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  1. #81
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    Since I got the magnetic bar, I found them on the internet and at Home Depot. They are called nail sweeps. Here is a link to one of the ones I found.

    Nail Sweep Magnet :: A.M.K. MAGNETICS INC.

    It really works good. I can clean the tray in just minutes when it used to take a 1/2 hour (or more) and it does a better job.

    Willy



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    How about the abrasive garnet in the tray? How do you dispose it?



  3. #83
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    No garnet in the tray with a Plasma cutter. Just magnetic dust and chunks of metal. It also doesn't pick up aluminum, brass, etc.

    Willy



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    How silly I am ,it is a plasma cutter. It is still a problem to handle no-magnetic
    metal....



  5. #85
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    Default Machine report

    It looks like another summer has come and gone and it's almost time to head south for the winter. The table has just finished it's second season and is still running great. Millman told me during the build that the quality of the design would show up after the machine had been used for a while.He was right. The table has about 60-70 hours of actual cutting time (about an hour per day) since it was finished and nothing has failed. However, there are some changes that I will be making.

    The downdraft system works exceptionally well. Virtually no dust or smoke escapes the table. this causes problems with the filter screens inside the machine. They have to be cleaned at least every hour of operation. This is not a big problem but I will make the screens larger (again). The blower is still running fine. No signs of wear on the shaft bushings.

    I am going to redesign the gantry. The linear rails for the Y axis pick up a lot of dust and I've had to clean the truck bearings several times this year. I am going to use a single V rail with 2 V bearings and 2 sealed flat bearings on the opposite side. I can reuse the Y and Z axis carriage parts so it's not a big deal. I've not had any problems with the V rails on the X axis and thy are very easy to clean, just wipe down with a rag.

    The belt drives are exceeding my expectations. I've not adjusted the Y axis yet and the X axis only once (on one side). I fully expected to have replaced the belts by now so the spares will sit on the shelf a while longer.

    The Pmax 65 is running beautifully. I am getting 10-15 hours from each set of consumables and they could probably run longer. I am amazed at how long they last. I usually change them out when I have to cut some thicker parts. Most of my stuff is 1/8" or 16 GA so pierce damage is almost zero. The only downside is that I get better cuts on thicker material than the thin stuff. I just can't run the table fast enough on the thin stuff because of the designs which require a lot of changes in direction.

    The one bad thing is that because of the small table size, I am just going into my 3rd set of slats. The good thing is that they are fairly small so it doesn't cost much to replace them.

    All in all, it's been a great project that will last for many years .

    Willy

    Last edited by flyinwilly; 09-11-2011 at 07:45 AM.


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    Default Correction !

    I need to make a correction on a previous post. I had listed the Pmax65 consumable life as 10-15 hours. I was using the Mach3 run time off the screen which I keep track of. I found out that this is considerably different from the actual arc time. The arc time off the 65 was 13.2 hours for 3+ sets of consumables (still on the 4th set) which works out to about 3 1/2 hours per set. My Mach3 readings were almost 40+ hours of operation which includes the traverses, pierce delays, feedholds, etc. So the arc time works out to about 35% of the Mach3 time. Thanks JB for the heads up on how to get the actual arc time off the 65.

    Willy



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    Default easy way to remove low speed dross

    Been back from the sunny south for about two weeks and got the shop up and running for the summer. Took awhile to get everything running but it's all working now. Great to be back and burning stuff up.

    I obtained the new fine cut charts from Jim Colt that are about half the speed of the regular charts. They work great if you are going in a relatively straight line and can maintain the cut speed. For the metal art stuff that I do, there are way too many twists and turns. What you end up with is a blend of high and low speed dross and some areas with no dross. The fine high speed stuff is really tough to remove and the low speed is a PITA.

    I was at my buddy's body shop and noticed one of the body men removing rust scale from a frame with an air tool. It was a needle scaler and did a great job. I left with one of his spares in my pocket (just borrowed). I found that if you hold it at a 45 deg angle and perpendicular to the line of the dross, it just vibrates it right off. Don't press too hard against the dross, just hold it loosely and let it do it's thing. It's much better on low speed than high speed dross so I've reduced the cut speed by 30 IPM to avoid high speed stuff. One caveat is that it will leave very slight marks in the metal. I finish both sides of my work so the sanding, primer, and topcoats cover them right up.What used to take 5-10 minutes to clean up is now done in 1-2 and the sanding is much quicker.

    One problem is that the scaler is noisier than hell. Wear ear protection and you should be OK but your neighbors may object.

    Happy cutting!!

    Willy



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    Default Another season come and gone !

    Another summer has come and gone. We did very well with the metal art business both on-line and at shows. Generated lots of custom sign and metal art work.

    The machine continues to run very well but as Millman said a while back, you find out the design problems after you've been running for a while. We probably ran for 3-4 hours per day this past season and this puts a lot of strain on the machine.

    I've decided to make some changes.

    The current gantry is a 2 rail design and is slightly top heavy. It's fine when running at slower speeds (less than 100 IPM) but has a slight wobble when reversing directions above that speed. It's not that a great a problem with the metal art but it bothers me when it happens and adds extra clean up work on the pieces. Another problem with the old gantry is the linear rails. With the extra usage the machine is getting, it is taking more time for maintenance, cleaning the rails and slag screens.

    I've designed a single rail gantry with a single V rail guide with a sealed bearing torch carriage. I am also going to re-do the floating head to incorporate bias springs to reduce the amount of pressure required to zero the torch height on thin material.

    I am also going to enlarge the slag screens to reduce the amount of cleaning required. Although it doesn't take much time, it's a pain when you have to stop cutting to clean in the middle of a run.

    The last thing is to reduce the belt reduction ratio. The current ration is 4:1 and this accuracy is not required for a plasma table: I am going to try a 3:1 or 2.5:1. It should give me better acceleration, especially with the lower gantry weight.

    I'm just starting to order parts and I'll post pics as I get started on the project.

    Happy Holidays to all.


    Willy



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    Quote Originally Posted by flyinwilly View Post
    Another summer has come and gone. We did very well with the metal art business both on-line and at shows. Generated lots of custom sign and metal art work.

    The machine continues to run very well but as Millman said a while back, you find out the design problems after you've been running for a while. We probably ran for 3-4 hours per day this past season and this puts a lot of strain on the machine.

    I've decided to make some changes.

    The current gantry is a 2 rail design and is slightly top heavy. It's fine when running at slower speeds (less than 100 IPM) but has a slight wobble when reversing directions above that speed. It's not that a great a problem with the metal art but it bothers me when it happens and adds extra clean up work on the pieces. Another problem with the old gantry is the linear rails. With the extra usage the machine is getting, it is taking more time for maintenance, cleaning the rails and slag screens.

    I've designed a single rail gantry with a single V rail guide with a sealed bearing torch carriage. I am also going to re-do the floating head to incorporate bias springs to reduce the amount of pressure required to zero the torch height on thin material.

    I am also going to enlarge the slag screens to reduce the amount of cleaning required. Although it doesn't take much time, it's a pain when you have to stop cutting to clean in the middle of a run.

    The last thing is to reduce the belt reduction ratio. The current ration is 4:1 and this accuracy is not required for a plasma table: I am going to try a 3:1 or 2.5:1. It should give me better acceleration, especially with the lower gantry weight.

    I'm just starting to order parts and I'll post pics as I get started on the project.

    Happy Holidays to all.


    Willy
    I've read through your worklog and I'm really impressed! Great work on designing a solid system and working through all the bugs and issues that arose.

    I currently run my table as direct drive, no reduction. However, I've received all the pieces I need to make a 2.33:1 reduction, which I figure to be a sweet spot for what I do; a lot of aluminum sheet. I'm doing this reduction with a 12xl037 and 28xl037.

    I admire your downdraft setup and maybe referring to you and your worklog if I choose to take on something like that.

    Keep it up and thanks for sharing!



  10. #90
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    Thanks for the kind words.

    I have been laid up recovering from knee operations so my redesign has stopped for a while. I've have been doing some work on the computer and I am going with the 2.5:1 reduction, close to what you are planning. It will require no modifications (other than the pulley and belt) on the X and I'll be building a new Y and Z anyway.

    I did start on the new gantry and Y axis carriage but didn't get very far. Got the gantry rail with the V guide built along with the Y axis carriage plates cut out and finished but that's where it sits right now. Hopefully I'll get back to it within a month or two.

    One other benefit to the lower reduction is the reduction in weight. The 40 tooth pulleys were only available in steel and are very heavy. The new pulleys, 25 tooth, are aluminum and are much lighter. I expect the new gantry setup to weigh about half of what the old gantry weighed and this should give me much better acceleration.

    Happy cutting !

    Willy



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    Finally got some time to work on the new carriage. It's going to be a single rail design using V bearings and regular ball bearings. Had to grind the 2 x 2 tube flat on one side to mount the V guide. However, it was too long for my mill so a friend did it on a large surface grinder. Made spacers and mounted the guide to one side and and a 1" angle (it also had one side ground true) to the other. It took quite a while to make sure everything was square but it came out OK. The carriage uses 2 V bearings and 2 regular bearings on one side and 4 bearings on the other. It is adjustable front to back and side to side to insure it rides square to the rail and the torch assembly (when finished) is perpendicular in both directions.

    I was going to reuse the steppers from the old carriage but I have too much work to do have the machine down for any length of time. I think I'll buy a new stepper for the Z and build that along with the floating head. The Y axis drive is going to be used as is (except for the drive reducer) and that will swap out very quickly.

    Some pics attached.

    Willy

    A Different Machine - Downdraft/water table-dsc02169-jpgA Different Machine - Downdraft/water table-dsc02170-jpgA Different Machine - Downdraft/water table-dsc02172-jpgA Different Machine - Downdraft/water table-dsc02171-jpg



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    Default Re: A Different Machine - Downdraft/water table

    Been a while since I've posted anything about the machine. It is still running beautifully. Haven't had to do anything except adjust the belt tension once in a while. The downdraft system is still sucking everything out that the water table doesn't collect. The LCTHC from Candcnc is running great and maintaining 1 volt (plus or minus) and the G540 is rock solid. The PMAX65 now has 45.1 arc hours and hasn't skipped a beat. 90% of the cutting is done at 40A and consumable life is really long ( I do metal art so I probably use them longer than most people would) and is mostly fine cut consumables. After several years of use, I've found that my primary settings for 16 GA steel (my primary material) are 150 IPM with 40A on fine cut consumables. It gives me the quality I need with very little dross and long consumable life.

    The only addition is a backup computer. My PC died this year (hard drive failure). I've added two machines with one backing up the other automatically. One machine is in the shop running the table and the other is in the office and connected over a wireless network. It also backs up my PC that I do the drawing designs on. I also put in a external hard drive (western digital) that backs up files on all 3 machines. Spent many hours trying to recover files when the table PC died and I don't want to do that again.

    The new gantry is still unfinished. Too much work, not enough time. Getting ready to shut down for the winter and head south , so it will have to wait until next year (again). Building this machine was a lot of fun and a lot of work but it was well worth it.

    Willy



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    Default Re: A Different Machine - Downdraft/water table

    Hey WILLY! If you like the LCTHC you would pass out from joy with the new MP3100-DTHCIV plugged into that G540 and running the advanced posts we have for SheetCAM. You now have a full Electronic Cut Chart for the 65 in our Posts for SheetCAM (toolset) with all of the settings (including preset volts) that auto-load it to MACH and the DTHC. No more knobs to twist. It even reminds you to check your AMPS setting and the consumables for proper size. If you get rich and want the ultimate, you can upgrade that Hypertherm 65 with their RS485 port and our HyT-Connect RS485 SIM Kit. Now you don't even have to remember to change the AMPS because it does it for you!. The MP3500-DTHCIV is our new Ether-Cut product that runs off a CAT5 to the PC Ethernet port (no more parallel port). You can run it off a laptop and WIN 7. You can have the Ethernet for the control and a separate wireless channel to talk to your network or another PC.
    TOMcaudle
    www.CandCNC.com



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    Default Re: A Different Machine - Downdraft/water table

    Tom:

    Your new unit looks great but I don't need all the bells and whistles. I haven't changed the settings on the Pmax or LCTHC in 2 months and the cuts are plenty good for the stuff I do.You built the LCTHC too good. It just runs perfectly. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

    The only way I would consider the upgrade is if the LCTHC craps out or when I finish the new gantry and I have to rewire the machine but that's way out the way I've been going with that upgrade.

    Good luck with your new products.

    Willy



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    Default Re: A Different Machine - Downdraft/water table

    I don't NEED the power steering, power brakes, cruise control, GPS or bluetooth on my new truck but they sure are NICE!
    Of course if all I do is drive to the barn and back my old Ford truck is just fine.



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    Default Re: A Different Machine - Downdraft/water table

    The winter is moving along and it's time to start planning for the new summer art season. Plans are to complete the new gantry (been planning that for several years) , start on a new (aka larger) table, and upgrade the air system. Don't know how much we can accomplish with the projected workload but it's good to plan ahead.

    For the air system, I just purchased a Speedaire / Dayton 15 SCFM refrigerated air dryer off Craigslist for $50.00 and it actually works well. The plan is to use both the dryer and my desiccant dryer in series with a bypass(s) around each unit. I am also going to install water drops with auto drains at the outlets. The plasma will get along fine with either but when we are using the plasma and spray painting during the summer, the compressors generate a ton of water and overpower the desiccant dryer by itself. So the air system will look like this:

    Compressors ----Air Radiator ----- Refrigerated Dryer ------M60 -------- Dessicant Dryer ------ Water Traps / Outlets
    | | |
    |-----------Bypass-----------|------- Bypass -------------------------|

    That's the plan. If anybody has any suggestions, be glad to hear them.

    Willy



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    Default Re: Machine report

    It's been a while since I posted on this thread. It's hard to believe but it's almost 6 years since I built my table and for the most part, it's been running great but I knew it couldn't last forever.
    I very seldom go to the limits of the table but I have one job that requires me to go to the max on the Y axis. So I set the sheet on the table and run the y axis to the limits to insure that the sheet is in the correct position. However, it wouldn't go to the far limit. it always stopped at 22.5 inches. I checked everything (mechanically) and couldn't find out what was stopping the carriage.In fact, when it reached this point, the carriage would oscillate like it was stuck against a mechanical limit. I checked the software limits, homing switches, etc. Everything looked fine. I then removed the belt and moved the carriage manually down to the max. When I hit the Y axis on the pendant, the stepper chattered with no load on it.
    So i took the shrink wrap off the stepper wires and found the problem. The splice on one of the sets of motor wires was loose and when the carriage moved near the max travel, the flexible rack bent enough to move them out of the splice. One good crimp and I was back in business.

    Something to remember if you get a chattering stepper.

    Willy



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    Default Machine report

    It's been 8 years since I built this table and I am delighted to report that it is still running fine. I've had a few problems along the way but nothing major, just stuff wearing out. I've had to replace 2 of the steppers, one of the X axis the Y axis. The shafts snapped right at the motor housing. The downdraft system is still working great and sucking out the smoke and fumes. The water table is getting a little cruddy and I plan on taking it out and repainting. I started to build a new gantry about two years ago but progress has stalled on it - just too busy with money paying jobs.

    I have many hundreds of hours of cutting time on the table now. Just replaced the table slats for the 5th time. Glad they are cheap and easy to replace. The Pmax 65 is still running great although I am starting to get a few "STUCK CONSUMABLES", even after replacing them. Will have to clean the torch completely when I shut down for the winter. My THC, the LCTHC from CandCNC, is still working flawlessly. Wish I could find another one to use as spare parts for when it does die (if it ever does).

    All in all, this has been a very enjoyable and profitable project. Only wish I had done it years earlier.

    Willy



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    Default Re: A Different Machine - Downdraft/water table

    Hi Flyinwilly,

    You mention that you still have a few "stuck consumables" and that doing a complete cleaning of the torch could resolve this. What type of cleaning are you doing? I too have stuck consumables (Pmax 85) more often than I think I should. We use to have serious problems until we installed a refrigerated air dryer. The problem is about 1/10th of what it was but it still exists. It tends to happen more towards the end of life on the consumables but it can happen fairly early too. When our torch was new we didn't have a single issue with stuck consumables.



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    [QUOTE=flyinwilly;2218428]It's been 8 years since I built this table and I am delighted to report that it is still running fine. I've had a few problems along the way but nothing major, just stuff wearing out. I've had to replace 2 of the steppers, one of the X axis the Y axis. The shafts snapped right at the motor housing. The downdraft system is still working great and sucking out the smoke and fumes. The water table is getting a little cruddy and I plan on taking it out and repainting. I started to build a new gantry about two years ago but progress has stalled on it - just too busy with money paying jobs.

    I have many hundreds of hours of cutting time on the table now. Just replaced the table slats for the 5th time. Glad they are cheap and easy to replace. The Pmax 65 is still running great although I am starting to get a few "STUCK CONSUMABLES", even after replacing them. Will have to clean the torch completely when I shut down for the winter. My THC, the LCTHC from CandCNC, is still working flawlessly. Wish I could find another one to use as spare parts for when it does die (if it ever does).

    All in all, this has been a very enjoyable and profitable project. Only wish I had done it years earlier.

    Willy[/QUOTE

    I have had apx. 11 years from mine. Pretty much ran 8 hrs a day at least 5 days per week. My Win. XP finally crapped out with no issues on hardware from CandCNC. However my stuff is so old I can't get by without installing pretty much an entire new system. Going with the current Linux based system. Microsoft will not obsolete me again!!!

    If it works.....Don't fix it!


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