Dismantling & Moving - Any Suggestions?

[Mayo]

Within a couple of weeks I'll be moving into a different house and will set up the Shopbot PRT96 in the attached (2+) car garage. Before I actually dismantle the Bot, I thought I'd ask if anyone has any tips or suggestions on what might make it easier and possibly what to avoid.

I'm also going to be needing to get electrical work done in the garage so that I have enough outlets, and I'll be adding a small ceiling mounted heater for the cold Chicago area winters. I'll insulate and put up drywall - there's no ceiling on the rafters yet.

Some specifics:
I have a wooden table that is screwed together. It MUST be taken apart in order to get it out of the basement I currently have it in. I have the Porter Cable router which is held onto the V-shaped bracket with the two "hose clamps".

[Brady Watson]

Mayo,
Pull the X and Y motors off of the carriage to keep them from getting bashed around during the move. You can leave the Z-axis and motor intact. Center the Y-car on the X-car and place a couple of pieces of plywood in between the rails. Place the X and Y motors on these and coil up the wires from the control box and place on the plywood as well. With the gantry still on the rails, shrink-wrap the whole deal and be sure to add padding where necessary. You can also place the control box on the plywood as well. Now you can carefully lift off the gantry and transport. If you have the height, you can leave the wire guide intact....otherwise you'll have to remove it.

The rails do best as they were shipped with the teeth of the rack meshed together and a piece of 3/4" wood to keep them spread evenly just above the racks. Use bolts to sandwich the wood in between the rails. Wrap them carefully to avoid damaging them.

Hope that helps,
-Brady

[davidallen]

I've moved mine twice in 3 years. the best advice I can offer is to LABEL EVERYTHING.

whatever you take off, put a piece of tape on what was removed and the place from where it was removed. put the same number or letter on both pieces of tape. make sure the labels are unique or sequential.

I removed the motors, router, vacuum hose and wiring harnes and packed them, the electronics boxes and the z-carriage separately.

the y-carriage I separated from the table but kept assembled and the 2 sides were separated from the cross supports. the wood for the table top was stacked along one side of the truck with the sides, y-carriage and cross supports stacked against it and all lashed down.

another piece of advice I'd strongly offer is to LABEL THE CARTONS. it took me 3 months to find the box with the motors.

good luck,

da

p.s. this might be a good time to convert to a metal table.

[btk]

Mayo

I have moved my Shopbot 2 times in the past 6 months.

I have a steel table.
Both times I moved the table in one piece.
1st time squeeked into a 10 ft. Box Truck.(1/4 inch to spare).
2nd time had more space in 16 ft Box Truck.
I used a fork lift the first time.
Second time, 6 strong men (to bending the frame).


Both times, I put the Y/Z Gangry on a wooden pallet.
I Raised the Z Axis so that the router is above
the Y Rails.
Screw Blocking to the pallet high enough so that the Y motors are up off the ground a safe distance.

1st time I used 6 x 6 railroad ties.
2nd time I used three layers of 3" Dow Blue Foam (9 total inches) of Dow Blue Foam 2' x 4' pieces becuase it helped reduce vibration during transit.

I then strapped the entire thing down with straps.

I loaded into the truck by hand (3 guys).
Helpfull to have a ramp on Box truck or a lift gate and Dolly.

In the truck, I strapped everything to walls.

As David said, label everything.
Also take some pictures.
Definitly take extra time packing up your axis wiring. The Wago Connectors if stretched and pulled will cause your chips to fry (This happened to me on my first move).


Also, as David Said, moving is a good time to upgrade parts, etc. I gave my PC Router a tune-up and also installed new Dust Skirt, etc.

Good Luck,
Brian

[Mayo]

Thanks for the suggestions! I am in the habit of labeling boxes I pack stuff in, but probably wouldn't have put tape labels on the parts. I can see where this would make things much quicker for reassembly.

The thing I never understood about the steel table was why have those tiny little feet just for the sake of adjustability? Does the threaded rod make it more likely to allow sway or wiggle to happen during cutting?

[fleinbach]

Mayo

No, you will not get any sway or wiggle if you tighten the locknut. On the other hand not tightening the locknut will allow for sway.

As for the original question about moving the ShopBot when I sold my PR tea 96 it was loaded all in one piece by four guys into a rental truck and driven to New York from Maryland.

[jhicks]

I moved my PRT120 once to get it here and once when I expanded my shop. I thought everything was fine until I got into some more precise requirements and was "just not accurate enough" I took the time to check every axis for accuracy. I found simple things were slightly off and had been delivering "not perfectly square" cuts because the rails were slightly out of parallel and the Z was 1 degree off.
My recommendation is to assume that things are out of position and take the time to be very particular about square, parallel, and perpendicular rail, gantry, and z axis settings before you run again. It made a positive difference for me and now I feel I can run with confidence.
Since your in Elgin, do you ever get out near Downers Grove? Maybe we can hook up during the October wood show at Rosement and share some stories. 2 or 3 other Botters are planning to meet there. Let us know if you can join us.

[jim_ludi]

Mayo,

I've taken my PRT96 on the road for the last two years. I normally have to transport it to several locations each year. I have a twelve foot enclosed trailer, with a ramp, that I transport it in.
I went to my local caster & wheel supplier and purchased four locking type swivel casters (4 X 1 ¼) that replace the original levelers, so I can easily move the table. The stem threads on the casters are the same diamater and thread pitch as the levelers.
•

[Mayo]

Jerry - I don't get to Downers Grove very often. I can't remember when I was there last, but then again, I can't remember what I had for breakfast.

Meeting up at the Rosemont sounds like a plan. If you have any details about the show, please email them to me - I hadn't heard about it.

Jim that sounds like an interesting kind of business you have going there - mobile routing service? Or are you doing the craft show / state fair kind of thing?

[jhicks]

Mayo, check details at www.thewoodworkingshows.com (http://www.thewoodworkingshows.com)
It shows the entire list of schow schedules around the country. Looks like its 10/14 ~ 10/16 at the Odem in Addison Illinois this year.
Let us know if you plan to join us and we can arrange to meet there.

[jim_ludi]

Mayo - I was a V.P. for a recreation facilities management company and found the bot useful, and profitable, for maintenance and upgrade projects - signage, etc.. Unfortunately, I had to have some M&R done on a knee this summer so, at the moment, I'm just hanging around Denver, rehabing and doing "small" jobs/projects. But, I hope to be working my own rec. projects again, soon.

BTW, the bot does travel pretty well as long as you're careful about tiedow, bracing, and cushioning issues (the medium density casters I use provide some cushion). Good trailer suspension helps too - torsion or air. By the time I get the bot and all my tools loaded the trailer suspension and tires are kinda mushy so that helps too. My gretest concern was damaging the gantry/s wheels and rails so I tasked to minimize that possibility. And, additionally, to minimize the possibility of the table and gantry legs spreading or folding. Otherwise, it's mostly a pile of steel, so... Anyway, I know that some of the folks at ShopBot have traveled with demo machines too and could give you some additional cautions.

[kerrazy]

Hey Mayo,
I have a stell table PRT 96 and just moved it from a basement shop in an old scool to my new shop.

I left the z and Y cars attached to the gantry and wrapped them in the industrial plastic wrap.
I unpluged my control box and left all wires attached to the input and output blocks and just removed the blocks. Rolled all the cabling up and secured it to the gantry. Now the gantry was loaded in the back of the truck.
I then undid the the plywood subtable from either end of the table and left the remaining cross struts attached to the plywood. this ensured everything would go back relativley square. I removed the lags and end crass braces from the rails. And trasnported the whole works to the new shop.
I was ripped down and set up again with in 5 hours.
Just remember to surface your table once you move to your new location.
Dale

[kerrazy]

Sorry Mayo,
I did remove my X motors for the move.

[Mayo]

Unfortunately there is no way I can get this Bot out of the basement without dismantling it. I will be able to keep the Y carriage assembled, and the Z will stay assembled but I'll remove it from the Y carriage. The X rails will have to come off the table and the channel at each end of the X rails will have to come off. The table will have to be taken apart but thankfully most of it is held together with deck screws. The garage I'm putting this in measures about 19 1/2' side to side, with the left side connected to the house, and 29' front to back, with two 7'x8' garage doors on the front.

Currently I have tape labels on all front/back sides of all major parts so that I get it all back the way it was. But this got me thinking...

If I have been doing the majority of my work within 96"x24", would it be wise to switch my 0,0 position to what was previously the 48,96 position to try and even out any wear on the rails? Kind of like a tire rotation. Any thoughts on this?

[gerald_d]

If you have significant wear on the rails (ie. past 50% of their lifespan), then rotate only the rails. I would avoid changing my work logic for the sake of some sharpened angle iron.

[mikejohn]

I am facing moving to a new workshop this month.
I have a PRT96 (one of the 'last' ones after the intro of the Alpha, before they re-introduced the PRT). This means it is constructed as an Alpha without the Alpha motors and control box.
The metal table is made with each side frame (x beam, legs and braces) as a single welded unit, joined by bolting 7 cross rails, which have other bracing at either end.
Am I better off leaving the x rail and rack attached during the move?
If the answer is 'yes' how best to protect them during the move?
I see no problem removing all motors, wire carrier.
I also feel it is safe to transport the y carriage with z carriage attached, properly packed. Any advice on this. Likewise the x carriage.
What I am trying to avoid is having to start aligning everything from square one.
If the consensus of opinion is that after any move you need to do a complete re-alignment, then it seems safer to me to dis-assemble the whole thing into the parts as it was transported from the USA.

Any advice would be welcome.

.............Mike

[gerald_d]

Mike, do you have to move it in your van, or can you get a truck/trailer to move it full-size? If the latter, what can you use to lift/load? My first consideration would be trying to move it as assembled as possible. And then I would lift the carriages slightly off the rails onto blocks, and support the z-axis on a block - this is to stop the carriages running when you hit the brakes, and to stop the rollers from vibrating into the soft rails.

Also check your insurance cover.

[mikejohn]

The door to my current workshop isn't wide enough to move the table out in one piece, unfortunately.
(Also the new owners ofthe building have dug a 2 metre deep hole between me and te road, so we can't get any vehicle right up to the building!)
Fortunately casual labour is very cheap! (and sometimes sober
)
I could just about transport the carriages in one piece, in my car, whisch has softer suspension.

...............Mike

[gerald_d]

Our big table doesn't fit through the door either - unless it is tipped on its side. Which is how it was gotten upstairs. If you have good diagonal bracing to the legs, that table is quite happy on its side. (you can still do the carriages and cabling in one piece)

[mikejohn]

You have it upstairs?
What is the floor made of?
Does anyone else have an upstairs ShopBot not on a concrete floor?


..............Mike

[Mike Windsor]

I have mine upstairs on a wooden framed floor .When I built an addition on my shop I designed the second floor with the bot in mind . The floor Joists are 16" TGI's laminated wood I beams .On top of the floor the legs rest on 4" thick planks that run at right angles to the joists . The biggest hassle was getting material up there . I now have a boom that slides out of a large door ( kind of like a drawer slide on steroids ) on the end of the boom I have an electric winch .

[gerald_d]

2 tonne/m2 concrete floor

[hines]

When we bought our alpha from another botter, we totally dismantled the table, but left the rack attached to the x-rails, removed the y-axis motors, and left the y and z-axis all together. We also used large zip ties to hold the z in place, vertically and laterally. We had it strapped down so good with zip ties the whole y gantry was locked into place. We hauled it in the back of my pickup and had no problems.