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Thread: Poorman's Board Carrier

  1. #11
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    The thickness matters mainly because the board (assumed to be 3/4" thick) has to stick up 1/4" above the rails. 1/2" MDF leaves the 1/4". Also, the depth of the touch holes would have to be adjusted. Or, I suppose you could just use 3/4" MDF and then rip 1/4" off of the bottom of each piece. Same result in the end. (You could keep the bottom 3/4" but you would have to rip 1/4" off the bottom of the top pieces.)

    Edit: The depths of the touch holes are measured relative to the plane where the bottom of the board rests (pretending to be where the belt would be). So, the bottom could be made from 3/4" with no change. The whole thing just goes up 1/4".
    Last edited by bergerud; 03-29-2015 at 09:41 PM.

  2. #12
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    I'd love to see a video of this in action
    " The Hurdier I Go, The Behinder I Get"

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by bergerud View Post
    The thickness matters mainly because the board (assumed to be 3/4" thick) has to stick up 1/4" above the rails. 1/2" MDF leaves the 1/4". Also, the depth of the touch holes would have to be adjusted. Or, I suppose you could just use 3/4" MDF and then rip 1/4" off of the bottom of each piece. Same result in the end. (You could keep the bottom 3/4" but you would have to rip 1/4" off the bottom of the top pieces.)

    Edit: The depths of the touch holes are measured relative to the plane where the bottom of the board rests (pretending to be where the belt would be). So, the bottom could be made from 3/4" with no change. The whole thing just goes up 1/4".


    Thanks for the information. I may try it with the 3/4 inch and see how it comes out.

    Mike
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  4. #14
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    Interesting,,, very interesting ....
    Mans Quest for knowledge,,, means he'll always find a way !!

  5. #15
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    Ok, here is a video of the measuring process. All that would be left to do is slide on the 1/4" thick rail shims. These can be slid on as the machine carves. As long as they are in before a roller tries to drop off a board end, its all good. (Better to be safe, press stop and put the shims in as soon as the measurement is done and just as the board starts to move.)

    http://youtu.be/vjGF1g_qkoQ

    Edit: One can put the keyboard side shim in as soon as the length is measured. I am not sure but this may be enough in itself to keep the rollers "up". I have not tried that yet.
    Last edited by bergerud; 03-31-2015 at 12:37 AM.

  6. #16
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    Default How to Calibrate the Z depth of the Carrier

    Since the distance from the belts to the sliding plate is different on different machines, one should set the depth of the sliding plate drill in the mpc to match their machine. That way, their machine will measure the same board thickness of a board in the carrier as it would if the board was on the belts. I measured the heights of my sliding plates on both my B machines and took the average for the mpc. One has rubber belts and the other has sandpaper and the numbers were quite different.

    If you want to make your carrier drill hole accurate for your machine, here is what to do. Place a piece of the 1/2" MDF that you are using to make the carrier in the machine. Clamp it down with the bit touching the MDF. Now turn on the machine. Press 0 - 7 and arrow to the y z sensor data. They will both say 0.000. Move the truck over and touch to the sliding plate. That z number is now what you want to change the drill depth to in the mpc.

    (I do not think the drill depth of the brass roller touch point is important for accurate measurement. It just tells the computer about where it will find the sliding plate.)

  7. #17
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    Another fine Danvention ... Guess I'll start mine soon ... Thx Dan
    Mans Quest for knowledge,,, means he'll always find a way !!

  8. #18
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    Red face

    Thanks Dan for the video. I think it should be a winner.
    Also I thought my machines were the only ones that made all the moans and groans. Guess not.


    Mike
    Last edited by mikemi; 03-31-2015 at 07:36 PM. Reason: add statement
    All Gave Some,
    Some Gave All.

    My computer configuration and software used:
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    Designer 2.007, Designer 3.102, Pattern Editor, Centerline, Conforming Vectors, 2d Tools, 3d Tools, DXF Importer, STL Importer and Rotary Jig.

  9. #19
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    I have had another idea. (during the commute to work!) I do not like the shims. It is too much trouble to slide them in and keep them on straight.

    If the board was to be only 1/8" above the rails (instead of 1/4"), the roller switches would be right on the edge of opening when the roller rolls off the end of the board onto the rails. One could carve in this situation and "stay under the rollers". If the head was raised just a little, the switches would open.

    So, here is the idea: For the board measuring stage, one does not clamp the head down tight. (Tighten down on the board and then back off the handle 1/4 to 1/2 turn.) The roller switches will open when the rollers fall off the board ends and the board will be measured as before. When the machine asks for the bit, clamp the head back down. Now with the head clamped back down, the roller switches will stay closed and the machine will think all is under the rollers during the rest of the operation.

    Here is a test to do with your machine. Clamp down on a board and lower the bit down to touch the board. Turn on the machine. Go to sensor data 0 - 7. (Notice that the z is 0.000) Go to the roller data. Raise the head slowly until both roller switches open. (Hopefully they will open very close to each other.) Now go back to the z sensor data, push the truck down and read off the change in z. If it is a little more than 1/8", this idea will should work on your machine as it does on mine.

    If you have already made the carrier, try the technique with a 5/8" thick board. See if you can measure it with the head up a little and then see if you get a "clear sensor" error with the head down.

    I am going to build this into the universal carrier that I am working on.

  10. #20
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    I taped on some 1/8" strips to test the new measuring procedure. Seemed to work fine. Here is a picture of what I carved. So, the parts should be made of 5/8" MDF instead of 1/2" if you want to adopt this method.

    (I did have to jog a little to get the touch points to line up. I should do more testing on this.)
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails P1000901.JPG  

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