Progress on Control Panel - Redwood City CA USA
 

Hello,
I am a returning Mechmate builder. I first started in 2006 or so, had bent steel for the carriage and many things got in the way. I watched with amazement when Fabrica and Donald worked together to get #1 going. I was talking to Mike Ray (Metal Head) about upgrading my parts to the new version with new plans. Conversation got to the reality that getting new would be the best. I was relying on his judgment. It was a great choice. These new parts, not only conforming to the updated plans, are beautifully prepared. UPS must have tossed the package and slightly bent one corner. With some clamps and time, it all just clicked together. All the tabs in place, like a fine jig saw puzzle. I feel Mike has carried the Mechmate along to a new level. Having him as a resource source to me is invaluable. More than once I have purchased parts that almost worked. I do not see this happening here. I have no plans for great innovation. Better minds than mine have been working for some time on this. My opinion, there is a lot more than having the construction plan files. I had those, plans, etc. and still it all gets down to how the parts are cut and bent. Any fees that are now charged are still more than reasonable and I feel one the great bargains available.
I have some cold rolled steel pieces and am using them to square up the carriage. Threaded rod holds it all together, the steel keeps it all straight. Cold Rolled, 5/8” plus thick can be really nice and straight/flat. A light file to remove any dings. Good weight so the parts stay put.
The recesses for the #8 screw heads were handled by a ¾ inch 90 degree counter sink. Metric uses 90 degree taper, US 82 degree. Just going to the bottom recesses the heads and it is possible to keep a slight thickness for the base without enlarging the holes. ¾ quarters is slightly larger than #8 and works very well.
I ordered Teflon washers from James who advertises on the forum. That was an A+ experience. Nicely made and fast service.
One very good thing about the lone pause is the evolution of the design. I have decided on using the 8X15 I beam, some bolt, some weld. Many thanks to Russell (Regnar) for all his sharing and innovation. I am much more of a hermit but hope to share some of my progress.
I am finding the biggest issues is what length table to make. I know I am going to use the standard US width for 4’ ply. Problem is, I have a garage full of tools, some pretty big so decision time. No matter what length, I will be allowing for an extended end to accommodate rotary. Small diameter can be done over the table.
I use ArtCam Pro for my designs and will be doing primarily more art type work. And I am no where near even intermediate with AC. Lots to learn there. It is expensive but has fantastic capability and the support has been excellent, and I feel, getting better and better.
I am a retired, live in California. Built a Long EZ airplane, flew it for years. Nice thing, I have a lot of tools from those days. I have very good fiberglass skills, not too useful here.

Stephen

Welcome back Stephen.

One comment/suggestion on the table size. You mentioned making the width 48 inches to accommodate US plywood. I and several other US builders chose to make the width 49 inches to accommodate US MDF dimensions. This choice also helps with the spoil board, which in my case is a full sheet of MDF.

Good luck on your build. Looking forward to those pictures you "promised".:D

Thanks !! Do share some pictures !!!

Typo big time
 

Serious error, Gerald is the man. I have no idea where Donald came from.

Progress on Control Panel - Redwood City CA USA
 

Good progress on the control box. Attached are hand drawn wiring diagrams which combines Mike’s (Metalhead’s) momentary start stop buttons/ e stop with PMDX’s use of the 126 board and Mach 111 charge pump and e stop. I have not started the motors yet. Hand drawn is the best I can do.
My system is a 230 V AC (L1, L2 , N, and ground and yes, 4 wires are needed) with a PMDX 126, 107 and Smoothstepper with contactors having 120 volt coils. Also there is a Teco VFD with a water cooled 3 hp Chinese spindle. 5 Gecko’s 203v with PMDX 133’s. 5 Gecko’s as I am having a rotary. X, X, Y, Z and A stepper motors. I kept the same cable orientation with the Smoothstepper. I rotated it and folded the cables under. There is a spacer under the Smoothstepper to keep the cables away from the sharp underside of the board. I needed the USB port pointing a certain direction.
My first comment is to thank Mike for all his work putting out a great DVD describing the wiring of his momentary start/stop and responding to my questions. Also a major thank you to Steve Stallings of PMDX for being willing to be so patient with a novice and providing invaluable information about interfacing his 126 BOB features with my setup, providing safety and functionality.
Any e stop will cut power to all the contactor coils, requiring a reset on the Mach 111 screen and then pushing the green button of Mike’s setup in addition to closing the e stop switch. The 126 stays powered which will show the fault LED’s. The master rotary switch cuts power to everything, including the 126.
There is a manual switch on the VFD contactor coil (also on my dust vac contactor coil which in on the same circuit). The manual switch allows me to cut power to the VFD and therefore the spindle without interrupting the software. Spindle cutters can be safely changed as there is no power to the spindle. Closing the switch return power to the VFD/spindle. I have yet to wire in the “pause” feature for the steppers. Steve informed me that the correct terminology is cycle start and freehold. Mach terminology.
I have used the external heat sinks to attach the Gecko’s 203v and the PMDX 133’s. It is a very tight fit to get the back panel past the Gecko’s with the 133’s removed.
It is possible to reverse the NC and NO contacts in regards to the red/green button of the momentary start switch. Green activates the momentary NO and red the momentary NC.
My wiring in not complete yet. Some more for lights and water cooling, digital probe and zero point. I needed space so I stacked the various components. There was space available up. Also makes for good handles to help putting the panel into the control box. Good for running wiring under also. As was commented, I have a lot going on in there. Those 40 amp contactors were not my first choice. Factory Mation was back ordered forever on smaller ones. And the VFD and Dust Vac can pull some sizeable amps. I became tired of chasing just the right part.
I used ferrules ( Ferrules Direct with heavy duty crimper) on my wire ends which I really like. Factory Mation terminal blocks, 2.5 mm are too small for 12 gauge. 4 mm works although still tight.

I am gone for next week or so, if there are any questions, I will try to respond when I return.

That looks sooooo complicated...

Hi Ken, Mike phrased it well, lots going on there. Thanks for taking the time to look.

Figuring out the wiring was complicated for me, for certain. I had lots of help. Lots of moving/adjusting things here and there. What I have is pretty much the final physical setup for me. There are lots of terminal blocks as I will not be having any plug/sockets and the 126 BOB has many features which I find very useful.

You should give us a side shot of that panel so we can see the layers.

The front din rail is on 1 inch risers, the next row on 2 inch. I double bolted them, very tight to the back panel. I do not want to have them come loose if I need to undo a top bolt. They also act as grounds. I was laughing at myself about the 126 board skyscraper. The 126 wire inputs and outputs were hitting the power supply and pushing the 126 connectors out of position. I tried lower but that did not work. Kept going up until it was clear. Might put a fan under there. In fact, I put some hot melt glue in between the green contact blocks to stiffen them up. The board under the 126 is a PMDX 104 relay board. Going to use that for the water cooler for the spindle.

Hey, where are you on the rest of your build? I'm from CA too, on the other side of the state (near Placerville)