peterd51
happy to be here!
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Hi guys,
I managed a couple of hours in the workshop on Christmas day so I thought I'd have a go at the plasma cutter carriage!
The idea is to create something that'll hold the cutting head at 1/8" (3mm) above the metal to be cut, and be moveable in any direction like a computer mouse. The guys that built the metal yacht (see previous messages for the link) used something similar on their initial cutting.
I'd bought some transfer balls off ebay, six for £18 delivered (they're heavy), but I reckon that three of them are pretty useless and at least one of the best three sticks occasionally...
but anyway, I found a piece of 3mm plate about 100 x 150mm (4" x 6") and drilled holes to bolt the three ball units on. I was going to use four, one in each corner but decided that three would be enough...
Then I could measure the height of the top plate, and the torch, above the bench when held at the correct working position. Subtracting one measurement from the other I found the support height for the torch cradles, 55mm and 75mm above the top plate to the bottom of the cut-out, ie, the bottom edge of the torch handle. It's difficult to describe but see photo two...
so now I just needed something to clamp the torch in place and I found an old 'stretchie'. I squeezed one end square around a bit of 20mm box in the vice and drilled a small hole in the top plate to take the clip. The other end of the stretchie was straightened at an angle to slip over the other side of the top-plate. I cut the elastic to length and found an oval nail, doubled over the elastic and nailed through on a wooden block, then bent the ends of the nail over.
It all seems to work OK. I had a small offcut of 3mm plate (you can see it in picure three) and I've drilled a 2mm hole in one end then threaded a bit of mig wire through it so I can hook it on the carriage...it's a guage to quickly set the nozzle height when I clamp the torch onto the cradle.
I've not tried cutting anything yet but in moving it around I reckon that one of the balls is jamming from time to time though this doesn't seem to affect movement.
This leads me to think that if I'd used, say, 3 - 4 bolts with 8mm thread and the ends rounded over with a grinder that I'd get pretty much the same effect as the transfer balls without the cost!
The only friction would be due to the weight of the carriage, torch and how much I pressed down...
I have a specific job in mind for all this gear but I'm still a little while off doing it. It'll be posted as a project when I've had time to do it!
Regards
Peter
I managed a couple of hours in the workshop on Christmas day so I thought I'd have a go at the plasma cutter carriage!
The idea is to create something that'll hold the cutting head at 1/8" (3mm) above the metal to be cut, and be moveable in any direction like a computer mouse. The guys that built the metal yacht (see previous messages for the link) used something similar on their initial cutting.
I'd bought some transfer balls off ebay, six for £18 delivered (they're heavy), but I reckon that three of them are pretty useless and at least one of the best three sticks occasionally...
but anyway, I found a piece of 3mm plate about 100 x 150mm (4" x 6") and drilled holes to bolt the three ball units on. I was going to use four, one in each corner but decided that three would be enough...
Then I could measure the height of the top plate, and the torch, above the bench when held at the correct working position. Subtracting one measurement from the other I found the support height for the torch cradles, 55mm and 75mm above the top plate to the bottom of the cut-out, ie, the bottom edge of the torch handle. It's difficult to describe but see photo two...
so now I just needed something to clamp the torch in place and I found an old 'stretchie'. I squeezed one end square around a bit of 20mm box in the vice and drilled a small hole in the top plate to take the clip. The other end of the stretchie was straightened at an angle to slip over the other side of the top-plate. I cut the elastic to length and found an oval nail, doubled over the elastic and nailed through on a wooden block, then bent the ends of the nail over.
It all seems to work OK. I had a small offcut of 3mm plate (you can see it in picure three) and I've drilled a 2mm hole in one end then threaded a bit of mig wire through it so I can hook it on the carriage...it's a guage to quickly set the nozzle height when I clamp the torch onto the cradle.
I've not tried cutting anything yet but in moving it around I reckon that one of the balls is jamming from time to time though this doesn't seem to affect movement.
This leads me to think that if I'd used, say, 3 - 4 bolts with 8mm thread and the ends rounded over with a grinder that I'd get pretty much the same effect as the transfer balls without the cost!
The only friction would be due to the weight of the carriage, torch and how much I pressed down...
I have a specific job in mind for all this gear but I'm still a little while off doing it. It'll be posted as a project when I've had time to do it!
Regards
Peter