I see what you mean on the phenolic, I think as long as reasonable feed, speeds, DOC are set, the phenolic plates will work fine for most people. I probably wouldn't recommend them for a commercial operation, but since i'm providing the files as well should be able to cut a new set out of 6061.

Another member here posted this one for sale new, I inquired about it but the price was a bit high, I happen to notice it on Ebay a week later and bought it with the control box and VFD for a good price. I haven't had a moment yet to install it but i've tested it out, just waiting on a new dust shoe to arrive now...

That Z slide went up alot, I picked it up shipped with a multi start screw for 230.00 now it's 299.00 before shipping with what appears to be a single start screw, for that price i'll goto Velox first, much stouter slide for just a bit more. Make no mistake, I like the quality of the parts in the slide with the exception of the open ball bearing thrust washers. It was the careless quality control that I care for. Bent lead screw and finger tight screw on the leadnut didn't make me happy...

The z slide motor combination will work fine with the spindle, it's actually pretty light. The spindle with the mount attached weighed in at 6 lbs 4 ozs, shouldn't be a problem. It shouldn't be too far off of the DeWalt, the 5010 beam can certainly handle it.

I'm not following which nema motor your referring to..

 

Ah.... nope I just swapped out the X motor, working great so far.

I changed out the thrust bearing because they were really noisy when doing 3D work plus I wasn't a fan of the plastic cages. I picked up needle thrust bearings off Ebay pretty cheap.. The other thing I forgot was the use of a bushing rather then a bearing controlling the side movement of that leadscrew between those thrust bearings, would have been pretty easy to machine a pocket for a sealed roller bearing... I don't mind not having a bearing at the bottom of the screw, but would have been nice to have at least one at the top. My Velox slide has 2 on each end of the screw..

I think the weights specs are skewed somewhere, I measured the spindle with the Laidlaw mount on it with my digital postal scale and it came in just over 6 lbs, I don't see the DeWalt weighing a pound or less, i'll weigh the DeWalt with the mount attached when I swap it out.

 

Yes, the 14.5 is 1/4" x 1/4" and the pre-drilled holes are useless, tiny tiny holes... To use it you'll have to either use clamps to hold it in place or attach it to a backer and bolt it to the extrusion. The 20 pressure 20 pitch is 1/2" x varies 1/2 x 1/2 from McMaster 1/2" x 3/4" pre drilled from Moore gear last time I checked and 1/2" x 1.25 from Fineline Automation.. McMaster has a pretty good price for the 20 pitch 20 pressure undrilled, just have to drill it and countersink or counterbore it...

 

I replied to the other one you sent but it looks as though you may not have gotten it.... I'll check your email and reply again shortly...

As for the rack, they don't need backers, they mount directly to the extrusion. You can get the rack from Moore Gear pre drilled and counter bored or if your able to, you can save a few dollars by buying the rack from McMaster then drill and coutersink it yourself... The rack from McMaster runs 51 dollars for a 6 footer and 37 I believe for a 4 footer..

 

Just sent you a message Bill... Thanks !!

 

A 425 oz stepper would work fine, just make sure the board your using will handle the amperage and voltage necessary to run it.... I'm using a 48V 15amp PS on the small machine currently and it's running fine... I use alot of rapid accel and fast feeds on my Z due to the amount of 3D work I do.

On the small machine I swapped out just from a openrail/hybrid slide to the IMS slide. You know those 2 thrust bearings on top, one below the coupler and the other just below the top plate, I think the plastic retainer was blue on mine. They make alot of noise during rapid up and down movements so I swapped them out for some needle bearing thrust bearings I picked up off of Ebay. I haven't changed the antibacklash nut yet, it should last a long time, I just replaced the one on my bigger machine and it was still in pretty good shape after 2 years of constant running... The acme nut should last along time.

 

To be honest with you, after using the needle bearing version for awhile i'm not too fond of them either. The Z slide as a whole is a pretty good setup, it still has more flex then I would like, I notice it when i'm loosening the collet to change bits the most. The biggest disappointment for me is the use of a bushing on the acme screw instead of bearings, I really wish they would have incorporated sealed bearings and ditched the thrust bearings all together... I like the slide Neil has over on his updated build with the ball screw, looks plenty strong... And the one Steve designed over on the Linear rail Ox looks to be pretty awesome as well...

I'll work up a video with the new spindle ASAP, i'm in the process of building a clean room attached to my shop right now while continuing to cut signs. So as you can imagine i'm stretched thin right now. I should have it framed up by the end of the week and i'll try for a video for the beginning of next week...

Also if anyone has any experience with Lenze SMVector VFD's let me know. I'm trying to connect and program mine to turn on and off with Mach 3, I have it connected and have Mach setup to control it, just need some help with programming the VFD.

Thanks !!!

Gerald

 

Hey Bill, just answered your questions via private message ....

Thanks !!

Gerald

 

GMT Air Cooled CNC Spindle 0.8 kW 220 V R

Features & Specs:

• Dimensions: OD: 65mm (2.559") L: 300mm (12")
• Power: 0.8 kW (1 HP)
• Voltage: 220V 3 Phase (Inverter Output Voltage)
• Current 3.6A
• Frequency: 0~400 Hz
• Speed: 0~24000 RPM stepless.
• Working speed: 6000-24000 RPM
• ER11 collet
• Grease Lubrication
• Runout off: less than 0.02mm (0.001")
• Noise level: 77dBA
• Air Cooling
• Weight: 3 kg (7 lbs)

My BOB does have 0-10V PWM output and a NO relay to start and stop the spindle. If you check the above photos in this thread, the spindle was wired and programmed for the remote and the momentary on/off switches on the front of the control box. Problem is there are a over a hundred programming options and I have no idea how to change it. I just want the BOB to turn the VFD off and on via the relay. I run all my bits at one speed pretty much so if needed I can change the rpms through the remote. I already have the relay set turning on and off with a m3/m5 command, just need to fix the VFD programming. Thanks in advance for your help !!

 

I'm using the one built into the BOB, the black and red wires top center goto the relay on the BOB the 2 open connections to the right are 0-10v PWM outputs.

The reason I chose not to use the PWM output is we're adding a 2w laser onto this machine pretty soon to press it into double duty as a laser engraver so i'm leaving that output open for now.

 

I used 18/4 shielded security wire for mine, I know it's not the "recommended" wire but it has work fine on my large machine for over 2 years now. The proper flex wire is pretty expensive per foot. The is where I bought mine at:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/18-4-awg-SH...705?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a22d08689

Pretty good price at close to 55-60 cents per foot.

There is nothing wrong with hard wiring the drivers to the steppers, the only real downside is if you need to disconnect one for any reason, other then that it's fine. On shielding just ground the shield on the driver side, do not connect it to the motor ground. Like tweakie said there should be some info in the electronics 101 section.

I would really use the 1/4 screws/bolts for the rack.

I'm not sure what set screws I installed on the pinions. They are pretty easy to drill and tap, just do 2 set screw holes offset 90 degrees from one another.

No problem, if you have any more questions feel free to ask !!

Gerald

 

Thanks for the compliments !!

I looked into rack from CNCRP and Fineline Automation, the problem with those racks is the height, there isn't enough room on the 2080 between the Openrail V-rails, even if there was you would have to add more spacers to the wheel to gain the clearance needed, I really didn't want to go that route with the M5 screws thinking that might be inviting rigidity issues. A 1/2 x 3/4 rack from Mooregear.com works great, you can get them drilled and counterbored or undrilled, this is where I bought the piece i'm using on my X. At most you may have to add a extra shim washer to each wheel on the Y to gain the needed clearance from the rack to the plate.

I contacted Chris about making plate sets, just for the 6 main plates and 3 drive plates he needed $400.00 a set, that still doesn't include the bushings or shoulder bolts. I also looked into having them waterjet cut but that came up to over $600.00 a set. Not that that's too high for one offs or very small production runs, I just couldn't pass that on to my customers. I would be willing to cut some kits for folks no problem, I just had to temporarily close the store because my sign business didn't taper off like it usually does in the summer months, I couldn't dedicate a machine to just cut plate kits and keep my customer service standards where I like, the demand for kits was greater then I anticipated. But I'm caught up now and don't mind cutting a few sets for people. A set of 3/8 6061 alum plates and 1/4 6061 alum stepper drive plates run 237.50 shipping in the US via Priority Mail. The kit will include:

2 - .375 6061 X gantry plates for a 5010 beam
2 - .375 6061 X gantry braces
2 - .375 6061 Y plates drilled for a 5010 X beam
3 - .25 stepper drive plates for Nema 23 motors with oilite graphite bushings and shoulder pivot bolts

Let me know if you'd like a set, I need about a 5-7 day lead time to get them cut and finished.

I will continue to offer support through the Openbuilds forums for this machine. Stay tuned for some more updates and videos with the new spindle installed !!

Thanks

Gerald

 

No issues to speak of, in fact my Joe's Evo 5 x 9' machine uses 5010 for the Y rails without any troubles... I see quite a few people "bond" multiple extrusions together with some success, but to me you, it's hard to beat a single solid extrusion. Plus by the time you go through the expense of buying 3 extrusions and the trouble to bolt them together, may as well simplified things and went with the 5010. I use my smaller machine every day, 6 days a week most of the time. It cuts everything my larger machine does with not issues at all, the only thing I may adjust is the depth of cut due to having a much lighter duty spindle than the larger machine.

I have it blank currently, I was going to offer it for the IMService slide but they informed me the make 4 different bolt patterns of their slide so it would be a crap shoot which one someone might get. I can leave the plate blank or send me a DXF with the bolt pattern of the slide you decide on and I can cut it for you. I would definitely go with a decent Z slide though.

Gerald

 

Bout time!!
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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