[Regnar]

I was just wondering how long it took you guys to get your kits. I have ordered mine and anxiously awaiting its arrival.

[tai42]

About a week from ordering to receiving the UPS shipping notification. From there it's just a matter of how far from Texas you are.

[bilinghm]

I got order confirmation on 2-24 and it shipped today. They warned me that it might take two weeks to ship. Looking forward!

[Regnar]

Just recieved mine too. I was starting to get alittle worried, I ordered the same day as you Bilinghm. I have already pulled the mill apart and repainted it (red chips where flaking off) cleaned, lubed and planned out for the enclosure. Belt drive will be here Monday and I suspect the kit should be here Wensday or Thursday.

[bilinghm]

I received my X2 kit today. Pretty impressive. The ball screws look like the fancy ground ones instead of the rolled kind that they are. Very brightly polished. The are extremely smooth running. The preloaded ball nuts are marked Thomson. Now the fun starts!

[Regnar]

Received mine today too. I already have the x and y axis installed and moving. I will probably get to the z on friday due to the fact that tomorrow is our anniversary. Both axis run smooth but I hear a slight grinding noise. Almost like I need to grease them up or something. I also had a scary moment when I noticed that the x axis ballscrew was installed backwards so I actually had to use the cardboard tube. I have had bad experinces with little bearings bouncing all over the garage but the tube made it a piece of cake. Lets see some photos of your setup when your done.

[bilinghm]

Hmmm, on the X axis, it seems that mine is set up for the stepper to be on the right. Was yours' this way too? I wonder if it makes any difference? The Youtube video shows the stepper on the left. I will post pictures soon of my column bracing and the kit installation. I am going to try and get maximum Y travel. I think 4.5" is possible.

[Regnar]

Just flip it around with the cardboard tube. It was easy. Otherwise you wont get the full length of travel.

[bilinghm]

Any advice on tightening the nyloc nut on the end of the shaft to pre-load the bearings? I have a hook spanner that fits the nut, but how do you hold the shaft from turning?

[Regnar]

I placed the love joy coupler on the end and inserted the locking bar inbetween the "post" and rested it up against the motor frame. It didnt take much force to tighten them down at all. Infact I tighten one alittle to tight and it wouldnt spin.

I liked you ideal with the endcap but after looking at mine there just isnt enough room for it to fit. I think you will have more room than I do because of your machining of the base. I was able to mount the z axis and move everthing around. Im still learning how to use emc2, but was able to get 70ipm moves but they were short. The y axis could produce those speeds with no problems but the x axis is binding alittle. 50ipm is 100% all the time. Im waiting on delivery of some collets and endmills but I have a tramming problem that I need to get out of the way. My y axis is .007 out of tram and I need to shim put the colum. Have any suggestions on where to shim it up at?

[bilinghm]

I would check that the column is square to the base. If it is square, then the shimming could be between the two pieces of the head. If the column isn't square, then shimming of the column base plate would probably be appropriate.

I will post pictures soon of my column brace arrangement that really helps with tramming.

[Regnar]

Im still trying to get the tramming done but its going slow, well that is becuase I have been playing around with x and y axis. I should update and tell you that I was able to get up to 220 IMP before EMC crashed. At this speed you pretty much press the key and let off and its on the otherside of the table. I can get 170 IPM and Emc doesnt crash. Still very impress especially when the table size is so small.

[bilinghm]

I have so much to figure out before anything runs. I must finish the mechanical work, fit limit switches, wire up the Keling controller box, and then learn how to operate CAM software. I had been thinking Mach 3, but maybe I should investigate EMC before spending any money.

[tai42]

You should investigate both before you spend the money. You can do a pretty good test with the Mach 3 demo version. And you can run EMC right off the disc. I went with EMC because I like Linux, and I don't anything that can cause me physical harm to be controlled on a machine running anything from Microsoft.

[Regnar]

I have tried both and a nice feature with emc is the setup wizard that allows you to test each axis and find the right speed and accel. Infact I liked the whole setup process over mach and the hardest part of getting emc up was setting up linux. I was trying to do it with 128mb of ram and it just wasnt cutting it. Bumped it up to 1gig and the sucker flys threw everything. I would also recommend Vcarve if you dont know to much about writing code. It has made it very simple and they have a new product out called 2d that is very affordable. I think I read somewhere that they didnt have ramping in 2d but it is in Vcarve.

One thing that Mach has that Emc doesnt is a huge following and support. But emc is free so cant complain to much..

[bilinghm]

Ha! I don't even know what I don't know. I've never owned a PC until now. I have a house and office full of Macs. I couldn't even figure out how to use the mouse on a PC: two buttons?! I bought a cheap off-lease HP desktop with 1 gig of ram and a 2.8 mhz processor. Writing code? yikes!

[Regnar]

Here is a teaser for you bilinghm. This is being scratched at 100ipm.

http://video.google.com:80/videoplay...60881364665569

[fatal-exception]

Nice vid Regnar. I like to scratch the plastic too. I made a spring loaded graver for doing just that, but I can see that you must have the table dialed in pretty good to do ridgid graving.

The only thing I would suggest about the fusion kit is to drill and tap the spanner nuts to lock them in place once you have the axial tension on your bearings. 6-32 fits nicley. Nylock nuts are not suitable for this type of application. They will loosen with time and cause backlash to creep in.

Paul

[bilinghm]

Great tip! thanks

The only thing I would suggest about the fusion kit is to drill and tap the spanner nuts to lock them in place once you have the axial tension on your bearings. 6-32 fits nicley. Nylock nuts are not suitable for this type of application. They will loosen with time and cause backlash to creep in.

Paul[/QUOTE]

[bilinghm]

Regnar,

that is just too cool for words! You made my day. many thanks!

bilinghm

Here is a teaser for you bilinghm. This is being scratched at 100ipm.

http://video.google.com:80/videoplay...60881364665569