannon.

Shannon,

Wondering if you could lend a hand.

Our gantry is out of square with the table. I noticed you had removed your x axis drive (the y on our machine) as per post 119 in this thread.

If you remove the pinion gears and servo motor assembly from the rack, and manually move the gantry before replacing the motor assembly, why does the gantry still return to the same position as previous when zero'd. Is it using the limit switches to still establish it's zero point? If so then does moving the limit switch guide change the gantry's home position?

I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the "hardware" portion of this. If I was building a CNC from scrath do you know how you would align the gantry with the table, I assume it is done both mechanically and with the controller/software.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how we can realign the gantry would be very much appreciated.

Spencer.

Hi Spencer,

The machine uses the homing switches to set up the home position so it doesn't care where the steps are in relation to the rest of the machine, once it knows where the home is it just machines everything in relation to that. The stepper motors and drives do not 'know' where the home position is as such, they just move (or try to move) as far as the controller tells them to move. Obviously if the axis has hit something and is unable to move, then the stepper will lose steps although it still won't be aware of this and will carry on its merry way :D Also if the machine is started with the gantry out of square it will stay that way.

I think the Excitech machines start slightly out of square due to the way they are made, Mine is very consistent at 2mm out of square but when I push it onto the stops it seems to run a lot closer to square.

As far as designing a dual drive gantry, I would possibly incorporate something like in this thread
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51485&highlight=square+gantry

As far as realigning the gantry on the Excitech routers, I think the best way will be with dual homing sensors so that each time the machine is homed it squares the gantry. I have considered using a cable system (similar to the thread linked above) but it would need to have a few more pulleys to clear the base frame. Mach3 has a slave axis option so that the gantry can be squared (when used with dual homing sensors) every time the machine is homed. I intend to use a separate circuit to do the same thing but still using the DSP that the machine came with.


Shannon.

Shannon,

Thanks for the quick response.

I must be dense because I am missing something.

It seems that if the machine uses the homing switches to find home, then we must be able to adjust where the gantry is hitting the home switch on the c axis (y2) to adjust it's home position. Our machines gantry is consistantly landing in the same spot. Something is telling it to go there as opposed to any other place along the rack.

If the gantry is moved, or squared up while it is turned off, it has no effect on the position of the gantry once it is turned on and homed.

I have been taking measurments from the Y1 and Y2 sides of the gantry. The distance from the rack on each side to the end of the table, distance from linear guide rails to end of table, number of teeth from the front of rack to center of pinion gear, distance from the cast linear block to the end of the rack, etc. All of these are different from one side to the other. This leads me to think that it isn't a priority to get all these things mechanically aligned, because it is aligned in the controller with software/servo drives.

The Chinese tend to focus on what is important, and not worry about asthetics. For example, take a look at the cast bearing blocks. The sides against the gantry have been machine flat and square to the guide rail brackets. But the back of the casting is unfinished and rough. If that was made in N.America the whole thing would have been finished and cleaned up, even though the finish on the outside is esthetic.

Therfore I am left to believe it isn't the mechanical alignment of the parts that results in a perpendicular gantry (obviously they need to be close), but rather the set-up afterwards with the limit switches (homing switches) and controller/servo drives.

Spencer.

Spencer,

On my machine it only has a homing sensor on one side of the gantry and the other side is locked into where it starts up, if I just start it up without pushing the gantry onto the stops it seems to always be out of square by about 2mm, I think this is due to the way it is built and it may have internal stresses holding it slightly out of square. On my machine it is definitely the mechanical alignment that dictates if the gantry is square when it starts as only one side has a homing sensor.

If I were you i would check and see if your machine has a homing sensor on each side, If that is the case you will need to adjust one of the sensors or metal tabs so that the gantry is square when the machine is homed.

Shannon.

Thanks Shannon,

Yes our machine has a homing sensor/limit switch on each side. There are actually two limit switches on the Y axis for the negative home position and four on the c (y2) axis, two for the negative home position and two for the y axis positive limit ( I think that is how they are set-up).

I have tried adjusting the "triggers" for the limit switches but the seem to have no effect. I will take some pictures tomorrow and post them for you to look at, purhaps once you see the set-up it will spark something.

Can you please post a link to the homing sensor circuits that you mentioned previously that were available on the net.

Thanks again,

Spencer.

http://cncteknix.com/portal/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,11/category_id,19/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,67/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=11&category_id=19&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=67&vmcchk=1

Here is the dual drive splitter I found on the net.

Shannon.

I think someone might be interested in these pics, My vacuum pump is in bits on the workshop floor as I am giving it an overhaul before we use it (purchased second hand) The bearings have also been run with regular lubrication and the grease had gone all brown and solid. I removed the bearings and cleaned all the old grease out of them, then used new grease in them.

The vanes are stored where they won't get broken so that is why they aren't in any of the photos.

I have a few more pics that aren't shown here and as the pump is still apart its easy to get more, so if there is any particular part you would like a photo of, just let me know.

Shannon.

shannon, you are having way to much fun at this!!

jim

I just hope it works once its back together again:D:D

Shannon.

yea! my dad felt that way about my motorcycles when i was a teen too!!

lol:):):)

jim

will move this thread to the excitech forum!! it is full of good info on setups!!!

jim

Well I'm due for an update, I haven't been doing a great deal of machine modifications (haven't even been doing a great deal of anything :D )

I have got the vacuum pump halfway back together (will try to get some pics tomorrow) and a few other minor mods. I am designing dust foot Mk3 and will put up some photos once its done.

Shannon.

Here is the vacuum pump mostly back together and on its new base that I welded up from 35mm SHS. Also with castor wheels. I am considering getting some locking wheels for it instead of the one that are on the base at present.

Shannon.

Here is dust foot Mk3, I have made it easier to release as the toolholder doesn't have to be removed from the spindle to remove the dust cover now. It has the quick release tabs so it can be installed and removed in about 5 seconds (only if you arent holding a camera at the same time :D )

It also has more clearance around the sides allowing the spindle to machine closer to the clamps and has improved airflow due to more area in the front of the foot.

The two hoses are held on with packing tape until I glue them in. I was just making sure the lengths were right before the final assembly.

Also some of the carbon/fibreglass sheet I was cutting. I flipped the sheet over for cutting as it doesn't tear up the carbon that way. The cutouts are side frames for a 450 size custom radio control helicopter that I designed,built and also fly, this being the second frame.


Shannon.

keep it up!!

jim

Looking good Shannon.
Not far from my design, and I liked you're integration of the pressure plate.

Have you looked at any more breakout boards and PC control? I have experienced some problems with my DSP the last couple of day's and it has speed up my quest for PC control.

For me it´s narrowed down to either a Campbell card or "The Brain". The pros on The Brain is that it's USB and controls all what I'm interested in. The bad part is that you have to rely on the stock SW which I guess is Beta - bug - fix type of SW and has not the big "task force" users as Mach.

The Campbell is still a Printer port device and needs a old PC to get going. But then we could use Mach3 to run it.

Any thoughts ?

If you designed and made that helicopter - BOY I'm impressed. Did you mill the Alu parts on you're machine ?

Kent

Thanks Jim,
I don't intend on stopping anytime soon, I still have a lot to do to the machine but I haven't been doing updates as much as I like. I have been sorting out more finance and also renovating our workshop and office.

Kent,
I designed the frame parts but my younger brother cut them on the multicam at my previous job.
I am still thinking of getting the Smooth stepper. It is still in Beta but shouldn't be too far away from the lockdown version. I am not in a huge hurry as My DSP is working fine so far.
What sort of issues are you having with your DSP?

Shannon.

Hi Shannon.

I did drop a general discussion on my DSP problems in the main forum page, just to reach as many as possible.

I thought the smooth stepper needed a extra BBoard to be working, is that correct? I did look at it earlier but have forgot it, so I guess I have to read that part all over again :)

Those choppers looks sweet, nice work !!!

I did my first test mill with a "0.022 end mill the other day, worked out great so now I have to get started with that 4th axis so I can finally produce something :)

Keep in touch.
Kent

yea, we kinda sortin our finances here in the US too!!

LOL, You would need to add a few more zero's on the end of what I had to sort out though. :D:D

Did some modifications on my machine today, I added a couple of springs to the X-axis motor and pinion housings to make removing the backlash easier. Previously it was a pain to try and lift the motor unit and tighten the bolts at the same time, Now it just needs to be held firmly in place while the bolts are tightened up. Note my instructions to myself for next time :D.

I also started laying the side strips of aluminium on the bed so that its almost ready to skim flat. Its flat to within around 0.2mm at the moment but should be within 0.1mm once I have surfaced it. Note the recess in the side to allow for where the cutter won't reach. I am gluing the alloy down with contact glue (its in the big blue drum)

I need to cut one more length to finish the other side. The alloy that has been put on the bed is left over from making my brothers portable skate park so it was a freebie.

Shannon.

I have another issue with my machine but I didn't realize that it was much of a problem until yesterday. The stepper drives have a lot of mid-band resonance.

I was playing around with the jog speeds and noticed that there is a definite growl around 3000mm/min travel speed. I also machine around this speed sometimes and it can affect the finish on the material. I did quite a bit of reading here on the zone last night and found this thread.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32284

I will dig out some materials to make a damper or two when neat at my workshop and see if it make much of a difference.

Shannon.

I have been researching the dampers, here is my process.

I have read that the dampers need to have the same inertia as the stepper motor rotor, looking at the threads and own build dampers around the zone, it doesn't seem to matter all that much, any damper is far better than none when one is needed. However its always interesting to see what a properly sized one would be.

First I had to find out the rotor inertia for my stepper motor. (first photo down the bottom is one of the steppers on the machine) The following link is the closest I can find.
http://74.125.93.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.chinautic.com/2_86.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3D86HS2A118%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DG&usg=ALkJrhgF_GDHk80jyKr5KsnMeZX8J7wNpg

Then I found a calculator for calculating inertia
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/icyl.html#icyl
And a site for inertia conversions
http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/units-converter/moment-of-inertia/

Putting in the 2700g cm2 converts to 0.000027kg m2
If I put in a mass of 0.5kg and radius of 3.3cm in the inertia calculator the inertia comes out close to the ideal figure. This will vary slightly in practice as I also want to include a rubber element to the damper.

Shannon.

So the dampers didn't change much in my case, the do stop the mid band resonance in the stepper motors, but the problem was more that the belt tension and gear to rack mesh was too tight. I adjusted the belt tension on the Z-axis and the noise and vibration mostly went away.

Shannon.

Did some modifications on my machine today, I added a couple of springs to the X-axis motor and pinion housings to make removing the backlash easier. Previously it was a pain to try and lift the motor unit and tighten the bolts at the same time, Now it just needs to be held firmly in place while the bolts are tightened up. Note my instructions to myself for next time :D.

I also started laying the side strips of aluminium on the bed so that its almost ready to skim flat. Its flat to within around 0.2mm at the moment but should be within 0.1mm once I have surfaced it. Note the recess in the side to allow for where the cutter won't reach. I am gluing the alloy down with contact glue (its in the big blue drum)

I need to cut one more length to finish the other side. The alloy that has been put on the bed is left over from making my brothers portable skate park so it was a freebie.

Shannon.



Where did you get the visegrips shown in post 172???

http://pricecutter.com/product.asp?pn=448-6006&bhcd2=1225038401


http://www.bockworkholding.com/

Thanks Jim,

They are heaps cheaper in the US than over here, I think we paid NZD$60 each when they were on a heavy discount. They work great though.

Shannon.

Here is a current job I am working on, this is only a small part of it.... OH and by the way Vcarve Pro rocks for doing this sort of thing.

Shannon.

i take it it's a 2d pocket cut in wood !! it's excellent and needs to be posted on vectrics forum

excellent!!

jim

Yes a 2D pocket, this is only a small part of the finished object though, I think this is going to look great once its finished. Will post it over on the vectric forum once its done

Shannon.

Time for another update, here is the job of the test shown earlier, the images are of a pyramid lightbox. Turned out really well and the customer was stoked. I will have to get some watermarked images to show the finished product as the artwork is custom and shouldn't be copied. Toolpaths were done in V-Carve pro and the machining took about 4-5 hours per panel (set of four run two at a time) First cut, V cut outlines, then spray on brown stain, 2nd cut 3mm downcut endmill to remove most of the flat area, 3rd cut V cut the edges of the flat area. Material is 4mm pine plywood and cut to 0.7mm thick so the light shines through.

Quick get the shotgun there's a wild animal in the backyard :D oh that's our pet rabbit that my brother left us when he went overseas:D:D

Shannon.

I also have been sorting out some weird patterns on the edges of Mdf and plywood when cutting. Turns out the the pinion for the rack wasn't meshing correctly, I had re-aligned all the rack sections as shown in the pics below, but in the end I got Penfold Transmission Ltd to cut me a new section of matching pinion stock to make new pinions out of. I also need to skim the tops off the teeth on the rack to get a really smooth mesh.

To align the rack is reasonably easy, I removed the rack from the machine then cleaned all the metal chips from behind it on the machine. The rack got a thorough cleaning and de-burring of all the holes. I also de-burred the holes on the machine so the rack would sit flat against the surface.

Then I clamped a short section of rack against the end of the previous rack so the the racks would be in alignment. Then clamp the next section of rack securely to the short section to align it. Then using small clamps to hold the rack tight to the linear rail (not too tight) and in go the bolts.

Also a couple of pics of the bolts and holes as they were as removed from the machine, I am sure all the swarf isn't from my machining:D:D

The last pic is of the new pinion stock ready to make into pinions.


Shannon.

Hi Shannon, it seems the rack an pinion really has a little problem in early this year, we found that and change the supplier immediately, so after that the gear could match with the pinion perfectly.:o

Time for another update, here is the job of the test shown earlier, the images are of a pyramid lightbox. Turned out really well and the customer was stoked. I will have to get some watermarked images to show the finished product as the artwork is custom and shouldn't be copied. Toolpaths were done in V-Carve pro and the machining took about 4-5 hours per panel (set of four run two at a time) First cut, V cut outlines, then spray on brown stain, 2nd cut 3mm downcut endmill to remove most of the flat area, 3rd cut V cut the edges of the flat area. Material is 4mm pine plywood and cut to 0.7mm thick so the light shines through.

Quick get the shotgun there's a wild animal in the backyard :D oh that's our pet rabbit that my brother left us when he went overseas:D:D

Shannon.



Really nice and mysterious images Shannon, but you know, compared with them, I like your brother's Rabit more, So instead of a shotgun, a big fresh carrot is for him :)

Really nice and mysterious images Shannon, but you know, compared with them, I like your brother's Rabit more, So instead of a shotgun, a big fresh carrot is for him :)

The rabbit is really spoiled, she gets to sleep inside the house in her cage at night and then to run around the whole yard all day and also gets carrots too.:D

Shannon.

Time for another update, here is the job of the test shown earlier, the images are of a pyramid lightbox.

:cool: Superb work as always Shannon. Would like to see the finished article.

The rabbit is really spoiled, she gets to sleep inside the house in her cage at night and then to run around the whole yard all day and also gets carrots too.:D

Shannon.


Oh, sorry, I thought she's boy, Have no idea of her breed, but she's really cute, I'm thinking whether if I change my business to rabbits...:rolleyes:

Time for another update, here is the job of the test shown earlier, the images are of a pyramid lightbox. Turned out really well and the customer was stoked. I will have to get some watermarked images to show the finished product as the artwork is custom and shouldn't be copied. Toolpaths were done in V-Carve pro and the machining took about 4-5 hours per panel (set of four run two at a time) First cut, V cut outlines, then spray on brown stain, 2nd cut 3mm downcut endmill to remove most of the flat area, 3rd cut V cut the edges of the flat area. Material is 4mm pine plywood and cut to 0.7mm thick so the light shines through.

Quick get the shotgun there's a wild animal in the backyard :D oh that's our pet rabbit that my brother left us when he went overseas:D:D

Shannon.
Shannon, you're an artist! That is absolutely beautifull, would love to see the product when it is assembled.

Shannon, you're an artist! That is absolutely beautifull, would love to see the product when it is assembled.

I will see if I can get hold of some pics when it is assembled and back lit, as I didn't really get it properly assembled due to a hot dry northwest wind bending the ply too much. I ended up shipping it to Auckland and it went together fine once the humidity got back into the wood. I will post some pics once I get them.

Shannon.

Hi Shannon,
You were talking about your racks and pinnons in a prevoius post, I am experiencing problems with the X axis steping on a profile cut, and on investigation the drive pinnon was badly worn , so I think that must be the problem, we might get some stock pinnion in to make our own.

Do you know the size ? as you seem to have done some work in this area ?

Cheers
Graham

Hi Graham,

I am not sure of the exact specs, The guys at Penfold were able to cut another set the same but with the correct tooth width, I think it was 1.6 modulus but your best bet would be take the pinion and short piece of rack to a gear specialist and get one cut to match. Generally you will find the the length of stock doesn't cost much more for a longer one and its the setup time that will cost you.


Shannon

Hi Shannon,
You were talking about your racks and pinnons in a prevoius post, I am experiencing problems with the X axis steping on a profile cut, and on investigation the drive pinnon was badly worn , so I think that must be the problem, we might get some stock pinnion in to make our own.

Do you know the size ? as you seem to have done some work in this area ?

Cheers
Graham

Hi Shannon ,
Thanks, I'm getting a couple sent over from SHM as a stop gap before we look into making our own spares, we'll have to send them off to get them speced then.

Looks like the hardening has failed on our pinnion.

Got a second 1530B machine up and running in November and theyve been going flat out ever since until the gear problem, cant really fault em though !!
seeing as they were straight out of the box..... must get round to getting them as sorted as yours... if they survive that long :-)

Regards
Graham.

These pics might be a bit on the late side, but this is what I made for our church for the production and also the nativity cutouts. They weren't originally going to be used together like this, but turned up to church one Sunday and this is how the frame and cutouts were arranged.

The frame is in the range of 10-15kgs and is made of 3mm mdf and foam. Very easy to move and plenty strong enough for a stage prop.

That's me next to the frame BTW, must be my first appearance in this thread.

Also a picture of the sign I cut for my sisters pre-school (this wasn't on my machine although it wouldn't have been any different :D ).

Shannon.

good lord shannon and i thought you were an
'old man" by now!!

jim

good lord shannon and i thought you were an
'old man" by now!!

jim

Its still only the teenagers around here that call me 'old' :D:D
I'm in my early thirties though.

Shannon.

i really like the nativity and it has given me ideas for next year!!

oh yea!! and i am in my early 50's with an eleven year old daughter!! her friend are convinced i am grandpa!!

jim

Hello to everyone on this forum.
I think this is the best forum for CNC where you can learn so much.
I am new in CNC technology and right now I am looking to buy new cnc machine.
Our small wood production is all hand made and it's very slow. Right now I have interes to increase commercialize production and I want speed up time of making wood spearguns.
For this product I think I need strong CNC machine for milling operation of hard wood thickness 60mm (teak, mahogany...).
So please can you advice me which is right way for realization this kind of production. I am total beginners in this 3D cnc routers matter.
I think that I need good quality machine with competitive price for our woodworking products with Dust collecting system Vacuum Hold down Table, Automatic tool changer and mounting 4'th axis Rotary machine.
I saw on this forum that Exitech router 1325C with ATC is good choice.
What is the price for this model. Sorry for bad english I am from Croatia.

Thank you

Please is there someone to advice me.

Edit, thanks to the Mods for removing the other posts.

My router worked right out of the box and I have yet to have any major issues that aren't easily solved. I am not sure what the issue is but mine didn't have any pinched tubes/cables, The alignment was fine for general woodworking and it has been running well the whole time I have had it. The worst issue may have been the pinions being slightly out of spec, but even then it still worked fine.

Shannon.

Hi Shannon,
Dont know whether youve had to contact exitech recently but I seem to be experiencing problems contacting exitech,( SH-CNC ) ? cant seem to get hold of anyone there for spares.
I had a Yako driver go down and a DSP recently, luckly i had bought spares when i purchased our second 1530 , but now Ive run out....

Who do you guys use ?

Cheers
Graham.

Yes they are definitely still there, I have been in touch with Taney on MSN, Weird that you are having problems getting hold of them??

Shannon.

Hi Graham,

Where do you buy the 1530 machine? From my company directly? if yes, from which person when you make the order?

Thanks.

Taney


Hi Shannon,
Dont know whether youve had to contact exitech recently but I seem to be experiencing problems contacting exitech,( SH-CNC ) ? cant seem to get hold of anyone there for spares.
I had a Yako driver go down and a DSP recently, luckly i had bought spares when i purchased our second 1530 , but now Ive run out....

Who do you guys use ?

Cheers
Graham.

Thanks for your replys,

Hi Taney,
Sorry which is your company ?

Ive been dealing with Elaine Ling and Diana Feng from SH-CNC, up to now there has been a good response.

Regards
Graham

Hi Graham,

I'm from Excitech, Elaine and Diana are my ex-colleagues and they have left my company since late March, if you need any parts pls let me know.

Thanks for your replys,

Hi Taney,
Sorry which is your company ?

Ive been dealing with Elaine Ling and Diana Feng from SH-CNC, up to now there has been a good response.

Regards
Graham

Hi Taney,
That's great thanks, will be in touch with a parts request though your email on the website.
Regards

Graham,

Hi Shannon, I had a request from a chap in Melbourne for some help to solve a problem he is having with his spindle.

Thought you may have the answer to this one?

The spindle on his Excitech will only spin in an anti-clockwise direction. He is using V Carve Pro and is wondering if it could be a post processor problem? I believe that the post processor he needs to use is - " G Code Arcs( mm ) ( .tap ). Is this correct?

Or could it be more of a wiring up problem?

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Rocket.

rocket one can change spindle direction on the vfd, i would check the manual

jim

Thanks Jim, i have sent him a PM.

Not sure if he will know how to adjust it. Waiting for a reply.

By the way - loved the summer in America girls, and the astronauts photos were out of this world.

Rocket.

Not sure where this reply is going to end up - at the end of the thread or where I clicked reply - neverthless, I was looking at how you got the black foam PVC stuff off the table ... by machining and then soaking with turps?

I didn't want to make a mess (no vacuum extractor), so instead of machining the black stuff off, I just tried chiselling it off, and found it came off really easy that way. The glue is still there, but there is no plastic to prevent penetration of the turps into the glue - plus it was quick and easy. I may have just been lucky and they didn't prime the surface of my black bits at the factory before they glued it on - plus I should mention the machine is over 18 months old now, and the glue seems quite hard overall, though still a bit chewy and tacky in places.

Once I lifted the end up with the chisel, I found I could just peel the strip off by hand ... no mess, no fuss. Just thought I'd share with the class.

Sounds an easier way to get it off, from memory mine was on too hard to peel off and would snap off in about 4" bits. The glue was slightly rubbery though.

Shannon.

one question....i have a excitech shm2030a model (2000x3000x200 travel). What stepped motor it's used for the x axis, model and power. there is no stiker or no. on them and i want to buy one more for my 4axis project.?????? pls help me some one!!!! Maiby Mr. Taney118 from excitech can tell me the exact model and the brand...tx