[kuroguy]

Bear in mind that those types of fans are usually rated at 0" external static pressure. They're more likely to see something on the order of 0.1" E.S.P.. couple that with the fact that prop type fans have a very steep curve and you may be short on cooling air.

...and in case I haven't said it yet, I am in awe of your machining skills.

[Dylwad]

FWIW my VFD is mounted in open air under the machine, temps in the shop are 100°+ F half of the year, and I have yet to see the internal fan on the VFD running, or felt the cooling fins on it be more than a few degrees above ambient.

Sent from tapatalk

[kuroguy]

That's because it is rated for 40c (104 f). The problem is that an enclosure will hold the heat.

[widgitmaster]

Bear in mind that those types of fans are usually rated at 0" external static pressure. They're more likely to see something on the order of 0.1" E.S.P.. couple that with the fact that prop type fans have a very steep curve and you may be short on cooling air.

...and in case I haven't said it yet, I am in awe of your machining skills.

That's because it is rated for 40c (104 f). The problem is that an enclosure will hold the heat.

Geez!
One post makes me want to go shopping on eBay for squirrel cage fans, and the makes me slam on the breaks!
So I'm going to hold off and get more parts made before I do anything electrical!

[aarggh]

The best muffin fans I've ever seen are the second hand ones from old servers, these are designed to move very large amounts of air and heat continuously.

Whenever we scrap servers, I always rip out the fans and pass them around to mates.

cheers, Ian

[Dylwad]

The best muffin fans I've ever seen are the second hand ones from old servers, these are designed to move very large amounts of air and heat continuously.

Whenever we scrap servers, I always rip out the fans and pass them around to mates.

cheers, Ian

Great if you can tolerate the noise I have a few server power supplies I use for powering chargers and they sound like a jet taking off

Sent from tapatalk

[kuroguy]

I've got some time on my hands. The best thing to do is figure out what's going in the enclosure and tally up the heat from each item. The stepper driver manufacturer should be able to provide that data. I've already calculated the vfd heat. I can also make recommendations regarding the fans, but the first step is figuring out the heat load. Fyi, i'm an air conditioning engineer. This is what I do. As I said before, i'm glad to help.

[widgitmaster]

I've got some time on my hands. The best thing to do is figure out what's going in the enclosure and tally up the heat from each item. The stepper driver manufacturer should be able to provide that data. I've already calculated the vfd heat. I can also make recommendations regarding the fans, but the first step is figuring out the heat load. Fyi, i'm an air conditioning engineer. This is what I do. As I said before, i'm glad to help.

I really do appreciate your offer, but I'm months away from pulling wires! I haven't ordered half the components, or finished the schematic!
The small box with the VFD will be mounted under the side of the table where the Cable-Track ends. My plan is to use a bigger box on wheels to contain all the electronics for controlling the steppers! This way, I can make a large multi-conductor cable to connect the two box's. I have included my current schematic in a downloadable ZIP file, it is in .jpg image format and too large to add as an image. If I reduce the image, it looses all the text details!

Like I said, its going to be a while before I'm ready to think deeper into the electrical systems!

[widgitmaster]

Today I started on the bronze flange bearings, for the y-axis pivot plates. First I used the band saw to cut 4 blanks, then I placed them in the lathe. The 1st step is to face each blank, and turn the 2.000 diam +0-.003" Next I put the 3-jaw chuck with soft jaws on the spindle, and held the parts on the 2" diam. Now I can face them to the finish size, and rough down the diameter. Then I carefully turned the diameter & faced the inside of the flange, until they were to exact size.

With the blanks done, I measured the depth of the outer pocket in each plate. Then I custom faced one blank so the bronze surface will be co-plane with the aluminum boss. Now I can use the mill's vise to press in the top bearings. But first I had to flip the vise jaws, so they were a little higher. The bearings all pressed in nicely, so I setup the mill for boring the finish diameter. The bottom bearing protrudes .0280", and will seat on the spot-face previously milled on the steel plates.

The bores finished up nicely, and he assembly on the left side of the big router went together easily. All that was required was a hit with a led hammer, to bend the warped steel weldment out of the way.
The right side of the router, required a little more attention! The weldment was warped, and there was considerable interference with the swing plate. So I inked up the high spots, and used a 2" air sanding disk to grind down the high spots.

Now the y-Axis stepper motor assembly is officially finished, until everything returns from powder-coating! Then, I'll have to fit them again!

[widgitmaster]

This morning I played in the shop for a few hours, making the sheet metal plates for electrical junction boxes. First I band sawed 4x 1/8" thick plates, then I placed them on the mill table long side parallel. Then I place two large parallels on top, and clamped everything down. Next I milled the two over hanging edges until they were parallel.

Now I clamped a parallel perpendicular to the mill table, using a large square to align it. Then I placed the machined edges of all 4 plates against the perpendicular surface, and clamped them down. Now, I can mill one end of all 4 plates square!

[widgitmaster]

Next I clamped a big parallel at 45-deg to the table. and again place the 4 machined edges against the parallel. Then I clamped a round stop to the table, so the machined ends of the plates had a solid stop to bank off of. Then I put some blocks & parallels on top of the plates, and clamped everything tight. Next I setup the mist coolant, and put a 1/4" 2-flute end mill in the spindle. Now I can mill through the 4 plates and get a 45-deg edge.

[widgitmaster]

With the plate milled, I clamped them to a 2" thick block to see how they look on the big router. There will be one box on each side of the gantry, but one will have a 1 1/4" tube entering from top & bottom. These boxes will also be connected by the 1/2" aluminum tube which runs under the rack gear. The wires from the limit switches & steppers will run through there!

[CarveOne]

Widgit, looks like you and I are about the only ones actively working on building something over the holiday weekend. I guess Labor Day time off doesn't get as much respect from us retirees.

You're making really good progress considering the complexity of your design and the amount of machining needed. Looks really good.

[widgitmaster]

Widgit, looks like you and I are about the only ones actively working on building something over the holiday weekend. I guess Labor Day time off doesn't get as much respect from us retirees.

You're making really good progress considering the complexity of your design and the amount of machining needed. Looks really good.

Thanks Carv'e,
Like I said: "This morning I played in the shop for a few hours"

This aint work :cheers:

[CarveOne]

Lots of laughs, that's my take on it also. It's physically demanding sometimes but it keeps me going. I could find worse things to occupy my time with.

[widgitmaster]

Ditto!

This morning, I setup the mill to drill the holes in the plates. Because the two end hole locations are symmetrical, I was able to simply flip the plate over! The 3rd hole was off the vise, so I propped up the material with screw jacks!

[widgitmaster]

Now its time for some lathe work
I have 6 parts, 3/4" diam x 3" long. So using a 3-jaw chuck, and a solid stop inside the spindle bore, I turned one end to .500" x .750" long. Next I removed the chuck, and setup the collet chuck. Holding the parts on the .500" diam, I center-drilled each part. Now I can hold the part between the collet & the live center point. Then I turned the end to .500" diam x .125" long.

Next, I put a .1875" radius tool in the tool holder, and plunged into the part while moving side to side. This made the part look like a spool, and all that was left of the original diam is 1/8" on each end.

[widgitmaster]

Now I can assemble the parts and bring them to the welder! But first I have to stop by the Air-Boat shop, to get one of the plates folded to 90 deg.
After welding, I will make strips of sheet metal to wrap the perimeter of the assembly. Then, they will also be welded. Its important that all wiring, be contained in dust & fluid free areas.
When all the welding is finished, I will drill and counter bore 3 holes for #10 SHCS. Then the hole centers will be transferred to the gantry ends for drilling & tapping.

[widgitmaster]

The parts are back from the initial welding, and I have cut the next set of pieces on the band saw for welding!

[widgitmaster]

Today I worked on the x-axis slide, drilling & tapping the end holes. The top & bottom plates need to be dowel pinned in place, and attached with screws. So I setup the mill with my big angle-plate, dialed it in and clamped the part securely. The dimensions come from the center and the front of the part, so I used my edge-finder to set the DRO to zero in both axis. This did not take long, as there were only a few small holes.