OK - I started!
I spent the first hour and a half laying out the parts. It took more effort that I expected, but it was worth it. While I did not redistribute the kits into assembly-related kits as I had planned (would have taken more time than it was worth), the hour and a half I did spend was well worth it. When building sub-assemblies, I could just collect the individual parts and go to work.
You may notice some blue marks on the extrusions. I used permanent marker to show the length of each piece. It cleans off easily with acetone and saves having to remeasure everything as I use it.
[Photo 1 - All parts except skins and window - Bart's hardware kit is still in the bag at the lower right corner]
I knew that the most critical sub-assembly would be the v-rails. They are most critical because there are no do-overs. I started by marking measurements (offsets from end) so I would not get confused and put rails in the wrong places. I then marked the exact location based on the noted measurements.
As the docs suggested - I started with cleaning the manufacturing grease from the rails. I used acetone which seemed to do it nicely.
I could not get the 409 super glue, but did find Gorilla Glue that is for high impact. I did the first two rails (on one of the Y axis extrusions). After holding the glued rails in place for over a minute, they fell off when I picked up the assembly.
I put them back on and held them a while longer before setting it aside.
Did not know what the issue was for sure. Was it the Gorilla Glue? Was it the acetone? Since the Gorilla Glue was the only super glue I had access to today, I re-cleaned the other parts with mineral spirits before gluing them up. They seemed to work better. When I went back and checked the first one, it also seems to have taken hold. I'll test them all tomorrow after they have had a chance to sit for 24 hours.
The whole cleaning/gluing process took about 55 minutes.
[Photo 2 - Glued up V-Rail assemblies]
Next up - the Z-Lifts. I originally thought this would go fast. But the first one (of 4) took nearly 30 minutes. Selecting the right parts (nuts, bearings, bearing holders, lift plates, etc) took about half of that, but once done, the others were ready to go.
[Photo 3 - Z-Lift Assembly parts]
The hard part is holding the threaded rod while you screw on the nylon nut. Bart's suggestion (in the docs) to use a couple of 1/4-20 nuts, locked into each other, worked well. But the threaded rods are 8" long, so it is still a bit awkward. After the first complete Z-Lift Assembly, the other three went very smoothly. Total time for the 4 lift assemblies = 1 hour.
I noticed a couple of things we can do to make the docs more clear on this assembly. The docs online have been updated.
[Photo 4 - Z-Lift Assemblies Completed]
- Laser 2x - Z-Lifts Complete.png (190.81 KiB) Viewed 17127 times
Time for the Z-Table. I haven't decided on what I will use for the actual table top yet, but I can certainly do the frame and it will be ready for the top when I figure out what it will be. BTW - I also have some 1-inch honeycomb from McMasters-Carr. Need to cut it to size and frame it and design a means of attaching it to the Z-Table frame, but will cover all that when it happens.
[Photo 5 - Z-Lift frame]
- Laser 2x - Z-Table Parts.png (149.35 KiB) Viewed 17127 times
Putting the table frame together is pretty straight forward - 4 sides, 4 corner, and a handful of screws. Oops! There are also the nuts that will be needed for the table top. (remove two corners, insert nuts, reinstall the corners...
) It had to happen so might as well get it out of the way early.
X-Lift frame = 30 minutes.
[Photo 6 - Z-Lift frame complete]
Ready to tackle part 1 of the electronics bed - gluing the bed, back-plane, and supports so they will be ready for installing the actual electronics.
I was having a little bit of a problem getting the parts to line up correctly. I realize that the routed areas for the supports needed a slight touch-up. If you find the same issue, a couple minutes with a hand chisel will take care of it. Once that was done, glue up was fast and easy. Trim and glue time = 20 minutes.
[Photo 7 - Glued and clamped electronics bed assembly]
Top door is begging me to tackle it now. Construction is very similar to the Z-Table frame, but with a few more parts (hinges, handle, stops.) Oops! I don't have two of the extrusions I need (2020-440 x 2).
How did that happen? I think I was the first person to order Misumi parts for this project. Shortly after that, some changes were made to the BOM which means I had mis-ordered a few pieces. No big deal - I reordered. Somehow though, I still ended up with 2040-440s instead of 2020-440s. BUT, I have a couple of left over 2020-560s that I mis-ordered the first time. Enter the hacksaw. Problem solved. Lesson - no matter how careful you are, it is really easy to confuse the 2020s and 2040s - check, check, check, and then recheck.
[Photo 8 - Door parts]
I don't have the window yet. It should come next week with the skins. But I went ahead and put everything together and placed nuts and screws in as placeholders so that I would not forget them. BE CAREFUL - there are also a couple of hidden nuts (for the door stops) on the bottom that need to be inserted while you are building the frame. Door build time, with stops = 2 hours, 25 minutes (includes the 20 minutes I spent banging my head on the wall and cutting the replacement parts).
[Photo 9 - Door complete - no window]
[Photo 10 - Door stop - detail]
- Laser 2x - Lid Stop Detail.png (144.2 KiB) Viewed 17127 times
(See the next update for a summary of the first day - I hit the limit on attachments in this one)