Seig X3 Conversion with Deluxe CNCFusion Kit

[MRM RCModels]

Originally Posted by Teyber12 hey i searched through the thread and didn't see it- i see lots on limit switches but whats the home switch story?

I use my limit switches as home switches too.

[Matt McColley]

Got to jump in here...

Is there any big advantage to having limit switches AND home switches??

I can see an advantage maybe for Z.... but X & Y?

Is there any reason why you wouldn't be able to "go home" by just going to the limit switches?

Inquiring minds want to know???

[MRM RCModels]

Denim Bellows

Got my bellow style way covers made. I could not believe my ears when Gortite quoted me $400 for a 8" rubber bellow! Went searching on the zone and found THIS THREAD that details the process very well. I scaled the diagram from ixen-cnc and made a paper prototype first (figures 1 & 2). Then I set out to make brackets to screw them into (figure 3).

On a side note; If you have not read Hoss's write up on how to increase the accuracy of a homemade mill you are doing yourself a dis-service. Previously, I could only get within 0.006in accuracy without cutting many practice parts. Now I can get within 0.0005in on any axis repeatedly. The CAD measurement is 8.625in, guess what the actual is (figures 4 & 5).

He's a shot of the final product (figure 6). They work awesome! Only regret is that I used 11oz denim which is really thick, so it bunches up when the table moves towards the column. This is fine with the stock travels, but I plan to expand the Y travel by 1 inch. My solution is to make another using 5 oz denim to gain more travel.


Y Axis Spacer Block

The 1/8in thick brackets were easy to machine, so I thought making the Y axis spacer block next would be a great confidence builder (figures 7 & 8). Came out great too and all the measurements were +/- 0.0005in .


Touch Probe

Purchased this 3 axis touch probe from Arnie on the Mach Forums for $100 (figure 9). I could have made this for less, but I wanted to get cutting quick. I also could of used Hoss's aluminum/delrin method (I am using his screens though; they rock!), but I plan on doing 3 axis model scanning down the road. The probe was well worth the investment.

[MRM RCModels]

Originally Posted by Matt McColley Got to jump in here... Is there any big advantage to having limit switches AND home switches?? I can see an advantage maybe for Z.... but X & Y? Is there any reason why you wouldn't be able to "go home" by just going to the limit switches? Inquiring minds want to know???

True you could "go home" just by the limits. I choose to use them as both because the C11G only had five inputs an there were a lot of peripherals that I wanted to add.

[Teyber12]

nice!

are you talking about the mach 3 SPI calibration?

[Matt McColley]

I REALLY like your bellows....

got the old wheels turning... Hmmm...

we have a CNC reciprocating tangential cutter at work...

Hmmm.... Foam.... lot's of different grades of foam.... Hmmm....thin plastic..... yup got that.... thin corrugated sheets.... yup got that.... 50# paper, 040 chipboard.... got those......

the mad scientist is very interested....

Any chance you could post a CAD file of your bellows &/or the mounting bracket?

[escott76]

Originally Posted by Matt McColley I REALLY like your bellows.... got the old wheels turning... Hmmm... we have a CNC reciprocating tangential cutter at work... Hmmm.... Foam.... lot's of different grades of foam.... Hmmm....thin plastic..... yup got that.... thin corrugated sheets.... yup got that.... 50# paper, 040 chipboard.... got those...... the mad scientist is very interested.... Any chance you could post a CAD file of your bellows &/or the mounting bracket?

I did one similar out of .01" UHMW, which worked pretty well, although it's "fun" to fold. I then decided to try and fabricate a rubber one by making a negative mold and using brush on liquid rubber to paint onto the form. It made a perfect looking cover, but it wouldn't compress evenly when I finished.
I've been studying the ones at work on the big lasers, and they appear to be made of denim. I actually have a roll of denim around here, I was thinking of combining the denim with the brush on rubber.
It's pretty easy to draw out your own, it's just evenly spacing the folds, and a bunch of 45's. The pattern that has been linked is really easy to scale or modify to your own liking.

[MRM RCModels]

Originally Posted by Teyber12 nice! are you talking about the mach 3 SPI calibration?

Yep, that's the one.


Matt,

I could post the bracket files, but half were fabricated on the spot. Some assembly required....

[MRM RCModels]

At 0100 hours the Y axis extension is done. I now have 7+ inches of travel CENTERED on the table . When I first bought the CNCfusion kit I asked them to cut me another ballscrew 1in longer than normal. 0.906 of the 1 inch was to extend the Y- travel. Since I changed the Y axis ballscrew, the ball nut makes a rumbling noise at the beginning and end of movement like something is stuck in there. I took apart the entire system and didn't see anything wrong . I turned the ballscrew by hand and couldn't feel any friction. Might take it apart again to check. Still have to tram the head, but most of the hard work is done.

Next Up
1. Extended Y axis Trigger
2. Z Axis Bellows
3. Tooling Plate

[idtkid]

Same thing happens to me with my roton ballscrew and ballnut setup, last inch of travel it feels "gritty" Ive taken it apart many times to find nothing.

[MRM RCModels]

Originally Posted by idtkid Same thing happens to me with my roton ballscrew and ballnut setup, last inch of travel it feels "gritty" Ive taken it apart many times to find nothing.

Exactly! It sounds gritty, but it happens the whole length of travel. I took the stepper and ballscrew/nut assembly off the mill to isolate the problem. It still happens. It's like the vibrations from the stepper are resonating through the ballscrew. This did not happen before the brakdown so I hope it's maybe a Mach setting. Also, this only happens on the Y axis. I've swapped steppers and it still happens. That's why I think it's a setting in Mach.

[Teyber12]

are you sure its not the bearings?