Finally Back At The MM! - Los Angeles, CA
 

Hello all,

I've been reading/lurking on the MM forums for about a year now, and now finally have the funds to start my build, thanks to my amazing tax accountant! :)

For my table, I'm going for 5 ft x 10 ft sheet capacity, and I plan to go with a spindle. I would like to have an indexer to play with, but realistically I don't think I will use it often enough so I think I will leave it off this time around. Seems to me a dedicated indexer would be better than tacking one on to a table meant for sheet material.

My intent initially is to make semi-custom furniture, audio and video mixing consoles/suites, and interiors. I love ornamentation like raised panel walls and carved architectural elements, and would like to bring those back into vogue, or at least do some re-creations for historical structures.

I'm sure once I get started I will think of other things to build, so I'm keeping an open mind while trying my best to not get distracted by the endless possibilities!

If any of you are in the SF Bay Area, feel free to stop in for a visit once I get started. I live in Berkeley, but most of my build (after the kitchen table project) will be taking place at NIMBY in East Oakland, since I don't have much work space at my house.

I look forward to picking your brains for help as I progress on this project, and hope to be of help too as I gain experience and learn more.

-Philip

Welcome Philip,
Hope your build goes well. :)

Sounds Great, Phillip!
 

I'm in Oakland as well, but I've never heard of Nimby. Sounds like an interesting place, though. I'd like to come check you out, but the site's a bit vague on the actual location - PM me if you want a kibbitzer...

On the indexer thing, I think it's possible to have both things going on the same machine - that's what we did, with a table that slides in and out for flat work. You'll want to position the table at the rotary axis point, though - you're not likely to have enough room to mount it on your table, so think of this well beforehand.

Andrew Werby
computersculpture.com

Build update - now in Los Angeles!
 

Wow, things sure have a way of taking longer than planned!

Since my initial post, I have ordered a kit of laser cut and bent parts, and all electronic parts - Gecko 203v drivers, an Antek power supply, PMDX breakout, all necessary pushbutton operators, and Oriental Motor PK296A2A-SG7.2's. I did the 'kitchen table' project, and assembled the entire control enclosure and tested the motors with LinuxCNC. Everything works as expected, which is pretty impressive considering my complete lack of knowledge about electronics and motion control systems when I began! This has been a learning experience for sure.

I started welding the Z car assembly at a friend's shop, with her amazing Miller Syncrowave (gotta get me one of those!). I got the Z car nearly completed...and then my wife and I had a baby. Talk about distractions! Nearly impossible to get anything done with one of those around. AND to make things worse, NIMBY moved to far east Oakland, making it impractical for me to have a shop space there. After these developments, the MM was put on hold.

But then I reconsidered my options. I decided I could build a smaller desktop CNC router (using the Momus CNC plans) so I could at least have a small machine to work with and not have that control box sitting around collecting dust.

Fast forward another year: we recently moved to Los Angeles, into a house with a detached 2-car garage (woohoo!!). And while it's not as big as I would like, the garage has just enough space for a Mechmate.

My desktop machine is chugging away, and is great for smaller projects, but that big steel control enclosure and those gorgeous geared stepper motors on the shelf are my constant visual reminders of the ultimate goal - to get that full sized MechMate built.

So now, my goal for Q2 of 2013 is clear. I am about to get a little "buzz box" welder so I can continue my build. I've priced out the steel and now know what it will cost. I have a rough timeline, and if all goes as planned - with about 1/3rd extra time padding to allow for the inevitable unexpected issues - I should have my MechMate completed by the end of July.

I can do this! I WILL do this!

Now if you will excuse me, I have some work to do... :)

I forgot to ask - are any of you MM owners/builders in the Los Angeles/Pasadena/Glendale area?

Welcome back Philip! :)

You can do it! You can do it! You can do it!

No hill for a climber like you. Good Luck.