[peteeng]

Hi All and sundry - Well YaG now looks like a router. Sorted a bolt list and ran out of bolts on hand. Holes so far align which is great. Need to decide if the cooked 5 axis board can run in 4 axis mode, if not then its pull down Brevis2 and use its electronics. First fit also identified how to assemble the Z axis ie do it all on the bench then lift it onto the gantry rails. Get some more bolts tomorrow and keep going at it this saturday. Back to sanding the washroom floor.... hope to epoxy it in the next couple of days... Peter

[davida1234]

Coming together nicely......

Keep going.

[mactec54]

Hey Mactec - I have looked at the welded carriages closely and have decided to get them machined square. One is very close, the other is off too much I think for the bearing car to cope with. Next build round I think I'll do the carriage in machined aluminium (or cast Tetrium). Welding is always an issue with distortion. The welder put on twice as much weld as I wanted. I only wanted the slots filled and they welded both sides... Will be fine once skimmed. I'll stay away from welding in future, was a punt. Peter

Did you do enough parts for 2 machine builds, or was there a minimum requirement, yes just welding in the slots would of been less distortion, I still think it is the best way to fab something like this, stress relieve Blast and then machine

Just machine the areas that are for the mounting points would be easy enough to do, Your cast Tetrum would also be good to try as well

I like the zinc plating better than the galvanized to work with

[peteeng]

Hi Mactec and lurkers - I have two sets of parts for two builds. Once through first fit I'll make decisions on various parts for the future (eg I will machine the motor mounts from Al vs buying the cast ones amongst other items, like no welding!). Second fit will correct what shows up, then third fit will be the real build... I reviewed my welding dwg and there is a note that could have been clearer, hindsight is 20/20...Peter

[mactec54]

Hi Mactec and lurkers - I have two sets of parts for two builds. Once through first fit I'll make decisions on various parts for the future (eg I will machine the motor mounts from Al vs buying the cast ones amongst other items, like no welding!). Second fit will correct what shows up, then third fit will be the real build... I reviewed my welding dwg and there is a note that could have been clearer, hindsight is 20/20...Peter

It's always a learning curve on a new build

To weld the tabs like that the slot would have to have a V shape around the slot for the weld to have enough strength

[peteeng]

Hi Mactec - If the prep is Ved then the weld volume is more and the shrinkage is more. Machine parts like this could be tacked together and I expect they will be strong enough. Simple solution is no welding (if welded I highly recommend stress relief and finish machining as the best practice) . Being a production machine the parts need to be made and delivered ready to assemble at any order volume. I took a punt on this because the company does excellent welding for other jobs I do but in hindsight they are not dimension critical parts. I have to do these things occasionally to prove/disprove various things. So I learn, fix it and move on... In this case the part was welded because the bending allowance (if the part was bent and bolted) was too big with 8mm plate to allow a small part to be made. The original intent was for me to silver solder or braze the assembly and then the result would be acceptable. But then I can't electropolish the assembly (The EP people only want SS in their tanks) so I gave welding a go.... so I made it from 10mm plate in the backup plan to post machine so that's happened...

This is why I want to move to cast parts or at least near nett to remove some design restrictions.... Frankenrouter will explore some of these solutions.... Peter

[peteeng]

Evening all and sundry - Todays tasks on YaG were to re survey some of the bolts, I lost the list! Then survey the rest of the bolts. Will get a full bolt list to a fastener shop and get a set of zn plated capscrews. The main thing was to measure up the top of the walls to establish where I was going to land the foundation plate master. I decided the LHS one will be the master. The tops of the walls are very good to the design within 0.5mm which is great. I had a 2mm overhang as a shadowline and wiggle room originally but due to using an extrusion vs a cut plate it turned out to be exact size to the wall top. No wiggle room really. But the wall spacing and widths are good to go... I also should have sealed the top of the walls some time ago so I could get serious with setting up the foundations. So today I pulled down the machine and coated the top of the walls with epoxy. I shall relap the tops then set the foundation plate on top with epoxy. I waxed the plate today so it won't stick. Maybe get onto setting the master side next Tuesday. I also looked at the Z axis and flipped the motors so the wiring was in a better direction. Once I have a full set of bolts I can get serious with the assembly... I also hope to test the cooked 5 axis controller as a 4 axis this week. Got to put the pedal to the metal and get this thing making chips. Peter

[mactec54]

Hi Mactec - If the prep is Ved then the weld volume is more and the shrinkage is more. Machine parts like this could be tacked together and I expect they will be strong enough. Simple solution is no welding (if welded I highly recommend stress relief and finish machining as the best practice) . Being a production machine the parts need to be made and delivered ready to assemble at any order volume. I took a punt on this because the company does excellent welding for other jobs I do but in hindsight they are not dimension critical parts. I have to do these things occasionally to prove/disprove various things. So I learn, fix it and move on... In this case the part was welded because the bending allowance (if the part was bent and bolted) was too big with 8mm plate to allow a small part to be made. The original intent was for me to silver solder or braze the assembly and then the result would be acceptable. But then I can't electropolish the assembly (The EP people only want SS in their tanks) so I gave welding a go.... so I made it from 10mm plate in the backup plan to post machine so that's happened...

This is why I want to move to cast parts or at least near nett to remove some design restrictions.... Frankenrouter will explore some of these solutions.... Peter

The shrinkage in a tab weld when beveled out is almost zero, the plate would not be flat enough in stock form so the little bit of welding would not make much difference as the plates would still have to be machined anyway for mounting linear rails / Bearings

[peteeng]

Afternoon all - its nearly Lamington and coffee time here. But instead I made some phenolic smoke I was tidying the bench and decided to test the cooked 5 axis controller I wanted to use for YaG. So I set it up and plugged it in and all the lights came on, good, fan on... and about 10secs in the smell and smoke turned on. Tried to take a photo of it but its illusive. So its into the parts box it goes. So I'll now strip down Brevis2. Or order a one box 4 axis solution for YaG if someone has a suggestion out there?

B2 was made to test some geared motors I had and to set it up as a laser engraver. Haven't had time to sort out the laser but I have used it as a vinyl cutter with a drag knife and a router. The gantry has a 10:1 box and the columns (Y axis) have 5:1. Very strong and fast little machine! But overpriced for a small machine so it will be upscaled to Frankenrouter soonest. Peter

[peteeng]

Hi All - Bonus entry!! This afternoon I decided I had to tidy up the workshop while I wait for the epoxy to harden on the floor. After putting a few things away and dealing with some dust and getting over the disappointment of the smoking controller, I had a look at Brevis3's electronics. I must have been thinking about the future when I built it as I included a two piece terminal strip so 90% of the wiring was through that connector. I disconnected the 240V and opened the connector and there it was a pretested, ready to play control unit... plus I bought two connectors at the time so split that and B2 is ready to rewire and YaG is ready to wire. Will get this mounted Tuesday and start thinking about YaGs wiring as well...

I got the terminal strip at JayCar for you Oz builders... Peter

[peteeng]

Afternoon all you lot - Todays task was to relap the sealed walls and set the master side of the machine. The relapping went well, then I set up the foundation plates and checked they were level and square and marked out where I was going to set the master plate. I then screeded the epoxy on top and set the plate. Before I did that I screwed the electronics onto the machine to see where the wiring could go. I can see a couple of kinks to iron out from that board so far...

I'll need to box that out eventually and even unwire it and mount it into the niches as intended. But this will get me to sawdust quicker. I now have 2 signs, a rudder and a centreboard to make... no promises made!! Tomorrow I set the secondary side and pick up all the bolts. So then assembly can proceed faster. Peter

[peteeng]

Afternoon again all - Today I set the secondary side of the machine and installed the 240V input side of the electronics. I drilled & tapped some of the master plates fixing holes into the timber and set those screws with PVA glue. So now its epoxy set and screwed its not going anywhere... I pick up the full set of machine screws tomorrow then can get serious with the assembly. Looking at the electrics I have to get a motor wire over to the other side. Next time I shall include a PVC electrical tube across the machine to achieve this. For YaG this run will be a little longer around the front of the machine...Peter

[peteeng]

Afternoon all - This morning did a border run to pick up bolts, plywood and other stuff that I get from Qld. I have a pass to get into Queensland and a pass to get back into NSW! Covid Delta has put Sydney into lockdown and Qld in various parts...

At least now I have all the bolts to start assembling YaG/Scoot correctly. I bought enough bolts to set up 3 bolt kits for future builds of YaG... Saturday the second fit starts Peter

[peteeng]

Wuzup, all out there? Todays objective was to screw down the foundation and get the gantry on and check it for square and level and that the drive all works..... Well 2 steps fwd and one step back! I found some of the capscrews where kissing the drive nuts on the foundation plate. So I have noted to move the holes on the part for next build. But to solve it today I have used hex bolts which are lower then the capscrews. So after figuring out that and checking the gantry moves easily I packed up and will get some nice low profile screws then proceed. I forgot to put my big square in so didn't really get to check square. I'm looking for a really big square at the moment. Peter

The longest T square I can find at the moment is a plasters square which is 1370mm long. I need 1500mm to span the rails. So looks like I have to make my own square...

[mactec54]

Wuzup, all out there? Todays objective was to screw down the foundation and get the gantry on and check it for square and level and that the drive all works..... Well 2 steps fwd and one step back! I found some of the capscrews where kissing the drive nuts on the foundation plate. So I have noted to move the holes on the part for next build. But to solve it today I have used hex bolts which are lower then the capscrews. So after figuring out that and checking the gantry moves easily I packed up and will get some nice low profile screws then proceed. I forgot to put my big square in so didn't really get to check square. I'm looking for a really big square at the moment. Peter

The longest T square I can find at the moment is a plasters square which is 1370mm long. I need 1500mm to span the rails. So looks like I have to make my own square...

There are many ways to solve this Low-Head Capscrew Flat-Head Capscrew or even a Button -Head may give you clearance

You could also Counter-Bore for the Head just enough to give you clearance, looks like you would need all those cap-screws you have to mount a plate like that

The easiest would be to get a counter-bore for that size cap-screw, you could do it on your drill press or with a hand drill if you where careful

[peteeng]

Hi Mactec - A button head will do it and look good. Or I can get my angle grinder out I didn't want to counterbore the part as then it would be handed and be two parts. Moving the hole in future is the answer, there's heaps of real estate to use. I didn't model the capscrews, if I did I may have picked this up. I seem to remember looking at the unbrako catalogue for the head height but these are different brand to brand. Its a small kiss but a touch is no good!

The top plate (or foundation plate as I'm calling it) is epoxied to the wall top so I don't expect much trouble with it. I may reduce the screw count and put a line down the middle vs two lines, this would be in clear space..... Next part run will make some decisions. Got to get Yag/Scoot working, I'm sure there will be a few small items on the round 2 build list to attend to. Like making anodising a costed option, it was a relatively expensive addition to the part cost. Its been on my list to set up a tank...More stuff to do Peter

[mactec54]

Hi Mactec - A button head will do it and look good. Or I can get my angle grinder out I didn't want to counterbore the part as then it would be handed and be two parts. Moving the hole in future is the answer, there's heaps of real estate to use. I didn't model the capscrews, if I did I may have picked this up. I seem to remember looking at the unbrako catalogue for the head height but these are different brand to brand. Its a small kiss but a touch is no good!

The top plate (or foundation plate as I'm calling it) is epoxied to the wall top so I don't expect much trouble with it. I may reduce the screw count and put a line down the middle vs two lines, this would be in clear space..... Next part run will make some decisions. Got to get Yag/Scoot working, I'm sure there will be a few small items on the round 2 build list to attend to. Like making anodising a costed option, it was a relatively expensive addition to the part cost. Its been on my list to set up a tank...More stuff to do Peter

The Head thickness does not change very much, +0 / -.010" or +0 / -.25mm they are a standard the world over, for referance the diameter of the thread or the size of the cap-screw you are using, is the same as the Head thickness

So if you are using a 6mm Cap screw then the Head will be 6mm thick, +0 / -.25mm, a Button Head is just over half as thick for a 6mm cap-screw @ 3.3mm Head thickness

This is the same for Imperial or Metric Cap-Screws

You need more than one tank, I have 5 tanks and could do with 2 more

[Zorbit]

I'm usually open to buying cheap, but cap screws and sanding disks are not worth the aggro. Unbrako, Sia and 3M get my money.

Button head screws will look neat and professional. I used to make small aluminium components that were anodized gold, usually batches of 500 at a time, it wasn't economical to do it myself when Mansfield Anodisers were so cheap and reliable. Anodizing titanium is a different matter, it's so easy a child could do it.

[peteeng]

Hi Zorbit - so that's my problem, I don't have any children, they are also handy for sorting out smart phones..... Peter

[peteeng]

Evening all you Gcoders out there - Today I installed the button heads. Will get more tomorrow. The store only had 22 and I need a few more. I tightened up the gantry and it runs beautifully. I used all of my squares to get it as close to square as possible. But I think I'll have to make a very large one to get it correct. I've been looking at some photogrammetry software to use for squaring (metrology) but it looks complex. For now its square enough. I then installed the saddle and pulled it down but the bearings jammed so tried the other as well - same. So off to the machinist it is to dress those out. I brought the Z axis home and will check assemble those before next Saturday when I get back to YaG. Probably take a week or so to get the saddles machined.... Will start organising the wiring in the meantime...

I do like the 3mm gal plate. I think I'll move everything over to that material . For thicker parts I'll laminate it vs using Stainless.... Peter