Thread: New Aussie Build

Daniel

the width(face width) of the mod 1 rack from tea, is that 15mm?

15mm wide

Also how far is the rack on yours from the edge of the channel.

As close to the edge as practical and still sit on a flat surface. Want to keep the pinion drive shaft stout.

Also how many teeth were on your pinion?

24 teeth. With 4 to 1 belt reduction.

Greg

Thanks Greg,

Your a champion. I scouted a few other posts of yours and found alot of the info. Ive ordered 2000mm or Rack and a 24tooth pinion for both sides. This should work a treat for the x axis.

Thanks again for everything so far, and thanks everyone else too.

Daniel

Great news!!!

The rack and pinion arrived today. Very happy with the quality and the packaging from TEA components. They were sent strapped to a piece of pine. Ill be using the pine again as well as the R&P. lol.

Now the first of the parts have arrived, things will be well underway by this Friday. The channel was machined this afternoon (well it was supposed to anyway) so should be able to pick it up tomorrow. So Friday will be a case of painting the channel and probably starting on the framework. Im thinking about using some 50x50RHS for the main upright legs and not sure what ill use for the rest of the frame. Either way im looking to have 4 heavy duty castor wheels and 6 leveling legs which will adjust so the wheels do not touch the ground. I think it should work.

Any suggestions to the frame work? Im not 100% sure if i want to do cutouts and have the legs bolt to the back face of the channel or add a couple of tabs and bolt it to the bottom. Just not sure if cutting it out would cause the channel to bow by releasing some stress.

Daniel
P.S Will take some photos of the rack and pinion if i get a chance tomorrow.

Dude

Weld the tabs on then bolt the legs to it. I personnal would use a mig welder rather than an arc welder as there would be less chance of structural change plus a cleaner weld.

Just my 2 cents.

Now get back to work.

Originally Posted by Aussie_Mick

Now get back to work.

You can stop for half an hour and show us some photos
Then get back to work

Hey All,

Well downside is that i haven't heard much from the CNC machinist. Not overly happy with the servcie unless he's going to look after me well considering all i seem to be doing is being pushed till the end. Ah well it is something that needs to be done for the machine to be good quality.

I have attached a photo of the rack and pinions. It is module 1 rack from TEA transmissions and the pinions are 20 tooth. These didn't worry me too much since the pinions are the cheaper thing. If i do find backlash i have found a supplier of module 1 split pinion, which works similar to a split nut design with ballscrews, one pushes against one side and the other on the opposing side so there is no space to take up the slack.

The rails were expected to be here today, but alas i dont think it will. It will however be here first thing monday since according to TNT's tracking it has left customs in sydney and is close. Can't wait. Photos will definately be taken of the rails. The final sizes were 2200mm for main axis and 1400mm for my gantry. This should give me 2m x 1.2m , nearly the perfect size for a sheet of wood, the last 200mm of the sheet will be supoprted by rollers attached of the end, this will be encorporated to allow me to push the sheet along a little easier. For those out therethe supplier was abreeze to work with and very helpful.

Daniel
P.S Had today off so i dont think ill get a kick up the backside for posting photos(should have done it yesterday so sorry to make everyone wait) and not getting the drafting done at work. lol.

Hey All,

Just a quick post with some photos of the rails. They arrived today and was lucky to get a small etended break in the afternoon to pick them up. When i got home it was like christmas, ripping the packaging open to see whats inside (or in this case the quality). Very happy with the supplier and definately recommend anyone interested should get in contact with him.

As you can see i have mocked up the basic size, im really excited. Also apparently my channels are ready and should be able to get them delivered very soon, hopefully with the long weekend i might be able to get the basic main frame complete depending on the money situation. lol.

Anyway, hope the photos come out ok. They are rails but hey, im excited to have almost everything i need.

Daniel
P.S I haven't had a chance to check their deflection software but im looking at getting 80/20 from a sydney supplier. Would the 160mm x 80mm extrusion have much deflection with the weight of a spindle router or really heavy 1/2" router hanging off the centre.

They are some seriously long rails.
I see you got a good luck braclet in the partcel as well.
On Greolt's advice I got 120 by 80 heavy and it is solid as a rock. I am spanning 12000mm and have no worries it will not deflect. It is expensive stuff.

Rod,

Thanks very much for the reply. Yeah im hoping the good luck charm helps. Maybe it shold have been a prosperity braclet. lol. Just wondering if you could tell me roughly how much your length of extrusion cost for 1.2m. I'll be using something like 1.4 or 1.5m of extrusionand it will cost about $200 without postage. Maybe i wont need to use 160x80 and get away with 120x80. Either way im still contemplating using welded RHS so ill have to have a think about this one.

Thanks again.

Daniel

Hi Daniel,
It was $220 and the T nuts were $1.36 each so all up under $300. It is well worth getting the T nuts. You might get it cheaper as Perth is probably more than eastern states prices.
The 120/80 Heavy is the thicker walled version of the 120/80 and it is - well heavy.

Daniel

Those rails look great. Those together with the channel as the backbone of your base have the potential to make a very decent machine.

The slotted aluminium is great to use but a piece of RHS could be OK too if cost is an issue.

It would need to have a wall thickness that tapped holes would be OK for securing rails. Min of 3mm I would think, probably 4 or 5 would be better.

That makes it fairly heavy but don't let that scare you. With R&P reduction drives you will still be able to get good acceleration.

One of the advantages of the al, is it has a series of holes in the cut ends that can be tapped for securing to gantry ends. The end cuts should be nice and square too.

RHS you will need to work out how to secure to gantry ends. If you went with RHS make sure not to weld any bits to it.

Also you won't get away with doing a skim cut for bearing mounts like you can with the channel. RHS is cold rolled and contains a lot of stresses.

Should not need to anyway. Pick a nice straight piece.

Greg

What about Structural Aluminum channel http://www.smartaluminium.com.au/Web%20Page/page19.html.
I used a bit on my Y and it was strong and flat I looked at the bigger stuff as well but didn't get any prices may be worth a look as well.

Well at last...i've finally heard back from the machinist after a month. Im really looking forward to seeing the channel tomorrow. The holes were all drilled and tapped for the rails and some intermediate holes drilled for the placement of the R&P.

First thing tomorrow, im going to get some paint and a box load of cap screws and lock-nuts. The lock nuts are overdoing it since there is enough thread on the top of the channel but i would think its better this way. Then ill have to get the rest of the metal for the legs and cross braces.

Its a bugger tho, this month i have to pay for the car, so i dont have alot to play with this month. Just means i have to do a little more travelling for work and sell off some stuff ive been holding onto that i dont need. lol.

Daniel
P.S Will post pictures of channel soon.
P.P.S What do people recommend for painting the channel?

Good and Bad news.

Good news is that i finally got the channel today and it is everything i wanted. Surface is within 0.03mm and the holes were drilled and tapped. Great i thought, then came the bad news.

Bad news was that i got taken for a roll with this machinist(well i feel i have anyway). The final bill was alot more than he said it would be even tho it took alot longer than he said too. So all in all a great lesson to get everything in a quote and save alot more. This has put a strain on the budget this month and left me in a sour mood for the build so far. So the cnc will get painted and rails bolted on at best this month and the rest of the build will have to wait until i can get some more funds (***or a raise***). lol.

Anyway, hope everyone is having a better time with their build than me. Good thing tho, is i wont be done by my allotted time so i can cruise a bit more with the build and do some more design work.
Daniel
P.S Will post photos shortly.