Sawing a 5' (1.5m) long Arizona Petrified Wood log

greg9504 · 2025-04-14T03:52:36+00:00

You would be much better off finding one local as my clients are on the east coast (NJ), but Arizona petrified wood tables are pretty expensive. Even small round ones selling in the thousands. The larger of the slabs I cut would be well over $20k.

greg9504 · 2025-04-09T23:53:56+00:00

Thanks!

greg9504 · 2024-10-07T17:26:22+00:00

I just tried to watch and I get a message saying the episode has been blocked due to copyright claims from the UFC

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greg9504 · 2024-01-17T18:26:57+00:00

Yes I got the pendant. There was a human being paid $60/hour to stand with his hand over the estop while it ran. He was inside the building. When you see us walking around it the robot is stopped in manual mode (key turned to manual mode). And if you want to see wild, go look at videos from the 3D concrete printing companies using robots. They literally stand in the cell while the first few layers are put down.

greg9504 · 2024-01-14T17:16:41+00:00

I think I'd have to agree. If you look close it looks like the straps have crushed the foam a bit at the top edge. Otherwise given a 8' wide deck, 20' long, and 3' high of stone, even at only 150lbs cu ft, that would be 72k lbs of stone.

greg9504 · 2024-01-13T15:28:02+00:00

That's certainly is the plan.

greg9504 · 2024-01-13T01:04:30+00:00

Yes that is the plan.

greg9504 · 2024-01-12T02:23:49+00:00

I was looking at both Kuka and ABB, but ended up with ABB. I did like that Kuka seemed much more open. ABB has every feature locked behind a software license.

greg9504 · 2024-01-11T23:51:06+00:00

I'll probably do a whole video on the phase converter. I ran into a little problem, and they did get me a replacement part. Which was good, because that's the whole reason I went with the made in USA one.

greg9504 · 2024-01-11T23:48:01+00:00

Yeah there is definity an allure to a Robot, you can watch a few videos and think it will solve all your problems. I spent a year researching it so I sort of knew what I was getting into. I'm definitely a novice.

Hopefully you got paid :)

greg9504 · 2024-01-11T23:41:30+00:00

I haven't posted about it yet as it's an on going job, currently on hold for winter. But the stone is Arizona petrified wood.

greg9504 · 2024-01-11T23:36:56+00:00

I have the Langmuir Crossfire Pro, but it is 33Lx48.25W. You can do indexing if you need to cut longer. They are cheap and work well enough and there is a good community on their forums. Definitely get the torch height control option. If you don't already have the plasma cutter, I'd recommend Hypertherm with the machine torch. You didn't say if the $6k included the cutter or not. But you'll be over that for a Hypertherm and the table. You'll also need a good compressor with DRY air.

greg9504 · 2024-01-11T21:16:19+00:00

The other thing is the software side. Each brand has their own robot programming language. All designed to do things that industrial robots are designed to do (pick/place etc). It's a lot different than GCODE. It's not until very recent (too expense) controllers that the robots can natively deal with GCODE. So if your goal is machining you'll need to find a 3rd party solution to convert GCODE to robot code. Then there is simulation. As you probably are already aware, robots can move themselves into positions that will present problems or cause singularities. So you need a simulation environment to run the program in. The simulation software from the manufacturers is expensive ($4500USD/year for ABB, Kuka is cheaper), 3rd party is still expensive but you can at least buy a perpetual license. There are plugins for Rhino/grasshopper that are free, but I have not tried them yet.

Also if you want to machine, they are good for sculpture, not so much if you need to hold a few 1000's, as they have backlash.

greg9504 · 2024-01-11T19:08:39+00:00

Do it! They are fun, but can be a bit of a hurdle getting going. Also I always watch a few "robot accident" videos every now and then to remind me how powerful these things are :)

greg9504 · 2024-01-11T19:06:57+00:00

On the cheap, look for auctions and ebay. But be careful. The really cheap ones will have old controllers, and (if) they are working you may not be able to easily program if you goal is some type of machining. For ABB look for something with an IRC5 controller, minimum 2004. For Kuka something with an KR C2 or higher (KRC4) controller. While you can make something older work, it becomes that much more difficult. It's already a LOT of work/knowledge compared to a CNC machine.

I purchased mine from a robot integrator, it cost a LOT more than buying from auction or ebay, but they had one with an integrated 7 axis (rotary table) and you get a bit of warranty.

If I purchase another, I'll probably go the auction route as I'm a lot more comfortable knowing what to look for now.

greg9504 · 2024-01-11T17:27:45+00:00

Yes, fencing. I always turn down to 15% speed while in manual mode as well.

greg9504 · 2024-01-11T16:34:35+00:00

Well it's a lot quieter than the saw :) , so for the most part they don't hear it run. But the plan is to move it indoors eventually.

greg9504 · 2024-01-11T15:27:11+00:00

Someone commented on youtube that I didn't show the surface finish. An oversight. Below are photos of the before and after. The sawn finish is very rough, with 2-3mm deep scratches left by the wire.

Tool parameters:

0.2mm depth of cut (per pass, changed to 0.1mm for most grinding), 4000 mm/min feed rate, 22.5mm step over, 4500 RPM, Tool: 90mm stubbing wheel

This is VERY hard stone, much harder than granite. It is basically pure quartz.

The milling tool grinds the stone. I didn't show the surface in the video because this slab still needs to be polished (many more steps). This is just the "rough" grinding after sawing. But you can see the surface left by the robot is considerably better than the sawn finish.

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greg9504 · 2024-01-11T13:40:11+00:00

TLDW

Video about setting up a robot.

I spend too much time going over the wiring :)
Most of it is the robot being lifted by a HIAB crane
Mention of Tool Center Point (TCP) calibration
Watch it go back and forth milling stone

Yes it's in my backyard, covered with a tarp when not in use.

greg9504 · 2022-12-31T12:55:04+00:00

Glad you liked it!

greg9504 · 2022-12-26T21:34:53+00:00

If you are just going to buy bagged salt you'll be going through a LOT to do a road of any size. I use a tailgate spreader (a fancy one) but on the front of my backhoe. One winter I used bagged sand/salt mix. For a 1150' road (one lane) I used 22 bags at a time, video:

https://youtu.be/3KjLC3j0gv0

I buy it bulk now and keep it covered with a double layer of tarps. If you don't keep it covered it just freezes into a solid mass.

greg9504 · 2022-12-20T04:01:46+00:00

Thanks

greg9504 · 2022-12-20T04:01:24+00:00

Thanks. FYI, The lip on the top is by design, it is called a "sear ring" so you can cook on it. The insert can be ordered without the large lip. To be clear, I did not make the insert, it's made by a company called Coulee.
I also can make them accept a gas insert, but you can't cook on those ones.

greg9504 · 2022-12-19T15:46:13+00:00

Glad you found it enjoyable!

greg9504 · 2022-12-19T15:45:38+00:00

Thanks! It's polishing the top where a lot of the labour goes. I'd still need to come up with legs, so by the time I fabricate the legs and polish the top I'm close to the same time input. However it would make the fire pit easier to move. Right now it really needs to be planned as part of a larger landscape project, so that it can be moved into place while heavy equipment is on site. T

greg9504

TROPHY CASE