Builds Shipwreck (5 Viewers)

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GLTHFJ60 said:
I've come close to pulling the trigger on a langmuir table a few times.

Reviews I've read are all positive. Like all CNC plasma cutters, you need a good plasma cutter, so don't cheap out on that. THC would be a nice addition from what I've read, but if you use water table and get tuned in right, warpage is minimal, meaning THC is less important.

EDIT: If you haven't seen it already, read up:
Crossfire CNC plasma? $1000 - Page 4 - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum
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Pro tip. Add the plasma to your cart and go through the checkout process then walk away for a few hours. If you do, you'll likely find a 10% off entire order coupon in your email inbox... worth about $200 for me.

I read the Pirate blurb, also read it about the Delusional Designs there, then found the ChuckE2009 review of the DD table. Quick readers would have seen before the edit I was considering both....
 
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My poor office workers (aka "minions"), they have to deal with the delivery of the box of happiness. So they said 10 days, it shipped today and will be here Tuesday.... pretty darn good, IMO. Now to decide whether to spend the money to replace the useless Radnor torch on my plasma or simply get the larger machine I've been eyeing.
if anyone asks, I'm not a fan of Thermal Dynamics - first because they have terrible product support, but then second because of the torch.... it uses proprietary bits (from Airgas) and those parts are not well machined...
 
a break from Corvette brakes

a box
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with bits
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my table arrived!!!!
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must assemble NOW
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this thing is really well designed - and goes together pretty easily if you watch the videos
2 hours of unpacking and assembly and here it is
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I still don't know what computer I'm going to use or even which plasma... I'm sure I'll try the TD but that hunk of utter crap will be lucky if I don't throw it through a shop window... and there aren't windows in the shop... backing down to more sane, its problem is the gun and it's either the machining in the torch or the trigger - I really doubt it's the trigger, but this table allows me to bypass the switch and it'll quickly tell me what's up. I'll detail my troubles with Thermal Dynamics later, but for now, really impressed with this table
 
I may get "are you sick" and "why don't you talk to us anymore" from my bracket suppliers. I'm okay with this.
finished....
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if anyone builds this - the YouTube video from the manufacturer is invaluable. One little, very tiny thing, though... the screws that hold the stepper motors in place are the short ones. They have like 14 little baggies of supplies, for some reason they decided to organize them by part rather then step - which means when you're putting the motors on, you've opened like 5 baggies worth of stuff to find set screws.... thus the issue with the short v. long screws.... long screws hold the truck to the trolley.... either will hold the stepper motor in place, however, the trucks need nuts and those only work with the long screws
 
plasma. I have a Thermal Dynamics Cutmaster 42. It should be adequate for the task but this machine started under a bad circumstance and it just hasn't gotten better. It's first problem is Airgas, they decided to make their own torch.... lowest bid Chinese I'm sure, and it flat eats consumables. That leads to problem 2, since Airgas doesn't stock the consumables, it can take 3 months to get them.... and they're poorly machined (again, low bidder).
This table has forced a decision, I use the plasma but sparingly - the problem is probably the torch. I could buy a new machine, but 2k to fix the problem is not easy for me to justify spending. So tonight I probably only made it a 2300 problem. I bought a new torch (that uses standard consumables) for the 42. The cynic in me figures I just threw another $300 away.
 
it works, bonus is I know what was wrong with my other table... which I just cut apart to make into a welding bench...

Some notes:
the videos are NOT complete.... in fact there's even a cute little fact that isn't true anymore (about the downloading the product key).

of course, if I was on Pirate, I wouldn't mention any of the problems then enjoy watching their misery... that said, I'm sure someone will squeal (looking at you Chris).... but here it goes
1) turn your virus programs off
2) right click the open icon for the Mach3 program, then click "run as administrator" in the instruction manual buried on the Langmuir site, they explain it this way "Mach 3 is not an elegant program, so it uses all sorts of silly methods to achieve their goals .... if you don't run the program as administrator, it won't work
3) REBOOT YOUR COMPUTER.... I think Langmuir gets minus 1 star for this (all the way to 4 stars rather then 5) because they fail to mention that and the program says nothing about rebooting.
4) there's a passkey program that is your license you get from Mach3, you put that in the main Mach3 (C:\\Mach3). WHATEVER YOU DO, IF YOU GET A SECOND KEY BECAUSE THE FIRST DIDN'T WORK, DO NOT USE THE program with (1) as Microsoft is want to do when you download a program again. It is looking for the exact name and that (1) is not the exact name.

... and seriously, I couldn't care less where this is shared...
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Hi SBG, i have been reading and learning from your build. I am building a similar setup with a small block chevy, nv4500, and Atlas2 in a 1974 FJ40. I plan to start a build thread soon. I have my motor/trans/transfer preliminary placed, but I'm concerned that I may be too high and my rear driveshaft angle will be too much and may have clearance issues with the front driveshaft. With the Atlas output in the center, I will be replacing the rear axle in a SOA configuration. I don't have the axle yet, or my suspension figured out yet, so it is hard to know if have the motor/trans/transfer placed adequately. As currently placed, the trans mission is fairly even with the bottom of frame rails, and the cross member and Tcase are about 3/4" below the frame. Can you tell me what the length and operating angle you ended up with on the front and rear drive shafts? Any input would be appreciated.

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Jclhammer said:
Hi SBG, i have been reading and learning from your build. I am building a similar setup with a small block chevy, nv4500, and Atlas2 in a 1974 FJ40. I plan to start a build thread soon. I have my motor/trans/transfer preliminary placed, but I'm concerned that I may be too high and my rear driveshaft angle will be too much and may have clearance issues with the front driveshaft. With the Atlas output in the center, I will be replacing the rear axle in a SOA configuration. I don't have the axle yet, or my suspension figured out yet, so it is hard to know if have the motor/trans/transfer placed adequately. As currently placed, the trans mission is fairly even with the bottom of frame rails, and the cross member and Tcase are about 3/4" below the frame. Can you tell me what the length and operating angle you ended up with on the front and rear drive shafts? Any input would be appreciated.

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I'll have to measure it tomorrow - but by memory it was 12 degrees and 20" for the rear, I lifted the engine as high as I could got it (iirc 1 1/2 degrees down as measured from the carb mount)
 
SuperBuickGuy said:
I'll have to measure it tomorrow - but by memory it was 12 degrees and 20" for the rear, I lifted the engine as high as I could got it (iirc 1 1/2 degrees down as measured from the carb mount)
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I'd appreciate it. I looked at it again today, and I believe I have the engine/trans/transfer set too high. I was also looking at Tom Woods Geometry 101 article and he recommends 15 degrees at full droop. Just eyeballing without having the new shifted rear axle, I think I need to lower the engine/trans/transfer by 2". This will have my trans mount 2.75" below the frame, which is similar to yours I believe. Interestingly my motor (Chevy HT383 crate motor) has a 4.2 degree angle on the top of intake manifold, which is helping the situation. It would be nice to get it all tucked in the frame, but I don't think it is possible without shifting the rear axle to were it would look weird.
 
Jclhammer said:
I'd appreciate it. I looked at it again today, and I believe I have the engine/trans/transfer set too high. I was also looking at Tom Woods Geometry 101 article and he recommends 15 degrees at full droop. Just eyeballing without having the new shifted rear axle, I think I need to lower the engine/trans/transfer by 2". This will have my trans mount 2.75" below the frame, which is similar to yours I believe. Interestingly my motor (Chevy HT383 crate motor) has a 4.2 degree angle on the top of intake manifold, which is helping the situation. It would be nice to get it all tucked in the frame, but I don't think it is possible without shifting the rear axle to were it would look weird.
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it is 2" below (the belly pan), it's also the link mount. One difference is mine is a Dana 300, which I think is a smaller case then the Atlas, not just that but the AW5 is smaller externally then the NV4500 - that said, the overall length is pretty much identical (because I built it so that I could put a 4L60e if I hated the 5 speed and wouldn't have to have the driveshafts remade)... I used a high-angle CV but in the end, I'm not positive I 'needed' it... it's good to have by with a linked rear suspension, the joint angles don't change as much as it does with leaf springs (links the rear angle doesn't change relative to the driveshaft).

there was some grief given about the flat belly, but I won't build another without it - not getting caught on stuff,r knocking holes in the drivetrain or even snow wheeling where not dragging makes a huge difference.... as I said, I can't imagine I'd ever build another without it.
 
SuperBuickGuy said:
it is 2" below (the belly pan), it's also the link mount. One difference is mine is a Dana 300, which I think is a smaller case then the Atlas, not just that but the AW5 is smaller externally then the NV4500 - that said, the overall length is pretty much identical (because I built it so that I could put a 4L60e if I hated the 5 speed and wouldn't have to have the driveshafts remade)... I used a high-angle CV but in the end, I'm not positive I 'needed' it... it's good to have by with a linked rear suspension, the joint angles don't change as much as it does with leaf springs (links the rear angle doesn't change relative to the driveshaft).

there was some grief given about the flat belly, but I won't build another without it - not getting caught on stuff,r knocking holes in the drivetrain or even snow wheeling where not dragging makes a huge difference.... as I said, I can't imagine I'd ever build another without it.
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Other people giving you grief about the trans/transfer hanging to low? Easy to say without being the one under the vehicle estimating slopes and angles. So your saying that if you did it again, you would tuck it up further into the frame rails?

A couple of other build threads I have been learning from are 64 Rotorhead's and franklin40's builds, both of which have similar crossmember mounts and hang down as yours.

As i mentioned earlier, Tom Woods suggests 15 degree max operating angle. I would assume he means at full droop, but perhaps that is a static measurement? I will give them a call tomorrow. There is also a tech article on Pirate that has an example of a 22 degree operating angle that they say is acceptable with a high angle 1360, so I'm not sure what to do here.

Couple of other questions for you. Are you happy with your rear link system? Is there a reason you didnt link the front too? Other builds I've see, tend to link the front and keep the leaves rear.


I was planning on making a bolt up belly pan.
 
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