Hi, I am currently printing parts for the ZenXY v2 25mm/18mm version.
I have looked at the calculator but I am not sure on what I actually calculating.
I have steel pipe 25mm in outer diameter and a total length of 2000mm.
This would give me two 25mm outer diameter pipes with a length of 1000mm.
Calculating backwards, how can I create a table that works with these measurements?
However, I haven’t found 18mm steel pipe yet. But I think that the table should be 500mm wide.
There are two ways to approach the problem. You can ask to build a machine that uses specific tubing lengths, or you can ask how big the table must be for my machine. The calculator is based on the space under the table necessary to mount the hardware.
You can reverse the process to see how big a table will be for a specific tubing length by entering values that produce a specific tubing length. If I adjust the build footprint for 1000 x 500 tubing, I must enter a build size of 1096 x 592.5. This is the size I must provide under the table to mount the hardware. Another way to look at it is that the underside of your table must be around 100mm bigger in each dimension than the size of the tubing you use.
Work area is the area the ball will travel in the sand.
Hi,
thank you for your reply. I found a cad version of the table, however there are no lengths in the cad?
I’ll have another go on the calculator, guess I need to understand how it works before I start.
You can extract the information from the CAD model. I’m sure that is how the values in the calculator were generated. In the CAD model, measure the length of the tubing, then measure the footprint. You will see that the footprint is about 100mm bigger than the tubing in each dimension. So, like the calculator, the underside of the table where you mount the hardware must be about 100mm bigger in each dimension than the tubing lengths.
Ok. I’ll try to extract the neccesary information from the CAD.
Perhaps I’ll make it the same size as in the CAD and in the instructions.
This is the link to the CAD. I don’t yet know how to extract the measurements from the model.
Does anyone know the measurements for the table in the docs?
I measured from the corners of the mounting plate. My assumption is that this is the maximum footprint of the Zen table mechanism. It measured 1485.9mm x 876.3mm. The size of the table (outside corners of the legs) is 1562.10mm x 952.5mm. Of course, you can resize the various parts to customize the table for your design, and the exact measurements will be somewhat dependent on the wood board sizes available in your country.
I’ve not built a ZenXY table (yet?), but if it were me, I’d start with the glass size and work from there. Based on forum posts, it has been recommended to use tempered glass for the top surface glass. You cannot just cut tempered glass to size, so you will likely have to start with premade glass. The glass in the fusion model is 36" x 60", which is size of premade glass I can find in the US.
Hi again,
and thank you for a great answer!
Maybe we could do a concurrent build, on each side of the atlantic.
I´ll check dimensions on tempered glass tonight. Seems like a legit place to start. I want to know the table size before I order parts so I know how much belt I need.
What would make you build a ZenXY?
What woWaimeake you build a ZenXY?
I have no place to put a ZenXY table at this time. I’ve considered building one as an outside table, but I was concerned about weatherproofing the mechanism and electronics against the weather. I currently have a design for a tabletop version roughly 550mm x 550mm, but I’m moving slowly on that project.
As for the glass, consider looking for products that include the glass as well as the glass itself. For whatever reason, looking on Amazon, I can purchase a table with a tempered glass top much cheaper than the glass itself.
I also have limited space, however, the ZenXY is tempting to build and I have haft of the printed pieces at the moment.
Perhaps plexi or acrylic or similar could be another option? Instead of the normal/tempered glas that might chatter on impact of the edge.
I don’t know the impact of using acrylic or normal glass rather than tempered glass. For the bottom glass, I would think that acrylic might not be flat enough. Consider asking this as a new question. Sometimes new questions inside other questions don’t get answered.
That´s solid advice. I´ll ask tomorrow in another thread, I have had a slow day at work today and I spent most of the day looking at this forum.
You have a lowrider?
Acrylic for the top surface would be fine.
For the bottom, it depends on the size.
You want the bottom to be as thin as possible. The strength of the magnetic field disippates as the square of the distance between the magnet and the ball, so a 1/4" thick slab is considerably weaker than 1/8" my table bottom is 1.5mm (1/16") material for this reason. This gives me a very strong link between magnet and ball, allowing for more rapid moves when I want them.
I made a frame and “stretched” the bottom over it so that the material is under subtle tension in order to keep it from sagging. This seems to work adequately for me. I think you could manage this with acrylic with appropriate bonding, though I think that 3mm material is probably the most comminly available.
2mm glass is available, but non-tempered glass this thin is very fragile, and I would not recommend it.
Hi Dan,
thank you for your reply. I´ll have your advice in mind when going forward.’
I looked in the advice category a minute ago and there was another question about driver board/motherboard for the ZenXY v2.
Would the BigTreeTech SKR MINI E3 V3.0 32 Bit Control Board or something similar to that motherboard work?
Hello all thanks for the tips and advice as well.
I am trying to get a idea of a size as well.
I went to Home Depot and bought a glass panel for a railing. They have multiple sizes it is prices I think mine is 24”x36” and 3/8 thick.
I also am having a bit of a struggle with my frame and sizes. I want to make it so you can’t see any dead space so depth is a consideration I think as well.
I have all my parts printed and bought the hardware from v1
I had to sign up on this tindie bot thing so I could be informed when Bart ding had more of his fluid nc control boards available again.
Just wondering if some shrinkable fabric could work for base or hard board.
I am not quite ready to finish building my zen table as I am about 2/3 done the lr3. (I was going to use it to cut the hole in my table)
So far as I can see, no reason why not. Seems like a good economical choice.
9.5mm thick is not suitable for the bottom. It would make a fantastic looking top though.
I use hardboard for mine, it’s about 14" by 22" like I said, I made a frame for it and the hardboard was glued on. I screwed it on with the screws at a slight angle to try to pull the material as taut as possible. Once the glue was set, I removed the screws since they get in the way of the mechanism. The result is that the bottom feels much more solid than the 1/16" hardboard normally make possible. The frame is made with layers of MDF reinforced with aluminum angle on the long spans. For the size spans you’re talking about, you’d need to reinforce all 4 sides to keep it from flexing. You might need to go to 1/8" material as well not to get any sag.
I also primed and sealed the top surface once the frame was assembled to keep any envioronmental moisture from distorting the bottom and introducing sag. At present, the magnet doesn’t touch the surface, but you can’t get a sheet of paper between the magnet and the table bottom.
I found hardened glass at IKEA, 120cmx47cm at a low cost. The rest of the frame will be 12mm MDF.
I am still not sure on how to access measurements in the CAD file?
You can get some dimensions from the sketch files, but I usually find it easier to just measure things. This is the icon for the measurement tool:
And here is a YouTube video on the measurement tool. There are other videos on this tool. I picked this one at random.
Hi Robert, I found the measure tool. (I could have googled myself I guess.)
I`ll probably document my build in steps or in a new topic.