Wlliamstown Metals, 44 Tennyson Street Williamstown.
Easy and no fuss, if you want to pay in advance they will have it cut and waiting, I walked in there with my cut list, and spent 15 minutes around the corner having a look through a great saltwater aquarium supplies store and was all done by the time I got back.
Sweet, thanks mate.
I’m in Torquay but often head into Melbourne so would be perfect for me to get on the way.
Cheers
Jamie
When a few of you get up and running, can you let us know how the aluminum extrusion works? I am worried that the high bearing point load will wear in a flat spot and cause loose parts, it could also work harden and be just fine. I just moved and haven’t found a metal supplier to try it myself. The steel tubes show wear relatively quickly.
That was one of my concerns too.
Do you think it might still be viable to use smaller bearings for a wider OD(25.4mm) or would they be too far off center of the pipe?
For what its worth I used this program http://www.1d-solutions.com/home.htm to optimize my cut list, type in all the lengths you require, the length of the tube you are cutting from and how much you lose for each cut and it optimizes what to cut from each length. Then I started playing with my dimensions to optimise for 2 sets of tube from 3 lengths. The program listed is freeware limited in that you cant export or print, I just took a screenshot of the result and then printed that out.
On the wearing, I think it will take a fair while for any wear to become significant, but will certainly report once Im up and running.
GaZ
Tough to say, if you leave everything really loose it might work. Seems like it should.
Hello all.
I’ve only just started getting the parts together for my own MPCNC, but I thought I’d add a suggestion for the 25mm tube.
I purchased through a local stainless steel supplier a 6m length of milled stainless tube. It is VERY accurate. The nominal OD is 25mm (+/- <0.3mm over the 6mtr length) is 316 grade (extremely wear resistant) and very reasonably priced ($70AUD for the 6mtr length). Wall thickness is 1.6mm which is plenty rigid, 316 stainless is Hard as f’k.
I’ve set up the outer frame (corner blocked, feet, squared everything) at lengths of 1200*800, and there is no need for supports. The frame is very rigid.
I’ll start a thread in the builds section when I have more time. I have some more printing to do before I can complete the mechanical assembly. I’ll put together a build log and post something after that.
Let me know if anyone is interested in the details of the tube. I can offer details of the supplier and the exact name and specs of the tube if anyone wants to order. I’m fairly sure the steel shop is a national chain here in Australia.
Thanks.
Justin.
By all means list the supplier and details, I’d be happy to get some in for anyone, and I might switch to a stainless build myself.
Never thought much about it but stainless might just be the best choice. It doesn’t have galvanizing and it is not very expensive, good tolerances, no rust, rigid. I want to get some and try it out. Should be readily available.
Can’t wait, thanks!
Sorry I have lost my invoice for the stainless tube. I will get the details from the steel shop tomorrow.
This is the company I have been dealing with. My boss has an account (we through several thousand dollars worth of stainless a week so his prices are pretty awesome)
I’ll post the exact part # for easy ordering after work tomorrow.
I opted for the 600grit milled 316 tube. It was a little pricier than the rough milled tube (320 I think) but it makes no difference to the accuracy of the nominal OD, it just had a much smoother finish (like half way to mirror finish I guess).
Aesthetically, it’s very pleasing (if your into all that lol) I just thought it might promote smoother motion, and less wear? Maybe?
Cheers.
Justin.
Ok. Scratch that. I just found it lol.
I wont post a copy of the invoice (my bosses account number and all his details are on it) but here are the specifics.
Vulcan list it as.
25.4mm X 1.6mm WELDED TUBE 600GRIT G316 ASTM A554 6.00m lenght (5.700kg) Price per length $48.38AUD(inc GST)
Remember this is my bosses “special” price, so you may end up paying a little more, but still cheap as chips.
Also I apologize that I listed it as 25mm tube in an earlier post. It’s not true “metric” tube but actually 1". Proper 25mm tube is available via special order, at an exorbitant price. I had no issue with the extra .4mm width. It still slid smoothly into the corner blocks with very little resistance. I recommend printing one corner block on your printer (if printing your own) and test to see if you need to adjust any parameters to get a snug fit.
Perhaps vicious could test fit a piece of 1" tube with his printed parts to confirm comparability for Australian customers buying his kits (not sure if this has been done already or not, sorry)
Thanks,
Justin.
Hello.
I previously posted some information on some stainless steel tube that I thought would be suitable for use in the IE of the MPCNC. It was not a true metric tube but rather 1" (25.4mm). While it worked perfectly with my printed corner blocks and roller F, it is not perfectly suited to the middle assembly.
The problem I have found is the extra 0.4mm causes the tube fitted to the z axis to foul on the bearings that support the tubes for the gantry and vice versa (does that make sense?) This being the case, I went back to the drawing board and began searching anew for suitable tube.
I had previously found 25mm alloy tube, but I was not sold on the surface of the tube being hard enough for long term use. I envisioned the bearings cutting grooves into the malleable alloy. But I think I have found a solution in the form of a hard anodised/hot dipped alloy tube available through Ullrich Aluminium http://www.ullrich.com.au/
It is very cheap (cheaper than the stainless tube I previously listed) nice and rigid (at 3mm wall thickness it rivals the stainless tube over similar lengths) and the surface finish is very hard. The finish is a hot dip chrome like plating with a anodised coating to prevent corrosion (used primarily in bathrooms). It is impressive how hard it actually is. For example. The 316 stainless tube was showing marks/wear from the bearings straight away, the hard anodised alloy on the other hand is totally impervious to wear from the bearings (so far).
Very impressed with this tube, and very well priced.
I will post a copy of the invoice for anyone who in interested in purchasing some for their own build.
Also forgot to mention. The alloy (3mm wall thickness) is much lighter than the stainless (1.6mm wall thickness) over the same lengths, that is a huge bonus IMO.
3dti, are you talking about that UA1969 product?
They are setup at Smithfield, so that is not too far from me.
I’m currently using the 25.00mm SS, and so far very little wear, or deflection.
But it is great to have an alternative, so thank you for the post.
Cheers
Greg.
Greg.
Sorry I left the invoice at work so I don’t have the exact product code. I’ll post a copy of the invoice Monday afternoon so others can source if they want.
After spending some time over the weekend playing with the two different tubes and dummy assembling the “middle assembly”, I am sold on the alloy as the better solution. It ticks all the boxes. Very light, very stiff, very tough surface finish, great to work with (cold cuts are so much cleaner) and very cheap (less than $35AUD for a 6mtr length).
Wish I had found this sooner.
Justin.
Thanks Justin,
Bugger, I paid just over $200 for my SS to be supplied and cut.
I will look at this alloy tube on my next built, for sure.
Cheers
Greg.
I’m in the process of building the machine using 25.4mm steel tube from Bunnings (major Australian hardware store chain, similar to Lowes or Home Depot in USA).
http://www.bunnings.com.au/metal-mate-25-4-x-1-2-1m-galvanised-steel-round-tube_p1130448
I bought 7 x 100 cm lengths to make a machine 100 cm x 80 cm. The short lengths are easier to transport and less likely to have been bent during storage and transport.
Printing in ABS and using a combination of sanding/filing plus scaling in slicing software to get a good fit.
RH1NO just a friendly heads up.
The “middle assembly” really needs proper metric 25mm tube. I have ended up using a combination of 1" (25.4mm) stainless steel and 25mm alloy for my MPCNC. Initially I had hoped to use 1" tube throughout, but ran into clearance issues when I went to assemble the middle/z axis.
Okay. Here are the spec’s, part # and pricing of the 25mm alloy tube for anyone who is interested.
Ullrich Aluminium
Part # RT253BCL6.5AL / UA1248 6463T5 6.5M / EXT Tube Dia 25x3mm / AN 5-7um BRIGHT DIP CLEAR / $27.36inc GST
There is also a hard anodizing matte finish option for the coating. They did not have any on hand, so I couldn’t comment on the surface finish. But sales rep I spoke to said that the matte finish is even more wear resistant than the bright finish, so that could be another great option.
Thanks for the tip 3dTI.
Where is the clearance issue? Between Z axis pipes and X/Y bearings?
Think I’ll push ahead for now and see if I can bias clearances to suit.
Intent of the machine is to be extremely inexpensive and adaptable so I’d rather tweak the 3d printed parts (if possible) than chase more exotic or expensive pipe options.
If all else fails, I do happen to live close to an Ulrich Aluminium warehouse.
Cheers.