Finally
 

Glad to Report we are finally on too the last of the painting!!

Paul and I finally got around to painting most of the smaller parts for both our MM's. We also managed to paint all the racks and some of the rails, so we are starting to get there now!!

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0893.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0895.jpg

Hopefully next weekend we shall finish the rails and make a start on both gantrys and cars before then tackling both the tables :D

Paul has also been doing a bit of work behind the scene getting all our electrical sorted out, he brought my Bob board down on the weekend so thought I would throw up a photo of that and the painted parts.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0892.jpg

Cheers
Tony.

Update!!

Spider starting to take shape :D

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0896.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0899.jpg

Cheers
Tony.

Lookin Very Very Blue !!!
 

Hey all,

More painting done today!! finished all the rails and a couple of little bits and pieces we missed on the last painting day.

We managed to get both gantrys and both cars painted today, and pretty happy with the end result :)

Done some prep work on the wheel set up for Pauls table and I have decided do do exactly the same for mine, so will be buying some wheels through the week. So hopefully steel for the wheels for both tables, should be fitted and primed next week ready for the final paint there after of both tables :D

Anyway enough of me raving on in excitment and on to the photos :D

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0900.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0905.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0901.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0903.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0907.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0909.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0910.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0912.jpg

I also purchased 2 x Mach 3's today for our control computers so will be starting to move with that soon too.

Come on Paul lets see what you been up too with all the electrical and electronics side of our builds ;) no need to be shy!! I wanna see it! !:D

Cheers
Tony.

A great thread
 

Hi Tony
I am also looking forward to the completion of your machine as I have been following your informative thread from the begining, you are making very professional looking machines. I have just started on my machine which is based on virtually the same dimensions as yours.

Regards Neil

Gee, did you have to paint the WHOLE groundsheet??!!:D

You just keep right on ticking the boxes there Tony and Paul.
It is always good to see your progress.

Regards
Ross

...G, that's funny!

No Way Gerald!!
Its just a very popular colour :D

Done a little bit of pre assembly today just to gather some of the parts together to provide a little bit more space to work in the garage. Attached some of the MM vinyl loggo's today, really makes it look the part now :D

Steel supports and wheels should be mounted and primed for both tables tomorrow, so hopefully from here it is all down hill to the finish:)

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0942.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0940.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0941.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0945.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0944.jpg

Cheers
Tony.

MMM's Mobile MechMate's
 

Hi All,

Last of the fabrication finished today after finishing welding and bolting the wheels to both tables. MM's are both now very mobile, and move with ease :D

We have set the wheels so that when the Adjusta Feet are wound up, the table then sits on the wheels providing approx 30mm clearance.
If more clearance is required for whatever reason the feet could be removed all together and would provide 75mm clearance from the ground to the underside plate on the bottom of each leg which should more than enough to tackle the roughest surface.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0949.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0950.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0951.jpg

I think I should have fitted the wheels to the tables much earlier in the build, as it is now so easy to move the table around :)

Just got to finish the painting of both tables now and then its on to the final final assembly and setup.

Cheers
Tony.

Hi All !!

Drilled and painted all the holes in the steel cross supports for bolting up the base board, boy am I glad thats now outa the way:p
Skippy also started assembly of his spider and the last of the bob mounting boards.
Too windy and the threat of rain halted the painting of the tables so that will need to wait until hopefully next weekend, then its on to the final assemble and commisioning :D

Cheers
Tony.

Tables Painted !! Now on to The Final Assembly
 

Hey All!!

We finally had some absolutely awesome weather today so we got stuck right into the table painting.

First up was my table

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0968.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0971.jpg

Skippy got stuck into cutting up our empty Bundy Rum cans for shims, I think we shall have more than enough for both tables :eek:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0969.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0972.jpg

With my table painted and moved back into the garage it was time to get Skippy's table painted!!

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0974.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0976.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0977.jpg

Twin MM's :D

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0979.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0981.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_0982.jpg

Really starting to look forward to having these baby's humming and cutting soon :)

Cheers
Tony.

Looking good. Makes me think how I loved putting it together two years ago.

Thanks Kobus!!

Read through your thread from beggining to end, what a journey!! The building of the MM certainly gives you a great sense of achievment!! I'm loving it!! Big thanks to all before me for all the info on these forums :)

Ross (surfcnc) dropped me over a longer straight edge to work with earlier today, so I dissappeared into the garage tonight for a little while, and could not help myself so as usual a few more pics of the progress :D

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...IMG_1037-1.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1042.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...IMG_1038-1.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...IMG_1044-1.jpg

Cheers
Tony.

Hi Tony, I like your little angle meter. I saw them awhile ago , but did not buy it at the time. When I went back later they were sold out and the next shipment is only due in October.

Looking Good.
 

Hi Tony
It is all looking good, not long now until I will be able to hear the yell of joy from my place..

Keep up the good work and keep the photo's coming..

Pete

Hi Tony,

I'm loving your build(s). Coming along very nicely.

I mentioned in my build I am thinking of "stealing" your wheel idea for my table. Do you have the specs (and a source) for those? Just need to do some sizing calculations.

Thanks Nick

Hi Pete,

Thanks for your comments on the builds, much appreciated!! Listen for me, you will hear me :D
Need to catch up at some stage and talk some MM talk sometime ;)


Nick,

Wheels were purchased here in Brisbane from Richmond Wheel & Castor Co
www.richmondau.com
They have offices in Clayton South VIC, Salisbury QLD, Wetherill Park NSW, St Marys SA, Kewdale WA, Auckland NZ.
Should be able to access the info you need on their web site.

Update:
2 x 3600 x 1800 x 32mm Moisture Resistant MDF sheets for the main support board and 4 x 2440 x 1220 x 16mm spoil boards delivered today, boy am I glad I dont have to handle those 32mm thick sheets too often approximately 130KG per sheet!!
So guess what we are doing this coming weekend!!

I think I need a larger garage too!!

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1048.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1047.jpg


Cheers
Tony.

Gut buster lift !!
Not that I'm implying you have a gut :)
Regards
Ross

Tony,
It's been great following this build from the wine bottle measures til now. Well done and thanks for the advice along the way. I'm lining up my leg sub-assemblies (clamping and so on) based on your pics way back when.

To follow on from Nick's question. Is each wheel rated to carry the full weight of the table or did you divide table weight between a few wheels?
I assume you raise your table feet to get the wheels to engage?

Red

Hi Red,

Each wheel is rated to 500Kg and we have a wheel fitted to each corner of the table, should be more than enough:)

Glad my Build thread is being of help to you and others and I look forward to seeing your build progress.

Cheers
Tony.

Todays Progress!!

The day started with a struggle trying to move those very large 32mm thick MR MDF sheets for cutting to size, all went well until we went to move the first one onto my table when all of a sudden I had a massive jolt of pain in my lower back:eek: on with the support belt again and a few pain killers later and work was all on again. Paying for it now though:( Look after your backs guy's it's no fun when you have operations, and you never know when it's going to stuff up again and again!!

Once both support boards were done we leveled up the tables, set up all the X and Y rails, mounted the gantrys and the cars and finally the Z's. I have amazed myself with the accuracy we are getting across all areas of the X, Y and Z axis's.
We also managed to run the first cable through the E-Chains to the spindle.

Skippy is heading OS for the next three weeks and I will travelling interstate over the next two weeks hopefully in between times I can mount the racks and motors whilst Skippy is away, so all that will be left is the wiring and commisioning when he gets back :D
Anyway on with the photos I hear you all say!!

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1049.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1051.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1053.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1055.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1056.jpg

And a couple of very happy Chappies!!:D

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1059.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1058.jpg

Cheers
Tony.

This afternoons Update!!

I primed/prepared the rails and racks and fitted them together on my table using thedouble sided tape, stuck like S*#T to a blanket!!
I also fitted all the motors and the idler arm so my machine is now completely finished other than the wiring and commisioning.

I will get Skippy's racks and motors done next weekend hopefully, then I have some work and wheels to mount on my control box :D

Anyway heres todays progress.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1065.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1064.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1060.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1061.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1062.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1063.jpg

Cheers
Tony.

Hi Tony,

I would like to congratulate you on your builds. I enjoy loitering around here and watching the Australian builds, before long we will have more Mechmates than the rest of the world put together :)

It shouldn't be long before you have both machines going, the wiring doesn't take all that long...

Keep those posts comming,

Jayson.

Thanks Jayson!!

Yes it is getting that way, several builds underway in Aus which is good to see :D
Our builds have really slowed over the last couple of weeks with not much too report, as skippy and I have been working away either interstate or OS :(
Hopefully in the next week or two we should be back into full swing again.
I did however have a couple of spare hours last week and again today so I mounted all Skippy's racks and motors, so both tables are at the same stage and ready for wiring, so yeh hopefully not long now until we are cutting :)

Cheers
Tony.

The workmanship you guys have shown here on this thread is very impressive,thank you for sharing,it is a great inspiration.

Thanks John, much appreciated!!

Done a little bit more today fitting all the limit switches and fitting the rubber grommets into the boxes for the cables to run through.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1201.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1204.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1202.jpg

Also fitted the brackets which will end up holding the PVC dust extraction pipe, which we will than attach to the dust foot to with some flexible hose.
Back into the electrics electronic setup next weekend.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMG_1205.jpg

Cheers
Tony.

I see shiny surfaces covered in dust one of these day's ;)

Your machine is very slick. I really like how it came out. I've seen a number of builds with a similar cable tray that you are using. Where did you purchase this? The tray with the slots in it?

I worry about the rigidity of your spindle holder.

You see the dust extractor holder Ken

LOL! how did I miss that!
great built!

Ken, don't worry, I did a double take too...then saw the "hunk of metal with a hole" on the other side of the spider! LOL

GREAT build....Jealous I am.

Sean

very nice build,

i think that the pipe clamps dont fit on your machine as everthing else is so well made and those brackets look cheap.

LOL !!

Guys C'mon!! did you all think I was going to start cutting corners at this late stage of the project:D

mrghm,
I agree with you regarding the look of the pipe brackets;) they just do not look right. However I do think they will look very different when they are painted MM Blue and the bolts are changed over to nice shiny Zinc ones:) If they still do not look good after that then I will make something else up.

Cheers guys and thanks for the comments, considering my concerns in my first initial post I think I have overcome them all, and more. Big thanks has too go out to all on the forums as without them and the forums we may never have got these builds off the ground!!

Cheers
Tony.

Tony,
I personally think the dust collection bracket looks perfect. Nice depth and clamping is simple. "less is more"

Sean

The dust collector pipe, if rigidly attached to the foot, needs regular adjustment for foot height, plus complete removal/installation for various types of jobs. A pipe clamp system with only one screw and a quick-release would be perfect . . . . . . . .

Thanks Guys,

Have not put the finall thoughts into the dust foot yet, however the plan would be to have flexi pipe from the rigid pipe held in the brackets to the dust foot, so the dust foot would travel up and down with the spindle. Also looking to have flexi pipe from the top of the rigid pipe up to the dust extraction. :)
But that said, I do need to put a little more thought into it, and how it is going to work.

Cheers
Tony.

Moving dustfoot is cool to look at but Rigit foot is more practical. especially when changing tool bits...

Ken,

Changing bits with the dust foot on does not need to be hard if you accomodate this in the design of the dust foot :)

Cheers
Tony.

With my simpleton rigid dust foot, I just need to raise the spindle & the whole tool bit is ready for changing...
I also treat the dust foot as a finger guard...
no hard feeling when the tool bit chew on it...
Best of all, I don't have to cut corners as there are no corners to cut ;)