THC Sliding mechanisms RATTMMOTOR HBX1605 Linear Motion Guide

[N2 Welding]

Be sure to add the alignment tool to the list if you go that route, it's on top of the R & P page. They also sell HIWIN linear rails.

Yeah I was looking at the alignment tool but did not see one for straight cut rack and pinnon. I’ll have to look at their rails next, thank you

[N2 Welding]

I just ran into a snag on their sight. First my iPad mini ii is out of date and will stay that way so I used my google phone to look at the linear railing and turns out you need to have an account and be logged in for that option :/. So I create an account and get logged in and same thing. They want me to contact them via email wtf man. Anyway Moving on to the next thing. If it’s that hard to get a price then I’m too busy atm.

[N2 Welding]

Then I just found Moore Gear but they did not list prices of anything on their web sight. In my experience that usually means you need a minimum order or they are too expensive and/or only want to deal with large volume customers and such that you have to talk to a sales rep who might be commission based so depending on that persons bottom end you might not get the best price they can offer, luck of the draw kind of thing :/

For reference: https://www.mooregear.com/stock-gear-racks/

[Rodw]

If its not too late, I have both a straight rack and helical racks on my machine. Definitley get the helical racks if you have the budget. They are so much nicer.

Some people use spring loaded pinion mounts to force the pinion into the rack (and can cause excessive wear) but an accurately built machine does not neeed them. My pinions were hard mounted and I had no problems as they were correctly aligned.
Belts are another option and you can configure them in much the same way Tom did with his chain shown earlier.

The next is reduction gearing. Steppers need between 5:1 and 3:1
3000 rpm servos might need a 10:1
Should you use belts or planetary gearboxes? Belts do let you do it yourself. Gearboxes might cost more but are easy to fit
If you can get the design right which is harder for steppers, they do have an advantage of massive low down torque which can be harnessed when needed most during accelleration and the absence of cutting forces means that there is no concern about loosing steps. Servos have constant torque so need more gearing to multiply the available torque.

Remember velocity and accelleration is king with plasma tables.

[N2 Welding]

Thank you Rod, I was going to ask about why every one is using some type of gear ratios instead of just direct drive 1:1

[SegoMan DeSigns]

Your Automation 4 Less shows 4' & 6' racks don't under size your table travel, you need an extra 2-3" or 2X that if your going to mount a scribe on the gantry skate. When your figuring for rails you have to add the length of the skate and the bearings to that equation for even more length. Get ideas / pricing for now but don't order until your plan for the table is finalized.

This brings up the next topic, what are you going to use for drawing software?? Draw your own table with it by the time it's built you will know how to use it and be ready to layout paying projects with it..

[N2 Welding]

I could not see any track in 8'+ lengths on their sight. That 72" was the longest they had available. It looks like they just but up against each other and might require a little aligning.

I still have to get materials for the table. I saw some stuff that might work but who knows if it'll still be there when I go back to that recycler.

Not sure on software yet. Mach 3 hobby is limited to only so many lines of G code if my research is correct so might go with Mach 4 depending on hardware of course. Still nothing set in stone their either.

SheetCam and Fusion360 maybe. Not sure yet.

[N2 Welding]

Thrift store shopping landed some goodies.

$2.00 Dell LCD Monitor with stand then found an monitor stand thing that is perfect for moving the monitor around.
$30 Dell intel i5 quad core 3750 3.1Ghz or something like that with 16gb of ram and two gtx gpus. One is an evga not sure on other and a dvd player and some other disk drive. They were win 7 pro pc's so i have to find an oem installation for win 7 pro as it has the sticker with key on it. Maybe dell can help out.

[SegoMan DeSigns]

Ya did good, look on eBay as well for the disc's as well since it's the world largest thrift store

As for the rack drop them an email and clarify the slicing of them, I can see you wanting to go the same distance beyond the next hole for conformity of drill patterns along with the use of the splicing bar. Your 4' + section would be easier to cut from a 6' then splicing I'm betting..

[N2 Welding]

Yeah it’s about a $20 difference between the two sizes of Racks.

So the one listed for 39.99 was actuall $30 and the one for $29.99 was actually $22.50 with 25% off then I got $10 coupon pur the purchase of $30 or more. The idea was to have a back up system Incase any plasma and or welding/grinding dust finds its way inside and causes a catastrophic system failure.

While there I thought they were the same systems but the hardware inside is slightly different. ATI Radion gpus instead of nvidia and only 4gb of ram. Oh and they were closing so i did not get a chamce too peek inaide the case of the 4gb ram system to see it was missing the heat sink on the chipset. Got home an discovered a missing Heat Sink on what i think is the chipset. :/

You can see here the system with the radion cards is missing the heat sink on the chipset and what the heat sink looks like in the system with the nvidia cards. I might go back and get another for $20 tomorrow. II wont be in a hurry tomorrow. I also need to look up the model numbers and see whats what and see if the motherboards and bios firmware is the same. They look similar. I could not get into the bios on the radion card while at the thrift store because i was lacking a dvi or display port cable and monitor to allow it to get into bios. I was able to get post and see the error message using the monitor i purchased via the onboard video.

[N2 Welding]

Ok just found something on dell OEM iso on their pages. https://www.dell.com/community/Windows- ... -p/5190417

[N2 Welding]

I noticed the cpu in the Optiplex 990 was runnng 50 to 50c when testing and after dinking around discovered it has a 95w i5 2400 not an 77w i5 3470 so not only is it slower cpu but it runs hotter too .

I then got the other radion Optiplex 9010 checked and it tested fine and it runs cooler at like 30c to 40c when stress testing the cpu. The user manual at dell shows a bare chip on that one. I’m suspecting the chipset and the motherboard bios versions are different between the two pc’s. Which makes sense with one being a Optiplex 990 and the other an Optiplex 9010. I’m going to go back in the morning and see if I can work something out with the owner since the product was miss labeled as having a i5 3470 and maybe buy another one.

[acourtjester]

Here is the spur gear I used on almost every table I built.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/333069410058
It is used with the Moore gear rack which comes in 6' lengths (this is due to shipping) I think they are cut so they can be placed end to end for a match.
the 6' is some where around $65 to $75 shipped.
Gear rack for Y drive Moore gear
This is 6’ long R2020x6 $64.79
http://www.mooregear.com/pdf/MooreGearStockRackList.pdf
If you go with LinuxCNC you don't need windows operating system. You seem to fairly computer savvy

[N2 Welding]

Thank you Tom, I’ve been building my own computers since the mid 90’s to get more performance for gaming and graphics hungry applications like adobe photoshop and illustrator etc though mostly for gaming and keeping up with the kids on the block.

I was suspecting the 6’ length limits on the racks was because of shipping purposes. I am not able to open that Mooregear pdf, says something like page missing or something like that. 1/4” shafts on those spur gears huh?

Oh yeah the bios on the Optiplex 9010 is UEFI capable with options for either legacy or UEFI. This means win 10 would not be a problem if the os can install the intel drivers. I think intel dropped support for older legacy hardware so getting drivers up to date could prove problematic and now M$ is dropping support for Win 10 as well when originally it was slated to be the last os they would ever build LOL. Hardware and software industry scratches each other’s backs in that regard. Can’t continue supporting older hardware on new os cause then we can’t sell new hardware. Can’t continue supporting older hardware cause then they won’t update to the new spyware lol. Can’t continue support of older software cause they won’t buy new hardware etc etc etc.

[acourtjester]

If you go to the site and click on the product and then follow the rack section there is a download list. Now they do show a 12 foot rack R2020X12 down at the bottom. They are for a 20 pressure angle gear the same as the other part in the post above. I have just ordered the 6 foot are that worked for me.

down.JPG

[N2 Welding]

The 200mm HBX1605 arrived today. So I took pics of it next to the TD SL100SV Torch for comparison. I’m not sure yet but the T-slot nuts that it can mess with don’t look to be very strong and it did not come with any literature or the bolts to the T-nuts :/

[acourtjester]

I know that shopping around will keep your cost down, keep plugging at it. I have not bought a new PC for any of the table I built. Have you finalized the size of your table??

[N2 Welding]

So I went back to the thrift store and about fell in love with the manager. Anyway she was very reasonable and made it right. She had her tech come out who labels tech products and I explained the discrepancy and he agreed it was a significant difference so she gave me a big discount on the remaining 3x Optiplex 9010 i5 3470 machines for $50 OTD. With any luck I'll be able to sell a pc or two and get my money back so the pc's I keep are free or close to free.

Oh yeah got another dell monitor. This one is bigger/better and cost more. It was marked down from $125 to $75 and she let me have it for $32. I might have flirted with her a bit while gently grabbing and holding each of her hands to feel for any rings followed by pointing out this observation bringing attention to the fact that she was not married. Then I convinced her the monitor was not worth as much because it did not have a display port needed to work with the Radion cards in the Optiplex machines. Not entirely true but not exactly a lie either. It'll work just not on the display port on those cards. I chickened out and did not ask her out on a date while at the register counter while several of her co workers and customers were all right there. Besides I kind of felt like a peasant after wheeling and dealing with her. I did not want to push it.

EDIT: looks like an Amazon seller still has this same 23” 1920x1080 monitor new for about $160 https://www.amazon.com/Dell-23-Inch-LED ... B06Y45V625

[N2 Welding]

I know that shopping around will keep your cost down, keep plugging at it. I have not bought a new PC for any of the table I built. Have you finalized the size of your table??

Yeah I’m aiming for a 4'x8' table

I am still trying to come up with a rolling system for the X & Y Gantry movements.

This video shows the system Langmuir uses on their Crossfire XR table.

I ran accross this video that does a side by side video of the Langmuir Crossfire Pro next to the Crossfire XR.

I’m liking the design of the gantry movements on the XR, well at least the tube and roller system the gantry rolls on. The way they changed the leadscrew design from the pro to the XR is nice too. I’ve always wonderered if having a long floppy lead screw would or could cause minute calibration issues if it flexes.

[SegoMan DeSigns]

Watch these vids for some construction ideas on your build:

This dude is on the forum and lives in Australia, I think this is a 5 part series, just follow the que at the end of each vid.





This lady is in in Russia she has some good concepts on table design as well in her 2 part build .

[N2 Welding]

Thank you Steve

I just finished watching all 6 of his build videos, the water table build and his 3rd version of the 6 piece fire pit. That fire pit is pretty sharp P.S. looks like he uses a similar Z axes kit like the one I just got but his has different slides. I do not detect any backlash in the one I got, well not while holding it free in my hands.

Now onto watching the Lady from Russia. Hopefully she’s cute but professional and does not have an accent and voice that is unpleasant to my ears. I say that because there is this blond bimbo that is always doing woodwork etc and her channel is total clickbait for her sexuality trying to lure watchers. She does good stuff but that energy is not my cup of tea so I get repulsed and can’t watch that channel. Ok on to the lady from Russia.

Edit: OK I have already watched her videos. IMO she seems Less tutorial/explaining and more watch me in action type videos. She is cute and when I first watched her about a week or so ago I assumed she was Italian or something close to that. Anyway i’ll Try to make it all the way through watching her build videos again this time just in case there is some good info I missed the first time around. I don’t have all the fancy tools like a lathe/mill. Heck my drill press has a wobbly chuck

[N2 Welding]

Who has the best prices for linear rails and sliders? I’m assuming those can be butted up end to end just like the Rack n pinion railing can.

I’m kind of getting addicted to wanting to build this table but have to slow down on buying things for a minute. I still need to get this place cleaned up around here and have a guy come out and replace the springs/cables for the two car garage roll up door. Gotta watch my budget and stay focused on the big picture. Spending is easy for me, budgeting not always so easy for me.

Tom and others have asked what software I am going to use. I think he suggested Inkscape to me in the past as it is free to use. Perhaps I need to go do a refresher course in inkscape and draw up some projects in the mean time while my limited budget has put a purchasing stall on this build for the moment.

[SegoMan DeSigns]

The Ruskie is inspirational in so many ways

Her gantry tube could have been extended and a straight plate down to the blocks would have required no welding. She uses belts vs chains like Tom & I use. The drive shaft synchronizes the movement on both side and can be ran by a single motor vs 2. Lot's of variations for you to choose from.

The Kiss concept I mentioned is a must when you lack a lathe, mill or other machine shop tools. My 2x2 TorchMate (that cuts 22-3/4" x 24-1/2" ) was used to make my components with. Design what you can build and sub out the parts you can't.

I used CorelDraw for drawing software prior to owning plasma tables or a vinyl cutter and keep doing so as it works with both. Inkscape is free and there is lots of tutorial videos on YT for all of them. Depending on your choice of software / hardware you may need a CAM software like Sheetcam to generate the G Code to run the machine with.

Lot's of variables and obstacle's to over come in your future now Get-R-Done!

[N2 Welding]

Does anyone know of the best orientation for linear rails? In my head I theorize that laying flat accross the horizontal plane would be best as the balls would have even forces of weight pushing down on them from both left and right sides. where as if they are turned on their side with one set and of balls bearing would be up while the other side of ball bearings would be on the bottom. the bottom would not have as much weight on them as the top row of bearings. Well maybe the wear and backlash would not appear right away but I’m thinking it might over time. Anyone have any experience on this of know of any articles that touch up on this?

Edit: Google found me some info... https://www.linearmotiontips.com/dont-i ... ar-guides/

[N2 Welding]

I tried out the $32 set of 20 linear rails and slides to find out the don’t play nice in the virtical position. They roll like a stepper motor in the up and down orientation . Then I had to go scrub my mouth out because what ever oil they use is some nasty stuff and I could taste it just from handling those damn things. Arg. Send them back and try another manufacture or back to the drawing board with plan B.

Also started doodling on the inside of a pizza box just trying some ideas out. I was thinking a trailer stake pocket would wrap around this nicely and make it easy to use some angle bracket to mount both sides of the sliding portion of the secondary safety to the torch touch thingie Mabob. Damn it I can still taste that stuff in my sinuses, YUCK.


This doodle kind of depicts how the stake pocket would fit around thr outside of the main THC unit but not necessarily the location or orientation.