Thread: Ready Steady Eddy
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12-02-2014 #171
There's not a lot of progress to report, but thank you kindly for your support.
It took only a few minutes to remove the meniscus using a course file, because there was 10mm each side of the rail it meant there was no need to get it perfectly flat across the whole width. I did run a bead of liquid nails down each side of the epoxy just to give a nice transition onto the metal.
Got the rails on, one support beam painted, 20mm aluminium gantry support bracket fitted and ballnut bracket attached.
Ball screw temporarily installed just to show actual position. Tried to keep rail and ballscrew in same horizontal plane as much as possible.
I had to regrind some drills to make counter boring tools for the cap head screws.
Showing end of beam with rail, epoxy, 6mm internal flat bar to give extra thickness for rail mounting screws, glued it in with Gorilla Glue and worked great.
Last edited by EddyCurrent; 12-02-2014 at 10:08 PM.
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12-02-2014 #172
Looking good! Just wish I had the time to spend a few hours in one go on mine...
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12-02-2014 #173
Not a lot to report! I'd be pleased to get that much done in ta month. Looking really good as well. I got some counterbores from RS of all places, they only cost about a fiver each and they are more than good enough for aluminium.
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13-02-2014 #174
That does look nice Eddy - well worth posting the photos. G.
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The Following User Says Thank You to GEOFFREY For This Useful Post:
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14-02-2014 #175
Excellent! Looking really good, the epoxy looks like it worked really well, are you pleased with the results? Would you do anything different next time? Good job! Jim
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14-02-2014 #176
1. Remember to put Vaseline or similar on the draught excluder. Although it easily came off with an old chisel, it did leave a tiny bit of 'fluff' stuck to the epoxy.
2. Leave the epoxy as long as possible before fitting the rails. I clamped one down three days after pouring but removed it again a couple of days later. I discovered it had sunk into the epoxy slightly, obviously there is a lot of pressure when it's fully bolted down. All I did was mix up some 5 minute epoxy and filled in the very small grooves but it would also have been okay just to leave it. I suppose if your bolts were slightly at an angle, the rail could sink into the epoxy also at an angle which would not be good, so wait about a week before fully tightening and make sure your bolts are exactly vertical.
3. Maybe the epoxy need not have been so thick ? I don't know if there is a point when the epoxy is so thin it just cracks apart ? maybe it has to be about 5mm in order to have some strength ?Last edited by EddyCurrent; 14-02-2014 at 11:41 AM.
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The Following User Says Thank You to EddyCurrent For This Useful Post:
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14-02-2014 #177
I'll leave mine for a week then to let it fully cure and try to remember to use Vaseline on the foam. I am wondering whether to drill all the holes before epoxying the rails and coating the bolts with Vaseline so the epoxy doesn't stick, would have to file the meniscus off round each hole though. We have a mag drill here so it would mean perfectly square holes, hmm...decisions decisions...
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14-02-2014 #178
Drill all the holes after the epoxy has set.
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14-02-2014 #179
Eddy very good work.
I would like to ask you a couple of things about your construction.
I saw that the rectangular beams that you have applied the epoxy resign are not welded but bolted with the frame. What is the purpose of this choice? After applying the epoxy resign, is there any way to adjust the beams with the screws?
Then i would like to ask if everything is ok with the resign and how much did it cost? Is it much cheaper than west system epoxy?
Finally what plan are you going to apply for your gantry? You will go with steel or aluminium?
Keep trying very good job so far.
Thank for your time
Vagelis
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14-02-2014 #180
There seems to be two main ideas, one is to bolt the beams like I did then level the top using shims between the bolted flanges. The other idea is to fully weld the frame then use epoxy to level the top.
What I found was that after welding the flanges to the top beam it made it bend, this was expected. I bolted it to the frame and got it almost level but there was a downward dip at the overhanging end. I decided therefore to epoxy the top. Once the epoxy has set you do not want to be doing anything with the bolts holding the beam otherwise you could make it not level again.
The resin appears to be identical to the West System in this application, Epoxy Resin ideal for fibreglass repair and general use
21.85 GBP + VAT + shipping
Aluminium, L shape using 100x50x6 aluminium box, faced with a 6mm x 150 aluminium plate. All glued with Gorilla Glue then bolted. (thanks to kingcreaky for ideas and info, http://www.mycncuk.com/forums/gantry...ine-month.html)
Last edited by EddyCurrent; 14-02-2014 at 09:31 PM.
Spelling mistakes are not intentional, I only seem to see them some time after I've posted
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