I've cut the exact same 0.25" aluminum with the same bits, feeds, and speeds number of times, just thought I'd try the tape and CA after watching that video. I fully understand the forces involved. Clearly the tape and CA method, with the tape that I used is limited.

That said, Mark used double-sided tape in the C-Beam Machine demo cut video, and I'm pretty sure that plate was cut from quarter-inch 6061, just like what I cut all the time.

Anyhow, I figured I'd give it a try and share the results to spare the rest of you the effort. Might try it again when I have more time. For now, screws into the spoilboard work very well to hold workpieces, so long as you don't try to drill through them.

 

I apologize for the confusion.

https://www.amazon.com/Polyken-Premium-Double-Coated-Carpet/dp/B003ZFGJ02#feature-bullets-btf

This stuff should do the trick. The cloth backed carpet tape has a higher tensile strength than the paper stuff.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Polyken-Multi-Purpose-Double-Coated-Carpet/dp/B00HMDG28C/

This one is a bit cheaper and less tacky

 

I just used the 2" blue generic painters tape I bought to use painting my house. The problem for me wasn't the tape. The problem was when you glue it together with the CA you don't have 100% coverage of CA between the tape. So the tape will hold to the base of your router and it will hold to the material your cutting but if you cut a piece that is not glued by the CA, it will come loose.

 

What if you take a few thou off the spoil board with the pattern you're cutting, so you know where to apply the Ca glue and tape more effectively. You could even take it a step further and make indexed spoil boards for repeatable jobs. All you would have to do to repeat the cut job is to attach your "jig" to the existing spoil board with indexing pins add the tape and the CA glue where necessary.(you'd know exactly where to put it to hold everything properly l) and run your code.

 

Folks, is there a Sketchup drawing of the stock original C-Beam platemaker somewhere. I'd like to get it to play around with modifications to it. Can't find one.

Thanks

Bruce

 

Ahhh, I see. It's being disguised as control software.

Thanks I thought it had to be somewhere.

Bruce

 

There is no doubt the painters tape/Ca method is not the end all for hold down. Besides not CAing in the spots necessary for a good hold after the pieces are cut I also found it hard to get the tape to stick to MDF waste board after lubricant such as WD-40 is sprayed on it. After all one of the good uses for WD-40 is sticky tape and label gum removal.

So far the tape/CA method has worked better than carpet tape for me cutting thin aluminum sheet because I feel the carpet tape holds to much swarf to it. The painters tape on the other hand tends to be cut away and cleared with the swarf. If my parts allowed for a screw hole a screw would be a very positive answer and part of my solution. All I can say is there is no right answer for every job. I wouldn't discard the painters tape/CA method all together.

 

Thanks, They were quick to solve the problem.

 

I have a question about making plates that use the openbuilds eccentric bushings....I am using my C-beam machine to make these so I figured this would be a good place to post. If I used 1/4" plate the eccentric doesn't sit flush on the back side. Is that going to be an issue? I haven't designed anything that requires the eccentrics yet so I'm a little confused.

 

No it should sit a bit under so the screw holds onto the Plate ,if it was flush with the plate it could rotate it during movement becouse screw would hold onto either both or just the eccentric(depends how good tolarences are)

 

Great that makes sense. Thanks for the reply.

 

dont forget to order longer m5 screws to compensate for the added plate thickness.

 

last time I did an upgrade I ordered a bag of just about every size... Thanks guys...I'm just kind of messing around at this point trying a few ideas and getting my feet wet with machine design. I have a Makers Tool Works MendelMax 2 that I have been thinking about doing some upgrades to. I figure it will give me a good starting point and help me ward off the desire to buy another 3d printer

 

trying to post a pic of what I have been working on...mostly just playing, but trying to make it work as upgrades to the MendelMax 2.0. I designed this with MOI3d but it is not really set up for assemblies. I have tried to learn other software in my limited time off, but can't seem to get up to speed with anything fast enough to not just always revert right back to what I'm used to. The problem being it takes a long time to get everything aligned and once you do it is difficult to make adjustments. Any suggestions on software for someone that isn't an engineer or have a cad background do create mechanical assemblies easily?

 

Fusion 360 is not that hard to learn. Watch he makes lots of tutorials for it.

 

I will check it out. I already subscribed to his channel surprised I've never seen his tutorials on 360.

 

Just watched this and think he explains slider joints quite well aswell

 

Hi. My first post ! Just finished commissioning a C-Beam machine and it is amazing. First time round used a makita like palm router after using a 3d printed adaptor from 71 to 65mm which was posted in the forum. However, when trying to use 1/8 endmills, found that the adaptor I bought ( from 1/4 to 1/8 ) had too much runout. Also, the thing only ran at 30k rpm (which was no good for larger bits). So I moved to a Kress 1050 FME-1 which preset variable speeds. Came across the issue above, with the fixing point being too high if using the openbuild C-Beam mount. I designed a 3D printed adapter which basically uses the gantry plate as a template for size and moves the 4 mounting points down by 15mm. This puts the bottom of the Kress collet nut flush with the bottom of the Z axis end plate. Had to make it a little bit thicker (9mm) as the bottom plate of the Z axis "sticks out" by 3mm. Just ordered a custom milled aluminium version (which is cheaper than a dedicated Kress mount ). I am happy to share the design if anyone is interested.

Also printed another adapter from 71 to 43mm for the Kress (got it from a nice chap at thingiverse (Openbuilds Kress adapter 71mm to 43mm by vaporsyndicate).

David

 

Looks great. Congrats on finishing I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in the plate design.

 

Thanks. I enclose some photos of my build. The 3D printed parts are yellow. Also note that the extension plate on the machine has been modified slightly in the stl and pdf files (which are also enclosed). I hope that someone gets to use them too!

Regards
D

 

Sorry If search did not turn up my answers. I have the C-Beam machine Plate Maker (Enlarged to 39x39) now and I would like to convert it to a more stable machine for larger cutting surface, stabilize the cutting surface more. This means I would need either files for the two gantry risers for some c-beam or the information on adding more support for the smaller work area on the original C-Beam Plate maker. (Hope that makes sense)

Could someone point me in the right direction please?

Also planning on building a smaller machine so I can have two running.

 

Thank You Rick. Looks just like what I needed

 

@Mark Carew ......Do you have any resources to show limit switch location on a c-beam build, as well as mounting strategies? I understand the concept behind them and have no issue wiring them up properly, but I wanted to draw from collective experience before I drilled holes in my extrusions. I've tried searching this site but only come up with results that didn't answer my questions.

The switches I am using are similar in size and dimension to these






Thanks.. Robert

 

Thanks, for some reason my brain had a disconnect today.

The mini adapter plate makes sense. I was going to screw them into the extrusion. LOL.

These will machine easily out of Lexan.

 

They sell a micro switch with mounting plate kit for $4.50.

 

I have 10 micro switches, a 24x24 sheet of 1/4" lexan, a cnc machine and 5 minutes.

Using Aspire, I pulled the 2d silhouette off the 3d model of the small mounting plate in the SketchUp file provided by Mark and outputted it to machine code.

Here is the dxf file if you're interested in using it to cut your own.

They are exact scale to the SketchUp file mark provided. This can be printed out onto paper using cad-cam software or used to create gcode for your cnc.