My new 5x10 turnkey table from Bulltear

[Rockstar Metalworks]

This will be my log as I learn and grow with my new CNC plasma table from Bulltear. Being as I dont have much spare time I decided to let Matt and his crew build me a turnkey table rather than building my own table and ordering a gantry kit. Hopefully that will help with the learning curve some as it should already be set up and ready to go. Matt has been great to deal with and very helpful with all my questions while choosing which table.(he is probably tired of hearing from me by now, lol.) I decided to get the biggest table I could afford since that seemed to be the only consistent advice I could find while researching plasma tables. I also chose a Hypertherm powermax 85 and had it shipped to Bulltear for installation on my new table. The table arrived Monday and we got it unloaded, put into place, and leveled. I ran an air drop into the area as well and am in the process of hooking up the electrical. Tomorrow night I will hopefully have the power ran and get the pc hooked up and functional. The goal is to make the first test cuts this weekend, meanwhile I will be reading and watching every tutorial I can find on bobcad, sheetcam, and mach3 so I wont be too lost when I start programming. Here are a couple of pics from Monday. Thanks again to Matt for all his help.

[jeepsr4ever]

It looks good in there! I really like the looks of a CNC plasma table when you have tons of material sheets next to it cut out like skeletons and something cutting on the table. :)

[Rockstar Metalworks]

It wont be long before I can post some pictures just like that!

Got the computer desk in place and all the wires run, now I just need to tidy things up a bit and quit playing with my new toy and actually get to work. Haha. I have already cut out several parts and am working on getting the machine fine tuned. So far so good!

[Rockstar Metalworks]

Quick question, one problem I am running into is that I get a bit of a "wiggle" (excessive IMO) in my cut right after the machine makes a corner. I only have a problem when cutting at speeds above 100ipm. I know I can use the loop feature in the corners to help, but I hate using up extra material to make corners. Anyway, I can feel a shake in the torch mount that seems to be radiating across the entire gantry when it changes directions. Heres a couple of pics that should show you what I mean, the first is a rough drawing of what the material looks like with the cut, and the second shows where most of the shake is coming from. I can post pics of the actual metal if it would help. It was at a cut speed of 250 and 10ga metal. Any ideas? Thanks for all your help.

[ralphxj]

The entire gantry is shacking? Check to make sure the set screws in the drive motors are all tight!! I had the set screw on the A-axis drive gear come loose, so the gantry was only being run by one side and it was causing a shacking when it was changing directions. Although it would only cause the problem in the front to back motion, and not side-to-side.

[jeepsr4ever]

It may also be coming from the sharp tip setscrews that keep the Z axis Mag-Lok plate in place. They may have wiggled out allowing the outerplate to shake when a change in direction is made. If you can feel any shake in the torch mount check to see if it is the torch mount on those screws. Your crate looked like hell so its hard to say if it was bumped in shipping.

[Rockstar Metalworks]

It may also be coming from the sharp tip setscrews that keep the Z axis Mag-Lok plate in place. They may have wiggled out allowing the outerplate to shake when a change in direction is made. If you can feel any shake in the torch mount check to see if it is the torch mount on those screws. Your crate looked like hell so its hard to say if it was bumped in shipping.

Come to think of it, I did notice when I was first inspecting the machine that there was a slight bit of play between the mag lock plate and the set screws. It wasnt a lot, but there was some play. I will check that tomorrow and report back. I will also cut a square and see if it does it on all corners or if it is only on the x or y axis.

Is there a max cut speed that you recommend for the gantry? I know it depends on material as far as what speeds to use, but is there a speed that I should try to keep it under? Also, is there a way to slow down the machine just in the corners so its not quite such a hard abrupt turn?

Thanks again!

[Rockstar Metalworks]

The entire gantry is shacking? Check to make sure the set screws in the drive motors are all tight!! I had the set screw on the A-axis drive gear come loose, so the gantry was only being run by one side and it was causing a shacking when it was changing directions. Although it would only cause the problem in the front to back motion, and not side-to-side.

Thanks for the tips, I'll check that as well tomorrow. Not sure if you remember, but I hit you up on pirate about your bulltear table when I was trying to decide what to get. Thanks for all your help and input, your advice helped me choose the 5x10 bulltear table. Loving it so far! Im sure Ill like it even better once I get a good grasp on all the software and programming. Did you ever get your scribe all ironed out and working? I would love to hear how thats going.

[jeepsr4ever]

There is no upper limit to these machines as far as travel they can cut as fast as they can rapid travel however you will lower your sharp corners moving faster. There is a CV setting (constant velocity) however before you make any changes drop your amperage and cut slower. Check to see what is causing your vibration.

[ralphxj]

Thanks for the tips, I'll check that as well tomorrow. Not sure if you remember, but I hit you up on pirate about your bulltear table when I was trying to decide what to get. Thanks for all your help and input, your advice helped me choose the 5x10 bulltear table. Loving it so far! Im sure Ill like it even better once I get a good grasp on all the software and programming. Did you ever get your scribe all ironed out and working? I would love to hear how thats going.

Yep, glad you went with BT!! I love mine, I'm finally really getting the hang of the table and getting it to do what I want.

The scribe setup is done and tested, but I haven't actually used it for anything except drawing test circles: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1057132

Other then a better plasma at some point, I'm very happy with the setup, and don't think I'll need to upgrade any time soon.

[Rockstar Metalworks]

Ok, narrowed my vibration issue down a little more. It is coming from the linear rail on the gantry accross the table. There appears to be some play between the bearings and the rail, probably a result of how the crate was (mis)handled during shipping. Obviously not bulltears fault. How do you adjust the clearance and preload of those bearings on the linear rail? I have absolutely no play when the machine is moving along the y axis (width of table) but a decent bit of play along the x axis (length of table). Maybe this picture will help... the green arrows are for the good motion, the red arrow indicates which direction the head shakes, and the yellow circle is the truck that the play is coming from. Thanks for all the help!

[Rockstar Metalworks]

BTW, the vibration is initiated when the machine starts, stops or changes direction abruptly along the x axis, the actual linear motion is smooth as can be.

[jeepsr4ever]

Whats your email I will send you a schematic tomorrow afternoon.

[Rockstar Metalworks]

Here is a pic of a line test I did on 1/8 mild steel with a cut speed of 80 ipm. You can see the smooth start and cut, but as soon as the machine makes the turn down the line it gives a vibration that soon levels out and goes back to a good smooth cut. The vibration/wiggle gets much more pronounced as the cut speed increases. You can tell the start point by the splatter at the pierce point. My e-mail is rstoltje@hotmail.com , any info would be great. Thanks!

[jeepsr4ever]

What I would do first is take the Mag-Lok plate off and remove your machine torch. Set the Mag-Lok plate on a flat surface and see if it rocks at all. It could also be the tapered setscrews are causing rock in the Mag plate.

[Rockstar Metalworks]

Just in case anyone reading this is wondering, the machine is doing great other than the one little bug that was undoubtedly caused by an over aggressive shipping company. Here are a few pics of some of the stuff I've manged to cut out, the first one is a usmc file from another forum and the other is a bracket I designed for a link mount on a rock crawler. Ive only had the machine for two weeks now, so I think I'm on track. A couple more weeks and get this vibration straightened out and I should be rolling smoothly. Thanks again Bulltear!

BTW, the holes in the tabs for the bolts are cut with the plasma, not drilled. I couldnt be happier with them. I set the hole diameter to .77 and it is a tight perfect fit for a 3/4 bolt. Very impressive.

[Rockstar Metalworks]

What I would do first is take the Mag-Lok plate off and remove your machine torch. Set the Mag-Lok plate on a flat surface and see if it rocks at all. It could also be the tapered setscrews are causing rock in the Mag plate.

I did just that this last weekend, there was no warpage in the mag-lok plate. There was a little play in the taper screws so I adjusted that out and reassembled. Didnt seem to help. If I jog the machine using the xbox controller you can see the wobble. When moving the width of the table(y axis) there is no vibration at all, but when jogging the x axis you can see the hole torch and holder wobble when you first initiate the motion.

[jeepsr4ever]

Check to see if there is any play in the truck on the gantry. Grab the Z axis near the middle and see if you can move it at all forward and backwards.

[Rockstar Metalworks]

Check to see if there is any play in the truck on the gantry. Grab the Z axis near the middle and see if you can move it at all forward and backwards.

Yep, there is a touch of play in the truck that moves across the gantry. Not side to side play, but a little forward backward play. Its not much, but a little movement there makes a decent bit of movement all the way down at the torch tip. Any info on how to adjust it?

[jeepsr4ever]

The good news is they are completely adjustable for preload. The bad news is it takes some disassembly to get to the truck. You will need to remove the Y axis motor assembly by loosening the 2 3/16" stainless steel nuts and completely removing the Y axis assembly. Next you will need to locate the 4 socket head capscrews behind the rails and use a ball type allen wrench to remove them. Once removed the Z axis will be free and you will see the truck and Y axis adaptor plate. You can slide the truck all the way to the side of the gantry and remove the 1/4-20 socket head capscrew stop to allow the truck to slide off. There is one cam on the truck you will see where to loosed teh set screw and then loosen the precision bolt on the bear wheel. Once you loose the precision bolt on the bearing wheel turn it a little and tighten slightly. Then try your fit on the gantry rail. The truck should take quit a bit of force to get back on the rail. Use a rubber hammer or a plastic dead blow. Once you have a strong preload tighten the precision bolt and the setscrews on the other side and re-test. When your happy attach the Z axis assembly using the 4 long socket head capscrews (with your ball driver allen wrench) and then attach the Y axis assembly and using about 6lbs of force push the Y axis assembly into the gear rack and tighten the two 3/8 stainless nuts until the assembly is tight. To check for zero backlash turn the motor power on and try to move the Y axis assembly by hand back and forth. If you feel and movement back and forth under 5lbs you dont have the Y axis gear into the rack far enough.

[Rockstar Metalworks]

The good news is they are completely adjustable for preload. The bad news is it takes some disassembly to get to the truck. You will need to remove the Y axis motor assembly by loosening the 2 3/16" stainless steel nuts and completely removing the Y axis assembly. Next you will need to locate the 4 socket head capscrews behind the rails and use a ball type allen wrench to remove them. Once removed the Z axis will be free and you will see the truck and Y axis adaptor plate. You can slide the truck all the way to the side of the gantry and remove the 1/4-20 socket head capscrew stop to allow the truck to slide off. There is one cam on the truck you will see where to loosed teh set screw and then loosen the precision bolt on the bear wheel. Once you loose the precision bolt on the bearing wheel turn it a little and tighten slightly. Then try your fit on the gantry rail. The truck should take quit a bit of force to get back on the rail. Use a rubber hammer or a plastic dead blow. Once you have a strong preload tighten the precision bolt and the setscrews on the other side and re-test. When your happy attach the Z axis assembly using the 4 long socket head capscrews (with your ball driver allen wrench) and then attach the Y axis assembly and using about 6lbs of force push the Y axis assembly into the gear rack and tighten the two 3/8 stainless nuts until the assembly is tight. To check for zero backlash turn the motor power on and try to move the Y axis assembly by hand back and forth. If you feel and movement back and forth under 5lbs you dont have the Y axis gear into the rack far enough.

Thanks, Ill give that a try tomorrow.

[jeepsr4ever]

You know when I saw that crate was destroyed I knew something would be wrong. You just cant destroy a crate like that without causing problems...unless your really good. Sorry for the pain I think you will be very happy when all is set.

[Rockstar Metalworks]

That fixed it!! Thanks for the info, a little adjustment made a world of difference. I have no doubt that the way the crate was beat up is the reason there was a little slack in the gantry. So far I have been very pleased with the tables performance, being able to cut out brackets as I need them has increased my production tremendously. Thanks for all your help Matt! I will be sure to add some pics of projects as I go.

You had mentioned having a good link to some tutorials on the mach3 controller when I talked to you a couple of weeks ago, any chance you could post up those links? Thanks again!

[jeepsr4ever]

How are things going?

[jeepsr4ever]

How are things cutting?