[forrest39]

Aloha all,

I just got the X and Y motors connected to the X2 using the Hoss designs. I tried to screw in the rubber bellows / cover thingies (it's an industry term..) but with the 4.7" of y travel, the rubber gets folded up when approaching the limits. It jambs between the saddle and the motor mount on the front side of the y axis and between the column mount casting and the saddle on the back side.

Any suggestion on how to rig these bellows or something else to use? seems it would be a bad idea to leave the ball screw exposed to the swarf...
Thanks! -4ist

[TroyO]

I have been looking at doing something similar... I bumped my Y to 5" (No CNC)

Here's a site with info on oragami-folding a way cover.

http://www.ixen-cnc.com/2007/10/lead...line-mill.html

I also ran in to a post somewhere... maybe here? Anyway... someone used denim and urethane finish to make a stiffened cloth version of the above.

[degreaser]

Mr. Bill made his own bellows out of PVC material. On my todo list. Read the whole thread - it's great!

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showpo...2&postcount=50

[TroyO]

Hey, I like the looks of that! I wonder how well it's held up.

Next thought... if the liner is made of PVC, it seems that PVC cement might be an even better choice than super glue.

[wildwestpat]

Hi Forrest39

The bellows material needs to be thin as there is not that much room on an X2 when fully compressed compared to the extended length. I have made bellows using the PTFE coated fibre glass cloth used in home baking as a non stick release sheet for cookies. Made three sections with intermediate carriers that were shaped to include the dovetail the idea being to keep the bellows under control as it expands and contracts and away from the sharp edge on the dovetail slide. Used Kevlar thread to sew the bellows sections together and varnished the joins to make them fully fluid proof as I use a flood colant system.

After a lot of messing arround I purchased ready made bellows from Arceuro and here is the link to their product:-
http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalo...achine-Bellows

If you look at the illustrations you will see the dovetail shaped carrier bits that are on each section. These are easily shaped to fit but note that the folding parts of the concertina must be free from the dovetail to prevent holes appearing!

You may need to take care in picking bellows materials depending on the coolant you are using. Some of the imported rubber bellows are not that oil resistant and as a result do not last very long. Many flexible plasics go hard and crack when subject to some oils over time.

Hope this helps - regards Pat

Hope this helps

[steveb946]

Hi Forrest39

The bellows material needs to be thin as there is not that much room on an X2 when fully compressed compared to the extended length. I have made bellows using the PTFE coated fibre glass cloth used in home baking as a non stick release sheet for cookies. Made three sections with intermediate carriers that were shaped to include the dovetail the idea being to keep the bellows under control as it expands and contracts and away from the sharp edge on the dovetail slide. Used Kevlar thread to sew the bellows sections together and varnished the joins to make them fully fluid proof as I use a flood colant system.

After a lot of messing arround I purchased ready made bellows from Arceuro and here is the link to their product:-
http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalo...achine-Bellows

If you look at the illustrations you will see the dovetail shaped carrier bits that are on each section. These are easily shaped to fit but note that the folding parts of the concertina must be free from the dovetail to prevent holes appearing!

You may need to take care in picking bellows materials depending on the coolant you are using. Some of the imported rubber bellows are not that oil resistant and as a result do not last very long. Many flexible plasics go hard and crack when subject to some oils over time.

Hope this helps - regards Pat

Hope this helps

Thanks for the great tip!

I ordered the larger bellows: 084-030-00100, and will cut it to fit my y-axis ways on the Grizzly G3103 knee mill, soon to be converted to CNC operation.
Steve

[X2cnc]

I bought some bathtub liner and some music wire. The plan is to curve the music wire under the liner, so that the liner bows up when the carriage slides. I figured that would eliminate the possibility of a bellows wedgie.

Other things have sidetracked my X2 project for a while, so I haven't actually tried this yet, though.

[wildwestpat]

Hi X2cnc

Might save you some effort if you test the material for its reaction to oil. Some plastics become hard as the plasticiser is dissolved by the oil. The music wire springs sound a good idea if there is enough spare material to still provide cover as the material arches out of the way but that might cause the plastic to flow under pressure from the music wire spring if left too long in the high arc possition. If you are cutting metal with high feed rates those chips will be hot - try a test of the material's resistance to hot chips falling on it.

Good luck with your experiments as it is worth the effort to keep crud and chips away from the lead screws and slide ways.

Regards

Pat

[forrest39]

Good thought with the music wire. I actually folded up some aluminum can material and placed it between the bellows and the metal strip that holds the bellows to the saddle. It does a decent job of preventing the 'bellows wedgie' that you mention. I'll just stick with the rubber bellows until they tear then I'll go for one of the materials suggested in recent posts.

Thanks for sharing ideas!

-4ist