My Shopbot Has Shipped

[Jerome]

My PRS Alpha is scheduled to arrive Wednesday.

Does anyone have any tips about setting the Bot up?

Thank You in advance.

Jerome

[cabnet636]

get ready for one of the best times in life!!

[erik_f]

Depending on weather or not you have used CNC machines before or not will determine what king of response you will get. I will say this, if I can do it, just about anyone can. Give yourself plenty of space to build. If you can lay everything out before you start...and a second set of hands if very useful.

[chiloquinruss]

Click on "Search" and type in "unpacking". There is some really good tips/threads there. Read all the documentation and then re-read anything that didn't make sense the first time through. The two most important items are SQUARE and LEVEL. Take your time and above all have a great time! :) :) Russ

[dlcw]

Have a big machine to get it off the truck. It is HEAVY!

When setting up the most important thing is to get it square and level. If you shortcut this step you will regret it forever. Take your time, if you need multiple days to get this step complete, take the time. Don't skimp!

Follow the directions and if you have questions, post them here or contact SB Support. Don't proceed until you get the question answered to your satisfaction and clarity. Moving forward with assembly when not clear on something is an invitation to long term problems. Remember, everything you do in the short term to get up and running will have long term ramifications. It can also introduce gremlins that are really difficult to track down and eliminate.

GROUND THE **** out of your machine. This will really help to keep you from chasing your tail around in circles later on. Just search the forum for grounding best practices.

Once setup, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Get some REALLY cheap bits because you will break some as you learn. Get some cheap plywood (chinese import ****) or MDF as you will waste a lot of material. Get the feel of the machine before you are faced with a customer project deadline and you are learning on the fly (don't ask me how I know this :o).

Get ready to have some fun and start doing things you've maybe shied away from in the past (bent form lamination - the 'bot makes it easy to make bending forms).

We are here to help you along. :)

[curtiss]

Most of the bolts are 3/4".... but for some reason, you will need almost all of your other wrenches, hammers, crowbars.

Pizza & proper beverages for the nearest botter might provide another set of hands.

Steel toed shoes are reccomended, but once that part is done you need a hard hat for when you crawl under the machine. Two baseball caps can be substitued.

What size machine did you buy ? They should send out the directions a month early so one would actually have to read them... you will need them..

[billp]

Jerome,
As pointed out above, take your time, and ask a lot of questions ( we all did when we got started...).
Also as Don points out-practice. In this case styrofoam ( blue/pink/green, etc.) will be your best friend...You can't "hurt" the machine, or break bits, so
it's the perfect practice medium...

[angus_hines]

Make sure you have plenty of 5mm Allen wrench's to because as soon as you set one down the machine will hide it from you !!!! :D

[myxpykalix]

After you get the machine put together and PRIOR to you making your first moves or cuts follow this basic procedure FIRST:

1) Take your left hand and stretch it out, palm upwards...
2) take the emergency stop and place it firmly in your palm...
3) Take your fingers and grasp it firmly...
4) start your first file while simultaneously taking your right hand and placing it over the red button, palm downwards...
5) As the bit plows thru the layer of plywood and down into your mdf spoilboard in a quick downward motion hit the red button to stop all movement....
6) Then go to the bathroom and clean up the other "movement"......:eek:

You will then be a fully fledged member of the "Brotherhood of the Bot"

Have fun and make sure to take pictures of your first project good or bad so that a year from now you can look back and see how much you have improved.:D

[wberminio]

Jerome

Your life is about to change forever!

Don't be afraid to ask questions-Here or Customer support.
Most patient support group in the world!

[Jerome]

I checked the tracking and it said the shipment was in Poplar Bluff which is about 25 miles from here. I called to ask about picking it up and he said it would be delivered today.

I want to thank everybody for your help. I'm betting I will need more of it.

Trying not to get too excited but it isn't working.

Jerome

[dana_swift]

It really helps to have a fellow shopbotter in your area come over and guide you through the overwhelming details. Someday you can return the favor to another new arrival.

And next to that this forum of course! Most of us just dont live close enough to lend a hand.

Which specific bot did you get?

D

[bcondon]

Rail Installation.

I did not like what was written in the manual because I was putting it together alone.. I sent this to Ted.

The manual has you put bolts and slides together, then try to "slide the slides" in a channel and guess what, they jam and you are holding a very expensive 8 foot long gear assembly...

so here is how I did it and the trick is to MARK the gear rail into the rails with a sharpee, slide the little slide goobers into the channel and then mount the rails, then catch the goober slides with the bolt...

It works well ... here are the directions...

Who would I send suggestions on the installation instructions?



-> They should document that there is a separate hardware packet for the rail kit in the instructions. I thought I was 22 T clips short but found them in another larger bag..



-> When installing the top rails, it is recommended to install the t clips onto the rails and then slide them into the channel. It warns of pinched fingers





The better method which took less than 2 minutes to install in each rail



Materials: Need a regular yellow pencil, mechanical pencil or small diameter marker



1. Place rail on top of side rails, aligning the end of the rail with the end of the side rail.

2. Using the pencil, mark inside each bolt hole of the top rail and place a mark on the side rail channel.

3. Remove the top rail

3. Slide 11 T clips into the channel from the end, lining one on each line in the channel (where the bolt holes were)

4. Set the top rail back onto the side rail.

5. Look in each bolt hole and you should see a t clip... using the allen head wrench, place into the bolt hole and center the T clip under the bolt hole.

6. Inset bolt into bolt hole AND TURN BACKWARDS 2 turns which will align the theads on the bolt with the threads in the t clip. Leave the bolt loose until ALL bolts are fixed to their tclip. repeat 10 more times.

7. Tighten all 11 bolts once the top rail is aligned.



Much much easier than trying to balance an 8 foot piece of metal trying to sliding around...

YOU WON'T PINCH YOUR FINGERS EITHER!

[jerry_stanek]

That bis pretty much the way I did mine although I use those style nuts all the time so I had experience.

[adrianm]

I think the design must have changed. I don't remember going through any of that.

[myxpykalix]

"little slide goobers".......is that the technical term for them? lol

[Jerome]

A few minutes after my last post the trucking company called and said they would not be able to deliver the bot on Tuesday.

I did a little more prep work on the shop last night and swept the floor. I am ready.

For those who inquired, I ordered the PRS Alpha 60 x 96 with the Automatic tool changer which comes with a 5 HP spindle.

I am printing all the response's to my posts, I'm sure they will be helpful.

I don't have any bot owners close so I plan to take my time, read the instructions and hope for the best. I do have a Hydraulic stacker ( a poor man's forklift) that should be useful for that other set of hands I don't have.

Today should be the day

Thanks again
Jerome

[adrianm]

Getting the carriage on is probably the only bit you'll really struggle with on your own.

I built my Alpha 96x48 by myself apart from lifting the carriage onto the rails.

The only areas I struggled with concerned upgraded parts where the documentation hadn't quite caught up but technical support are very fast with the answers.

[curtiss]

I hope they send the right color.

If the box says "do not open until Christmas" you will have to wait...

I remember when I stood the legs up, I tied a rope to the ceiling to hold them until I had them bolted up.

As those above, if the x rails are straight, level, and parallel, the y car has to roll square on it. The is about half the battle.

[harryball]

Take your time, don't be afraid to ask questions and most importantly... don't vacu clamp yourself to the table.

/RB

[jerry_stanek]

I used appliance casters under my table the I used my engine hoist to pick up the gantry and i wheeled the table under the gantry and slowly lowered it down on the rails.

[chiloquinruss]

One more very important issue. When you place the carriage on the table you will have the immediate impulse to move the carriage. DON'T MOVE THE CARRIAGE. What happens is those stepper motors become mini generators when the power is off. When you move the carriage there is a possibility of sending a voltage spike into the controller. This warning is repeated several times in the documentation but if you know about it before hand you will be steps ahead. The latest machines come with most everything prewired and so you are plugging in things as you go along the build process. Just remember to not move the carriage manually! When you get it all together and you start to play watch closely your rollers to see that they smoothly and consistantly roll from end to end (x) and from side to side (y). If they don't you have something slightly out of adjustment. On my particular machine I had to add just a couple of very thin shims under one rail about 2/3rds down one rail. When done the wheels rolled smoothly and consistantly. As others have said read the documentation and don't get to confused if the documentation does not quite match what you find in the crates. ShopBot technology advances much faster than the documentation writers can update the manuals! :) Have fun. Russ

[myxpykalix]

If you have rafters above you in your shop I used a cum-along to lift my carriage up so i could place it on the table because i was working alone.

As a matter of fact i'm getting ready to go out and do the same thing again to mount it back on my rails.

[jerry_stanek]

I sould also say that I built mine in the middle of my shop then moved it to where it would set uused the hoist to lift it off the casters.

[bcondon]

I had two lifts, one from the shipping crate and the second onto the machine.

I used my youngest son who is 135 pounds and can lift a truck or two.
He came home from college to help. He was a tremendous help.

Bob