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Strong OX

Discussion in 'CNC Mills/Routers' started by Hytech2k, Nov 28, 2014.

  1. Joe Santarsiero

    Joe Santarsiero OB addict
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    LOL I know, getting slow in my old age.... I have some nice signs cutting tommarow, i'll do some vids and a good update that afternoon...

    Gerald[/QUOTE]
    Cool. I like your sign cutting photos and vids. I find them inspirational.
    I've been slowing down myself lately. Dont know why I became so fast to begin with. It takes its toll. Big city northern mentality maybe? (in a small town now)
    btw, do you know if vcarve from aspire varies the z depth while its working those curves in x and y? I could probably google this, but you're more fun to talk too!
     
  2. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    I would like to put together some tutorial videos at some point, just trying to find the time.

    If your speaking of the Vcarve Pro software, yes it does. Vectric makes some pretty solid design software.

    And thanks, I try hard to be a bit more fun than Google. :)
     
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  3. cmcta82

    cmcta82 New
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    Hi Hytech2k,

    I like very much your design, i´m planning to design my own CNC machine to mill Aluminium and plywood with great accuracy, i´m learning a lot with your ideas, i want to do something like you but with c-beam in Y axis, i don´t know yet if i go to rack&pinion or belt system, i´m still thinking about that, can you share the 3d files of your design?i try to open area51 website but only appears blank website.
     
  4. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    Sorry about the website being down, I have shut it down until I complete some upgrades to my existing sign business. I am not sharing my files at this time due to they are proprietary to my design. You might want to do a bit more research on different drive systems, the current belt drive will not provide you accurate cuts and repeat ability over time. Your better off looking into Steves build if you want to mill aluminum on a regular basis:

    http://www.openbuilds.com/builds/linear-rail-cnc-machines.1771/

    This design once finished should have no issues at all milling aluminum, brass, copper and other non ferrous materials...

    Thanks

    Gerald
     
  5. Poprocketx86

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    when I try to open the website even from the links in these threads it goes the godaddy.com
     
  6. cmcta82

    cmcta82 New
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    Hi Hytech2k,

    Thanks for your tip, i´m still in my first sketch and i´m considering all the options available.
     
  7. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    Yes the website has been put on the back burner for a bit.... Sorry about that...

    Gerald
     
  8. Bill Siler

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    Gerald, first off thanks for all the help. My machine cut its first test cuts over the weekend. Was so nice to see all the my hard work finally come to completion.

    I ended up running Mach4 with the PMDX 422 board. Setup was fairly easy with some watching of a few videos.

    FYI I ended up using the 5M tnuts for the rack. I ordered the other tnuts and even paid for the shipping to get them here quicker and they would not fit in the 2080 rails. So far it seems fine. I drilled them every 6 inches. I will keep you up to date on how it works with the 5M tnuts.

    Other than that everything went together very easy. If your considering this build when Gerald gets his store back up and running you will not be disappointed at all.

    Once again thanks for the help. I will post some pictures if that's ok with Gerald.

    Bill SIler
     
  9. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    Glad to hear everything went together well and your up and running !!!

    You should be fine with the M5 stuff, every 6 inches should keep it nice and tight. If you have photos feel free to post away !! I'd love to see how it came out.

    Thanks for the props and if you have any questions feel free to ask !

    Gerald
     
  10. Josh Simmons

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    Hey, I was just wondering if your website would be down for very long. I am building my first CNC router and decided to use your F117 machine as a model. I am currently trying to get all my parts on order and I am unable to acquire the ones on your F117 BOM that I need to buy from your website. I was wondering if they were all custom parts? Or if there is a way for me to order or make my own; I do have access to CNC machinery if that is the case. Anyway, I was just wondering if you could give me some tips. I would really appreciate your help. Thanks
     
  11. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    Sorry but the website will be down for a bit longer, we're revamping our business now and making room for it in the near future. I can cut you a set of plates though, i'm only cutting the Black phenolic XX plates ate the moment though. Let me know if you would like a set, I have about a 2 week lead time on cutting them...


    Thanks

    Gerald
     
  12. GrayUK

    GrayUK Openbuilds Team Elder
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    Gerald
    Sounds like business has gone better that you expected? :thumbsup::thumbsup:

    Gray
     
  13. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    It has, I was planning on growing a CNC supply website in the "slow time" but it hasn't let off. We are still moving in that direction and are making some improvements/upgrades on the F-117 CNC such as being able to add a 2-3 watt laser to do gray scale laser engravings on the same machine. We're also developing a 3.5 ' x 2 ' stand alone laser engraver using the same 2-3 watt laser and driver setup using C Beam for the X and Y. We are working out trying to find the best control method for the machine right now. Either Arduino or something compatible with Mach 3. Busy busy... :)

    Gerald
     
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  14. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    UPDATE 6/19/2015
    It's been quite some time since i've posted an update and i apologize for that, my sign business has never let up. The F-117 CNC has been running and cutting 6-7 days a week averaging 8 hours a day since the last update. Everything has been working great, the new spindle is awesome, love it !! I really haven't had to do much of anything to the machine since March until now... I have been noticing the quality of the cut being a little off over the past few days, then I had a issue with the stepper on the left side skipped a tooth on the rack while jogging, that's when I noticed things where not quite right. All of the wheels on the top of the Y plates were split in half as well as 2 on the bottom. 14 wheels total split in 2. I'm surprised I never noticed before but they split and just ride on the bearings, really not too noticeable till you look close. My stepper drive tensioners took up the slack and kept everything riding as smooth as possible.. I am not sure what caused the catastrophic failure of all those wheels, I am very care when adjusting the tension on the stepper drives to just enough to make sure they don't skip, and I only tighten the eccentrics on the lower wheels till the wheel makes contact and is resistant to spinning freely... I was using all Xtreme wheels and with 12 wheels on each Y plate I can't the weight of the gantry being a problem. The only thing I can think of is maybe the Polycarb wheels are pretty brittle, other then that i'm just not sure.

    I'm exploring what other options I have, I hate to go to the steel V wheels due to the rapid wear on the aluminum V rails. Here are a few photos of the carnage....

    IMG_0221[1].JPG IMG_0222[1].JPG IMG_0214[1].JPG IMG_0218[1].JPG IMG_0219[1].JPG IMG_0223[1].JPG IMG_0224[1].JPG

    You can see the stress fractures in these last 2 pretty well, looks like they were getting ready to fail... I will admit I push my machines a lot harder then most hobbyist, and probably not the best wheels for a small commercial operation, and as far as I know i'm the only one with a cartesian style gantry cnc running on Openrail.
     
  15. George M

    George M New
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    Wow, funny that you posted this. You may remember I built your version. In fact I bought the plates from you. It has been running great. Producing some 3d items. However lately I've noticed a grinding coming from the carriage as it travels along the x axis. I was about to take the wheels apart thinking the bearings were going bad. Now im wondering if it is the wheels also. Ill let you know what I find.

    George
     
  16. Knut Bøje

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    You get a lot more pressure on top wheels than those under. So the openrail is like a knife on this weel. (I hope you understand what I mean :))
     
  17. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    Yeah let me know what you find out, i'm rather bummed this happened but i'm looking for alternatives now. I ordered some delrin wheels to keep me running in the mean time...
     
  18. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    No, I understand completely, the V rail is always trying to split the wheel, the forces are concentrated on the very thin part in the center of the wheel... I figured with 6 wheels on top of each plate that should be more than enough to distribute the load.. What i'm concerned about is the stress fractures, maybe the Poly is to brittle for this application.
     
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  19. Knut Bøje

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    Exactly. On such wheels I think it's better with pressure from the outside in.
     
  20. Joe Santarsiero

    Joe Santarsiero OB addict
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    You nailed it. Crack propagation. The perfect stress concentrator is built in.
     
  21. Paruk

    Paruk Journeyman
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    If I see it correct, you used the V-wheels on the Y, running inside the profile slots? The same wheels you are using for the X, but there running on the open rails?

    You don't seem to have a problem with the V-wheels running on the open rails, do you?

    Looks to me that the side pressure on the V-wheels (pressure from above will cause that side pressure, like driving a wedge into a slot) "pinched" them and caused stress in a way they are probably not designed for. The full poly carbonate wheels would probably have not given this result. Maybe try them and closely monitor for cracks again?

    Just a thought…...
     
  22. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    All the wheels are running on Openrail, the wheels on the X are in good shape but they carry a fraction of the load that the Y rail ones do....

    Gerald
     
  23. Paruk

    Paruk Journeyman
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    Mea culpa, I see it now. So that thought can go out of the window.

    What about changing to the full wheels running in the profiles? They must be stronger by design.
     
  24. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    Can't without making spacers due to the design and using a R&P system, plus then I go back to the whole debris getting under the wheels again issue.... I thought I saw a announcement on here one time about someone selling aluminum V wheels, I just can find it now...

    I found a fellow selling hardened anodized aluminum V rail as well as hardened steel V rail, I might have to change out to harden steel V rails for the tops of the extrusions and go with hardened V wheels... The gantry probably weighs in at between 30-40 lbs so i'm sure that may have played a part..
     
  25. Paruk

    Paruk Journeyman
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    Why not replace all with steel V rails? Doing only the top part on the extrusions, might transfer the problem to the lower part enhanced.

    Somebody also posted here a good solution for keeping dust out of the rails, with a little brush to sweep them clean. I mounted some acrylic "walls" to the sides to keep dust away from the extrusions. Unfortunately, those came in the way of the dust shoe, decreasing my effective cutting area, so I removed them in favor of the dust shoe. Compromises, compromises….
     
  26. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    You might be right but steel pre drilled hardened V rail is expensive, i'd rather take that chance and save quite a bit of $$ and if the problem shows again on the lower wheels then bite the bullet and change out all the rails... I'm building a laser cutter/engraver at the moment and trying to conserve $$ where and when I can.. :)

    I thought about making a air manifold at one time to blow compressed air in front and behind the wheels to keep debris out of the track, but as much as I cut that wasn't really feasible.
     
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  27. Paruk

    Paruk Journeyman
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    It's your call. I was thinking, using your machine for production, you would want to reduce down time as much as possible, making the machine work earning back the investment. It might be a higher investment and a bit more work now, but probably you wouldn't have to tinker around again with it.

    Murphy's law predicts that the next break down will happen in the lower rails (not replaced) and of course at the most inconvenient moment with a pile of work waiting to be done and impatience customers calling six times a day asking when it is ready.:nailbite:
     
  28. Paruk

    Paruk Journeyman
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    Hmmm, not a bad idea though. Maybe in combination with side skirts to protect the extrusions from most of the dust, the rest can be blown away. Having a dust shoe on it will keep it even more under control?
     
  29. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    LOL your right about that, good thing is though I can take the whole gantry off in one piece in about 15-20 minutes, and replace the lower wheels, plus I just put in a order for some spares so hopefully i'll be in good shape for a bit, but I understand where your coming from, been in that position a couple times and it's not fun but i'm lucky enough to have a 2nd machine to back me up when one goes down.

    I'm also weighing out converting the Y axis to linear rails and being done with the whole V wheel issue...
     
  30. Hytech2k

    Hytech2k Veteran
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    I was also thinking you could T off the existing vacuum hose for the shoe and run a 1 in hose to either side to a mount that would run along the same track as the wheels, then when the vacuum is on it will pull all the dust out of the track and dispose of it...

    Alot of ideas and options to try out....
     

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