Revised JD's Garage breakaway torch mount

I built a V1 JD's Garage cnc plasma a couple of years ago and made a few modifications to it. I am now building an XL and carrying over some of the modifications.

This is a fully revised X and Z axis carrier with a magnetic breakaway torch mount primarily designed to add a lot of rigidity to the original design to prevent torch deflection and aid in accuracy. The X motor is flipped upside down to keep it out of the debris and allow for easier fitting of drag chains.

This uses a 200mm Z axis motor so the Z axis plate is 200mm to match so longer rods are also required. The X axis carriage is revised so that it also extends upwards to add some support.

For all the M6 mounting points brass threaded inserts are used to provide some additional durability for fitting and removing. The M8 X axis belt bearing mounts also have brass inserts.

The torch carriers have 9 magnet slots that take 12x3mm magnets. I used 6 but that will depend on the strength of the magnets and how firm you want it. There is an additional limit switch mounted on the breakaway section wired in series with the Z limit switch so the job will stop if the torch pops off. There are also two M6 mounts to allow you to securely lock the two plates together, I have a scribe attachment that I use that requires this.

The Z axis carriage is redesigned to remove the bolts and springs that were in place previously, this reduces the size of the assembly and allows everything to be closed together.

The torch mounting caps and the two mounting plates have tether straps to make things easier and stop the torch falling off and hitting the ground.

The X axis motor mount uses M6 for the plate side and M5 for the motor side with brass inserts. There is an opening on the back of the mount to allow you to adjust the pully position on the motor.

The two torch caps are the same however there is an optional lower one that has provision for a laser cross hairs.

You will need a bunch of M5 and M6 inserts and bolts, I primarily used low profile hex bolts. The limit switches need M3 bolts and you will need to tap the plastic. The tether strap mounts points are 4mm. The rest of the hardware ie bearings etc are as per the JD's garage design.

My torch is a machine torch with a 35mm body, the opening is 34.8mm to make a snug fit.

STL's for the Z and X axis metal plates are included. I used these to cut most of the metal plates out using my V1 and then used them as drill jigs for the smaller holes that my plasma isn't accurate enough with.