I would rather get the correct ballscrew from George if that's an option, I'm currently waiting on a reply from him.
end machining on xzero machines are special for the xzero bearing blocks and its changed a few times over the years. if its a newer one, with a threaded nut, it should be easy to measure and send out to have it replicated. the older ones sometimes has press fit tolerances on the bearings or threaded couplings.
the raptor was always 16mm screws on y and z. not any room for anything else (unless you went to very expensive compact screws)
it should be noted that georges screws are not the same as the cheap ones littered all over ebay, and end machining concentricity is (apparently) not trivial for just any old person with a lathe in china to do. actually it was pretty hard for the guys over here to do as well. all the newer ones were done by the factory (TBI models i think on all machines now).
I would rather get the correct ballscrew from George if that's an option, I'm currently waiting on a reply from him.
yeah, thats the best if hes able to get you one in a timely manner
Anyone hear from George recently? I'm still waiting for some parts to finish my build and it's been a very long time now with a lot of "next week" promises. I didn't want to take this to the public forum, but he's seen my facebook messages and have not replied to any of them.
Feeling like I'm running out of options here. The Predator has been sitting partially assembled for the past 6 months and I've been more than patient with missing parts after throwing down the funds for this project and buying the best equipment there is.
Besides the missing assembly manual, I've been waiting on the correct motor mounts, sensor plates and questions to other parts now. Not sure how much longer I can afford to wait.
Does anyone else here have the new predator and was successful at completing it?
George had a stroke in January, his recovery is coming along, but its sporadic to get in touch with him.
his website got hacked in the meantime, so that and his old email are toast.
I do not know about the facebook account - weather its him running it, or a helper. I would not assume hes seen any of it himself.
I don't know if hes still helping out on this front, but ryanscustom on this forum may be able to sort you out for missing parts, or at least direct you to the right contact - hes the guy that actually makes the frame parts.
on the assembly manual ive never has the need for one. is there one? people here should be able to sort you out on that front, just ask about which area you are having trouble
I see your other thread... I see a few things assembled wong in the pic - ball screw nut mounted on the wrong side of the housing for the x (long axis) being one.
I see motor mounts that look fine. the couplings are correct - yes they are short, but that's they way they are meant to be. if those are leadshine easy servos, then yeah, they have shafts that are much too long. longer than other nema 34 motors. I have the same. I needed about 8mm in spacers (washers) to stand them off the motor mounts. ideally there should be an extended motor mount, or a shim, but washers work fine. one of your couplings looks odd. is that the z? it sticks out waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too far. I thnk its because that end plate is not 1" like the rest of them. youd need an extra 12mm of "shim". that's a bit of a confusing error on the machine. I wonder why that happened. maybe you have mixed some parts up in the wrong axis. I have to look closer.
hmm.
(edit - nope, somethings quite with with the z.)
Can't believe I haven't seen your reply until now!!!
I had a chat with George recently and he pointed out the same as well. But since I haven't touched the kit in a long time, I couldn't quite remember what parts went where.
Assembly was done based on what was available at the time, reference material for Raptor and whatever CAD rendering George had on Facebook. Never assembled one of these before and without directions or instructions due to circumstances and new nature of the machine, it was all guess work.
Can you elaborate on the ball screw nut? Most of the parts I have are numbered, but there really aren't any logical sequencing to them, so not exactly sure what is on backwards (Long axis)
Regarding the end plates for the machines, I believe they are all the same if I remember correctly. My Y axis ball screw bearing isn't seated entirely in the housing since I assumed the screw was a tad short. Will try to get some photos this weekend!
so I have a few xzero parts and related things I need to get rid of.
I have many parts of a predator frame.
- uprights
- end frames
- gantry back plate
- gantry backing bars
- Z axis complete with 2510 ball screw and sbc rails and motor mount
- dual X 2525 ball screws
- y 2525 ball screw
- dual x ball screw supports with double row bearings
- y axis ball screw supports with double row bearing
- 3 nema34 motor mounts
- SBC 25mm x rails 48"
- SBC 25mm rails 24" (too short of y)
- 6 pieces SBC 25mm long blocks used on y and z
a few other bits:
- 4 nema34 8nm leadshine easy servo 110v motors and drives.
- a nice shiny teknomotor iso30 spindle with drive and air system and 5 er32 tool holders with 5 extra pull studs.
all of these things are "new" although they have been hanging around for a few years and dusty and possibly scuffed in spots.
message me if youd like any of this!
Thats too bad to hear about George.
Hows he doing ?.. How old is he btw ?
im not really sure how hes doing. he calls once in a while, then vanishes again. hes not that old, 50's I think.
@ ihavenofish
Sent you a PM several days ago about the parts your selling. If they are still available, please get back to me.
Thanks, Brian P.
replied
Hello everybody.
I ordered a Predator 25x60 (new model 2017) just when George had the stroke. I paid and receive few pieces, but after stroke It is almost impossible to have a response from George...
Anyways, I need to finish this machine I ordered 2 years ago, and I need few pieces, I hope you guys can help me:
-Blocks and rails (I need Brand and model for all Axis)
-Screws for all axis (where to buy it)
.Aluminum table top (where to buy it)
Thank you in advance!!!
I think he has been on Facebook, if you can find his contact, the rails where Hiwin HG series check the Bearing mounting on the aluminum machined parts, this will give you the type of bearing block he used
The mounting of the rails should give you what size he used as well, they could be 20mm or 25mm just check the center distance from the mounting holes to the shoulder on the machined parts
The aluminum table top was his own custom profile, he most likely still has this unless he sold everything, you could use anything you want for a table you may have to get creative with that part
Mactec54
25? are you SURE its a predator, and not a raptor? I don't remember there being a 25 predator. This is important as they take different sized rails.
Assuming a predator:
Blocks and rails were TBI 25mm narrow blocks. 4 standard blocks on the x and 2 each long blocks on the y and z. I would not get TBI, the commonly available ones have no preload and are prone to damage and not very well sealed. George used them cause they were decent for very cheap, but you wont get his pricing so there is no reason to go cheap. SBC are a better choice, but will run you $1000+ for the machine. There is a good Korean seller on ebay that may have some well priced surplus THK and NSK and Bosch etc, but make sure they are preloaded (youll have to read the model codes).
Hiwin is also good for maybe under $1000 "retail", though not quite as nice as sbc or thk. Again, make sure they are preloaded.
Screws are m6 shcs. 16mm length if I remember right. There are inserts for mounting the rails to the X extrusions. I don't know where George got his. The ones he used are MUCH nicer and heavier than any of the ones ive found online. (ive actually replaced my extrusions with solid bars).
Table top is not available unless George gets well enough to get a run going - as of right now, that's not happening. If that does happen, it could be months or years from now, I cant guess. I used a 1" mic6 plate for my table, but this is of course rather expensive - $800+ just for the metal (I still don't know why aluminium made in Norway and sold in Canada has gone up due to trumpy boy's tarrifs...)
Anyhow, good luck, and feel free to post the rails and blocks link before you buy to confirm if its the right one.
O_O
Thank you very much, I finally used the hiwin... looks good!
Now I need to buy the ballscrews for my machine. Do you know where to order these for this XZERO machine?
Ball screws... MY predator (40x48) has 2525 screws on the x and y, and 2510 on the z. these are the higher-ish end tbi rolled models. I assume yours is the same.
I do have one spare for the X (under the table) but it is only 48" so that doesn't help you. The fixed ends of the screws are machined in a very special way for george's end bearing blocks and couplings. a good supplier will do them, BUT, many suppliers of tbi and other lower cost screws are NOT good, and do very poor machining on the ends.
As a result, im not sure exactly the best choice for you - most local suppliers of quality screws are comically overpriced.
.