Congratulations! Its so rewarding to see the result ++++++++++++
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Congratulations! Its so rewarding to see the result ++++++++++++
Noice!
You must be chuffed - looks like it'll be a monster.
How big are they? Trying to work out if they will fit in my bikes top box, thanksQuote:
Originally Posted by AndrewMawson
If your top box is built like Thor then possibly !!
They are 340 mm x 380 mm x 100 mm and I think that there are six of seven of them
What cast of concrete ha ha ha, makes it slightly top heavy ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewMawson
Congrats on getting her cutting, lovely job Chaz.
I need some thoughts advice please.
Material / structure to wrap around Thor to stop chips flying everywhere. Stainless plate, perspex, wood? Trying to keep it fairly cheap but still practical.
Table, Ive got the upside down surface plate on it that I have mounted some ply on. I can keep using the surface plate, its high but not too bad. It only has 3 mounting points however. I could machine the top down a bit however not that keen to do that.
Alternately I could remove the lot and install either tooling plate or something like this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminium-...0AAOSwfcVUJXD5 - not cheap but looks good. The problem is mounting it, I need M12 capscrews (or bolts) for the carts and M18 for the ballnut holder. Both which will stop certain T slots from being available. The M18 bolts have a head thickness of 10mm, the plate is 20mm, so I should be able to machine a recess / hole setup for these but will loose the ability to use all the T Slots.
Thoughts please?
Poly-carbonate sheet is used in professional machines for chip control and operator safety. Used in Police riot shields. Don't use acrylic as it shatters. Even poly-carbonate will stress rack eventually if you make the fixings too tight - I need to replace the screens in my Beaver Partsmaster again having done it about four years ago - bolt holes should have had appreciable clearance for expansion and contraction, but I made them bang on :(
Thanks, suggested minimum thickness?Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewMawson
Just saw a good vid where the guy was using small alu extrusion (looked like 20 x 20) for the frame, might try that.
Something like this might be good - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FddiAAuI2Rg
I used 5 mm on both my Fanuc Tapecut Model L wire eroder and my Beaver Partsmaster CNC Mill
Would this work?Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewMawson
https://www.livsupplies.co.uk/produc...20&color=clear
NO, because each skin is very thin - it's the over all thickness they quote. You need solid polycarbonate
Ok, thanks. Im getting prices of around £120 per 1m^2 5mm Polycarbonate. Does this sound right?Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewMawson
Ok, cheaper found here https://www.sheetplastics.co.uk/prod...arbonate-sheet
Will keep looking.
Any thoughts on table options?
I'm thinking of making up some wooden H frames and then panelling each one with poly. I plan to use roofing batton, its totally cheap and the stuff at my local wood yard is really good quality, the yard is now huwsgrey.co.uk.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaz
The sizes are 19x38 and 25x50, both would work great for all sorts and the plan was to rout a dado that the panel would fit into, more or less how you would make basic panel and frame doors.
Dont think ruff grubby old batton, that is up on your roof, think 2x1 treated timber that cleans up really well with a little sanding. A 4m length costs something like £2.50.
I've always used Trent Plastics with good results. They cut to size and will do bends if needed - here is a 1 m square of 5 mm clear poly-carbonate:
https://www.trentplastics.co.uk/poly...e-lexan-sheets
Andrew how about white PVC sheet 8x4, its used as cladding for public toilets and cubicles in places like Tesco, my local uPVC window place can probably get it for me at a better price than eBay but what do you think: uPVC Hygienic Wall Cladding Sheet 8x4 WhiteQuote:
Originally Posted by AndrewMawson
Lee, I know the stuff, I've used it to line the toilet cubicle in my workshop :) Personally I think it's too fragile but then I'm used to industrial stuff and like to make things solid and bullet proof.
Chaz pictures of the PCs attached:
Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz, 2793 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
Most have had the HDD removed but I've found a box of suitable HDD's !!!! Some have DVD / CD players, at least one has a floppy disk play - all are modular so you can make a specific one from bits of the others.
All have a parallel and serial port so good for MACH3
Attachment 22005
Attachment 22006
Ok, problems getting a cooling system for the spindle to work.
The chiller I got from AndrewMawson is way too powerful and it blows the piping off when it starts up. So unless I get some form of bypass valve or control valve, its not going to work.
I tried a few pumps from Amazon, typically used for fish tanks, they are all too weak. Looking at PC water cooling kits but they are pricy. Can anyone suggest a pump that will work with 6mm piping?
Thanks
So Ive ordered this after reading a few posts. Looks like the other one I tried was not up to the required spec.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...0?ie=UTF8&th=1
should be fine I'm using standard fish tank pump with a 13mm reducer the main thing is the head height and you have 2.5m which should be more than enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaz
The chiller does it have it's own pump?
A few have used these and they prove more than up to the job: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371128026468, you dont need to go mad trying to cool these spindles down, they are quite efficient and shouldn't really get hot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaz
Ye, and its much too powerful. I made an adaptor to go from 12mm to 5mm and it blew it off immediately. The chiller is more powerful than most coolant pumps ive seen at full whack :-) Theres an idea ...Quote:
Originally Posted by Desertboy
Simple bypass from output to input - just a tap that can be opened gradually and you can set the pressure exactly as you want it. This was standard practice on the main Grundfos 3 kW pumps that circulated water in my Launderettes when I had them - simple gate valve and in that case a pressure gauge. High enough to fill a washing machine PDQ, but not high enough to bust the flexible hoses !
I would add a 2nd pump to circulate through the spindle then hook the chiller to a thermostat like this
Attachment 22061
A pond style water pump will work fine I have a box of 20 of them I can send you one for free if you want and will use less electricity than the pump in the chiller.
With a reasonable size res of 20l's the chiller will only need to run a few minutes in an hour and I bet that water pump in the chiller uses quite a bit of juice.
Thanks, appreciated however have bought one already. Will test it tonight and see how it runs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Desertboy
What size pipe do people use? 6mm OD?
I managed to get a lot more powerful pump, pushes a good amount of water but when I connect up my plumbing, it struggles to flow. I have turned an adaptor to go from 1/2 to 1/4 inch (roughly) but the hole might be too restrictive.
Should I move up to 8mm piping?
Thanks
8mm ordered anyways to check. I'm not sure how free flowing the water should be through the spindle, I went as far as removing the pipes and I get a slow flow, so I dont think its that.
I have known the spindle fittings to be blocked when they seal the top bit on. Take off the tubing and poke a small screw driver down the hole to see if it is restricted about 25mm down. I only use a 2 ltr tank and a very small fish tank pump around £3Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaz
Thanks. I did think of that - I tried to blow into it but a bit limited in terms of space. The black grommit things were removed, wasnt sure if there could be anything else blocking.Quote:
Originally Posted by Clive S
If you put a temp. tank above the spindle with one pipe to the spindle and the other pipe lower down into a bucket and siphon the water it should run freely. I take it is one of the normal Chinese spindlesQuote:
Originally Posted by Chaz
Yep, 4KW unit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Clive S
Chaz I have not seen one of those so can't comment but the water should still flow through and I would expect you to have a bigger tankQuote:
Originally Posted by Chaz
At the moment im just using a plastic bucket filled with water (probably 5-6 litres) at ground level. I raised it manually by hand to lower the head distance however it made no real difference. I suspect something must be blocked but the limited flow wasnt exactly inspiring either, so I need to improve that. Without the the thin tubing, the pump pushes out a fair amount of water.Quote:
Originally Posted by Clive S
Water now flowing, was completely blocked. Had to take top off and eventually got some crud out with air gun.
I have read of many people hack their spindle, breaking gaskets blowing with air gun. Dont do that! Or do it with care as a final remedy. The good thing is that you have opened it. I did once that on a 0.8kw spindle and had to open it later...Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaz
Too late. There was some crap and smelt like rusty water. I dont think it was water from me, perhaps when it was tested, not sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boyan Silyavski
My 1.5kW spindle blocks every few months or so. I have to drain it and gently use an airline at work (hands loosely cupped around inlet so the pressure is low) to clear any deposits. I think the channels inside are pretty small as it has always had a level of resistance when you blow into it with your mouth so it does not take much to block itQuote:
Originally Posted by Chaz
I use water designed for PC cooling circuits to reduce corrosion but it does still block eventually
I'm thinking of different ways of doing the WC on the new machine under construction. Maybe a filter and maybe pumps / valves arranged so the water is emptied back into the reservoir at the end of a session leaving the spindle dry. Someone will probably tell me that it will be worse if it dries out . . .
It will be until it completely dries out.Quote:
Originally Posted by routercnc
Far simpler option is to put some anti-freeze (or summer coolant) in, as it has corrosion inhibitors in, and will improve the cooling performance over plain water.
I was originally thinking of using distilled water (Or RO water) but water is actually very corrosive if it's pure water (Has a low EC or TDS reading) which I forgot until I read your post. Antifreeze has got to be the best choice but added to distilled water (Or RO).
Good thing about using distilled water is you should get no scale.