I made a lot of progress this week.
1. 4 legs are with the welder to add the bottom plates.
2. All but the 2 y-axis support AL pieces are cut to size.
Andrew
I made a lot of progress this week.
1. 4 legs are with the welder to add the bottom plates.
2. All but the 2 y-axis support AL pieces are cut to size.
Andrew
Well here are the requested pics. :banana:
Pic. 1: AL parts progress so far.
Pic. 2: Welded leg bottom plates thanks to Chris at Generic Cycles. Some day I will learn to weld myself.
Pic. 3: Trial assembly step 1.
Andrew
Latest Progress report.
I've started to assemble some of the table pieces. I'm using an epoxy mixture to seat each joint.
Epoxy mixture:
West Systems 206 Slow Hardener
AL powder from Ebay
407 low density fairing filler for thickening agent
Joint Prep:
1. Sand with palm sander one side of the joint.
2. After sanding use Muratic Acid to etch the surface.
3. Clean acid with water and neutralize with baking soda before handling.
4. Use Synlube 531 mold release spray on the other side of the joint.
5. I used modeling clay to temporarily plug the pilot holes for the taper pins that were previously drilled.
6. Use a dollop of epoxy on each joint.
7. Hand torque the 4 hex bolts for each joint. Be sure to pre-coat the bolts with mold release spray.
8. Check alignment with a machinist level, etc.
9. Once epoxy is cured, drill and ream the taper pin holes.
10. Install the taper pins.
I did some test joints to start and the Synlube 531 releases the epoxy with no resistance. The epoxy sticks very solid to the other half of the joint.
Andrew
The Magnet Drill Press is great tool!
I didn't have much time to play tonight. Got to the shop late after another very tough day at work. Company I work for had a layoff this week and the environment at work it pretty negative. Lots of my buddies got axed.
Tonight I drilled out the holes for the taper pins. I first tried a hand drill and it took about 2 - 3 mins per hole through 1/4" steel. It was hard work.
I got out the mag drill and in the time to do 1 hole I can do 3 or 4 with the mag drill including repositioning. This thing is a super time saver. Well worth the $350 I paid for it.
Andrew
Some progress today. :wee:
I drilled the holes for the long axis bottom table braces.
I used one brace as a template and drilled pilot holes in all 4 long axis pieces to ensure I have the holes in the correct places.
Next I test assembled the main part of the table. It's a beast!
Next I will make up a template to drill out the holes for the main long axis supports which are 2" x 6" x 84" x 1/4" wall. They are heavy to deal with just one person. :drowning:
It's pouring rain and near freezing today. Much too cold and wet to clean the long axis steel. Needless to say I'm a mess of black tooling oil all over my clothes.
Andrew
Looking good Andrew. That's my kind of "gross overkill" type of build. Keep it up.
CarveOne
CarveOne
http://www.carveonecncwoodcraft.com
Time for some more overkill.
I spent some time tonight modifying the CNCRP 2:1 Nema 34 reduction drive plates to accept the BIG Motion Control Products - DMM Technology Servo Motors.
I used the Bridgeport CNC to add some clearance for the larger end plate of the Servo motor. It worked very well!
The pulley on the servo shaft was previous drilled out from 12.7mm shaft to 14mm. Trial fit everything looks good. I'm a little worried about the clearance of the rack and the long shaft on the motor. I guess I will have to wait till I have things more assembled to really know. It looks okay on the CAD drawing but am still a big worried.
Andrew
Took a break today from the build for some Dynamic Soaring a over 12,000 feet. The CNC will be used to build DS plane molds.
Here's a video from today of Ian's flight tying the Colorado record at 307MPH:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3eIT2ALRiw&feature=player_embedded]307mph at Jones Pass with Wizard Compact DSX - YouTube[/ame]
If I were to fly those I would be pulling up somewhere above China (theoretically, after straining it through the earth's core).
Awesome flying and video camera tracking work.
CarveOne
CarveOne
http://www.carveonecncwoodcraft.com
I'll have to check that place out next time I'm up there. My sister in law lives in Dawson Creek and I always spend time in Jasper when we visit.
Cool flying.
Gerry
UCCNC 2017 Screenset
http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html
Mach3 2010 Screenset
http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html
JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
Spent the last couple of days back on the machine. Working on the cross braces for the table at the moment. I have all the holes now drilled and half of them tapped.
BTW the cross pieces will be eventually on the bottom. The long axis table sides will be flipped over once I have all the holes done.
Andrew
Working on the last few holes for the table structure.
Once I have all the holes done and everything trial fits i will start the fun epoxy joint process.
Andrew
All the holes for the main table are now drilled and all the pieces have been trial fit. It's almost time for final assembly with the epoxy joints.
Today I cleaned all the cross pieces and one long axis piece. I also acid etched all the surfaces that epoxy will stick.
My high lift jack was used to move the table away from the wall a bit to allow easier assembly. Table is really, really heavy now.
Andrew
No pictures but have gotten lots of progress on the machine.
Main table is now complete, both long axis pieces mounted, cross pieces mounted, and the top rails have been cleaned and are ready to start the epoxy bed process. Next step after installing the remaining taper pins, I need to make the epoxy dams and get the wires stretched and in place.
Andrew
This looks really nice so far. I can't wait to see the result. Can I ask where you sourced the steel and linear rails from?
BTW, that plane you have there is ridiculous.
The steel came from a local metal and glass supplier. I had it cut to size as it came in 20 foot lengths and I didn't have a band saw at that point in time.
The linears are all Hiwin from Hiwin linear bearings and rail, AGH and AGW bearings, LGH and LGW bearings, linear slides from HIWIN
Andrew
Getting ready to pour my epoxy bed rails.
The dams are made up of some plastic strips I found at the hardware store and molding clay. The strips are stuck to the rail beds using sticky double sided tape, 2 strips per side.
Wire is Malin Hard Stainless 108lb test. I'm using .256 rod to position the wire above the bed. Bucket of stuff (about 30 lbs of it) make up the tension system. It's redneck engineering at it's best.
I used a set of calibers to get the wire parallel to the rail.
Tomorrow I'll start the pour. I plan on using the epoxy to self level and the wire (which is to be shallowly embedded in the epoxy) as my reference line for installing the rail.
Andrew
What exactly is the point of the epoxy pour? Is your goal to get two level surfaces to mount the rails on? This is new to me.