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Re: THE NEW MAKO IS HERE!!!

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 7:55 pm
by Wolffie1
Before I start making the new aluminium sides for the gantry, will somebody please give me the dimensions on the MAKO?
I like the way it slopes away from the front, seems to be better balanced.
TIA
Wolffie

Re: THE NEW MAKO IS HERE!!!

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 9:11 pm
by EdThorne
Wolffie,

Which dimension(s) are you looking for?

Ed

Re: THE NEW MAKO IS HERE!!!

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:29 pm
by Wolffie1
These
MAKOGantry.jpg
plus the angle of the slope.
I am not concerned about the holes for the screws.
Thank you very much :)
Wolffie

Re: THE NEW MAKO IS HERE!!!

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:00 am
by 4DThinker
OK, I cut my first project yesterday after modifying the router clamp earlier this week. No slipping/turning of the router when wrenching open or closed the collet to change bits. I was at most cutting 1/16" deep into a Sentra scrap with a 1/8" straight bit, so I don't yet trust the Z assembly and gantry for more demanding cuts that the router should be capable of. I frankly expect to get more efficient and slightly faster cutting from this PC 892 than I can from my Colt. There is still quite a bit of flex in the system though, and I'm not sure the router will stay steady if I use it like I would be using it in it's original Base. Guess I'll sneak up on the hard work, and pay attention to where the limits are.

Re: THE NEW MAKO IS HERE!!!

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 4:41 pm
by Aucuba
Wolfie

The dimensions you need are (top one first then going clockwise)

5"
7"
10 1/4"
6 1/2"
17 1/2"

Angle of slope is 76 degrees

I hope that is clear:)

Aucuba

Re: THE NEW MAKO IS HERE!!!

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 5:00 pm
by EdThorne
Wolffie1 wrote:These
The attachment MAKOGantry.jpg is no longer available
plus the angle of the slope.
I am not concerned about the holes for the screws.
Thank you very much :)
Wolffie
Hi Wolffie,

You may already have this info. I just got home from work and measured the side of the gantry. This is the Mako Shark HD

Regards,
Ed

Re: THE NEW MAKO IS HERE!!!

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 5:06 pm
by EdThorne
4DThinker wrote:OK, I cut my first project yesterday after modifying the router clamp earlier this week. No slipping/turning of the router when wrenching open or closed the collet to change bits. I was at most cutting 1/16" deep into a Sentra scrap with a 1/8" straight bit, so I don't yet trust the Z assembly and gantry for more demanding cuts that the router should be capable of. I frankly expect to get more efficient and slightly faster cutting from this PC 892 than I can from my Colt. There is still quite a bit of flex in the system though, and I'm not sure the router will stay steady if I use it like I would be using it in it's original Base. Guess I'll sneak up on the hard work, and pay attention to where the limits are.
Hi 4D,

I notice the same flex when I press down slightly on the router. This is noticeable when attaching the vacuum hose to the front of the router assembly. I was pausing the machine, removing the hose to vacuum up some of the dust. I noticed that when I went to replace the hose that the router bit would cut slightly into the wood.

I haven't investigated enough to know where to stiffen the gantry.

Regards,
Ed

Re: THE NEW MAKO IS HERE!!!

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 5:08 pm
by EdThorne
Aucuba wrote:Wolfie

The dimensions you need are (top one first then going clockwise)

5"
7"
10 1/4"
6 1/2"
17 1/2"

Angle of slope is 76 degrees

I hope that is clear:)

Aucuba
Hi Acuba,

Looks like these two CNC machines are similar. :lol:

Ed

Re: THE NEW MAKO IS HERE!!!

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:10 pm
by Wolffie1
Thank you very much for your help :)
Now I know how much aluminium to order.
Cheers
Wolffie

Re: THE NEW MAKO IS HERE!!!

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 11:11 pm
by 4DThinker
EdThorne wrote:
4DThinker wrote:OK, I cut my first project yesterday after modifying the router clamp earlier this week. No slipping/turning of the router when wrenching open or closed the collet to change bits. I was at most cutting 1/16" deep into a Sentra scrap with a 1/8" straight bit, so I don't yet trust the Z assembly and gantry for more demanding cuts that the router should be capable of. I frankly expect to get more efficient and slightly faster cutting from this PC 892 than I can from my Colt. There is still quite a bit of flex in the system though, and I'm not sure the router will stay steady if I use it like I would be using it in it's original Base. Guess I'll sneak up on the hard work, and pay attention to where the limits are.
Hi 4D,

I notice the same flex when I press down slightly on the router. This is noticeable when attaching the vacuum hose to the front of the router assembly. I was pausing the machine, removing the hose to vacuum up some of the dust. I noticed that when I went to replace the hose that the router bit would cut slightly into the wood.

I haven't investigated enough to know where to stiffen the gantry.

Regards,
Ed
Ed,

If this flex is in the back plane of the Gantry, then it should be most evident when the router is in the middle, and much less when the router is at the left or right end. Seems like a length of thick angle iron across the top and another across the bottom of this back piece could stiffen it all up. Something to make it more like an I or box beam than the flat plane it is. The added weight of the large router and moment arm of the outstretched vacuum plate relative to the gantry is just a little more than the current design can keep stiff.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this, and will share any improvements I might come up with.

On the dust boot problem: I drew up then cut out a spacer to go between the two dust boot plates. Cut it from 1.5" pink insulation foam. I'm thinking about making a few different ones at different thicknesses, perhaps 1", 1.25", 1.5", 1.75" to swap out depending on how long any bit I'm using is. So far I'm just using a big rubber band to hold the sandwich together. I'll say this though: The dust boot is worthless when it can't reach the material top. Now that I have it reaching the work the difference in chip collection is impressive.