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FireBall Meteor

General

The PROBOTIX Meteor is one of the most complete CNC router machines available. Each machine comes fully assembled, calibrated, and tested with a PC based control system running the Linux CNC machine control software. It comes complete with the computer, keyboard, mouse, monitor, limit/home switches, frame mounted E-stop switch, cable chain cable management system and relay controlled 110V outlet (mounted to the back of the carriage) to power your spindle. All you need to provide is the router and tooling, CAM software, a table to sit it on, any dust collection and work holding.

Machine Specifications

Machine Travel: X-Axis 50" Y-Axis 25" Z-Axis 5"

Leadscrew Pitch: X-Axis 2TPI Y-Axis 2TPI Z-Axis 5TPI

Resolution: (X & Y Axis) Full Step 0.0025" Half Step 0.000125" Quarter Step 0.000625" Eighth Step 0.0003125" Sixteenth Step 0.0000165625"

Introduction

The FireBall Meteor takes the best CNC router in it's class, and makes it even better - with TWICE the work envelope! The FireBall Meteor is high performance, general purpose machine tool positioner, suitable for many uses such as guitar building, clock making, plaques, signs, RC aircraft parts and more! This machine comes fully assembled and is shipped in a crate handled by a freight carrier. With pre-installed home/limit switches, spindle control relay, cable chain, and carriage mounted spindle power jack, no other machine on the market comes close to being this complete, and ready-to-run.

This machine is supported by the FireBall CNC Yahoo Group Feel free to drop in there to learn more or to ask any questions before buying.

Router/Spindle Mounts

When you order your machine, you will select the router mount of your choice. We have mounts available for all standard off the shelf trim and full size routers. We also have mounts for full size 65mm and 80mm water cooled Chinese spindles. If you are interested in a water cooled spindle, we can provide that for you for an additional $800. Most people are choosing the Dewalt DWP611 1.25 hp trim router. You can usually pickup that router off amazon without the base for only $79 [1]

What is the warranty on the machine?

Video

Full How-To on the Comet/Asteroid/Meteor Class Machines http://vimeo.com/88868739

Dimensions

Machine Foot Print Comparison

Meteor is 30" high, please allow 6" clearance on the side and front for the motors

Design Features

• 25” x 50” x 5” Machine Travel

• Full cabinet doors, thru-neck guitars and guitar necks, the stretched work envelope of the Meteor expands your possibilities.

• Fully Supported Linear Rails

• Less flex. Supported round rails offer the same benefit as the hiwin type of rails, at a fraction of the cost.

• Precision ACME Leadscrews

• More affordable than ballscrews, yet capable of precise positioning and rapid travels.

• Anti-backlash Nuts On All Axis

• Minimal backlash. The anti-backlash nuts by design will wear out, but are user replaceable.

• 200 Inches Per Minute Rapids

• Less time flying through the air to get from one entry point to the next. Any faster than this and you'd have to set the acceleration so low that it'd never reach that speed anyhow due to the mass of the gantry and carriage.

• Solid Aluminum Construction

• More rigidity. Very minimal tool deflection.

• Open Frame/Tandem Motor Design

The open frame design allows for taller work pieces and many fixturing options. The spoil board can be mounted above or below the frame. Also, the spoil board could be completely removed, and the user can fabricate any sort of mounting system, rotary table, etc. The use of T-Slot on the frame makes fabricating your custom fixtures and mounting them a breeze.

• T-Slot Extrusion Construction

• The tandem motor setup, coupled with some LinuxCNC sorcery makes squaring the machine a breeze. The independent but simultaneous left and right homing sequence will re-square itself every time the machine is homed. Tandem motors also prevent racking, which can be a problem when the tool is operating at the edges of the work envelope. Removing the leadscrew from the center of the table eliminates work piece height limitations.

• Pre-installed Limit/Home Switches

Because of the tandem motor setup, homing switches are essential, and thus are factory installed. No other machine in this class comes with pre-installed homing/limit switches.

• Cable Chain Cable Management

Clean and professional IGUS cable chains guide and protect the wiring. Another exclusive feature that you will not find on any other machine on the market.

• Fully Assembled & Wired

Even includes frame mounted emergency stop switch. Nope - the other guys don't have this either.

• 4-Axis Stepper Motor Driver Kit

This machine was designed around our MondoStep Stepper Motor Driver kit with 4x 420ozin Motors & 40V power supply. The Meteor's tandem motor setup requires a 4-axis controller. No other motor driver kit will run this machine as it was intended. The motor/driver kit comes as ready-to-run, with enclosure, fan, connectors, and all. All you have to do is connect the motor and switch jacks, attach it to the PC, and power it on. All controllers now come with 5 drivers standard for future expansion for a Rotary axis.

• Included PC w/ LinuxCNC Control Software

Because of the tandem motor setup and the custom configuration necessary for LinuxCNC to coordinate the homing sequence, we feel it is best for us to include a pre-configured PC. Also, it needs to be a modern PC to spit out the step pulses fast enough to achieve our high speeds.

• Relay Controlled Spindle

Relay spindle control is standard on this machine. There is a 110V power jack mounted to the carriage. This allows us to run the spindle power through the cable chain. The user can easily change out spindles as needed, and will not have to cut off the plug on the power cord - which would void the warranty on your spindle.

• Choice of Trim Router Mounts

The bolt pattern is the same as the V90, and any of our spindle mounts will work on this machine. An array of this bolt pattern on the z-axis face allows you to mount the spindle in several positions relative to the z-axis travel. This will help with different tool length requirements, and fixturing offsets.

• Freight

The Fireball Meteor must ship freight. The default shipping option is FOB Origin ($0) and the buyer is responsible for arranging pick-up with a freight courier. The freight is one crate class 92.5, 440 pounds, 72"x49"x30" from 61615 USA. If you are in the continental US, Mexico, or Canada we can offer a custom rate quote for freight shipping to your door. Email support@probotix.com with your shipping address, product, and if delivery address is residential and we will send you a quote. To have custom freight added to your shopping cart before checkout, call us at 309.691.2643 between 8 and 5 Central Monday - Friday.