Anthony, absolutely no offense was taken! I simply recalled that these things were an issue before, and there was a reason that they are fairly long. I added 65mm at the time. The note was also put there so that people can understand why those legs seem so long.

It Writes!!! South Australia
 

It writes! :D:D
A couple wires to tidy up and a couple stickers and I should be making lots and lots of dust/chips.
The second photo is a bit blurd I'll get a better one with stickers.

Looking Good Anthony!

Stickers on and cutting!
 

Stickers on and cutting!
I've been 'going like a cut snake' so that I hopefully get serial No.#77, my lucky number and a good year (1977). So it is out to the Jury..........
The papers on the spill board are the 'Operators Manual' for EMC2, 260 pages :eek::confused:. Always up for a challange.
Anyone got any ideas of what to make/cut/engrave for the Wife as a peace offering? Spent lots of time out in the shed and not enough inside the house with her!

Looking great #77 it is. Is it me or are people getting faster at building Mechmates latlely? Nice looking build !!!

Well done and my your Big Blue give you as much joy as mine.
Is that a die grinder you are using ?

Builder's Log Update
 

Anthony,

Congratulations on completing your MechMate and on Serial #77. Looking good!:)

Here is the Updated Builder's Log.

Please review your entry and let me know any changes you want to make (either by Reply or PM).

Domestic peace offering
 

Anthony,

Chopping board with drain ridges around the edge, aka Aspire demo works as a quick peace offering / demo.

Graeme

Anthony - That was fast !
Are you sure the paint is dry :)

I have not met your wife but just make some money and see what sort of reaction that gets as a starter project.
Of course don't attempt download the gcode for $100 notes and make the money directly on the MM as counterfeiting is most certainly illegal here in Aus.

Well done and enjoy your machine.

Regards
Ross

Long time between posts, so I thought I would show a couple projects completed and update what has been happening.
Every time someone looks at the MM this is the conversation I have...
Visitor: "Wow! its big.. when you said you could drive your car on it, I didn't believe you."
Me: "Yeah, most people don't believe me."
Visitor: "So where did you buy it?"
Me: "No, like I told you the other day I built it."
Visitor: "What! All of it?"
Me: "Yes, all of it."
Visitor: "Even this bit?"(usually pointing to something on the gantry)
Me: "Everything."
It makes me feel proud every time I show someone.

Thank you Gerald for the design and all the MM members that have helped me, as small as it maybe.

Thanks for the suggestions for the wife, I made the 'Mothers Keepsakes' box from the Aspire web site for Mother's Day. The wife loved it. I modified the original design by adding a dado? rabbet? rebate? recess? to the bottom of the box into the sides, which to me means it would be stronger (not that I know anything about woodwork as you can tell). I also had the MM cut the recess for the hinges.
Most of you are probably thing thinking if he doesn't know much about wood why did he build a 'CNC Wood router? well.... my real love is metal so I bought a plasma cutter and the other reason is business. There is a lot more work in the local area for metal cutting, mostly from agriculture.

Kobus, yes it is a die-grinder which just so happens to have the same size mounting hole for the plasma, swapping takes 1 minute.(Saw dust and sparks aren't the best mix and good clean up is needed between swapping).

Well done, I like that box...was cutting the Vectric monthly project box this afternoon...lots of work finishing it off. Keep the photos coming.

Very nice Anthony!!
I like the Mothers Keepsake Box, nice changes.

Cheers
Tony.

Nice job Anthony, I also have a plasma torch for my mechmate but I havent swapped it in yet. Keep posting pictures!

Cheers
Tim
I'm still climbing the learning curve!

Anthony,

Very interesting that you have a dual-mode MechMate ( wood and plasma cutter). Could you show us some pictures of your plasma set-up? I'm thinking about building my "next" MechMate to be convertible to a plasma cutter.

UNCSA #58 machine has a Dual Z axis for just this use.

http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showt...ighlight=uncsa

I have a separate circuit run to the head for my plasma. I quick disconnect the router and the plasma head clicks in and away you go. I suspend my torch line from the dust collect line so I can use it for other projects. To each there own, just as long as it works :)

cheers,
Tim

Tim,
That is how mine is currently, torch line suspended from dust collector and two separate config file in emc. Gcodes M3 & M5 are connected to different pins on the BOB for different setups. Also Arc OK is connected so that if arc goes out motion stops, plus an on screen over ride button for 'air cuts'. The current mount is similar to K2CNC except mine is laminated chipboard.
The biggest problem with sharing mounts this is that the torch isn't floating to 'touch off' which I feel is a necessity for cut quality & efficiency.
Dual Z's is the go, that way pilot drilling or marking and plasma cutting can be carried out in one operation with gcode offsets (thats the theory anyway unless someone can tell me different).
If someone wan'ts the dxf for the mount I can post it.

I made these boxex out of 6mm (1/4) mdf to test the machine capabilities ie missed steps, bit flex, spindle rpm drop, etc. with out sanding (I hate sanding) the joins.

Nice joints, I hope to be cutting those soon :)

Cheers
Tim

This sketch should be self-explanatory:

Attachment 11850

Quite a few developments have happened this past week.
It started with shed extensions 'approved' and ordered, which means a dedicated area for the MM to contain dust and noise:D.
Got a letter in the mail that said my application for the business name 'Riverland CNC' is approved:D.
Also riverlandcnc.com.au wasn't being used so I grabbed that with both hands:D.
The dxf and picture might explain the cube.

I think what Gerald was suggesting that the "Dog Bone" fillets give a smaller holes than the "T Bone" fillets and may be preferable in some cases. :confused:

also faster cutting, less sawdust, and less filler to make them disappear before painting :)

All the little things you don't think about. Thanks for all your input guys this will help me down the road as well :)

Cheers
Tim

to put a number to Geralds' succinct and intuitive drawing . . .

using http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_segment as the basis of the math . . .

r = cutter radius

inset = d = sqrt((r^2)/2) = r / sqrt(2)
this is the amount you must offset x & y to trim the fillet left in the corner

theta = 2 * arccos(d/r) = 2 * arccos( (r / sqrt(2)) / r ) = 2 * arccos(sqrt(2)) = approximately 1.57

area = ((r^2)/2)*(theta - sin(theta))

because the inset cut cuts on both sides of the corner, we double the area

area of cut = 2 * area = r^2 * (theta - sin(theta))

area of non offset cut = (pi * r^2) / 2


ratio of offset cut to non offset cut = area of cut / area of non offset cut
= ( r^2 * (theta - sin(theta)) ) / ( (pi * r^2) / 2 )
= 2 * (theta - sin(theta)) / pi
= approximately 0.36 or about 36%


. . . so . . .
you will only cut 36% of the material using Geralds cut compared to the original cut . . . and your filler material has a much smaller gap to span

cheers

Like I said, building this thing is the easy part lol!

Robin, the red scenario is an empty half-circle, the green has half of an inscribed square filling the half-circle.

The diagonal of the square is equal in length to 2 * r
The diagonal length of a square is sq.root 2 * side length
The area of a circle is PI * r * r
The area of the square is side length * side length

Therefore the ratio of filled vs. unfilled is 2 vs. PI = 2 / 3.1416 = 64% :)

Hey! and 36% + 64% = 100% ! :)

so thats how you travel faster then light??

Gerald, you must be a teacher :)

i only had to tilt my head 45 deg's to see that in all these years i have not lost my knack for figuring things out the hard way :D