registration device that mounts on the Z bar?

[Homer]

anyone know where I can find or how to fabricate that registration device. . . from memory, it looks like a dial indicator with a probe. . .it's for an M&R. . .I've been searching for a few days and I can't find any leads. . thanks fellas. . . J

[ebscreen]

It is a dial indicator for all practical reasons.

Just gotta be able to hit the right spot, measure, move the indicator so you
can index the press, and get it back into the exact same position. (within .001" or better)

I think M&R's can use the pallet locator arm if you have one?

Might do better on the M&R forum, they're good about helping.

Oh, and may the force be with you. It's certainly a feasible task once you have everything figured
out, though it definitely is not a fun party time.

[spotcolorsupply]

Anatol, M&R, and Progressive all use basically the same thing...

You should prolly give one of them a call tomorrow 

I have used an Anatol reg Unit on M&R, Progressive, Tuf, and Anatol machines... 

[Homer]

well here's the deal. My brother actually is the lead designer for a local company that fabricates pneumatic equipment, these presses are like toys to him compared to the things he has to do, he actually helped my tech out when we (by we I mean I held his Pepsi) installed this thing. he got the brains, I got the. . .uhh. . .looks?

[alan802]

The price for a professionally fabricated unit is ridiculously high for what it actually is and also because one could build one themselves if they were just a little mechanically inclined.  Using the damn thing properly would be harder than fabricating one.  Unfortunately all the guys I know that have one wouldn't lend it to anyone for any amount of money, and half of the ones I've seen we're DIY units.  I might have some old pics somewhere that I took of a tech registering our old press so you could get a look at one. If I can't find any decent pics I'm sure one of the M&R guys could shoot you a few pics of one so you could have a machine shop build you one.

An affordable Z-Bar so that many smaller shops could have one sounds like something someone could run with. Wouldn't be a big money maker but it would definitely score some points with customers.  Maybe I could work on something like this in my spare time, well, if I had any.  I'm sure one reason why some manufacturers wouldn't want just any yahoo with a Z-Bar would be because in the wrong hands that tool could really do some damage.  You can really screw a press up if you're not careful and don't know what you're doing.

[jasonl]

we had 2 that sat in a closet for years at my old shop.  finally i threw them in the garbage.  unless you have a pre mid 90's press, they are useless.

[Homer]

we had 2 that sat in a closet for years at my old shop.  finally i threw them in the garbage.  unless you have a pre mid 90's press, they are useless.

'94 gauntlet.

[mk162]

and if I were your boss, I'd be pissed.  Those things are worth putting on digitsmith.  A tech will snap those up if they are in good shape, or a large shop that is in need of one for their maintenance dept.

That being said, I have thrown out a ton of stuff over the years only to realize I should have held onto it.

[3Deep]

I,m a pat rat allso when ever I upgrade equipment I store the old stuff just incase, but after a while you just have to sell something or toss it.

Darryl

[alan802]

and if I were your boss, I'd be pissed.  Those things are worth putting on digitsmith.  A tech will snap those up if they are in good shape, or a large shop that is in need of one for their maintenance dept.

That being said, I have thrown out a ton of stuff over the years only to realize I should have held onto it.

I agree, those things are valuable to the right people.  I used to talk to one of the techs that used to come by our shop and work on our Centurian and he had a Z-Bar and I asked him how much I could get one for since we were constantly having to register the press.  I can't remember the exact price but I do remember thinking that we weren't going to be buying one, but I did look at his closely and thought that I could build one for super cheap and it would work as good or better than his.  You need a few pieces of hardened aluminum or steel, have the two pieces attached that can swivel with each other that will mount on the press near the regi bearings, a dial indicator and a spring that is a couple inches long and you've got a Z-Bar.  There is a little more to it but I think you could have one with $50 of parts if you used a cheap dial indicator.  The most expensive part of the tool would be the dial indicator and you can go as high or low on quality as you wanted, but they all work the same way.  I like the digital indicators myself, and I'd opt for one of those if I were building this.

I've looked through my old pics and I can't find any of the ones with the Z-Bar.  Maybe there is a tech out there that can take a few pics of theirs and post them.  I've seen some that were a lot more fancy and complicated than others, but they all do the same job and will be as accurate as the user wants them to be.

[spotcolorsupply]

I'm sure one reason why some manufacturers wouldn't want just any yahoo with a Z-Bar would be because in the wrong hands that tool could really do some damage.  You can really screw a press up if you're not careful and don't know what you're doing.

That’s for sure...

But for those of us with mechanical minds it is simply a process...

I’ll give an example...

I did an install last week in Alabama (95 Gauntlet 8 Color), the guy had already actually installed his press completely (Leveled, Reg, and everything)... He had actually built his own reg unit and Z bar... Since it was his first time ever doing it he wanted me to come check his work, and train him etc...

Holy crap, he frekin Nailed it... Everything was beautiful!!! The registration was spot on, the shaft was plumb, and all of the pallets and screen holders were perfect!! He bought the press from Rick Fuqua and it was also beautiful!!

We spent most of the time going over different install techniques, how to run the press, what all of the valves and electrical components did...

Now on the flip side of that...

I did an install many years ago on a freedom auto in Mississippi (I think)... Everything went well; the press was fully operational when I left.... I got a call the following day...

The customer stated... "The bearings behind the pallets were not centered when you left, so I centered them" 

I think yall know where this is going 

The next words out of his mouth were... "Why doesn’t my press work now" 

The moral of the story... Don’t touch the F’ing reg bearings unless you know what you are doing 

[mk162]

that is awesome.  Wow, it was working before I touched it and now it's not.  gee, wonder what happened.

[Binkspot]

Ill snap pictuers of my home made rig later. I also have a set of templates for one a machine shop or someone handy could fab.

It is simply some alum flat bar 4" and 1" both 3/8", shoulder bolt, some bearing, set screw and 1/2" dowl pin. Nothing fancy but works just fine.

[Homer]

Ill snap pictuers of my home made rig later. I also have a set of templates for one a machine shop or someone handy could fab.

It is simply some alum flat bar 4" and 1" both 3/8", shoulder bolt, some bearing, set screw and 1/2" dowl pin. Nothing fancy but works just fine.

that would be awesome, I just need to know what this thing really looks like -what my main objective is here. I know this is not simple, I'm not trying to say this is going to be an easy -any idiot can do it- type of thing. It just so happens I have the right person on my side to get it done, since my tech jacked it all up when he initially installed it. I would rather learn how to do this, hey if I fail and can't get it done, then we'll have to bite the bullet and send someone out. I just like to see what we can do, test my limits. thanks for the help guys, I'll take pics as I go. . we have pics of our move too so I'll have a ton to post up, some videos too. J

[ebscreen]

It is a good skill to have. Then, short of a shaft failure (heh heh) you're pretty much self reliant on
most machines, save for some proprietary parts.

Luckily it doesn't, or shouldn't, need to be performed that often.


Loosening that first bearing is diving in head first.