GG1
Member
- Messages
- 142
- Location
- Dunblane, Scotland
I saw in one of their videos they mentioned about not bothering with the switches due to low motor power
- Thread starter GG1
- Start date
sebring115
New Member
- Messages
- 22
I do have a 36v main power supply, the small one on top is for the relay and limits if I bother and the large one the 36v. The motors I have are not so powerful as already had them, if they don’t have enough guts I can upgrade. Limits are personal choice. They are good if you want to home to the same place each time and then you can enable soft limits which means you don’t need limit switches at the other end, but the machine will tell you before you start if you will over travel. I use it on my arduino controlled diode laser and it works well.
indy4x
Forum Supporter
- Messages
- 3,248
- Location
- Pontypool, South Wales. UK
No limit switches, they did a video explaining how they used the CNC plasma and it didn't need them
It made sense to me the way they described it and as long as your G code keeps the torch within the confines of the work envelope it will be fine. However, if Mr Cockup comes along you could have a crash
well i dunno wot the weather is doing up norf but here its far to wet to working on the new workshop so i dug out the old trusty minibrown saw and chopped up all the bits for my table, y axis top and bottom are 1000mm long and the table area comes forward 600mm, just a few holes to drill and i can glue it all together
GG1
Member
- Messages
- 142
- Location
- Dunblane, Scotland
Yes very wet here, not so good for building outside as you say.
Looking good, all I've managed in the last week is work on some foldable legs to go on some old castors.
Mr Someone
New Member
- Messages
- 5
- Location
- Slovenia
Hello,
I'm new here. I stumbled upon this topic while doing some additional research of the JD's Garage plasma cutter.
So I said to my self why not to contribute and share some, ideas, problems etc. of my build.
While mounting and adjusting the Y bearing blocks I was having some troubles. Now when pretty much all of the mechanics are put together I noticed that one of the fixed shaft bearings is not in contact with the tube.
I'm not 100 % sure but I think it's like that from the beginning. As far as I remember I was not able to set the preloads so that it would make contact with the tube despite doing it block by block (removed from gantry).
I don't know why that happened. Maybe it was because of some strange hole misalignment. I did need to manually ream (with a 8 mm reamer) the holes in order to fit the rods.
I don't like the actual design, because it's virtually impossible to remove the rods. They overlap each other which makes drilling a hole from the other side impossible and it's also not possible to grab them and pull them out, especially with a tight fit.
Do you think that is it worth taking it apart again or leave it as it is, as it shouldn't make any difference?
My modifications are the following:
-Extended to maximum working area as per the plans.
-Galvanized metal tubes instead of raw ones. (Should be better than paint and it was way cheaper then stainless.)
-Custom plastic inserts with leveling fit.
-Longer legs for normal working height.
-Bottom leg braces for the rigidity and a shelf in order to put the Power source and water tank on.
-Rivet nuts instead of plastic spacers and nuts. (Those spacers are a poor design if you asked me, because you basically put zero force on the tube. Spacers should be inside the tube as I made them for the X axis. 3D printed block with tight fit, a hole and a relief groves for the tube seem.)
-Counterweight for the X axis. (I welded it together then while making the 3D printed end covers I said to my self it looks like something, so why not.
)
-Custom tensioners (Original design has no flat surface for the mounting bolts heads to lay on.)
-X axis belt guides holes with threads only in the plastic part, because it makes no sense to have a thread in both (metal and plastic) and then you put a screw through both. That will work only if you tap them when assembled, otherwise it would cause a cross-thread.
-GX12 connectors with custom enclosures.
-Local made controller with torch height control.
I'm waiting for the electronics cabinet to arrive, so that I can start with wiring. I also need to figure out the pan dimensions so that I can order the cutting and bending of the edges. That way I will weld only the vertical edges which will save me time and prevent distortions. It will probably also minimise the probability of a leaky weld.
I wonder what thickness of steel to use for the pan, because I have quite a big span? It will only hold the water (slats go from edge to edge, so it will be supported by the rails), but this is going to be quite some mass? Maybe I will need to weld some reinforcements on the bottom of the pan.
I'm new here. I stumbled upon this topic while doing some additional research of the JD's Garage plasma cutter.
So I said to my self why not to contribute and share some, ideas, problems etc. of my build.
While mounting and adjusting the Y bearing blocks I was having some troubles. Now when pretty much all of the mechanics are put together I noticed that one of the fixed shaft bearings is not in contact with the tube.
I'm not 100 % sure but I think it's like that from the beginning. As far as I remember I was not able to set the preloads so that it would make contact with the tube despite doing it block by block (removed from gantry).
I don't know why that happened. Maybe it was because of some strange hole misalignment. I did need to manually ream (with a 8 mm reamer) the holes in order to fit the rods.
I don't like the actual design, because it's virtually impossible to remove the rods. They overlap each other which makes drilling a hole from the other side impossible and it's also not possible to grab them and pull them out, especially with a tight fit.
Do you think that is it worth taking it apart again or leave it as it is, as it shouldn't make any difference?
My modifications are the following:
-Extended to maximum working area as per the plans.
-Galvanized metal tubes instead of raw ones. (Should be better than paint and it was way cheaper then stainless.)
-Custom plastic inserts with leveling fit.
-Longer legs for normal working height.
-Bottom leg braces for the rigidity and a shelf in order to put the Power source and water tank on.
-Rivet nuts instead of plastic spacers and nuts. (Those spacers are a poor design if you asked me, because you basically put zero force on the tube. Spacers should be inside the tube as I made them for the X axis. 3D printed block with tight fit, a hole and a relief groves for the tube seem.)
-Counterweight for the X axis. (I welded it together then while making the 3D printed end covers I said to my self it looks like something, so why not.
)-Custom tensioners (Original design has no flat surface for the mounting bolts heads to lay on.)
-X axis belt guides holes with threads only in the plastic part, because it makes no sense to have a thread in both (metal and plastic) and then you put a screw through both. That will work only if you tap them when assembled, otherwise it would cause a cross-thread.
-GX12 connectors with custom enclosures.
-Local made controller with torch height control.
I'm waiting for the electronics cabinet to arrive, so that I can start with wiring. I also need to figure out the pan dimensions so that I can order the cutting and bending of the edges. That way I will weld only the vertical edges which will save me time and prevent distortions. It will probably also minimise the probability of a leaky weld.
I wonder what thickness of steel to use for the pan, because I have quite a big span? It will only hold the water (slats go from edge to edge, so it will be supported by the rails), but this is going to be quite some mass? Maybe I will need to weld some reinforcements on the bottom of the pan. Welcome....Hello,
I'm new here. I stumbled upon this topic while doing some additional research of the JD's Garage plasma cutter.
So I said to my self why not to contribute and share some, ideas, problems etc. of my build.
While mounting and adjusting the Y bearing blocks I was having some troubles. Now when pretty much all of the mechanics are put together I noticed that one of the fixed shaft bearings is not in contact with the tube.
I'm not 100 % sure but I think it's like that from the beginning. As far as I remember I was not able to set the preloads so that it would make contact with the tube despite doing it block by block (removed from gantry).
I don't know why that happened. Maybe it was because of some strange hole misalignment. I did need to manually ream (with a 8 mm reamer) the holes in order to fit the rods.
I don't like the actual design, because it's virtually impossible to remove the rods. They overlap each other which makes drilling a hole from the other side impossible and it's also not possible to grab them and pull them out, especially with a tight fit.
Do you think that is it worth taking it apart again or leave it as it is, as it shouldn't make any difference?
My modifications are the following:
-Extended to maximum working area as per the plans.
-Galvanized metal tubes instead of raw ones. (Should be better than paint and it was way cheaper then stainless.)
-Custom plastic inserts with leveling fit.
-Longer legs for normal working height.
-Bottom leg braces for the rigidity and a shelf in order to put the Power source and water tank on.
-Rivet nuts instead of plastic spacers and nuts. (Those spacers are a poor design if you asked me, because you basically put zero force on the tube. Spacers should be inside the tube as I made them for the X axis. 3D printed block with tight fit, a hole and a relief groves for the tube seem.)
-Counterweight for the X axis. (I welded it together then while making the 3D printed end covers I said to my self it looks like something, so why not.
-Custom tensioners (Original design has no flat surface for the mounting bolts heads to lay on.)
-X axis belt guides holes with threads only in the plastic part, because it makes no sense to have a thread in both (metal and plastic) and then you put a screw through both. That will work only if you tap them when assembled, otherwise it would cause a cross-thread.
-GX12 connectors with custom enclosures.
-Local made controller with torch height control.
I'm waiting for the electronics cabinet to arrive, so that I can start with wiring. I also need to figure out the pan dimensions so that I can order the cutting and bending of the edges. That way I will weld only the vertical edges which will save me time and prevent distortions. It will probably also minimise the probability of a leaky weld.
View attachment 423478
View attachment 423479View attachment 423486
View attachment 423480View attachment 423481View attachment 423482View attachment 423483View attachment 423484View attachment 423485
DAPPH
as dyslexik as I'm daft
- Messages
- 7,017
- Location
- Near to Cross Hands Llanelli SouthWales GB
Had a crazy brain fart or is it ?...
Why can't the running rails & frame be made of drawn round tube with screw down adjusters that are 3 D printable ? It would save a lot of messing to get the tops of the rails square & parallel
It's own weight would keep it vertical on the rails if the bottom roller is at the bottom of the tube with the top two resting /opposing each other at the top of the triangle . . It would also alleviate the problem of poor dimensions of welded square tube not being a decent uniform size tollerance
Why can't the running rails & frame be made of drawn round tube with screw down adjusters that are 3 D printable ? It would save a lot of messing to get the tops of the rails square & parallel
It's own weight would keep it vertical on the rails if the bottom roller is at the bottom of the tube with the top two resting /opposing each other at the top of the triangle . . It would also alleviate the problem of poor dimensions of welded square tube not being a decent uniform size tollerance
daedalusminos
Member
- Messages
- 2,207
- Location
- Norwich
They can, that's what the MPCNC build utilises, in fact I'm wondering what benefits there are to the JD Garage build.. A MPCNC plasma build has been documented...
MPCNC plasma cutter
Thought this might be of interest, not seen any mention of the MPCNC on here but its pretty cool, and cheap! The aim of this was to make a super cheap CNC plasma cutter, but things snowballed... adding up what i have spent, taking away the fails and fancy bits i recon you can have a functional...
www.mig-welding.co.uk
welcome and thats looking nice, l must get my finger out and get on with mineHello,
I'm new here. I stumbled upon this topic while doing some additional research of the JD's Garage plasma cutter.
So I said to my self why not to contribute and share some, ideas, problems etc. of my build.
While mounting and adjusting the Y bearing blocks I was having some troubles. Now when pretty much all of the mechanics are put together I noticed that one of the fixed shaft bearings is not in contact with the tube.
I'm not 100 % sure but I think it's like that from the beginning. As far as I remember I was not able to set the preloads so that it would make contact with the tube despite doing it block by block (removed from gantry).
I don't know why that happened. Maybe it was because of some strange hole misalignment. I did need to manually ream (with a 8 mm reamer) the holes in order to fit the rods.
I don't like the actual design, because it's virtually impossible to remove the rods. They overlap each other which makes drilling a hole from the other side impossible and it's also not possible to grab them and pull them out, especially with a tight fit.
Do you think that is it worth taking it apart again or leave it as it is, as it shouldn't make any difference?
My modifications are the following:
-Extended to maximum working area as per the plans.
-Galvanized metal tubes instead of raw ones. (Should be better than paint and it was way cheaper then stainless.)
-Custom plastic inserts with leveling fit.
-Longer legs for normal working height.
-Bottom leg braces for the rigidity and a shelf in order to put the Power source and water tank on.
-Rivet nuts instead of plastic spacers and nuts. (Those spacers are a poor design if you asked me, because you basically put zero force on the tube. Spacers should be inside the tube as I made them for the X axis. 3D printed block with tight fit, a hole and a relief groves for the tube seem.)
-Counterweight for the X axis. (I welded it together then while making the 3D printed end covers I said to my self it looks like something, so why not.
-Custom tensioners (Original design has no flat surface for the mounting bolts heads to lay on.)
-X axis belt guides holes with threads only in the plastic part, because it makes no sense to have a thread in both (metal and plastic) and then you put a screw through both. That will work only if you tap them when assembled, otherwise it would cause a cross-thread.
-GX12 connectors with custom enclosures.
-Local made controller with torch height control.
I'm waiting for the electronics cabinet to arrive, so that I can start with wiring. I also need to figure out the pan dimensions so that I can order the cutting and bending of the edges. That way I will weld only the vertical edges which will save me time and prevent distortions. It will probably also minimise the probability of a leaky weld.
View attachment 423478
View attachment 423479View attachment 423486
View attachment 423480View attachment 423481View attachment 423482View attachment 423483View attachment 423484View attachment 423485
Mr Someone
New Member
- Messages
- 5
- Location
- Slovenia
I didn't know about this design. I would have probably gone with it if I were at the begining. However a big and only benefit of the JD's garage plasma according to it's size is the floating axis. Most of the people building it are making aditional supports and rollers in order to eliminate sag, but I will try my best to keep it this way. It enables me to slide full sheets under it without a precut.
DAPPH
as dyslexik as I'm daft
- Messages
- 7,017
- Location
- Near to Cross Hands Llanelli SouthWales GB
I was thinking of the pole dancers type tubes , available from Wickes up to three metres by 50 mm as vertical bathing aids ( IIRC) there would be very little sag on such a tube . I have two 2 mtr x 40 mm dia polished stainless steel rails set to six foot off the floor as drying racks over the area where our bath used to be , gave them 16 stone shake last night , very little bend indeed . 50 mm tube might be even better for a plasma cutter or a single depth router bed .
Had a thought about the cheap est pins for the plasma bed too , I have 2,000 5 mm pop rivets they were very cheap ( From China ) all the pins are the same length and the pressed on rivet top at the same depth . Those in a resting square profile box section that has clearance holes in the bar in a water tray should be good and being set in bars each bar can be individually removed in seconds to replace any well burnt off rivet/ supporting pins .
Had a thought about the cheap est pins for the plasma bed too , I have 2,000 5 mm pop rivets they were very cheap ( From China ) all the pins are the same length and the pressed on rivet top at the same depth . Those in a resting square profile box section that has clearance holes in the bar in a water tray should be good and being set in bars each bar can be individually removed in seconds to replace any well burnt off rivet/ supporting pins .
DAPPH
as dyslexik as I'm daft
- Messages
- 7,017
- Location
- Near to Cross Hands Llanelli SouthWales GB
Love the MPCNC frame , my idea for the bearings is use an inverted triangle top two run about 35 up the top of the diameter and the other directly along the bottom of the tube. , i'd certainly print my own cable snake links to protect the cables as I feel a steel tape will make an aerial , All tubes would also be tied back to ground for the same reason .
GG1
Member
- Messages
- 142
- Location
- Dunblane, Scotland
I was thinking about cable snakes too but was concerned that the shielded cables wouldn't be flexible enough for them - but I don't have experience with shielded cables of the size required - any idea on flexibility and the dimensions of the snake required?
GG1
Member
- Messages
- 142
- Location
- Dunblane, Scotland
I like the pop rivet idea. I had been considering a screw/threaded rod type setup which could be wound up to compensate for wear.
Being thin they'd get hit hard by the plasma, but being thin won't be hit that often - and could always use something in CAD to organise the cuts to avoid as many hits as possible.
