[johndjmix]

Well, just getting started. Using tulsaturbo's 4.0 bracket kit. Everything is on order, except the candcnc which I will order tommorow. Just waiting for the rest of the parts to arrive.

I will be posting pics of the build.

[johndjmix]

Built the gantry, started on the table (Until i droped a 20 foot length of 2" sq tube on my toe an almost broke it. uhh!)



Gantry



Table


Im finding it very chalenging (aka a pain in the butt) to get everything level, square, and parallell...at exactly the same time. This seems to take the majority of the time in building the table.

--John

[bluesea]

nice, looks solid
do you use belt reduction?
is that T- 5 mm hollow tube?

[johndjmix]

Using 2x2 3/16 thick square tube. Not sure im going to go with the X and Y bearings riding directly on the 2x2, or using v-rails. The 2x2 I purchased is straight but seems to have varying OD which is making the gantry tight in some points and loose in others. I could go aluminum 2x2 but then i might as well just go V rail.

--John

[johndjmix]

Did family xmas last night, so had some time today to work on the table. Really just spent about a few house making every vertical leg exactly 36 inches, leveling the table, and putting in 2 of the 2x6 tubes for the water table. I used a digital level and made everything is EXACTLY 0 or 90 degrees, down to the 10th of a degree...i dont want any problems later in the build. I don't see people on here talking about spending that much time making everything perfectly level and straight, but i don't want to take any chances here.

[HamerDownJustin]

Using 2x2 3/16 thick square tube. Not sure im going to go with the X and Y bearings riding directly on the 2x2, or using v-rails. The 2x2 I purchased is straight but seems to have varying OD which is making the gantry tight in some points and loose in others. I could go aluminum 2x2 but then i might as well just go V rail.

--John

I am fixing to order the setup for 2"x2" because Motion Industries called pbc today and they said they discontinued the intregated v rail...

[johndjmix]

Ordered my V rails today.

$23.81/foot for IVTAAG
$17.46/foot for IVTAAS

I got a feeling this is a bit higher than normal. Unfortunately EVERYTHING in Long Island NY costs WAY above national average prices. Usual markup here is MSRP plus 20%. But hey, at least they are ordered.

--John

[I Lean]

Since you ordered V-rails, what are you going to do with the brackets you already bought? (since you're basically changing to the Plasmabot 3.0, right?)

[johndjmix]

Ilean, correct. Have the 4.0 kit on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/300641481152

--John

[jeepsterjc]

Hello John,

Happy New Year!

I've been zooming through threads here on cnczone and found your build thread. I'll be buying parts to get going on a plasma cutter and water table in the next few days and have a few questions.

Why have you decided to go with the v-groove rather than the basic bearing on 2x2 for the y axis?

What are you going to use for hardware for Z and thc?

I had the Ultimate bot gantry page up and looking for "Add to Cart" then noticed it was out of stock. I started thinking and then added the basic to the cart instead. I'm thinking that the bearings on the 2x2 square tube should be as accurate as the v-groove y axis because is is sitting on the same 2x2 tube, anyways... Is there another reason you've gone to v-groove?

I think I'll be using the candcnc Bladerunner @ $1310 and a Hyertherm 45 for my setup.

<edit> Actually, I wonder if I can use the 300 oz steppers or if the gantry requires the 620s? </edit>

Jim

[johndjmix]

Hey jeepsterjc, I decided not to go with the bearings riding on the square tube for a few reasons.

1. I wouldn't be able to paint the rails. I could just oil them up to stop rust but didn't like that idea.

2. The vrails, while more expensive, will be more precise.

3. Everyone I've seen on here is using the vrail setup and it works great.

Not to take away from tulsas 4.0 kit...it was made perfectly with a perfect fit. If you are on a budget it's defiantly a way to save $!!!

I'm using tulsas z axis kit for the z axis. Using candcnc for the electronics.

Theres only a few hours left on it but if you hurry i have the 4.0 kit i didnt use on ebay See my previous post on this thread for the url.


--John

[jeepsterjc]

Hey jeepsterjc, I decided not to go with the bearings riding on the square tube for a few reasons.

1. I wouldn't be able to paint the rails. I could just oil them up to stop rust but didn't like that idea.

2. The vrails, while more expensive, will be more precise.

3. Everyone I've seen on here is using the vrail setup and it works great.

Not to take away from tulsas 4.0 kit...it was made perfectly with a perfect fit. If you are on a budget it's defiantly a way to save $!!!

I'm using tulsas z axis kit for the z axis. Using candcnc for the electronics.

Theres only a few hours left on it but if you hurry i have the 4.0 kit i didnt use on ebay See my previous post on this thread for the url.


--John

You'll be ahead of me in your build, but I hope I can catch up!

Here's my order I just made from John:
1 x ULTIMATE DIY PlasmaBot 3.0 Gantry Kit - I got the last one
1 x ShopDroids Z Axis Drive
1 x Z Drive Floating Torch Plate Kit

I'll go direct drive and tomorrow I'll dig into ordering up many of the goodies that I'll need to get started.

[jeepsterjc]

Done yet? :wave:

I've ordered the Bladerunner 620-4 full meal deal and a ton of small parts today!

[jeepsterjc]

Hi John. How's everything going?

I've read a couple of threads that have used the IVTAAG stock for the gantry and had troubles with the IVTAAG torquing as the Y axis accels and decells and the resulting poor cuts.

Do you know if this is a general problem or specific to certain builds? My rail stock is still 2 weeks away so I have too much time for worrying maybe.

More recently, I've ordered up the 620/4 4 axis system, the Plasma software bundle and the Hypertherm cable from Candcnc and tulsa's geared reduction for x and y. I've got everything here except the electronic, the darn grainger bushings and the rails. I'm almost ready to start cutting and welding.

[johndjmix]

Mine is still about 2 weeks away, and im away from the shop where im building the table for the next few months. Probably wont have it together till April....

Sweet! Let me know when you are done!

--John

[HamerDownJustin]

Glad your build is here it is nice to see what work goes into it..I am going to start mine next week or so..I am buying a cold cut saw just to help keep everything square when cutting..

[johndjmix]

Luckily, i called my office in NY and found that my V rail arrived. Big relief! I told them to lock it in my office and guard it like a hawk, since its not replaceable!

I wonder why they would discontinue a rail that would seem to be popular.

--John

[johndjmix]

Back at my shop I have been working on the machine. A few things I did and would suggest to others:

Make the sq tube that your V rails mount to adjustable, as I did by mounting it using a plate on the table and a plate on the rail. This makes it adjustable, you can get the rails perfect if your off by a little bit. You can also add spacer blocks to raise the gantry.

If you can, buy the IVDJSHJSHD (<-- joking....whatever code they are!) square tubes that the V rails mount to via those special fasteners. Unless you dont feel like drilling and taping 40 holes (Actually i drilled pilots so i drilled 80 holes! My arms are about to fall off! If you do it as i did, I used 5/16-24 x 1" SS button head bolts. Grabbed great in the 3/16 tubes.

When cutting V rails, notch the metal V part using a cut-off wheel. If your saw catches the metal rail as its cutting it could pull the metal rail out from the aluminum, totally f**king the rail! This didnt happen to me, but i could defiantly see this happening, espically since my band saw has a course blade. I attempted to cut one without notching (the gantry rail) by going very slow, and it destroyed my bandsaw blade....is that V section made of stainless possibly?

Measure, level, square....over and over again.

[I Lean]

The V rail is hardened--that's why it killed your bandsaw blade.

Not that it matters to you now, since you're done--but I used 1/4" bolts to bolt down the rail, so I have a little bit of V-rail adjustment via the slop in the holes.

[johndjmix]

ilean: thought of that...but did it this way so i can raise the whole system up if i need to using 4 spacer blocks. Either way works......

But I do have a small issue. I finished welding 1/8 plate to the bottom of the 2x4s tonight, to create the water table. I actually used the gantry to hold the welding gun and moved it down the rails to do a nice straight weld! (Made me wonder if anyone has added a welding gun to their table for robotic welding). Anyways, it Worked great, but....my 1/8" material was cut a bit crooked which made it end up being a bit short and i had to patch a plate in. Made a bit of a mess of the water table. No big deal, its not a critical part...but im concerned about sealing.

So....does anyone have a good idea of a sealent i can goop around the seam of the plate and the 2x4's? I was thinking the blue BLOCK stuff.

Blue Block™ Gasket and Pipe Joint Thread Sealant - Thread Sealing Compund made by Hercules Chemical Co. Inc.

You can get it at home depot. Its resistant to just about anything, gas, propane, etc...nothing get it off. (Im sure those of us that have used this stuff found this out once we got it on our hands!). Quite good stuff! Any other recommendations?

--John