[pratbasses]

Thanks Prat,

Cool website you've got there, really nice work.

I have plans to work with a lot of hardwoods, non-ferrous metals (soft metal), high-density plastics and composites, and probably some carbon fiber sheets. I'll also be prototyping some printed circuit boards (PCBs). Once the machine is built, I'll post videos of my cut test with each type of material.

I do plan on building a small business around this machine, but it will probably be another six or seven months before I have my machine built, a line-up of products, and a website launch. I'll keep everyone updated.

Cheers

Thank you Mike.

Finally I'm going with the Raptor 60x24, because I'm going to work with really hard wood almost all time, like ebony, cocobolo, wenge... I just ordered from George, and I have high expectations!

Following your thread.

Oscar

[pencil_&_paper]

Congrats, Oscar!

That should be a great machine for you. I'll post lots of pics, as soon as I get my z-axis this week (hopefully).

Where do you buy those exotic types of wood? They sound expensive.

[pratbasses]

I'm always researching wood, every day! I have my usual distributors, but sometimes I find excellent wood in ebay, for example....
This link is good, because they have a lot of different kind of woods:

Home

And yes, wood is very expensive!

[pencil_&_paper]

George has contacted me and made assurances that my 20mm Z-axis and adapter plate are close to being done. All is well.

[gio666]

It has nothing to do with excuses , I have not sold any of the 20mm railed Z axis yet, other than you no one has got one. I only decided to make them because you are putting a 20 pound spindle on it and thought they might be a problem with the weight . Other than that I would have not made the larger Z axis because the other one works perfect with most spindles. But for me I have to make 20 of them at once. It’s a complete new Z axis ,every part is changed. every part is larger and cost more money .
As for the email, lots of times I don’t see them, as I know you know my site got hacked and filled with spam over 500 spammers listed on forum . After getting at first over 500 emails a day from them to my phone, I took the forum off, I still get over 300 emails a day from spam ,no matter how many I try to block they just keep sending. Sometimes they send in batches and I get 30 at a time to my phone, sometimes I don’t even look at my phone no more. But by posting and thinking it will get finished faster ,it don’t change anything, When their done you will be the first person I call ,because no one else has got one and I would like to get rid of them just as much as you want it. About the from mounting plate for the Teknomotor spindle , I have not charged you for one as I don’t know how much final price is. But yours is the only 2.7 hp spindle for round Z axis ,so it is a different plate then the square rail Z axis plate. So between the 16mm /20mm and square rails Z axis ,there is around 60 Z axis I have to pay that where just done. Sometimes there is just not enough money to make that part , some parts just longer.

[pencil_&_paper]

Thank you, George, for taking the time to let me know what's happening. Much appreciated.

[Poaim]

Thank you for posting the pictures. I'm about to embark on my own Viper XZ build which is very similar to yours. The photos you've taken are very useful to be able to have an idea what the pile of aluminum, screws, and ballnuts will turn into.

[pencil_&_paper]

I've received the z-axis from George, but I'm just waiting on the adapter plate for the Teknomotor 2.7HP spindle before I post pictures and instructions on mounting it to the cnc.

It looks like it will be very easy to mount.

[pencil_&_paper]

Just a little shout-out to Tom for picking up some parts in Toronto for me. I just have to pick up some hex bolts before I take some photos of the z-axis.

Should have the parts this Tuesday.

[pencil_&_paper]

I was able to find some M6-12 and M6-16 bolts at the local hardware store, so I'll just post pictures of the assembled z-axis for now. I'll give a detailed run-down later on the installation process, which was extremely easy. (Just bolt-on)

I still have to buy some M5 x 4.25cm screws for the z-axis motor. 4.5cm seems to be just a hair too long.

[BanduraMaker]

Is that the 2.7HP? That's what I got but with single bearings and it's killer. Like, over-killer but, waddaya gonna do.

I see that your Z-axis is mounted about a 1/2" or so above the bottom of the Y-axis. I suggested to George to move those holes so that it's possible to mount it flush but I guess he's not done that yet.

I ended up drilling new mounting holes so that it's perfectly flush with the bottom of the gantry.

[pencil_&_paper]

Is that the 2.7HP? That's what I got but with single bearings and it's killer. Like, over-killer but, waddaya gonna do.

I see that your Z-axis is mounted about a 1/2" or so above the bottom of the Y-axis. I suggested to George to move those holes so that it's possible to mount it flush but I guess he's not done that yet.

I ended up drilling new mounting holes so that it's perfectly flush with the bottom of the gantry.

Hi Andy,

Yes, this is the Teknomotor 2.0kW Double-Nose spindle, which is 2.7HP. My aim is to over-engineer my power needs so that I don't have to worry about machining through soft-metals. Hopefully, it is over-kill. There Will Be Metal Chips.

As for the z-axis being flush with the gantry clearance, it looks as though I'll be getting a full 5-1/2" of Z workspace even with a cutting bit mounted (Gantry back-plate to table). The z-axis (Z-axis rail travel) provides 6-1/4" clear, so either way it looks as though I'm getting full z-axis movement. I'll know more about this once I start cutting, but for now I'm just happy with progress.

What type of controller setup are you running? Is it PMDX / smooth-stepper / gecko, or something different? Are you running a VFD w/your spindle? I'm starting to draw out my schematics, and make amperage calculations in the next week. Still not sure which product route to take.

[BanduraMaker]

What type of controller setup are you running? Is it PMDX / smooth-stepper / gecko, or something different? Are you running a VFD w/your spindle? I'm starting to draw out my schematics, and make amperage calculations in the next week. Still not sure which product route to take.

I'm using a G540 with 381oz" steppers and it seems to be working fine. I'm able to get about 425ipm rapids on my long axis with around 500+ on the others. I have a raptor though which has supported rails so you might actually be able to get a bit faster than me.

I don't think I'm being held back with 400+ipm rapids on the long axis but it would be cool to go faster. Even now, my machine shakes around a lot during machining. I suppose I could cut down on the accels but I soft of have a need for speed.

I still don't know the intricacies of motor selection but I believe that to get better performance, you'd either have to go servo or high voltage high current steppers which push you beyond the G540 which to me anyway, doesn't seem like it's worth it.

As to VFD, I think you pretty much have to run a VFD on a spindle. I'm running a Hitachi WJ200 which is a little more expensive than the X-200 but all the guys at the Tekno distributor and the drive place recommended to go with the constant torque version.

Adrian over at the U.S. tekno distributor also kept pushing the addition of a line reactor which tacks another $100 on to the price tag but, it's been running MUCH cooler since I added it.

[pencil_&_paper]

As to VFD, I think you pretty much have to run a VFD on a spindle. I'm running a Hitachi WJ200 which is a little more expensive than the X-200 but all the guys at the Tekno distributor and the drive place recommended to go with the constant torque version.

Adrian over at the U.S. tekno distributor also kept pushing the addition of a line reactor which tacks another $100 on to the price tag but, it's been running MUCH cooler since I added it.

Thanks, that's good info to know. I'll check out the Hitachi WJ200, constant torque version. Maybe I'll talk to Adrian about price, too. The line reactor is a must-have for me.

As for the table shake, I'll be building a permanent table skirt to hold my machine. Does the shaking affect the work piece?

[theremin]

Thanks, that's good info to know. I'll check out the Hitachi WJ200, constant torque version. Maybe I'll talk to Adrian about price, too. The line reactor is a must-have for me.

As for the table shake, I'll be building a permanent table skirt to hold my machine. Does the shaking affect the work piece?

I run my machine at about the same speed as Andy, and with pretty fast acceleration too. I have a substantial table, but on some operations it does shake pretty hard. The only problems I've ever had on the workpiece came from pushing the steppers a little harder than they wanted to go and losing some steps. Trial and error finds the sweet spot there. But I've never had any problems from the table shaking.

Dave

[BanduraMaker]

Dave,

Interestingly enough, I had some troubles with lost steps on my X axis today. What're your settings for your X axis?

I've got 400ipm velocity and an accel of I think "45". I had it set at "60" when I missed the steps. my ballscrew is 25x10.

[theremin]

Dave,

Interestingly enough, I had some troubles with lost steps on my X axis today. What're your settings for your X axis?

I've got 400ipm velocity and an accel of I think "45". I had it set at "60" when I missed the steps. my ballscrew is 25x10.

Andy--

I'll check and see when I'm back in the shop tomorrow. I know that with the new Raptor I ended up slowing down my top speed to just under 400 to get it right. Maybe 385 or something like that, but the new one is 48 inches long and with the big 25-10 screw.

The old one is running 400 even, but is 36 inch and with a 20-10 screw. The Y axis is lighter on that one too, but the motors are 270 oz instead of 380 like on the new one. I occasionally lose a step or two on it, so I think I'm pushing it close to what it will do with those motors and a Gecko g540. I think I'm running my accel about where you are on both machines.

I'll check my actual numbers on both machines tomorrow and get back with you.

Dave

[BanduraMaker]

I'll check my exact numbers as well.

I'm thinking that it's the accels that will get you though as I had mine set at around 450 before and there was only one spot on the ballscrew where I was losing steps. Dropping it to 400 allowed me to up the acceleration and I hadn't had any problems until today (at least none that were noticeable)

I'd really like to be able to feed at like 375 for some of the finishing passes. I just wonder if slowing the accels down will eat up any time savings. An accel of 45 seems down right tame. (btw I have my y & z set at like 500 with accels around 90).

Interestingly, I was watching a video of a shop saber cutting a guitar body and its accels were super duper slow. Perhaps that's something that the "factory" machines do to ensure that steps won't be missed.

Is the solution to get a bigger driver/motor combo?

[theremin]

OK,

Here are the actual settings on my machines. The first one is the 24x36 Raptor that I got from ihavenofish. 270 oz steppers, G540, 42v linear power supply. Y axis is 20-10 screw, X axis is 16-10 and Z is 16-5. This one is currently waiting on a new Z axis from George. I have put this one on the new Raptor, but with a 16-10 screw.

Anyway, here are the numbers for the old machine:

X 400.02 speed, 60.195 accel
Y 400.02 speed, 60.098 accel
Z 199.98 speed, 55.41 accel (remember this is with a 5mm screw)

I've logged lots of hours on this machine in dense hardwood with only an occasional lost step even in a long run.

Next is the new 24x48 Raptor. 380 oz steppers, G540 42v linear power supply. 16-10 screw on X and Z, 25-10 on Y. On this machine, I could run X and Z much faster than I do, but figured that I wouldn't gain much since Y is running slower. In truth, there iis no noticeable difference in speed between the old machine and the new one. The big heavy screw on Y combined with the heavier gantry and a fairly heavy spindle made a lot of work for a small NEMA 23 stepper. Running at higher speeds and/or acceleration, I would occasionally lose steps or stall the motor. Not often, but too often for production work.

Here are the numbers where I'm running this one:

X 379.02 speed, 55 accel
Y 378.66 speed, 55 accel
Z 378.24 speed, 55 accel

I think that both speed and accel values on the new machine are set very conservatively, and I don't imagine I would have any problems running finish passes at full speed. As it is, I've been running finish passes at more like 250.

Dave

[gio666]

Is that the 2.7HP? That's what I got but with single bearings and it's killer. Like, over-killer but, waddaya gonna do.

I see that your Z-axis is mounted about a 1/2" or so above the bottom of the Y-axis. I suggested to George to move those holes so that it's possible to mount it flush but I guess he's not done that yet.

I ended up drilling new mounting holes so that it's perfectly flush with the bottom of the gantry.

On the new Z axis the back plate is reversible . Give more room for adjustment , the lower you can mount Z axis is the best