EAR PLUGS.....

Without them I would not only be deaf by now, I'll be a pretty agitated all day long too...

I don't think it is possible for me to box em up without cooking them...

Noise reduction will be another never ending work in progress. I bought the matching silencer but they are useless. I also has a Mini Minor exhaust silencer in my free junk pile. will get there eventually. For now, I will climb the steep curve of vacuum hold down with me ear plugs on...

Irfan, That pneumatic pipe is connected to my vacuum gauge at the Y=0 end of the table. The are perfect for this purpose, won't collapse even when I step on it accidental.

Irfan, I reckon the blue tube is the high-tech "pressure and temperature ajusting bleed air inlet"

Ken, do those motors have a small fan on the back end of the motor shaft? If so, you can box them and let that small fan draw cooling air into the box.

My primary goal is to have a functional vacuum system soonest... with minimum outlay... :p

The motor cooling fan does pull some serious air around, I reckon if we can figure out a good flow path, coolling effect may just improove.

There was a Ver. 1.0 vacuum reservoir box out of 18mm thk MDF with all the bells & whistles. The instant I block off the inlet (with the motors running) All the wall panels deflected by more the 20mm inwards...

The current set up is the 2nd attempt & it works without a fuss... The "table board" is what left from the Ver 1.0...
The moral of the story... K.I.S.S.

Other stuff I'll add on eventually
1) Exhaust silencers
2) a check valves for each of the motor inlet so that I can run a motor at a time.
3) a 3rd motor
4) a microprocessor to a)turn on & off the 3 motors with respect to the pressure. b) over heat shut down c) cycle between the 3 motors in hope of extending their useful life...

About the noise, my last resort is to stuff the pair of motors in the toilet & brick it up along with the dust collector fan...:mad: I do have 2 toilet in the shop...

Mix the dust with some water and flush it down the toilet..... :D

Gerald D.

Ken,

I would be interested in seeing you microprocessor ideas. I am looking at adding vacuum table.

Ken,

As far as the approach to the Microprocessor to turn on & off the 3 motors in pressure flux, how would you approch this? Is there a board out there one could use for this or do you have to design one? I'm very curious to see how this would work as well.

Maybe I am missing it but why not use 3 (or how many vacuum motors) Adjustable Vacuum Switches. Set them up as a tear so all three come on and once the vacuum builds each will shut off as the vacuum builds.

Here is a link to what I am talking about. http://www.omega.com/pptst/PSW21_PSW22.html



Either way you have me really interested in your project and looking forward to your progress.

for not so cheap solution you can find PLC with 6 analogue inputs and couple digital outs, 3 analog for temp sensors and 3 analog for pressure, digital outputs for control to shut down individual overheated or at enough pressure motors.

Other than that, you could use AVR Atmega series MCU, or Arduino as it seems popular board with these microcontrolers, They can have from 8 up to 16 or more analogue inputs and at least 16 digital outputs.

PLC is reliable and ready to use but at a price, especially that ones with analogue inputs are most expensive or require addons for expanding number of inputs or outputs. It should not be a problem to program any of them.

My tentative solution is
Arduino + FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR MPX2100DP Differential Pressure sensor + Temp Sensor (which I've yet to select) + 16x2 LCD display

I hope the DP sensor is a correct choice & this will be my 2nd Micro Processor project after nearly 2 decades...

I'm no electronic wiz kid & Arduino comes in a easy enough package where I can start programming (or copying scripts :o) & get down to work.:D I find setting up MicroP from scratch a huge challenge.

There are many advantages using a MicroP, I can use it to control, read pressure & temp... basically, the limit is your imagination. AND no need to work out the physic equations to have them working...

Russel, The topology is what I have in mind, start with all 3 motors, then switch off one at a time when the vacuum is achieved

In my wildest dream, I wish to use a car MAF (Mass Air Flow) Sensor to measure the flow as well but I just couldn't find the data sheet for any MAF sensor. Any commercially available Air flow sensors are expensive... I also looked at Pitot tube & it requires another DP & temperature sensor, temp compensation & pressure compensation... etc... can be veryy messy stuff at the end... Until the MAF data sheet for an economy locally available MAF is available, this option will be buried in my dungeon of ideas... Its not a essential option at this moment.

Nils, Don't think! Just do it. Its not difficult to get a functional vacuum table once you put your hands to work. I wasted too much time weighing too many option & all the possible "what-if???" When you have them running like mine, many things will turn crystal clear. Noise, heat, etc etc... I trust your ability to have them resolve in no time.

You can try LM35 sensor, its cheap and easy to use, gives voltage output in respect to temperature.

http://www.national.com/mpf/LM/LM35.html#Overview

how to use it
http://www.ladyada.net/learn/sensors/tmp36.html

I've finally done it!!!!
I fried the Chinese spindle windings!!! Sadly, no big bang & no smoke... just a tripped VFD...

What happened.. no water ?... or it this the excuse your wife hears so that you can buy a new 3kW spindle ? :D

I reckon the cause is running it too near its 10A margin (8A) for too long & it spiked over 11A one last time & burst the coil winding insulation...
This proof one thing, the advertised VFD rating is more honest then the spindle's... :p
Well.... this sure is the best excuse to up size to 3kW :D Sorry wify, there goes your birthday present budget...
Good thing I have a spare spindle sitting in the box...
Will keep my current operation load with the coming 3kW spindle & hopefully I'll get reliable service from it for a few thousand running hours.

More Tinkering
 

More "upgrading" were completed
What's done this time round
3kW Spindle,
Solid cast aluminium Spindle holder
Ball ScAttachment 11921rew Z-axis
Attachment 11917
Attachment 11918
Attachment 11919
Attachment 11920

Where did you get that spindle holder from?

Cut a Styrofoam mould & evaporated cast by a local foundry. That is about the biggest size they would handle. then horizontal mill the mating surface, bore the hole, dirll & tap.

http://www.stappenmotor.nl/Steppermo...%20housing.htm

The 80mm fits perfect on my 1.5kw chinese spindle.

Ken
Thank you for the interesting read, brought up a few things I had not thought of before maybe Im just too tired to think But I could not find any referance to the Bob I am using... I wil try reading it again tomorrow
thanks to you and all your friends who shared their knowledge to make your build a reality
Shane

Thanks KenC
 

Ken i Really appreciate your help, and i wanted you to know it.
Thanks
Shane

Don't mention it, I'm just returning what I benefited from this forum :)
Keep reading, I too was electrically & electronic challenged, but there are enough information in this forum for me to implement my own concoction of electrical & electronics in my build. I believe if I can do it, everyone could.

Cut some Nylon involute spur gear for a customer.

The gear profile is 33mm thick the Nylon block is 42mm thick... Its a mental torture when the 5/16" x 1-1/4“ flute length router bit giving out weird scream like sound...
The cuts were super conservative... 1mm depth of cut, 1200mm/min feed 3000rpm. G64 p0.05

Attachment 11964

Attachment 11965
Opinion Skinning to ensure the gear doesn't move.

Attachment 11966

Attachment 11967

A customer brought timber into my shop & request for some carving.
Faced the bottom & carved the requested letters.
Attachment 12761
Can anyone make out what wood is this?
It cuts beautifully, has a waxy feel after a light cut & it give out cinnamon like aroma when the wood dust are lit.

Did some search on the internet, this wood might be Cinnamonum camphora (commonly known as Camphor tree, Camphorwood or camphor laurel or xiang zhang mu香樟木 or kusu no ki 楠の木。) but still not certain with it.

Ken,

It looks more like a Rosewood type timber than Camphor but not sure about the waxy feel or the smell????

Tony.

Aromatic Wood
 

Since this is largely a woodworking site, I am sure I will be speaking to the choir. If it is an exotic board, be very careful of the dust. Allergic reactions to wood dust is common. It is of no great concern if the dust on your skin and causes a rash, but if it is in your lungs and causes a rash, you will be in grave danger. Many woodworkers develop a sensitivity to wood dust, and some have been driven from the business.

In regards to your question, here is a link to a book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Identifying-Wo.../dp/0942391047
Bruce Hoadly gives a great explanation to what might be considered a dry subject.

Roger, (still stalled no table yet.)

Some people say that Elm smell like cinnamon.
Another source :
Balsam of Peru: a tree resin from Central America, so named because it was historically shipped from Peru. Balsam of Tolu is from a closely related species of tree grown farther south; both resins are said to smell like vanilla and cinnamon.

The waxiness could also indicate a member of the Teak family - and remember Roger what is exotic to you is local for Ken, some of the best "exotics" grow in his backyard... :)

exotic
 

I meant exotic, in the sense of unusual. If the usual business involved mdf or plywood, any solid wood would be exotic. Here in the southeast USA sassafras, that is usually used for root beer can grow to be a substantial tree that has a sort of eucalyptus or camphor odor when cut. Sassafras albidum is apparently a member of the laurel family, many of whom have wood with odors.

That wood seems to have rings with early wood, and late wood, indicating one season with rapid growth, and one with not so rapid. The heart wood is dark and highly figured, the sap wood is light colored. It looks like the sap wood has a little area of rot, which would mean the oil that is making the wood smell wasn't completely successful in preserving it.
roger