Its begun so I figured a fresh thread might be in order. Milled the front and side panels today one by one. I had the whole sheet set to cut but didn’t have time for the full run so I used my Estlcam skills and separated the bits so I could run them one by one as I had time. They’re cutting about 40% faster than the Estlcam CAM estimates. Really lightened up the framework on these. Not for any real purpose other than “I have a CNC machine so I might as well”. (That one’s for you Ryan
I’ve learned that I need to make my holding tabs a touch bigger yet. The “Basic Instructions” for the LCD side panels suggested 3mm X 3mm but I’m finding that at 3mm height they fail in the plywood kind of frequently. These ones I made 5mm long X 3mm in height thinking that would help but I still had three centres pop out. Luckily I was watching it so I was able to get the pieces out before they interfered with the Dewalt.
When I was cutting my cam lock levers (dog hole levers) I wasn’t so lucky - one of them popped out and burned up a bit pretty good. And that was 3/4" ply so it really locked itself into the hole and cranked on the mill. All was good but it was crazy to see happen. It’s good to have reminders of the respect these tools demand. My most respected ice carving tools are the Makitas. I’ve seen some horrific things happen with those monsters. If they catch fabric they dive right in.
I’ve Photoshopped out some details to save the surprise but am too excited to not share things at this point. Here’s how it all went together after being “aired out” on the MPCNC. Looks pretty high tech already. I love the look of “structure” in industrial design.
[attachment file=72109]
Note my daughter’s 3Doodler there…it’s officially already a 3D Printer! Hahahaha
My tracking number tells me the the doorbell is going to ring this afternoon with a box full of goodies to pay with after work tonight! Super excited.
Ha! I’ve seen stuff around here that makes me think you have little ones running around your place like I do in which case you may know just how miraculous it is that I was able to find tape at all!
Haha. I have two, but I keep my tape in the top drawer, and they are still pretty small. I’m amazed that even the 8mo. old just loves watching my 3D printer. They are just fascinating to watch.
Well, I was able to get all the fasteners from an industrial supply place after leaving Home Depot empty handed. They didn’t have anything that went smaller than M5 and the 6-32 selection was really lacking. Worked out though because I got all the bits I needed in one stop and for $11!
The paint and stain went on yesterday. Need one more coat on the Heffe plate and the details and features need their paint. I’ll do that tonight and should be assembling tomorrow. It looks great already - can’t wait to see it fully assembled and powered up.
I’m so bad with patiently waiting to reveal surprises. I figure I can “leak” this without giving too much away…can’t wait to see it all put together![attachment file=72309]
It’s killng me having to wait for paint to dry…getting screws and nuts into the right places while I wait.
I assume the LM8UUs go into the XZ ends and the carrier piece for the extruder)I guess that’s X). And then into the three bed bearing blocks. I have four left. Do I double up on the XZ ends and the X slider piece?
I had a good look at them last night - they are lubed. However as I was sliding the smooth rod through I heard the ominous tick-tick-tick-tick-tickety-tickety-tickety sound of something very very small bouncing on the hardwood floor. I stood up and heard another round of tickety’s And then another. I found two impossibly small ball bearings on the floor - did not find the third.
Looking inside the cylinder I can see a good number of bearings in there so I don’t know if I’ve lost one or two or if they were loose in the cylinder and extraneous to begin with. I got concerned because the rod felt rough sliding through and jammed here and there. Then I saw Ryan’s note about not tightening the clamp bolt down - which I had. Removing it altogether things ran smoothly for the most part. Still doesn’t feel as smooth as I think it should.
I must have done it on the laptop because I can’t find the file on my desktop here. It’s not much different than the original, I just curved the top into an arch and then slightly curved the bottom up to match. I was worried it’d look too much like a tombstone with that shape but I think it worked out okay. I think that top bit at it’s widest is about 4 1/2".
