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Member postings for Neil Wyatt

Here is a list of all the postings Neil Wyatt has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.

Thread: Machine Mart offers.
23/02/2014 20:59:05

If you are on their database, the VAT free offer comes every two or three months.

Neil

Thread: Problem saving as pdf in Turbocad
23/02/2014 20:56:32

I've been sent some DXF drawings which open fine in Turbocad 16, but when saved as a pdf any curved lines and centre lines appear with too heavy a weight. I also lose arrowheads on a couple of lines.

The person who originated the drawings has the same issue with a different version of Turbocad.

Has anyone else experienced this issue and know how to fix it? In terms a complete Turbocad newbie would understand?

Thanks

Neil

Thread: What did you do today? (2014)
22/02/2014 15:15:04

Only in I could earn sufficient brownie points

Neil

<translated gobbledegook into English...>

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 22/02/2014 15:15:38

Thread: Anecdotes_05 ' In the dark '
22/02/2014 15:09:30

Party pooper: **LINK**

Neil

Thread: Inverter Remote Stop button.
21/02/2014 21:07:44

Hi Roger,

As far as I can see almost anything is possible with the Jaguar Cub. It is obviously not possible to have two potentiometers setting eth speed at the same time, but two 'stop' switches can be implemented in several ways.

With F02 programmed to 0, 2 or 3 the run and stop burttons on the inverter will work. (p.5-14)

If you program E01, E02 or E03 to 7 (or 1007 depending on whether you use an N/C or N/O switch) then respectively X1, X2 or X3 can be wired through a switch to PLC or CM (depending on whether you have the jumper set to the source or sink position). This additional switch will act as a 'coast to stop' (i.e. quick) stop button.

Sorry if some of that is vague, I'm to tired to be definitive about all the details. (p.5-30 5-31)

Neil

Thread: Making tools for shaper
21/02/2014 18:53:34

I don't have a shaper, but I have the Duplex booklet and it gets my vote.

Shaper's are like lathes, anything with an edge that you can clamp securely in the right place should work to some extent.

Neil

Thread: Tapping head clutch
21/02/2014 17:58:33

Hi Graham,

is it a reversing clutch or just a slipping clutch?

Neil

Thread: Ball valves
21/02/2014 17:55:14

Hi John,

Apologies for the curt responses; we shouldn't assume ignorance just because opinions differ. I am interested in why you think ball valves won't work for throttling purposes.

I ask as others clearly use them for steam with satisfaction. The ball stop valves I recently fitted to our plumbing do an excellent job as static flow regulators on the hot water. The geometry is also essentially the same as in most barrel throttles, which do sterling work in many a small IC engine. They have a clear advantage of providiong no significant obstruiction to flow when fully open - if properly dimensioned.

Finally, unlike gate and many other types of valve, they can't easily be held shut by pressure on one side of the valve.

Is it a reliability/materials issue, something else - or is there a confusion here between globe valves and ball valves?

Neil

Thread: Suspension tapes
21/02/2014 17:45:02

> Then I wondered why plain round wire would not have worked just as well, as its just a torsion spring really.

At a guess if you clamp both ends of a flat tape in two parallel clamps, you know there is no torsion in the undistorted tape. You have no way of knowing if a round wire has a twist in it.

Neil

Thread: MEW 213.
21/02/2014 17:38:43

Hi Mark,

A phone call to 0844 848 8822 should be able to secure you a back issue.

Your Newsagent should be able to reserve you a copy - Just Ask

Alternatively why not take out a subscription and benefit from the great offers?

Neil

Thread: X2 Mini Mill backlash, and parts supply etc
21/02/2014 17:34:16

Hi Danny,

As Graham's photograph shows, the fundamental issue is that the column bracket is fixed by three screws that are almost in a straight line. This is compounded byy teh mating surfaces being poorly finished,

I greatly improved my X2 by scraping the joint surfaces to get amuch bigger contact patch (I also corrected a slight lean in the column this way - it was along slow job that turned my fingers, if not the air, blue).

I also fitted a triangular stiffening plate of 4mm steel between the column swivel bolt and two M12 screws and spacers at the rear corners of the base casting.

The improvement in surface finish and rigidity was noticeable and further imprved by fitting roller bearings and belt drive.

I wrote these modifications up in (I think) MEW issue 199.

I'd stress that the newer versions of the X2 with a non-tilt column don't suffer this fault. As mentioned earlier, a conversion kit for the old X2 is available from Arc Euro.

Neil

Thread: Stuart 'Victoria' : a beginners tale..
21/02/2014 17:15:00

All coming togethre nicely Allan. My tip is always bend before drilling - unless you have a carefully made jig bending is not a precision process.

Neil

Thread: What did you do today? (2014)
21/02/2014 17:11:38

Well, last night I gave my workshop a deep clean(ish) in preparation for a distinguished visitor.

All ready for battle to recommence on several projects...

Today fixed a carpet cleaning machine. Series wound motor had some blown windings which had caused arcing at a circuit board. Ominous yellow flashes from within the machine followed by the circuit breaker going. Ther sparking had caused much tracking across the circuit board.

Unlike a computerised washing machine board that died the same way, this one only has two diodes and a capacitor, plus a pair of connectors on it. Amazingly at up to £38 the most expensive is as much as the cheapest washing machine board - go figure?

Apart from swapping the motors, all that was needed was getting all the carbon off the board to get the resitance between the mains terminals back over 200Mohms from 7kohms!

Neil

Thread: Lathe cutting tapers.
19/02/2014 18:26:13

Other ideas:

Check all gib strips and make sure the feed nuts of the various slides have not come slack, expecially the cross-slide.

Try a very sharp tool with a relatively fine cut. If this gives better results it suggests play somewhere may be the cause. If not, is it pssible the headstock has shifted?

Neil

Thread: Inverter Remote Stop button.
19/02/2014 11:25:19

There are four ways of 'stopping' an inverter powered motor.

1 An e-stop button before the inverter. This makes the motor coast to a stop and kills all power. It can damage the inverter, but is 100% guareanteed to cut all power.

2 Use the coast to stop function of the inverter. This works exactly as an e-stop but leave the inverter live. It can be wired to work from a 'break' switch so existing e-stop buttons can be used as well as limit switches etc. I have impemented this and it works. The stop is very sudden with my setup.

3 Fit a resistive brake to the inverter. This will more or less short the motor and it will stop dead. This is MUCH faster than with an e-stop, especially for machines with a lot of rotational inertia. It will leave the inverter itself live. This can be wired to be operated by e-stop and limit switches. I have not implemented this.

4 Use normal soft-stop buttons. This causes the motor to slow down gently to a stop over a preset period.

My approach is to use 4 for normal working as gentle stop/start helps avoid motor overheating and is less fraught. I use approach 2 for e-stop as it is very fast with my machine. The cautious would take approach 1 and in indiustry i'm sure they would use number 4 - active braking - to get the fastest stop possible.

Neil

Thread: 3-D Printing
19/02/2014 11:08:24

> 3D printing must be here to stay , there was a question about it on a TV quiz show a couple of days ago !

That's nothing. It was a topic on Just A Minute last weekend!

 

I made the mistake of buying a Rover because it appeared to be basically the same car as my previous Honda Integra. despite sharing a body shape, the Honda was the second best car I ever owned (after an RX7!) and Rover the second worst (just above a Marina).

Losing Longbridge was a terrible blow for Birmingham, but the poor quality was the real problem, whoever was to blame.

 

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 19/02/2014 11:12:47

Thread: Inverter Remote Stop button.
18/02/2014 15:46:14

Any e-stop that breaks the supply must be in the 240V supply, as breaking the 3-phase connections can damage the inverter.

There are lots of ways to wire up the jaguar Cub, I've come up with a scheme that doesn't use any relays and provides a normal stop (gentle ramp down) on a small red button and a coast to stop (stops the inverter like an e-stop) on athe big red mushroom button.

I have almost written this up for MEW but was waiting until I had moved it into the old control housing for my mini lathe (together with a 0-100% power meter).

As I ought to make space for others in MEW I'll put it up as a thread in this forum and update it when I finally change from pendant to control box.

Neil

Thread: Welding Gas
17/02/2014 22:03:05

Darn, I wonder what's involved in making an adaptor?

Neil

Thread: What did you do today? (2014)
17/02/2014 22:01:20

Hi Gary,

I still have the jig I made for my Stuart 10V.. it's a piece of wood with a 90-degree notch cut out of it at the appropriate angle

This is one job where the cheap and cheerful angle vices everyone sells come into their own. I always eyeball the path of the drill before commiting - I haven't gone wrong, yet...

Neil

Thread: Silver solder identification by rod colour. low/hi temp
17/02/2014 21:30:04

The colour is, as far as I can tell, just a sign of the gradual tarnishing of the silver content.

Why not cut a short piece off each rod (keeping the clippings and rods in order) and heat them all together and see which melt.

Neil

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