Very nicely done. No auto closing slides?
Very nicely done. No auto closing slides?
A lazy man does it twice.
Now there's an neat idea. I actually looked at those but they had so much monkey motion on them I figured I'd either ruin that feature when I mounted the attaching screws or a bit of gunk would get into them and kill the auto-close mechanism. Now that this ordeal looks like it may work I'll take another gander at them.
Thanks for the note.
Stuart
I went to the hardware store today and looked at self closing drawer slides..this idea was suggested above. What I discovered was that too much effort would be required to open the doors using that type of slide. The self closer work fine with a heavy drawer full of silverware with its bulk and momentum, but with light poly-carbonate doors you would have to muscle the slide open, then give it a real good pull to get the self closing mechanism latched so it can do its voodoo and softly close. Going to stick with the ones I have, but it was worth a look.
Stuart
You have done great the way it is.
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A lazy man does it twice.
Chris,
Thanks for the encouraging words, we're trying hard to make it look nice, and keep it functional too. This forum has been great, it's packed with many talented people and lots of great looking machines.
Stuart
The plastic for the other door is due to arrive early next week.. so in the mean time work has shifted to Z axis "way cover" mode.... its a bit tricky due to the gas spring being behind the column, we have been tossing around a few ideas but haven't settled on a single one as of yet. If y'all have any sweet ideas post em up!!!
you could put some brush strips on both sides.
https://www.mcmaster.com/#brush-strips/=174n3qu
Great idea. I've used brushes in many applications over the years, it sounds like you may have too. We have struggled with sealing this area and have gone back and forth, brush strips being one of the options. Building a pan on the outside that enclosed the gas spring was also considered. I'm going to try to a sliding mechanical seal using part strip rubber and part mechanical overlay...I think it will work and should be 99% waterproof.
Hanging the gas strut off the back felt warm and cozy, but as Chris pointed out, it was going to be a bear to seal up..he was correct. We are keeping the strut as is and getting creative to seal that area up..I think we'll overcome.
Stuart
I I ñu .
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We got doors!...... and windows........ Last night the UPS man delivered all the plastic for the last remaining door and 2 side windows. Heated, bent and hung the door today (much faster the second time around). Also got some schweet door handles that really tie the grizz together The 2 side windows were cut and slipped into there tracks.... knobs attached.... Also got started on the chip / coolant shielding for the Z axis (updates as work continues) basically consists of a combination of mechanical "flashing" type "waterproofing"..... and..... some rubber whipers.... rivets...... screws ect!
(awwwwwe.... we have arrived!)
(handles...)
(inside of enclosure looking back at doors and slides etc)
(side window. I promise you they are not made out of wood!!!!)
(doors open)
(the knob......(knob is mounted offset to allow window to open wider))
(a video for the video people. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on the grizz as well as other projects! check it out!!!)
https://youtu.be/-f-KC9zMeRk
(a sneak peek of whats to come.............)
THANKS!!
Very Nice!
I'm enjoying keeping up with your progress. You will have a very nice machine when finished.
I like the simplicity of the all plastic doors & the sliding windows. (I went overboard on that part of my enclosure. (16ga steel cut & formed .. with windows held in from behind with clips) It's nice now that it's done, but unnecessary as far as functionality is concerned)
If you're planning on flood coolant, you will get some coolant weeping out between the doors. There's times when you need a higher flow to clear chips from pockets, etc. & the tool will fling it out like a fan, pretty much spraying the whole inside of the enclosure.
I was vexed by the puddle of coolant on the floor during long runs, so wound up attaching a small overlap to the back side of the right hand door. Problem solved!
Cheers,
gd.marsh
Thank you for the note. A strip on the backside of one of the doors is in our design, just hasn't been installed yet. We want no drips, no runs, no errors.:cheers:
Stuart
Yep, I was really surprised the first time I used flood coolant in anger and the tool path caused the spray to hit the doors hard coming out the nearly imperceptible gap and wetting my clothes with coolant (you know, standing there watching in awe at the wonder of cnc...).
The strip down the middle fixed that (1 change of clothes too late).
More progress on the column shielding... made the rubber wiper/seal and the strips of steel with tapped holes that hold them on.... and to round it all out an additional piece of flashing on either side of the guards was made from aluminum angle and fastened with 10/32 fasteners. Also constructed a brace / connector that spans the back of the enclosure to tie both sides together and make it more ridgid.... as well as give us an option for mounting some sort of cable chain for all the hoses and wires that need to get to the head of the machine.... the brace it made from some .750 steel tube, a few welds and some button heads holding it on....
(the 6 screws are clamping the rubber strips)
(something like this..)
(and this...)
(and the small piece of aluminum angle is the other part of the water "proofing" scheme...)
(the aluminum angle is held on with 3 10/32 button heads)
(welding..)
(the brace being jigged up)
(5 screws on either side help stiffen the back wall of the enclosure)
(almost done!!!)
and the saga continues.... thanks!
You guys are knocking this conversion out fast. Great work!
Thanks Graham...still a whole lot to do though. I think we have the coolant system under control but way covers are staring us in the eye. China offers one-off, custom accordion way covers and we're looking at that. I ordered a Z axis cover from Tormach but it's a little bit too short for our machine.
Stuart
Any reason not to use the stock Z way cover? It will of course need replacing every so often, but fits nicely and is not terribly expensive and didn't eat any y travel really.
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