Does this answer one of your your questions about VFD?
http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/4985-...spindle-wiring
About the last question i believe this can do the job :
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3278...27424c4d4NkJmR
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Does this answer one of your your questions about VFD?
http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/4985-...spindle-wiring
About the last question i believe this can do the job :
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3278...27424c4d4NkJmR
Perfect, ThanksQuote:
Originally Posted by Doddy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nickhofen
Cheers Nick!
Little more progress on the Z axis - managed to mill the channels required for the Z ballscrew yesterday. Bridgeport wasn't trammed perfectly, so the surface is a little off, (I was under quite strict time constraints and the tramming worm screw is broken - so its as good as I could get without it) but it will certainly do the job I need it to. Assembled the Z axis for a test-fit late last night, but forgot to take pictures, so they'll follow.
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My monster of an electrical cabinet has also arrived... 800x600x300 is massive, but should fit everything!! Went for the glazed door option, although unfortunately it has some dings in the door - I'm guessing its just a grey hammerite paint touchup job.
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I know I promised frame photos.... but I'm still halfway through painting the bed, and I'm not massively pleased with my 'smooth' hammerite finish. Despite our best efforts, the paint ran all over the place and whilst the surface is smooth, the light clearly reflects the brush strokes. :/ Any advice appreciated!
I use paint rollers to paint my bed,the painting is faster and easier to applied this way .
If you see lines this means that you have to thinner the paint , when the paint is thinner is leveled when applied, but be careful not to use too much thinner.
Thanks Nick, what do you use to thin it? How much?
Test assembly of the Z axis with obligatory drill movement test (although I can rotate the screw by hand):
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You have to use the exact thinner type that the company suggest,about how much you will find it on the color container. I usually start with less thinner than the amount the company suggest,then try the thinned paint on a surface with the paint roller and let it seat for about ten minutes .
If it is not transparent and the color is leveled it self,I mean you do not see marks after ten minutes,you can do your job, with the roller you might notice small bubbles in the color,it is ok those are going to disappear when the color cures
If the paint is sticky add thinner, shake well before use!
Make one thick pass and do not repaint after some minutes or hours , because the new paint will dilute the old one and you will end up with a mess....
Good luck!
Thanks Nick, the thinners and your advice has really helped. I've recoated it, and although it's still not removed the paint brush lines and the surface is nowhere near perfect, it's improved a lot. I think ultimately, I'll need to take the frame back to bare metal to fix this mess, but then again, it's just looks - the metal is protected as is, so I'm going to forge on regardless.
Also been cleaning up a few of the Z axis components now they're complete, ready for final assembly when I got the surface plate out.
In other news, put my slightly dented but massive cabinet up on the wall... Used a spirit level on the edges... The damn thing is a rombus!! The door is extra wonkey to boot... Serves me right for buying a cheaper cabinet I suppose...
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Next steps...
The current challenge on the base frame front is the epoxy framing and pour - I've sourced the MDF side pieces and cut to size, time to start gluing and siliconing!
On the gantry front, my next challenge is the motor mounts (thats the only thing, besides no belts, stopping me driving the Z and Y with motors).
And on the electronics front, I'm currently sourcing cables and components for the cabinet... its all go!
Visited the science museum yesterday, saw this and it made me smile and think of you lot:
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But the smile has faded, because today, I've been tackling the demon that is E-P-O-X-Y. Unfortunately, I don't think its gone too well, but I'm going to let it do its thing for two weeks, then if needs be chip it off and start all over.
So, first off, I started by levelling the base frame on its levelling feet. Turns out my longest spirit level has an error in it, and I wasted a good half hour chasing the damn thing until I figured out it changed when rotated 180 degrees. Oops. Trusty digital spirit level to the rescue, which was much easier to flip round every time.
Once my lovely smooth and flat steel beam was level, I then set about mauling it with the grinder. The idea was to give the epoxy something better to stick on to.
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We then assembled the epoxy frame. This seemed to go really well - the only thing i'd change would be the width of those spacers you see over the top of the frame - it was quite a pain in the arse getting below them on the later stages. Take special note of the blue bottle we purchased to do the epoxy pour with - it has a tap on the other side which we thought would be ideal. We then started heating the garage up, got the air temp up to about 28 dungarees, and whilst we were doing this we taped the bottom edge of the epoxy frame, and then used silicone sealant all the way around on both the inside and outside faces (we really don't want any epoxy leaks). We also clamped the frame down onto the bed before doing this.
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After letting all that silicone set, and a bloody-good chineese takeaway, we set about the epoxying. We measured out and mixed the 1.3L in six equal sets by weight, taking a minute to thoroughly stir after each set. Naturally I got the wife to do this, as she is an expert stirrer.... When we got to the end, we did a two minute stir, then thought it would be a really good idea to let it sit for 10mins to let the bubbles rise out. It was going really really well - the bubbles were rising to the surface nicely, away from our little tap....
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Cue minute eight. The tub starts to look a little strange. Cries of "Oh Shit! The pots melting!!" come from the other side of the garage as the tub starts imploding and the epoxy level rapidly rises towards the rim of the bottle. Thankfully, we already had our gloves on and at the ready, so taking the very hot bottle, I swing it over to the frame and start the first pour by hammering on the tap's release button....
Of course, the damn thing had already jammed shut. At this point, theres nothing for it but to up-end the bottle and start pouring from the top. Bubbles are being created everywhere, and there are a lot of fumes being released into my unsuspecting garage. I think they were mostly melting plastic fumes... but they could also have been fumes from the rapidly curing quatermass.
Somehow, we managed to get the epoxy poured (taking shifts on who could hold their breath in the toxic air for the longest, the other running outside for some palatable air). I managed to go round 3/4 of the frame with a scribe and poke a few of the biggest bubbles before it became too gelled to continue, but most of them have left small craters. I'm quite sure the last 10cm or so hasn't been able to level before gelling.
Heres the good bit (that was poured first and attended to) - We then decided to coat everything but the bridge in clingfilm, so that nothing can fall into it, and then we retreated putting the mangled bottle in the emergency bucket.
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Videos of the final result to follow....
Hi Andy,already sent you a pm about what may happened,and here is the answer from west system site:https://www.westsystem.com/instructi...oxy-chemistry/
Controlling Epoxy’s Cure Time
In warm conditions use a slower epoxy hardener, if possible. Mix smaller batches that can be used up quickly, or pour the epoxy mixture into a container with greater surface area (a roller pan, for example), thereby allowing exothermic heat to dissipate and extending open time. The sooner the mixture is transferred or applied (after thorough mixing), the more of the mixture’s useful open time will be available for coating, lay-up or assembly.
Thanks to both Scustom and routercnc, think you have both nailed it, the combination of waiting for bubbles, and mixing in a tall narrow container allowed the exothermic reaction to spiral out of control.
I've got a new set of Epoxy on order, I've spent the evening clearing off the crap pour and the mountain of silicone, and will try again soon. Thankfully the frame hasn't suffered and can be used again with a fresh set of silicone. Expensive mistake but hey, we all screw stuff up every now and again!
This time, I'm going to make the amount in three mixes rather than 6, and in a wider tub. I'll then transfer to another jug with a taped up hole in the bottom, and immediately pour onto the rails.
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