ED,
Sounds like a good place to open up a good hardware store! Maybe a sideline for ya. :)

Here's a pic of prototype (MDF) left and final version (PVC) on the right of my dust control foot. More pic's later when installed.

Attachment 1657

This is going to be interesting!

Greg,

Gerald took the words out of my mouth. I will also be following this with interest.

Skirting Needs Work
 

Works pretty good, but the skirting could be better.

With DC System operating,
Attachment 1660

With DC System Off,
Attachment 1661

Greg,

I think a hair brush skirt will work better.

... I think somebody figured out how to Pocket a part!
Nice work, as always.

Yea, I'm gonna play with an assortment of "things", and see what's best for my shop.

Yep, that VCarve Pro is nice to work with. Very user friendly.

Next is Cut3D. :) ... well, maybe after I make my wife something special.

Simplicty is a beautiful thing!

That's a good looking design job on the dust foot. Congrats are in order.

Thanks J.R.,

That means allot, when a comment like that comes from you. :)

I read your posts, and you said that a thicker plastic skirt was better. I ordered the 0.040 inch thick Polyurethane, but with the high volume DC system, it's still not thick enough. The education is half the fun.

Greg I really got lucky when I went to see a friend about a vacuum pump. He owns a refrigeration company and has helped me out more than once. It wasn't looking to good this time, the pumps he had just wouldn't work for our application. He did however still save the day. Rolled up in a bucket was some of the vinyl/plastic strips used to kinda seal off the open door of a walk in freezer. It's about 1/8" thick, very flexible and must be antistatic (sawdust is not attracted to it). And, the price was right, anyway we had already tried a few other types of vinyl/plastic that didn't work so what did we have to loose. Well let me say this stuff is the ticket. We just made vertical cuts every 1/2" all the way up to the foot about 1 3/4" in the clear and screwed it on. It doesn't catch on anything, doesn't try to tear, and best of all it can handle almost all (98.37% more or less:)) of the chips and dust generated. The stuff has worked really good on my machine and I would highly recommend it. One last note, Lowes Building Supply stores uses it in their rear door and they drive their forklift through it carrying bundles of wood, so if it's tough for that it's tough enough for our use. If you can lay your hands on some give a try I think you will like it.

Thanks J.R.,

1/8 inch thick ... would have taken me a long time to get there from 0.040 inch. :)

I'm going to try some thicker vinyl/plastic strips and some hair brush.

Stay tuned. ;)

I've heard that some people cut up computer mouse pads for skirts.

Nice work Greg, will you share your G-code for that nice piece of work you did. I now need to get the dust under control on old BBB.

Kobus,

Don't know how usefull my G code will be to you. I have a 6 inch DC system and a Milwaukee 5620 router. It's easier to design your own than to modify someone else's code.

Your (or anyone) are more than welcome to the G code if you really want it. I'll post it later this evening under the download thread.

Hi Gerald and everyone I tried the mouse pad trick and find that too many wood sliver got caught in the sponge material I had to remove in the middle of a cut .Might work ok for mdf or hdu or plastic

New Dust Foot Skirt
 

Here's are a couple of pic's showing a new skirt for the dust foot. Its works very good if cutting MDF. I haven't tried PVC yet, but I think it will have to be enclosed for that.

I have some 1/4 " vinyl to experiment with also. More pic's later.

Attachment 1735

Attachment 1736

You sir deserve the title "Craftsman". Congratulations.

Greg, Thats a very nice dust foot that's so simplistic and yet functional. It's amazing how people with good ideas can come together and share those ideas to produce something that is better than a lot of commercial offerings for a fraction of the cost. I'm just starting my build and I feel like I'm already part of the community from all the help I've received just asking questions before I start my build. My hats off to Gerald and fellow builders. Great Job Greg!

Beautiful pictures Greg. I jumped to attention when I saw the flags! :D

I think that brush is going to be very functional. Maybe you need an alu cover strip to pinch the brush to the foot along its length, so that the PVC brush backing doesn't tear at the screws. Our brush actually takes quite a hammering with time, and we have ordered some replacements now.

Greg,

The machine and dust foot look very good. Looks like you cleaned it up for magazine photos.

I would think that you would get additional pickup on the dust collection if the hair brush continued around to enclose the whole foot or you left a smaller opening so you can see. But the whole thing looks great. How is it at picking up dirt.

The whole machine looks toooo clean. You best be careful to leave some dirt or Gerald may take you #13 away from you. Oh, I forgot you have his picture over seeing things so you are OK.

Did you think of cutting the same profile for your dust collection out of plexiglass?

Thanks Guys.

I haven't had my MM operating 8 hours a day (yet), but I also haven't been cleaning the beast after every project. The high volume DC works great. I haven't finished the exhaust on the DC system and my equipment room is dusty. Maybe I'll post a pic of that tonight.

I really like the open front on the DC foot. Makes changing bits a snap. I still have some other skirt materials to experiment with. I may have to enclose the front when cutting plastics. Cutting plastics has much larger chips and it does escape the foot.

Strange Problem
 

I’m experiencing some strange problems.

Everything was operating fine. I made a new tool path in Vcarve Pro and saved it in Mach 2/3 ATC arc (inch) (*.txt) format.

I had been saving all previous tool paths in *.cnc format.

When I started cutting, the tool path was not right and acting strange. I stopped the program and haven’t been able to get the machine operational again. I've tried reloading a previous tool path and same results. Everything has been shut down and re-booted.

After the reset button is press, on the program run screen, the cycle start is blinking and wanting to start. I get a “nothing to feed hold” message. Not sure what that means.

On the settings screen, the override limits is blinking red.

On the diagnostics screen, the below input signals current states are lit
M1++Limit M1--Limit M1 Home
M2++Limit M2--Limit M2 Home
M3++Limit M3—Limit M3 Home
M4 Home

I am totally stumped on this one. Any help is appreciated.

That sounds like a loose wire / bad connection of an input to the PMDX, or a bad parallel cable between the PMDX and the PC, or maybe even a loss of power supply to the PMDX ??

Thanks Gerald,

I was focused on a software issue. I'll check the control box and other hard wiring this morning.

Gerald,

Damn, your good. :) It's amazing what kind of support a SA flag will buy these days. ;)

It wasn't a loose connection, but the hot wire exiting the main contactor was not making contact. It looked good, and it didn't move. But continuity and voltage checks showed a bad connection. I removed and replaced the one connection and everything works. :D Weird. :confused:

Thanks for the help. I was getting stressed because my young (18 yrs) friend from Zimbabwe is coming over this morning to see the MM. He's been in the U.S. for only 4 months and bored silly. Maybe I can make a MM CNC operator out of him. :)

Ah, glad you found the problem! Did you perhaps pinch the insulation of the hot wire out of the relay?

Zimbabwe are our troubled northern neighbours - lots of them are in South Africa at the moment to escape their strife. They are generally good and hard workers.

No, I didn't "test" the insulation. I'll go back and double check.

Yea, this Kid (actually a young man, anyone younger than me is a kid. :)) is very polite and a pleasure to have around. You should have seen him light up when he saw the MechMate. He must have said "that is so cool" a half dozen times. Didn't want to leave, but his mother was calling.

Thanks for the help. You hooked a young man on MM, and made my day.

Shop Pests
 

Saw this guy (rattle snake) trying to enter my shop this evening. I jumped 10 feet in the vertical direction when we met. :)

Attachment 1763

Which of you two are too scared to move? Or, are one of you dead? :eek:

Let's just say, I'm still drinking beer. :)

At that time you need GUMBOOTS ...the poo needs to be kept neatly INSIDE:D

The only good thing about that thing is it would make a nice belt:D
You probably made another door on the other side of your door:D

Greg,

The only snakes I have seen in my yard is my local black snake. I am glade I don't have to worry about 3' one of those rattler kind.

Greg,
Is it safe to pick them up like that? :eek:

Heath,

Yea, it's safe. I liked that picture because it's hard to tell that the head is no longer there. Dead snakes will still move long after you've killed them. If you don't cut off the head, they can still bite you long after (up to an hour) they are dead.

How I handle snakes
 

The only way I deal with rattlesnakes (makes me quiver just to type the word) is at the end of a shotgun 20 feet away. Oh wait, I don't have a shotgun, I guess you know what direction I go in.

Kevin

Geeeez, Gerald, you didn't waste any time archiving that birthday thread. :D

'Life should begin with age and its privileges and accumulations, and end with youth and its capacity to splendidly enjoy such advantages.'
- Samual Clement's Letter to Edward Dimmitt, 7/19/1901