[CarveOne]

I voted you 5-stars but i don't know why its not appear!!!!!

You have my permission to keep trying until it works.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

Ok, here's todays work.

I bored the bearing holes in three steel plates and it wasn't as easy as the aluminum. I first located on the punch mark, then drilled a 1/2" hole, then drilled a 3/4" hole, then used the boring head and end mill to gradually open up the hole to 1.125" for the bearing OD. I opted to make a slip-in fit recess and will make a couple of threaded holes for screws to hold the outer bearing race from moving. It was just too hard for me to get the fit I wanted. There is a small ledge on one side of the hole so that the bearing stops just a little above the surface for a clamp of some sort.

I assembled the parts and cut 1" off of the lead screw to get the proper fit. The anti-backlash lead nut will be easy to attach to the gantry upright.

Edit: The brownish liquid shown in photo 4 is Do-Drill, a cutting fluid that made the steel cutting go much better. I was running the mill at it's lowest speed 110rpm setting to keep the heat down and keeping the cutter wet.

Photo 10 shows the end of the 5 start ACME rod where I cut it and ground it flat. Yep, it really does have 5 individual threads.

I'm thinking that I will eventually make 1/2" aluminum support spacers instead of the all-thread rod spacers. It will look better and keep things square more easily. The all-thread rods will be used for determining the correct length for the aluminum supports.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

I dropped by the local Fastenal store today and picked up the piece of special order 3/8" x 4" x 36" steel that will be used to make the remaining four bearing plates this weekend. I picked up a piece of 3/4" aluminum rod stock also. I decided on using 3/4" aluminum rod for the stepper motor spacers so I can use 3/8" bolts to assemble them. 1/2" rod stock would not have left much wall thickness after 3/8" internal threading for bolts.

I'll have a few days off from work this week and may get more CNC build work done before the weekend. Maybe there will be some photos to post tomorrow.

I ordered the 4th 425 oz/in stepper motor last Sunday and have received email confirmation of shipment today. It should be here by Friday.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

Here is a photo of the first four of sixteen stepper motor plate support spacers needed for this four motor cnc machine. These will replace the ugly all-thread seen in previous photos. Simple parts, but they take a lot of time to make. Trimmed to 2.5" +/- 0.001" length. 1" deep 3/8"-16 threaded hole at each end. I hope to make at least four more today.

This is tough work, considering the standards of the audience that's watching.
:cheers:

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

Four more spacers finished and added to the pile. Below is a photo sequence for your entertainment. Ugh, I really do need to do a spring cleaning of that rusty lathe chuck as soon as spring gets here don't I?

1. Trim each end square and to length
2. Drill hole on each end
3. Starting the threads in proper alignment, each end
4. Finish the threads 1" deep, each end
5. 8 finished and polished spacers (X axis)
6. Machinist's favorite snack - Chips and Salsa!! (chair)

CarveOne

[micke h]

Nice work I'm anxious to see how it will end up!
I'm a little jealous on that big nice shop you have


Keep the photos comming

[CarveOne]

Nice work I'm anxious to see how it will end up!
I'm a little jealous on that big nice shop you have


Keep the photos comming

Hi micke h,

Me too! It was built last summer and I still can't believe I finally have one - of any size.

CarveOne

[Khalid]

I am also Jealous... Your built is the most favourite of mine... Full of Pictures... I like the lathe work and the Salsa's...

[CarveOne]

It has been very cold and windy today. I only managed to cut the three bearing support plates from the piece of 3/8" x 4" steel bar I received this week. The metal was painful to handle without gloves. So I brought them in the house to center punch for drilling, then I'll finish them when it's warmer outside. Only three photos to show this time.

The 4th Xylotex 425 oz/in step motor arrived today. I will transfer the other three like it from the Solsylva 25x37 machine to the new one. Then maybe later I'll buy three ~270 oz/in step motors to go back on the Solsylva machine to keep it functional. It may run a little faster with them anyway. Build two will need more torque at lower rpms due to the heavier gantry weight and the 5 start screws.

CarveOne

[Mick40]

Each time you take a photo we get to see another cool tool!!!

Again, I appreciate you taking the time to share with us!
Mick

[CarveOne]

That's a "must have" tool in the work shop. Bought it at a Cummins traveling tool sale a year ago.

The coolest tool, and the only thing I have that cuts steel any faster, is my plasma torch. It isn't CNC but things tend to morph into other things around here.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

Having a new step motor on hand, I went out to the work shop and retrieved the aluminum mounting plates to check them for proper fit. The minor additional clearances I built into the holes are just right.

I also disk sanded and squared one end of the three steel bearing support plates I cut this morning so that I have a true reference for locating the center punch marks that I will add tonight.

The cool thing about the milling machine's digital readout is that I only need one reference punch mark to drill eight mounting holes and bore the bearing hole. Once I start I can do all of the operations without taking the plate off of the vise.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

Went out to the shop with the three steel blanks and after 5-1/2 hours I emerged with one completed bearing mounting plate.

The second plate needs two holes drilled and tapped for 1/4-20 bolt and the corners rounded. To be completed tomorrow.

The third plate suffered from the operator's temporary cranial infarction of some unknown kind and said operator will not admit to the exact nature of the damage. It is not known at this point in time whether the plate will ever be repairable. (chair)

Damage assessment of the third plate is to be commenced when said operator fully recovers from the personal insults that he verbally inflicted upon himself.

CarveOne

[leibowitz]

Made bad bobo CarveOne? What happened bro?

[.xXACEXx.]

yeah show us some pictures so we can laugh at.......


uh.......... i mean show us the pictures so we can "console" you in your time of need

[CarveOne]

yeah show us some pictures so we can laugh at.......


uh.......... i mean show us the pictures so we can "console" you in your time of need

I had messed up on the center location sometime during boring the bearing hole and drilling the 3/8" holes. It was correct initially. The four 3/8" holes were shifted relative to the bearing center hole. That isn't supposed to happen with a DRO set up to do the hole pattern.

Whatever it was that happened (shop gremlins I suppose) I decided to do a little creative hole relocation since the bearing hole is in the center of the plate where it should be.

I centered up on each 3/8" hole, offset 0.075" (in the right direction the first time I might proudly add) and plunged down into the edge of the hole to make it an obround hole. Not too hard to do, and it is not seen once the spacers and bolt heads cover it up. See the first photo of the corrected plate.

The magic mending tape coupler is just right for the photos but may not work long term in actual use. Use at your own risk. Patent not applied for. However, it does indicate that something in CarveOne's shop actually came out aligned correctly for once.

Photos of the completed stepper motor assembly follow:

[.xXACEXx.]

if it works (the magic tape) , maybe you can use it to fix the hole locations ,just cover with tape and then redrill after spotting with an end mill of course

actually for the intended purpose , that boo-boo may never be noticed in actual use the bolt cover it and will prolly be strong enough even if they are "slotted"

any progress is still progress right?

[CarveOne]

While studying the assembly last evening to see how much movement it has in the clearances, it seems to not have very much. I'm thinking that I will leave the holes in the stepper plate as they are and open up the holes in the bearing plate by one drill size to provide a little more wiggle room so there is no chance of misalignment stress on the coupler from an interference fit as the bolts are tightened down. I'll do the same on the right angle brackets that mount this assembly to the end of the rail. It will take some time to do but is not hard work. I think it will pay off during alignment of the lead screws to the rails. Now is the best time to do it since I know how these parts are fitting together. While doing that I'll drill and tap a couple of 4-40 screw holes close to the bearing and install screws to lock the bearings in place, so the bearings will be more easily removable when needing replacement.

Some of the evenings this week will be warm enough to re-drill the bearing plates and then I can do some cleaning and painting of the plates on Saturday.

On Sunday I'll remove the X axis rails and sand the bottom edges to remove the surface crust as I did on the top edge. Then paint them.
That's the plan anyway.

This assembly is really rigid with the 3/4" aluminum spacers. I didn't like the 3/8" all-thread rod supports. I had some problems with motor alignment on the 25x37 machine that uses this method of supporting the stepper. I resolved the alignment issue by changing to "aircraft" lock nuts on one side of the stepper plate so that they can be set and won't change with stepper removal.

I need to order new flex couplers soon. The 1/4" to 1/2" 5 start flex couplers I ordered when I ordered the lead screws won't work now that I made the shaft extenders with 1/4" ends. I'll probably order four aluminum helical couplers this time.

If everything goes as hoped this week, I can start concentrating on building up the gantry next week.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

if it works (the magic tape) , maybe you can use it to fix the hole locations ,just cover with tape and then redrill after spotting with an end mill of course

actually for the intended purpose , that boo-boo may never be noticed in actual use the bolt cover it and will prolly be strong enough even if they are "slotted"

any progress is still progress right?

Yep, those 3/8" x 1" bolts that replaced the all-thread rod should not let go anytime soon. The 3/4" aluminum and 5/8" wide bolt heads easily cover it. When I open the holes up a little more the obround shape will almost disappear anyway. Sometimes I draw with CAD accuracy and drill with eyeball accuracy. Maybe this thing will eventually work ok in spite of that.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

The boss called before I made it all the way to work this morning and said "Let's take the day off." So I said "Ok".

I picked up some shorter screws to mount the stepper motors, a 2' x 2' piece of 3/4" pine plywood, and headed back home. I went out to the work shop and proceeded to work on cutting the braces for the work table legs from the plywood. The table seems rock solid but I'll reserve judgment on that until I see how much the gantry start/stop movements at full jog speed shakes it. Another item to check of the to-do list.

The two braces at each end of the work table are two pieces of plywood that are glued and screwed together. This was done so that one plate fits behind the 2x4 horizontal board and the other fits across onto the leg under the 2x4 horizontal board. This was the strongest way to add an "angle" to a stepped joint.

CarveOne