Hi NTL - The main reason is that it allows a longer travel. Peter
Hi NTL - The main reason is that it allows a longer travel. Peter
That Z axis plate won't need to be nearly that long. Keep in mind that tool holders have some minimum length (usually at least 60mm flange distance on 30 taper/HSK63 I think,) the spindle nose has some length, and there will be some tool stickout. Should be able to cut 120-150mm off the bottom of that thing, may look a little less floppy then.
It's finally happening!!!! Picked up the first order of steel today. The plan is to build some long saw horses that are level to get work at a height easy to weld. I'm still struggling to save the drive motors so any help in that area is greatly appreciated!
Looks great keep up the great job, Love to keep watching this!!!!
2 wrongs don't make a right
But 2 Wrights makes a Airplane
Kevin Matney
www.Matneymodels.com
734 - 848 - 8195
"IN GOD WE 'TRUST "
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
I was able to get a little work this done over the holiday weekend. Over the last few years I have been saving adjustable lally columns and thought they would be perfect for the stands to get the table level for welding. I drew inspiration from boat stands. I also found the the 2500lbs. capacity of my Dewalt saw horses to be a lie. Scared the you know what out of me!
A little more progress on the table. I hope to flip it over and start on the legs this weekend. So far the weld shrinkage has not caused too much distortion. I'm only welding 2" at a time. The center rail under the spoil board seems to have been the worst with a drop of about .060".
Great job keep up the hard work
2 wrongs don't make a right
But 2 Wrights makes a Airplane
Kevin Matney
www.Matneymodels.com
734 - 848 - 8195
"IN GOD WE 'TRUST "
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
I have been putting in some late nights under the welding hood lately, and the legs are starting to take shape. I had the steel yard shear the 60" long x 3/8" plate to size so all I would have to do is weld them up. I didn't anticipate how much distortion this would cause. Most of the parts were ok, but the bottom 4" piece looked like a potato chip drill bit. Since I decided to add middle gusset plates I had to start with the bottom, weld in the gussets, and then the sides so I would have room to get the welder in there. It was challenging to say the least. After I welded the legs up I flipped the whole thing over.
How do you flip this think or move it?
2 wrongs don't make a right
But 2 Wrights makes a Airplane
Kevin Matney
www.Matneymodels.com
734 - 848 - 8195
"IN GOD WE 'TRUST "
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
With a Bobcat, until now. I have reached and surpassed the capacity of my little Bobcat (743b). To flip it over I welded a steel caster on the rear of the table and pulled it out into the driveway. From there I was able to get it flipped from the sides. I ended up flipping it over several times and setting it on it's side to get to some of the weld locations. Man, I'm sore from lifting all this 3/8" and 1/2" steel..... Currently looking for a cheap forklift on Craigslist. If I don't find one, I will rent one.
The 3/4" tap and machine feet showed up today from McMaster Carr so I will try to get those temporally mounted. The feet will mount to a 3/8 wall 4x4 tube that runs the length of the bottom of the triangle leg/foot.
Still at it. Added the 4” tube to the bottom legs. I’m 6’3” and like a working height between 32” and 36” depending on the task. My table saw is 34” and I really like the feel so that’s the height I’m going for. I started on the gantry beam this past weekend. It’s a monster.
Slowly but surely working out the the drive motors. The Rexroth drive software has really helped. Another big help has been the technical advise from ClearPath and Atlanta Drive Systems. After some modeling they recommended using 10:1 gearboxes on the X and Y.
I know.the debate over Clearpaths have been discussed many time on this forum, but after years of service how do owners feel about them now?
One other question I have had for a while is the Onsrud design of having the electronics ride on the back of the gantry. It seems like a good idea as far as cableing but I don’t see anyone doing the same thing. What’s the downside to this approach? Vibration?
I’m still here. Work is super busy but I have found time to build a sweet welding table out of a sub plate I found at the scrap yard. Other tools I built this summer include a weld positioner, slow speed grinder, angle plate for the mill, Tormek drill bit sharpener, and a power scraper for metal.
I scored a 3x6 B grade surface plate as a reference. Trying to find a local machine shop has been pretty frustrating. So I’ve decided to try to scrape the ways with my homemade power scraper. My plan is to put the surface plate on top of the table, level it, and use my new tenths test indicator off the plate.
The welding table build was spurred by a need to accurately hold and weld the gantry beam. This Stevens Engineering sub plate was a great find. After I got it cleaned up I must have made 700 or so plugs for it. I also welded up 6 steel Fireball Tool inspired squares for alignment.
Picked up a 5000# forklift to help me with the gantry beam build. The Bobcat was way too jerky and only has around a 1 ton capacity.
And I started working on the gantry beam to "leg?" mounting plates. 7" x 10" x 1" thick.
Does anyone have some thoughts about a system to use positive stops at the gantry to leg joint to control alignment? Kind of like a lathe tailstock with allen screws to adjust it to center.
Finished the gantry bases.
The gantry is finally coming together. It’s seems like forever since I have worked on the actual machine. The welding table and “fireball”squares are working great. The table and squares took a lot time to build but totally worth it.
Thanks for the updates! This machine is becoming a monster of a router.
its nice to have machine shop that can do steel part for my project can only do aluminum extrusion to get good tolerance
looks like you need more like a 20 hp spindle on this this machine. rigidity is not an issue with this build at all. what is the total weight on this thing so far?
the hard part will be getting your linear rails straight and flat so hopefully you are able to do so without to much trouble. looks impressive so far regardless.
Thanks guys.
I was able to get the gantry beam welded up except for the rail mounting plates. After too much thought I have moved my focus to the Z-Axis and plan to back out from there. I picked up some more of the 1" thick steel to rough out the plates. Time to make a spindle decision......
Yesterday I took road trip up to Salisbury NC to Automation4Less to pick up some HIWIN rails and blocks, and a ball screw. The place is really impressive. Their website and Google street view don't give them justice. He told me they are part of Motion Industries now. Castro was the salesman that helped me out and showed me around. He really knew their products and was really helpful. I will defiantly buy there again.
HIWIN 20mm on the Z-Axis, 25mm on the Y & X
I tried to get some work done on the router this weekend but all the Thanksgiving family fun made it pretty hard to do. The plan right now is to mill out the back of this 1" plate to save on weight to .300 thick leaving contact areas thicker. The spindle plate mounting hole will act like stiffener ribs I hope. If this fails, I will add some ribs to the outer edge as Peter recommended.
Anyone with a mill knows you spend half your time figuring out how to mount work to the table. I decided to build a two piece vice for the facing operation like this:
The back of the "Z plate":
Layout:
Outside dimensioning: