[Kru82]

Well , after the so fun merry go around trying to get something done . The last ditched effort finally arrived . 2 Gerber Dimension 200e ( Engraver / Router ) vacuum tables .

Yes they are ancient in a manner and discontinued to boot but they are complete in a fashion and ready for some 21st century tweaking . They both have the engraver heads , 1 dust boot/shoe , all the electronics , cables . They are in very good condition ( electronics unknown yet ) and not all chewed up or abused severely .

Dimensions and specs so far ; 12 mm dia rails and corresponding bearing blocks ( insert bearings ) , 12.50 mm dia lead screws 10 threads per inch on all axis , Superior Electric Slo-Syn Motors ( steppers ) Type M063-LS-516 , 2.25 volts DC , 4.6 Amps , Steps? Rev 200 Rpm @ 60 Hz ( 6 Pin Connections ) , Yes the word on them is that they are slow as a snail BUT we have the technology to fix that .

Why 2 of them ?? It was a package deal and the price was better than that UPS fiasco for the last month . They actually arrived . Will I use the engraver heads , unsure as of yet . Raise the Gantry for more clearance , yes sir . Needs a router mount though , and most likely more reliable up to date electronics package .

So here are a few pics for the time being . They may not be to impressive to some but the size was so in the considering factors .







Attachment 274062Attachment 274064Attachment 274066Attachment 274068Attachment 274070 Attachment 274072


Data sheet for those particular motors

[Kru82]

So , bearing blocks dims

43.65 mm down the length / thread spacing 30 mm
42.05 mm across the width / thread spacing 26 mm
28 mm thickness

Max opening size for bearings on gantry rail support is 48.55 top inside edge ( last pic from above ) with plenty of clearance on either side

[Kru82]

Cracked open the control box to find a wire not connected and a random screw floating in the bottom . Hmmm , compare with the other box when the light is better tomorrow .

Spacing for the threaded rods to hold the each rail onto the Y axis frame is roughly 120.30 mm on center with 10 each per rail . Y axis rail lengths are 1187.45 mm

Gantry length 1212.85 mm not including the end cover plates .

Only one dead fly inside gantry , :banana:

[Kru82]

Engraving heads that came with it are in good shape . 1 snapped belt and one broken on/off switch . No biggie to replace . They spin freely and all is well . A few pics of the Z axis and side view of gantry with lead screw mount . Z axis motors M063-LS-518E


Attachment 274160Attachment 274162Attachment 274164

[iwaskevin]

Pretty neat tool. this should be a fun one to watch

[Kru82]

Pretty neat tool. this should be a fun one to watch

Hi Kevin , fun I hope keeping a positive outlook

Talked with the seller of them yesterday and it seemed apparent from his voice that he now realized he sold them to low .:violin: Told him I wasn't going to go for the Gerber software , he must have inquired for prices also from Gerber and dropped a load in his drawers . He didn't really have any intentions on using them , ( flipper for profit seller ) (nuts) since he had no software to go with either of them . He must have picked them up at some clearance auction . No computers either . ( have one or 2 floating around here to compliment them )

[Kru82]

Z axis assembly . Attachment 274256 Attachment 274260 Ending up with an 8 mm gap to compress in last pic .

[Kru82]

Y axis carriage and Z axis mount . Attachment 274318Attachment 274320Attachment 274322Attachment 274324Attachment 274326Attachment 274328Attachment 274330


Pic 1 back of Y axis carriage , single bearing block at top , 2 bearing blocks at bottom of carriage , limit switch is mounted to rail bolts

Pic 2 / 3 shows front of Y axis carriage with Z axis , which cannot be removed unless you remove the Z rails because of one of the ( Pic 4 ) mounting plate ( lead screw support ) bolt holes protrudes just high enough to stop the Z lead screw mount . Attachment 274334

Pic 5 , 6 , 7 show obviously the Y axis lead screw and it's mount to the Y axis carriage and either end and their respective mounts into the bearings at either end .


Actually enjoy the RnR part of this , brings back memories of working for Diamond Canapower in Edmonton , Alberta , Canada , service center for Babcox and Wilcox soot blowers/ poppet valves and the carriages for them . :cheers:

[Kru82]

Today is the Y axis screw assembly . Length of the lead screw overall is 41 3/4 " or 1060.45 mm , motor end has inset for bearing /washer and snap ring and coupling of 3/4 " or 19.05 mm , Huco coupling 1/4 inch dia opening for 1/4 inch dia motor shafts for all 3 axis motors .

Other end of lead screw has the same compression spring as the Z axis set up . So here then are the pics as best as can be . Attachment 274468Attachment 274470Attachment 274472Attachment 274474Attachment 274476Attachment 274478 continued in next thread reply .

[Kru82]

Y axis continued , pics . The compression spring end of lead screw is inset roughly 1 3/8 inch or 34 mm

Attachment 274482Attachment 274484Attachment 274486Attachment 274488Attachment 274490Attachment 274492

[Kru82]

X axis lead screw assembly .

Lead screw is identical in all measurements as Y axis lead screw 41 3/4 inch long , insets are same also including compression spring assembly . With the compression spring on the one end , the whole assembly being tucked under gantry as it is . A person can either remove the spring assembly or carefully pull it out from the gantry after removing the bolts that attach it to the gantry at either end . . Even though there are just 3 bolts on both ends holding it all together , the motor end bolts are a bit of a pain to remove because of it being tucked in a cramped space .

Here are the pics .

Attachment 274512Attachment 274514Attachment 274516Attachment 274518Attachment 274520Attachment 274522Attachment 274524Attachment 274526

[Kru82]

Z axis lead screw is 9 1/2 " or 214 mm long , inset for bearing end is again 3/4 inches or 19 mm , and compression spring end of lead screw is 1 3/8 inches or 25.5 mm , forgot to add this to the pics for it .


So that's about it for now . I'll add some more menial info for you all as time goes on . All in all it should not be a mind numbing swap over to ballscrews if the desire goes that way in the future .

Have a great weekend peeps , while I go about looking for new motors ( 2 are locked up from sitting to long and have some rust around the shafts , Z axis motors and a bent shaft to boot ) for these things and control box / kit . If you have any suggestions , hey throw it out there . I am not looking for great speeds from these machines , just consistency and reliable performance .

The motors themselves were special made apparently for Gerber , so the story goes from Superior . hell might as well swap them all out now rather than later .

[Kru82]

Z axis rails and rear of mounting plate .

Here are the pics .

[Kru82]

.

[Kru82]

Reason why the 2 Z axis motors didn't turn . RUST

When they sit for way to long in high humidity areas , this is what happens . Reason why the shaft was bent , massive torque to try to turn them ( FAIL )

You would be wise to first remove one of the three bolts holding them together and see if anything falls out as was done to the second Z axis motor . Sure enough rust is there . All the more reason to do a complete swap of the motors on both machines .

A reminder to the Techno I was asking about months ago in a possible purchase that had sat for a very very long time .

Proof is in the pictures right , so here is the proof . Attachment 274844

Not upset from finding this out as I was going to swap them all anyway . Validates my reasoning re the Techno also when pics show rust on a machine , swap them all . A person can pretty much conclude the same to the rest of the electronics as well , so good bye controls .

[Kru82]

They have a great frame to work with from way back in the day but if I can bring it back with a few modern tweaks all the better down the road .

[Kru82]

Will be checking the seals / joints for the vac table later this week , see if there are any random gaps that need sealing . Do the reverse flow smoke test and see how the table is .

The one obvious possible leak may be at one end of the table since it has this thin sheet metal stuck to it , but the other end is actually bolted to the table where the vac connection is .

Previous owners did do some silicone patch at the running joints along the length underside .

[Kru82]

Slow night waiting for additional parts to come in . Decided to design a new spindle mount with Vectric to fit into the opening of the Z axis plate and attach to the existing bolt holes for the engraver . Obvious that I haven't done the mounting holes or the alignment pin holes from the pic but it's a first time work in progress . Attachment 275048 Attachment 275050


It may in all aspects be the same if not similar to an existing Gerber mount , but I have no visual reference to go from . Fit for a 80 mm spindle currently , rather than a Porter Cable or other router on the market . Also the split in the bracket to clamp the spindle is missing from image . Work in progress .

[Kru82]

I swear , went to 3 electrical parts distributors in west fort worth texas and not one knew what an E-Stop / Emergency stop switch was . To better that all three didn't know what a terminal block was to boot so I didn't want to make it worse by asking if they had limit switches also . But the rest of the machine is progressing as it needs to so far .

[Kru82]

Picked up the comp this afternoon with the infamous Older Dell / Windows XP on it to run Mach 3 . Tomorrow will be very interesting to say the least , Mach 3 , Gecko G-540 and motors to set up and tune . Looking to perhaps the weekend for all to be finished . Keep looking for a solid frame to sit it all on then some test pieces .