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151

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: CNC conversion of radial drill - Novisa TRO 65/80/2000

« on: January 22, 2013, 08:07:20 AM »

Build Thread

Two weeks to go before the final deadline (which was revised to 8 months when we last left Sadiqabad). I get a call from customer that bed is placed on the new foundation and we can come over to finish it over. I prepare my team and leave for Sadiqabad again. 10 hours drive.

The bed is on the foundation, levelled and fastened. They are going to plaster the sides of foundation today. Masonry work won't stop us from doing light work on machine. We install the Z-axis motor with new belt and also put the X-axis motor in place.

Next day, the table is taken off the bed to install the auto-lubricating pump, it's pipes and nozzles. Mr. Nooruddin starts laying out wires for motors' encoder and power cables. Next task is to align the Y-axis screw.

152

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: CNC conversion of radial drill - Novisa TRO 65/80/2000

« on: January 21, 2013, 09:54:59 PM »

Build Thread

The planer bed finally reaches the customer's premesis in Sadiqabad. And guess what, they weren't expecting it to be this big. I had sent them photos of it earlier and also it's weight. Maybe they were expecting something like this.



The radial drill machine bed is raised 330 mm from the ground. Since the shop floor was already 400 mm thick compacted concrete, we had planned to clamp the middle of the planer bed to the drill bed and support the hanging ends of the planer with steel I-beams in 4 places at the floor. The customer rejected this plan and decided to build a foundation on both sides of the drill. It is to be 600 mm deep in ground and 330 mm above it to reach the planer bed. There goes another month again till they design, dig and build the foundation. We wish them happy vacations and return to Karachi with them telling us that they will call us after setting the planer base up on the new foundation.

153

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: CNC conversion of radial drill - Novisa TRO 65/80/2000

« on: January 20, 2013, 10:43:37 PM »

Build Thread

I arrive at Sadiqabad to check the progress with the machine. My team has already removed the handwheel for Z-axis feed, installed timing pulley to it and put the 1 kW Servo in place with 1:2 timing pulley reduction. This one was easy and took just a few hours.

Installation of X-axis motor mount is still in progress. The alignment of the ball screw with the radial arm slide took longer than expected. The mounting brackets were to be fixed to cast iron, unmachined surfaces. First they tried to make the surface as flat as possible with angle grinders and then machined leveling plates which gave them the mounting surfaces parallel and perpendicular to the sliding faces. The levelling plates had to be machined 5-6 times to get it right. I did the final alignment of the screw myself and in the end it got aligned within 0.02 mm with the slides. Not bad!

After installing motors, we realized the toothed belt is skipping notches on the pulley. We happened to have the wrong standard of belt shipped from Karachi. Sadiqabad is a small town and we can't get timing belts of all sizes there. We'll have to get it either from Karachi or Lahore. Both are equally far away.

It is only 4 days left before the Eid vacations and the planar bed is on it's way to Sadiqabad from Gujranwala. They say that we will get it next day. We will have to return to Karachi for the vacations. It is decided that we'll put the planer bed in place on the machine when it arrives and then leave for Karachi. We come back a week later with the new timing belts and finish the job. Everybody's happy for heading home for the Eid and also for the end of the project is in sight. But another delay is waiting for us which we'll find the next day.

154

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: CNC conversion of radial drill - Novisa TRO 65/80/2000

« on: January 20, 2013, 04:24:48 AM »

Build Thread

We are entering the 6th month of the project. The deadline is extended for two months. Customer was kind enough to understand the extraordinary circumstances we are going through. They too were effected by the flooding at their fertilizer plant during this time.

I get the news from Mr. Iftikhar that the overhaul for planer bed is complete and they have installed the ball screw to it. He asks me to bring the servo motor along so that he can make its mounts too. This is good news. We are going to finish it in time eventually.

I prepare my team to go to the customer to install the X-axis ball scew and motors for X and Z axes along with the control box. They leave for Sadiqabad and I for Gujranwala. Sadiqabad is exactly halfway between Karachi and Gujranwala.

At Gujranwala our first task is to check the torque at the screw end with the table installed. Mr. Iftikhar has already arranged for a hand-wheel at one end of the screw to check the torque. Till now all the parts were selected on rough estimates. Let's see how it goes.

I need to check the screw alignment first. They don't have proper instruments to check these. Ok, let's try it as it is. We'll make the final alignment at customer's premesis. Tighten all the bolts, put the handwheel in place. Try to move it with bare hands. And it does! What a relief. It's bit tight and needs a strong man to give a few steady turns. But it moves. Now, hang a weight to the wheel handle to find the torque which can just move the table. Handwheel is 300 mm in dia. The starting torque calculated is 28 N-m.

Our motor is 35 N-m. It is decided to put a 2:1 reduction at the ball screw with timing pulleys and belt. This way we make sure it runs without putting too much strain on our motor and also with 2.5 tons extra load.

I order an end support for the radial arm to be made at Mr. Iftikhar's work shop. He starts the work to mount the 5.5 kW servo motor on the planer body. Mr. Iftikhar promises to ship the planar base and the end-support to Sadiqabad once he finishes the motor installation and the paint. I return to Sadiqabad to check the progress of X and Z axes stuff installation.

155

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: CNC conversion of radial drill - Novisa TRO 65/80/2000

« on: January 20, 2013, 02:57:08 AM »

The reason for putting this build thread both here and on cnczone is that Khalid does most of his posts on cnczone while I linger mostly on machsupport forum.

Hi Hood,
just to let you know if you haven't gone to CNCzone, Zafarsalam and Khalid are entering in a parallel thread and conversing there.  Some extra information is being exchanged.  I don't offhand have the link right now but I was reading their posts this morning.

John M.

edit:  Here it is...
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/general_metal_working_machines/171471-cnc_conversion_radial_drill_-_novisa_tro_65_80_2000_a.html

156

Modbus / Re: Simple tutorial on analog inputs with Arduino

« on: January 20, 2013, 02:47:55 AM »

Good job works perfect
I am new to this and would like to put buttons and LED on the arduino but I can not run or signals the brain
can you help

Thanks

For this you'll have to make changes in arduino sketch, modbus settings and brains in Mach3. I'll get back to it in a day or two with that.

157

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: CNC conversion of radial drill - Novisa TRO 65/80/2000

« on: January 19, 2013, 06:59:45 AM »

Thanks,  do you get direct from INVT or is there a dealer in Pakistan? I did a search in the UK for a dealer and didnt see one

Hood

They have a dealer in Pakistan. I bought it from him.

158

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: CNC conversion of radial drill - Novisa TRO 65/80/2000

« on: January 19, 2013, 06:20:16 AM »

Zafar
Thanks for the info, sounds like a good price
What make are servos/drives? cant make it out from the pics.
Hood

Hood,
Servos are made in China from Invt. http://www.invt.com/en/index.aspx

159

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: CNC conversion of radial drill - Novisa TRO 65/80/2000

« on: January 18, 2013, 10:50:17 PM »

Build Thread

We are into third month of our project. Controller box is almost complete. Break out board assembled and tested, Arduino programmed, Smooth Stepper Ethernet installed on the Dell compact PC, LCD screen mounted with function buttons.

Check out the progress on the planer bed. Mr. Iftikhar is back from his business visits. A new project on retrofit of Turret Punch starts in Lahore. I go with my team there. A visit to Gujranwala is also underway. It is one hour's drive from Lahore. Another surprise is waiting for me in Gujranwala. The planer bed is still lying there untouched. It is summer time and also rainy season. Almost half of Pakistan is affected by worst floods in history. Add to it the ongoing power crisis in the country. The delay was inevitable. Time is running out for the project. Slight panic starts to creep in.

160

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: CNC conversion of radial drill - Novisa TRO 65/80/2000

« on: January 18, 2013, 09:28:48 PM »

Were the balls screws and motors/drives new?
 If you dont mind me asking what kind of difference in price between this and a new machine? Not wanting numbers, % will do
Hood

Hood,
Motors and drives were new. Bought ball screws from a guy who imports used machine parts. But both of them appeared new and were in their original packing. Those were THK brand. Khalid can better tell the difference in price for this setup and the new machine. My guess is it would be around 20% of the cost of new.

Zafar