stability upgrades & other

Discussion about the CNC Shark Pro Plus HD

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pshupe
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:10 am

stability upgrades & other

Post by pshupe »

Hey guys - I have some questions regarding the modification of my Shark Pro Plus HD 25"x25"x7". My dad and I initially purchased this to do signs and nick nacky things. It is great for that. I have recently got into building guitars and find I want to use it for more precise operations. I was considering buying a different machine that would be all aluminum and have a spindle but was hoping that it would probably be cheaper to upgrade this machine rather than sell it at quite a loss and then buy a new one. Also I do like the Vectric software Vcarve Pro and Cut 3d. It even works well for the guitar stuff I am doing, currently.

So what modifications can I do to make this thing rock solid?

1. I have ordered the Dixiebillet aluminum clamp, no reason to say why! ;-)
2. reinforcing the T-tracks to eliminate the deflection. Suggestions? I would like to always have the bed flat a parallel to the movement of the gantry. I have been using a spoil board that I plane flat every once in a while. Ideally I don't want to have to do that any more. If it was flat I could just replace the 1/2" MDF when it gets mis-shapen, instead of trying to plane it off slightly. Or at least it would give me more options, either plane or replace, or just use the T-tracks if I was machining something that didn't get close to the bed.
3. Re-inforcing the gantry - I have seen that the HD 3.0 has an aluminum, instead of phenolic, across the back. - Is this a good value? - keeping in mind I would like to stiffen this machine up enough to cut fret slots which would use a 0.023" bit and have to be quite precise.
4. Adding a spindle - Recommendations on a spindle that would work well with this machine. I currently run a bosch 1617 and would like something that would be weight comparable or at least be appropriate for this machine.

Are there any other places I should be looking at reinforcing or modifying? Thanks guys I appreciate any input.

Regards Peter.

rungemach
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:24 am
Location: Sarasota, Florida

Re: stability upgrades & other

Post by rungemach »

Hello Peter

it seems like you are on the right track. Make it Rock Solid? Just replace every plastic part with aluminum, refit anti backlash ball screws and end bearings on all axes, and you still will be dealing with a limited table top thickness. Due to the nature of the single motor drive setup on the y axis the shark needs a moving bar under the table. Some other machines drive the y with a separate motor on each side, and have no bar under the table, allowing a more rigid table top.

But all is not lost, you can improve your machine greatly for a modest amount of money.

IMHO, the aluminum router clamp is a must do, more to prevent catastrophic failures than to enhance precision. it will help hold the router more firmly and give better cuts as well..

Like the clamp, The aluminum backplate will strengthen up the gantry assembly and should add to the resale if you move on to a better machine in the future.

Precisebits collets for your router are a must have for minimizing runout.

For the table top, consider swapping your bed plates around to put the narrow ones on the outside. Then you can bridge the sections together with hardwood slats on the top.
The slats add to the strength of the tabletop by locking adjacent sections together and creating a stiffer top. The slats must be bolted to the rails in at least 3 places, center and ends, to strengthen the bending resistance of the top. I use 8 bolts per slat on a standard 24" shark. The slats are then machined down to be coplanar with the router travel. This allows you to keep the center slot in each wide rail open for clamping. I then use a very thin spoil board ( 1/8th inch or less) under the workpiece itself if you are doing a cut through type of operation. For carving etc it is not needed. These threads have more info.

http://www.cncsharktalk.com/viewtopic.p ... 6&start=10
and
http://www.cncsharktalk.com/viewtopic.p ... 59&p=22946

Now the bad news, depending on your need for precision, the above modifications help keep cuts straight by reducing deflection. You still have to deal with the backlash issues from the lead screw and nut, etc. If the machine has .002 backlash (on a good day), you will need to optimize your cutting techniques to work around the shortfalls of the machine. For instance, orient your neck so that the fret cuts are perpendicular to the y axis so that axis does not need to move while the fret is being cut with the x. etc.

Personally, I would wait with the spindle until you can have the machine working to your satisfaction. You may not be able to get the spindle cost back out if you resell, and I am not sure that the NWA package is shipping with the promised on-off control. Then you would also need now router camps as I believe the NWA supplies clamps are plastic.

Hope this helps a bit.

Bob

pshupe
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:10 am

Re: stability upgrades & other

Post by pshupe »

Thanks Bob - Lots of great information there. I think I will look at getting the aluminum plate for the back and also work on using some hardwood slats and tying them into the slats and having them planed as a spoil board as well. I have an MDP spoil board now that is laminated to 3/4" plywood. It's flat but my only options are screwing down as there are no slots for clamping. The MDF is not that good once you drill into it as it leaves divots and I really hate planing that stuff flat, even with the dust collection system.

Would you recommend a sufacing bit? I like the Amana bit but they are all very pricey. I would like to get a recommendation before dropping $200 on one bit. Thanks again.

Cheers Peter.

drueth
Posts: 208
Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 7:09 am

Re: stability upgrades & other

Post by drueth »

pshupe

Here is the link to one I put together with the help of another member, and also after reading many of the idea's other members had posted. I have done mostly inlays and cutting veneer with a drag knife. (cutting the veneer requires the table to be dead on.) At the time of this writing the aluminum router clamp and the upgrade to the aluminum back plate were not advailabile. Both of these are worth doing in my mind, along with addressing the table were the shark sits is flat and level. The next thing you will find to drive you nuts after you have got all the issues out of the shark is that most bits you buy are not what they say they are, IE a 90 deg V bit is really 85 degs. A .25 inches EM is really .24 inches

http://www.cncsharktalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2297
Good luck
drueth
Shark Pro Plus HD
new to CNC 12/2012

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