Kobus,
How long did you have to wait for your delivery from Magquip. The man says 3 to 4 weeks. I cant wait that long. The Igus man doesnt answer his phone and I cannot seem to find a number for RS (other than the online shop). Still searching though.

Try 011-691-9300 /fax 011-466-1577 they are in your area

Thanks Hennie I found the number and placed the order already. Should have the stuff by the end of the week. As for the rest of the day, it was up to you know what.
The spider plate was cocked up for a second time by a person who has never seen a production drawing in his life, I am sure. The extrusions that are supposed to be very linear and cost R6600-00 is bent by about 20mm over the entire length and in both directions. The thing that bug me the most is that I will have to wait till morning before I can properly explode. Other than that things are almost on track.

What did the cable chain cost you?

The online shop is the way to go, RS does not keep stock in SA of that particular item but delivery to my door within 7 days - ex UK :eek: but if you have already placed the order with Magquip then go with that.

Hennie,
The Y chain is a 4m chain with 75mm radius for R1469.80 and the X chain is 7m with a 100mm radius for R2472.54. Delivery is 4-6 working days.

Alan, I did order from RS. They gave the best service and the price was OK.

Marius, you are going to have some long "off-cuts". The minimum chain length is only half the stroke plus the curve.

Gerald,
You are right as per usual. I am going to build a plasma cutter soon after this so I will use the spare on that. This phenomena is s problem with me. I always over design or buy to many, just to make sure:).

So correct me if I am wrong.If I order x length plus 1 meter extra it should do the trick?

Hennie, way of calculating the length is described here.

Dankie!

I just got mail from RS to say that the chain will only be delivered to me on the 3rd February. This is way to late. The machine have jobs waiting. Does anybody have alternatives for chains with 75mm and 100mm radius?:(

Do what kobus did.

Hennie, I already tried that route. It will take 4 weeks. Thats even longer. That is to say if you are referring to the Magquip people.

Igus always seems to have stock on hand , , , , at the highest prices. Their main office is the Durban one. Tel 031-461 4824

Marius, you can always make a little basket to hold the cables on the gantry until your cable chain comes. I have been running like this all along. The X cables just follow and lies on the floor. Where my MM is standing in the corner there are no interference from people walking / tripping over it. I know in a factory environment it is different, but get it running and add the cable chain later.

You could also hang the cables from overhead

I am speaking to the chap from Igus this morning. If not I think I like the idea of haning the cables from the roof for now.

Gerald,
Can I use the same grinder bracket to cut the rail as what is used to grind the bevels or is there another barcket? If so, where do I get the files for it?

It is the same bracket - or at least, just one half of it.

I found a local chap that makes a chain that cost effective and available. He only makes one size but it is good enough for most machines. The best is that it only cost R250-00 per meter. His name is Raymond, 083 283 6715.

Thanks for Raymond's info - have copied it to the cable chain thread

Marius

Regarding the gap on the spider, that is normal. I used washers on both sides between the spider and the flange face of the Y car to centralise the spider in the space.

Yes, fill the gap with washers or bits of drilled flat bar.

Every bender ends up with a different dimension across the spider from day to day, and so I left some "tolerance" in case one ended on the wide side.

You don't have to fill the gap snugly - the last millimeter will pull closed as you tighten the bolts

Gerald
I am using the 350mm travel slide plate. I found that the measurement of the last three sets of holes is 10mm short on the plate compared to the rectangular tube. IE the holes that are spaced close together are correct. The next set is 10mm short and the sets that follow as well.

Marius

Looking at drawings 10 40 334 DA and 10 40 364 DA (both dated 10-10-07) those three sets of holes have the exact same dimension from the bottom (left hand side on drawing) namely 305, 415 & 545mm, that is indeed incorrect as the plate should hang below the tube by 10mm. I think you are the first to make this item, that why its gone un-noticed before

Sorry for the hiccup Marius and thanks for reporting it.

Thanks Alan for the note on my "To Do" list.

Gerald,
No harm done. I tested my markings on the tube to the plate before drilling so I picked it up in time.:)

Gerald,
Do you have artworks for the MM decal that I could use?

Check this thread: Official MechMate logo and colour within the first 8 posts there are 3 or 4 different formats (.dxf, Corel, . . . )