Spindle Cable

[nat_wheatley]

Any tips on positioning the spindle cable as it hangs off of the Y/Z car? I've followed the assembly instructions and haven't bundled it with the other cables/wires, but can't seem to hang so it doesn't get tangled. It might look clearer to me tommorrow, it was the end of the day and I was pretty beat.

[Gary Campbell]

Hey Nat...
I just looked and I dont have a pic to show you. I used an echain from day one, but once you get to the side plate, all is the same.

From the top of the side plate near the extrusion bolts my spindle power cable & air hose go to the front (-X) end of the plate. The stepper, prox & zero plate wires are bundled, parallel and about 6 inches in the +X direction close to the X motor.

Before I put in the X axis echain, my spindle & air hose were fastened to the table about midpoint of the table and the other bundle 6" in the +X direction. They were held with plasic conduit clamps to the bottom of the table. I left enough slack so that they are able to swing alongside each other about a foot below the table as the gantry moves from one end to another.

Hope this helps, Gary

[nat_wheatley]

Thanks Gary, that does help. I'll go at it again tomorrow and see how I make out. I'd be interested in seeing a photo of your e-chain setup if you do get a chance, at some point, to take one.

Assembly seems to be going ok. The one step I wasn't overly confident in was straigtening the X-rails. If I do go back over things to fine tune them, my thought was to rip a straight edge on a 10' 2x6 with my panel saw, laminate the edge (using double sided tape instead of contact cement to keep it smooth) and clamp it to the front rail to get it as straight as I can. I would guess that the straighter the rails are now, the easier my life will be in the long run. Not sure if I'm being overly cautious on that, though.

[Gary Campbell]

Nat..
To me, it is extremely important to get the rails absolutely perfect laterally, as your tool can only cut as straight as the rails. Your tool will be parallel or coplanar with the table when it surfaced, so thru cutting will not be affected by some variations, however, if you clamp something on the table to surface it will not be true. I dont believe you are being too cautious.

Here is an earlier post showing my echain installation. http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/messages/28/22269.html?1192714527
If you have some specific questions email me back & I will take pics tomorrow.
Gary

[nat_wheatley]

Thanks again, Gary.

[zeke]

I believe the spindle fan cable which I just received (didn't ship with everything else) should be bundled with the stepper, prox., wires. I am planning to keep it away from the Spindle power cable. I couldn't find this specific information and wanted to verify with you guys just to be sure.