John,

You might be hearing from me after the 13th of March. Harbor Frieght is putting the 2HP dust collector on sale for $179.99 instead of $249.99. Which is an excellent price. I will start working on the modifications to the collector then.

Nils,

Great! Glad to help anyway I can.

Have you figured out how you're going to support the duct over the table? I've been thinking about it a little, but haven't done any real work on it. I kind of like Koning's hanger design. Also, having the entry at the middle of the side of the table is interesting.

Regards,
John

John,

I have thought about it today. I want to think about it some more but I am thinking of running PVC pipe or hose to the center of the table at the rafter level. This will only work if you have rafters above your machine like in a garage. At the center location, I am thinking of making or finding a rotating device that the flexible hose is attached and runs to the PVC pipe coming up from the dust collector foot and above the Z.

I have some other ideas of what I can do but I need to play with the concept for a little time and buy some items and do some searching on line.

This is just a concept right now but I think if I can find or build what I want I think it will work.

If anyone uses this concept, my name appears on it. :D

Of course it could all go up in dust also.

Or if it works, the dust will go up. :)

Made some progress...the table is now assembled. Feels kind of good.:)

This is my "coat of many colors" table. some bare, some primed and some painted...

Attachment 3708

The Gantry moves smoothly as does the Y-Car. Still need to complete the attachement of the rails to the X-Beam and the Gantry...plus a whole lot more, of course.

Attachment 3709

Regards,
John

Looking good John.:)

some progress???
 

WOW !!!! some progress.. Thats alot of progress. good job. I bet it does feel good.. Seems like yesterday that steel was on the trailer.. Now look at it.. Very clean work.. It looks like you bolted your diagonal leg bracing instead of welding.. If thats correct do you intend to keep it that way or are you going to weld later.. The reason I ask is I want to construct my table in a way that it can be disassembled in sections after painting to move.. Like if we sell the house or something... Moving the entire table welded up would be a pain.. once again super good job john your modification look very good.... Dennis

Thanks Greg and Dennis.

Dennis, the cross bracing under the X-beam is welded. So for each side, the beam, the bracing and the legs are a welded unit. The Cross Bearers and end bracing are bolted to the the side-beam-units. I don't plan to weld the the end bracing to the side-beam-units.

Just like you, I thought I might need to move the table someday. I can disassemble it and reassemble it. The heaviest individual piece would be the side-beam-units, which would weight less than 200 lbs. each.

Regards,
John

Took me a while to see the table . . . . was first admiring the clean, light and super tidy workshop! :)
Good work!

Thanks, Gerald. Still need some more clean-up, though.

Now that I've done "a little bit" of steel work, my impressions are that it's a lot like woodwork...planning, measuring, sawing, drilling, fitting-up, gluing (welding), sanding (grinding), filling, finishing and clean-up.:D Except, the "dust" from steel work is messier and harder to keep cleaned-up.:(

Regards,
John

steel work
 

hey john,, Am I understanding you right, you have little experence with steel work but more with wood work?? If so thats where I am. I went to school for welding in 1980 for a year,, but have not welded since.. What machine did you weld with and were there any problems or regrets or things you would change.. I have many wood machines in my shop but as fate has it no welder.. I've read some post regarding welding but concensus seems to vary on machines and wire .. your welds look good.. Thanks Dennis

Dennis,

Thank goodness for grinders and caulk.:D

I have a Millermatic 130 MIG welder. When I first got it, I did not have shielding gas. I used flux core wire. I recently got shielding gas. Using shielding gas is much better. Cleaner welds. I also have a auto-darkening helmet. That makes a difference too.

Like you, I have most of the woodworking tools. But I'm very limited on metal working tools.

Regards,
John

Looking good John,

I look forward to seeing it completed. By any chance will you be installing a dust collection system that uses automatic gates?;)

Jayson.

Thanks, Jayson.

I have already installed a Dust Collection system using automatic blast gates. The automatic blast gate system is the GreenBox from Ecogate. In the picture of my table, at the lower right corner, there's a blast gate. That one was for my router table. When I get the the MechMate finished, I plan to use that DC port and blast gate for both the MechMate and the router table.

Are you familiar with how the Ecogate works?

Regards,
John

"Are you familiar with how the Ecogate works?" :o

He may be, but 2948.6 of us are not ..........so share. :)

From http://www.ecogate.com/legacy-system...cy-systems.htm:

"Here you can find information on Ecogate systems and accessories witch[sic] are no longer manufactured"

I supposed witches ride on brooms, which are used for collecting sawdust? :D

Yes, as Gerald indicates, Ecogate no longer manufactures the system I purchased. My system can operate 8 gates. I purchased it with 7 gates for about $500.

Ecogate is still manufacturing systems, but the least expensive one is about $1000. The system I own is now called the "legacy" GreenBox.

JR, the Ecogate system has a control box, and motor-operated blast gates. There is a sensor attached to the motor of the tool associated with each gate. When you start the tool, the motor vibration is sensed and the control box opens the associated gate, closes the last gate opened and starts the Dust Collector...so you only have one gate open at a time. When you turn off the tool, the Control Box turns off the DC. It's very convenient when you're switching from tool to tool...no need to manually operate the blast gates and turn on and off the DC.

Regards,
John

My DC operates very similar to that. I did incorporate a delay relay to keep it running an extra 45 seconds to give time to go from one machine to another without the DC starting and stopping so much (from the jointer to the table saw to the radial arm saw), It also gives extra time to clear the lines from the surface planner. All of my gates are manual :(. It sure would be nice to make them automatic. All in time ;).

Made some progress...I've got MOTION, in 3 dimensions.:)

I ended up with plan B. Since, I never got the other used Vexta motor, I had to purchase a new OM Vexta PK296A2A-SG7.2. So I modified the main power supply to produce 39 VDC for the new Vexta and 78 VDC for the older Vexta's. Seems to work fine.

Still need to wire the router, attach the spoil board, do some more clean-up and then I should be ready for cutting.

Regards,
John

Took some pictures to document the MechMate.
Attachment 4280
Attachment 4281
Attachment 4282
Attachment 4283
The dark rectangle in the upper right of the Control Box is a digital thermometer. It only displays Centigrade...The probe is attached to the Gecko heat-sink.
Attachment 4284
34 degrees C (about 93 degrees F) is the warmest the heat sink got after several hours of operation. I was air-cutting the Roadrunner graphic over and over.

A little more work and I'll be ready to actually try to cut something:D

Regards,
John

Great pics John!

What was your shop ambient temp when you saw the 34 degrees?

Am a bit nervous about the shortage of E-stops . . . . . . where will I find someone else to maintain the file of completion records? :)

By the time I post this, you are probably cutting already ? :D

Gerald,

E-Stops are planned...but after I get it cutting. I divided my FactoryMation order into two...stretching out the spending.:D

I happen to notice that the shop was about 26 C about the time I took the picture.

Hi John,

Your build is looking great. I forgot to check your thread a while ago and have only just got around to rereading a few threads here. I am familiar with the Ecogate system. I had installed one for my boss a few weeks before seeing your pictures, the blast gate was imediately recognisable. Seems to be a great system.

Keep up the good work.

Looks Great!! Like the temp gauge and the clean neat shop!

Thanks Pete and Jayson.

Jayson, I like the Ecogate a lot. I've only had one problem. A lightening strike took out the controller. The strike also took out about a half dozen other electronic devices and made a hole in a gas line in the attic(that's another story).

Ecogate replaced the controller for about $80...even though they no longer produce my model. Great service!:)

Well, I've got 48 bolts to install to fasten the MDF to the cross-bearers. Then install the spoil board and I'll be ready to cut. Hopefully TODAY!:D

Congratulations John. Wish you all the best with your 1st cut.

Thanks Ahmed.

Got the bolts in, and it's cutting...here's proof.:D
Attachment 4288
Haven't licensed MACH3 yet, so I get the classic "partial" Roadrunner.
Attachment 4289

And it's my birthday! No one will believe that I didn't hold off until my birthday...but I didn't even think of it until this morning.:)

Regards,
John

HAPPY BIRTHDAY John! Congratulations on the first cut,
and I guess you will probably have a serial number and
your machine will have the same birthday as the builder. :)

Congrats on your, and your MM's, birthdays!