[lamicron]

I used 1/8" HR plate to make a U for the mold, tomorrow I'll send some photos with the dxf files

[millman52]

Purchased a new HT1250 today. Got what I think is a great bargain on it too.

1250 machine + 50' machine torch + 50' hand torch + air filter with replaceable filter cartrige Freight included to the door $3736.00. On top of that there wil be almost $400.00 refunded back to me in the form of "Trade In Allowance" Basically a rebate if you supply them with: Make, Mod., Ser. #s of your old plasma.

[Dustin407]

millman, hows the new z-axis and all the new toys coming along. Id like to see some pics of your progress if you have any...Thanks..

[millman52]

About all I have managed to get done is make the motor/screw coupler sleeve, drill & tap holes to mount the upper assembly all together.

To be honest I just got lazy last weekend & I'm going to be out of town tomorrow.

If I'm not to tired out from the trip I may try to get a couple things done on Sunday.

My plasma (Hypertherm 1250) has arrived. I pretty much have Thought out & made notes on the remainder of what I have to make in the machine shop to get the remainder of the 2nd Z axis together.

If I can get things wired & figure out what all I have to do with creating a second profile in Mach for the plasma. Then create a second table profile in Sheetcam TNG.

I drilled the holes in the stepper end bell & tapped them for 1/4"-20 to make mounting the motor easier.

Removed the open bearing I was using for mock up from the ball screw & replaced it with a new double sealed bearing. Installed the shaft coupler to the screw, the coupler also acts as the bearing retainer.

The last pic shows the assembly all bolted together. The single set screw on the outer housing is merely a plug for the access hole to tighten the motor coupler to the motor shaft

[Dustin407]

Millman, thanks for the response/pics, everything is coming along great when do you suspect youll have it up and running...?

[millman52]

Millman, thanks for the response/pics, everything is coming along great when do you suspect youll have it up and running...?

Thanx for the favorable comments. Please send me a pocket full of ROUNDTUITS!! I could certainly use it right now. I have little time of the evenings with my 11 yr old daughters school year winding down. Besides that She is my fishing buddy & the river out back is starting to look pretty good on the weekends.

That being said Who knows!! I should be able to finish most or all the mechanical stuff in 8-12 hrs of uninterrupted (Yeah Right) work time.

I'm pretty good with a computer in general but still pretty much an Idiot when it comes to fooling around in MACH so Only the CNC gods know how long it will take me to integrate the plasma & ox fuel together & make that work......

Any more simple questions? LMAO

[Weldtutor]

Please send me a pocket full of ROUNDTUITS!!

Hope this attachment is what you wanted.

I've been following your conversion with interest.
The addition of a plasma unit to your already useful machine should make it very versatile.

Don't let the new Mach profile scare you.
Probably a few hours on the riverbank with a fishing pole & you'll figure it out.

[MonoNeuron]

I'm jealous.
I purchased my 1250 for $5800 and that was with a huge 'discount' and it only came with the machine torch and I also bought the fine cut kit at the same time. I have just fitted the relay card in the Hypertherm 2 days ago and it has rained every day since and it rarely rains here. Annual rainfall of 9 inches.
I have only just started to get back into fixing the table up and reformatting the hard drive again so I can put it to work as I haven't been able to get to it for about 5 months due to getting married and running the shop for the missus and working 12 hour shifts at work........"when will it ever end ?"
I am using roller chain on mine, as the rack and pinion drive was hugely expensive, and it is pretty smooth in use. A lot better than I first thought but the sprockets need to be 20 tooth and over to stop the cogging effect for smooth motion.
I will have to get up a video of it in use when it's done and post on YouTube.
Keep up your good work and I hope it all goes well for you.
Rich.

[millman52]

I'm jealous.
I purchased my 1250 for $5800 and that was with a huge 'discount' and it only came with the machine torch and I also bought the fine cut kit at the same time. I have just fitted the relay card in the Hypertherm 2 days ago and it has rained every day since and it rarely rains here. Annual rainfall of 9 inches.
I have only just started to get back into fixing the table up and reformatting the hard drive again so I can put it to work as I haven't been able to get to it for about 5 months due to getting married and running the shop for the missus and working 12 hour shifts at work........"when will it ever end ?"
I am using roller chain on mine, as the rack and pinion drive was hugely expensive, and it is pretty smooth in use. A lot better than I first thought but the sprockets need to be 20 tooth and over to stop the cogging effect for smooth motion.
I will have to get up a video of it in use when it's done and post on YouTube.
Keep up your good work and I hope it all goes well for you.
Rich.

Funny thing on the HT 1250 is, If you want both torches it's much cheaper to buy the machine with hand torch. Then purchase the machine torch seperate. You don't get the CNC interface cable that way but it's only about $120.00 US if you need it I didn't.

On the Married thing NO COMMENT

The rat race ends when you are pushing up daiseys!! NOT a good alternative.

Many use roller chain & report good results. I looked in that direction but knowing my table would see nearly daily usage I was afraid of maintenance issues over the long haul.

I was given an interesting tidbit on the use of roller chain in less than an ideal environment just this weekend. My first cousin is plant maintenance foreman (22 yrs) at a porcelan tile factory. They literally have miles of roller chain running on automated conveyor lines. Porcelan tile being made of finely ground sand(s), clay(s) & similar gritty ingerdients you can imagine the wear problems. Cousin says they get far better life to run it completely dry. Even rust isn't as bad as the grit being carried in & clinging to by lubrication. After thinking it over, sounds reasonable to me. Especially since it isn't high speed & heat wouldn't be a problem.

I'd enjoy seeing a video of your work under power....

Neil

[millman52]

Hope this attachment is what you wanted.

I've been following your conversion with interest.
The addition of a plasma unit to your already useful machine should make it very versatile.

Don't let the new Mach profile scare you.
Probably a few hours on the riverbank with a fishing pole & you'll figure it out.

River bank He** I'll be on my river Yacht LOL.

I'll post up a couple pics of my actual rig once I get it out of moth balls.

I wish now I had purchased the 10'er. But still these little boats are amaxingly stable & plenty roomy enough for 2 people. Just not enough room for a full days BEER STORAGE!!:cheers:

[MonoNeuron]

Yes, I got ripped off with the CNC cable that came with the machine. I didn't need it but it is included in the purchase price and also sent with the machine.
I wasn't going to lubricate the chain with regular oily lubricants but with a dry lube in a spray can.
We used to spray a MoS2 (Molybdinum DiSulphide) coating on the rotors of the air driven scraper winches used in underground mining, when I was an apprentice long ago, and it dried like a coating of graphite but not as easily worn off. It foams when applied so should penetrate the rollers quite easily.
I can't for the life of me remember what the can was called though but I will google for something similar and try it out as the original probably isn't made anymore. The air rotors were herringbone gears and lasted for years.
Maybe you could let the cousin know that there are dry lubricants out there that perform really well in adverse conditions. I think the MoS2 is the slipperiest compound around.
I was hoping for some free time at work lately to do a bit of work on my updated Z axis but we are having a lot of breakdowns at the moment so I have to put other stuff on hold.
I hear you on the marriage side. It's taken me 30 years to find a good one that I want to settle down with and now it's too late to have kids. Hers will have to do and they are really great and "are all growed up" which isn't too bad a thing. :-)
I'll keep practicing though 'cause you never know.!!!! ;-)

[millman52]

Mono, One of my employees brought in a can of "Dry Lube" & spryed a bit of it in some bearings on an overhead hoist trolley that we could hear & feel the bearings clunking around. It didn't quieten them any but it sure made it roll smoother. I'll ask him what it is & get back to you.

I have some of my product in the coal fields down under. Have 4 more items for Australia on my up coming to do list. Not sure right now of the scheduled completion date but I already have purchase orders for them.

[MonoNeuron]

That's great about the parts you send to the coal fields. Are they big parts? I'm just curious about freight etc as it's a killer here.
The new parts sound interesting.
How is the upgrade going? I saw an add for a Hypertherm G3 plasma cutter yesterday up in Queensland and they wanted $8500 for it. Don't know if it was the 1000, 1250 or the 1650 but it sure was expensive and makes me feel a bit better after buying mine for $5800.

I just remembered the name of the spray. It was MolyKote but I don't remember what number was after it ( like MolyKote-111 etc )

[millman52]

Mono, The dry lube that Ron brought in here is made by Amsoil, he'll get me the exact name, # later today.

Yep the parts are pretty heavy (1) of them is a trunion axle. The 64" version of it weighs about 1500# Another part is called a Cable Guide They go apx. 150-200# each.

I don't deal with the freight end. I'm just 1 supplier of many that makes up a "package deal" Someone on down the line ships them. I'll try to post up a couple pics of similar parts. The Aussie parts are esentially the same just a few different specs. Bolt pattern(s) thread size(s) etc.

[millman52]

:violin:Mono, The Dry lube Ron used on the trolley is made by Amsoil & is labeled MP HD

Label states "it does not collect dust" & Heavy Duty Metal Protector. I haven't used the stuff myself so can't really report to you on just how "DRY" the stuff is after sprayed on.



I have found a couple hours to complete my Z axis actuator, That is all but final assembly. I've put off a bit doing the last couple pieces simply because I don't much like working with small parts. Also having to catch a lathe & milling machine that's not set up for paying production work.

The first pic is of the bottom plug for the inner aluminum tube.

I'll post a couple pics of the final assembly once I get the balls back in the ball nut & it all bolted together & :violin:

EDIT:

Well here it is (last 3 pictures) all buttoned up ready to be installed. Now on to building the Z slide & floating head. Hopefully that will move along much faster than building this drive. The slide(s) are much more straight forward & not near as many high precision parts to machine..

[lamicron]

Hi Millman, i have problems with the warping of the plate, cutting with oxyfuel, how do you change the heigth of the torch, manually?
Thanks
Luis

[millman52]

Hi Millman, i have problems with the warping of the plate, cutting with oxyfuel, how do you change the heigth of the torch, manually?
Thanks
Luis

Yes I chase it manually. It's not a big problem for me as most metal I cut is 3/8" & above.

[Dustin407]

Hey millman,

Just droppin in to see how things are coming along with the z axis. I seen the pics of your sheilded actuator and I must say it turned out really nice. Keep me informed on you floating head, I will be building mine in about three weeks I suspect....

[millman52]

I have my Plasma Z backplate with main linear rail mounted & the floating rail mounted to that. Just a matter now of machining, attachint the torch holder, limit switch, make mounting points for the actuator, etc. etc. Then change out the rail on the gantry & attach the O/A Z to the new stuff.

Then get it all figured out in Mach.

[millman52]

Few more pics of some work on my Z axis.

Need to make switch mount, actuator mounts, stop for floating head & mount torch holder.