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Where does your Phlattie Live

Discussion in 'General Phlatprinter Stuff' started by ttraband, Apr 5, 2009.

  1. ttraband

    ttraband Member

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    I've got the MK 1.5 belt mod in place and am very happy with the boost in performance. I also finally got the fiberglass into my copy of the "Cone of Silence" which will allow me to run the printer once the rest of the family has gone to bed. Up until now, the printer has been riding around on an old TV/VCR rolling cabinet, but I think it deserves a more custom home. In planning, I am circling around a couple of ideas and would welcome the group's input.

    First, I'll ask - where does your Phlattie live from day to day? How frequently are you using it? What (if anything) are you doing for dust collection? What height does the main cutting deck sit at? (I'm tired of crouching down to sight the Z-axis.) What other questions should I be asking?

    The printer will live in a basement mult-purpose workshop which is adjacent to the downstairs family room, but separated by a door. I expect to use the printer frequently but not daily, so I'm thinking some way to "park it" would be nice - I'm already planning a quick way to mount and unmount the extension tables - they'll need somewhere to live too. At this point I'm doodling out a cart that would have the printer on top (in the "Cone" which measures 26.25" deep x 44.75" wide x 20" high without the extension tables mounted) and room for the computer (a Dell tower), 15" flat screen and keyboard/mouse in a drawer (screen would "pop up" like some of the rack-mount server displays). Given the footprint of the "cone" it makes sense to me to extend the length of the cart so it will also store a bundle or 2 of full foam sheets as well as larger scraps. I am also looking to put it on a "lift jack" set of casters so that it is easy to move but isn't on wheels when its cutting - I don't trust caster locks if the machine might be running unattended (even if just long enough to go hit the head).

    So, what else should I be thinking of before I start cutting up some sheets of whatever I'm going to make this out of? What did you wish you had thought of at this point?


    Thanks for the input.
     
  2. Anonymous

    Anonymous New Member

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    My PP lives in the garage, on top of my table saw.
    I don't need to crouch to set the Z axis because I installed a limit switch on it. I just click the "Reference Z" button and it sets itself to the same height every time.
    Nor do I have to set my Y-axis for the same reason - it sets itself.
    For dust collection I raised my PP up with some "1X3 Vinyl board" from home depot, then covered the bottom with a piece of MDF. There's a 3" deep pocket in there to collect blue dust, small bluefoam pieces and other junk, until I'm good and ready to vacuum it out.
    If I were going to put my PP on a cart, I'd be looking for an old portable microwave cart, maybe at a Thrift store. Those older microwaves weighed a lot more than the PP, so it should work well, but at the size of your entire setup, it almost sounds like you'll need a pool table on wheels. ;)
     
  3. Flashsolutions

    Flashsolutions Active Member

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    I built what I call the phlatbench (viewtopic.php?f=47&t=220&p=4215&hilit=phlatbench#p4215).

    I use my phlatprinter every day. Foam dust gathers everywhere so I keep a shop vac handy.

    I also keep an airbush and compressor plugged in and handy for blowing dust off parts (not to mention myself).

    My table height is around 30" so I have no trouble accessing anything. The whole table is on casters so I can move it around the limited workspace I have which is detached 8x10 air conditioned workshop.

    I don't have to worry about the noise so I am sometimes cutting late into the evening.

    I like Dorsal's comments about using the ref buttons. I had read his earlier posts but somehow did not comprehend until just now. Thanks for the tip Dorsal! I have limit switches installed, so might as well put them to use.

    And I like the idea of raising the phlatty for 2 reasons. I can install a longer nema 23 more powerful stepper for the z axis and I can have a place for larger quantities of dust & pieces so I don't have to vacuum it as often.

    It looks like yet another mod is going to go on my ever growing list.
     
  4. ttraband

    ttraband Member

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    Thanks for the replies.

    I hear you about the limit/home switches - they're on my "to do" list but I've been frustrated trying to source them locally without them being 5-6x what the eBay merchants are charging. Guess it's time to buy online.

    I also like the idea of the dust drawer - I'll be adding that to my feature list. I've got a 4-channel relay board, so I could also plug in the shop vac and have it running whenever the machine is cutting.

    I'm using Linux and EMC2 (hard to beat the price), so the Mach ref buttons, etc. aren't available to me but I can program "soft limits" to keep from hitting the walls until I get the switches in.
     
  5. Thewz

    Thewz Moderator

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    Mine lives in the workshop portion of my 3rd garage. I installed it on an old table I got from my office. The PHP is at perfect working height and the foam does not extend past the ends of the table on either side while cutting.

    Since my garage walls and doors are insulated I can cut anytime. I am working on something nearly everyday since ideas can turn into reality quickly now.

    Foam dust/chunk remidiation:
    I bored a hole in the table and installed my shop-vac intake below. I cut a hole in the front foam table and installed the output hose there. I sealed all the other holes on the back of the PHP. I've got the relay so when I click PRINT the dremel and shop-vac both turn on. This works OK but I still get dust and debris in the corners....I'm going to add diverters and vortex generators into the cabinet to address this.

    Matthew
     

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