Tumbler Build - For cleaning plasma cut parts.

rodw wrote:

Stefan, the other idea would be to just buy a cast iron frame and finish it off here. Something like this
www.alibaba.com/product-detail/CNC-machi...t.0.0.2a4240f04CPOy1

1200 x 700 x 600 high and 7.5 tonnes of cast iron...

I'd help you with the shipping (well my freight forwarder would)

Thanks for the link and offer Rod,

My issue is the weight. Our largest forklift is rated at 5 ton so a 7.5 ton machine is our of my range.

I am sure I could make something under 4.5 ton and keep it under my $20k budget with everything. Only thing that will blow out will most likely be my time spent on the project. Which the way I look at it is a learning experience. I want to come up with a decent design that is easy and quick to make and that one day I might be able to put into production.

the machine i am working on is far less than 4.5 ton even. i think i'm around 4200lbs once i get the table top on. probably around 2100lbs is E.G. weight. what i built cut aluminum decent before the E.G. but should do a lot better now. around 2mm of step over it was stating to vibrate the spindle had no trouble with 3mm of step over on the cuts but the table was the weak link at that stage so i am curious to see how well it does now? cutting steel will be less aggressive i am thinking but it should still work with mild steel i think. i am welll under 20k but these machines still are not cheap to build regardless. precision adds extra cost for sure.

trying to keep a 5' x 10' foot print machine flat within .001 or .002 is easier said than done with limited equipment.squareness was not so bad to hold but flatness was a different story. once things start to get close then you can go a step further and working on getting the spindle trammed to the table.it alll takes time if your willing to work at it.

Got the control panel cut out and tacked together,

Aren't plasma cutters cool? Do you remember doing this with tin snips and cold chisels?

Yeah its been a while since I have done it the hard way. Literally took 5 mins to cut out, then about 10 mins to clean the water off and debur and about 5 mins to tack up.

I could of spent an hour on the control panel sheet alone if I was doing it by hand.

after looking at looking at Rod's casting and seeing the counter weight on the Z axis it got me thinking about your roller door weight. do you have plans to a torsion spring or counter weight for your door? it looked like it has some weight to it. i know you have the sprockets and chains to guide it but how is the set up going to offset the weight? maybe i missed the details somewhere but was curious about the weight of the rolling door set up.

controls look really nice so far. coat of paint and a spit shine and you will have the the best looking tumbler i have ever seen

Thanks, yeah should come up alright I think.

With the roller door, each slat is not very heavy. They are cold rolled sheet steel and are probably 4kg each. The weight adds up but the motor I am using is actually a chain hoist rated at 500kg. I brought it from a big box hardware store for $190, cheaper than I could buy a proper roller shutter motor - and the proper roller shutter motors are not that powerful because they as you said have a spring in the drum to offset the weight.

since you said you wanted to do stuff with cycloidal gear boxes i came across this video on making the solid model with fusion 360. this might be a good starting point for you to begin with designs. i think the better ones work on a double disk design to counter vibrations? i remember seeing a video on Youtube of someone tearing one apart to see how they work at one point. here is the link for the design with fusion 360 in case you have not seen it. i think the link might have some other stuff on the topic if you look at his other video's?

Outside all sheeted except the doors and roof,

if your intention was leaving the tube tube open in the front for a place to get forks in to move it around that was pretty smart but your shop is big enough to move a fork truck around in pretty easy.

i would be in heaven if i had that much space at home and had the stuff to move the big stuff around quickly and easily

very nice work.