Mavs Build

[Mav68erick]

Got my steel saturday, they sell drops and end pieces from there big warehouse so stuffs cheaper since it doesnt have papers. Didnt have any 1/8 wall longer then 3ft. So i got 3/16. I coulda got new sticks but it was still cheaper to get the 3/16 so I figured heavyier duty and less chance for warpage when welding.

I started sunday but it was so dam hot I stopped after cutting the 2 62" pieces, got bored got some 90* framing clamps and got to tacking the 2 side peices together to see physically how much space I was going to take up. I need to cut my 2 other 44" and grind or trim down my other 2 56", I hate abrasive cutoff saws I had 2 exactly 56 and the other 2 were a little over 56 1/32.

I really liked using these clamps, But I still double checked with a square before I tacked it.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/table3.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/table2.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/table1.jpg

In case anyone wonders, the oven is for powder coating, its my Uncles.

[wickedinhere]

NIce, i started to go with the 2 inch tubing for my whole table but used the plans for 3x3 tubing instead. I hope to have my table done this week, are you gonna put castor wheels on yours?

[Mav68erick]

casters maybe maybe not, gonna make leveling feet but its going in a corner so dont see moving it much can always add later. heres 2 more pics I tried to load this morning but the pc locked up.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/table5.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/table4.jpg

[wickedinhere]

The reason i am gonna do casters on mine is so i can roll it outside to paint it.LOL

[wickedinhere]

Did you ever decide which plasma cutter you were gonna go with?

[Mav68erick]

I got my powermax 65. Last week used it by hand looked pretty good on 1/4"

[Mav68erick]

Ok heres what I was talking about in wickeds post Matt.

1. Its lever on both sides and on the same plane
2. the water table supports measure 6" in all 4 spots, so both planes are parallel
3. Is a drawing of what I mean, the 2x2 bars have slight twist in them. at one end they will be perpindicualr to the water table
or be .4 - .5* off measured with my digipass digital level. This off course will make the support rail either higher or lower, Over the 2" length of the bar its only .011 difference in height So I guess if the bar is level with the other side bar it shouldnt be to bad of an issue, maybe Ill tap and bolt the support rails to the gear rack prior to welding, or grind 90% of my tack welds down to help synch it up with the hardened rail.

I was just concerned that if one was .4 off one way, the other side off the other if you drew a straight line from them to the center of the table here would be 1* total which in reality 1* off over a 31" span because thats the apex point of the 62" width shouldnt be to bad now that I think about it. Its just that Ive machined dies and stuff manually and know if things are perfect it really bites you in the ass in the end, and was just a concern. OCD for the lose = )



http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/TableExample.jpg?t=1311526085

[jeepsr4ever]

You can have one rail lower or higher but not unequal along the rail (as best you can fab it to be). We allow up to .200 max in our built tables here.

[Mav68erick]

whens our stuff getting shipped = )

[wickedinhere]

Hows your table looking? Have you started on the water tray?

[Mav68erick]

Heres what is thus far, everythings still only tacked together. The feet on it are just temporary that I tacked on that had the nuts welded on to adjust it so I could level it out when I put it together, because I made the 2 main rail sides as 1 piece with my 4 90* framing clamps. I got some plates I may use to use casters but I wanna see If I can fit a leveling foot on the same plate, I see no need for me to move it but It would be nice I just dont wanna spend the money for good casters, I spent 100 bucks on 4 for my car jig because I bought some cheep HF ones before and they didnt hold up, and the ones I got at Tractor supply were steel and had grease fittings, So I knew theyd last.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/plasma2.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/plasma1.jpg

[jeepsr4ever]

Looks good! Gantry kit should be in your hand by the end of the week here.:blob2:

[Mav68erick]

I hope I get a call for my stuff today or its gonna be a long weekend. :)

[wickedinhere]

I hope we both get a call today. LOL

[Mav68erick]

no call = ( I guess there's still 1 day in the week, doubt Ill get a call tomorrow. Was even asked If I wanted to work 6 hrs on saturday, but after working 8 hrs every day I didnt wanna waste my weekend especially if I was gonna get to work on my stuff, I basically declined an easy 180 bucks = /

[jeepsr4ever]

I will check tracking for you on sunday. Nobody delivers freight on a saturday.

[Mav68erick]

Poop, guess Im gonna just frame my water table in if the steel place has the right angle iron, maybe go to Harbor freight and buy one of there 20 ton presses that are on sale and get the Swag Press Brake kit, might as well get ready to bend some stuff.


But heres a question, How long does the water table need to be Obviously I can make it 56" to fit between the rails, was it 56 x 54? I was just gonna make it 56 x 56, Or make it the full length to lay bigger sheet down, except the slats wont be flush with the top of the angle iron so water levels would be lower.

[wickedinhere]

I have the 20 ton press with the swag brake kit it works great, make sure to get his arbor plates the ones that come with the press are junk. I made my pan 54x54 that way with the 4x4 sheet metal and the 3 inch angle iron it came out perfect.

[Mav68erick]

yeah I was thinking I messed up If I made it exactly as wide as my rails because.... I had my sheet steel cut to 4' Wide >.< 56 - 6 = 50!!!!! Doh.

I bought the 20 ton press today, then they had a 20ton air/hyrd. on sale so I got that to put in it. Good thing I did I tested it with the lever, lol maybe If I was gonna bend 1 thing it would be alright but, 5 pumps doesnt move it very far Id be wore out.

Ill prolly just get some 1" or bigger plate to lay across the whole thing when I use it for a press brake I dunno if they changed there arbor plates but the 2 I got look fairly decent I just gotta like you said in our post, let the wallet cool off = ) Figured I can make brakets now Might as well be ready to bendz them.

Oh yeah the table that sits on the pins of the press, wow, could they have welded it on anything less flat thing wobbles so bad, Im gonna cut the angle iron off they have on the C Channel and re do it, I cant complain to much 150 bucks isnt worth the time buying cutting steel and building 1. So spending some time and reinforcing and fixing something ready to go is just fun in my eyes

[wickedinhere]

Yeah the arbor plates that come with the press are cast and have been known to shatter under stress and make you bleed. One inch plate will be plenty. YEah your wallet will warm up at times.LOL I have been trying to beat the heat down here in louisiana but its almost impossible to work in my shop in the afternoon.

[Mav68erick]

yeah its humid in my area in Michigan, I cant imagine what its like down south. Im sick of being at work and my ass feeling like a slip and slide.

[wickedinhere]

Yeah you can cut the air with a knife.

[Mav68erick]

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/286740_1945122397143_1515019645_31806650_3983852_o .jpg

Wish I had this before, I made a little sheet metal brake to bend a piece of 16g to fix my a pillar that I Cut out on my camaro, it worked was less then 30 bucks, didnt work as well as I wanted, it mostly needs gusseted to strengthen the angle iron. Couple crescent wrenches for handles and wammo.

the clecos were just to line it up, it bolted together and shimmed for mat. thickness

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Sheet%20Metal%20Brake/P1010065.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Sheet%20Metal%20Brake/P1010061.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Sheet%20Metal%20Brake/P1010071.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Sheet%20Metal%20Brake/P1010070.jpg

this style gusset as seen on other brakes and shears, didnt work as I thought.
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Sheet%20Metal%20Brake/P1010069.jpg

Im bored its hot and raining so thought id share some stuff I did when I was laid off last year.

Heres a buildup of the jig I built to redo my basket case camaro. I dont even wanna remember how long I measured remeasured and remeasured all the pin locations for the factory locations and then re checked before I started to weld panels together. I was going crazy worrying how stuff was gonna line up in the end.

http://s145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/BodyJigV2/

some build up photos after the jig was complete

http://s145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Build%20Up/

Im pretty much stuck on the build, the 1/4 panels fit like ass around the tail panel, I fudged my way this far, but its out of my comfort zone to cut tweak body panels on the outside, I may have someone do the 1/4s and roof so far most every thing has been plug welding and thats ez. Im no body guy and I dont wanna spend a lot of time screwing up this taiwanese panels. I may look into buying a better set they just get expensive between the panels and the shipping = /. Either way Ive saved my self alot of money taking it this far myself. Not bad for a 26yr old know it all = )

[wickedinhere]

Man you got some work in that car, nice jig. I have a 68 ford f-100 i am working on and everytime i touch it i find more rust.

[Mav68erick]

I made my leveling legs / Feet. And drilled mounted my casters and welding them to the 4 legs original to the table. You can really tell how uneven the floor is with casters on, it was real noticeable with my car since the casters were 4ft and 7 ft apart. Now I gotta get a dam 3/4 tap to run through the 3/4 nuts I welded on the inside of a plate that got welded to some 2x2 that comes off the bottom of the 44" long bars. when I welded them I left the bolt in them cooled em off and threaded them in and out, I think I cross threaded the first thread because now 2 of them dont go in smoothly, or its just because the hole before the nut doesnt have alot of clearance. it was the last one I went to put in that was bad, so I checked it in another one and think I messes that one up with the bolt I screwed up in the last nut. Dee da dee.

[Mav68erick]

well tractor supply had 3/4 taps but closed at 6... and no one opened had anything bigger then 1/2. Oh well Ill get one tomorrow and go to the machining store and get a couple good 1/4 20 machine taps, gotta go to that end of town to get some o rings for my filters one of them is leaking air after I checked it a few weeks ago and the rings bad.

I may cut out the 2 44" rails that support the water table and move them farther out, so I can add 2 more back vertical supports under them like the middle. then mirror that to the front minus the middle. then you could add angel and make shelving to lay 4' wide sheets. atm its exactly 48" think I need to move them 1/2 farther out just for wiggle room.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/plasmalatest.jpg

Already had these round cutouts, laser slugs from old job, didnt wanna bother cutting any 2" wide stock. Even drilled a hole in one and plug welded the head of a 3/4 bolt to it, but didnt bother doing the other 3 it was getting hot.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/plasmafeet.jpg

[wickedinhere]

Looks good the only thing i would do is add some rubber or non skid material to the bottom of your leveling legs. I did that to mine because when level one of my castors are off the concrete and i was scared that when the gantry moves the table would move around.

[wickedinhere]

Got my call today how about you?

[Mav68erick]

Not unless they called at home cant remember if I left home number when I ordered. Bummed. People get my angle for the water tray to start on

[Mav68erick]

deleted deleted deleted

[jeepsr4ever]

Yours says out for delivery. You wanted this shipped to a terminal correct? They will be calling you before days end. There are also UPS boxes coming your way with hardware, slats and cable carrier.

[Mav68erick]

Just got the call, hope I wasnt to offensive I get mad easily and had a crappy day. Im just to impatient, getting a call so late wasnt something I expected. OMW to pick it up now

[Mav68erick]

did the z axis torch carrier change? it looks like the one in the picture, but is different from creepys build. It has a switch already mounted in it, and an anodized black part with 45* out of the corners that rides on the z threaded rod. is that the Torch height switch after it touches off? or is there more parts for the z Axis in the ups shipment.

And did anyone notice the gear rack is double sided taped to the aluminum? seems kinda scary specially here since its so humid id be worried it will move or start to side to side when the motor turns on it, or does no one have issues with this? I seen creepys style was welded on I wiggled the edge alittle, maybe it will help since it gives a little no real lash issues but I dunno

[jeepsr4ever]

That is the finer action Z axis. The two bottom poles on the limit switch are the ones you solder to and wire for torch height touch off. The tape will actually help with backlash and cushion the gear. We have been using it for more than a year now with zero failures even when using a 1/2" wide rack and routing heavily. Fear not :D We even had a machine get flipped over by the trucking company...bent the motor shaft and destroyed the gear but didnt budge the gear rack.

[Mav68erick]

I like the look and the switch on my z axis pretty nice set up.I think creepy said it in his post the roller bearings that guide in the v rail already being half assembled is bad, some of the hardware fell off, and since mine gantry wasnt boxed fully just framed with 2 x 4s there gone, its no big deal shit happens. I opened up one box and seen the xbox controler pretty sweet you tossed that in. I was looking at amazon at the wireless set up but pretty cool you send a pendent with it. I was even looking at the original Nintendo NES usb controllers online and though that would be funny to use = )


So glad I watched the torchmate video on the 2 x 2 and seen they had a link to pirate and then was browsing through the tool shop forum = P plus I think someone name dropped bulltear on there to. ( This is subject to change If It works like poo, but Im sure it wont, im just excited atm. )

It does look like Ill have some time invested in square up the X rails to later on, but no sense in thinking about that til I finish welding table, the biggest decsion atm is what color to paint it!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/289637_1949225099708_1515019645_31812160_3742602_o .jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/289386_1949224099683_1515019645_31812158_914410_o. jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/286274_1949224699698_1515019645_31812159_4679530_o .jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/175793_1949225499718_1515019645_31812161_1162323_o .jpg

[Mav68erick]

I made my water tray as wide and the distance between my rails so its 55" distance on the inside, and there 56" long, I figured id leave it longer in case I had a big sheet it would help support it, hold more water. I guess if it looks bigger it has to run better somehow in the theory I was thinking at the time I decided to leave it long, but I could be wrong I was sweating really bad at the time.

So now I gotta go back to the steel store and have them take 5' sheet and hopin the cut it square, my inside dimensions 50" x 52" or if they make it 52" x 54" ill just lay it on top of the angle or the angle on top of that and lap seam weld it. and If I do the bottom I can do x % of it and just seam seal the bajesus outta it.

And never having a plasma when I was thinking about notching the angle, I though this is gonna suck if I use the 3" cut off wheels being 3/16 so I notched it with the chop saw first, then fired up the plasma and cut it in the gullet to cut the rest out and then ground what was left flat prolly coulda did better if I flipped it over and straight edged I could cut most the radius out to but it was still faster then the first idea.

[Mav68erick]

bum bum bum bum.... So did some welding, no matter what you do welding vertical is a pita. Welded my water table frame top and bottom and ground it flush and blended the corners in. Being paraniod as Iam and worrying about things shifting during welded I leveled my table out, both rails 0.0 and the table supports 0.0 Then I laid a bar across both rails 0.0 both ends and the middle. Measured it corner to corner both ways 0.0 and 0.0. So then I decided to brace it as seen in the pictures. dont let the clamps fool you I tack welded it to my gear rack support rails and to the shorter pieces at the center. After I tacked it went back and checked it mostly all 0.0 and some 0.1s. So I labeled where I checked them and wrote it down. I then began to weld and skippng one side to the other not welding more then one spot and letting it cool, every 2-4 welds id go back and check all my points, dam thing never moved at all. I think it was a combination of the X brace and the fact it was 3/16 thick.

Now I dont think im gonna bother welding the bottom the water table support rails are welded on 3 sides and I added an extra I just cant see doing it, not that I cant I guess I could flip it with my brace still on there but Ive welded everything except the bottoms and my top rails to the legs do that tomorrow.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/288236_1951018744548_1515019645_31813894_156184_o. jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/289594_1951017784524_1515019645_31813893_1219153_o .jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/287193_1951017584519_1515019645_31813892_5027292_o .jpg

The levels only measures in tenths of a degree, should spent 10 dollars more when I bought it and got the .5 a tenth one. Id prolly drive my self crazy using that one. If it says .1 and I tap it and it bounces to 0, I usually assume its around .05* and to be honest the bubble in the level looks centerd, but .1 degree off over a 12 foot span is .2513 so a quarter of an inch, when I made my car jig it was all 0.0 except 1 half of the 11ft rail twisted down .1 and was about 3/32 lower then the other 3 corners so I made sure to compensate when I made my raiser support rails. Maybe Im just thinking to much into it = ) I just dont want a headache later trying to square and true up the rails and have binding issues, I know the guys making the torchmate tables have alot of problems even worse the bigger the table the more chance its off

[wickedinhere]

Man you better weld the bottom of the water table supports cause if you dont the table will never really be finished. LOL

[Mav68erick]

I really will weld some of the bottoms

[Mav68erick]

Prolly... dam phone

[Mav68erick]

got it painted, took alot longer then I expected shoulda painted it black so I didnt have to keep going over it but it looks good. You went with a tractor color so I decided to as well. But I went Kabota Orange. looks like chevy red to but never seen an orange plasma table yet so I said wth. Problem was the closest TSC to me had 3 cans figured it was enough nope... Had to drive to the out skirts of the other side of town and got 4 more cans. no pics phone died, youd think with todays tech and these new phones it would last more then oh say 10 hrs on a full charge and I dont even really use it.

So the hardware thats on its way ups, does it have all the bolts for the gantry to bolt it to the rails? The box with my plasma contorller had some extra bolts with the springs on them and I assume those are extra rollers that were in the boxes.

[wickedinhere]

Kubota orange? say it aint so! LOL The small boxes are the pinion gears for the motors. What bolts are you talking about?

[Mav68erick]

Its just orange looked like kabota. The 40 so bolts that bolt the 2 v rails to your table.

[Mav68erick]

Nevermind they came with my cable carrier today, now just the electronics and Im assuming the softwares with that box. Off to buy some drill bits and a drill bushing

[jeepsr4ever]

Stainless steel drill bushing is in the box in the white envelope

[Mav68erick]

hmm didnt see a white envelope will double check. are the slat holders in a different box coming ups?

edit: knew I thought something was in that foam. Bushing and CD

[Mav68erick]

oh all the softwares on the cd to aswell cool

[Mav68erick]

Drilled tapped all my holes, and guess what broke the dam tap coming out of the last hole when I started to use the drill lol... sigh It came out pretty easy though.

my X glides smooth enough when I glide it from pushing in the middle, Its prolly why its set up with 2 motors, you push it from either of the ends that the motors mount to you can cock it and even pull it off the v rail. the pinions will prolly keep that from happening as well.


Questions: Slats holders shipped seperate from the gantry? there wasnt any in that, and my cabble carrier box was obviously to small, and any insight on when Ill be seeing the electronics?


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/DSCF2259.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/DSCF2258.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/DSCF2257.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/DSCF2256.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/DSCF2255.jpg




I also left the end holes and 1 in the middle on each side un drilled. after its up and running and 100% positive its set in the right spot, Ill prolly dowel them, cant think of any reason why Id ever need to take them off but ya never know, prolly since my paint was slightly still tacky It will leave a nice witness mark of where she sat anyways.

[Mav68erick]

oh yea one more thing, those limit stop bolts are dangerous, I about ripped my you know whats on them about 4 times walking around it = ) If my electronics arent here for the weekend im gonna be doing some hefty garage cleaning and moving stuff around to finalize the tables placement, work my bench in the back into the mix and the shop press close by need to figure out where im gonna put the pc, want it somewheres I can sit down on a stool and mess around. got to much crap, and cant really get rid of it, its all big and I need pretty much all of it.

well time for bed, so hard to sleep when your this excited

[jeepsr4ever]

I really like that color!

[Mav68erick]

Electronics ETA?

And I deleted my demo of Mach and installed the one on the setup disk, and didnt know where to throw the license, I tossed it in the mach folder but it still asks for a license.

edit: I guess it only said no license found on first start up, now it doesnt pop up must be working

There also seems to be alot of conflicting data in the instructions on the setup pages.

One post older says use MP 3000 the top sticky uses MP1000. Then you scroll down and says if using Sheetcam use MP 1000.
- Does that mean use MP 1000 in Sheetcam or in Mach3 or in both? I assume just in sheetcam as thats all there was under post processors.
- So Mach is 3000 how ever you get that as a profile as all I have is Mill Turn Plasma and no instruction how to load the 3000, and then use 1000 in sheetcam?


I also searched the web on how to license mach, Install --> move license ---> reboot. Still no go, cant read the license file at all and the web doesnt open it either.

And mach 3 Says mach4 on the top when it shows a licenseing error.

[Mav68erick]

nope any way I install reboot drop license install drop license then reboot does nothing. Now my license wants to open as a notepad file as I was trying to open it.

I think some of the instructions need revamped and wrote a little more clear, I cant even find it on the mach 3 site

Im guessing the Mp 3000 1000 stuff comes from CandCnc? to load as a profile in mach? EIther way I gotta go do something before I kill someone, installed this 20 times and still cant get it off demo version and theres shit for walk throughs online about it. all they say is drag and drop reboot and done, but everyone seems to still have a problem and its magically fixed with no post on how it was completed.

[wickedinhere]

Did you Copy your MACH3 license into the MACH3 main folder?

[Mav68erick]

yep 10 different times 10 different ways
Copy paste drag drop... Drop it reboot run it... drop try it. Install reboot drop it reboot. Doesnt do squat and it seems alot of people have the same issue.

[wickedinhere]

I hope you figure it out before i give it a try.

[Mav68erick]

yeah.. today Im gonna get a bigger pc for my water tray and rearrange my work space in the garage clear some benches out. Then need to tweak my v rails somemore.

there are exactly the same width apart.... but when its fully forward theres .010 gap between 1 roller and the rail even though it still rides on it. then when it gets to the back it fully touches then the other side of the table another rollers .010 off.. Like I was saying and asking earlier about the square tubing being twisted is prolly causing this. Im thinking since 3 wheels are fully contacted plus 2 motors I may leave it, I may also adjust the rollers some more to cut the distance they are off by half and .005 isnt really crap to me.

Oh yeah wicked I seen in the setup part of the forum, the cable carriers someone made a mount that mounted on the laser cut plates that hold the rollers on. To connect the cable carrier behind the Y rail. the X rail goes on one side and lays on on pc of angle or inside c Channel, any thing flat to rest on. the only thing was As I was mocking up holding it last nite, if you put it to far back it will make the table longer when the torch gets to the back because it has to form the Radius in the looop unless you mount it lower. I wanna have it high so it makes a nice bend but I guess Ill have to do whatever works and space allows.


I also think Im gonna use my 2 cans of por 15 I got, if the ones still good after opening it, to paint my water tray spent 100 bucks to use it on my car and never did because I cut anything rusty out. Did use it in the A pillar when I cut it out before welding in the new piece though. figure Por 15 the inner pan and spray the outter black if I dont have enough, just got 2 pints

[wickedinhere]

I had one wheel that wasnt touching the v-rail also, what i did was loosen the 4 bolts on each side where the wheel plates bolt to the gantry. When i did that it fixed the problem i guess it was slightly racked. Yeah i finally found some pics of the cable carrier setup. How did you determine where to put your stops at i just kinda guessed i am wanting to weld my water tray to the table. I really need the motors so i can set the stops and position my water tray.

[Mav68erick]

I just bolted the stops an inch from the ends atm, so I cant accidently roll my gantry off the table... that would be bad. I alread adjusted the 4 bolts that hold the plats to the extruded alm. All 4 wheels still touch just at one end the V rail isnt perfectly centered in the wheel groover and can see light through it, they all still roll and touch just 1 isnt centered, and I dont know why, 2 shouldnt be because at one end all 4 are dead nuts in the groove.

Im not welding my water tray to the table Im gonna bolt it. weld 3 say 2" or 3" wide angle under neither where it over hangs the front or back. and Bolt it through the square tubing. 1. that way I can take it off and 2. If you tray is bowed a alittle you can clamp it down before drill your bolt holes or using self tapping bolts make it the tray flat to the table and then clamp and bolt it. now vola! flat. Should only need 4 brackets one for each corner, the more technical the table look the more professional looki it seems to people that dont have a clue... hehe

[jeepsr4ever]

Electronics are shipping out on monday. The file you use for Mach 3 is on the support disk with the electronics. MP1000 is for Sheetcam only as listed in the instructions in the secret support area on the forum. Also there it says to just drag and drop the mach1lisc file into the C:/Mach3 directory. Sheetcam liscenses a different way throught he "HELP" menu and "Install liscence". The ESP2 electronics are advanced and have a new DTHC wiring with them. Dont worry your still pulling what you need for the older DTHC from the plasma cutter however their is another little box that is in line wired with the DTHC card. This helps us with any mistaken error....ie if you are getting a jittery Z axis and your calling tech on this it wouldnt be a DTHC card issue it is the settings in Mach 3 and the extra little box will tell you there is no error. It is all very easy to do and hook up.

[Mav68erick]

yeah the drag and drop doesnt work, guess Ill have to email the mach3 guy. Advanced is good.

So I got about 75% of my tray welded and boom!! the steel popped the other way and scared the shit outta me. the way I welded it IS I planned on it bowing down, so it acted like a bowl so it was lower in the center. Because when I welded my middle water tray support in I made it lower then the other 2 = ), that way I can put a drain in the low spot. only thing is I think it bowed more then I expected. I layed it on top of my angle, so It has 3/16 + 1/16 or so before it touches the table support. Once It filled with water and supports it should have enough weight to hold it down, I just dont want it to pop back up when its running, I may have to tack and angle piece and screw it i the center to my support just for security. w/e ill figure it when Its ready to go up on the table

[jeepsr4ever]

We will take care of the liscense issue with you send our company an email on it Orderbulltear@yahoo.com and we will cehck to see if the liscense was somehow changed when it was downloaded to a 64 bit system and then saved.

[Mav68erick]

yeah Im on a 32bit.

[Mav68erick]

Heres my water tray, layed it inside and tacked it first

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/290246_1958084041176_1515019645_31822551_756718_o. jpg

Then flipped it over and welded the back side, I was stitching it about 4 - 5 inches at a time skipping around, havent finished dont know if I really need to Im gonna seal the inside in the corners fairly thick so I dont know.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/192849_1958092521388_1515019645_31822557_851445_o. jpg

As you can see I had some overspray = )

After the trays out and back in Im gonna have to do some touch up.... I had to make it as wide as the rails didnt I, I just had to....

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/289820_1958467010750_1515019645_31822994_6493861_o .jpg


and the bow in the pan worked out perfected it sags in the middle! Ill just have to shim my middle slat holder accordingly and all will be good!

and Matt how far over the front of the table do you guys hang your water trays? I set mine flush to the rails so 2.50" past but I think it could go a little more, your 4x8 products picture looks a little more.

[wickedinhere]

NIce, the only problem i see is the weeds growing in the joints in your concrete. LOL

[Mav68erick]

ya well I can only do so much.. get up at 6 go to work come home stay in the garage til 9 30 go to bed... er used to burn them out with a flame thrower thing you hook to a propane tank. last year I scrapped along the cracks with a flat shovel youd be surprised how big of a pike you get when you do the whole driveway

[Mav68erick]

Played musical benches, the short one was in the corner and had a 2' L on it. Thats why in some of the other pictures you may have seen a bench that didnt line up or was crooked I unscrewed it and was laying against it.

Dont know what to do with this old welding bench with the vise on it, I have a spot in the corner opposite of that side door thats open. theres 1 compressor in the corner because that corners obviously a dead corner, then a crappy clarke blasting cabinet. Then another compressor that needs sold or moved somewhere. Id put it under the blast cabinet but for now Its half way in the middle of the floor and makes like a maze walkin in but w.e.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/287851_1958802619140_1515019645_31823415_6370212_o .jpg

Ill prolly use the bench where the pc chairs at for the monitor and keyboard .

The wall with the breaker box and Clock and stuff behind the poster I wanna put a flat screen tv on = ) as soon as this thing starts printing money I can turn the cable back on.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/285877_1958802419135_1515019645_31823414_1972327_o .jpg

Hmm somehow 4 yrs ago I installed that light. took the bulbs out because I didnt need it, and the other fixture from walmart had a burned cord. well 2 weeks ago I put lights in, and today somehow its perfectly over the top of my table...Its like I knew

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/291114_1958801819120_1515019645_31823412_976717_o. jpg

[Mav68erick]

woot slat holders are hear... hey who sells plasma cutters and gives laser cut slat holders out... lol. time to go cut some slats.

[wickedinhere]

Hey stop rubbing it in! LOL PICS?

[jeepsr4ever]

All electronics shipped today. Two boxes headed to each of you fine gentlemen. Oh the slatholders...who says they are lasered ;)

[Mav68erick]

well I made my x axis 58" somehow the slat holders where the length I needed dunno how that magically happened. I was worried Id be short because I thought I made it longer. I Almost cut them and put the slats the other way to Slide material on easier but I didnt wanna cut anything. Then I seen Creepys youtube vid and he did turn them opposite, oh btw gonna steel his roller idea = )

I had to shim the middle holder because my pan bowls to to center, I didnt have to but I did.

I have an idea to make clamps that you can undo and move around and clamp to your angle iron frames, because I noticed the material moves if you wiggle it, dunno if the air pressure from the torch will move it, or the thermal expansion moving the slats will have an effect but all I know is smaller pieces and aluminum Id be worrier. So moveable adjustable clamps with different sized fingers, think of those clamps they use to hold dies down or material to be milled but smaller. And also if you have 3 you can set to on 1 axis and will be adjustable to where you can square up material on, and then 1 on the other axis as a Stop so if you cut multiple sheets once I make one Ill tweak it, possibly be the first thing I can sell muhahahaha wicked ill give you a buddy deal 1 for 99 dollars or 3 for 100 ok = )

At first I didnt think these were U ed enough, so I moved them to the next slots, it worked and it didnt some would pull slightly up and then my test material I tossed on would rock on it like a teeter totter so I moved them back, a big sheet of 1/4 would be fine but Im still gonna do my clamp idea for cutting things that matter. Decorative stuff I wouldnt care about to much but like I said before I worry about everything!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/192992_1962402589137_1515019645_31828537_953854_o. jpg

I someone also managed to have exaclty enough 2.5 slats to cut. I asked for 10ft but got 12 footers, so now I go a bunch ends left to figure something to do with them, Guess if I make my clamps can cut shit outta em.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/287204_1962630114825_1515019645_31828701_4213249_o .jpg


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/287204_1962630114825_1515019645_31828701_4213249_o .jpg

Yeah this looks ghetto, I wanna get a machine torch just so it looks more professional plus, I wanna be able to shear stuff for easy disposale with the hand torch or sheer full sheets down if I have to.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/289237_1962640795092_1515019645_31828715_1209193_o 1.jpg


I just tacked the slat holders on the ends 1 in the middle and then once inbtween them, I screwed up and now I cant seal the ends where it butts against my angle = P so Im gonna have to take a decent size cut off wheel and cut down so I can seam seal it because I didnt fully weld the bottom, no point really since I dont plan on water getting between the sheet and the angle.

I really though I woulda had more room from the top of the slats to the edge of my angle iron.

3" - 3/16 for thickness 2.812" - .080 for 14gauge = 2.732 - (.120 ) for slat holder 2.612 - 2.5" for height of slat = .112 ... hmm guess the water will barely touch if its perfectly level

[Mav68erick]

Oh plus a tip pre bend your slats one way, then install them the opposite to add spring to them.


Just remembers I gotta order some more consumeables,

I think I need mechanized shield and then I think theres a different swirl ring for that aswell. I had it all saved but never ordered it.

you got a tracking # on them boxes = )

[wickedinhere]

NIce i got to go get some flat bar this week. OH i aint buying nothing from you if its got orange paint on it.LOL

[jeepsr4ever]

Mav's
1Z9V45510342293552
1Z9V45510342457965

Wicked I emailed yours

[Mav68erick]

oh should be here tomorrow.

[Mav68erick]

electronics came... Instrurction OVERLOAD! Confusion begins now = P

[wickedinhere]

Hurry up and get it figured out so i dont have too! LOL

[jeepsr4ever]

1. Dont panic its easier than you think


2. Install the DTHC card like you would normally, this card has a plug with green ends and a 1/4 cable that attaches to it that runs the the littel black box. From the box you runt he yellow cord to the control box.
3. You will need to solder two wires to the lower 2 pins on the Z axis switch. Then run this through the cable carrier giving yourself ample length. These two wires hook to (ZHOME) on the card in the white control box.
4. Hook the motors to the motor mounts, next slide the gears on using a little lock tite and make sure the gear is in the rackand getting good contact then tighten the setscrew.
5. Use a wire snips to cut a little off the spring ends and then attach the springs from the motor mount to the mount brackets this sets zero backlash.
6. Run your cables through the cable carrier make sure to mark X,X,Y,Z on the cables so you know you can use X as A or the other X as A axis.
7. Once the motors are on and the card is hooked up and the Z limit is wired your basically done except for software install.

[wickedinhere]

Sounds easy

[Mav68erick]

i was only confused about the different dthc setup pdfs.

I installed the motors installe the Dragon aio got to jog the table. then I speed up the feed rate and ran my A axis wire over with the y AXIS GEAR 111!!!

LUCKILY it didnt do any damage..

jogs pretty good, definetly like you said need lock tite those set screws on the pinions gears dont hold for shit.

I gotta get some aluminum to mount my cable carrier right now I just ran a hook in the ceiling and dangled the wires down with some slack to test.

I have nothing with the dthc hooked up just the motors.

I notice on the CandCnc setup it says Digitial something probe I obviously dont have one, Just the enclosed box and the open circuit board to mount in my plasma I assume thats all I need

I can wire up the arc ok or divided volts to that without a cpc port and hand torch, just a little weird because they say different things in different setups some has the same some dont.

I even noticed creepy drilled extra holes in his Control box with wires running out of it, Unless he mounted some other cards in it or because its an older system,

I just wanna be sure I got the 2 cards I need for the cutter - cpc port and hand. I did get a splicing connector that I prolly wont use since theres only one and do something different in splicing into my purple / orange wires.

also my xbox controller shows up in mach doesnt error but Doesnt actually jog anything. I read the instructions about some file but Where my cutters at have to internet connections so Ill worry about it later have to throw the file on a flash drive or something.


so I got the ThcSensor-PWN Module

I assume obbviously the DTCH II expansion in the main box

and I think I have the Rav01 voltage divider, not sure its an option. If my powermax65 has a way to get divided volts inside then I dont need it, so I guess I need to find out where to hook it up if it does

guess I got the divided arc controller after looking it up. So I guess I got what I need.

wish I got just a dam machine torch and cpc machine, that way I could use there plug and go plug = ).

but just to make sure I dont need the sensor probe right, because its the first thing that pops up on all 3 of there setups.


Tomorrow im gonna get some alm angle to let my cable carriers rest on the Y axis one I was thinking about and there was just nothing I had laying around to make it outta thats why I did the hanging of the cable method atm. But atleast I got to see it move.

[Mav68erick]

seems like the current probe adds a similier and cleanner arc Ok setup.

[wickedinhere]

Do the motor shafts have flat spots where the set screw screws against? I think i read where someone ground flat spots on the motor shafts and fixed the slipping pinion problem.

[Mav68erick]

Yes they do, after a minute the screws loosen up

[jeepsr4ever]

i was only confused about the different dthc setup pdfs.

I installed the motors installe the Dragon aio got to jog the table. then I speed up the feed rate and ran my A axis wire over with the y AXIS GEAR 111!!!

LUCKILY it didnt do any damage..

jogs pretty good, definetly like you said need lock tite those set screws on the pinions gears dont hold for shit. They do but alot of force is needed if you dont use loctite. We have maybe 150 tables out there that didnt use any loctite and they hold well.

I gotta get some aluminum to mount my cable carrier right now I just ran a hook in the ceiling and dangled the wires down with some slack to test.

I have nothing with the dthc hooked up just the motors.

I notice on the CandCnc setup it says Digitial something probe I obviously dont have one, Just the enclosed box and the open circuit board to mount in my plasma I assume thats all I need Yes this is all you need fro that plasma

I can wire up the arc ok or divided volts to that without a cpc port and hand torch, just a little weird because they say different things in different setups some has the same some dont.

I even noticed creepy drilled extra holes in his Control box with wires running out of it, Unless he mounted some other cards in it or because its an older system, Older system didnt have a small hole for the wire leads

I just wanna be sure I got the 2 cards I need for the cutter - cpc port and hand. I did get a splicing connector that I prolly wont use since theres only one and do something different in splicing into my purple / orange wires.

also my xbox controller shows up in mach doesnt error but Doesnt actually jog anything. I read the instructions about some file but Where my cutters at have to internet connections so Ill worry about it later have to throw the file on a flash drive or something. Go to config and then config plug ins and make sure Xbox controller is green check marked in installation default is off so it doesnt work until you turn it on.


so I got the ThcSensor-PWN Module

I assume obbviously the DTCH II expansion in the main box Yes in the white control box

and I think I have the Rav01 voltage divider, not sure its an option. If my powermax65 has a way to get divided volts inside then I dont need it, so I guess I need to find out where to hook it up if it does

guess I got the divided arc controller after looking it up. So I guess I got what I need.

wish I got just a dam machine torch and cpc machine, that way I could use there plug and go plug = ).

but just to make sure I dont need the sensor probe right, because its the first thing that pops up on all 3 of there setups.


Tomorrow im gonna get some alm angle to let my cable carriers rest on the Y axis one I was thinking about and there was just nothing I had laying around to make it outta thats why I did the hanging of the cable method atm. But atleast I got to see it move.


Answers in purple

[Mav68erick]

Thx. I already turned the Xbox on in the config its still nonresponsive. And Windows recognizes it, and its calibrated. Ill worry about it later I got bigger fish to fry.

[Mav68erick]

got a piece of 2 x 2 1/8 alm angle tonite, cut some 5" pieces that bolt to the gantry roller brackets in both ends, then cut a 60" long piece and put it under neither rivited it with 3/16 alm rivets. this cradles the cable carrier. I tapped it and used some of the extra hardware to fasten the bracket to attach the carrier. that part was easy. the top mount I was struggaling to come up with ideas most of all because I had no 1/4 hardware, nuts mostly but I had some 16gauge I bend drilled some holes went to tsc got some bolts and mounted it off the 4 holes that are under the z axis motor. It a little springy but I was gonna weld a gusset to help support it but its not as bad as I thought. Once I get cutting, Ill cut a better suppport out with nice interlocking gusset and some speed holes :crazyeyes:.

They had 2 pieces of tha alm last week today there was one... it was 30 bucks a piece but he rang it up as scrap because he didnt see what shelf I got it off of apperently and got it for 15 bucks. I still gotta do the X axis carrier I think Ill just use a piece of steel angle thats been sitting out doors for the past 20 yrs. Im surprised no ones stolen it yet ( watch tomorrow Ill go to grab it, itill be gone:laughing9:.

Really surprised on how smooth the table still moves with the cable carrier and the semi heavy torch cable is inside it, I was worried about the bend but seems to be fine. The fact it looks bulky and big makes it look alot cooler then just an empty gantry sitting on top now, looks almost like an indsutrial unit.

Wish I had pictures but these new phones these days barely get 8-10 hrs on a full charge and I dont even use the thing at work its quite bs. If I get outta bed Ill go snap some pics before I go to work, maybe see if I can record a video so I can sneak peeks of it at work to cure my ocd over thinking about it habits.

So heres a QUESTION: Can I use my drag cutting shield, or do I need to get a mech shield and swirl ring blah blah...

I was gonna order them Keep forgetting to much shit to do. Dam motorcycle broke today, at break I go to leave for lunch and its louder then usual the exhaust flange nuts came off under 2K it was fine so I rode it home since its only 5 mins away parked it and grabbed the truck, bad thing is good luck getting any kind of wrench to put new ones on ....

So if I do Ill see if I can have them 1 day shipped to get saturday or see if our welding store actually carries the stuff, I doubt it most places dont carry anything anymore you get the same yeah you can pay for it I we will order it routine. Thats cool Ill buy it for half the price and get it before you do!

[Mav68erick]

Hey i got up at 5 and this is what happened,


Table jogging

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bnDOmkGpEM&feature=share


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/table6.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/table5-1.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/table4-1.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/table3-1.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/table2-1.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/table1-1.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/drainhole.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/drain2.jpg

[jeepsr4ever]

No drag tip should be used with automated movements. A standard tip only. Table looks good we have never mounted a cable carrier that way on the carraige but it works! We use the two top 1/4" bolts and a couple of bends on a custom piece to mount when using that Z axis.

[Mav68erick]

Got my X carrier installed and wires all fed through. Moved my control box and cleaned up wire placement, was getting ready to start working on the HC wiring but couldnt find my black jack cord. ( was between the seat and door of the truck. Called to late yesterday to find a mechanized tip. air gas had some of the PM45s but not one for a 65, I thought I could use it but its for a different torch style just lovely. So here Iam close to test cutting something out and Iam about 2 days out for getting a shield cap...so either I wait impatiently or try my other option.

I also learned because I was gonna buy the mechanized stuff, online it labels the pm65 retainitng collar and swirl rings as ohmic. those or for out of country users only. Everything is the same except the retaining cap shield w.e.

And it looks as I will never buy consumeables at my airgas store unless Im in a bind. 10 dollars for a single tip... you get 5 for 22 bucks online. and 18 bucks for an electrode, you get 5 for 33 online. I understand places have to pay for overhead but if you sold it for a little less it would sit for so dam long eh.

[Mav68erick]

We started to wire the plasma up today, found a nice spot for the arc divider board. cut the heat shrink off of the cluster of wires to get to the orange and purples but I had to go to the store and get some more connectors since I lost one of the red splicer doo hickys. We were gonna solder but it was a nickel wire. zip tied the extra of the jack cable up and tucked it behind the pressure switch or regualtor w/e it is.

Ok so I have one real issue to figure out. I know where the orange and purple go onto the board inside my plasma, I just need to find the arc ok wires to hook onto the board now, Ive browsed over the instructions and I cant seem to find anything. Since I dont have the dcp probe it should mean I have arc ok connections in my plasma, are these gonna be in the same group of wires coming out of the torch? or somewhere else on the board?

[Mav68erick]

Pics

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/panel3.jpg

I drilled the 3 holes then realized the jack cable woudlnt fit, so I just undid the 2 small black screws on the plastic and flipped it rather then drill new holes.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/panel2.jpg

behind the water bowl.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/panel1.jpg

gonna go see if I can figure out where my arc ok wires are some more. So basically ive done the following today

- Wired the Z switch to Z Home in the main box
- mounted the arc divider in the box, connected the work clamp lead and electrode wires to the board
- Just need to finsih the torch switch and arc oks.

[Mav68erick]

Well still dont have arc ok connected I think i found where the interface may hook up to on the board J21.

My Pwm box arc ok test works, the volt test doesnt work ( doesnt display any numbers on my mach 3 screen ) I had it hooked to the plasma first and was manually firing the torch to test out the switch and noticed no numbers even with the THC on.

^ when I tested it all I had hooked up was the cat5 cable to the big white box arc ok test worked but volt test nada.

But this didnt stop me, I was trying to set my Z depth offset for the switch with my drag tip and I kept getting 2.6 for my difference. Im thinking 2.6mm? thats .102" but nope everything was in english so I went back into the Motor axis setup files and what I had was right.. triple checked 5 mins later and I noticed the in ( ) use for newer z screw fixed it! was about .140 difference hell it was preset at .137 pretty close.

couple dry runs with out the cutter on, it always stops after it runs the first hole or inside piece ( earlyier before i got my z fixed I used a paint marker and was drawing parts on the steel ) I fired the torch up...

NOTE: If mach 3 is open and you turn your plasma on it errors think it was 00 - 51 Torch was on upon start up etc. Prolly the safety trigger in the plasma. Shut down mach 3. then turned my plasma back on and had 2 green lights started mach 3 up and all was good.

Cut pretty good has some bevel but since I cut it .060 above the material that should be expected considering the drag cutter should be touching. Bevel is even all the way around so Im prettyconfident the torch is pretty square, I have to order my mech shields tomorrow.


I had 65 amp tips and cut it out of a 1/4 laser slug fall out I had

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/firstpc.jpg

[Mav68erick]

well :f: me.. Im the biggest idiot atm. It my vast amount of ignorance I thought yeah i sealed that water tray good enough its not gonna leak 111!!!111!!!... boy was I wrong,Guess you cant stop water. I think my 45* elbow I welded on was bad because it was seepin water bad I couldnt tighten my pipe any more. and I was getting drips in about 3 spots around the tray. Looks like I get to take it off and finish welding it, the high temp sealer didnt do a good enough job I guess. Ill weld the bottom fully and then use some good 3M sealer all the way around and let it dry out in the sun and then add some more. I " DO NOT " wanna go through this again. Mind you If I didnt wait so late on a sunday night or go off half cocked and actually had a hose to my drain rather then using a bucket it would be so bad. But hey Im young, Im a idiot..

sigh

[wickedinhere]

YEah i fully welded mine then used seam sealer and filled it to make sure it wasnt leaking before i put in on my table. Remember take it slow dont be in a hurry all the time.

[Mav68erick]

finished welding the bottom sealed the bottom and sealed the top more, no way it should leak now.

If I cant get my table 100% funtioning ( not dialed in and tweaked ) by the weekend im gonna set it on the back burner. I need to work on my old harley to get it rideable so when my grandmas nephew visits I got something to ride because I told him he could ride my v rod when he comes. I got 2 weeks hopefully 3 depending when he comes. I think I can pull it off but its gonna be a chore its tore down quite a bit and I cant just bolt it back together, I was chopping stuff to make it into a cafe racer and a lot of the wiring needs redone as well.

2 much stuff not enough time in the day.

[Mav68erick]

water table doesnt leak now.

was messing around while a friend was over and decieded to try the mp3000thc post rather then the mp3000 arc fix And it actually runs the entire program. But my torch still doesnt fire all the time or stay on, 1st run through it will pierce every hole and then shut off. 2nd time same thing, if I re run it a 3rd time it finally cuts everything. I dont know if this is a pierce delay issue and the torch is lagging behind to fire or what. I still dont have My arc ok hooked up or Dthc working doesnt read any volts. So I turn those off in the profile and im still using my drag tip while I wait ( i just go half way for my cut height.

Also I noticed theres no instructions telling you to specify what material thickness. I had to edit it under your cut operation in order for my height to work, I tossed some 3/8 on the table and it still said 1/16 and the torch wouldnt come up off the material after I said 3/8 material and said 1/2 .500 rapid clearence and it works fine.

Still trying to figure my arc ok connections and why my pwn test doesnt show any volts. waiting on my mech, shields and what not.

Need to devise some splash shields, I may not have a leak now but for w/e reason after you stop the plasma it seems to purge air for 15-30 seconds after it shuts off Dunno if its adjustable but it blows water everywhere. Cutting I dont mind but that is assinine.



http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/mav.jpg

you can see it all blown out at the lead in, prolly because i reran it 3 times so it pierced 3 times in the same spot and over heated it, not to mention its thin was vibrating 65amp nozzle and drag tip going at almost 400 ipm. = )

[wickedinhere]

Have you tried contacting jim colt from hypertherm about getting your pm65 hooked up? Hes on pirate 4x4 and plasma spider and is real helpful. Your gonna have problem until its all hooked up right.

[Mav68erick]

Ill just call hypertherm after work tomorrow, and then tom about my pwm box. Tried to order my shields and it wouldnt take my card online the page kept erroring now the page doesnt load at all. Dam computers.

[Mav68erick]

figured out my DTCH online and volts issue. Didnt hook up the DB9 cable but it does say optional on the side of the box. I thought that meant if you didnt have the other style to hook up,, ooops = P

Made my dad a Michigan wolverines cutout since he cant see why I bought this thing, He likes to do scroll saw stuff so maybe this will light his fire.

Still waiting for mech shields, and sometimes my torch still goes out after it pierces ( I notice if you test the torch on/off button you can only click it so fast the relay cant go as fast as you click ) so maybe theres a delay I can adjust somewheres.

still no arc ok didnt have time to call but I just turned it off as well as the dthc but so far for what im doin it cuts ok, even when my air pressure is down to 50 because my air compressor doesnt kick on til then because we adjusted the Pressure switch and now I dont ahve the special safety torque to adjust it back ( when we got it it would actually go to 170+ psi and blow my hose clamps off my hose that came off the compressor it self, scares the shit outta ya ) I think we adjusted it down a little to far because it shuts off at 110-115ish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRTk9EpXwzM

[jeepsr4ever]

Looking back into builds it turns out we always used the extra card in the 65-85 series for ARC OK and TIP VOLTS. You could theoretically go into mach 3 under the cut profile button turn off the "stop on arc loss" and this may allow you to cut just fine without arc ok. I cant say how well it iwll work with production but ....it looks like you already did that.

[Mav68erick]

I just ordered me a digital current probe to fix the problem. Im guessing since this can also give me actualy volts I can undo my wires coming off my electrode and work lead. I think Id have to look at the instructions for having the DCP connected.

Finally got to order my mech shield some 45 nozzles ( they gave me 65s and I just noticed ) and a set of fine cuts to mess with, they really screwed me by not paying my credit bill 2 weeks ago they accidently put it in my savings. But now its all taken care of and good to go.

I made a test cut of aflying pig about 5 x 7. some women at works neighbor wants a 2' long one for his pig roaster that he drives around and cooks for people to go on it. Will be my first paying job. She was supposed to take it last weekend and left it at work so tomorrow Ill find out if he likes it.

[wickedinhere]

Hey mav how did you reslove the license issue in mach 3? I put the license in the mach3 file but it still says demo. I got the license loaded i had to rename it for it to work. Now i just need to find MP3000-DTHC and load it up.

[Mav68erick]

I emailed them my license and got another one and it worked. When I installed mach it was already set for The mp3000. But you need to add the processors from the candcnc disk into your sheetcam post folder and then set it to mp3000 thc in the machine setup in sheetcam.

[Mav68erick]

The mach 3 has some weird name like ubobll and changes the back ground automatically. Try deleting mach 3 that came on your first disk and install it off the one that came with your electronic s

[wickedinhere]

Did you use the mp1000 post or mp 3000 post the instruction say 3000 but then it says 1000 at the end.

[Mav68erick]

the Mp-3000 DTHC or Thc in sheetcam

[wickedinhere]

Ok so Mp-3000 it is. Thanks

[Mav68erick]

Dont be in to much of a hurry unless your not cutting thin stuff, the height control has got me down = (

Was cutting some butterfly 3d puzzles today and no matter what I did, didnt seem to matter. The hypertherm cut profiles in mach arent close to anything in my book. And by the time the height control composents from the initial pierce voltage the specific piece is cut, It goes .080 pierce to .020 cut height andn then my z displays -.100+ z moves as I watch my z axis not turning at all or the torch staying the same distance over my sheet that is not warping at all I ahve so much weight on the edges. Some times it would go the opposite direction and rise up until it bound up the rising z axis and blind the fark outta me as I stared at the pretty light. I turned it off was pissing me off.

I started with 45amp shielded exactly what the book called for .080 pierce .020 cut height and 350ipm which seems ridicoulsly high changing my voltage in my mach 3 seemed to do absoultely nothing even if I moved it 50+ volts, I magically get a a nice straight cut on 70% of 16ga. .060 material and then the rest is at a wicked 30* angle it consistant in the same spot the torch is prertty square but I cant seem to figure why its doing this, I thought it was my other nozzle that barely got 100 pierces on it and it blew a hole out the side of the orfice and was pretty much junk. Funny thing is the bevel side is actually cut the past with no dross on that edge. the rest is horrid. It easily taps off but with the parts so small is annoying to deburr.

So I said hey lets try the fine cut same shit just smaller kerf. Im starting to wonder if its the water splashing up causing voltage issues and the dross problem the top looks fine the edges look fine, I even lowered the water 1/2 below the material and doesnt seem to help.

I know I gotta keep working it all I know is Ive seen better cut quality and I did better by hand. and I think on the butterfly atleast its corner speed and I cant shaeem to find where or if I can adjust it, because straight lines and big radius arc are fine, its the fast directional changes of the axis that cause slag. and I think it needs slowed down 80% on contours. I cut 3/16 curved flames and had little dross but still the massive bevel on the one edge.

Things I know arent causing the issues:

1. I have no binding that I notice everything moves fine and my load is low
2. I have 100% dry air that doesnt even make it to the filter I have before the plasma
3. I have 2 x 2 3/16 tubing laying on top of my sheet just outside my cut area
4. I loctited my pinions and theres no play in any of the gear to racks

Could my voltage be a ground issue? Ive seen ground clamps in water my sheet usually pools up with water on top of it fast but the purging of air through the nozzle blows it away from the torch pretty well. I havent grounded my table but that should only cause issues with the voltage reading right? seems to not effect the controller, although I still get random areas where my torch blows out if it goes off the sheet just a hair if a lead in was to close.

tomorrow ill get some pics of what it looks like so I can post it here and on plasma spider Ill work through it I just gotta tell people Im not cutting anything for them til I get this straightened out

Yeah there welded togeher

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/Butterflys.jpg

also cut a fly, but i lowered my torch .020 and the slots cut a little thinner and need a cut off wheel down them to get em to slide together. also gt a Dragon file I wanna cut but have no clue how to assemble it

[Mav68erick]

the music is from my phone, that I was recording with.. I couldnt even hear it when I was filming yet it came through,


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3630-icbM80

The man with the biggest butterfly wins

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/BigLittleBtrFly.jpg

I think i got the wrong deflector for mech cutting on that fine cut setup... and I think im expecting to much when I was cutting the smaller butterflies to close together cuts, doubling the size helped some still takes a bit to deburr and clean everything up. I had enough deburring from that pos used bystronic laser my last shop I worked at got. for the money they paid it cut like crap, had people come in all the time and I spent hrs get it dialed in save my profiles next day wouldnt cut.

[Mav68erick]

http://www.youtube.com/user/mav68erick?blend=18&ob=5

[wickedinhere]

NIce it looks like you got the thc working pretty good what was the trick? I like staind.

[Mav68erick]

nope still off, the material isnt warping so I just turn it off, the SS pig I did warped so bad it lifted 1" or more off the sheet since it was 316L

oh well im sure Ill get to it but For thick stuff I think its to make up for inconsistencies in tables if the torch isnt exactly the same height in all directions or if the sheets already warped or bowed. Its just to frustrating to mess with atm

[Mav68erick]

I think im going to end up doing a wather chamber to raise and lower the water level... digging for pieces makes me a sad panda. Not to mention all the cuts on my fingers from catching the slats that are getting chewed up. I tried tabbing the parts .060 wasnt enough and a few things still fell through, magnet works but theres so much crap in the tray now its a mess so looks like raise lower water and get good wet dry shop vac. Oh and after 3 tshirts youd think I would learn not to lean over the table to get parts out.

this came out to cool, I wanna do the dragon but it has so many pieces!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/335011_2006555212925_1515019645_31878066_1600033_o .jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/286583_2006553972894_1515019645_31878064_3358610_o .jpg

[wickedinhere]

Nice those r cool.

[wickedinhere]

Quick question, How do i make the torch start anywhere i want? I move the torch where i want it then when i run the g code it moves about 12 inches then starts cutting.

[Mav68erick]

Jog it in the Corner of our sheet, lower the z down close to the sheet, and Zero out x y z on the top next to the machine cords at the top of the mach screen

dont click the reference buttons

or whats even easier because my keyboards so far away and Havent bothered to get the xbox contorller working, get it close zero it, and then move and square the sheet up under the torch

Notice in the start of the video all the numbers are zero at the top. Im pretty sure they say

Zero
x

etc.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN9HyfjTeRM&feature=share

[wickedinhere]

What i did was put the torch where i wanted it to start and zeroed x and y but not z i guess not zeroing z is my problem.

[Mav68erick]

it will move from your zero location to what ever your first pierce location is based off distances from that corner. It wont work its way out from that corner unless you tell it to cut this hole then that hole and work its way out, its random, unless you make one part and nest it, then I think it will develop a pattern away from that spot

[Mav68erick]

got my DCP digital current probe today hooked up it works, decided to try to thc again what a joke, I went back through re set it up step by step and its just going hay wire, watched my z height go from the .020 set height to + 180 down to -.083 when it faulted and stoped with the nozzle in a hole obviously it dove but when it went to 180 it was reading like 150volts my target volts were 130 it should have moved DOWN >.< not to mention its delayed before it moves by then its to late, sad thing is it shouldnt move at all as the small area footprint of the matieral its cutting isnt warping

[wickedinhere]

Well now i understand i was thinking it started cutting at the corner. I cut a few more pieces then it started trying to cut too high but whats happening is that black block that hits the z home switch is getting hung up. When the block moves up and stays there and that makes the cut height all out wack. Have you had any problems with yours i lubed mine but it did help.

[Mav68erick]

nope hadnt had a problem with mine, did you do the z Reference to set the Z height in your mp300 post in the sheetcam folder?

[wickedinhere]

Yes i did. But that block hanging up screws up my cut height.

[Mav68erick]

Ill look at mine tomorrow to see what could cause that. maybe it has a burr on it from being chamfered and getting stuck

[wickedinhere]

My THC might have been working but the block hanging up made me think it wasnt. I will video of what it does tomorrow.

[jeepsr4ever]

This happens if the two screws in front of the Z axis acme thread become loose or the Z axis gets a big jarring. Easy to fix but you will need to disassemble the Z halfway.

[wickedinhere]

I tried to loosen the 3 bolts and the block still hangs. I guess i need to disassemble the z axis, it didnt get any jarring so what exactly do i need to do?

[wickedinhere]

Got it fixed, the cable tray was binding not letting it stay down. Totally my fault.LOL

[wickedinhere]

Hey mav what cad software r u using?

[Mav68erick]

AutoCAD r14 its like 10 yrs old. Some dxfs I dl don't show up. I got it forto work a bit on my new 64 bit laptop but it still crashes if you click to many buttons to fast

[Mav68erick]

Well its been awhile been busy working testing out ideas being lazy. But noticed the new machine kinda sad I didnt wait a little bit, but being realistic I dont wanna route, I just like the added beefyness off the sides and the Z mount. Ive become away that with a hand torch hanging off the old model any movement on it causes it to rock some its not very stiff or rigid, thus it makes it hard to get square, which isnt a big issue to me except when I was piercing holes in .060 alm it pierces at .080 hgt. and moves down to .040 and comes out oblonged. But that was asking to much trying to use the pierced hole as a finished hole size.

Another is I thing I got the height control to work with aluminum Diamond plate but for say 16ga, when you have alot of pierces and what not I think the way the machine is set up its not very capable. It works good if you have a long cut and it holds height well, but once the sheet warps its over. Because your next touch off it pushed the sheet down -- Zeroes -- moves back up while the sheet springs back -- pierces and its screws up the nozzle.

Now when I get a change Im gonna order some 2 1/4 slat material rather then my 2 1/2 so I can lower my sheet closer to the water. I dunno if 2 Inch will fit and dont think they have 2 1/8. I could get 2" and put 2 1/8 shims under neith = ). This way I can somehwat submerge thinner stuff that has a lot of detail and see if that helps. I havent noticed the water getting to warm it barely got hit when I Was cutting 3/4 a friend wanted to see if it could, I both pierced with ramping it in and edge started it, cut good the bevel and angle of the drag line at the bottom was severe but had almost no dross what so ever. But I was thinking what If I plumbed the water to feed into a radiator on the wall with a fan to blow the hot air as extra heat and to cool the water down... Id Imagine it would work if the thing ran nonstop, But I think I need to figure something out before it starts freezing so I can change my water out, its getting bad.

Heres Some stuff I cut yesterday wanted to make a sign to go with all my cars signs ive hung up, cut out a Hotwheels logo and made this. Its 12" high gonna powdercoat the 1 Black or Flat Black and polish chrome / orange / maybe engine turn the SKull and Letters. Gonna engine turn some test pcs today when I get some hardware.


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/HD1.jpg

Heres what I was piercing the holes in, a 1/24 scale Rc truck, It didnt work to well so I drilled the holes by hand with a 1/16 bit. I layed out my first test piece and used it as a jig.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/RC/336528_2223987768603_1515019645_32038568_179475387 8_o.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/RC/332395_2223988328617_1515019645_32038569_195672479 5_o.jpg

Made a top plate to, the stock radio equipment was junk AM stuff. so I needed more room to mount all the bigger electronics, as fast as the aluinum cut if I could just get the holes laid out or cut better, I could easily sell the 2 pc kit for 20+ bucks all day long on the RC forums.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/RC/341202_2223990568673_1515019645_32038576_153440878 6_o.jpg

Also made some Windspinners with Football team letters in them, Did a cool 5pointed spikey star, the things dangerous, Gonna do a 6 pointed more snow flakey one later. I got an order for 5 I gonna do, but 4 of them are inside a heart so I gotta draw that up today or tomorrow and get steel monday

[Mav68erick]

Painted with 10-32 hardware, Flat black 1. Polish chrome on the skull and letters... looked like crap so I rinsed it off with water and was still tacky and stuck so I blew it off with air. let it set and then took an sos pad and rubbed it up and down, kinda did a semi brushed look. the skull is cleared the HD is not, I need to do it tomorrow, or maybe satin clear the whole thing

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/Mav68erick/Plasma/Hd1_Painted.jpg

Im gonna make mine about 4' tall paint the letters gray first, then Wickeds favorite color ( Orange ) and do the sos pad trick.


I cut a tab in the back and tacked it on so you can hang it on a nail

[jeepsr4ever]

The trick to cutting diamond plate is to have your cut height and pierce height above the diamonds and have your water level high. THC delay of .3-.5 second and no pierce delay. Some will even go into Sheetcam and change the post so their is no touch off after the first one its call *ref distance.

[Mav68erick]

well I got the diamond plate to cut ok, its cutting large areas of 16ga that was the issue, we were trying to cut windmill sides, well when we got done there wasnt much material left and my torch was dragging after about 25% of the sheet was cut, it was like a 12 x 20" area.

But the issue of no touch after first sounds awesome, especially cutting thick stuff where you dont need to touch off. Now this only works if you use the THC even on thick because depending on when making the table one side could be slightly higher then the other, I think mine is within about 1/64 so .015. But you could get unlucky and pierce the diamond at the lower level right next to the raised area and still bump it, Im not really gonna cut a bunch of it, but the refrencing Ill look into, 1 it will save a ton of time for not having to zero it self on small parts where warpage isnt an issue, and 2. if there is warpage it wont interfer with it piercing while touching the sheet.

Thx for the response.

[wickedinhere]

Nice mav, I have been selling lsu and saints footballs like there is no tomorrow. I still hate orange,lol i will post come more pics in my thread of what i have been building.

[wickedinhere]

Hey mav i am just getting around trying to figure out the THC do you have any tips? What are your setting for 1/16 and 1/8.

[Mav68erick]

hey wicked havent logged in a while havent cut much either to cold = P did cut some disc brake brackets for someone and motorcylce brackets.

I dont even bother with the Thc, If you have multiple pierces at it warps up the next touch off is gonna push it down pierce on top and mess the tip up. So I dont even bother since I havent ct anything to big yet. Or your tip touches off between slates and pushed the sheet below 0 and zeros itself off below a sheet and messes up. If It was up to me I wouldnt cut anything thinner then 1/8 it cuts so much nicer to.

Iam however gonna try to work on the warping issue by getting 2 1/4 wide slat rather then 2 1/2 so I can lower my height by 1/4 so my water level is higher. May also get 2" and use 1/8 thick pieces to shim it up so so I can lower it 3/8 from normal this way I can have water touching the bottom of the thinner sheets.

[wickedinhere]

Yeah i cut mostly 1/8 but i have been doing some 1/16 for some butterflies to keep the material cost down. I was just looking for some pointers, i finally got my tip volts to read right but my voltage while cutting will be 30 or so volts lower than what the book says it should be. It just raises the torch till it wont cut anymore.

[jeepsr4ever]

This means your getting divided volts. What cutter are you using? Also there may be a recall on the units that arent giving proper volts.

[wickedinhere]

I am using a hypertherm pm45, When it starts cutting its close to the target volts then drops off. I was using the divider card but then found out the pm45 has one internal. I then hook it straight from the back of the pm45 to the small box.

[jeepsr4ever]

Definately divided volts....check your support disk

[wickedinhere]

What am i looking for? Do you think its a problem with the pm45 or the little black box?

[jeepsr4ever]

On your setup disk look under the manual for the unit. It will explain how to change divided volts.

[jeepsr4ever]

Did you get it figured out? There is a small 4 switch dipswitch panel in the littel black PWM box that lets you change your divided voltage.

[wickedinhere]

I have it set right i just need to play with it some more,just been busy.