sharmstr published a new build:

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Am I looking for trouble by putting the vacuum under the back of the machine?


The controller will be at the front which is a good 4 feet away.

 

Hey GrayUK,

Glad to meet you and thank you. Seems we have the same thoughts.

I have a few possible reasons for the enclosure.

1 - Dust, though the dust collection might be enough
2 - The machine will reside in a dirty environment. Though a tarp thrown over it while not in use will work.
3 - Noise. I didnt buy a router with it. I have a dewalt that I will try out first, though I might end up with a spindle. From what I read, due to the length of the X axis, weight of a spindle is a concern, but I havent really done too much research on that yet.

For the dust collection part, I already have the pipe coming up through the table top. You just couldnt see it in the picture. Heres one showing it better.

The reason for wanting the dust collection under the table was to hopefully cut down on vacuum noise and (to your other point) make the whole thing mobile. For the noise part, I ended up buying a Fein Turbo I. Its only 66 db and works great. The floor of the dust collection cabinet will be perforated and the sides will have a few fans. This should help with the heat generated by the vacuum. (The cabinet has doors, but I didnt show them in the pics)

For the mobile part, I have castors, they just arent modeled. I bought these removable ones from Rockler



I did consider picking up Rockler's anti static hose, but decided I could ground the hose that comes with the vacuum. Just another bit to sort out later.

For ease, I did buy the xPro with the bundle, but may go a different route down the road. I searched for the bluetooth adapter yesterday, but it seems everyone is out of stock. That got me down the path of moving the xPro to the front of the table which I think is a better option anyways. I still havent decided which way I'm going to go with the control panel. I built a custom one for my Tormach mill and I'm leaning that way with this machine. Again, its a decision that I'll make down the road. I really just want to get it hooked up and some hours on it so I can see where I will be standing and what areas I need access to regularly.

 

Thank you, Geoff. I think I'll be doing something about Z height down the road as well. Unlike the ozznest workbee, the openbuilds one doesnt have two spoilboard positions. As ordered, there's only 1.5" clearance. I think that's going to annoy me quickly. LOL, I took a look at your pics. Great stuff!

 

I'm working on adding the X assembly to the 250mm C-beam. I adjusted the eccentrics so the wheels are touching and moving the c-beam when turning the wheels. However, the center wheel on the opposite side of the eccentrics isnt touching (therefore not moving). In the build video, it sounds like all three eccentrics should be adjusted the same amount. In order to get the middle/non-eccentric wheel to turn when sliding the c-beam, I need to adjust the center eccentric to the point that the entire assembly has too much friction. For reference, the outer two eccentrics were turned to the right less than a 1/4 turn. To get the center non-eccentric wheel to turn, I need to adjust the center eccentric 1/2 a turn.

 

I found the following in the Ooznest version instructions.

"Initially, the CBeam will wobble between the wheels. Turn the assembly upside down so the C-Beam is sitting on the row of wheels with the Aluminium-Spacer-6mms. Starting with an outside pair of wheels, adjust both Eccentric-Spacer-6mms down onto the C-Beam WorkBee CNC Assembly 17 Extrusion until there is a small amount of friction between both wheels and the CBeam Extrusion. When adjusting the pair of Eccentric-Spacer-6mms ideally they should be adjusted identically. However, sometimes one will need to be adjusted slightly more than the other to get both wheels engaged with the C-Beam extrusion."

 

Made some mods to the frame. Details are in the build section.

 

Finally got the machine wired enough to get it moving. Still need to add the SuperPID to the mix and wire my limit switches. But its working.

 

I'm in the process of ditching the wheels and going with linear bearings like @Jacob Lotter has. I figured if I'm going to do all that work, I might as well ditch the belts at the same time. I'm looking at using 1/2"-10 5 start acme screws. I found some nut blocks on ebay that look like they will fit within the c-beam (if not, I'll make my own). However, I have some basic questions about all of this.

1 - Is a 1/2-10 5 start screw the best choice for this machine?
2 - I watched the 1010 build video which shows 2 nut blocks on each Y and X axis. Does the use of the two nut blocks eliminate the need for a anti-backlash nut? I'm assuming that's true, but just wanted to verify.
3 - Do I need to upgrade my motors?

 

@Giarc / @Jacob Lotter

First, thank you both for everything you post on here. I spent a ton of time researching yesterday and @Giarc, your content came up more than once I learned a lot from it.

Anyhow, the reason I asked if using two nut blocks on a single axis is essentially the same as using one anti-backlash nut is because 1 - it looks like that's what's being done on the screw driven workbees, and 2 - there are nutblocks on ebay that are .75" x 1.475" which should fit within the c-channel (see attached). Yes, I can make them, but would rather not if possible. I have enough on my plate as it is. If they do fit, I can put two on each axis like the screw driven workbees. I think worse case is I'll have modify (or make new) mounting holes for the blocks and make mounting holes on the end plates for the pillow block bearings. That's not much work at all.

Jacob, the linear bearings show up on friday. Thanks again for posting the info.

 

@Jacob Lotter - I had a feeling you guys didnt notice the link before. Here they are: 1/2-10 ACME DELRIN NUT BLOCK RH for acme threaded rod 5-start CNC 3d printer | eBay He only has imperial sizes though.

As I mentioned above, from what I can tell, it should be a fairly simple upgrade, at least on the Y axis. I havent really looked at the X axis yet. But the bearing holes in the Y axis end plates are already big enough for the 1/2" screws to fit through. I couldnt find any flanged bearings that would work, so I'll add pillow blocks on the outside of the plates like @Giarc did.



If you're going the 12mm route, here's a link he posted for the pillow block bearings: 12 mm diameter zinc alloy bearing housings KFL001 flange bearing housings with pillow block 4 pcs-in Bearings from Home Improvement on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group (and a link to his build if you havent seen it yet)

I'll need to probably drill 16 holes in total for the Y axis. The hardest part will be lining up the nut blocks within the channel, but that should be easily solved when I make the linear bearing mounts. (which is why I wanted to figure all of this out ahead of time).

I just saw that you posted the dimensions of the bearing mounts. Thank you!

EDIT: I ordered the nut blocks. I'll let you know what I think when I get them next week.

 

No kidding. It definitely took a while to find and once I did, it took me even longer to figure out that they might work. LOL. I get them on Monday. I'll let you guys know.

 

@Giarc Did you use any lock collars on your acme screws or were the set screws in the pillow bearings enough?

 

Hey @Giarc . Now that I'm reading what you did, I remember reading that somewhere else before (probably in your build log). Sorry for making you go over it again. I appreciate it though.

I can see that tap... or whats left of it Its was a great idea to drill into the screws. Smart!

 

I got all the parts in to convert the wheels to linear bearings and the belts to acme screws. The delrin nut blocks are really nice and fit inside the C-Beam. The pillow block bearings wont fit like I initially thought, but will fit regardless and are also pretty nice. I'll start tearing down the machine and work on machining the new bits later this week. In the meantime, here's some pics to look over.

Nut block within the C-beam







Looks like it will work with the existing bores in the end plates (its too low now because its still on the c-beam)





The pillow block bearings I bought and how I plan to mount them.

 

Just updated the build with my Y axis mods (x and z are next). I knew from the beginning I'd need to upgrade my motors and switch to separate drivers. However, after a lot of work, I was able to get everything working with the basic nema 23 and the xpro. I can reliably rapid around 4500mm/min. Anything over than that the motors stall. So, I need some advice on which motors to get. Originally I had my eyes on the high torque motors in the OB store. They are out of stock, so I started looking for other options. I was looking at 425oz 4.2A motors (for y and x). But I got stuck on what size power supply to get.

The two different setups I'm looking at is:

1 - OB supplied parts. I'd prefer this and dont mind waiting on the motors to be back in stock. Plus, since the machine is running on the old under-powered setup, I think 345oz motors would work fine. (not sure)

3 345oz high torque motors (x and y)
1 175oz for Z
4 DQ542MA motor drivers
Arudino
?? Power supply

2 - Maybe I should go higher powered setup, but dont want to get into a dual power supply situation if I dont have to

3 425oz 4.2A motors (x and y)
1 175oz motor (z)
4 DM542T motor drivers
Arduino
?? Power supply(ies)

Any advice on power supplies or suggestion on a different setup is appreciated.

 

I did look at that, but was really turned off by the crap you had to go through. Maybe I should save final judgement until you get everything running. LOL