[coherent]

Well, FedEx shows my machine a couple days out. Snow & rain predicted for late this week. I hope the crate is waterproof for the trailer ride home!
I bought all the steel and have all the pieces and parts cut for a stand. Decided to go with 3x3" for the legs and 3x2" for all of the supports. It's all 1/8" wall. The stand should weigh in at about 250lbs when complete. I'm mounting it on leveling casters I believe are like the ones Fineline will be offering on future leg/stand kits. Let the fun begin!
Attachment 346932

[sybilsurf]

Nice! I think the Oxbox is wax impregnated...mine felt that way anyhow. Should be really beefy with all those supports.

Ward

[difalkner]

Glad it's coming your way; hope the weather doesn't delay it much. I cut all the panels of the OxBox into the largest flat sections possible and stored them in the shop like plywood. The material comes in handy for quick dust hoods or to put down for a glue up of cutting boards, etc. The wax that Ward mentioned is pretty stout and glue wipes right up from the surface. It was too nice to throw away - LOL!

[coherent]

Glad to hear the shipping "Oxbox is waterproof!
In the Northern Arizona mountains it's been snowing all day today and expecting 2ft or so by weekend end. Machine is delayed in transit in St Louis due to bad weather in the midwest. No rush, still working on the stand anyway. Need to finish welding and then paint. Also received the new steppers, controllers, cabinet and misc electronics!

[coherent]

Well, the frame is all welded together. Now some cleaning up up and then silver hammered finish enamel paint. Went this morning to get the machine from the FedEx terminal. After a 3 day delay in St Louis and 2 more in Albuquerque all due to weather, it finally made it to Northern Arizona. I noticed the box was crooked on the pallet, a couple of the straps were broken off and there was damage to the wooden pallet. I had them open the box to allow me to inspect the machine before accepting it. I couldn't see any damage or scratches etc, so they loaded it up and I strapped it down in nearly 0 degree temps for the ride home! 3 feet of snow in the last few days. Hopefully everything is in working order.

Attachment 348096

[difalkner]

That's still gonna' be a frozen machine 'til April or May! LOL! Glad you finally got it and can't wait to see the build photos.

[coherent]

It's thawed and warmed up a bit today so went with a fast flash enamel. Enamel paint color is very close to the machine color. After a couple hours finally dry to the touch. Made use of the packing box!

Ready for acetone wipe.
Attachment 348234

It's blue!
Attachment 348236

[difalkner]

That looks really nice. You're going to have a nice looking driveway when you move the OxBox pieces, too! LOL! Looking forward to seeing your progress.

David

[coherent]

Got the machine hoisted onto the stand today. I welded "L" shaped tabs on each corner of the stand that extend about an inch and a half above the stand's top surface. I thought I could then drill and tap to bolt the machine to the stand if needed, but I can't budge it once it was seated simply due to the weight of the machine. The steel tabs are 1/8 in wall. I got lucky and must have measured right. The fit was about 1/32 clearance on every corner. The cable tray would have interfered with the tabs on that side, so instead of cutting the tabs or the tray on that side, I removed the tray, added washers between the tray and the machine to give enough space for the tabs. That did the trick!. Nate suggested leveling casters if you wanted to make the machine semi mobile. I must say they work perfectly and allow it to be easily moved, but easily leveled and secured.

Attachment 348306

The corner tabs and fit. Washers added as spacers behind the cable tray so the tabs on the stand have room.
Attachment 348308

[sybilsurf]

Very nice!

[difalkner]

Excellent work on the stand!

[coherent]

All the electronics are completed and all the cabling and motors mounted. I can say that these machines run very smoothly and are plenty fast with 570oz nema 23's attached. I Haven't gotten around to mounting the Pepperl + Fuchs Proximity sensors yet or wiring the THC (Torch Height Controller). I'm working on completing a plasma torch floating head and magnetic breakaway torch mount first. I just need to cnc machine the magnet pockets and drill & thread the mounting holes. I purchased a new Hypertherm 45XP cutter with a machine torch to use on this machine.

I've draw up the plans to fabricate a removable water table & slats with a ball valve and hose connection to allow easily draining. I've had a couple of CNC plasma machines including a 8x4' torchmate. I found that for my purposes 99% of what I cut could be cut on a much smaller table than the torchmate and save a lot of space due to the smaller footprint. This machine is much stouter and actually a bit of overkill for plasma purposes, but the quality, build and price point make it a much better choice than any of the base/entry level plasma machine setups which cost more. It also leaves the option of removing the water table, bolting down a sacrificial base board and mounting a spindle for wood, plastic or aluminum. Many of the plasma setups I checked into would really have issues with the side forces of a spindle due to their design... hence why I decided on the Saturn! So far very happy with the machine and quality. Thanks Nate for a great product.

[beltramidave]

Hope you will post some videos when you get it running. Looks great!

Dave

[coherent]

Completed the water table & slats. The table is removable and I added a bung and drain valve with a standard garden hose fitting.



Used heavy duty leveling castors on the 3x3 steel legs. I highly recommend these if you will need to move your machine occasionally but still want the ability to level and stabilize it.

Attachment 359124

[coherent]

Replaced the R&P drives with CNCRP R&P drives. The Motor caps and caps on the ends of the gantry extrusion were printed with the 3d printer. They fit well and cheap to make. The nylon plugs that hold the end caps on are the same type used for auto trim. Cheap on Ebay.

[coherent]

Made a magnetic torch mount/plate on the CNC mill. Added 2 alignment pins and pressed in Neodymium magnets. I'm using a Hypertherm 45xp and machine torch.

Attachment 359120

Made a floating head to set initial torch height. The limit switch metal surface to switch distance is added to the sheetcam post processor and it sets the torch pierce height prior to each pierce/cut.

Attachment 359122

[coherent]

Removable Water table..
Attachment 389052

Cutting some house numbers for lighted street address posts. Had to cut over 50, so hence the high tech vice grip alignment jig setup.


Three of each number for mounting in 3 sides when fabricated.
Attachment 389054

Finished fabrication of prototype with rustic finish awaiting clearcoat. Frosted glass installed behind each number plate and led lit. Bottom "cage" area will be filled with decorative river rock after mounted on concrete base.

[coherent]

Another recent project. Designed and cut ovals for deck railing on southwest home. 1/8" steel about 3 ft high.
Attachment 389074

Fabricated, powder coated and installed on deck.
Attachment 389076

[difalkner]

Nice work, Marc! That looks like a pretty steep drop off on the other side of the gate.

David

[coherent]

Nice work, Marc! That looks like a pretty steep drop off on the other side of the gate.

David

Thanks! It's not a gate, it's just a long panel in the railing. Yes it's a little bit of a drop. Around Sedona nothing is flat!