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WSS, really glad to hear you received your harness. I am anxious to see some pics of your machine cutting! I know it is a long journey from the time you decide you need a CNC plasma machine till the first sparks fly. All well worth the effort when you cut your first part!
As for my project, I have been working through the details of the next stages. After finishing the gantry, I started taking measurements for the wiring harness and the plasma torch cable. With my dual drop design and a longer gantry that extends past the outside table frame rails, both the plasma torch cable and wiring harness are to short for the Y axis. This will require splicing in a section of the harness and relocating the plasma cutter closer to the z lifter station. I have also been looking for some different size pinion gears to speed up the rapid speeds. I am ordering those today to get them on the way. I will try to post some pics soon.
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Gantry Update;
The new extended length gantry required splicing in a section of cable to the Y axis motor and moving the plasma generator closer to the Z axis station. The existing plasma torch cable is 25', making it a little short
I also added lowered mounts (like the koike table in the pic) for the X axis rails to be remounted on. Since the machine has floating X axis rails already it will be easy to move them to the lower elevation mounts.
Last edited by magma-joe; 09-19-2009 at 09:20 PM.
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Looking good Joe, i can understand your plan better now after seeing these pictures, so your rails were always bolted on, not welded?
Looking at the slats it seems 1 is notched and the next isnt, almost like 2 different sets, or is it just the picture?
I can see now why you have your aluminium laminated... man this stuff scratches easy... im glad i dont have to polish it, just sand and use a soft pad for texture... i'll post a aluminium moose i cut on the pics & vid thread..
I bumped up the cutting speed to 145 ipm also, basically dross free cutting..
EDD
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Thanks Edwardo, the reason for bolting on the rails is the ability to have infinite adjustment between the 2 x axis rails. It makes it very easy to perfectly align the rails with each other.
Every other slat is pointed. When I first built the table I thought I would experiment with pointed slats. They work great, I just have not got around to doing the rest.
Last edited by magma-joe; 09-20-2009 at 07:57 AM.
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magma-joe,
Don't you just want to stop all other projects and stay with this one? Especially when you are this close and all is going good! I will repeat Edwardo, the direction is clear now. I notice (or it seems like) the brackets you welded on to support the rail system are notched or shorter on one side than the other? Will it be similar to your current mount (with adjustments)? The adjustable rails looks like a winner. Kind of a floating rail with infinite adjustment. The first time I have a sheet of 2" plate on my table I will wish I had thought of that!
Nice work!
WSS
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WSS, thanks! And you are so right about wanting to stay on this project until it is finished. I am 4 months into it now from when I started ordering the parts.
The extra length on 2 of the new lowered X rail support brackets is a mounting surface for the 2 x 3" angle iron that the Igus Chain rides on for the X axis. Also, you and I previously discussed the issue of the abrupt angle of the torch cabling and near touching of the X axis master motor. I intend to reverse the direction of the Igus chain as it approaches the x axis motor in order to avoid this issue.
If you look at the link for the Dynatorch solid model you will will get a better idea of what I am talking about. Under the section "Technical Information " click on the "Drop Side Dual Drive" and select run to open the program.
http://www.dynatorch.com/Map.htm
You can see the chain is reversed which creates gentle sweep for the cable to make on its way to the Z torch station.
The existing X rail mounting plates have slotted holes for side to side adjustment and bolts for elevation changes, I will cut and reweld them to the new lowered x axis rail mounting brackets. For anyone following along, at the conclusion of this project I will have the complete original gantry for sale alongth with all gear rack.
Last edited by magma-joe; 09-21-2009 at 09:56 AM.
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Hello Magma-Joe
How are things progressing? I have a question(s) regarding polishing alum...
do you sand the surface first then use a buffing pad for that nice finish on your parts? If so what grit do you use or steps do you take to get a nice mirror finish? Forgot to ask, do you seal the finished alum with anything like wax or clear coat?
Regards
EDD
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Edwardo, I have been busy drilling holes for mounting the V rail and 1/2" x 1/2" square bar that the lower idler wheels ride on. Each side has 50 holes to drill and 25 to tap. I built a fence on the milling machine table to get the rail within .010 . Very time consuming process. When it comes to lining up the rails I want them as straight as I can possibly get them.
If you start with blemish free aluminum there is no need to sand. Buffing will work for very light scratches only. I have included a link that might help you understand better. If I do have a deeper scratch I start with 320 or 400 grit along with sanding grease and then buff from there. Sanding is a pain so I always strive for blemish free aluminum to start with. I use a product called Wenol to protect the finish. It also works fantastic for polishing.
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm
http://www.2spi.com/catalog/supp/supp3a.php
Last edited by magma-joe; 09-30-2009 at 11:36 PM.
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Thanks for the links Joe, alot of good info..
Your time spent now will pay dividends in the future, after seeing your slats i decided to modify mine, it took half the day but was worth it, i cut up a nested sheet of alum yesterday and the difference was amazing, i had peices come off the table that i couldnt tell the difference from top to bottom as there was zero dross, the odd place were the slat was touching and it happened to be under the cut line had a little peice on it, but nothing like before. With the slats modified though i will definetly need the DASH when i can afford it because the smaller parts do push down more, plus i get more tip ups, but the nicer cuts and finished product is well worth it.
EDD
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Update;
Been busy with work last couple of weeks but finally had some time to work on gantry. I purchased some gear stock for the new pinion gears. The current pinion gears that Dynatorch is using with their new machines are 1" in diameter. Since I am using the earlier 28 to 1 planetary gear boxes, I needed a 1 1/2" diameter pinion to speed it back up to about 850IPM at 5000RPM motor speed.
The gear stock is extruded and is 6 to 8 AGMA gear quality. I paid $28.00 a ft. So if any of you want to experiment , you can buy it here.
http://www.grobinc.com/coldrolled/std_spur_gears.htm
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magma-joe,
That is really neat. I have not seen anything as that. I checked out the link and found some interesting stuff. I don't have anything close to concentric enough to try turning myself. Although with the air tensioner I could get away with a little wobble (LOL).
Looking Good! I imagine it is staying busy for you? We have been busier than usual. We hope it holds out over the winter, we have really tuff winters here in So Cal!
WSS
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WSS, thanks for the reply. I am anxious to hear about your machines first sparks. For us, business is slow. Other than a few minor details I am ready to install the new gantry. I have been putting it off though for fear of the machine being down and a much needed job showing up during the swap.
It appears that you and Edwardo are the only people who are interested enough in this thread to reply to my posts. Although, at 4500 views people must be reading it.
I HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE A POLL;
How many of you reading this thread want to see the project to the end?
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Hi Magma-Joe. I am one of the people following both yours and WSS's build, and I must say it has been a very interesting ride and I wouldn't want it to end here. Both of you have a very good build and some interesting ideas for others to follow.
Cheers
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MJ ,
Please keep us informed!
Very good post
Thanks
Tom
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Magma-joe,
I certainly like to see/read what's happening with your build. I may be slightly biased toward the DT machine and it probably shows but it's my opinion. And it's the same with yours, who knows how many people have taken even a small amount of knowledge and information and applied it to their situation. As you have seen, 4800+ views show that many are at least curious.
Please, lets see it cut some parts!!!
My gantry arrived yesterday. With it was a part they cut before shipping it. I am truly impressed. I'll post some pics over the next couple of days on the 6X12 thread.
WSS
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WSS, Excellent! Glad to here you will be cutting soon. Please post some pics. I will continue to post some pics of the build although I am disappointed at the response to my poll. Thanks to those of you who did respond.
I noticed Leon at Dynatorch Technical support posted a message asking if anyone needed help with their Dynatorch machines.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91053
He must feel like the Maytag man?
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Ya, I was going to make up some questions for him. I don't want his brain to rust tight. Actually he is really busy with a top secret project for the fabtech show...........
WSS
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Hey Magma,
This is Homer, still haven't bought or built a table. Do you know if the Miller 675 torch has a converstion from hand held to machine? I have done well with the hand held making extra money doing so. I looked at local sites and the miller web site and did'nt even see one for the new 625 extreme. I would like to know before the build, none the less it will happen with thanks to your suggestions.
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Homer, I can't comment about the Miller 675 as I don't know much about it. I'm sure it is a good machine as Miller makes good products. In addition to the machine torch it also requires a robotic interface. I can tell you that what ever machine you use, it will go through a bunch of consummables. So the availability of consummables is very important.
I personally use the Hypertherm 1250 and have been very happy with it.
The new Hypertherm Powermax 45 looks like an excellent machine and can be had with a machine torch also.
https://www.hypertherm.com/library/f.../SB_860280.pdf
Jim Colt has posted pics of some nice cuts with the Powermax 45 and a plasmacam here on the CNC zone.
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11-04-2009, 10:04 PM
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Gantry update; The gantry upgrade has reached the point of no return. I started stripping the original single side drive gantry today so there is no turning back now.
Due to the increased weight of the new gantry I decided to add adjustable swivel type supports for the middle lowered rail support brackets. The pace will have to pick up now as now I am without a working plasma.
- NEW BUILD / Dynatorch Upgrade
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