Assessing the Damage and Salvaging Parts
In late 2005 I moved to a new town to attend a different college. During the move I thought that the Phoenix would be heavy enough to hold itself on the workbench as the Airstream was being towed down the road. I was wrong. At some point (I think it was during an attempt to dodge a squirrel) the machine slid off the workbench and fell to the floor. Pretty much the entire gantry carriage was destroyed.
The damage:
I know it’s a bad picture but if you look closely you can tell that the entire gantry is tilted to the right due to the bolt holes all being stripped out. The thing laying on the bed of the machine is a hot-wire foam cutting attachment that was mounted at the time and was also destroyed. (note: that picture was taken in my grandmother’s garage, the rebuilding would require more space than was available in the Airstream.)
All I was able to salvage was the base (with rails and leadscrew), the skates that the carriage rides on, the Y and Z axis assemblies, and the bed itself, everything else was scrapped.
The salvage:
With all the damaged material removed it was time to start rebuilding.