My Torchmate 1 build log

[millman52]

Welcome aboard Shapenfab. Good luck with your build. I think the Mod. Blackhollow made using precision rail on the gantry is worth while. I'm not knocking the TM 1 as designed. It will work as is, many of them out there working now. It's just my opinion thet the precision rail really converts the TM1 to first class for what it's designed to do.

[Grunge-Fut]

Hi Bob
love the build its promted me into building a small 4x4 one of my own at last, after many years of thinking about it. I have read your thread and many others many times and taken in most of the comments, now I have finaly drawn one up taking ideas from all over the place I like the idea of a light aluminium beam with a 25mm hiwin rail with a single wide carrage, over a 60x60mm box frame with a 75mm cold rolled top track, with dual motors on the "X" axis (if I can work it out) the electronics seem to be a bit of a mystery to me at the moment, no doubt it will become clearer, eventualy, as will Mach3, with a MP1000C-THC if I can get one shipped to here, I just dont quite understand what else I will need at the moment, but as with every thing else bu the time I need them I possibly will.

I have a few questions I would like to ask you

what DP are the gear racks you used? and the diameter of the pinion gear?
Im going to use 54t and a 16t xl belt drive with a 70t belt, that gives me a reduction of 3.375:1 what did you use? I have drawn all the motor mounts so they can be spring loaded against the rack they only have at the extreme ends of movement 3/8in in the pinion gear to allow for any "Tight" spots or backlash

there are some 1.86Nm - 263oz or some 3Nm - 425oz Stepper motors on ebay uk both size 23 which would be best? there is less than $10 difference in price

any comments will be apreciated I need all the help I can get, but please dont flame me too much we all started somewhere

this was last years project

as was this my hydraulic conversion to a JD2 bender

See Im quite good at somethings
Thanks

Steve

[MMeek]

blackhollowmfg, I have been reading your thread and it is very impressive. You have set a very “HI” standard to stride toward. I have been drooling over the ideal of building my own machine for a while now. (Reading your thread did make it a little better, at least I felt like I was their, with all the pictures that you posted. Thanks for that!) If you had to do it all over again what, if anything would you change? After everything how much did it cost? What is the thickest material you have cut? I had someone that run a table for a living suggests that I build the table separate from the gantry to avoid racking the machine while loading material. What do you think? I have read several threads about the TM1 and it all was positive about the equipment. Do you feel it was worth it? Is their any more pictures? Thanks MMeek

[Burn]

Did you use linear slides on the X axis in addition to the Y? Looking at the Hiwin rails, it doesn't look too expensive to add linear slides on the 8 foot sections.

Also, given their current offerings of Hiwin ways, which set would you suggest? I was looking at perhaps the 15mm or 20mm medium duty ways.
http://www.automation4less.com/store/linearind2.asp

Thanks!
Corey

[carsluTT]

great work. after all this time how is it holding up w/ the changes u made to the unit?