iWORKS in Los Angeles is a custom lighting fabrication business that has made ShopBot a part of their manufacturing facility since 2009. After more than 10 years of service, when their faithful ShopBot started having problems cutting square, they contacted ShopBot for an official tune-up. At ShopBot Support’s suggestion, new pinion gears for their PRSalpha were on site when the ShopBot technician arrived.
PRSalpha at iWORKS, Los Angeles
A quick review of the tool indicated that the gantry was out of square, so the pinions were rubbing against the table sides. Furthermore, the X-motor pinions were not tight in the rack and some projects were not being held in place properly using the existing vacuum hold-down system.
The tune-up covered several aspects:
· Mechanical: pinion gears, eccentric bearings on YZ car, and pulling the gantry into square.
· ShopBot Control Software: version control, specific settings such as ramp values.
· Manufacturing processes: feed rates and spindle speeds, choice of bits, cut direction, and hold down.
· Tips for improving efficiency with CAD/CAM software.
Drive system maintenance on the PRSalpha
Throughout the session, ShopBot’s Sallye Coyle worked with iWORKS tool operator Eduardo to be sure that he understood how to maintain the ShopBot on his own.
The final test was to run a couple of files that had been giving Eduardo trouble in recent months. The ShopBot passed with flying colors and is now ready for many more years of production.
Links:
Photos by: Sallye Coyle