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DR. Frankenstein's production machine
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trapperdale
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Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 106
Location: fresno, california

PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 3:20 pm    Post subject: DR. Frankenstein's production machine Reply with quote

Hey Scott and guys,
heres the machine i was talking about.
No chrome, or fancy paint
just a basic machine to pay the bills with...
60x32
self adjusting hinges
pneumatic clamps
single hole platen 1/8" alum with
1" pipe welded right to the sheet.
no more plywood boxes and silicone .....or wasted vacuum!
studs welded to the top of sheet for tooling hold-downs.
100 amp sub panel on the machine
7 zone heater 2 coils per zone 7.5 amps per coil
only running 6 zones at this time
infinite heat switches for zones
i can run 1/4" on single side heating
bottom heater was IR bulbs
now installed over head to preheat tooling
during the cold winter months
3/8" was max material i have run so far.
the cool part or i should say the hot part
to this machine is cycle time!!!!
for smoking hot abs...

.093"....1 min, 32 sec
.118"....1 min, 45 sec
.177"....2 min, 30 sec.



Last edited by trapperdale on Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:14 pm; edited 1 time in total
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spektr
Master


Joined: 07 Jan 2008
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BRAVO....BRAVO....... Now thats what im talking about.
Great to see a big machine come out of our merry little
group. I remember when you were going to scrap the
old machine when it leaked and had probs. Good we
got over that and even better to see that you have it
figgured out.

I've got a vacation coming up around Christmas,
How about Beer and Pizza??
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IMMark
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Joined: 18 Nov 2010
Posts: 189
Location: Columbus, Ohio

PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That looks great!
Would you be up for some questions?
Mark
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trapperdale
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Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 106
Location: fresno, california

PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks for all the help Scott.
sure thing on Christmas

shop is getting to small
need advice on shop design/layout
never thought i would out grow 6000 sq ft.

sure Mark fire away....
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jegner
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Joined: 30 May 2003
Posts: 2144
Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cool! Nice machine!
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ANH trooper
Master


Joined: 20 Oct 2005
Posts: 305
Location: UK

PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 1:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

WOW!!! Your machine looks awesome!

I would like to learn more about your oven and how you control the heat zones if possible.
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trapperdale
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Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 106
Location: fresno, california

PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks guys

a bit ugly i know...
may paint it up some day.

Scott has gone over heaters many times
search infinite heat switches...credit given...one less beer!

on each zone i have 2 heater panels
22 ga. wire x 9.778" long @ 29.33 ohms
producing 1650 watts per panel
each one is just under 7.5 amps/220 volts
i run each zone off a 15 amp breaker
and a 15 amp infinite heat switch
total watts now is 19,800 watts with room for two more panels.
the limiting factor was the infinite heat switches.
i was unable to find and 20 amp units.

it works ...but i do not really like the infinite heat switches
i will be going to programmable percentage timers in the future.
infinite heat switches run 15.00ea
and the programmable timers...250.00
i am not a rich guy!!!
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linkxsc
Newbie


Joined: 16 Aug 2010
Posts: 9

PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

hey you wouldnt be adverse to filming this thing running. its pretty cool, but I'm trying to figure out what the garage door opener is doing, and i just cant envision it atm (its monday, so sue me)
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trapperdale
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Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 106
Location: fresno, california

PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I will try to add video.

it's a shuttle machine...
heaters are set in the back of the machine away from the operator.
the clamping frame shuttles back and forth..back for heating
and then to the front for forming.

when you shuttle the clamp frame and not the heater you can have bottom heaters also!

the use of the garage door opener was some advice from my father gave me many years ago..
Never re-invent the wheel! use all available tech first.

i needed liner motion
adjustable carriage position control
adjustable torque control
and the electric eye was a free added safety feature

brand new garage door opener was 99.00
I was looking at 600-900.00 to build the required
parts my self.
I do have to add a cooling fan on the opener as it
shuts down durring long run times
right now i just run a cold air gun up it's bum.
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jdougn
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Joined: 18 Mar 2009
Posts: 714
Location: Louisville KY area

PostPosted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, that is a nice piece of work! If you don't mind me asking, how much do you have into it?
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DougN - Just in case you're wondering, I got my "rating" legitimately... by posting aimless drivel, useless advice, and pointless questions.
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trapperdale
Expert


Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 106
Location: fresno, california

PostPosted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

3000.00 and change
the new vacuum pump ate a third of that easy

beats the heck out of the retail price of buying one.
20k-30k
the best thing about a big fast machine is
i can do a weeks worth of forming in just one day.
more profit per part Wink
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jdougn
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Joined: 18 Mar 2009
Posts: 714
Location: Louisville KY area

PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's a great price for such a nice machine but sweat equity is valuable. I was real impressed by your machines cycle times on the .177 which is what I use a lot of. Belovac has some decent prices on their machines. They will make their basic 2'x4' in a 33 x 54 and that was interesting but it still costs 9-10k and it's probably not as flexible as your machine.

What were some of the problems you ran into? I'd also be interested in seeing video of your machine working.
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trapperdale
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Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 106
Location: fresno, california

PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Doug,

Ya Belovac is a good start up machine but
they are down toward the bottom of the scale.
Hope i don't offend anyone....
sibe automation.com on ebay makes better working machines
beckler pumps 3,000.00
PLC controls with touch screen 5k-10k
8 zone heaters 15 watts sq in.
all the bells and whistles don't come cheep.
still this guy is a small operator...
go to the commercial manufacturers and pay through the nose.150k

problems encountered...
watt density needed?...everyone has something different to say!
I went with 13 watts sq.in. because i use ABS.
primex and spartec both said 15 watts for ABS 25 for Acrylic
zones needed in the heater? answer found here on the website!
heater zone dial in was a bear (6 sheets of waste)
what pump to use?????????
answer found here on the website!
went with Gast 2567 so vacuum will never be a problem again!
30 Gal tank...from 0" to 25" Hg in 45 sec.
my thanks to all members for asking the questions we all need answers to
while building our machines.
it's late..time to leave the shop and go home.
cheers!
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jdougn
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Joined: 18 Mar 2009
Posts: 714
Location: Louisville KY area

PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 6:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the list of problems to consider and your thoughts on other vac formers! Very appreciated.
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trapperdale
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Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 106
Location: fresno, california

PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

unable to get the sound to transfer to the file???
forming .118" ABS
boring little vid...much like watching paint dry.
http://s433.photobucket.com/albums/qq59/TRAPPERDALE/?action=view&current=vacforming118ABS.mp4
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