I have my maslow finally set up and working and I have successfully cut a few small test projects. It works quite well and I’m very pleased.
One problem however is that when the machine is working near the top left or right corners of the 8x4 plywood sheet I can hear a lot of ‘clunking’ chain strain sound and I have had problems when the machine is in that area. The tension bunjee cord popped off once and once the slack chain started wrapping around the motor’s gear. The whole operation is still very new to me.
My ultimate project goal s to cut nearly 8 foot long boat hull sections using 4MM thick marine grade plywood. The hull parts are all arranged in a dxf file where the hull patters fill the entire plywood sheet. Can anyone share with me their maslow’s performance at the far reaches of the board and working on a full 8x4 sheet. Are there any modifications or operating tips?
The chains should ideally be parallel to the worksheet and enter the motor sprocket direct and not from any angled side. What you describe sounds like the motors are to far out or to far in, so the chain starts riding on the sides.
The ideal procedure is to balance your final sled first by adjusting the (ring kit?) in height, until your sled is vertical, or slightly tilts at the top towards the worksheet.
With the sled balanced you can measure the chain distance to the sheet.
Then bring the motors out the same amount that the chain near the sprockets have the same distance to the sheet. This way the chain on sled side will run directly on the sprocket without catching from the side.
On the slack-chain side you want to align the chains the same way. If you have your slack-chains on the sides, they tend to hang down vertically due to gravity. The sprocket is ~ 15° tilted with you frame.
Bring out the mounts for the bungee enough to force the slack-chain to meet the sprocket straight.
Chain guides is a workaround and there are plenty of great examples here in the Forum, but with chain alignment, they can be omitted.
Take a look at moving the chains to the top and replacing the bungees with weights. This also can help to get rid of the symptoms you experience.
Thank Gero for your response. So it sounds like I’m not yet done with dialing in my setup.
I’m using the default frame and my build looks identical to the instructions. I did not do the sled balancing procedure, only the calibration procedure. I’ll take a look at how to handle the slack chains entering the motor at the correct angle.
Can I assume that if I get the frame and sled setup correctly the machine is capable of cutting across the full 8x4 worksheet?
With a standard frame (10ft top beam) you will face accuracy issues in the top center and in the lower corners. Extending the top to 12ft (you will have to extend the chains also) can reduce those errors drastically to use the entire sheet.