Thanks!
Thank you, I'm really enjoying this build.
You have some amazing attention to detail. I have to drill and countersink the holes that the machine shop forgot. The plate will be mounted to the stand through vibration dampeners that will sit on the back side of the plate. My Lista cabinet is scheduled to arrive today so I should be able to start work on the stand today or tomorrow. I didn't want to get ahead of myself for fear of welding the stand slightly too small for the Lista. They give dimensions for the cabinet, but until I have it in my hands I won't start so I don't mess it up.
You are causing some serious tool envy with these pictures of printed parts! I really haven't see parts so nice off a Makebot, did you do post processing to the plastic?
Is that ABS plastic?...
The beauty is that I can check to see fits and function without spending a ton of time machining. I just printed these at night when my printer wasn't working on anything important. There's only a few dollars in plastic and very little cost in running the printer.
Actually we need to be thanking you for this most interesting endeavor. You have a most interesting design there.That's all I've got for the moment. Now that I've got all the key components I should be able to get cookin with this build. If anyone has any suggestions as to how to make the machine run more smoothly or sees a problem please let me know! Thanks guys.
One idea would be to put a port behind the turret face plate which would line up with a matching hole above each turret station. You could use a complaint seal or have a solid nipple that slips into a recess when the turret plate pulls back. Of course this is one more thing that needs to be designed in and would require significant precision to get it right.
Another option would be a rotary coupling with a valve for each position. You would have to program each valve on and off in code though.
Another option would be a pipe with a sleeve over it. The pipe would be ported to in such a way that the port lines up with the working station. Each working station would have a pipe connected to the sleeve such that when the turret rotates the sleeve advances with the turret and the next port comes into alignment with the port on the pipe. This would be a cheap solution but less that perfect as some flow would go to the other ports.
Another option is a single rotary coupling that goes to a distribution hub for each turret position. A short pipe rungs from each port on the hub to a spring closed valve. This would be the type of valve that opens via pushing on a plunger. So you have normally slowed valves that need to be actuated open. To do that you supply a pin or cam at the working turret position that opens the valve when that station is in position. This simplifies that hardware at the rotary coupling end to something that is frankly cheap to buy. It may add significant design challenges on the turret though. For one you need to find a suitable valve and the turret body had to be machines in such a way as to accommodate that valve. If you wanted to be real tricky you could make your own cartridge valves that screwed in from the front of the turret face plate.
These are just ideas off the top of my head. There are probably many more to be had.
Epoxy paint possibly? Or you can try Glyptal Brush On Red Enamel which is pretty amazing stuff.There are still a few ops to the reverse side and some rotary work to the sides, but all in all I think the turret is coming along nicely.
Anybody know a good way to color the letters so that it doesn't get eaten by coolant?
Thanks guys!
Thank you for the kind words Wizard. The Makebot took a ton of work to get to print reliably. Probably in the vicinity of 300-400hrs of tinkering to get perfect prints. I've even got it down to .05 mm layers with moderate trouble. The biggest complaint with that printer was reliability. I don't know if I got a problematic machine but only 1 in maybe 5 prints would finish. Now it's very rare that a print fails. There's no post processing and the Makerbot is limited to specifically PLA. That has a lot to do with the machine design than my wishes. It needs a heated plate and chamber to print ABS with success. Most of the changes were software and calibration based. I created profiles for every spool of plastic I own as well as different print settings for layer height/infill/support. If the Makerbot made you envious I think you'll like one of the photos I'm about to post. A little side project while waiting for parts or things to happen with the lathe.
Thank you for your ideas, they're super appreciated. I've not really worked with professional machines before so sometimes the simple solutions they've already come up with elude me. I think I've got a way to do it, but I'll probably print a prototype to see how it works once I've got the machine under computer control. It sort of has a spring loaded barrel that pushes against the turret as it's seated on the hirth. If the turret is open the barrel is like a valve and closes the flow of coolant, and while seated it allows flow to only the tool in position. That way the pressure is maintained instead of squirting coolant everywhere and having to turn the coolant off between changes. One less thing to execute for toolchange. I'll check out that paint.
Update to follow. Thank you guys for all the kind replies. This is such a fun challenge but sometimes moral support is much appreciated.
Jake
Hi guys,
I had to do a production run this last week so everything I'm posting is from two weeks ago.
I've been working on a side project while waiting for various components for the lathe.
It's a delta printer that's based around the Kossel. I took all the stuff I learned on the Makerbot and am applying it to this new printer. I'm hoping to dial in Nylon with soluble support material on this machine. Johann did a fantastic job getting the firmware and design down, and kudos to him for making it all open source. I'm having some issues with the control boards, they'll hopefully be resolved soon. This printer has been more challenging to get running than any CNC I've worked on so far.
Enough of that side note, on to the Lathe.
Turret is mostly finished. I still have to make the motor mount inside the housing, cover the motor and anodize everything. It's really fun to hit the solenoid button and the thing pops right out, rotate it by hand, hit the solenoid again and it aligns perfectly. I LOVE IT WHEN THINGS WORK.
Here's the travel of the turret with beer for scale reference.
The Cabinet came in as well. Time to get crackin with the stand and enclosure.
Here's a photo of the internals of the turret. The belt passes through the cutout in the middle and connects to a stepper on the other side of the wall. I wanted everything to be a strong as possible between the air cylinder and the turret. I also think I need to remachine the turret with a different order of operations. If I set up the 4th first it will give me nice flat sides to hold onto for very good alignment of the hirth and tool cutouts. When I was trying to machine the current turret it spun while slotting which you can see in the photo. While the current turret might work if I made round tool holders for each individual position, in the long run it's going to be a headache. Besides its much easier to rerun a program than is is to write it in the first place.
Here are most of the pieces of the turret. I'm not sure if I love this design, welded steel would have been much faster. Though this gives me the ability to replace something should it need.
And a close up of the hirth. This things is like a jewel in person. Though it definitely doesn't need so many bolts. (they just look cool)
That's all I got for the moment. I'll start work on the stand monday, and hopefully have it done this week. Like always, let me know if you see anything amiss. Thanks for reading.
Jake
I must ask, what is the point of a delta printer as opposed to a normal XYZ arrangement? I've seen a few of these printers and to be honest they look like a maintenance nightmare. On the other hand they do look cool!
Didn't you know this kind of stuff IS man jewelery? If you think I need more fasteners I could always squeeze in an M8 between the M12's, lol. Thanks.
That's an awesome question. I've never had to maintain a delta robot to tell you the truth. The main purpose is to maintain the same accelerations and speeds in all directions. The axis are not being stacked like an xyz machine, which usually leads to one of the axis being slower than the others. With the delta there's hardly any weight on each of the axis and the speeds can be insane.
I was wondering if you are planning on adding some cross braces? With those long vertical tubes and the mass of the lathe at the top you will get side to side sway.
Really enjoying this build
Glad I could help
Quick Update but nothing crazy.
I machined the X axis motor plate and bolted everything together. It looks great. The turret no longer falls, even when there's no power. I've printed a couple different pulley ratios to see how well the machine performs before I spend money on metal versions. I think I'm going to go with a 1:1 with 20tooth pulleys unless somebody says otherwise.
And the front side.
I also started molds for carbon boxes for electronics. This way I can make a custom shape to fit the stand, maximize space, and optimize shielding. I'll be laying up the box later today or tomorrow assuming I don't sand through the DuraTec.
At this point I'm leaning towards an enclosure out of fiberglass or carbon, but I can do it out of metal too. I've got a really awesome epoxy that's chemical proof(which I've also tested against my coolant/oil). Everything is up in the air with the enclosure. The only things I know are that it will have one sliding door for easy part changes, and one gull type door for toolchanges at home position.
The main reason for this post is that I need help with the chip conveyor. I've never really taken one apart, or for that matter had a good look to see how they work. Does anybody have any good links or images of a good conveyor? I picked up some 4" wide conveyor from Mcmaster that's got little triangles on one side and smooth on the other. I'm not entirely sure how to get chips out and keep coolant in. Any links/photos/advice would be extremely appreciated.
Thanks guys,
Jake
At the most basic level I'd suggest:
1. Conveyor goes uphill
2. Conveyor drops into a container that coolant can be recovered from (ideally just drains back in to circuit)
One of the benchtop guys on this forum made one and it is fairly well documented. Off hand, can not remember the thread title, but it seemed to work quite well.
Art
AKA Country Bubba (Older Than Dirt)
Sure was and as I remember, he made the auger also.
I think he lives in Texas????
Been scratching my brain trying to remember his handle at least, hoped it would jog somebodys memory.
Art
AKA Country Bubba (Older Than Dirt)