Concrete VMC

[CNCMachineplans]

Did you buy the tslot table somewhere or have it made?

How long do you leave the Cast in the oven for to cure?

Thanks
Chris

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[stef110]

I bought the t-slot table at https://vacuumtables.co.uk they made a custom one for me according to my own drawing.
The castings have been in the oven for like 24 hours at a max of 55 degrees.

Stef

[CNCMachineplans]

I bought the t-slot table at https://vacuumtables.co.uk they made a custom one for me according to my own drawing.
The castings have been in the oven for like 24 hours at a max of 55 degrees.

Stef

Thank you

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[stef110]

This weekend made big progress on the pneumatic counterweight. Main parts are done now. Only need to put in some bearings and make some brackets that will attach the chain to the milling head. The cylinder will be connected to an air tank in a closed circuit and will filled with air just enough to make the head weightless. There will be an pressure switch in the system that will trigger an alarm on the control panel in case of an air leak.

Stef

[dbsharp]

I have purchased about 6 of these closed loop steppers (the ones from automation technologies inc, which are rebranded leadshines. I have had a lot of trouble with them. I've gotten over current errors, they have lost position (encoder issue?), and I have even had them run away on me crashing my z axis into the table. I will admit I turned up the position following error to a pretty high number on the one that crashed, I have had another one run away that was all oem program and it didn't go far before it errored out. For wiring, I am very careful to use shielded and properly grounded cables and I separate out sensory from motor power wires where possible. They are generally very nice vs open loop steppers for higher performance, and I think they are very close to being fantastic. They just are not reliable enough for me to want to use them on anything other than a hobby router.

On my lathe conversion I bought DMM servos, they appear to be more advanced and have 8 bit security code in the encoder feedback. The safety and reliability to me justify the cost.

PS Iove this build! I have started designing something similar a few times now, and have never really followed through. Mostly due to the cost, and backlog of projects on my list! I cant wait to see the ATC and this spindle in action.

[stef110]

I don't use steppers on my build, they are servo's from delta i know they look like big steppers but they are not!

https://www.damencnc.com/nl/ac-servo...7rs/a815?c=120

stef

[klaas123]

You keep surprising me Stef, great job!! (prachtig werk man, respect!).

[ninefinger]

For doors, I've used standard ball bearing drawer slides. They work great and are cheap and easy to mount. Plus they are pretty thin so the offset of the door into the machine isn't too much.

[jackjr-123]

Awesome work Stef.

How did the electric hand mixer work out for mixing the batches of epoxy granite? How much power does it have?

[stef110]

Turned out pretty good, i used only one bag of 25kg sand per batch. Just run the mixer at full power else it started to smell bad inside the motor...
It is a 1200watt mixer and costed me 50 euros brand new. Cheaper then rent it two times.

Stef

[stef110]

This week the way covers arrived, unfortunately the cover for the z axis had a manufacturing fault on it and will be remade so for now i installed the Y and X cover which is very satisfactioning to watch when it moves.
So yet an other step closer to completing this build.
Way covers are ordered to size from aliexpress:
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/BeftSsug

[Buoyen]

Very nice

[CNCMachineplans]

Very nice, would you be able to do a video on how you fit the way covers and how you measured up the covers to fit?

Thanks Chris

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[stef110]

@CNCMachineplans Just model the outside contours of the way covers in cad and send them a DXF file. What happens in my case was that when i had a rough design of my X axis 2 years ago i just ordered the waycovers. So i can had a feel of them see how it works and then designed the rest of the X axis bride. With that experience i was convinced that i could order the Y and Z axis covers later after building the column and base. This company is really helpful they will help you make the right cover they tell you if your design will work or not.



Today made a mock up of the control panel. To see how it would look like and if its gone be easy to control the machine. I think i gone keep this wooden box for a while so if i have the need for an extra button or small change i can do it easily and make a nice steel control panel later on.


There is a 17 inch touch screen panel inside
and a build in keyboard since i hate on screen keyboards.
A 80mm mpg wheel, with 2 selector switches for choosing the axis and step size above it. The shafts on the right are potential meters to control the feed and speed override.


Inside the box is a lenovo mini pc with ssd, so i only have to run a power cable, Ethernet cable and a small signal cable for the buttons between the control panel and the main electrical cabinet.


Also made a design for the main control box, it gone be tight inside the cabinet but the space in the garage doesn't allow a bigger cabinet. For now it will be a 600x800x250mm enclosure. I putted in 2 extra servo drives for a future 4th or 5th axis trunnion.


Stef

[footpetaljones]

If you haven't already bought the relays, you can save some space by going with a thinner version such as Pheonix Contact's PLC-RSC or AutomationDirect's KPR series.

[stef110]

I already bought my relays I already looked at different relays but for the price i have one of those high end small relays i can buy 10 big relays...
Maybe i gone change something and just get the driver for 4th and 5th axis out of this enclosure.
And then in the future if i decided to build a trunnion then i make a extra control box that i can mound somewhere under the machine with the 2 drivers inside of it.

Stef

[stef110]

This weekend installed the main control cabinet. Main power circuit is done. Servo drives have been connected to the cnc controller. So the machine is able to move again. Now i can wire all extra functions in slowly when i need them.
I changed the design a little i decided to take the 4th and 5th axis driver out of this cabinet. So if i will ever make a trunnion i make a separate control box for that.

Stef

[jcsb]

Nice build. Only comment would be on the enclosure. You might consider lowering the side windows some to accommodate a longer part that might need the clearance. This would allow you to machine a long part in segments. Even if you don't foresee yourself machining a longer part than the enclosure it would cost nothing to allow for it. Another plus would be cleaning.
John

[maxspongebob]

Will the enclosure get a fan?

[stef110]

Yes it will get a fan i think else it gone get quite hot inside of there.

@jcsb i will put that in mind thanks for the tip!

Stef