El Beast - Initial design phase, comments and critique welcomed!

Great work!

Thanks - hopefully the effort will be worth it and I can get some good consistent anodising results.

The 3D printer I use is my old trusty Makergear M2. I think they have an M3 out these days but it’s been an absolute workhorse over the last 6 or 7 years.... work area is 200x250x200mm

I’ve always meant to replace it with a bigger badder printer (ideally self designed) one day but just haven’t found an overwhelming need as it works great. I have changed over to a duet WiFi from the old Rambo board, and it rocks an e3d v6 and Titan for hotend/extruder and I like to use printbite as a build surface, but other than that it’s remarkably unmodified.

Nice work Zeeflyboy. That food dye test bodes well.
I’ve gone for eau naturelle finish but will be following with interest.

Got a few hours to play this afternoon at long last!

Whipped up a little design out of some scrap plywood to finish off the anodising tank and cathode/anode setup.

https://i.imgur.com/YB2jOF3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wtRUkWJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/gkdPcR3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/hnGRkCR.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/X4e31gM.jpg


Off on holiday now, so that little bit of work didn't last long.

Awesome work and project Zeeflyboy!

Do you mind sharing some details about your Z axis? For example, what are its overall dimensions and what's the length of its rails and travel?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

Still needs a little fleshing out but this is the current direction. Similar setup to the Z-axis really as that seems to have worked out nicely. For reference this is now using the extended HGH25HA carriages (I have the space now with the wider Z so why not) and longer HGR20 rails, both of which I already have in hand.

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25 rails or HGH20HA carriages?

Sorry, mis-typed there. The gantry is using HGH20HA carriages and HGR20 rails.

Travel is 178mm and the other dimensions I will grab for you later when I get a chance.

Got some time to play today and try my first ever bit of anodising!

First up I got to try out my new toy on the lathe to thread some titanium rod.

https://i.imgur.com/u9OdUJF.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/PPmP9JV.jpg


Then I thought for a first test I'd try one of the knobs. Cleaned, degreased, De-oxide and desmut bath, then into the anodising tub preheated to 20 degrees c and using 6amps per square ft for 2 hours.

The part after degreasing:

https://i.imgur.com/s2Sn34e.jpg


The agitation system I'm happy with... as you can see from the pic the surface is rippling but no bubbles and splashing which is what I was trying to avoid with air agitation, but no bubbles building up on the part and good mixing.

https://i.imgur.com/XV1eidj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FBLjbSV.jpg


fresh out the anodising tub:

https://i.imgur.com/sCzDeVm.jpg


Dyed using caswell bordeaux red and sealed using boiling water with nickel acetate sealant:

https://i.imgur.com/40pSCsz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vSvyEaB.jpg


Finished part (well, I might laser etch the top for fun). Very happy especially considering this was the first run.

https://i.imgur.com/IHoVXuW.jpg

Just wanted to prove to myself it wasn't beginner's luck so quickly did up the second knob too... this is the other end of the rod that I cut to m4 thread. My plan is to have various threads cut on the ends of 6mm titanium rod and some 90 degree angled pieces to allow me to jig up various parts together to do batches of parts since it's quite a long process using the LCD method (2hrs just for the anodise bath, let alone the prep work!).


Anyway, second part came out well too:

https://i.imgur.com/Mk5dtGg.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cWMjwoD.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/f99yWlw.jpg

So moment of truth - moved on to a larger part and the eco-cast tooling plate. Wasn't sure how well it would anodise given that I don't really know what the alloy is (I believe some sort of 5000 series?) so easiest way to find out... Try!

I thought I would offer up the tramming plate as a sacrificial lamb to the anodising gods and keep my fingers crossed (don't have time waste on test pieces!).

Happy to say it came out way better than I could have hoped. The pics don't really do the colour justice - it's a nice metallic looking deep red and it's got a light brushed effect from the scotch pads I used in the prep... perhaps when I can take some daylight pics it might look better.

Here it is getting some little fun details lasered on with the wife's laser

https://i.imgur.com/iClNqKj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/evYLmDZ.jpg


Fitted (I'm one bolt short dammit!):

https://i.imgur.com/ZMlaotN.jpg

Superb workmanship.

Jaw fall!!!
Where did you purchase the anodizing kit from?

Didn't buy a kit - it's all home-brew I'm afraid... I can perhaps do a more detailed post on all the equipment/stages if there is interest?

Problem in the UK is that they have now made it pretty much impossible to buy or possess battery acid/sulphuric acid without a special license, so if anything happens to my anodising solution I'm a bit stuffed (thankfully I bought and mixed my bath before the ban). It would be legal to sell it in concentrations less than 15% which is still more than needed for the LCD process I'm using... but I haven't seen anyone doing that yet. I have seen some people having good success using Sodium Bisulphate (NaHSO4) which is readily available as a pool PH adjuster, but there is much less info out there. In theory it should be similar to sulphuric acid anodising (it's sulphuric acid + a sodium base) but I have no idea if there is any downside to eg the durability of the coating. It is something I may have to experiment with at some point to ensure I can keep anodising for a long time!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

Didn't buy a kit - it's all home-brew I'm afraid... I can perhaps do a more detailed post on all the equipment/stages if there is interest?

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I am interesting,lol!
If you have the patience and time of course!

Ok, I'll try and do a more detailed dive at some point.

So something something no time for test parts? lol.

I done gone goofed - anodised the bearing top plate today trying the other dye.... it was meant to come out a nice dark gunmetal grey but it is actually as black as the night. I left it in the dye bath 10 mins like with the red dye, which clearly was far too long.

Wife told me it looks good that way and I should just do the whole thing red/black. What do you guys think?

Brushed finish with purple scotch pads.

https://i.imgur.com/6pQsMCc.jpg


Bubble bubble

https://i.imgur.com/07ioekM.jpg


That ain't grey....

https://i.imgur.com/WgrLxBa.jpg


Fitted pics - what do you think? Just go for all black?

https://i.imgur.com/u34W2h6.jpg

Black and red looks dope.

Looks good to me!
Attachment 24897

Yeah it does look good and is growing on me. Saw it in the daylight today and it does look nice...

Next time I get a chance to play I will anodise a scrap piece to 0.6 mil and see how that looks, I suspect at 1mil the dye colour is just too strong and causing the blackness but the only way to be sure is to try!

Oh and speaking of daylight, I got a better picture that is more representative of how the red looks in person - you can sort of see the deep metallic sheen here... must say I love the colour.

https://i.imgur.com/pKLc4B1.jpg

Ferrari red! : )

Fantastic

Thought I would do one more experiment based on a suggestion from dharmic, I took 0.5L of my already-mixed-to-instructions dye and diluted it with a further 1.5L of DI water... so waaaay more dilute than specified. The part being anodised was my tensioner roller, I anodised as before with 6amps/sqft to a theoretical thickness of 1mil and then used the diluted dye at 60 degrees celsius followed by a nickel acetate seal.

Any guesses as to the colour?

BLAAAAAACK.

So as far as I can tell, with my particular setup/dye/pixie dust, grey is pretty much impossible for me to achieve.


https://i.imgur.com/awTJdlv.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KVX1jie.jpg

Black it is then !

The contrasting text looks nice. When you machine each part is there a reference block or fixture so after anodising it can go back on the CNC in the right place to engrave the letters ?
What engraving tool are you using and to what depth ?
Great work by the way.

Cheers.

To etch the lettering I'm chucking it in the CO2 laser - because it's a Glowforge it's a bit of an unusual one for zeroing a part. You can drag stuff directly where you want it using the top down camera but that's not quite perfect yet, so I tend to burn some reference marks into a piece of card/paper and line the part up with that if I need accurate alignment.

I forgot you were that tooled up!

I wondered how you got such crisp edges and maybe the anodising was helping but laser makes sense now.

Don’t forget to make something on the new machine and not just more parts for it (!)

Technically its the wife's ;)

You are assuming I ever finish... seems along way away. Fun journey though!

I've been busy anodising some the Z-axis parts... all that's left to do are the big front plate and the side plates (for which I need to cook up a clever way of holding them in the tub).


Top and bottom plate:

https://i.imgur.com/nTmTdi6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/AeqZz5R.jpg


Here's my Dye tub (30L) and immersion heater with thermostat

https://i.imgur.com/5gwDQVF.jpg


And my big steel hotpot that fits most stuff for sealing:

https://i.imgur.com/dJNzkKq.jpg


Largest part so far - the back plate. This one ran at 10 amps and is the first time I've actually observed the anodising bath increase in temp during a run. Only by a degree or so but noticeable.

https://i.imgur.com/glib76b.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OEIY8De.jpg


Too big for my hot pot, so I found a steel ash container and sealed it with silicon to make it watertight.

https://i.imgur.com/sWnd2fl.jpg


Final parts after a quick light buff with some automotive polish that helps remove some the haze I'm getting on the surface after sealing with the nickel acetate:


https://i.imgur.com/WDP7kcn.jpg


Hope to get the last few bits done in the next few days and then I can assemble and see how it looks. Might do a touch more laser etching too because it's addictive....

Looking great as usual

Good to know - thanks for the info!

So I needed to make a little doo-hickey out of titanium to allow me to rack the side panels (note, titanium screws too!)

https://i.imgur.com/6TtuCpu.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/lk2Vh9V.jpg


Parts degreased and after a quick etch and Desmut:

https://i.imgur.com/2T84crR.jpg


Dyed and laser etched... I did two different etches here, the honeycomb was at a higher speed and lower power which has given it a nice grey effect that looks better in real life than on the camera. Was a bit worried after doing this that it was too bold and in your face, but having assembled it I really like the look as part of the overall assembly.

https://i.imgur.com/qw42GDp.jpg


That done, I put together the bulk of the Z-axis after the anodising. Only the big front plate left to do but I need to figure out how I'm going to seal it as the only suitably large vessel I have to boil it in is a 60L drum which will take a loooong time to get to the boil with a 1.5kw heater.


https://i.imgur.com/XH5rfzZ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/NWdAxO0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/iDiL4v2.jpg

Fcking amazing work as ever.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

Right, finally a proper bit of machining to show... I did a small re-design on the face plates as they still weren't quite going to fit on my machine and I wanted a slightly wider stance. In order to keep the structural part as a single piece, I made the main piece slightly shorter and then added removable "wings" for the extension.

I've left the wings uncoloured to make them easier to see:

http://i.imgur.com/mYZSdkr.png

Made the front main face plate today:

Started with a jig plate made from SRBP - nothing fancy, just a plate I could machine flat and put some screw threads into, and a slab of 20mm eco-cast plate.

http://i.imgur.com/Rcy7bqW.jpg


After interior roughing, contouring and drilling ops:

http://i.imgur.com/12zJDwl.jpg


I drilled though the m8 screw holes with a 6.8mm into the jig plate and tapped them to allow me to then fix the plate down through those, which then allowed me to the remove the clamps and run the exterior ops:

http://i.imgur.com/XxUgbWy.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/mE37ZFO.jpg


Top side finished:

http://i.imgur.com/zEyLVN2.jpg


Then flipped it over and re-fastened to run the rear chamfer:

http://i.imgur.com/MiXXvKH.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/I93tOvm.jpg


And done:

http://i.imgur.com/2U4EsnG.jpg

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hello.. its a nice build you have don.. are maybe have any Cad printing on all the parts you did make.. if you have i wondering if you could chare it to me.

hello.. its a nice build you have don.. are maybe have any Cad printing on all the parts you did make.. if you have i wondering if you could chare it to me.

Awesome !!!!!

Magnus - not yet I'm afraid.

Thanks guys.

Got a chance to do the front plate today, and I am happy to present to you the (almost!) completed Z-Axis. If I'm being picky, just need to cut down the shaft on the main pulley flush with the top of the bearing and install a small cover... oh and I'm one M8 bolt short on the tramming plate (chair)

Was considering some etching on the front plate, but decided against it as I think it would end up too busy.

Also weighed it out of interest, and it comes in at 20.3kg minus spindle mount and spindle.

EDIT - some pics in slightly better lighting (but it's still a verrrry gloomy day!).

https://i.imgur.com/mH4xdnd.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/eOWtppe.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/MlsNzB8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KCuNO9P.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/LQR1k6O.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

Magnus - not yet I'm afraid.

Thanks guys.

Got a chance to do the front plate today, and I am happy to present to you the (almost!) completed Z-Axis. If I'm being picky, just need to cut down the shaft on the main pulley flush with the top of the bearing and install a small cover... oh and I'm one M8 bolt short on the tramming plate (chair)

Was considering some etching on the front plate, but decided against it as I think it would end up too busy.

Also weighed it out of interest, and it comes in at 20.3kg minus spindle mount and spindle.

EDIT - some pics in slightly better lighting (but it's still a verrrry gloomy day!).

https://i.imgur.com/mH4xdnd.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/eOWtppe.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/MlsNzB8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KCuNO9P.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/LQR1k6O.jpg

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Oh WOW,

Art... thats what it is.

Grtz. Bert.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-A320FL met Tapatalk

Absolutely Awesome!:applouse:

If that was mine I would almost be reluctant to use it and get it dirty!:playful:

Hah thanks, hopefully it's art that works well too!

Wasn't entirely happy with my designs for the gantry and yesterday I sat down and had a bit of a play around with some ideas. This is where I've got to so far, and I'm pretty happy with the concept... just some finer details to nail down like grease port access.

The basic idea - main plate that mounts to the 200x40mm extrusion has been bumped up to 25mm while the rear plate will now just be a cover so overall material amount is similar. Staying with the original direct drive but with the extra width of the newer gantry this can be accommodated inside the frame by a cutout in the gantry arm and a small cover. The extrusion will have a couple of channels milled in to give clearance for a 30mm polypropylene webbing belt which will move with the sliding plate.

Looks complicated, but actually is fairly straight forward... think it'll be fun to have a play with.


So the overall gantry section

https://i.imgur.com/p4hRYbj.png


Rear extrusion removed and one belt gone so you can see the roller/guide mechanism

https://i.imgur.com/82qjtcQ.png


Top sealing strip removed

https://i.imgur.com/t2pLBdB.png


Belt/clasp detail

https://i.imgur.com/xu9O9BP.png

I like your idea for protecting the motion bits. I may steal it for my own build :)

The gantry looks rather thin to me... And thus torsionally weak. I would go with a Misumi GFS8-100200, at a minimum.

+1 - you just beat me to it Jarjar as I was calculating!
I've just done the sums on a piece of 25 x 200 plate and it's something like 17x weaker torsionally than a piece of the 200x100x5 box I'm planning on using for mine: adding the bit of extrusion on the back will help depending on how comprehensively they're bolted together, but it's unlikely to achieve the same rigidity as a decent box section. OK 100mm deep might be a bit much, but there's a 200 x 80 x 6 that's nearly as stiff. And with a box you could maybe run the returns of the slot covering strips back down inside it - at least that's what I'm planning :smug:.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jarjar

I like your idea for protecting the motion bits. I may steal it for my own build :)

The gantry looks rather thin to me... And thus torsionally weak. I would go with a Misumi GFS8-100200, at a minimum.

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Interesting. Just to be clear the part of the gantry that is actually doing the work is 65 x 200 mm made up of a heavy 40mm extrusion and a 25mm tooling plate, not just the 25mm tooling plate on it's own. The span is 620mm... it also has 6mm plate top and bottom which will be screwed down to the extrusion and the tooling plate. Given the relatively short span I don't think it should have much flex?


I could possibly re-work the design to use a 200x100 extrusion, but I think it would almost certainly require me to order new 25mm plates for the side arms as I'd need to take it further back at the top to accommodate some of the width. It is possible though as I need to order new extrusion anyway so I will have a play and see what I can come up with.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Voicecoil

there's a 200 x 80 x 6 that's nearly as stiff.

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At misumi? I can't seem to find a 200x80 anywhere.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

At misumi? I can't seem to find a 200x80 anywhere.

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It's just a normal box section extrusion - these are my local stockists:

https://www.simmal.com/product/alumi...tangular-tube/

If you want to stick with profiles, Item do a 80x200 that's not bad as far as profiles go:

http://catalog.item-central.ca/en/pr...-8-200x80.html