PRO 4824 Build in Tennessee

[Goonk]

They ship those from overseas..Fragile, France i think.

Wow, that's a bummer about the UPS store.

happy building!

[klhoard]

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I finally got a chance to dig into all those boxes. Unfortunately, no leg lamp, but the boxes did contain a bunch of VBGs (very big grins). Cory, you and your crew definitely knock it out of the park as far as putting together a very nice kit. I can tell by just looking at the components and how they are packed that this is going to be a very nice machine once I get it together.
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<not a paid endorsement>
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Today is going to be spent TLAR-ing how to support the machine and lots of "male shoe shopping" at Harbor Freight and Home Depot. As you can tell by the pictures, I'm going to use the existing framework I built for my workbench and just add / move 2x4 and 2x6 supports where needed.
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[klhoard]

They ship those from overseas..Fragile, France i think.

Wow, that's a bummer about the UPS store.

happy building!

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I shared that more as a warning to others . .
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Picked up a large box today I had shipped to FedEx Office . . . no ransom demand . .
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[klhoard]

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Made some good progress today. One aspect that doesn't really come through in the videos is how SOLID this thing is. Every component has some pretty good heft to it and you can tell this is going to be one very stiff machine. The kit uses hundreds of metric machine screws, so do yourself a very big favor and purchase some sort of driver or else you're going to be twisting your elbow off.
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I'm very impressed with the precision engineering of all the parts. Other than a couple taps here and there with the "persuader", every component has fit together absolutely perfectly . . .
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[klhoard]

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Made more progress, installing the Rack & Pinion pieces today.
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I don't know how to rotate some of the photos. It looks like CNCZone is auto-rotating them.
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[GigaWatt]

Looks like your making good progress. I've also had problems with pics being rotated. I found pics that are narrower in width than height will rotate.

[klhoard]

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Another day of building. Since I'm working with an already assembled wood frame, I have to build a bit on the CNC, then do some woodwork, then CNC, then more woodwork. My new favorite tool is the Harbor Freight vibrating multi-tool. It's like a mini light saber, but for wood.
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Awaiting a bag of parts so I can start assembling the Z-axis. Should be here tomorrow.
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Really nothing to report so far. The kit has been of outstanding quality and everything has basically fallen together. On the control PC I have the assembly PDF and the CNCRP assembly YouTube video opened up so all I'm doing is singing along.
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One assembly tip I may have discovered by accident. . . . I didn't get the base frame perfectly square when I assembled the 5 cross members. After installing the gantry, I had to loosen up some of the bolts holding the base frame together to put in the hold-down plates. Due to the stiffness of the gantry and the linear bearings, the gantry "squared" the base frame for me while the bolts were loose and now its perfect. Sometimes its better to be lucky than good, eh?
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[klhoard]

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. . getting close enough to done that I can smell the burnt bits. Got the Z-axis installed, as well as the cable tracks and the initial runs of the cables. All of the cable lengths were very generous. The only "mod" I did was to install the Y-Axis cable track on the other side of the machine, away from the control PC. It seems to fit on the opposite side just as well. There is one part that needs to be installed "upside down", but you'd never know if I didn't point it out.
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Still nothing to report as far as work-arounds or other problems with the kit. It just falls together like the instructions show.
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[klhoard]

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A few more photos. Make sure your label maker has plenty of tape before you start wiring.
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[klhoard]

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Got the axes moving today. I'm really glad I bought the Plug N Play system . . .
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[2012JK]

That's great! I'm ordering the same kit this week but the plug and play electronics will be another month or so. It'll make a great workbench while I'm waiting for the rest of it.

[klhoard]

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You're going to like it. Unless you really enjoy the pain and suffering that goes along with "rolling your own", the CNCRP Plug N Play is the way to go. Another cheap "mod" you can do is to add a Logitech USB Game Pad to your control PC for jogging and controlling Mach3. Cory has full instructional video and it's very easy to do. I had a wireless version sitting in my cabinet that has now found a new home. If you don't have one I think you can pick a new one up fairly cheap.
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I don't regret cashing out the kids college fund for this system one little bit . They want their dad to be happy, and I can teach them a trade. Win-win.
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[jckstrthmghty]

I don't regret cashing out the kids college fund for this system one little bit .

That's ok. The machine would only pay for one year of college where the table will give you years and years of value.

[beltramidave]

Good looking build! Did you go with the Nema 23 or 34 motors? What kind of rapids and cutting speeds are you getting?
Dave

[klhoard]

Good looking build! Did you go with the Nema 23 or 34 motors? What kind of rapids and cutting speeds are you getting?
Dave

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NEMA 23 motors, and they seem to move the gantry around with authority. I can't imagine what the 34's do. I have only gone with the stock settings from CNCRP at this point. Apparently the XML file they provide has very conservative setting that you slowly crank up over time.
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[klhoard]

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Like a Jedi knight, a CNC Hobby machine can't be considered complete until it cuts its own spoilboard.
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[bamoore01]

I see on you machine that you have five cross pieces in the four foot dimension. The pics on the cnc prep site only have three. Did you add some or is five the default?

[klhoard]

I see on you machine that you have five cross pieces in the four foot dimension. The pics on the cnc prep site only have three. Did you add some or is five the default?

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Yes, I ordered two extra crossmembers to support the spoilboard. I think they charged me $150 for the extra extrusion and support hardware.
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Surfaced the spoilboard today, so I guess this machine is now officially open for business.
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[klhoard]

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Added a KentCNC dust shoe to the router. Michael at KentCNC did an OUTSTANDING job helping me get exactly what I needed.
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[2012JK]

Ordered my PRO4824 on March 1st. A week is a looong time when you're waiting on a tracking number for your "leg lamp"!
KentCNC makes a great dust shoe.