Post by dans on Jan 10, 2019 19:41:11 GMT -5
With winter here (and static electricity), I got tired of tracking around all the dust from the mill. Here is my prototype dust/chip tray for the AR8.
Used expanded PVC sheet for the box, and some 3/4” aluminum tube I had laying around for the frame. I’ve gone to the dark-side and bought a 3D printer, so that came in handy for the 8 different sets of parts I needed to connect it all. But it could probably be done with all conventionally machined and/or off the shelf parts.
The assembly started with the bottom of the tray – there are 2 pieces of .236” thk PVC running the long length of the base, machined out to fit around the mounting feet of the frame. Those are held up by 2 more pieces on the short length of the frame which fit around the rubber mounts. The 2 layer sandwich of the tray is held in place by 14, 1 x 1-1/4” Superstrut beam clamps (Home Depot). I added a 5” long 3D printed outrigger that fits between the clamps and the bottom of the tray for additional support. Then corner braces were added and a base to mount a vertical pole at each corner to hang the sides.
The sides are made from .118” thk sheet and attached to a 3/4" dia. horizontal aluminum tube. I wanted to be able to easily remove any side that might interfere with the part being machined so nothing is fixed or bolted in place. Any side can be lifted off in about 15 seconds.
Each side hangs off a 1/4" dia. pin that is sitting at the top of each vertical tube. On the underside of the tray I’ve mounted cabinet door magnets with the striker plates attached to the sides to pull them in tight.
A couple mistakes; I didn’t make any allowance for a butt joint where the sides come together, so there is a gap in each corner. I also didn’t allow enough space on the long sides between the gantry and the inside wall of the dust tray, so I had to mount those horizontal support tubes on the outside of the walls.
I’m fine tuning it now – need to add a couple holes for where the controller cables come up to the back of the frame and a little worried about the distance between the gantry and the socket head cap screws which hold the sides to the tube. Also, might have to replace the screws on the beam clamps on the underside – they are a little close to the flexible wiring conduit. The bottom tray sections also have to be tweaked a little bit for a better flush mount with the sides.
Going forward, I’ll probably replace the expanded PVC with solid PVC. The whole thing was really not designed to carry any weight, but the solid PVC will be more rigid. I'm not too worried, at this point, about any dust that migrates through the center of the tray, but might want to address it at some point.
The whole assembly is a little kludgy, but I didn't want to drill any holes in the frame (yet). It would be cleaner to use bent sheet metal (hint to Axiom accessories) , but...
Used expanded PVC sheet for the box, and some 3/4” aluminum tube I had laying around for the frame. I’ve gone to the dark-side and bought a 3D printer, so that came in handy for the 8 different sets of parts I needed to connect it all. But it could probably be done with all conventionally machined and/or off the shelf parts.
The assembly started with the bottom of the tray – there are 2 pieces of .236” thk PVC running the long length of the base, machined out to fit around the mounting feet of the frame. Those are held up by 2 more pieces on the short length of the frame which fit around the rubber mounts. The 2 layer sandwich of the tray is held in place by 14, 1 x 1-1/4” Superstrut beam clamps (Home Depot). I added a 5” long 3D printed outrigger that fits between the clamps and the bottom of the tray for additional support. Then corner braces were added and a base to mount a vertical pole at each corner to hang the sides.
The sides are made from .118” thk sheet and attached to a 3/4" dia. horizontal aluminum tube. I wanted to be able to easily remove any side that might interfere with the part being machined so nothing is fixed or bolted in place. Any side can be lifted off in about 15 seconds.
Each side hangs off a 1/4" dia. pin that is sitting at the top of each vertical tube. On the underside of the tray I’ve mounted cabinet door magnets with the striker plates attached to the sides to pull them in tight.
A couple mistakes; I didn’t make any allowance for a butt joint where the sides come together, so there is a gap in each corner. I also didn’t allow enough space on the long sides between the gantry and the inside wall of the dust tray, so I had to mount those horizontal support tubes on the outside of the walls.
I’m fine tuning it now – need to add a couple holes for where the controller cables come up to the back of the frame and a little worried about the distance between the gantry and the socket head cap screws which hold the sides to the tube. Also, might have to replace the screws on the beam clamps on the underside – they are a little close to the flexible wiring conduit. The bottom tray sections also have to be tweaked a little bit for a better flush mount with the sides.
Going forward, I’ll probably replace the expanded PVC with solid PVC. The whole thing was really not designed to carry any weight, but the solid PVC will be more rigid. I'm not too worried, at this point, about any dust that migrates through the center of the tray, but might want to address it at some point.
The whole assembly is a little kludgy, but I didn't want to drill any holes in the frame (yet). It would be cleaner to use bent sheet metal (hint to Axiom accessories) , but...