Grapple fabrication Started

[polemidis]

Hello guys! I have been away for a while but I am back with some exciting news (for me at least! ) Finally I started fabricating the grapple that I designed on my own.

I spent 150-200hours on developing it. And with the help of some members I finally got it.

The CAD file is Open Source for Non-Commercial reasons. Meaning take it, alter it, improve it do whatever you want, even BUILD it! The files is in Freecad format and you can edit them to your needs.
In general, Its a 63in wide grapple with 1/4" AR400 steel plate and dual lids. The Master CAD file also includes the geometry with all the angles/lengths so you can edit the parts easy to fit your needs. . I cut it on a CNC Plasma I designed and build just a few months ago. Plz ignore some bad quality cuts as I didn't had dry air for the plasma which caused a lot of trouble, and I had never used a plasma cutter before. Newbie here.
Anyway, here are some pics. More will follow as the project continues.
Also if anyone wants to build a CNC Plasma cutter, in the same repository I have the CAD files for this too, but it still needs some work with the Bill of Materials etc.


The CAD files are here.

 

[Sysop]

Looks good! Awesome addition to the vast amount of info here. would be nice to see it when finished too, perhaps even a video.

:thumbsup:

 

[handcuff]

Very interested in seeing how this turns out! I'm looking at different grapples, and I'm excited to see how yours turns out.

Keep us posted with pictures, please!
-Scott

 

[polemidis]

Almost complete!!

Thank you guys for your support!!!

 

[goeduck]

GREAT WORK !!!!!!! More pictures please. Action shots if you can. Super job!

 

[strantor]

This is super awesome! Thank you for your open source contribution! I will be following this with much interest. Can't wait to see a video of it in action. Or will I have to build it to see it operate? Haha.

 

[McCann]

I bought a plasma cutter and got busy earlier in the year. The biggest issue is the offset in the pivot point for the upper teeth and the cylinder mount. I built the upper and lower teeth and then just played around with a cylinder I had and it started to fall into place. Spent a lot of time reviewing pictures and landed on a flat bottom set of teeth so it more mimics using the loader bucket. IMHO

 

[McCann]

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/images/attach/jpg.gif
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/images/attach/jpg.gif
couple of photos, I think

 

[polemidis]

I bought a plasma cutter and got busy earlier in the year. The biggest issue is the offset in the pivot point for the upper teeth and the cylinder mount. I built the upper and lower teeth and then just played around with a cylinder I had and it started to fall into place. Spent a lot of time reviewing pictures and landed on a flat bottom set of teeth so it more mimics using the loader bucket. IMHO

I know what you mean Thats why I built a CNC plasma cutter, and designed the grapple at Freecad. So I had the EXACT angle that I wanted and the grappling force that I wanted. Even if you pay for the cutting service (I was quoted $300 for a full 4x8 sheet) it worth the trouble
So I have a few pics for you guys, and a video. More too come. And of course if you have any questions just ask!

 

[polemidis]

I bought a plasma cutter and got busy earlier in the year. The biggest issue is the offset in the pivot point for the upper teeth and the cylinder mount. I built the upper and lower teeth and then just played around with a cylinder I had and it started to fall into place. Spent a lot of time reviewing pictures and landed on a flat bottom set of teeth so it more mimics using the loader bucket. IMHO

I know what you mean Thats why I built a CNC plasma cutter, and designed the grapple at Freecad. So I had the EXACT angle that I wanted and the grappling force that I wanted. Even if you pay for the cutting service (I was quoted $300 for a full 4x8 sheet) it worth the trouble
So I have a few pics for you guys, and a video. More too come. And of course if you have any questions just ask!