I got the camera from my wife and I have a few pics of my machine, Janus. She's quite an eye catcher, if I don't mind saying myself
So here is the first pic. I've made a lot of progress to get to this point and I'm quite proud of her so far.
- Janus
As you can see, I have gotten the main frame assembled as well as the gantry and have it all alligned. If you study this picture, you will find that it is not quite the same as other 2.X builds because I made several changes to maximize the travel in the X axis. Some of the projects I have planned could really benefit from this extra space. I can get about 12 7/8" of usable space on the X axis with things arranged this way.
Here are the pics of the mods necessary to get that space.
First, you have to move the contact switch and post on the Y axis to the other side.
- Contact Switch
- Y Axis Post
You also have to flip the bolt upside down on the back side of the laser car or trim the blot (I flipped it because it was easier).
- Bolt Flip
Next, you have to trim the laser mounts to give clearance for the laser car wheel and deck. This was really easy to do with a dremmel. It was far easier than cutting a blolt. The plastic cuts really well. If you notice, I cut a 2 step notch in the laser mount. I DO NOT RECCOMEND DOING IT THIS WAY. I chose to cut the plastic to move the bold head down and give just a little extra clearance between the car deck and the top of the bolt. However, this created a problem in that it put the edge of the bolt in line with the top of the vgroove bearing. I actually didn't need to do that as there was about 1mm clearance between the deck and the bolt in the first place, but I didn't want it to get caught. If you have clearance problems, grind down the top of the bolt or repace it with a pan head. I had to grind down the side of the bolt to make enough clearance for the car to pass freely. It all works fine now, but I wouldn't do it this way again.
- Laser Mount Mod 1
This picture kindof shows the clearance you need... it is at an angle so it doesn't look that close, but it is You don't need to trim back the plastic as far as I did to make room for the wheel, but you definately need to cut some of it off.
- Laser Mount Mod 2
You also have to put the z axis top ilder bearings upside down and adjust the threaded rods os they don't stick up at all.
- Z axis idler bearing
I also put the z axis motor mount on the botom level. I will use standoffs to mount the motor just like the Y axis motor.
- Moved Motor Mount
Note: I am oing to move the pullys to the underside of the bearings. I just thought of that when I was sitting here looking at Janus and saw that I had room to do that.
I also had to countersink this bolt on the LHS idler pully. I used a 5/16" spiral bit and it worked very well. The plastic cuts very well. I used the other bolt hole to bolt the fixture to the top of the frame and that worked very well to hold it in place while drilling (I don't have a shop set up yet, but that will come soon enough). The 5/16" hole was perfect size for the bolt head. It fit very snugly and acted like a nylon bolt. It couldn't have been "engineered" more perfectly.
- Countersunk bolt
The last thing to do is notch out the left side gantry car as shown below. This side is longer than the other. I cut this out to make clearance for the idler pulley. You can also see that I am just bairly on the rail with the lower wheel when my contact switch is thrown. This is fine for homing, but I would set my zero point a couple milimeters in from the contact switch.
- Notch LS gantry car
So far, this project has been very fun and challenging. It is very freeing not to have to worry about messing something up that would void a warenty. It is my project and I can do what I wish with it and I really like that freedom. Plus if I build it I know how to fix it.
Edit on 5/9/2010:
I found that you also have to remove the RHS cover catch as the RHS gantry car hits it. I don't think that should be a problem as only 1 catch is needed to hold the lid open.