Hi everyone, I have been gathering parts and brain storming for the last 2 months to upgrade my Dynatorch 5 x 10 table to some of Dynatorch'es latest features plus a couple of my own. Any comments along the way are welcome. I have learned a great deal from others on the forum and would like to give back. In 2005 I purchased a 5' single x axis motor, standard gantry with laser locator and built my own 5 x 10 water table. It has worked without missing a beat.
At that time Dynatorch offered a battery powered laser locator (which I still have) and had spring assist pre load for the pinion gears. They also used a v rail design for the lifter station. Shortly after I got my machine up and running they improved their Z lifter station to a ball screw design and added small pneumatic air cylinders to pre load the pinion gears. Both were major improvements which I added to my machine.
Since then they have added a host of new features. My machine has been making me money so I decided its time to reinvest. The Dynatorch crew has been great at providing all the parts I needed and technical advice.
The Upgrade;
1. Add Dual x axis drive motors
2. Dynatorch currently offers a single drop side gantry, however my plan is to make it a Dual drop and replace my existing gantry with a 3 x 12 channel aluminum gantry.
3 Add the new Dynatorch all steel Y axis carriage and dual linear rails on the Y axis.
4. Add the Dynatorch DASH system
5. Add the Dynascribe unit for plate marking
6. Replace all rack and pinions on the X and Y axises with their new 24 pitch rack.
7. Upgrade the laser indicator to the latest AC powered one.
Here are some pics of the parts and my gantry. I am sure it will take some time but in the end it will be well worth the effort.