Dave Kauffman
Member
- Messages
- 180
- Location
- Fort Washington, PA
Problem… the fully assembled 700lb 56 x 40 x 70 bot arrived in a huge crate bolted to a pallet, but I had to get it through a standard 32 inch wide door and down a flight of steps to my basement shop. So first thing I did was disassemble it into small enough and light enough chunks that could be carried through the door and down into the shop. Once there I reassembled it, realigned it to factory specs and then wired it to 220V service. I managed to keep all of the wiring for the stepper motors etc coming from the control box that mounts on the side of the bot hooked up throughout the entire move. Here is the bot in several major pieces on my cellar floor.
The idea was to rebuild the base, and then set the main top section back onto it. Although another guy (my neighbor who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time) and I were able to work that main section with the Y and Z axis down into the shop, while my wife and his wife trailed behind us tethered by wires carrying the control box and stepper motor, it was too heavy to lift high enough to set it back down on the base. So after I rebuilt the base I ratcheted the top gantry section up a foot at a time keeping blocking and horses underneath in case something went wrong.
Added a second set of racheting hold downs (little extra insurance, just in case) and then removed safety net underneath (scary part) while the better half helped steady the top since it was front heavy and would not hang level by itself as I slid the base under, lined everything up and slowly lowered it into place.
Bolted it all together, attached control box and switches etc and wired for 220V, then ran a 110V line from the box to an outlet (controlled by the control box) I mounted on the back of the bot for the router.
Spent an evening meticulously lining up the axis so all were dead on square to each other again, and then bolted a plywood base to the aluminum table. 1 ¼ inch thick plywood (3/4 and ½ glued together) with plenty of T slots for holding down jigs/wood etc. Then I built a quick and dirty base for the computer under it, and a table to the right of it for the keyboard/monitor and a little desk space. Point of all this is… there is usually a way to get through most problems with a little head scratching.
The idea was to rebuild the base, and then set the main top section back onto it. Although another guy (my neighbor who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time) and I were able to work that main section with the Y and Z axis down into the shop, while my wife and his wife trailed behind us tethered by wires carrying the control box and stepper motor, it was too heavy to lift high enough to set it back down on the base. So after I rebuilt the base I ratcheted the top gantry section up a foot at a time keeping blocking and horses underneath in case something went wrong.
Added a second set of racheting hold downs (little extra insurance, just in case) and then removed safety net underneath (scary part) while the better half helped steady the top since it was front heavy and would not hang level by itself as I slid the base under, lined everything up and slowly lowered it into place.
Bolted it all together, attached control box and switches etc and wired for 220V, then ran a 110V line from the box to an outlet (controlled by the control box) I mounted on the back of the bot for the router.
Spent an evening meticulously lining up the axis so all were dead on square to each other again, and then bolted a plywood base to the aluminum table. 1 ¼ inch thick plywood (3/4 and ½ glued together) with plenty of T slots for holding down jigs/wood etc. Then I built a quick and dirty base for the computer under it, and a table to the right of it for the keyboard/monitor and a little desk space. Point of all this is… there is usually a way to get through most problems with a little head scratching.