Thanks for the ideas guys. I loosened everything off and it’s much better. I do agree that maybe the prints on the xz main may be the culprit and I was surprised these didn’t square up as I tightened it down. The tubes for the z axis are firmly(ish) held in place with the xz main’s tightened up just enough and it’s a lot better now. If it turns out to be a big issue I’ll try reprinting those big pieces again after adjusting my printer.
I followed some folks’ strategy and put some control rails down on my table to keep my gantry from wandering. It rolls smoothly now end to end without interruption. I just constrained the travel on the insides of each wheel with some 1/4" hardboard that I had laying around. unless I do something with a massive bit (unlikely) then they’re well out of the way of the router at the limits of its travel on the x axis.
Slow and steady: The belts are on, the wiring is connected for testing. I think all the wiring is such that I can’t screw it up (I’ll test that I’m sure) as long as the properly paired motors are connected. I just have to figure out where to mount the mini rambo and make the remaining connections.
Thanks, I have some ideas but it’ll mostly be testing what it can do and what I can do with the estlcam software just to understand it better.
I’ve been after a simple tall stool for my indoor project bench so that’s probably first up. I’ve been looking at some of the flat pack furniture ideas for cnc’s so something along those lines.
The other big project is to figure out to store this table when it’s not in use. I have ambitious ideas for storing this up flush with the ceiling but I’ve got to integrate it with a much bigger garage project I’ve been working towards for some time.
I had a chance to do a final check and connection tape up. I threw some wire protection on but I’m not thrilled with it but it’s better than just the bare small gauge wires. I also did try the hackaday tape measure thing and that is cool and should work well.
Next I set up the spoil board, and I printed off Dan Roesch’s hold downs and they’re pretty slick so thanks Dan. They sort of take some space away but realistically I don’t think it’s going to be an issue for 95% of the stuff I’m doing.
I have cut things! I had success but only after quite a few false starts and a period of deep inward reflection…
The only issue I ran into was that upon program start the spindle was trying to return to the origin (the power on position). It took me many tries to understand this as it seemed to do different things each time I started the program (am I taking crazy pills!$%&).
Of course in hindsight that was just because the last crash power off/power on position was changing the origin with each failed attempt.
I retreated to the forum and the reprap gcode info and found my answer with the reset origin at current position gcode (G92 X0.0000 Y0.0000 Z0.0000).
I was very relieved to see this work properly and at that point the program ran just like it should’ve problem free. I must have missed something in the estlcam setup but onwards I go.
How are you finding the dust collection ? I have a shop vac and also a dust collector with almost the same hose you have… not sure which way to go. I’m thinking the hose is not all that heavy if you have it drop from the ceiling.
Well it’s hardly a refined system at this point it was just a let’s not make a terrible mess strategy for the test. Considering this it worked alright.
I’ve seen the skirt idea around the router base and I’ll probably go that way with some brush material/foam as people have shown. I’ll also print a new hose adapter for the outlet of the dust port so I can go directly into the hose I’ve got. For the hose I just suspended with a bungee cord for the time being off an eye hook in the ceiling. I think that will work pretty well to take the weight of the hose, and to allow it the range of travel it needs. As this isn’t a permanent installation I want it to be able to be setup and torn down with relative ease but I also want it to be efficient as well. Very much a work in progress but I like a clean shop and it’s a lot easier to not make a mess in the first place than it is to have to clean it up all the time.
I haven’t tried yet, but when I put my hand on the end of my dust collector hose, it tries to shrink. It might not be a problem, but it might pull the gantry enough to make it wander. Also with the lowrider because we sit so close to the table I don’t know how well a brush will work. It’s going to get in the way pretty quick. I was hoping that with the amount of airflow the dust collector gives us, that we won’t need a brush. Still get the random chip flung out, but shouldn’t be too bad. All the fine stuff should get sucked up though. I just have to finish my thein separator first so I can start testing.
Step one accomplished in the better dust collection plan. Just made a couple of adapters for the outlet on the router side to my flex hose, and another for the flex hose again this time to my small shopvac. The fit seems to be enough to not need a hose clamp but I’ll see if it shakes out when it’s in motion.
Nice! If you find yourself needing it to drop from the ceiling, sewer pipe and elbows are dirt cheap from the hardware store. Just don’t cut it on your mitre saw.
Yeah good call, I’ve been there already and my simple central suction setup uses 2.5" dwv pipe. For now I’m sticking to the quasi mobile shop vac setup until I figure out what to do with the table in my space. I should have the router skirting finished this weekend and I’ve got some plans to build an enclosure for the shop van as well as a thein/cyclone baffle for the dust collection.
Given the time involved in the cutting it seems worth the effort to do some noise management too if I’ve got to be around to babysit while it’s happening. Maybe it will speed up my car project?
Really impressed with this, it’s just 1/4" melamine/mdf, I like the crisp edges. As I’ve only cut a little so far and only out of low grade plywood, and mdf, the edges haven’t been that crisp. I know this is down to the materials more than anything so this crisp edging was really nice to see. It’s awesome.
I also has some success with an enclosure for the ridgid shop vac for noise reduction. It’s just a box right now and I plan on adding some insulation/sound deadening to it but so far so awesome.
I didn’t get a all systems running reading but:
open air vacuum running = 79.8dbs
enclosed vacuum running = 72.5 (this probably was a little low as I realized I didn’t have enough ports for the air pressure inside)
all systems running LR2 in action with the enclosure = 77.8db
I’m hopeful that the insulation material will knock a few db’s off just by softening the inside edges and decoupling the vacuum from the cabinet. Either way, despite the numbers it was a very noticeable difference in noise, still not quiet but not pushing into the >80db range while running.
Not sure about availability these days but mass loaded vinyl is awesome for soundproofing. I covered my office door in it and the only sound I can hear comes through the walls now.
Good to know, it’s a pretty tight fit in the box as I didn’t want to create another big thing to take up space in the garage but I think I’ll end up using some of the dense foam insulation. It’s already much quieter so a definite success at this point.
Just playing around now with an idea to mount “rambo” and the LCD . This is just hanging on top of the z axis stepper at the moment but I’m thinking I’ll mount and cover all the hardware along with the cables and also mount the LCD in the the top surface. I’ve got everything hanging off the side of the table with zip ties currently. It works but it’s not a permanent solution for me.
