6b4

[h_samtani]

Thanks Rod greatly appreciated will start my build shortly so your posts are a great help thanks Harender

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk

[rodm]

Kym,
"How many more" is a good question.

Yeah I did think of doing something on the gantry sides but it was a toe curling exercise to cut them. I only had 1mm to spare across the plate and three holes (two that came into play) in an odd shaped piece to navigate around. Positioning the plate on the machine as well as the starting point was critical.

One is never sure until the first pass is down. I had previously cut mock ups in MDF to test the design so that helped in setting up.

I took a photo of the plate and that will better explain the issues.

Anyway after getting through the job I wasn't inclined to put the plates reverse side up on the machine to do more work - yeah I know a bit weak kneed.

[rodm]

Work has slowed due to other commitments and the hot days - more to come this week. I am keeping it ticking over and now 6B4 is permanently mounted on the trolley and a lot of smaller items such as carriage stops and cable management have been done. These parts are time consuming but add to the functionality and appearance of the machine. Visually it doesn't seem as high now so either I have got used to it or the cable management and brackets have filled the overall appearance.

[rodm]

It's nearly two weeks on from my last post and progress is happening albeit slowly. The hot weather has slowed things down but it is been of benefit as I have been doing little jobs like covers, linear rail stops, ballnut connections and limit switches. These are fiddly jobs that are better done slowly with a lot of thought. Slowly I can handle but the thinking is a problem.
Rather than rabbit on the photos show the progress.

[Bob Willson]

Slowly I can handle but the thinking is a problem.

Rod

Would you please leave comments such as this for me to make. I can be absolutely scathing without exerting myself in the slightest.

[rodm]

Sorry Bob,
I'll try to be more thoughtful in future - hang on aren't we back to square one.

[rodm]

I have been plodding along and finished all the electrical connections to the machine. I realised I didn't have enough output pins for one BOB so had to install two in the electronics enclosure. This meant raising one board to fit it in the limited space.
There are five G251 driver boards (2 for X, Y, Z and A) and I have made a cooler with a fan over each driver. A USB smoothstepper, two C10 BOBs and a DC06 spindle controller.

[Timless Timber]

Darn jargon.. BOB's?

Missus assures me it likely stands for "Battery Operated Boyfriend" - but I am yet to be convinced.

Sure looks purty...

Espresso Coffee Machine..........right?

Make mine a Mocca-frappa-chino-cafe-late-lite-decaf, with soy milk pls. 6 sugars but don't stir it, I don't like it sweet.

Seriously - could you do 4 axis work like carve out a rifle stock etc with all the action in-letting on something like 6 x 4?

The mind boggles.

It boggles that such machines exist - it boggles even more that people know how to make them at home.

It seems I've stumbled into the Buck Rogers in the 25th century part of the forum by error.

Apols, I'll leave quietly now and close the door behind me on the way out - pardon the intrusion!

Can I come round one day and watch it work pls?

Cheers!

[Com_VC]

out of interest what are you using the outputs for?

[rodm]

A BOB is a break out board. Nothing fancy and it's purpose is to provide terminals to connect a wire to that the computer can communicate with.
6B4 would be a little small to make a rifle stock and those would be better made on a 5 axis machine.
You are welcome to drop around and see a machine running. I have others that I can do a demo on for you.

[rodm]

The outputs are for step and direction signals to the 5 motors, Spindle speed control, and a laser crosshair used to position the spindle on the job.

[Bob Willson]

There are five G251 driver boards (2 for X, Y, Z and A)

So you are slaving B to X? (For the benefit of those who add X + Y + Z + A and get 4)

I was looking at the adjusters for the transom attachment to the ball nuts. Could they be reversed so that all you see on the outside is the bolt heads? Slightly more difficult to adjust, but only slightly rather than unsightly.

I am really jealous of the apparent ease with which you churn out these advanced machines.

[rodm]

Hi Bob,
Yes B will be the slave for X. I am doing this so that the 4th axis is assigned the convention A and no chance of hiccups when using design software.
I ended up with 14 outputs, two shy of the C10 so the extra BOB is only going to be used for 2 outputs. I does give me more flexibility and room for expansion.

I see your point about the ballnut connection. I wandered outside and it can be reversed but will have to be remade to make it work. Additional to that photo I have added limit switch ramps in the same area so it has become even more unsightly. I doubt I will do anything about it at this stage but will keep it in mind for later. A simple solution would be to bend up a cover so there are as usual different options for the same thing.

On the point of design the way I build machines is all in my head. Obviously if I cut a part on say Morphy for 6B4 then I have to draw it in the software to get the Gcode but this will be only one part of the machine. Previous builds let you know what doesn't work and it is how I feel on the day as to the outcome for that component. When two components need connecting such as the gantry to the X axis (Gantry sides) then this is where the complexities of machine building come it. Add to that I use a lot of recycled materials so the outcome is also dependent on what material is available. So at the start of a build I have a vision that I know will change before the machine is finished. A bit slack and I do have challenges along the way due to this approach.

I tip my hat to those who can draw their machines and produce a Bill of Materials but even then I suspect there are small adjustments made in the build as it is a complex thing to bring together on paper.

Oh yeah the difinitive word is apparent and I can tell you it doesn't come easy for me but I enjoy what I do.

[rodm]

To complete this thread 6B4 is finished. I don't have a working video camera so you will have to take my word that it goes.

It has good speed and acceleration on all axes and I have tuned them back to 4m/min for reliability and to match my reflexes if there is a whoopsie.

I had some problems with noise on the limit switches and resolved that by fitting capacitors on the input terminal. I was a little surprised about the noise as I use grounded shielded cable for all the machine wiring. Thanks to a mate for donating them I used the boot/shoe lace terminal ends and found them excellent for insulating and connecting to the boards. All up it took me about three days to wire the machine and configure Mach3. The biggest problem was remembering how to do Brains and Macros so things work. The 1.5kw spindle has ceramic bearings so I have to earth the cutter when using the touchplate.

Appearance wise the machine hasn't changed a lot since the last set of photos (post #94) so there is no need to put up more here.

The fourth axis is working and calibrated but I am yet to cut anything with it - that will be a new learning curve to generate some code for that.

It has only taken a couple of years to finish this build.

[seafurymike]

great work Rod. A long time coming but time is on your side now.

How about coming to Melbourne. My beast needs some TLC after years of running. could do with your magic fingers.