Finishing My DIY CNC Plasma Cutter

In which I struggle to make a video for 25 minutes straight
My website with the plans (I'll be adding more stuff to it soon, but as of right now it's just the plasma cutter):
cranktown.city/
support me on Patreon!
/ cranktowncity
Send me stuff!
PO BOX 1005, Flagstaff, AZ, 86002
outro music by a friend of mine, check him out!
/ badamericansofficial

[@kylepotter9162]

Dude, you’re literally one of my favorite KZbinrs. Please keep up the good work!! Edit: thanks for the likes y’all

[@amogusenjoyer]

Yeah, it's a special kind of comfy.

[@TSiguy1991]

I was about to post the same thing!!! Excellent content, and real life build with real life problems, and I really enjoy seeing you "work through" the issues!

[@noatreiman]

i agree

[@KieranShort]

Same!

[@quandolin518]

@@noatreiman yup

[@bobikbobikowy5458]

Whole gantry is on crappy bearing rails and counterweight is sliding on expensive and precise linear rail. Thats some A+ engineering xD

[@Svorty]

'no big payoff' says the dude as he builds a cnc machine in his shed while using said cnc machine to basically build itself. pretty damn amazing, thank you oforo another great video

[@jeffpkamp]

I love all the weird little details you do with your editing. Great video.

[@danmurphy5660]

I get the same giddy kick out of seeing one of your vids pop up on my feed as a new This Old Tony one. Thanks for sticking with us mate, you're much appreciated by all of us.

[@bloho_design]

Love it! Most underrated channel on KZbin.

[@AndrewSpencer2]

Man this guy makes the best content! Now I feel motivated to go work on my also unfinished plasma table build 😂

[@H34...]

Glad you saw the comment. Now that you've built the machine and have some runs and cuts to show, I can unfortunately say, the vibration is probably from the chain, not the rails. I use similar rails on the cnc at work without vibration issues, we use steel tubing though since the bearings marr up aluminium quickly. We also use regular bearings riding on the flats of the tube but I doubt that difference would cause vibration for you and not for us. They are also plenty accurate in my experience. We also used to use chain drives as well. There were similar vibration issues and wiggly cuts like you can see on the holes you cut until we moved away from chain drive. The chain forms a polygon, not circle, when wrapped a pulley or sprocket. You can imagine what a polygonal wheel on a car would do. The constantly varying drive radius of a polygon results in lurching motion rather than smooth motion, easiest to notice on diagonal cuts where the pulsation of the X and Y axis are likely to be out of sync and result in a wiggly line. The start point being visible is a leadin/leadout issue, sheetcam has a lot of good options to minimize this. The counter weight in my opinion is going to cause you problems, at the very least the added moving mass will limit your accelerations and speeds which will make cut quality on thinner material and sharp corners/small details worse. My recommendation would be to add some kind of reduction to the motor, and maybe lighten the carriage. The gearing will multiply the detent torque of the motor so it wont be backdriven by the weight of the gantry. What ratio you'd need exactly for your machine I don't know. This gear reduction is a double edged sword though, it limits your top speed quite a bit and makes cutting thinner stock worse. I'd personally recommend skipping the belts, they're pretty elastic at this scale no matter what you do. I eventually got my boss to upgrade to rack and pinion, would have saved so much time and money having gone that route to begin with. They're reasonably cheap from aliexpress. I doubt you feel like redoing the machine, but if you're after a "space efficient" machine, I'd personally go with a cantilever X style gantry sticking out from a wall mounted rail. If your Y rail terminates into a corner, the whole machine parks into the corner against the two walls. It avoids all the problems of a vertical workbed and gantry.

[@wylde780]

Great to see you back making videos!

[@tracybowling1156]

This is one of my all-time favorite channels!

[@AM-fw4hy]

I like how you work through issues and just make things happen. And you do that in an entertaining way. One of my fav channels!!

[@metalheadmax09]

"I had a licensed electrician change out that breaker." OMG dude you got me rolling over here.

[@faithblinded]

roller chain on smooth idlers meant for belt isnt helping your wobbles. switch to toothed idlers, and single piece rails. then youll be golden. awesome build! It's like the badass version of the panel saws at home depot.

[@JMassengill]

My wife, who know nothing about C02 lasers, loves your channel. Don’t ever stop “ta-da” she always laughs when you do that. Great video great work.

[@klausnielsen1537]

I loved the update and you're a force to be reckoned with.

[@MisterMakerNL]

After seeing you screwed up the big cut I joined your patreon, You make awesome stuff epic video. Don't want to you stop because you can't afford it anymore.

[@arcrad]

Couldnt hit the dinger fast enough. Yay for more cranktown city!

[@Ravedave5]

Thats really cool! Youre gonna be able to build some really cools things with that.

[@pioneer1943]

Took ya long enough, I really missed your videos.

[@jordanbennett6461]

The edits in that song! lmao. The hushpuppies got me. Amazing work as always! Like the American Colin Furze. Can't wait till you have a million subscribers.

[@Tims_Projects]

Very nice, glad you overcame the weigh of the cutting head. There is a simpler way you could have done it without the need for that linear track, just 4 pulley wheels and a cable. As I cant upload a drawing, I'll give you a hint. Look how the hook cable on a tower crane is routed. The weight would just hang down at the end of the bed, where the motor for lifting the hook is on the crane. I am sure the penny will drop, when you look how it is done. 😉

[@herzogsbuick]

watching you use the ryobi electro-grabbing-it you built to sip those cut parts out was pure TV gold. don't ever change, love your stuff

[@PatrickHoodDaniel]

Nice changes to the previous issues you were having. You can also use a constant force spring with much more lbs of force. I use two 14 lb very long constant force springs sandwiched together to counter 30 lbs of z-ajxis and spindle. You would only need one of the 14lb springs. Enjoying this build! Great to put the extra stuff on the ceiling. Keeps it offt he floor. Nice complement to the space saving machine!! Using idler sprockets may also help.

[@greengreens9936]

After your last cnc diy video, I started building my own.

[@specific-solutions]

Stupendous Accomplishment, I love the lil' corner details in the plans That feeling of being frustrated with the gorilla behind the camera is all too familiar! Sometimes content has to be sacrificed before the alter of Getting Things Done

[@dcmotive]

Glad to see im not the only one that does metal work in crocks and swim trunks.

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

Why no fancy electromagnetic fastening system, when you already did those? You could also take out the counter weight system completely, and use a planetary gear on your stepper motor. Then you could even use a smaller motor.

[@Yuriel1981]

I think the best thing about this series it that electromagnet you made! Seriously thinking about making a few for my shop. And I totally got that Dillon Frances reference. Ain't nothing to it but to do it!

[@bschwand]

A constant force spring is the solution. None of the springy devices you tried is a proper constant force spring. Btw they are available with quite high force too.

[@AxelWinterOutlaw]

Thank you for trying all of the jank ideas for us to save our own mechanical souls

[@sylvainmartens7852]

You gotta finish this, I wanna see this CNC build perfect things.

[@erikslagter3231]

Your editing skills are out of this world

[@arix178]

hey hey that's a sick pat the bunny tat!!! your heart is a muscle!!!

[@DazFab_Metalworks]

Epic...great seeing it running...when your welding the counter weight to the rail carriage...class...more please.

[@prozacgod]

Oh shit!! he LIVES!! glad to see the next vid!

[@defenestrated23]

Watching this is like speedrunning my own mistakes in the shop, in other words, this is *invaluable* experience! You do the FA, the audience gets to find out!

[@FinlayShellard]

Great stuff mate, love the side loading, no more back breaking lifting 😂. Aso the crocs are slapping love to see it!

[@randomname4726]

I must admit that i had a wee laugh when you said the linear rails could be lined up togethor lol.

[@celiturbo]

Chains and straight cut gears will show cogging rather than consistent smooth movement. Smaller radius and the tighter the chain, or tighter the gear mesh, the worse it will be. Ultimately its a matter of chain link length vs the radius its warped around + Tooth cogging. Setting it up so the chain is wrapped around less of the sprocket would probably help. Check out door lock magnets, that might be a cheap way to hold a sheet down in a few places.

[@IvanGOrtolan]

Hahaha love the steampunk maker style, minimum effort maximum outcome

[@jasonburguess]

Why not make a large electromagnetic clamping system for holding the work piece, a few electromagnetic blocks that can be moved around on the slats, to hold the work while it gets cut, eliminates the need for multiple bolts, and can be turned on or off with a switch for easy repositioning.

[@amogusenjoyer]

Using the machine to build itself was awesome!

[@RadioTinkerer]

Try flipping half your slats to bow the other way and it will help to not rack your frame out of whack. That’s what I do with the 24’x8’ at the shop.

[@sgdfghdhdxfgbx]

For the gantry dropping, they sell stepper motors with built-in breaks that freeze the stepper in place when not powered (usually used on heavy z axis of a cnc mill). The drive is generally done with spur gear racks or ballscrews on plasma cnc's, not chains or belts, for a reason. Not sure what cables you used but I would have gone with sheilded, then cover the endstops with a metal housing or bought endstops with a metal housing and grounded them at a starpoint inside your electrical cabinet, or you may get random skipping.

[@drbachler]

Watching this makes me happy. I wish I had more time to spend doing things like this. Keep up the good work!

[@anthonylaing3897]

Love your videos dude!

[@gizelle-s]

Really awesome video. I love how you cobble together stuff that works so well.

[@IvanGOrtolan]

Man my OCD wants to poke my eyes out but I wish I was more like that, I would have so much more stuff get done that what I achieve now... Anyway amazing content, love the channel!

[@randomname4726]

Get some GT3 belts, they are extremely stretch resistant. I upgraded my belts and pulleys on my printer and had an instant improvement with ghosting.

[@cranktowncity]

Lol not sure why this thought didnt occur to me

[@nobodynoone2500]

Lmao this editing is getting good. Love it dude. Keep goin. I'll buy your diy kit.

[@mussydesign7933]

Awesome video as always

[@miasduplessis8788]

You get more heavy duty timing belts, I have used T5 timing belts and pulleys for a different project and while they are a bit harder to find, they should be much less prone to slipping and stretching. Great video!

[@Triptweeze]

I'm in a tight spot.. On on hand, I love your videos. They're always entertaining AND informative.. On the other hand..they have to be painstakingly created..and there is so much time between videos. Two things could fix this problem... 1. I need to go into cyrogenic sleep and wake up in 2 years so that I have a backlog of videos to watch. 2. You need to buckle down and create more videos. If you sleep less and work more, you might find that your ability to create content would be GREATLY increased! Of course..I don't believe that cryogenic sleep is a possibility at this time (July 22,2023 for reference). This means that the only solution is in fact for you to work more... So... Chop chop... I can't keep watching old episodes of Pawn Stars to satiste my madness. All that to say... You rock! Keep up the great woek!

[@MakersEase]

You, my friend, are awesome.

[@wildmanbubba9557]

I built a cnc machine using chain as you have and I don't have a problem with the polygon issue. It uses #25 chain and a 10 tooth gear. While the issue is real, its effect is small enough that it doesn't affect my cutting. At the tolerances we are working with, the issue is too small to be seen. It would be interesting if a mathematically gifted person would calculate the error in one revolution of the gear. Try cutting without the counter weight. The cable may be acting like a spring and the weight is bouncing the tourch around.

[@Waldemar_Pachol_official]

Nice work! BTW: 9:32 Gold has a pretty good density! XD Iridium even larger, but gold is easier to buy. :D

[@finn_7306]

Super awesome project! Would it make sense to use electro magnets to hold the sheet in place, so it doesn't fall off? Maybe you can also just use regular magnets and stick them on points where you are not cutting?

[@julias-shed]

Massive amount of work 😮 well done 😀

[@jaredharvey1511]

Add a deburr 45° chamfer tool. Machine can deburr for you. Use router could make it easier.

[@TheDistur]

This is a cool project. Glad it's working out.

[@stevel6422]

love your stuff man! i want to be friends with the editor guy, he’s cool af.

[@truthcam1]

Could you maybe add a couple of "cryobies" to the back and eliminate the keyhole cuts ? Great channel ...

[@memejeff]

legendary man

[@quandolin518]

you really deserve more subscribers for what you always do here, love your content👍

[@RobBickel]

I like door switches out of microwaves as a more durable limit switch. Cheap, blade connectors.

[@gearscodeandfire]

Dude you rule 🤘 Understated super-smart guy making stuff Freakin' bravo!

[@alphadog6970]

I was just wondering when will you be dropping a video 📸

[@EdgePrecision]

The vibration you have may be caused by your idler rollers on the Y axis that the roller chain is going around. Change them to chain sprockets that would be better.

[@RokasSondaras]

I used optical and capacitive homing "buttons" try them, they act same as buttons.

[@TqSNv9R0iG5Ckxew]

I've been looking forward to this video!♥

[@bigjd2k]

Make the head as light as possible, think aircraft construction - cut holes in to reduce material. Then you need a much lighter counterweight and so everything gets stressed less, and should be more accurate.

[@neffk]

Whenever I stop the program, all hell breaks loose.

[@RandomLOLGamer]

good stuff, keep it up!

[@senorjp21]

Hey cranktown. Merry christmas to you and yours. Thanks for the videos which are interesting and funny.

[@funkysod]

Another great video, thanks!

[@joels7605]

Excellent and entertaining, as always. Sharkbite for the air lines?

[@brucewilliams6292]

Great work. You are so creative.

[@drewgossage8842]

Big thumbs up for the zelda noises😂

[@didaumbrazil]

Very good, as always!

[@spoockeErazor]

Why not go X Y core the thing the two steppers would result into less counter weights

[@TioDave]

You should see me struggling with my plasma cnc. I'm just being lazy

[@maxhouseman3129]

Nice haircut

[@LanceThumping]

I hope change out that breaker was silently followed by "and upgraded the wiring to support the higher current" for the sake of your plasma cutter not "overheating" in that shed.

[@juniorshbr13]

Love your videos. Your pretty amazing.

[@davey2k12]

Wow thats badass bro 😮

[@AppliedMathematician]

Is there not software correction for wobbly rails? I mean the error should be repeatable?

[@MechaMiguelWorkshop]

¡Gracias!

[@cranktowncity]

Thank you!

[@RokasSondaras]

whats with a haircut?! Bring back that evil genius haircut!

[@Rebar77_real]

Coolage! Keep rolling with the kicks to the balls, lols.

[@gremlin60]

is there not a M17 code to lock the stepper from sliding down

[@ibrahimkocaalioglu]

How about using electro magnets to hold the sheet instead of drilling holes and screwing nuts.

[@ibrahimkocaalioglu]

Glad you listened to me :)))

[@leoberges1705]

Masterpiece, loved it so much thanks !

[@dpgames8086]

Were you using lead ins for the pierces? Should help reduce the nick on the edge.

[@garbleduser]

You look younger!

[@williwonti]

Just wanted to say I thought the thumbnail was a space video game screenshot at first

[@hope22win]

check mxl pulleys, you probably have those, they are very similar to gt belts and pulleys

[@linecraftman3907]

I wonder if instead of messing with bolts could you just use strong magnets? And limit bolt use to non magnetic materials

[@crassbusinessman3122]

This is one of the greatest channels ever. WTF Was that Ryobi punching/magnet whatever the fuck tool??

[@Amipotsophspond]

24:41 so you can put your start point inside the hole, then go out to a edge.

[@pvsuryajaya1962]

You are Cleaver and Smart Engineering asspecialy on CNC