Anything Manufacturing - Small to Medium Scale Metal Work (CAD/CAM included!)

Hmm. Sounds like you might have worked in the industry. You just triggered some flashbacks.

 

Its just one of the press tool kits, not exactly sure whats its called.

Its just threaded rod with two nuts and thrust washers.

$96 WINTOOLS 27 Pcs Universal Press & Pull Sleeve Kit Bush Bearing Removal Insertion Tool Set

https://www.amazon.com/WINTOOLS-Uni...ix=press+tool+kit+threaded+rod,aps,111&sr=8-5

 

Perhaps...

 

For anyone that wants to watch

https://youtu.be/5wnmunpi0tM?si=FahxA1oppYROky7k

 

That crate's a small apartment, take advantage!

 

Was able to barter getting rid of it - guy wants me to make a sort of 'mount' on his trailer so he can mount his winch on it.

He knows I'll be down for a few weeks so hell yeah I'll take that offer.

It's hot out, everything was heavy, and I'm calling it for the day. I'll begin assembly slowly tomorrow.

 

So I just got off the phone with Langmuir - I inquired whether they sold a 'kit' of any sort to mimic a computer talking to a Crossfire table in order to use Firecontrol.

Helps that several of them know me over at Langmuir so I'm getting a control module at a reasonable price. This will allow me to run Firecontrol on my computer at will as if being connected directly to one of their tables which will allow me to continue to help people as needed on Zoom.

 

On another note, I'm only a few steps into assembly and have to pause.







The issue is extremely minor and easily figured out, but inconvenient.

Every bag of hardware is labeled, and the manual is good at telling you what hardware to use at each given step. I stopped when I got to this step, which is to place the triangular supports at the leg bottoms with the leveling feet.

It calls for hardware A, P, and R (the middle step applies to my table, not the top or bottom step).



Thing is, with 6 supports and 4 holes each, that requires 24 nuts, 24 bolts, and 24 washers.

Bags A and P have 9 bolts, and 9 washers.

Bag R is non-existent.



It's safe to assume the only non-labeled bag (far right) is the bag I need to use for the supports and maybe the manual calls for the wrong nomenclature.

This is confirmed as you skip ahead and see the linear guide rails utilize bags A and P with no mention of R (again the middle step applies to my table hence why I'm pointing at it).



So what's the inconvenience?

I gotta go to Home Depot to buy a bunch of washers



Kid is taking a nap, which was perfect for assembling this thing but now I have to wait until he wakes up (and feed him) before we go anywhere

 

I mean you are doing technical customer service and you are not on their payroll. I hope they treated you well

 

True.

I do it the same way people would help people here in the forum you know? Some people here have legit work experience, or have received formal training.

But with tables at such a lower cost, it's assumed they'll be purchased by those who will be self-taught and learning stuff as they go.

They've definitely treated me very well though, and have provided more parts at no cost than I can ask for (specifically referring to the Pro when I got a whole Z axis assembly for free).

 

It’s the dreaded $2.79 trip to HD. I live 30 min from a hardware store of any use so a few years I decided to make myself a fastener drawer to avoid this issue. SHC, flat head and button heads in common sizes. It was a little spendy but I bet it’s paid for itself in gas alone.

I started organizing with a schaler bins but just got turned on to gridfinity so if I ever get back in my shop I will be printing a ton of those.

 

It's only 15mins for me, but requires logistics before taking the kid out anywhere

I'm just going to wait until the spare hardware arrives before I continue assembly.

Really, after I get the leveling feet on and supports, the linear guide rails go on next followed by squaring things up.

After which, the gantry goes on and then the fun part of assembling the motors assembly, connecting everything together, then running all the wiring through the drag chain.

Basically I could have it all assembled today and running that silicone between the water beds (if I had all my hardware).

I did add the bracing though yesterday evening when I was on a FB call with someone needing help with their table

 

I'm a fucking liar, I couldn't leave it alone



But really this is where I stop cause I'll need the feet on to level and get it squared

These rails are freaking nice though (and heavy)

 

STV following up, assembly crew told me they need to revise their manual and thanked me for bringing it to their attention.

No washers are needed or used (but they're still ok with the additional hardware kit going out to me) as it ensures the bolts fully threading into the nuts through the thick legs and supports.

So I moved forward with installing the supports and feet and holy shit, I can barely stand



I may actually have to find someone to help me as I need to cinch down a ton of bolts to remove the sloppiness of the hand tight bolts.

After which I'll need help with squaring it up and torqueing it down.

 

By the time my wife gets home from work, I'm tired AF.

On the plus side, I did spend a little more time on assembly. My one and only friend that lives nearby (35mins away) is super sick so I can't get any help from him.

So I took quite a long time (and a lot of bending over) squaring up the table today.

After which, I installed the drag chain tray. STV allows users to install it either on the left or on the right which is super convenient.

I plan to run a computer on the left side just like the Langmuir forced me to on both tables. Not a bad thing really considering bottom left is technically X0, Y0.



Before I installed the side plates that mount the gantry, I had to stop and admire how beefy they are.



They're freaking thick.



So this is where I stopped.



If my pipe jack can sit as high as I need it to, I may be able to install the gantry myself otherwise I'll need to find some nearby help.

Don't want to risk dropping it with one side in the air trying to thread the other side.

 

What I did when I put the gantry plates on. I used 2x4 blocks as cribbing to hold each side close enough that it did not take much to lift either side to get the new plates installed.

Sice your rails an carriages are on the side you should be able to do something close. Crib each end a little at a time until its high enough to bolt one side in place with out fear of of
dropping the other side.

You might find one gantry plate needs to come off an get bolted.to the gantry first then the carriages to do this.

 

I have a couple of cheap scissor jacks, the kind used in smaller cars. I had one on each end of my gantry. It made it easy to dial in the tramming height.

 

I really need to invest in a second pipe jack - a taller one at that for misc things like this.

But maybe the pipe jack will be tall enough so we'll see, and just do as you guys mentioned.

 

Man I am sweating.

Been a hot as hell day today, but I will say I wasn't working as hard as the guys in my backyard as they prepped the area for concrete!

Happy to report that my pipe jack was more than tall enough to help me install the gantry so I got that done today.



I've got to make a run to Home Depot for some other stuff but at this point it'll sit as is until either this Sunday or Monday when I get back at it.

I will say, this Z-axis assembly is 100 times beefier than the Langmuir setup I'm very familiar with.



The magnetic break-away feature!



I guess if I'm going to use ohmic sensing, I should buy the retaining cap for it before I get started with using this thing.

 

Oh man, so I ran into an actual issue today.

To attach the motors, both Y and X, they mount onto an aluminum plate with threaded holes. There's a large hole in the center as well for the motor to 'slot' into as it has a raised edge.

Experience has always told me to run the hardware through the threaded holes to ensure it is clean and clear before assembling anything - no problem here.



The issue occurs when trying to bolt down the motor to these plates. All three plates have the right bolt hole setup, but the center is the slightest bit offset. I tested this both by mounting each motor onto each plate, and attempting to get two bolts on which is a no go.

Only by "floating" the plate above the motor can I actually get all 4 bolts on the motor, and cinch it down until the raised edge hits the aluminum.





Really wish I had proper tooling to maybe enlarge the hole the slightest bit but I don't. Any method I follow would be caveman style and I really wish not to go that route. I did try taking a soft blow hammer and tapping it into place in case that would help but it would not budge.

Since I have that issue, I recorded a video too in order to see what they think about my gantry's "free roll" as this is the first time I've owned a table on linear guide rails.

@Pyrotech what are your thoughts?

https://youtu.be/URJ4sx4U9mU?si=hoDalbRPqqZL5r3a

The aluminum extrusion bars are distanced equally from the frame both at the tops and bottoms as I let the gantry set the width.