MY 4`x 4` table

Well yesterday I stripped it down and painted it in Blue smooth Hammerite, turned the heater on it and left it to cook for a few hours, then came back this morning and put another coat on it and cooked it again then spent the rest of the day putting it back together. I managed to get the gear rack to within .04mm that works out to about 0.0015" from one end to the other and all bolt points in the middle on my DTI off the linear rail carriage.

I have finally got it moving at 10,000mm a min, soft limits are fine it stops at 1299.997mm on the DRO, the setting is 1230mm. I do still have a small problem, the "Slow Zone" dose not seem to be working, It goes from full speed to stop instantly, I will have to look into it and see what I have done wrong

Well Robin I had to make it even heavier, but I just could not leave it so I took it up to the old workshop and got it nice and warm and hit it with hammerite smooth blue

Its time to start making the base table now, Hopefully the other 2 Geckos are on there way and I still need to order 2 more motor

a short Video of it moving

http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t...t=DSCF0790.flv

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...m/DSCF0781.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...m/DSCF0780.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...m/DSCF0781.jpg


http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...m/DSCF0775.jpg

Very nice mate ! i wish i had the kinda space you'v got !

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Originally Posted by Lee Roberts

Very nice mate ! i wish i had the kinda space you'v got !

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Thanks Lee, not my place, the buildings and grounds belong to My Friend, I just have free run of it all, its my workshop, in return for helping him out now and again, it works both ways, for both of us,
The pics where I painted it was my old workshop, before it moved to the new building, its a bit big 5000 Sq Ft, the workshop is about 1000 Sq Ft and colder than the old one

Steve

Hi All

Just a quick update, I have started on the table ( will get some pictures tomorrow ) for reasons beyond my control I have made it into a 6`x 4` table, I had 2 off 2Mtr gear racks for the X - A axis and had to buy the cold rolled steel for the runners in 3Mtr lengths so rather than cut a good bit off them and waste it I had another look at the cad drawings and managed to get a 2.5Mtr length table with 1950mm travel in the X-A and 1220mm in the Y from the material I had, from 2 full lengths of 7.5Mtr of 60x60x3 box I only had 2 pieces 40mm long scrap, but I do need to buy another length of something to carry the material supports and the water trough ( if I fit one)
But standing in the workshop it looks big, and I have yet to put caster on it

Steve

Happy Chrismas and a prosperous New Year to all


just a few pictures for those interested, 4`x 4` taple turned into a 6` x 4` table for no extra cost, I did hope to get the 3"x1/2" Bright bar (coled rolled) for the "X" runners before Christmas but missed the stockholders they closed early, so still need to get them yet.but this is how it should sit, I will put jacks on the corners eventualy, when I work out how or even what I want, Any one any ideas??

The control box is now finished for 4 axis and works well I still need to get a THC from Jim Cullins at Sound Logic, and 2 more motors for "X" then I can mount gear racks, slatted bed, and "Roberts your Fathers brother!" finished play time begins..... oh and of course PAINT it blue

did try to upload more photos but after emailing them to my self 4 times to reduce size I still cant get some of them small enough, sorry.

all the best

Steve

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Originally Posted by Steve-m

... did try to upload more photos but after emailing them to my self 4 times to reduce size I still cant get some of them small enough, sorry.
...
Steve

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Download a copy of GIMP, this will allow you to resize/recompress pics and a whole lot more...

or download any number of of shareware jpeg image resizing/compression tools... which will allow you to select the appropriate image size & compression setting (typically 50% or better) to reduce file size

Hi

Thanks I did have microsofts Power toys in xp but in vista the only way I found was to email them to myself, will try them cheers

Steve

Looking good steve, cant wait to see it in paint.

"Roberts your Fathers brother!" uncle is that you ?, i have a Father ? :D

Ill have a look at the image upload spec's for the forums and the gallery and so on, i'm postive i have set "no limit" to image size in terms of the file size.

Hi guys take a look here:

http://www.mycncuk.com/forums/showth...=2273#post2273

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Originally Posted by Lee Roberts

"Roberts your Fathers brother!" uncle is that you ?, i have a Father ?

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Ah but can you prove it, we only have your word for it Lee,

How did that pic get in there?:eek: she said she would not show it, I have said it before never trust them!!;)

Steve

HI All

one other thing I am planning is a Bluetooth keyboard, to use as a remote pendant, there is a Keysonic with a laptop style mouse pad on Ebay for £35, unsure yet weather to take it apart and just use the "Hot keys" for Mach3 as buttons in a hand held unit, or just leave it as a keyboard,

I like the idea of a wireless pendant the only problem is I will need 2 because I will probably loose 1

there is another pendant I like around also on ebay but in the US but its not a wireless one
if any one has any views on the Bluetooth I would like to hear

Cheers

Steve

Yet again Im sorry it womt let me put up pictures as atachments (I could put pn photobucket adn link to them but I cant remember my password at moment) despite shrinking them as much as I can, it says.
PLASMAPenVer3.jpg:
The Dimension limits for this filetype are 620 x 280. We were unable to resize your file so you will need to do so manually and upload it again. Your file is currently 454 x 480.

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did try to upload more photos but after emailing them to my self 4 times to reduce size I still cant get some of them small enough, sorry.

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You can download Serif PhotoPlus 6 for free here . It has an excellent export picture option that can resize and re-compress your images with ease, as well as all the usual photo manipulation tools. I'm using Serif PhotoPlus 11 but there are probably versions 12 and 13 (X2 and X3) available by now.

Hi all

sorry for the delay in posting pictures, cold weather, hospital, and just plain old lazyness, preventen me from taking them before.


any how this is where Im up to, any coments or questions please go ahead I like to know im not talking to my self

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Originally Posted by Steve-m

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]HI All

one other thing I am planning is a Bluetooth keyboard, to use as a remote pendant, t

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I wouldnt use bluetooth myself as Im using 2.4ghz microsoft keyboard and mouse which sometimes prevents multiple keypresses, hence my motors stop when I jog them. Better to use wired.

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Originally Posted by Steve-m

Hi all

sorry for the delay in posting pictures, cold weather, hospital, and just plain old lazyness, preventen me from taking them before.

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Great pictures and a solid machine. What stops the gantry lifting as I cant see bearing underneath? Is it the weight?

Ignore last comment as just realised this is the plasma section

Looking good to me, cant wait to see this baby "spark" to life !

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Originally Posted by progomez

Great pictures and a solid machine. What stops the gantry lifting as I cant see bearing underneath? Is it the weight?

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HI

Thanks for the comment, good point there just not fitted yet, nor are the end stops, its still work in progress, Im still 2 motors short, I did order some but when they came I realised I had ordered the wrong ones,


Steve

Hi Steve,

would you not have been better off mounting the rack and pinion the other way up to keep dross off it?
(or are my eyes in upside down again):p

that would aslo have stopped the gantry rising

Jeff

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Originally Posted by Smiler

Hi Steve,

would you not have been better off mounting the rack and pinion the other way up to keep dross off it?
(or are my eyes in upside down again):p

that would aslo have stopped the gantry rising

Jeff

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Yes it would have been But when I did it it got in the way of the under side (anti lift) cam followers (not fitted in pictures) but in hind sight had I mounted them the other way up I would not have needed the followers, there is still time to have a rethink yet, but put a single motor on the "X" today on the one side only and it runs sweet as a nut, it traveled the 1.9 mtr in 13 seconds fast travel no binding or high spots..........what do I do????????

Steve

Hi Steve, any updates for me on this build ?

Hi Steve,
Could you or anyone reading this please tell me what those green plug type things are that you have used on your machine?

I'v seena site selling "Hole Plugs" in the usa but i was after the proper name for them and also a source in the UK if anyone knows ?

Hi all
well has it been more than a year since i touched plasma table, well now warm weather is hear and im on mend perhaps this year will see it finished, if i can remember what im doing.

Steve

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Originally Posted by Steve-m

Hi all
well has it been more than a year since i touched plasma table, well now warm weather is hear and im on mend perhaps this year will see it finished, if i can remember what im doing.

Steve

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On the mend? Hope it wasn't too serious....

All the Best, Oz.

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Originally Posted by Lee Roberts

Hi Steve,
Could you or anyone reading this please tell me what those green plug type things are that you have used on your machine?

I'v seena site selling "Hole Plugs" in the usa but i was after the proper name for them and also a source in the UK if anyone knows ?

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Lee give WMH-Transmissions a call they will sort you out. just tell them what gauge rail you have!

For your Initial Height Sensing (IHS) you can use a simple touch and retract system. This consists of a small linear bearing inside the torch holder bracket. The rail will be about 15mm longer than the bearing. The drive system connected to the rail and the torch holder connected to the bearing. Mount a small limit switch above the bearing. When the torch goes down to hit the plate the height motor continues to drive down until the bearing "lifts" and activates the switch. This is your bottom height sense. You can then use a simple adjustable timer to time the retract lift to get the correct height. The 20mm round type timers that adjust via the front dial are good for this.
Normal arc loss in detected by usng a hall sensor which is basically a current clamp. This is normally locked out for a small time to allow the arc to be established.
Normal arc start is as follows:
Gas flow on.
High frequency on.
Pilot arc.
Arc current flow is detected by the controller then it ramps up the current to the set value.
Arc height control is normally done via a voltage divider which measures the arc voltage. As the torch height increase from the plate the arc voltage rises and so does the output from the divider. The Arc Voltage Control (AVC) then sees the rise in voltage then signals the head drive to lower the torch towards the plate till the set voltage is reached. Same idea if the torch goes down towards the plate. The AVC normally locks the height control at a set distance before and after corners normally around 25mm. This prevents the torch movement as the drive slows down to take the corner then accelerates away from the corner.
As for piercing plate a normal lead in value is around 1.5 to 2 times the thickness of the plate so for 10mm thick the leadin would be 15 to 20mm.

Regards

Ian

Hi Steve
Fine workmanship, i'm thinking along the same lines myself, although i really need a 8 x 4 table, can you tell me where you got the electronic gubins from. Sorry the engineering bit comes easy, it's the electronics that get my knickers in a twist.

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Originally Posted by coldrain

Hi Steve
Fine workmanship, i'm thinking along the same lines myself, although i really need a 8 x 4 table, can you tell me where you got the electronic gubins from. Sorry the engineering bit comes easy, it's the electronics that get my knickers in a twist.

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Any one know why this thread just fizzled out?? I read it with great interest and then boom.......