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Thread: MountainCrafts Router/Plasma Build Thread

  1. #81
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    Well, I received all my motors, mounts, racks, etc. today.. So I have plenty to work with now...

    Ordered the PS, the BOB, cables/connectors, E stop switch, etc. this afternoon.. The only thing I need to order yet is the G203v drivers... That I'll do on the 1st when I get mo moola... So hopefully in about 3 weeks, this baby will come alive.. Can't wait..

    Then after that I need to buy software, the Super PID, and then get to work building the 'steel' version of the table base...

    I went with Ahrens BOB.. So I'm gonna be one of his guinea pigs... The rest of his stuff has been well made, so I have confidence this will be too...

    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  2. #82
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    You state: "We have chronic power problems here... blackouts in the winter, and brownouts in the summer.. I want the extra protection... and I don't want to get burnt because some wire vibrates loose sometime in the future."

    Look into a large Uninterpretable Power Supply [UPS]. You will be amazed at how much better your computer runs and how few "odd" electrical and electronics problems you have.

    What size you ask: Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)



    Copied from elsewhere:

    ............I plan to use a UPS on the PC and BOB which will then act on the estop and activate a blinker powered by the same UPS. the UPS is just 10min backup and since I am planning on LED blinker and Atom motherboard processor combo the backup will extend to around15 min.

    I will set up the Estop in such a way that any power outage will trigger a estop -, I will also have a delay switch on the mains - before power enters the mains - it will go thru a Omron delay switch - this helps when in our areas there is huge variation in power and where we have external shorts where power gets on / off many times in a few second.

    More over one important thing I am planning is to have a Voltmeter placed near your meter box - I have seen in my other machine with servos that any voltage drop will need changes in mach velocity settings. So better safe than sorry.

    Last edited by zool; 04-16-2011 at 11:35 PM. Reason: added from else where


  3. #83
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    Yeah, I've been thinking that a UPS would be a good investment for the computer.. but that doesn't solve the problem with the drivers and table itself..

    That being said, when I built my house, I installed a second panel that contained the 'essential' circuits of the home and property... This emergency panel is intended to someday be powered by a home built large UPS system of sorts...

    The charger/inverter switches over in less than one cycle in the event of brown out/blackout.. cleans up the power coming in, and auto starts the generator if the batteries drop too low (exercises the generator weekly too).. solar would eventually be added to charge the batteries and reduce power usage..

    But that's down the road.. I gotta fund the plasma for this thing first.. ($3-4K), and just the inverter for the set-up I described is $2500...

    Gotta get this table up and running and build up some clientele and product so i can fund all this nice stuff...

    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  4. #84
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    So here are some updates pictures for the table as of last night...

    Here's what came in my latest order from CNC RP..
    The motors are a 640 oz for the Z axis, and 906 oz for the X & Y axis..
    I also received the moore gear rack pictured on the left side..




    Here's the 640 oz temp mounted on the Z carriage.. I drilled out the Helical coupling to accept 1/2" motor shaft (that was fun) and temp mounted the motor so I could get measurements to cut the 1/4 CRS and the lead screw....



    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  5. #85
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    I also mounted 2 of the racks (still have to cut one in half and mount the halves on either side to extend the rack the full length of the table) so that I could install the X motors.. I made several mistakes, including not aligning the motor pulley properly, not orienting the motor properly so the cable exits where I want.. mounting the motor on the mount before installing the motor pulley, assembling the tensioners bass-ackwards, realizing that I had no access to install/adjust the tensioner screw (this is precisely why I wanted to make the base and gantry ends out of wood in the beginning, so that I could easily fix and modify things until I am completely happy with the whole system.. then do it in steel/aluminum only once), and so on...

    So as a result, I ended up taking the motors and mounts apart about 50 thousand times.. I'm really really good at it now ... I also have to get some more bolts (It's becoming a habit now), as the ones I installed are interfering with mounting the motors.. On the X axis, this is not a problem for now, as I only needed to back out two of the eight cap screws that hold the gantry to the bearing carriages on each gantry support... But on the Y and Z carriages, I need to change the bolts before I can go any farther..

    The Y motor on the top of the gantry is only 'sorta mounted' in the picture.. Can't drive the pivot bolt all the way in until I change out a bolt that's in the way..

    I also need to cut the rack gear for the Y to Z carriage (Y motor)...




    In this picture, the new and improved (stronger, more accurately built) temp gantry supports are shown, as well as the plywood I added on each end for lateral shear strength/stiffening, and the shelf underneath, which also add to the overall stiffness..

    When all of the wood is replaced with steel, stiffness and mass won't even be an issue..





    The new gantry supports are incredibly stiff now, and will only get stiffer once they are replaced with aluminum...

    In the following picture, you can see that the pinion gear is rubbing on the wood.. So far it is just shaving the wood away where it rubs... If, once I get the table powered up, it is a problem, I will probably just add a shim on the motor mount pivot to move it out from the wood about a 32nd of an inch... On the final table, I now know to offset the support rail an additional 1/8" to provide plenty of room for the pinion gear.. Rubbing on steel would be a whole different flavor of enchilada... Building a wooden mock up version first, is turning out to be something I am more and more glad I did...



    Will be working on it over the next couple weeks and posting pictures as I build up the Y and Z axis, while I wait for the power supply, drivers, BOB, and what not...

    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  6. #86
    Registered Zygoat's Avatar
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    looks good.



  7. #87
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    WOW, I am very impressed by your build. I have been watching your thread since you started it last month, and really like the design, and how fast you are moving on your project. Keep up the great work. - John Z



  8. #88
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    Yep, what JohnZ said. Be careful that you don't build the wood version so well that you don't need to change wood to metal. We would not like that.

    CarveOne

    CarveOne
    http://www.carveonecncwoodcraft.com


  9. #89
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    Quote Originally Posted by CarveOne View Post
    Yep, what JohnZ said. Be careful that you don't build the wood version so well that you don't need to change wood to metal. We would not like that.

    CarveOne
    Not to worry.. Once the plasma is mounted, that wood would quickly disappear.... along with the shop...

    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  10. #90
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mountaincraft View Post
    Not to worry.. Once the plasma is mounted, that wood would quickly disappear.... along with the shop...
    We wouldn't like seeing videos of that either.

    CarveOne

    CarveOne
    http://www.carveonecncwoodcraft.com


  11. #91
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    Well, went into town today and got the bolts I needed... So I came home, being really sleepy from having woken up in the middle of the night and unable to fall back to sleep.. the plan was to just take a nap, then work on this thing tomorrow night..

    But I figured I'd just replace a couple bolts and then go take my nap... Well, I changed those.... How's about the ones up on the Y carriage too?... You know what, I'm not feeling that sleepy any more.. how about I put some dye on the racks and Z carriage CRS and mark where the cuts are and the holes to be drilled? Hey, the storms breaking up.. might as well cut the racks and mount them... well, you know the story from here on out..

    So anyways, the racks are all in and spliced.. the Y carriage motor is now installed and adjusted.. So basically, the X and Y axis are done... I'll work on getting the Z axis fabbed tomorrow after work and wednesday... Than I'll be ready to power it up as soon as I put together a temp power box and order the drivers... everything else should be here tomorrow or wednesday...

    The only thing I have to do, is take all the motors off 'one more time' as Ahren informed me today that I should put some locktite on the motor drive pulleys... All I could find at home was red locktite, and that requires heating with a torch to loosen screws with that stuff in it, and I wasn't too keen about the mental image I had of putting a torch on those motor shafts...

    So once I can get some locktite that doesn't lock so tite, I'll redo the motor pulleys.. But in any event, now it really feels like it's coming together...

    I tell ya, I'm like a little kid waiting for Christmas now...

    PS... I've been reading through the pdf for Ahrens new BOB.. and this thing sounds pretty nice.. I think I made the right decision going with this instead of the PMDX BOB...

    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  12. #92
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    More Progress:

    Fabb'ed up, assembled, and installed the Z axis.. Used nylon lock nuts on the CRS, but they interfere with the cap screws that mount the lead nut screw to the High Z plate... So I replaced them with regular nuts, and put it all together again.. Now the 3/4" carriage bolts they are threaded onto are just slightly too long and also interfere.. So I either have to find some 5/8" long carriage bolts or grind down the heads on the cap screws holding the lead nut on... 1/2" carriage bolts will be too short to get more than a couple threads in the nut..

    Maybe I can come up with a lower profile bolt of some kind for the lead nut..

    Anyways, once I solve that issue, I just have to remove the motors and put some locktite on the pulley and reassemble, and all three axis will be done and ready for power..

    Cables, Powers Supply, BOB, should all be arriving today, so all I still need is the drivers...

    In the mean time I gotta start working on a way to mount the router...

    Anyways, on to the pics...











    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  13. #93
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    BTW.. I'd like to see how others have mounted their porter cable 690 series routers to their CNC tables.. especially to 15 series 80/20...

    I need something at least solid enough for temporary to use while I mill some aluminum for a permanent one... I eventually (almost immediately) want to incorporate a vacuum for sawdust removal...

    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  14. #94
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    Okay.. All issues resolved...^^^

    Ready to mount the router, and work on getting power to the motors..



    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  15. #95
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    That's loking great! To answer your question, I believe K2 CNC makes a PC690 mount that should bolt up to you aluminum extrusion... but don't quote me on it!



  16. #96
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    Quote Originally Posted by louieatienza View Post
    That's loking great! To answer your question, I believe K2 CNC makes a PC690 mount that should bolt up to you aluminum extrusion... but don't quote me on it!

    K2 CNC?

    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  17. #97
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    Okay, I found it... That might work for me (sure would make life easier to just 'order it'), at least in the short term... I'm curious how others have worked out a vacuum attachment for that set-up though...



    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  18. #98
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    I have 1/4" and 1/2" collets for the router...

    I need to get a router bit for aluminum.. and one for plastic.. but I have no idea what is required.. My original purposes for both will be making stuff for the table.. from the gantry supports in aluminum, to plastic parts to make a cable chain and vacuum attachment..

    I'll be using a Super PID controller with this router when I do..

    With all of the above in mind, can anyone recommend reasonably priced bits and where to buy them for my router... I have a somewhat decent selection of carbide wood bits for now... but nothing for milling aluminum or plastic...

    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


  19. #99
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mountaincraft View Post
    I have 1/4" and 1/2" collets for the router...

    I need to get a router bit for aluminum.. and one for plastic.. but I have no idea what is required.. My original purposes for both will be making stuff for the table.. from the gantry supports in aluminum, to plastic parts to make a cable chain and vacuum attachment..

    I'll be using a Super PID controller with this router when I do..

    With all of the above in mind, can anyone recommend reasonably priced bits and where to buy them for my router... I have a somewhat decent selection of carbide wood bits for now... but nothing for milling aluminum or plastic...
    I buy 2 and 3 flute endmills for aluminum here:
    Kodiak Cutting Tools - Discount supplier of premium USA made cutting tools.
    For plastic (and aluminum profiling) I use single flute spiral-o bits here:
    Router Bits, Cutting Tools & Drilling Tools | Onsrud.com | | LMT Onsrud (You can also get them at Enco)
    ToolsToday sells Amana bits for aluminum (though I think the Onsrud cuts better):
    Router bits, Saw blades, CNC Router Bits, Shaper Cutters & More

    The single flute upcut works great for plastics.

    K2 also sells a dust shoe...



  20. #100
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    Thanks man.. Those are all excellent resources..


    [URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/124543-mountaincrafts_router_plasma_build_thread.html"][U]4' x 8' CNC Wood Router Project[/U][/URL]
    [U][URL="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/woodworking/135576-home_made_drum_sander.html"]Home Made Drum Sander Project[/URL][/U]


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MountainCrafts Router/Plasma Build Thread

MountainCrafts Router/Plasma Build Thread