My Gantry Crane Build

[av8or1]

I would think there would be a bit too much heat for the grease seals. You might have to change them after all the welding.

Yeah quite possibly. That was just the thing I was trying to avoid. I'll have to check on them after all is said and done. Thank you for the feedback!

[av8or1]

I've made progress the past couple of nights, despite the work thing. Somehow.

Anyway I finished the end units last night:


And so it was time tonight to return to the gantry itself to install the mounts upon which these hub support units will be placed:


There will be two of these on each end of course, one on the top and one on the bottom. The hub support units install on the outside of these mounts and a king pin runs through all of them. In this way the hubs can rotate to enable the gantry to travel in different directions.

[av8or1]

Penetration is my primary concern, so I used the flap disc on the angle grinder to create a large bevel on both the front:


And sides of these mounts:

[av8or1]

Then I ground the surface back to bare metal and applied weld-thru primer:


I left plenty of room to lay-in at least three beads on the top:


Two on the sides and two on the bottom.

[av8or1]

Took this picture to give you a rough idea of how the king pin will be installed, though the hub support unit isn't included in this view:


I ended up laying down 4 beads on the top, since there was room to do so:

[av8or1]

Daylight would only allow enough time to complete the install of two of these mounts, both on the upper side (which will be much easier than welding the ones to the bottom ... not looking forward to that):


That done, I had to call an end to tonight's work in order to fulfill my usual dad stuff.

And unfortunately that will likely be it for a couple of weeks; work is likely to encounter a significant up-tick beginning tomorrow. It'll be nights and weekends until my code is written and fully tested. And integrated. And ... you get the idea.

So I'll see y'all when I see ya.

Thanks!

[av8or1]

Well I pushed my code yesterday and no news from testing, which is a good thing. So I decided to revisit the gantry-on-wheels project tonight in the hope that the craziness at work of the past couple of weeks has subsided. Crossing fingers dontchaknow. I digress.

Anyway time to get back at it, so I loaded up the cart to include the 275p and headed out:


I still needed the upper mounts on the other leg, so that was the agenda for tonight. 'Managed to get them in place and welded:

[av8or1]

All too soon though it was time to head inside and help the wife, as per normal. Things are kinda interesting these days, what with COVID 'n all. Trying to figure out what to do about school, etc. Perhaps y'all can relate. Anyway the point being that even with more time now that I've pushed my code, there are other issues that will likely limit my available time. TBD.

Darkness also fell by the time I had returned to the outbuilding and unloaded everything. However that was a good thing 'cause I wanted to let it cool prior to applying primer:


Spent the last 10 minutes or so grinding bevels into the remaining mounts:


These will install on the underside of the H-beam, opposite the uppers.

More later.

Hope y'all are well, take care!

[zoama]

You're going to be so much happier when you try spray arc. It makes a really smooth welds, it's way faster than stick and you'll have good penetration. Spray arc is also quiet and so clean that you could weld in your Sunday best cloths.

[av8or1]

You're going to be so much happier when you try spray arc. It makes a really smooth welds, it's way faster than stick and you'll have good penetration. Spray arc is also quiet and so clean that you could weld in your Sunday best cloths.

Yeah I must admit that I am looking forward to learning that process. I know what it is, but have never done it. Only short circuit MIG. I might pose a few questions for you when the time comes.

For the time being though, I'm enjoying SMAW. It's simpler, no gas involved, excellent penetration and you can do it pretty much anywhere. So far, all of my welding projects have been conducted outdoors. And in Central TEXAS it's usually a question of how windy it is, not if it's windy. Therefore not needing to worry about the gas being blown away is a good thing.

That said, I do have some preliminary questions regarding spray MIG if you don't mind:
1) Does one need to make the changes to their gun as you did in order to use it for spray MIG?
2) Can the gun and nozzle/tip choice that came with my 275p be used to spray?
3) What was the reason you decided to make the switch to the different configuration?

Thanks!

[av8or1]

Continued work today after doing family stuff in the early afternoon. It was more of the same: welding the bottom hub support mounts to the legs of the gantry. I took my time with the fitup however; mostly because the direct view was limited. I could see underneath of course, but had to do so from the side, which doesn't yield the clearest perspective. That said I managed to get all 4 of them welded into position:



With the exception of the welds that are directly underneath, on the bottom side of the legs. To do that, I'll need to elevate the gantry somewhat. So I decided to finish the sides and the cross mounts today, leaving the bottoms for tomorrow. The good news is that after doing that, the only item remaining is paint. Then the hub suspension can be mounted as well. It is unlikely that I'll ever remove them once installed. The plan is to merely remove the wheels 'n tires if I want to switch back to using the casters.

Anyway I'm getting there, ever so slowly.

Thanks

[zoama]

That said, I do have some preliminary questions regarding spray MIG if you don't mind:
1) Does one need to make the changes to their gun as you did in order to use it for spray MIG?
2) Can the gun and nozzle/tip choice that came with my 275p be used to spray?
3) What was the reason you decided to make the switch to the different configuration?

Thanks!

Changes to the gun are not required. I wanted a longer MIG lead so I replaced my original gun with a 20' one. The nozzle of my original gun was also electrified when welding so the edges would burn away or stick when contacting my work, such as in tight inside corners.
The gun and nozzle/tip that came with your 275p can be used to spray. They just aren't the ideal setup so your gun may heat up quickly when welding heavy material.
The reason I changed my front end parts of the gun was to reduce heat conducted into the gun. My nozzle is insulted from the threads and I use a tapered contact tip that runs much cooler in spray.

[av8or1]

Changes to the gun are not required. I wanted a longer MIG lead so I replaced my original gun with a 20' one. The nozzle of my original gun was also electrified when welding so the edges would burn away or stick when contacting my work, such as in tight inside corners.
The gun and nozzle/tip that came with your 275p can be used to spray. They just aren't the ideal setup so your gun may heat up quickly when welding heavy material.
The reason I changed my front end parts of the gun was to reduce heat conducted into the gun. My nozzle is insulted from the threads and I use a tapered contact tip that runs much cooler in spray.

Hmmmmm....interesting. In listening to that I might follow suit, but more to have two available configurations. I'd use the config that came with the welder for short circuit MIG and the new one for spray.

I will likely inquire further when the time comes.

Thanks again!

[av8or1]

Almost finished the work portion of the project today. I began by painting the hub supports burnt orange, like the remainder of the crane:


I then elevated the gantry with floor jacks and jack stands in order to be able to get a 14" rod underneath it to weld the underside of the bottom hub mounts:

[av8or1]

I don't like getting underneath heavy things, so I double checked the stability of the crane in that position and it was satisfactory. Still I laid on the outside as a precaution and wasted no time laying down the beads. I ran a 6010 root and hot pass then several 7018 caps. After all 4 were done, I was glad to get it back on terra firma:


So the only items outstanding are to paint the mounts and kingpins, then buy and install the wheels and tires. We're gettin' there!

Thanks!

[zoama]

Hmmmmm....interesting. In listening to that I might follow suit, but more to have two available configurations. I'd use the config that came with the welder for short circuit MIG and the new one for spray.

I will likely inquire further when the time comes.

Thanks again!

I use the same configuration for everything now other than aluminum. This machine and gun are tougher than Tarzan's toenails.

[av8or1]

I use the same configuration for everything now other than aluminum. This machine and gun are tougher than Tarzan's toenails.

Yeah well I'll give ya that having two separate MIG configurations could become a hassle to change between. So there is that. We'll see how it goes. I have another project in the works, so this may happen sooner rather than later...

[av8or1]

I went to a local Discount Tire today to see if I couldn't secure wheels and tires for the gantry. I decided to go with 15", the thought being "why not take a little extra height?" and they will run on the 5-lug, 4 1/2" bolt pattern of these hubs just as well as a set of 13" or 14". However they didn't have 4 wheels in stock. They'll pull them from another store and mount the tires; then I can pick them up tomorrow.

So with that result the primary objective tonight was to finish painting the ends of the legs on the gantry itself. Since I used a brush-on approach the first time around at the insistence of my son, we decided to approach it in that manner again. And naturally he once again insisted on "helping":


Naturally, with such "help" we used much more paint than necessary, painted ourselves and the ground as a result and slathered burnt orange on anything in sight. However those are the times that as a father you will remember the most, so I decided not to press at all when he colored outside the lines so to speak and merely enjoy the moment. In the end everything came out ok anyway:


So hopefully tomorrow I can get the hubs mounted to the legs and then the wheels and tires to the hubs! Woot!

[av8or1]

Well I picked up the wheels and tires today. Here are the components ready for installation:


And I can report that I managed to somehow get that done tonight:

[av8or1]

There is still some cleanup that I'll need to do, so a couple of those will need to be removed again to address that. However the bones are there as the saying goes; thus I can say that I have completed the project, even if only sorta. After the cleanup I need to find a way to lock the wheels in position so that they don't wander as you attempt to move the crane.


Overall the result is well within the ballpark of what I had planned. I attempted to move it just a bit:


And it was definitely easier to do so. The start was relatively easy and once it was moving my primary concern was gonna be how to stop it. Fortunately the hub wandering thing took care of that for me. Those definitely need to be locked down if you were gonna move this any distance. At least by hand. I suspect if I was to pull it behind the F450 that would be a different story.

Anyway thanks!