John,

First off, outstanding looking machine. I have looked at many machines on this forum and I will no doubt build mine the way you did, when I have everything in place to begin the build.

If I could ask you, what did you finally end up with on you X, Y, and Z dimensions used in the drawing calculations? Your first post said probably 55 & 100, but I was curious what you ended up with.

Will you leave it in your garage, or do you have another place to put it. The tear down capability is so great. Nice job.

Can't wait to see some output from your machine.

Dan

Thank you guys for the compliments.

Lsalme: Welcome and good luck if you decide to build a MechMate. Joe's 4x4 looks like a great machine, and I considered one before I started my build. And yeah, I'm excited to see a lot of builders in the area!

Roman: That's a great idea and I'm sure you can make it work. Check out Radishworks build...he did something similar to what you're thinking. Also check out bfauska's who -- if i remember correctly -- built his to fit over a table.

Dan: Yes, I built my table 55 x 100 x 8. I plan on leaving it in the garage for now. I have a basement that I'd like to convert to my shop "one day", but it needs some work that I don't want to get into right now...like lighting, power, and cleaning out all the junk!

John,

I feel your pain. I just spent a week of vacation cleaning out my garage and shed. I have no idea where all that junk came from??????????????????

Thank for the reply and again, can't wait to see some work coming out of your machine.

By the way, were there any issues you encountered because you designed your MM the way you did?

Dan

Dan...I hope you were cleaning out the garage for good reason?!!

I didn't run into any major problems with my changes, but I stuck to the plans pretty closely from the rails on up to avoid this. One thing though was that my deviations prevented me from using some of the formulas (for determining material dimensions) in the drawings, and this made planning a little more difficult and took some time to figure out at the onset. I tried not to change anything mechanically.

John

Hi everyone,

So the control box has taken me quite a long time...I had a lot of learning and reading to do in this area. Finally this past weekend, I got it together and put on my welding helmet, goggles, and welding gloves just to TURN IT ON. Good news, nothing spectacular but the click of the contactor, hum of the fan, and green lights. :)

I welcome your critique on my wiring. It works but I want to make sure I've built a safe and reliable system. Some questions that I have:

- I used 14 AWG wire for the ground in the box and to the table. Is this thick enough?
- I have a 35A contactor for the router, with a 120V coil. I hooked up the coil to the relay on the PMDX. Is this okay long term? (i.e. Is the little relay meant to handle 120V?)

Anyways, here are some pictures, and I hope to have a decent project to post soon.

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The blob cutout is supposed to be the roadrunner. I didn't have a small collet, and the had to use a 3/4" cutter. BUT WE HAVE DUST!
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Congrats, looks great!!!!!!

I was not sure on the 14gauge too, but I had a lot of it, so I used 2.

John,

The inside of the controller box looks fantastic and your machine looks good.

Congratulations on cutting.

Sounds like a serial number will be coming.

Wonderful job!

Well done, welcome to the club!!

Hmmm....pretty machinery!
Nicely done and well executed fabrication. Kudo's!

Sean

Thanks for sharing these and congratulation on your nice built, lots of efforts !

Congratulations John! Very nicely done. :)

Updated Builder's Log
 

John,

Congratulations on a great machine and Serial #34. Looks really good on that special flooring.

The updated Builder's Log is here.

Please review your entry and let me know any changes you'd like.

Congratulations on your superb build.

Cheers
Greeny

Thankyou, thankyou guys! I'll wear the #34 proudly! John Higgins, everything looks right. I can't believe it's been 6 months...my back still hurts from lifting steel.

Now off to study Doug's tutorial! :)

John,

Awesome looking machine. When I build mine, It will be based on your design. Hope that is OK.

Two quick questions, what is "Doug's tutorial"? I did a search and did not find it. Could you point me to the right place. Also, could not help but ask, who is the manufacturer of the flooring in your garage? I just built a new workshop and am looking for good flooring.

Can't wait to see some output from your machine. I have this thread on automatic updates by email.

Thanks,
Dan

Look here.
Basic Cutting Tutorial
:)

John: Well done! An inspiration to the rest of us Pacific Northwesterners following in your footsteps. Joe

Dan: My floors were installed by the previous owner of the house, but I think they are the same as Playmaker Court flooring. They look nice and are comfortable to work on, but not entirely practical...they trap dust, and I hesitate weld or grind in the garage. Now that the Mechmate is done, I will probably remove some of the tiles and epoxy paint the floors...once I get motivated enough to take it apart again.

Joe: Thank you, I've been watching your build too and can't wait to see the finished product. Let me know if you need a hand flipping it over!

When you epoxy paint, dont forget to include some sort of grip material (sand or similar) to the final coat, MDF dust and a smooth epoxy floor is a recipe for disaster (unless you enjoy visits to the emergency room:))

And, for the those of us who get it, dont forget snow on your boots. Slicker than grease when walking on painted or smooth concrete. :) Alan, you probably don't have that problem. :)

No such luck Heath, my closest snow only appears at the top of the mountain outside my front door, and only when the conditions are right, in the middle of winter.

Thanks for the tip, Alan. I'll definately plan for some sand, especially after reading your post on safety :eek:

Heath: Thank you for the response. I will be reading and giving the process a try.

John: Thank you for the info on the flooring. Good points. By the way, I couldn't bring myself to take apart that beautiful machine. I think I would live with the floor and buy a good shop Vac.

Dan

Hello,

I finished the final wiring of my machine, and have been spending some time learing how to use Vectric and operating the machine. Below are some pictures of my first project...a nice sign for the garage.

I'm very happy with how well the machine runs and the quality of the cuts!!

Attachment 6709

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i can just say WOW!

Nice John, just hope that you have the correct undercoat and paint to make that sign SHINE. I battle to finish MDF properly...let me know what you put on. I made some Yo-Yo's for the kids this weekend, but am not happy with the paint results...otherwise the yo-yo is working fine.

One day while workin on the motorbikes, I wanted to have something powder coated. The chap at the shop took a piece of cardboard, put some powder on it and used a Heatgun to melt it....I am sure this Heatgun method will work on small items.

Also look at this

http://www.mdfcoaters.co.uk/one-coat...-coatings.html

John, gorgeous machine AND sign!

Kobus, doesn't the heatgun blow the powder off?

If it were me, I'd coat the MDF in thinned epoxy prior to painting.

... but I'm in boat-mode so maybe I suffer from "if your only tool is a hammer, all your problems begin to look like nails" syndrome.

Thank you guys.

I've never painted mdf so this will be a learning process. I was going to experiment with wood sealer, followed by primer, then rattle can paint. I'll let you know how it goes!

Jeff, what do you use to thin epoxy? And let's see some pictures of the boat!

John, your X and Y motor cables pass through your switch button boxes. This is okay if the motor cables are not joined (open cores) inside those boxes, as I am sure that yours are.

I just want to guard against some people thinking that the boxes are a convenient place to hide the joints in the motor cables. The motors radiate electrical noise, while the switch wiring is susceptible to noise.

Yes, that's correct, Gerald. My motor cables only pass through the box to keep things neat, but no joins.

John

John your machine looks top notch really clean slick work. The color blue you did is very brilliant in tone. Is that enclosure you used a nema 4/12 Wiegmann? Just purchased another box yesterday from Wiegmann and it looked familiar. If it is how did you find the backpanel, was it stout enough to tap? Was hoping it will be fine and I don't have to get some aluminum plate to replace it. Again, well done!

Brian,
I have similar issues on some of the back planes that come into our shop. I typically install riv-nuts when this happens. Of course, you need a riv-nut installation tool to use these wonderful little gems.

Sorry John, no photos yet, we're still in the modelling stage.

The best way to thin epoxy is to either heat the components prior to mixing or (better) heat the workpiece to about 110 degrees f prior to applying the mixed epoxy.

In a case where maximum structural strength is not a big issue, (such as your sign) you can use up to 5% acetone, denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner (the Gougeon Brothers recommend lacquer thinner, but I'm sure most any solvent will work)

http://www.seqair.com/skunkworks/Glu.../Thinning.html

I would test it on a bit of scrap mdf first because I've never used epoxy with mdf before and I don't know how the cut-edge fibers will behave.

Some are a joke some are very nice. This is my first Wiegmann box but from what I hear they come pretty stiff and nice to tap with large folds to stiffen them up. Hoping I don't have to buy an aluminum plate or use rivet nuts but those open ended knurled rivet nuts are nice.

Jeff, thanks for the info...like many things I learn here: Wish I knew earlier!

Brian, yes the box is a 4/12 Wiegmann. I didn't have any problems tapping the backplate and thought it was very stiff, even after cutting holes for the cooling fan.

nice, how big is that box?

Nice machine John.....I like the paint scheme:D

Brian, it's a 20 x 24 x 8, a nice comfy fit.

Wayne, thank you...You can say I was inspired :D