Drag Chain Sizing

General
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UPDATE: I had a typo in my area calculation. 18x25 will be too small.

I’m adding the PwnCNC ATC system to my Onefinity Elite. It’s is well known that the drag chains on the elite do not have enough space for all of the cables, water lines, and air hoses that the ATC uses and I’ve seen numerous solutions from 3D printed clips to much wider drag chains that require new support brackets and aluminum extrusions. I’m wondering why using the existing supports with a slightly larger drag chain is not a good solution?

By my calculations the stock drag chain has an internal area of 105 mm^2 (correction 300 mm^2) . This area will support all of the electrical cables, but not the air and water lines. The air and water lines need additional 252 mm^2.

The stock drag chain also has an external width of 28.5 mm. Clearance to on the Onefinity Y-axis is 40mm and 36 mm on the X-axis.

Looking on Amazon a 18x25 mm (450 mm^2) drag chain has a width of 35 mm. Only the cable chain mount behind the Z-axis would need to be modified.

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Let us know.
Personally, I’m using the Boom

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I was using the boom for water cooling lines and the 4"dust collection hose which worked fine. When I added the PWNCNC ATC, I enlarged the drag chain to the 18x50 from Uglydogwoodshop. This worked out really well for me as now the boom only carries the dust collection hose (and a signal wire for the IR control on my dust collection) and is much cleaner for me. I also ran the air assist for the 44W Jtech laser in the drag chain along with a USB cable to power the spindle mount camera so plenty of room in the 18x50.

1 Like
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I was inpatiant and wanted a same day solution. So, I just made some clips to carry two air lines and the two coolant lines on the existing Onefinity drag chain. I’ve shared the design in the thread below.

2 Likes
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For some reason I had too much issues with clips, did not try yours, and moved on to 18x50 from Uglydogwoodshop. I am really happy with it.

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Glad you have a solution that works for you @Maymunbaba. I’m curious, what kind of problems did you have with clips?

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Mostly pops up and/or breaks in long carves. It was not a “put it on and forget” solution for me. After installing large drag chain, I also like the extra space in drag chain, when I get something new I have one solution to fits all and don’t need to worry the next thing to make it fit. Nothing against clips, looks like many people enjoying it.

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It looks like many people have success with running the lines alongside the dust collection boom, but since I am running the lines for a laser and the ATC and water cooling, I went with the uglydog drag chain, which is working quite well and looks a little cleaner in my opinion. Now the challenge is to find the right dust boot!