Parts from Lil_Abner_Customs came today. Extremely happy with them. He made the adapter for the 1/2" lead screw as well as the torch mounts. Both worked out flawlessly.
I cut around 10" off the lead screw once I had the adapter to measure the prop length.
I actually spent around 2 hours soldering molex connectors and extension cords on the stepper motors. Worst decision I ever made it was such a pain in the ass but its done for now.
The table does fully move across the entire water table now very smoothly. I ran the breakin program from langmuir twice as its only designed for a table half the size so I did it at either end. No hiccups except I forgot my X axis now the old Y axis and the breakin program crashed originally from it. I swapped the plugs just to run the breakin.
The 1/2" lead screw is a massive upgrade on its own. Zero whip across the entire span.
The more I work with it, I really hate the connectors langmuir chose to use for the electronics enclose. They’re all kind of antiquated connections. I’m sure theres a reason for it that is beyond my knowledge of electronics but once I get this thing cutting I hope to embark on my journey of the Z axis and I will probably make an entirely new enclosure.
Managed to resolve my reversed stepper motor issue and make a few test cuts.
Figured a good way to test it was parts for the table itself, so I cut some trial pieces for the rest of the support arm.
It will have a screw in the top to hold the cable in.
There is still a slight bevel on 1/8" and the table does still suffer from not having a THC. It will never be perfect but it is definitely better than the original so far. The biggest issue is without THC keeping a consistent height for a full 48" cut is next to impossible. I did shim one corner of the water table to help even it a bit.
It will cut a full 48" x 25.5"
At least it works and we can continue to build from here.
Very nice, I plan to purchase another crossfire and do something very similar. that way I can run two tables. keep one small and one big. how do you contact the guy that you got the torch holder from?
The last mising link is almost finished. Had to get the machine dialed in before cutting the slat holders and they came out fantastic.
I made them out of 3/16". The slats are taller than I intended them to be, the next time around theyll be 1.5" flatstock instead of 2" so the material can actually sit touching the water.
I’m actually 1 slat short. Somewhat poor planning because a 20 foot piece of flat gets me 12 of 13 slats.
There is a center, offset holder as well I have to make it this week. I only did the drawing for the outers.
Middle slat is in. Made it at 6am, it could of come out better The bed was unstable without the center slat in there for cutting. I think i want another 1/2” offset as well the slats are locked in but could tighter. It’s a 1” offset right now. I will probably remove one slat entirely to fit the bigger curve.
Over that span, the slats get very wobbly unsupported.
The offset forces the slat to lock itself against the holders and prohibits movement under the tension of the bend.
It also allows you to have loose slat holders to easily insert and remove slats because the bend forces it only against one side of the holder. Some folks use pegs instead of full holders because of this.
thanks, that makes total sense. I was thinking of cutting them the way langmuir did so I didnt have to weld the slot like you did… but I think making a consistent bend is even harder haha. Great work.
Fortunately not really. The issue at the moment is beveled cuts which after putting a square on the new slat bed seems to be an issue with the torch holder being out of plumb to the table I will have to adjust it.
The biggest concern from start to finish was keeping the actual frame square. The original crossfire is relatively flexible based on the leveling of the feet which is kind of a gift and a curse. It’s beneficial because it allows you to really dial it in square and leave it where it is and never move it. The issue arises is if you plan to move it around on ground that isnt perfectly level.
The welded 11g frame on the other hand is incredibly rigid and has no flexibility. Welding warps all things and the goal is just to minimize that distortion. When you have height control its less of an issue because if a corner is high or low the THC will hopefully compensate for it. The crossfire is a constant height. If something is high or low you’re in trouble and making that span 48" instead of 23" is a giant risk.
My other concerns all kind of fell into place out of luck/pre planning.
At the end of the day im really an idiot who is entirely winging this and asking people who know better the questions I need the answers to.
Once this thing has a THC hopefully it will be excellent. I just wish langmuir or someone smarter than I with electronics would produce one so I didn’t have to…
Oh I didn’t mean the slat itself I meant the slat holder. For example the original one for the water table is just an flat piece with slat holes cut into them then bent at 90 deg. I’d have trouble making these bends consistently. I like your table build that’s a good size I may have to copy some day heh
The secret there is the Langmuir slat holder is aluminum. Far easier to bend in a smaller brake/press.
The issue with it is also it’s aluminum. It’s very temperamental and you need to be careful removing and reinserting slats as to not bend it and mess up the flatness of your entire bed.
To be clear, my posts are never intended to bash Langmuir. They’ve produced a great product and I’m having a lot of fun and learning with it.
Just remember you’re paying an entry level price and they have to do certain things to make that possible. The bearing assembly on the gantry arm most likely costs more to produce than the rest of the unit combined, and its extremely well engineered.
This is easily my most favourite thread on this forum. The second the 2X2 needs any kind of service i will be following in your footsteps. This is awesome to watch.
@BrooklynBravest,. I’ve been quietly following your thread workout on my own expansion. Greatly appreciate your work and what you’ve accomplished! I’ve done some things the same and some different just for my own taste and material availability. Need to see if @Lil_Abners_Kustoms will.make one more set of the 1/2" screw adapters.
