New member, sweet find at the auction, and a massive gantry

[exapprentice]

What

How did they get into this thread did I miss a comment or post somewhere

[Simko]

I got the belt reductions and motors mounted today. I still have a lot more wire management to do and I have to figure something out for limit switches. I bought some cheap $4.99 limit switches on Amazon (Amazon link), they seem to be OK, just have to figure out how to mount them at all the positions. What are people using for wiring for the limits? I have a 1000' spool of CAT-6 laying around, but I am not sure how it will last in the e-chain for the z-axis limit.

I'm surely not going to win any 'fastest builds' competitions, but things are moving along steadily. I spent the last two weeks getting better acquainted to the software packages and I feel like I know enough to be dangerous now.

[Capstone]

What are people using for wiring for the limits? I have a 1000' spool of CAT-6 laying around, but I am not sure how it will last in the e-chain for the z-axis limit.

image.jpeg

I had X/Y Home limit switches at first, but after a couple of upgrades to my gantry, I didn't reinstall them because I couldn't decide on how best to attach them and got frustrated with the process. Frankly, I haven't felt an urgent need to have them at all. My rapid speed is never above 150ipm, even with manual jog, so I have avoided any issues. The "Z" touch off switch is a given necessity however.

[exapprentice]

Hi Steve

If you can I would make sure your long travel, where you have the slave, has the ability to have adjustable contact.
My long travel is my X axis and have adjustable "A" & "X" home switch contact mechanics
This has allowed me to get the Y axis spot on square at the home position, I always home the X at the begining of the day
and when ever, just to make sure it starts square and stays square during the cutting day
I do have hard stops set up just past that point on all of the travel extremes

DSC00530.JPG (148.08 KiB) Viewed 3382 times

Only a suggestion

[acourtjester]

My 2 cents worth I have X,Y,and Z home and limit switches. Home and limit are the same switch for each axis. I put them on the moving part of the axis and only use one for each axis. I cannot see running wires to each end of travel as it is not needed with the way I have them setup. That being said I don't home may table but just start a cut by positioning the torch where I want to start and zero out the DROs and hit run. I use a switch with a roller on it, they make them with parallel or perpendicular rollers on them.

[Simko]

Thanks for the ideas... I have to go back out and stare at it some more and see what I can come up with

[Capstone]

ask yourself "Why do I need these?" and really consider it because it's a going to make for a lot more work. If you're like me and Jester, you'll always just pick a spot of blank metal, zero the DRO and run it.

[East German]

ask yourself "Why do I need these?" and really consider it because it's a going to make for a lot more work. If you're like me and Jester, you'll always just pick a spot of blank metal, zero the DRO and run it.

So I do that too
The switch is there for two years maybe more.
Goes well without

Regards Peter

[SeanP]

Me too for no limit or home switches apart from z, just zero up on sheet and work away, I have slipped up in the past and mistakenly positioned my sheet outside the cutting boundary, not sure if using software limits might have saved me there, I did meddle with them in the past but stopped using them for some reason.

[Thor]

Here's a pic of the home and limit switches on my gantry X axis. Basically same setup on the Y (long axis). If you have a gantry with dual motor drive you'll want home switches, and they need to be adjustable so you can square the gantry up properly. I dont have a home on Z as thats the floating head switch or the ohmic sensor. The home switches will really come into play on my table when I finish the rotary axis as the centerline of the rotary can be written into a fixture offset and always repeat to the same spot.

[steel 35]

If you have a gantry with dual motor drive you'll want home switches, and they need to be adjustable so you can square the gantry up properly.

Some days mine is out of square; before I reference. I am on this band wagon.

[acourtjester]

There is a use for these switches (safety, Initial setting for program locations, or squaring up the table in a dual motor setup) but many don't use them. It comes down to how you want to operate your table. I put them on the tables I have built for others, use so they have them. I also have an "E" stop switch (big red button) . I even put rubber bumpers at the end of travel for the X and Y axis just outside the limit switches.

[Simko]

Thanks everyone. I think I will only put home switches on the long axis (Y and A) and obviously on the Z-axis. I have hard stops everywhere and from what I have read, stalling a stepper will not damage it at all.

Thor... I really like that set-up with the ramps, but I don't think I could rig something like that up without going back to the machine shop. I'm thinking something along the lines of an adjustable bolt/nut combination.

[SeanP]

If you have a gantry with dual motor drive you'll want home switches, and they need to be adjustable so you can square the gantry up properly.

I just pull the gantry up to the welded hard stops which are square before turning on.

[Simko]

I took a little break from the table and put together a stand-up workstation using a tool cart from Harbor Freight. The lid on the tool cart as it comes from HF leans forward at about a 20 degree angle. I replaced the shocks on the lid with some locking hinges and drilled them so that the top would be perfectly vertical.

The computer fits on the bottom shelf well, but the CandCNC box is just down there temporarily.

I also need to do something about my custom-box-that-came-with-the-monitor-keyboard-stand.

I was very tempted to plug in all the motors and give it a quick test run, but I want to wait until I have some time to go through everything properly.

All I need to do is paint the table, build a water table and buy a plasma cutter and I will be cutting metal..

[HammerDownJustin]

I took a little break from the table and put together a stand-up workstation using a tool cart from Harbor Freight. The lid on the tool cart as it comes from HF leans forward at about a 20 degree angle. I replaced the shocks on the lid with some locking hinges and drilled them so that the top would be perfectly vertical.

The computer fits on the bottom shelf well, but the CandCNC box is just down there temporarily.

I also need to do something about my custom-box-that-came-with-the-monitor-keyboard-stand.

I was very tempted to plug in all the motors and give it a quick test run, but I want to wait until I have some time to go through everything properly.

All I need to do is paint the table, build a water table and buy a plasma cutter and I will be cutting metal..

image.jpeg

Best damn idea I have seen so far for the PC...

[Capstone]

Steve,

I had the 3x3 80/20 leftover from a previous gantry build along with some MDF and plenty of scrap. Built this little cart. for my PC/Monitor. It's great from a storage/mobility/workflow standpoint, especially since I updated the sides to include a custom tool hanging solution. The only drawback is the dust, and that's not a small thing. Just a side note, once things are up and running for a while, don't ever try to blow out the dust on your PC while it's running. It definitely fried my primary PC and forced me to use my back-up. Fortunately I thought ahead and bought two identical refurbs and use DropBox for all my files, so I was back up and running in about a day.

[acourtjester]

Different folks different strokes
I like the all in one controller here are ones for 2 tables I built.
Capstone with 2 identical PCs like that you can swap the hard drive or motherboard between the 2 for a quick fix as long as the you clone the hard drive before hand. Casper is a great program for doing that. This will not work unless the PC are identical, I bought 2 of the same DEll PC you used little plans ahead thing.

[SeanP]

It's a good point mentioning dust, even with a water table you still get a certain amount, PC's and controller box definetly get there fair share sucked in, I try and take them apart every couple of months and give them a good blast though of compressed air, from the airline, air cans are a waste of time for that job.
I have a office in the workshop that is well sealed off, but it still finds it's way in!

Steve,
The only drawback is the dust, and that's not a small thing. Just a side note, once things are up and running for a while, don't ever try to blow out the dust on your PC while it's running. It definitely fried my primary PC and forced me to use my back-up. Fortunately I thought ahead and bought two identical refurbs and use DropBox for all my files, so I was back up and running in about a day.

[Simko]

Steve,

I had the 3x3 80/20 leftover from a previous gantry build along with some MDF and plenty of scrap. Built this little cart. for my PC/Monitor. It's great from a storage/mobility/workflow standpoint, especially since I updated the sides to include a custom tool hanging solution. The only drawback is the dust, and that's not a small thing. Just a side note, once things are up and running for a while, don't ever try to blow out the dust on your PC while it's running. It definitely fried my primary PC and forced me to use my back-up. Fortunately I thought ahead and bought two identical refurbs and use DropBox for all my files, so I was back up and running in about a day.

That is a pretty sweet set-up.

I am also a litttle concerned about plasma dust. The PC will fit into the bottom drawer with plenty of extra room, but I haven't come to terms with cutting a hole through the back of the drawer/box to run wires and ventilation.

As for my files, I have an NAS that I will be using that I keep backed up on a regular basis. I should look into a back-up computer. No telling how long this 10-year old Dell Optiplex is going to last.

[Simko]

Different folks different strokes
I like the all in one controller here are ones for 2 tables I built.

Those are nice too. I like how little space they take up.

When I was buying the stuff to build mine, I was thinking that the drawers would come in handy to store small parts (consumables, scribe, manuals, half-eaten sandwiches ) Space is not at a premium in my shop, so I went with comfort over space efficiency.

Just in case anyone wants to put together something similar, here is what I used.

Harbor Freight 5-Drawer Tool Cart - $169 with coupon. This is probably one of the best deals that Harbor Freight carries. I still can't believe how stout this cart is for $169. Just as good, if not better than any Craftsman/Husky/Kobalt cart and a 1/3 of the price!

Harbor Freight Tool Cart Side Tray $19.99 with coupon

SNAP-ON locking hinges $11.25 delivered

Flat-screen mount - $17.58 at Walmart. They normally carry these in-store, but you must ask for online pricing as they are marked almost $30 in the store.

[exapprentice]

Just thought I would add my slant for a work station into the mix
following on from Tom's "different strokes different folks" comments and how we all seem to solve the same challenges but in totally different ways.
This is what I came up with after looking around to find what bits and pieces I had available
The bottom cabinet is an old glass fronted two door cabinet and contains the Dell and all the CandCNC, drivers & electronics for the machine,
I ran door seals around all the openings to help minimise the crap getting in
The screen is a old 50" flat screen TV, mounted behind glass, needless to say I don't need to put my specs on when stood on the other side of the machine (old age thing) the upper cabinet was made from 1/4" plywood ( ) yes wood, the screen shot is what I see when I use the screen option on the PN200
The bottom cabinet is fitted with two cabinet fans which draw air in at the bottom through a filter just to keep things cool.
I put the drop down shelf below the screen for the keyboard and mouse and also a place to keep those essential things you sometimes need (but can never find)great thing is when its closed it keeps all the crap out

This is what I ended up with after building a 10' x 5' table in a 16' x 12' shed

Old glass fronted cabinet

C-box 2.jpg (156.78 KiB) Viewed 3172 times

who needs glasses

C-box 1.jpg (139.98 KiB) Viewed 3172 times

Cabinet fan /s in lower cabinet

C-cab 3.jpg (145.42 KiB) Viewed 3172 times

A BIG sorry to Steve (simko) for hi-jacking the thread, just couldn't help myself

[Simko]

Just thought I would add my slant for a work station into the mix
following on from Tom's "different strokes different folks" comments and how we all seem to solve the same challenges but in totally different ways.
This is what I came up with after looking around to find what bits and pieces I had available
The bottom cabinet is an old glass fronted two door cabinet and contains the Dell and all the CandCNC, drivers & electronics for the machine,
I ran door seals around all the openings to help minimise the crap getting in
The screen is a old 50" flat screen TV, mounted behind glass, needless to say I don't need to put my specs on when stood on the other side of the machine (old age thing) the upper cabinet was made from 1/4" plywood ( ) yes wood, the screen shot is what I see when I use the screen option on the PN200
The bottom cabinet is fitted with two cabinet fans which draw air in at the bottom through a filter just to keep things cool.
I put the drop down shelf below the screen for the keyboard and mouse and also a place to keep those essential things you sometimes need (but can never find)great thing is when its closed it keeps all the crap out

A BIG sorry to Steve (simko) for hi-jacking the thread, just couldn't help myself

No need to apologize for hi-jacking... I like seeing everyone's ideas. I would much rather read posts on here about how someone built their cabinet, as opposed to posts about someone asking for the group to trace a picture of their cat. I kinda wish there was an even more active DIY/CNC build/cool garage ideas forum on this site. I sometimes go to CNCZone for a fix, but their Plasma/Waterjet cutting forum doesn't get too much traffic.

50" screen I thought I was big pimpin with the 24" monitor..

[exapprentice]

Hi Steve

Just couldn't say no, the TV cost me £20 ($28) in a second hand shop

I agree I also enjoy reading about how other members come up with some really innovative solutions and how there is always another way
maybe not the right or the cheapest ways but its a result and others can work it out from their own needs if it works for them.

I love the techie stuff and some of the banter we get, life is to short

whoops, I just noticed the two tins of "Hamerite paint" under my Dell, (air flow, that's what they're for)

[Capstone]

Different folks different strokes
I like the all in one controller here are ones for 2 tables I built.
Capstone with 2 identical PCs like that you can swap the hard drive or motherboard between the 2 for a quick fix as long as the you clone the hard drive before hand. Casper is a great program for doing that. This will not work unless the PC are identical, I bought 2 of the same DEll PC you used little plans ahead thing.

On the first failed PC, it was definitely a piece of dust that mucked up the hard-drive, which meant all that swapping got me no closer to a running machine than just firing up the new one and reloading the software. Had it been a CPU or MoBo, then sure but in this case it was just more time wasting.

BTW, I really like the repurposed plasma TV, the only issue I see from a workflow standpoint is not being able to look at the table as you look at the DRO/Screen. For me, that's super critical to see the table for torch height and behavior while glancing at what the screen says, but also helpful for nesting parts on metal and just general setups.