Kity 636

[Nic_the_Urchin]

Looks great @sams93 - enjoying following this thread. Thinking about a 636 myself. What’s the latest?

 

[sams93]

Looks great @sams93 - enjoying following this thread. Thinking about a 636 myself. What’s the latest?

I hadn't updated this for a while but there has been progress! The machine is all up and working fine now, i've just been doing some of the other bits to get it all finished. Otherwise i'm very happy with how it's all gone, the machine is good, sturdy and operates well. I do struggle a fair bit with snipe still and working out how I go about improving that (whether it be technique or whatever) is something I need to do. I get probably 5cm of nearly 0.5mm on the tail end of each board.

I'm really pleased that I got and restored this machine, it will be perfect for me going forwards in my small workshop, in that it is fairly compact, but well made and sturdy enough to do some proper work.

I'm away until monday so i'll try and get some more photos up then. Here are some of the bits which have happened recently.

Fence

• I had a fence made from some 4mm sheet steel in the same design as the original, although I made it slightly longer and taller. I retrospectively wonder if I should have gone for 5mm thick steel but it is probably plenty strong enough really, I'm just being fussy.
• @sploo kindly machined a 20mm rod for me for the fence to attach to the machine which fit perfectly!
  • Because of my small workshop I have to store the machine butted up against the wall. The rod I have is 300mm long, which means it 'pokes out' by about 140mm from the side of the machine, which has a sufficiently significant impact on my workspace to justify chopping it down (people with normal workshops will no doubt find this laughable). Sploo suggested cutting it in half and facing the cut ends, then adding threaded rod so that I could re-join them should I want to use the full length at some point. This all seems a good idea, however I haven't got round to any of this as of yet!
• As the fence on the 636 has to be removed when using it in thicknesser mode, I am conscious of bashing the aluminium tables with the corners of the fence as I remove it, so I made two discs from some spare HDPE I had laying around and attached them with some countersunk machine screws and nuts to act both as supports for the fence and also bumpers for safe removal. Seems to work as intended.

Extraction

• The 3D printed hoods are brilliant. The one for planer mode could be improved slightly by being maybe 10mm wider on either end, but is certainly fine as it is. I did have to remove the anti-kickback fingers from the machine to be able to fit the thicknesser hood - I haven't made my mind up yet as to whether this is a sensible long-term idea, or if I should come up with a solution that allows for them to be retained (The original kity 636 models didn't have these fitted). If anyone needs these hoods printed I found a bloke who did them for a reasonable price and they came out great, if you want his details PM me.
• I only have a HPLV extractor in my workshop currently which works great for 90% of my tools but it's not good for the P/T. I built a sturdy cabinet for the 636, and incorporated a compact HVLP extractor. The advantage to this is that it can fit in my workshop. The disadvantage is that the filter doubles as the collection bag, and I have to fold it all up to squish it into the cabinet, meaning that it needs emptying after any significant use of the machine. It's one of the many down-sides of having a small workshop - i'm sure it will make me more grateful for the space if one day I am able to have a larger one!
• The same person who printed the extractor ports also printed me a 95-degree corner for the extractor outlet so that the hose could be properly affixed within the space that I have inside the cabinet. Again this works great.

Cabinet

• I built a sturdy cabinet for the machine. It's made from a half-lapped softwood frame for strength and 9mm ply panelling. It's probably overkill but it will be moved a lot. It's on castors like all my machines to make them practical with the space I have. It incorporates room for the motor, extractor, extraction hose, extractor bag, extraction ports, and a spare cupboard for general storage.
• I had intended on replacing the steel machine base with a plywood one to be the cabinet top, but the move to a 12mm thick base changed the angle of the drive belt making it too close for comfort to one of the standoffs for the machine covers, so in the end I decided that the best solution would be to keep the machine on it's steel base that it was happy on, and mount that to my cabinet. Again, due to workshop constraints (I needed the machine table to be lower than my mitre saw table) I had to recess the steel base into the top of the unit slightly.
• Originally I had designed the cabinet to fit the NVR switches for the P/T and the extractor in cutouts in the front panel, however when I actually did this it resulted in too much intrusion into the cabinet to allow the extraction hose to be stowed away. So I ended up modifying the design and instead mounting the switches on the top of the machine. It works fine, although they are slightly more exposed and I will have to make sure not to bash them or lean anything heavy on them etc.

This is a pretty lengthy post, i'm never sure if to do these in multiple separate posts or one big one!

 

[sams93]

Photos of the fence attached to the rod that sploo machined for me. I don't have a picture of the HDPE bumpers so i'll take one next week.

Initially it wasn’t holding secure with the bolt done up tight, @sploo suggested extending the slot of the machined part slightly using a hacksaw in order for the rod to be able to clamp down onto the fence mounting properly and hold it secure. Worked perfectly!

 

[sams93]

Photos of the unit design and construction.

I ended up remaking the front panel to remove the recesses intended for the switches in order for everything to fit. I also added some cut-outs for lifting the unit at the the ends. I don’t have a photo of it finished but I’ll take one this week.

 

[sams93]

More of cabinet. Also the extractor and the printed 95 degree bend. I would have preferred to have a longer curve shape to it which would be better for airflow, but I was so space constrained (3mm clearance each side). I needed the extra 5 degrees to have room to fit the hose and hose-clip.

 

[sams93]

I wanted to move the NVR switch which was mounted on the extractor motor, so I fitted a junction box to the motor in its place and then a short length of cable up into the original switch box which is now on the top.

The machine is actually mounted on the top in this photo, I’ll take some better ones in the next few days, but it’s apparent from these how it is recessed at the edges into the top. Can also see the updated front panel which is just solid now except for a vent for the extractor motor.

 

[sams93]

Here’s the photos of the fence with its bumpers. I made them from HDPE and used an offset hole so I can adjust their height. Stops me bashing up the table as I remove it.

Can also see the overhang of the fence rod and why I need to cut it down so that the unit can fit flush against the wall of my workshop..

 

[sams93]

And finally… here are the photos of the finished machine, mounted on its finished cabinet which houses its dust extraction!

 

[Nic_the_Urchin]

Do you want the files, for some reason I can't upload the .stl files but I can email them.

There is also a set I found for the 635 which is just narrower.

Ive just purchased a 636 so would love the files too if possible please @sams93 ?

 

[sams93]

Ive just purchased a 636 so would love the files too if possible please @sams93 ?

will DM

 

[Nic_the_Urchin]

will DM

thanks. I've just been catching up on your build updates after I posted before. Great work man, I'll probably be copying you - I'm working out of a small workshop too. I'll be interested to hear about any design mods you'd make after you've had a chance to use your setup for a while. cheers nic

 

[sams93]

thanks. I've just been catching up on your build updates after I posted before. Great work man, I'll probably be copying you - I'm working out of a small workshop too. I'll be interested to hear about any design mods you'd make after you've had a chance to use your setup for a while. cheers nic

Yeah I will have to see how I get on with it after a few months of using. So far I realise that the unit is really quite heavy. I can manage to lift it in and out of the shed, but I have put a couple of extra supports under the shed floor so there is less flexing!

Of course it isn't an ideal set up in anyones book, but I do think that its probably close to optimal for the space I have.

 

[MikeK]

Do you want the files, for some reason I can't upload the .stl files but I can email them.

There is also a set I found for the 635 which is just narrower.

Please try uploading the .stl files again. Since this post, we created the CNC forum and added a lot of related file extensions to the approved upload list. If you like, you can create a new thread in the CNC forum for the files.

 

[sams93]

@MikeK I just tried but it won't let me upload the .stl files as attachments.

The files are available on the internet though - I got them from here where they are available to download for free:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3658399/files
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3069060/files

 

[MikeK]

@MikeK I just tried but it won't let me upload the .stl files as attachments.

The files are available on the internet though - I got them from here where they are available to download for free:

Thanks for trying again. The STL files might be allowed only in the CNC forum.