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Thanks Andy, so my XY frame being the next size up is definitely Aluminium all around.
For those reading this, that's the 1200 x 900 Frame. Paul. |
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Odd, my 900x600 frame is all anodized aluminum except the steel rod inserts.
Speaking of which, I extended the rod on top just to see how that would work out. It worked fine. If I ever have the need the disassemble things I'll do the bottom. Why? So right now I relocated my limit switch an I get just over 36" of X movement. When I extend the bottom I'll have about 37". Figure it might make working with real 36" material easier. Not a high priority . First I need to get my Z axis going. |
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Just when we were going to bug ya about your Z-Axis too Joel!..................
(My Drive Shafts are Steel btw) So are your Angle brackets Aluminium Joel? Don't see them using Steel if the rest of your XY Frame is Ally. Paul. |
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My brackets are also Aluminum.
Ya, the Z-Axis has been crawling along. The only progress since the last photos is I printed and mounted the lead screw lift brackets to the smoke box supports. Not much to speak of. Next step is to make the lower lead screw mount and stepper mount. This assembly is what supports the weight of the box on the lead screw. I'm debating if I should put in a thrust bearing or If I think a radial ball bearing will do. Joel |
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Z-Axis
Neil from iGull over here in the UK did some Z Axis trials Joel. Maybe worth a read of someone else's experience..........
http://www.buildlog.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=751 Cheers Paul. |
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Lightobject Parts
So, as I believe in credit where credit's due. For those following my missing parts saga.
I have, as of today received my missing brackets, prising them out of the clutches of the Royal Mail with another Customs charge Lightobject were kind enough to reply with the following: "Hello, really sorry for your long wait, we've got some good news for you, we've ordered the missing parts from China and the shipment just arrived today, We've ordered 4 of the brackets, and going to send them to your address below" I'm still not sure what happened over that last 3 months, or why they couldn't come straight from China to the UK.............but glad we got there in the end. Let the work commence.......... Paul. UK |
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I'm sorry you had to wait so long, but at least you got them!!
SteveT. |
Latest blog entry: My old shop....
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I went back to work on my Z-axis today and made good progress.
There's the lower bearing blocks I 3D printed. Added a cross member to the bottom of the vertical rails. Those will support the lower bearing blocks, stepper motor bracket and chain guides. The chain will form a rectangle so it can go around the exhaust duct. I'll see if I can get a stepper mount drawn up and ready to print in the next day or two and then the chain guide mounts. I will look for some square plastic tube that the chain can run through. I moved the smoke box up and down by hand and it seems to move well. I will likely have to add another 36V supply for the stepper, it will take some juice to hold. I was going to run a stepper on each side, but don't want to worry about missed steps over time. Joel |
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Looking good!!
SteveT. |
Latest blog entry: My old shop....
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Z Axis is done and working.
I don't often engrave or cut things that the table need to be dropped much, where I find it most handy is when switching between my cutting and engraving lenses. I used to have to drive the head to a rear corner and then pull the smoke box forward so I could drop the lenses out ( whole nozzle assembly ). Now I can just lower the table. I had one instance where I could have engraved a piece but it was not flat, had a taper that was 1" different one end to another. This got me to thinking about making the table tilt. So I added the ability to control the left and right sides independently. If this ends up being really useful, might add it to all 4 corners. With a Z axis, I think I could have handled a taper that way as well, but the Z axis is not very fast, tilting the table lets me run X-Y full speed. Joel |
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Very nice Joel!!
Just out of curiosity, what head do you have on your laser? SteveT. |
Latest blog entry: My old shop....
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The head is what came on the Light Object 900x600 X-Y, nicely done. The original lens barrel has a 50mm lens, the second one has a 75mm lens. easy to swap now. The whole X-Y kit seems better than anything I've seen. That is what drove me to the DIY instead of EBay unit. Even though the DIY cost more in the end. I'm sure I could run this all day every day with a lot less issues.
https://www.lightobject.com/Laser-He...long-P956.aspx https://www.lightobject.com/XLE-900-...anty-P762.aspx |
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Yes, I believe that is the same as this one, which I have been looking at for my laser.
Oops.. Edit, it is not the same, and I was just told they do not actually sell the same one as what comes in the XY kit. SteveT. |
Last edited by SteveT.; Jul 24, 2019 at 07:01 PM.
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now that I have a z axis and it's easy to change the table height, I tried some thicker material. I was able to cut through a 2x4 ( really 1.5" ) . It took 80% power and 3mm/S but went clean through.
With my 75mm lens, there is obvious taper, but that's to be expected. Joel |
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Hi all, I just started reading through this thread.
A shout out to Andy K....I have a number of your SC3 esc running in FE from the rumrunnerFE forum days:-) I'm building a laser this week, primarily to cut Adams 5mm brown/white foam board for flitetest plans. My initial plan was to overbuild in the form of a RECI W4 100 watt tube. But further research leads me to believe 100 watts will not give ideal resolution needed for foamboard. And foamboard is the current priority. Is a RECI W1 75 watt tube still too strong? Open to other tubes of similar price point/quality. Thank you, Mike |
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