[Nikto1]

Some excellent ideas and work here, good job fellas.

Not trying to kick anyone in the ghoulies(nuts) but..
:idea: Another idea, might be a bit "off the wall" so to speak, but may have merits in simplicity and low cost, in no way can it compete with the great work done here, but it could be an alternative for those who can`t do the rest or don`t have resources...yet??

Ever seen those kids toys.... Wiggly Snakes... (see attached images) just an idea.

Don`t steal them from your kids though:nono:

[Khalid]

Wow.. That will be a valuable addition to our CNC machines.. But the those wiggly snakes should not be colorful..... you know what i mean...

[FandZ]

Some excellent ideas and work here, good job fellas.

Not trying to kick anyone in the ghoulies(nuts) but..
:idea: Another idea, might be a bit "off the wall" so to speak, but may have merits in simplicity and low cost, in no way can it compete with the great work done here, but it could be an alternative for those who can`t do the rest or don`t have resources...yet??

Ever seen those kids toys.... Wiggly Snakes... (see attached images) just an idea.

Don`t steal them from your kids though:nono:

LOL My Kids have one of those and I thought the exact same thing. Maybe I'll have to try it. Just need to find a supply. Toy's R US?

[Nikto1]

Wow.. That will be a valuable addition to our CNC machines.. But the those wiggly snakes should not be colorful..... you know what i mean...

Ha ha yes, I guess so {well worded on the safe side.. yes}, but on the more serious side... different folks have different designs and paint their units in a variety of colours {just from what I`ve seen around, like Caterpillar yellow with black edging or decals etc.. so who knows}, so, you know, they can mix and match to suit... or if you can`t get the straight colour you want, then... if using acrylic paint (COB clear over base) you can get the plasticizer additive and mix your paint in metalllic, pearl, candy or what have you, just be careful not to put it on too thick. You`ld have to experiment a bit. (similar in how to paint today's car bumpers / panel & paint).
Without you might be lucky to get glossy, as you`ld dry spray lightly, and even then it could flake off.

Yes FandZ somewhere like Toyworld, Toy`s R us or the like depending where one lives. I even considered bamboo as an idea but thought I`d had enough of bamboo, (had to clear my block of land by hand and breaker bar...tough job those damn roots...)

All the best

[Big S]

Wow.. That will be a valuable addition to our CNC machines.. But the those wiggly snakes should not be colorful..... you know what i mean...

Is this a new ploy to get kids to start with their first CNC at a young age....

All those snake I have seen have been fairly small, now if they make them in different sizes...

Shannon.

[PaulRowntree]

Hi there;
Could a flat piece of flexible sheet (say 3" wide, the length as required, the thickness to be determined) be used to function as a cable chain? The material would fold back on itself as expected, but would be immobilized at the ends to the stationary and moving ends. I imagine cable ties to attach the wires to the sheet every ~6", and then having the stiffness of the width prevent twisting of the sheet.

[dpgoldberg]

Here's my version of the cable chain. Based on the drawings provided by others on this thread (thank you!), I modified the design so that both limit stops for the flex are part of the sides, rather than a combination of the sides and the bottom plate. I also changed it so that the tabs were on the top and bottom plates and the notches in the sides. Made it a little easier to assemble.

I used ABS which could be glued together with a solvent cement. ABS is also a little bit more flexible than PVC which allowed the individual links to be assembled first, then snapped together after the cement had set.

I cost about $80 in materials (ABS ain't cheap!) and took a couple of days to make something I could have bought from McMAster Carr for $110. But I guess that's not the point is it? It's kinda cool to be able to point it out on the machine and say "I made that!".

Attached is the dxf file, designed for a 1/8" cutter.

[CNC Lurker]

Thanks for sharing!

[sparks-n-chips]

Hi,
I really like the looks of some of milled plastic chains on the site. I have been working on one that can be made out of wood and have a video of it working. I think the easiest way to make it is:
Resaw wood to 5/16" thick
Glue it to a C channel shape
then cut to length (1")
then drill the holes for the mason's twine
cut the 11.5 degree cheeks
drill every third one for a 1/8" dowel
thread the masons twine
put the wire in
push the 1/8" dowels in.
profit!

It took me a couple hours to make my first 54" of it.

* CHECK OUT THE VIDEO *

[CNC Lurker]

Hi,
I really like the looks of some of milled plastic chains on the site. I have been working on one that can be made out of wood and have a video of it working. I think the easiest way to make it is:
Resaw wood to 5/16" thick
Glue it to a C channel shape
then cut to length (1")
then drill the holes for the mason's twine
cut the 11.5 degree cheeks
drill every third one for a 1/8" dowel
thread the masons twine
put the wire in
push the 1/8" dowels in.
profit!

It took me a couple hours to make my first 54" of it.

Can you post some close up pics, it's not very clear how it was put together.

[sparks-n-chips]

Hopefully the below image comes through. I have a solidworks files for it if someone wants it. The hole in the "top" of the link is for an 1/8" dowel and I only put the holes in one third of the links. The holes that go through the edges have mason's twine pulled through them to make them into a string of beads. Under tension, they naturally want to stay straight. When they are bent they rest against the chamfered cheeks to control the bend radius. I made my set with 1/4" sides, but I think that 5/16 would have been a better choice. I used a 2x4, but you might want to use a decent piece of hardwood (since my experiment worked!).


wooden cable carrier raceway 5-16ths by yeltrow, on Flickr

[ger21]

That's a pretty cool idea, and a LOT easier to make. Lot's of holes to drill, though. But i like it.

[gearsoup]

Ummmm....OEM cable carrier isn't that expensive is it? The stuff I've been looking at is around $15 a foot. Only need a few feet per axis. Unless you guys just like to make anything you can, lol. In which case that's pretty cool

[ger21]

My 30"x45" machine uses 10ft, and 11ft would have been better. Add the end connectors, and it's almost $200. A 4x4 machine could need $300 or more.

[sparks-n-chips]

It was a lot of holes to drill, but I set up a fixture that allowed me to ram right through them. The way I figured it, at $15 a foot every time I made a link I earned $1.25, so I thought that was pretty good piece rate I flipped the part and then drilled the other side. Once I got it set up, it went pretty fast. If anyone decides they want to replicate these, I can provide more detail -- perhaps in the form of an instructable. I used a chop saw, the drill press, and cut the 11.25 degree cheeks on the table saw. Another fixture was used for the thru holes for the 1/8" pin.

[louieatienza]

Hi there;
Could a flat piece of flexible sheet (say 3" wide, the length as required, the thickness to be determined) be used to function as a cable chain? The material would fold back on itself as expected, but would be immobilized at the ends to the stationary and moving ends. I imagine cable ties to attach the wires to the sheet every ~6", and then having the stiffness of the width prevent twisting of the sheet.

I had strips of PVC molding, dropoffs from trimming out my bathroom. I simply took my cables and the pvc strips, and put it insde of wire loom. I then used zip ties every 10 inches or so. Finally clamped the bundle at both ends to stick-on zip-tie anchors. Total cost, about $6 for 7 feet of wire loom, and about $10 for package of zip tie anchors. Strips of PVC were free, but anything similar (copper wire, coat hanger wire) would probably work.

[metalworkz]

Hello,
I have seen a lot of very good ideas and designs for DIY cable carriers here in this thread but I still think the one I made from ABS black plastic pipe might be one of the cheapest alternatives with a plastic material that I have seen. The ABS black pipe is very cheap at about $3.96 for 10' at Home Depot or most any hardware store, and I only lose approximately .25" per piece when each link is cut off(due to using a .25" dia end mill) so I can get a lot of links from a $4 10' length. I guess I might be biased as it is my idea and design but the price works good for me although cutting each link with my CNC mill does perhaps take a little longer than some of the other methods being used. My link is pictured here in this thread near the bottom of this page:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/open_s...arrier-14.html

[johngalt47]

here is an alternative 1-1/2" square tubing

[johngalt47]

has anyone tried to find the cable carrier in a 2005 dodge van slidding door. it might be in other vans also the junk yard might be a cheap sorce

[william1384]

On a small low cost CNC router, you could use a long door spring,
put the motor wire threw the center, and then use spiral wrap to
attach the rest wires to the outside of the spring, here is a picture
of my CNC router so you can see what I am trying to describe.