Not to sure about that Gecko. I've already switched out motors and BOB slots. I have an inquiry into the Geckodrive forum on Yahoo. Newbies have to wait for the moderator to scan for spamers.

As for the box, it's just a stock one from factorymation. I over sized it because my designs are always conservative. I still have not received the cooling fan. Factorymation had a long delivery, so I went with trusty McMaster. Didn't read the fine print and it also had a long delivery. It should arrive this week. I'm mounting the fan on top of the white plate, so if more space is required, I'll raise the aluminum heat sink.

While I'm learning Mach3 and trouble shooting the Gecko, I'll be fabricating the table. Now the fun really begins.

I'm so close to carving wood ... wait till you see what I create. :)

Greg

When you swop Gecko's, do you slip the whole row of connectors off the header pins (unplugging), or do you undo wires one by one? The reason I ask this is because there was a time when connectors had worked loose from the header pins due to repeated unplugging and replugging, but that was a vendor problem and Gecko have since found better quality. So, make sure you are not having a bad connection problem there. (Recently someone found that he hadn't stripped a wire back far enough and the insulation was......ahem, insulating.)

Well done Greg.

I should get my Gecko's today then I am not far behind you...cant wait for that steppermotor motion rush.

Gerald,

Excellent point !! On my Gecko and BOB connections, the conductors are all just striped bare wire. I took voltages across every tap and they matched the other drivers, but, I'll check again for proper installation. The final product will have all crimp-on pin connectors.


Alan,

I like that "steppermotor motion rush". Don't ever let the kid inside die :)

Be safe and have fun,
Greg

Have a look at this #7 post to see how the connectors pull off the Gecko - very quick to swop gecko's to faultfind. Turn off power first.

Thanks Gerald,

I'll troubleshoot tonight. This day job is getting in the way. :)

A sick Gecko it is
 

Shipping a Gecko back to the farm. I've tried switching motors, wires, BOB slots, ... what else ... oh, drivers, etc. and it still looks like I fried a Gecko. I wonder if there is a prize!! :D Don't you get something for killing a Vampire ;)

I've received some questions about items used for my simulations, so here's the item, part number and source.

Saginaw Enclosure Subpanel, SCE-24P20, Factorymation.com
Handle, Yellow/Red, KSH48RY, Factorymation.com
Mushroom Operator (twist-to-release), BCR, Factorymation.com

Just for the record, my wife may be the brains of the outfit, but, I'm doing all the work. :)

I apologize if I'm not suppling enough information. If ANYONE, has questions, or just wants to know what something is, please ask.

Oh, I've received some metal / steel for the table fabrication today. I'll start welding Friday night! I'm changing the design a little. The legs on my MechMate will not be Channels. I'm using 2 inch x 3 inch x .120 thk tubing. I'll weld a nut on the inside bottom plate for the adjustable foot. Then seal weld it for final. Its a work in progress, it may change again.

Greg

Greg, I am not handing out prizes for killing the G203V - I didn't even recommend that you use it! :)

Will you let us know what Geckodrives finds wrong with it?

Yes, as soon as I hear something from Gecko, I'll post.

Greg

Start of Base Table
 

Started tack welding my table. Don't think I'll need the 45 degree struts because of the 2 inch x 3 inch x .120 wall rectangular tubing I decided to go with. Should be plenty strong (10 inches of weld per connection). Well, the more I look at it, I might add them.

Gerald, (anyone) what's your point of view? I just don't have a good feel of the stresses (bending, shear, etc) a CNC machine generates.

Waiting on my C Channels that should arrive this Tuesday.

Attachment 275

Make sure you have the correct value for the Current limit resistor on the Gecko's They default to 7A with no resistor. Motors should not get too hot to touch. Sitting still they should just get slightly warm. How may volts on the Power supply?

Sorry, not Gerald or Mike but I use Gecko's on a daily basis so jumped in. I also know MACH3 very well.

tomCAUDLE

Thanks Tom,

I'll double check the current limiting resistor math. You never know!!

How are you progressing on your MechMate??

I've added the "gussets" to the table.
If nothing else, it looks cool (that's just me) :cool:

Attachment 278

Greg,

It does look cool. You are progressing nicely. I can see you are going to do a beautiful job. I hope to start welding in about a week. I can't wait. I am waiting for a bunch of laser cut brackets.

I like the box tube. I plan to use it as well. I am going to follow Kim Mortensen's lead and bolt it all together. I will post pictures as soon as I start.

Marc

If you are going to weld 10 inches per connection you are going to get some serious distortions - that is way too much welding that doesn't bring extra strength. A diagonal over a welded corner is MUCH better than a lot of welding in the corner. The diagonal can be much smaller tube - say 1"x1" in your case.

I hope you agree to the amount of welding specified for the gantry? :)

Think carefully about bolting box tube - how to stop it from crushing if a bolt goes right through.

Gerald, I plan to drill and tap 5-6mm wall. (Possibly weld nuts but more likely drill and tap)

Marc

5-6mm wall is very heavy stuff for box tubes and the biggest diam screws tapped into that wall is limited to about 6mm for full strength tightening. Welded nuts are needed for bigger screws.

Gerald, I appreciate the additional thought. (even if this is in the wrong thread) I have to make up my brackets first (when the parts arrive) so I have a little time to make a decision on whether to use box or channel for the leg. You keep me thinking and that is good.

Gerald,

Yes, you are correct on the welding. I'm thinking of "seal" welding the connections, so it should limit the heat and distortion. When I start the full weld up, I watch distortion carefully. May have to go with "plan B".

The gantry is strictly per the plans. :)

Thanks for the input.
Greg

When I was welding up the table, before I added the diagonals, I thought, "Wow. This thing is really rigid." But I could still detect some flex when I bumped it. However, when I added the diagonals in accordance with Gerald's plans, the table became as solid as a rock. I couldn't believe the difference they made. Gerald's a hell of a designer.

G203V update
 

Just received email from Gecko saying a package is on the way. Thats all the message said. Don't know if they are shipping a new one, or fixed the old one, or nothing was wrong. We'll see.

Hi Greg

Your mystery no.4 drive that went back under warranty, and which was found fault-free, have you got it working now?

Believe it or not, I haven't even looked at it yet. Not that it takes that much time. Just have been concentrating on the table welding and rails / skate, etc. (I will have allot more free time for the MechMate come mid October)

Maybe I'll move it up the priority list and work on it this weekend. We'll see.

Gerald,

Thanks to my air conditioning going out at the house, I've had some free time to work on that mystery Gecko (I had to be there for the service guy).

Everything is working! :) Well almost, all the motors turn, including the two for the X-axis (slave mode is working). The LED on that mystery Gecko does not light green. Everything seems to be working fine, just no green LED.

So, to summarize, the Gecko driver was never the problem. It was, oh, uh, lets just say operator error :o. It had to be a loose connection somewhere. I'm not going to worry about the driver with no green LED for now (unless someone tells me different).

Greg

On another note, I was asking Gerald on another thread if the weight of the main beams could be reduced by drilling holes thru out the beam. The answer was no, so on to plan B (for reasons explained below).

I am now fabricating a very nice gantry crane. I found some plans from www.synthx.com ($15) and ordered the steel this morning. Pretty simple design and fabrication should take no more than one day (two max, excluding painting). The total cost is much less than buying one (less than $900) for everything (chain hoist, trolley, etc).

Its amazing that I had to strain the lower abdominal muscle to strengthen the one between my ears.

Greg,

Where are you? The last time we heard, you were going on an elk hunt. Did you give up building your MM?

Hey Doug,

No, I haven't given up on the MechMate. I have given up on the "skate" though. My rail height is 1.00 inch (25.40 mm) and I just couldn't get a nice 45 degree edge. I tried everything, even Gerald's outriggers but couldn't do it. Other people we're kind enough to offer their skate/tool, but theirs was for taller rail heights and I didn't want to change the motor mounts or what ever parts change from a taller rail. So, after the holiday, I'm sending my "cut" angles (rails without 45 degree edge) to a machine shop. I know my limits, and I could spend another couple of months making another skate, but I rather build a MechMate than figuring out a tool.

I did finish my 1.5 ton Gantry crane, so moving and lifting this beast is not a problem. Also, my Steelmax steel cutting skill saw failed on me last week, so I completely dismantled the saw (a first for me), found the problem (fried brush contact spring due to loose fitting brush holder) and ordered parts and now it's operating better than when I bought it. Kinda makes up for the skate episode.

I'm currently cutting the cross channels and will be drilling holes shortly.

Nope, I'm not giving up on this baby. It is hard to watch everyone else's progress while I "putt" along, but I'll get there.

Thanks for checking up. I still check this site 3, 4, 5, 6 etc. times a day.

Greg

A quick picture
 

Here's a quick picture of progress as of tonight. I've mounted the V-rollers on the gantry and Y-car. The gantry and Y-car have been mounted on the main table. I haven't done any adjustment to the gantry or Y-car, but its amazing how well both ride. :)

My Z-slide should be ready Tuesday or Wednesday. Its so nice to finally get to this stage of the project. :D

Attachment 732

nice looking machine. Congrats on your progress. I got my rails cut down and drilled today. I hope to look like your picture by next week. Sean

Greg,

Beautiful work. It feels great doesn't it?

Greg, it's looking very good. Did you opt not to put the 4 braces on the 2 sides or just haven't got to it yet? The adjustable feet look very substantial what are they?

J.R.,

I didn't put the side bracing because the main table is fabricated from 2 inch X 3 inch [50.8mm x 76.2 mm] rectangular tubing. Those "square" welded joints have ample strength for the bending stresses.

Yes, I went over kill on the leveling feet. The insert on the bottom of the tube accepts 3/4 inch [19 mm] bolts. I just thought that the "recommended" feet (approx 200 to 300 lbs [90 to 136 KG] per foot "looked" small. Its only for looks. Also, the bigger feet cost the same as the smaller feet. Ordered from McMaster. I will get the Part Number is anyone wants it.

Sean and Doug,
Thanks. My wife is getting excited about actually cutting some wood some day.

Greg,

Did you use Rectangle Tubing for the bed or X to X bracing?

Your table looks good.

Niles,

If I understand your question correctly.

I used rectangular tubing for everything below the main beams and cross members. The main beams were 7 inch channel. The cross members were 3 inch channel. Both per drawing spec's.

...and my next build will use rectangular tube for the legs and sub-frame. Easy to get locally....easy to weld.
Sean

And easy square cuts.

OK Gerald,

Enough "tom-foolery". But MM Mechanical pencils would be chick magnets :cool:

Here's my progress report for tonight: While waiting on the Z-slide from a local ( 60 miles / 96.5 Km) machine shop, (they now say Friday), I'm trying to shim my X rails for proper gantry alignment and "ride".

With no shims, only 3 V-rollers, on the gantry, make contact with the X rails for .... 80% of the rails. The other 20%, rides perfect.

I added washers (shims) to the 80% and 80% rides perfect. 20% has 3 V-roller in contact. All shims have been added to one side only.

Just some observations of an evenings spent aligning the X rails. Have not completed the process, so more tomorrow.

Greg, good work, but don't go overboard now......

The final shimming of the x-rollers is when you get the gantry square to the x-rails. For that you need the router/spindle to be fully operational.

Yes, it is not too early to get the x-rails straight and parallel, but you will be spending time later getting all the wheels to touch all the time. Funny, but when you tension the motor springs, the last gaps disappear, and then the whole alignment process is forgotten! :)

Greg,

Have you drilled your spider plate for the V rollers? I'm being held up now because the rollers opened up on me when I tightened the bolts that hold the spider plate to the car. I should have anticipated that happening. Think about it, if there is enough tolerance so that you can slide the spider plate into place, when you tighten the bolts, they're going to stretch the plate and pull the rollers farther apart. I used washers to take up the slack but there was still enough room to cause me a problem. I ended up having to grind off a couple of the nuts I had welded on to the back of the spider and reposition them.

Gerald, I had intended to start a separate thread to warn people about this but it sounded like Greg was getting close to the point where he might drill those holes so I figured I had better speak up. I'm in the process of waiting on the paint to dry in 40 degree F weather and then I was going to take some pictures and start the thread. I've also been wondering if anyone else had the same problem.

Very valid point Doug. Those holes must be drilled as "narrow" or as tight as possible. The laser markings with the triple cross-hairs was intentionally made "vague" so that the holes could be optimised. Some "gauge" plates are 4" [101.6mm], others are 100mm [3.937"], while the amount of metal removed during the V-profiling also has an influence.

Didn't someone else also grind off the nuts, plugweld the holes, and start again? I will have to say more on the drawing.

Edit: Found it: See post #41 this thread

Gerald and Doug,

Thank you both very much. I always check the forum when getting home from the day job and before heading out to the shop. The plan for tonight was more X rail work. I'll hold off for now.

Thanks for the heads up on the spider plate Doug. Still waiting on the Z slide. Hopefully tomorrow. If it would have been done, I might have tried drilling those holes tonight.

Taking a vacation day tomorrow so I can frame up my equipment room ( I poured the foundation last weekend). It'll house the new dust collection system.