#31
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Thanks
Sorry it’s been so long. I thought I’d check back in to let everyone know how things were going. But first things first. I want to thank everyone who helped me along this journey. Gerald for all the time and effort spent on the design. Jim #104 for his help and allowing me to comb over his machine. Mike for his great laser cut parts and all of those on the MechMate forum to numerous to mention with the advise and help I needed.
The G540 I went with is running the PK296A2A-SG7.2 motors very well. I moved up to Windows 7 from Vista and added a UC100 parallel port to usb converter. The UC100 is working great and made moving my controlling computer further away from my MechMate control box easier and allowed me to move up to Windows 7 and keep running Mach3. If you go back to some of my first posts I was going to use hardened rail mounted to rectangular aluminum tubing that had been cut in half as a cheaper alternative to architectural aluminum. This was a cheaper way of getting rid of the slight fillet/support that normal “L” shaped aluminum has in the corner without paying for the arch alum + shipping costs. After approximately eight months of cutting various projects the aluminum seems to be holding up quite well. Again Thanks for all the help and encouragement. This forum was the reason I chose to build the MechMate. You made it possible for me to build something far more complex than anything I’ve ever attempted. I still watch it in awe as it goes this way and that. It’s an amazing piece of machinery! |
#32
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So is the beast cutting? Lets see a picture !!
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#33
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John, remember the rule. It didn't happen if you don't have pics.
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#34
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Playing with the big boys now
Here you go. I placed my decals in a safe place when I started the build. Just can't find my "safe place" now. I'll have to get another set.
After my first few cuts I knew what one of my first projects would be, a dust shoe. I saw a dust shoe on the net but thought it a bit high priced (115.00). After buying the .5 inch thick polycarbonate I don't think the one on the net was all that high priced anymore. But I had more fun making my own dust shoe. Once I had a way of adding a little decoration I welded up a bbq table had it powder coated and had my son build me a set of draws to install in it. The MechMate creates a bit of a dilemma for me. I know nothing about wood working. I'm working on that problem I'm using Artcam Insignia for my drawing software and Mach3 for my machine software. The cat was an attempt at 3d with Artcam. The cat was a simple test and, I think, turned out pretty well. I should have cleaned it up a bit more but I was more interested in just seeing Artcam and my machine's 3d ability. The wooden clock is a plan I bought off the internet. I'm just starting I hope the rest of the clock is as easy as cutting those gears were I built a 16' X 20' shed for the MechMate so now I have a climate controlled, 365 playroom. I'm looking forward to learning more about the Artcam software. The Artcam software and the MechMate are doing their job. Seems the only limiting factor here is the operator |
#35
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Excellent!!
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