[Big S]

Hi guys,

I have recently (read today) received a 1530 Excitech router from China. It will be another week and a half until we get the power connected. There are a few minor niggles (to be expected) but overall very happy with the amount of machine for the price.

Here are some pics.

Shannon.

[rocket67]

G`day Shannon, Welcome to the wonderful world of Excitech cnc Routing!

Great pics, looks like you did not need the chains to get the crate out of the container. From the pics it appears to have come out quite easily.

Good looking compressor too!

So what are your initial thoughts of the machine?

Rocket.

[BC-CNC]

Shannon,

Looks like they have re-designed the control compartment that normally sits along-side the router. Perhaps they have addressed the problems Rocket was having with connecting the hand-held controller.

Did you get the vacuum/T-slot table in preparation for vacuum later? If so, how many vacuum zones does it have and how is the table divided?

Thanks,

Spencer.

[cabnet636]

are those alignment pins on the table and how about a down photo of the table!! looking good jim

[Big S]

G`day Shannon, Welcome to the wonderful world of Excitech cnc Routing!

Great pics, looks like you did not need the chains to get the crate out of the container. From the pics it appears to have come out quite easily.

Good looking compressor too!

So what are your initial thoughts of the machine?

Rocket.

I think it is a solid machine and very good value for the money, We did use the chain for a little to drag the crate further away from the container but with a decent forklift (longer forks) even that would not have been needed.

Getting the machine onto the car transporter was a bit of a drama, we ended up taking some of the side panels off the machine and putting the forks through the side to lift it onto the trailer. Getting it off was easy

I will re lay the T-slot aluminum that is on the bed, its not the most level bed in the world. and quite a few other mods planned too.

Shannon.

[Big S]

Shannon,

Looks like they have re-designed the control compartment that normally sits along-side the router. Perhaps they have addressed the problems Rocket was having with connecting the hand-held controller.

Did you get the vacuum/T-slot table in preparation for vacuum later? If so, how many vacuum zones does it have and how is the table divided?

Thanks,

Spencer.

I was hoping to get the box that sits along the side of the machine like rockets one but its not too much of an issue as I am planning to install the electrics under the bed anyway. Other purchasers may be best to specify what type of control box they want. as I will be doing if/when we get a future purchase

I didn't get a vacuum bed of any sort just a T-slot table, but I am going to make my own. I hope to divide the bed into a separate 4' x 8' vacuum zone for doing smaller sheets as well as the ability to hold down large sheets.

Shannon.

[Big S]

Here is a few more random pics, I will try to get a good shot looking down on the bed too.

Shannon.

[cabnet636]

whats in the big wrap behind router on trailer cotton or hay ?? jim

[Big S]

Thats hay, for the dairy cows.

Shannon.

[mhkwd]

Hello Big S,

I just ordered my 1530 so I'm really enjoying your pictures and unloading experience. In a previous post you said you did not order the dust extraction unit but got the dust shoe which you pictured above. Is the shoe standard or did you order it as an option.

Thanks, Mitch

[Big S]

Mitch,

I didn't order the dust shoe but it came with the machine, It will be quite handy but I may change the design of it so we can get at the tools easier to change them.

A couple more pics .

Shannon.

[mhkwd]

Thanks Big S,

That's what I thought, but I wanted to make sure. I look forward to your continued pictures and experiences with the Router.

Mitch

[Big S]

I have installed the DSP driver on my computer and also the Ucancam v8 software.

I had a few issue with getting the DSP to be recognized. I ended up installing the software off the CD first, then rebooting the computer before connecting the DSP to the USB cable. I am not entirely sure why the DSP needs to have drivers installed on the computer as it doesn't seem to be able to connect or anything.

The Ucancam software seems to be ok, its sort of a cross between autocad and corel draw but fairly basic 2D CAD and 2.5D CAM. It should be usable and I intend to try it out as soon as the machine is connected up to the power.
The Ucancam software has some neat features like wave board and cam preview.

Shannon.

[Big S]

I removed the HSD spindle off the router tonight and cleaned out the rust inside the ISO30 taper. It was probably the biggest disappointment on the whole machine as it is a very critical surface. The rust looks a lot worse in the pics than it really was, there is a VERY slight pitting in places now but the tool holders sit in nice and neat. I don't think it will be an issue at all.

I cleaned it out by putting a clean piece of rag in the hole. Then starting with a blunt scalpel knife to get the worst of the rust then used some steel wool, then finally the wire wheel on the dremmel. I deliberately avoided sandpaper as it would have removed the good metal from the precision ground surface. There is plenty of good surface left to make a good contact tool holders so all is good.

I have advised Taney and he is going to sort out the issue in future by putting a plug or something over the hole so the moisture cannot get in when the routers are shipped.

In the photos you can see the four bearings the grip on the under surface of the pull stud on the tool holder at the inside of the taper.

The last pic is with the rag stopping junk from getting inside the drawbar.

Shannon.

[Big S]

I had a look at the damaged Zaxis bearing block seal today, I ended up taking three of the blocks off the Zaxis and cleaning them. One had the grease nipple facing the wrong way too, so that is sorted out now. The swarf on some of the blocks is how they came off the machine, there was no swarf inside of the blocks however. I don't think it will be too much of an issue not cleaning it off as dust and all sorts is going to get all over these areas when machining. The seals on the linear rails should stop anything getting into the bearings.

I did notice that there has been no grease of any sort put into the blocks, something people need to be aware of when getting their machine. I was quite surprised that Rockets machine was binding up when not greased for a while, the multicam at work goes ages between lubrications (not good for it really). When it gets done the grease comes out past the seals on the blocks, so there must be a fair bit in there.

Also pics of the ball screw and nut on the Z, and the insides of the back half of the control box.

More to come.

Shannon.

[rocket67]

Hi Shannon - Fantastic photos and commentary!

I would not have the balls to pull apart a new machine. You obviously know your stuff.

It was good to have a look at the inside of those blocks too. When our machine was binding up - as you describe it - i put a few shots of grease into the blocks. It was possible that as the rails had not been wiped or oiled for a while, that a sliver of mdf had become wedged under the block and was pushed out by the grease.

Even though the rails down the side of the machine are protected by the spill tray on the edge of the table, it is incredible to see how quickly the MDF dust builds up on the rails. So it is very important to wipe the rails with a cloth and oil them daily.

Rocket.

[Big S]

That MDF dust is a killer, its bad to breath in and seems to get EVERYWHERE.

Here's a few more pics, we can't have too many can we Oh theres one of our cat.. how did that get in there

I am not sure what the small pressure bottle is for and haven't got around to asking Taney about it, any guesses?

Shannon.

[Big S]

Did a little more today, cleaned out the side covers on the gantry, took the covers off the Y-axis rails and cleaned them down. I also started working out a movable material rack.

Also shifted the machine closer to where it is going to sit in the workshop, although it still needs to be leveled.


Shannon.

[Big S]

I have been sorting out the DSP unit, got the computer software (Signtek) to work with the DSP. It takes a few tries at reconnecting the USB cable to get it to link properly. There seems to be a bug in there (surprise surprise, its Chinese software) that needs a setting changed in the 'MENU, SYSTEM SETUP,Function config, traditional mode' setting to get it to link sometimes when using the computer USB link.

When the DSP is connected to the computer but the Signtek software isn't open the red LED should be solid red, Once the software is open the LED keeps flashing as long as it's open. Its still a bit hit and miss as to when it does link up.

There is also a toolpath preview in the Signtek software as in the screenshot below.

I have uploaded our company logo of sorts onto the DSP startup screen. The resolution is only 128x64 pixels(chair) so it doesn't allow for much room. 256 colour SXGA would be good J/K

Shannon.

[ger21]

I removed the HSD spindle .............

When we sent our spindles to HSD-USA to be rebuilt, they returned them with a soft, thick plastic cap that slips onto the entire bottom of the spindle. I would have to think that HSD makes these, and although they are probably for shipping spindles separately, they would probably prevent what happened to yours.