Gerald,
Thank you for adding the notes to the original chain post. I like the idea of having the brackets "some what" adjustable vertically for the x chain. Therefore, you can still hang the chain from the main beam, but "pick-a-hole" for height depending on the chain that you order. Ideally, one should order the proper radius chain. As for me, I happened to have about 16' of the appropriate chain here at the shop.
I tried to emulate the mamba location on the chain attachment to the gantry. I REALLY like this location and it seems to not induce any weird yaw or drag on the carriage. Plus it makes the cable runs up to the gantry and z axis really easy.
Back next week - traveling this week.
Sean

...today was grind the vertical z slide day. About 3 hours of work and I have a really nice profiled z-slide. Tomorrow, drill some holes.
* note *
Because I used the Mamba skate to grind the z-slide, I started with a 30" length of cold rolled flat 1/4 x 4 tool steel and ground the entire edge. I will trim the z-slide to length tomorrow to remove the skate runoff area to the correct length (22.4") as noted in dwg #10 40 334.

Sean

I was thinking of using 4 pole Neutrik Speakon connectors for the motor runs. 30A continuous capacity per pole and they twist lock. Any reason not to???

Sean, that's a nice looking build. *thumbs up*

Sean,
Is Tool Steel harder than angle or tubing? Was it more difficult to grind than the rails with the skate grinder? I have seen a lot of posts from people saying they had the z slide plate done at a machine shop. I thought it was due to the hardness.

Heath,
Tool steel is "a little harder" the brinell and rockwell ratings suggest the real values. Standard Tube and Angle is A36 carbon steel and is "soft"...tool steel is similar in composition, just formed or hardened (either induction or heat). I personally used for my z slide A36 Cold Rolled flat. From working with the plate yesterday and today, it was very easy to grind and the drilling hasn't been an issue. I actually thought it ground better than my rails! So far, drilling all the holes went fine. Although, I haven't countersunk the plate screws yet.

Speakon connectors are really nice connectors. They tend to have a larger form factor than xlr....but easier to solder and make the wire connections in. It's really a user choice. I use speakons often and like them. No reason not to use them except if you make the cable connections before you run the cable thru the cable chain...you might find that it doesn't fit! I would double check the internal clearance and the OD of those connectors before I got to far on wiring the motors.

Sean

Sean,
Is A36 cold rolled flat the same as tool steel? Is that what I should ask for, or is that a sub you did? If it is a sub, is there any downside like wearing and such? You can tell steel is not my best subject. :(

If you want whats specified in the drawings,
ask for "tool steel" which is usually a D2 grade, but a little pricey.

• CHARACTERISTICS -D-2 is a high carbon, high chromium heat treatable tool steel intended for applications requiring high wear resistance.
• WORKABILITY - Machinability is medium. Grindability is medium.
• APPLICATIONS - Blanking Dies & Punches, Thread Roll Dies, Trim Dies, Mold Inserts, Injection Screw Components, Draw Dies, Forming Rolls & Dies, Gauges.
  
  Sold only in 18" standard lengths.

I used Cold Rolled Flat and ground 1/4" x 4" because I could get it in a longer length so I could grind the finish using the Mamba Skate. D2 was not available at my supplier in anything but 18" lengths. I used a 30" length and cut it to the Metric Length of 19.7"....I liked the extra on top like in the Sketchup model.

Gerald has made provision for using the stock length using a grinding method described in the other parts of the forum using a table saw, grinding disc and some ingenuity.

The tool steel will wear better....the Cold rolled was an easy substitute to get me cutting until I change over the z-slide later to use with a spindle.
Additionally, the cold rolled is not any softer or will wear any differently than the rest of the machined/ground rails on the MM. Thus....steel is steel for now! :)

A good source, if you can't find it locally is http://www.metalsdepot.com/

Sean,

I'm ordering Ferrules (and crimper) from ferrulesdirect.com (how cool is that). The starter kit has 3 series, W, D, and T. What does series mean and which one is best for the MM?

cut and paste from ferrulesdirect:
(found here:http://ferrulesdirect.com/singleinsulated.htm)

Q. What’s the difference among Series W, D and T?

A. The only difference among the three series listed below is the color of the insulation. All other physical and dimensional features are the same.

Thanks Craig.

Greg,
I ordered my ferrules from ferrulesdirect. I got the starter kit and was pleasantly surprised how few I actually used! Invaluable making the very small wires to the PMDX look clean, isolated, insulated and better for my large hands to handle on final termination. You won't be dissappointed. I think the cost was around 25 bucks for the kit plus crimper.
Happy wiring :)

Sean,

Thanks. Shielded cable is 3 weeks out. Got plenty to do until then.

Painted first part tonight. Geeez, can you image someone from the "outside" reading these posts. They must truly think we're nuts. Put a coat of primer on some metal. Big whoop.

I could care less what anyone thinks. I'm having a blast. :p

I think the cold-rolled is a good option as well, but I didn't spec it for the drawing because that size is not common here.

Just a small correction to Sean's assumption that the z-rail doesn't need to be different to the other rails. Not quite true because the z-rail gets loaded and worn over a very small distance all the time. With the ShopBot, the z-rail wear was a big headache. But that was with 3/16" thick mild steel and the rollers were a lot smaller in diameter.

Gerald, Sean,
Thanks for the reply. I might try the cold rolled as then I could use the skate as well. I could always change to a machined tool steel slide later.

Sean,
From metalsdepot, which one would you recommend for cold finished steel, the C1018 or the 4140 alloy. They also have hot rolled, geez there is a ton of different steels avail. :confused:

Tool steel grinds quite easily - the skate will have no grinding problem with it. But you will have a length problem. The skate's wheels need extra distance at each end, past the finish ground surface.

Table saw grinding is so easy and so quick. It won't damage the bearings of your saw at all if they are the sealed type (as they should be for sawdust)

Thanks Gerald.:)

almost done. Just wiring to do
 

I made quite a bit of progress this week:
-finished the z-slide and is mounted on the y car
-mounted motor and spring mount
-made custom holddown for y car. I substituted a 1.625" of cam follower with stud for the roller per plan. I will post pics later tonight.
-all painted.

Only thing left to do is wire it up. Shielded cable arrives on Monday. Maybe I might be cutting by next week if I am lucky.

Sean

progress photos...
 

As promised, a few photo's from the dusty shop!
Attachment 944

Attachment 945

Attachment 946

Sean,

Nice progress. Would you mind taking another picture of the router mount (when its convenient). I had to cut the back corners off mine because they interfered with the fastening hardware on the V-rollers. Not a big deal, just curious why yours fits better.

Started painting parts this week. Cleaning up shop tomorrow and making permanent home for the beast.

Looking forward to your first project. And they thought Picasso was good :)

Greg,
First of all, that is a K2CNC porter cable 7518 mount.
It has 6 - 10-32 mounting bolts. To make the clearance, I just put in a machined spacer 3/8" long on each spot to achieve the proper clearance.

As far as the first job - I have already built all the cabinet files that need to be cut asap. Lots and lots of cabinets and specialty fiberglass core shapes.......I can't get this beast done quick enough.

Sean,

Don't worry about the pic, that's good enough.

Trust me, I know how you feel. :D

I would much rather see pictures of your cabinets.

Good going Sean! :)

That roller cam follower seems to have a potential problem; The difference in diameter between the roller, and the shaft, needs to be quite big. The roller needs to reach in behind the car and fill the space where the rack has been removed.....if that makes sense??

gerald,
your concerns are noted. As you mention, the roller height needs to reach up and under the rail to "capture" the rail. The roller as you see it is undersized in diameter by almost 1/2 inch. To make up the difference, I offset the shaft mounting hole in adapter plate vertically 3/8. On my machine it appears to work with no modifications. The cam follower "touches" 3/4" of the underside of the angle iron and "hangs" off by 1/8 due to its width being 7/8" This change is not for everyone, it was an item I had in stock at the shop.
I don't recommend anyone try this modification unless they know all the implications.
Thanks for all your great advice and oversight - its really nice to have an owners/assembly manual with feedback.

It is the yellow plate on the right that worried me:

its close! But for now it works. If not, I have the proper bearing per plan with the 50mm OD. It would just take a few
minutes to mount it. Thanks for the follow up. I am certain all the lurkers on the forum are watching!

The forum seems to have died down a lot over the last two days - do you guys now have grass that needs mowing? :D

I have, I am posting pics for suggestion in my personnel page.:)

Today was a good day.
Leko was in florida visiting and came by to help with the Orlando Mechmate!
We got all the shielded cable for the steppers and the 12/3 SO cable run through the cable chains.
Next, is to get all the connectors on and button stations mounted.

Gerald,
The cam follower ended up being to close for comfort on clearance. I mounted the proper bearing today and all works well. I will post pics when I remember my camera!

Thanks Matthew for helping....a good 2 hours well spent on the MM!

#5 Is ALIVE!
 

Finally,

In the immortal words of Dr. Frankenstein .... IT'S ALIVE!
That day has come when the blue steel in my shop sings, moves, dances and even remembers when to go home!

I have a little Mach 3 debugging and set-up, but otherwise all working well and responding to program feed.

I have to tune the motors and a little wiring clean-up....but we just might try and cut something tomorrow....we will see!

Oh happy day. :cool:

Very cool Sean,

Pictures as soon as you can. :)