"Stock" frame dimensions & leaning angle

I’m building a custom stiffer frame that i can upgrade if needed for bigger formats but want to be sure i have the frame @ the right angle leaning against the wall.
For the first run i’m looking to have the distance between the 2 motors & plywood/sled center the same as the current “stock” frame.

Is there a reference somewhere to the dimensions (pref in metrics) of the standard frame & what the ideal angle is?

Many thanks

The ideal angle is yet to be tested. The original frame is at 15° and I started at 6° but wet out to 10° because I had some wiggling of the sled that I think was not enough friction. Searched for the measurement in the old forum, but could not find then. In general, wider and higher give you better accuracy over the sheet. My motors are 3010mm apart, I think that is slightly wider then the stock frame.

2 Likes

Many thanks (also for digging in the old forums)
Much appreciated.
The initial dimensions of the frame i’m building will be 300cm wide x 250cm high

Not yet decided on how i will attach the motors as i’m looking for a solution where i can easily change their positions yet have them fixed in a stiff and secure way.
Maybe metal fixations somehow.

Will post pics once i’m there.

1 Like

Yes I aslo settled at 10degrees, best results.:smiley:

3 Likes

play around with the simulator and edit the code to set different dimensions.
Currently the design has the motors about a foot up and out from the top corner
of the workpiece, but if you wanted to go taller, you would need to go out wider
with the motors.

There’s not a need to have the motors adjustable to different widths, space them
for your biggest size workpiece and leave them there for everything else.

1 Like

Thanks for the input :slight_smile:

Thanks for the info. I had the same question exactly as I add the motors today. What would be the ideal distance from the sprocket on the motors to the center of the waste board?

4 Likes

What a beautiful frame!
Have you looked at v-plotter.py?
I have no idea if it is true, but think you might gain accuracy toward the edges by lowering the sheet.

1 Like

There is no ‘ideal’ distance. The more you can keep the chains from being near
vertical the better, this translates to the wider the better.

As you get wider, it gets harder to put the sled up to the same height between
them (the angle gets shallower and so more tension is needed), so adding height
to the motors may help (the shallower the angle, the more cutting error is
caused by a slight error in chain length)

that’s a perfect example of what I call a “wall” type frame (it’s built the same way a wall is framed)

1 Like

The standard layout comes in about 1650mm. 2995mm is the default value for distance between the motors, less distance would probably affect accuracy out at the sides. Height above the worksheet defaults to 369mm, less than that might reduce accuracy at the top of the sheet.
It looks like your frame is nice and sturdy, I look forward to hearing more about your build :slight_smile:.

1 Like

This looks like a good part of the forum to start, I have a lot of steel angle around, so might make my frame out of partially metal and partially wood. (once I get power in my shed that is).

So I like pictures so drew this up:

My question is what would be ideal and or standard, and also will the standard chain length still be o.k.

A: stock is 3000, but above got mentioned 1650mm from motor sprocket to centre which would make it 3300mm between sprockets (450mm (18") on either side of the work piece.) (or was that measuring down to the work piece?)

B and C: Height above work area, again mentioned 1 foot up (300mm) by 1 foot to each side (300mm) would 450mm be better (18 inches)

D: should be fine with an 450mm (18") sled

E: 10° seems to work good.

Cheers

Larry

1 Like

This was measuring down to the center of the 4x8 workarea.

Can’t say for sure, but this is #25 roller chain, very available in 10’ lengths, so easy to add on. For a rough measurement, measure from the lower corner to the opposite motor, and add 2 feet, or so.

1 Like

You might want/need to be able to tilt as much as 18 degrees, the angle provides important force pressing the bit into the wood.

Ok thanks for that, ill keep it at 300 or one foot :footprints::slight_smile:

Along the topic of this discussion, does anyone have the dimensions of each of the parts (leg1, leg,2, arm etc) that need to be cut for the original maslow design? When i took a look at the designs through fusion360, I’m seeing a lot of the parts to be cut to about 7" on the sides, but then when I look at what came out from my temp frame cuts, they ended up being closer to 10". So any help on getting the exact dimensions is appreciated!