JD 4310 Cab

[Regal]

Well, I was going to wait and do a full story on my cab so there wouldn't be too many un-answered questions. That way it wouldn't string it out. However, I'll throw it out here and do the best I can. I sometimes don't check in for several days at a time so I may be slow to respond to speciffics.
I have spent many hours on the CAD drawing this up - CNC routing out cardboard templates - test fitting and adjusting till I got it where I wanted it. (I have access to CNC router and my brother has CNC plasma cutter) Now I'm ready for sheet metal. This requires 2 sheets of 14 guage 5 foot by 10 foot and 1 sheet 20 guage 4 foot by 10 foot. 1 sheet 3/16" thick scratch resistant plexiglas OR Lexan. I used Lexan MR-10 but plex would be fine.
I will post JPGs of the nested sheets, which I think most of you should be able to open and see. Sorry if you can't. I will also post DXF files of these drawings for anyone that would like to take them to some one in your area that has a CNC plasma OR lazer machine.
Everyone is quite welcome to use/copy/change/ or reproduce these drawings however you wish. I am not interested in protecting them in any way. Just hope they might help out if someone is trying to build there own.
I looked at many different cab designs and probably used some comparisons of a few to get what I liked.
This is intended to be a year-round cab with heat and A/C. Those are still in the works. Also, I still don't have all the corners buttoned up. I will use foam rubber to fill in the space against the engine area as well as the rear corners above the fenders.
I will try to attach a Word file to give more details to anyone interested. That will keep things shorter here.
Cost?
So far:
Sheet metal $194.00 (Brother's COST)
Hinges $18.50
Rubber seals and trim $222.10 McMaster-Carr
and McMaster-Carr
Latches and handles $150.74 Allegis Corporation
and Allegis Corporation
Paint and puddy $102.97
Windows $266.00 (I routed these at work myself)
Wife also includes the misc like Stargon gas, grinding disks etc. but I don't cuz we gotta have that stuff anyhow---Right???
All of these cost will vary depending on your sources and CNC machine time. My CNC work was all free.
Hope the attachments and photos work out here.

 

[Regal]

MORE to see

 

[Regal]

and some more

 

[Regal]

Well I can't figure ou how to attach the WORD doc so I will just put it here.

As you can see in the drawings, there are a lot of pieces. This was done to get the best yield from the sheets. Each panel and doors except the roof top and ends are divided into 4 sections. A sheet of plywood and saw horses made a great table to weld the sections together on. Also, if you notice, there are some skinny curved arc pcs. Those are used to provide the desired radius in the front and rear panels. Notice in the photos where I used them. In addition to the pcs that get CNCed, you will need about a dozen 1" wide strips. These can be added onto nest 2 by your plasma guy or just have them sheared off.
These additional strips are spot welded around the entire perimeter of the doors and door openings. Leave enough room from the edge for the rubber window seals and weather trim to fit. Plan ahead for the ceiling panel being sure to have these strips meet at the corners for the ceiling panel to attach to. The ceiling panel is made from 1/4" thick Black ABS plastic. Also the scrap left over was used to make a rear filler above the 3pt area.
Door latches-- This is where I screwed up. I didn't know what I was going to use for latches when I built the doors. As a result, I had to get creative with fit. You may want to have some changes made to the door and window drawings so there is more material there for mounting. I mounted mine onto the support flange and used a piece of 3/4" conduit for grab handle to help stiffen things up a bit.

 

[kennyd]

WOW, Very impressive!

 

[Regal]

Well-- This site does not like DXF files either so if anyone wants them, I guess I will need to e-mail them to you. I'l try to check my PMs to oblige with that. I will need to do that from work cuz I only have Corel Draw at home and it seems to add multiple layers which is all goofed up.
I also made a mistake on the roof drawing. It says 4 X 8 and should say 4 X 10 sheet. The windows come out of a 5 X 8 sheet and I will attach a jpg of that later.

 

[joes_427_vette]

Your cab turned out great !!!!!!!!!!!! Only wish I was your neighbor and had cutting privelages. I bought the standard JD canopy and will build my cab around it. The more cab designs I read..... the more ideas I get on construction. Is the metal you used for the doors heavy enough that they will take abuse for years to come ? ( wind, slamming, warping if a hose or something gets caught in the lower opening ) I don't mind a little extra weight and like the structure (like a GM door ) when I hear it shut. Your design sure looks like it belongs and factory. Does the door trim provide a cushion and seal when closed ? Sorry about all the questions but I want to take the plunge and build my own next winter, that is if I live through the loader design. Thanks for the info. jr

 

[Regal]

joes_427_vette
Does the door trim provide a cushion and seal when closed ?
Is the metal you used for the doors heavy enough that they will take abuse
Only wish I was your neighbor and had cutting privelages.

The door trim is great, gives tight seal and nice cusion.
The doors will rack from top to bottom when open, but they are adjusted tight enough when closed that it is not an issue, yet not so tight to prevent me from just pushing them closed or giving them a swing and letting them slam shut.
Having CNC machines available has really spoiled me, but most everyone will have one in their area. Hard part will be finding one that is willing to do custom work.

 

[suncoast]

You are very talented and innovative! Have you logged your hours for each phase by chance?

 

[Regal]

Only kept track of time for welding the pcs together for the 4 sides and doors. This included the 1" wide support strips that run around the perimeters. This phase took me a Saturday and Sunday. However, I wasn't trying to hurry.
The CAD time and fitting took me around 80 to 100 hours. My hope is that if anyone else wishes to build a cab for this model tractor, these drawings will be of some help.
I don't know how many of the 4300 series tractors are the same body size that this cab could fit.