I finished my build, still have a few issues that I see have been addressed elsewhere in the discussions. I have been running a NextWave Pirannha XL and VCarve Pro for 4 + years. I set up a program to run a 7" square, a 6 1/2" d circle, 4" circle, and a 2" circle. It runs fine with the NextWave post processor. After downloading GSender I set it to inches and resaved the program with grbl as the post processor to run as a test on the Longmill. I can’t complete the square because it starts running a very large dimension and I hit the estop. I am also having issues with the lower wheels dragging on the supports causing wracking but that is for a discussion elsewhere.
@Wills Bill: Can you post your gcode and your .crv, too, if you like.
The first thing to check with your wheels hitting the feet is that the upper wheels are not set tight enough, allowing the gantry to be too low. The tolerances are very close. When you set the upper wheels, either push up on the bottom of the gantry or place a wedge (not too tightly) under the ganty place to take the weight off the top wheels.
I tried lifting the gantry with the excentrics as loose as possible. I can’t move it up and neither upper or lower wheels will turn at that setting. Ok, a little but too tight, I feel. I will try to post my program.
@Wills Bill: Do the eccentric nuts turn OK in the slots? Some times the paint needs to be filed/scraped away from the inside that they function properly.
They went in easily in the build. I have them turned with the eccentric to the bottom showing the bolt all the way to the top. This is on the right side. On the left side, I am able to adjust the eccentric from all the way on the bottom to tighten up the wheel adjustment. It seems only the right side is this tight although I had to cut slots in both front support brackets (L and R) for wheel clearance. I did this on my bandsaw.
I don’t know how to post my gcode and .crv files???
@Wills Strange about the wheels. If you have things working well, I guess that’s ok. Clearly, you should not have had to cut the feet to get clearance, though.
In terms of files, when you reply to this, you will see an icon with an upward pointing arrow. Click that and just follow the instructions to add the file. I should have known, but did not, that .crv is not an acceptable file format for uploading. I’ve sent you a pm with my email address. If you want me to look at the crv, you can send it to me that way. If not, no worries.
@Wills For some reason I was having a similar issue, replaced the wheels, replaced the eccentrics and all ended well, don’t know if I screwed up the originals with my build (probably) but life has been better since I did that. When you pull up on the gantry makes sure you can turn the top wheels, not easily, some resistance and tension makes it work right, I agree with Grant, if you had to grind anything down, something is way out of wack.
I am sure I took some life out of my wheels. What I didn’t notice was that when I was assembling the x rail, it was possible to tighten the bolts holding the steel shoulder brackets and steel gantry’s in a non 90 degree angle. When I assembled the x to the y rails, the wheels were tight but I didn’t notice the angle. Per Kelly’s suggestion, I left the bolts out, removed the screws and shifted the y rail outward a small amount. The holes in the steel bracket had enough “give” that I was able to reattach it in a vertical position so that the wheels now ride on the rail as intended. Moving forward I would advise not to tighten those bracket bolts until the gantry is installed onto the y rails. Just my observation.
3 Likes
Nice job Will, Kelly really helped me when I was having issues.