Digineural Posted July 17, 2013 Report Posted July 17, 2013 that moment when your machines procreate Quote
artyman Posted July 18, 2013 Author Report Posted July 18, 2013 Now construction starts, First with the slider... pressing tee nuts into their recesses before I can fit the linear bearings - these are where the tool mount attaches. Next the main body of the motor mount is glued and screwed to the base. Thanks to the parts being CNC cut... it fits perfectly square. Then comes a dry-fit of the rest of the hardware to make sure my calculations and cutting is accurate... All looks good and the nut is in perfect alignment to attach to the back of the slider... Adding the side supports for the motor mount, and test fitting the tool mount shows that all looks good to go for final assembly and fitting to the machine... Quote
artyman Posted July 24, 2013 Author Report Posted July 24, 2013 (edited) Continuing the rebuild..... I've removed the old Z-axis, and found that my DIY anti-backlash nut had split between the threaded inserts, which was causing the sticking. The first parts to assemble were the Y-rails onto the rear of the Z-axis, then I could fit the leadscrew bearings. (space was tight, and the lower bearing covered two of the mounting bolts on the lower set of linear bearings) At this point I attached everything necessary to the tool mount - tee-nuts for the spindle mount, and one of the 2 laser line modules. The slider assembly was then fitted to the Z-base, the leadscrew and nut fitted, and the leadscrew trimmed to size (I only had to cut about 25mm off the length I bought :smile: ) The whole Z-axis/Y rails assembly is now fitted to the CNC, and a new home switch mounting constructed. The last pic shows that I've achieved the design goals for the extra clearance. Initial testing has shown a rapid rate of 1800mm/min and a stroke length of 105mm (previously 60mm)... a significant improvement over the previous incarnation !!! :happy: :hyper: Edited July 24, 2013 by artyman Quote
artyman Posted July 26, 2013 Author Report Posted July 26, 2013 It's crunch time !!! Time to see how it cuts With a V-carving bit in the spindle, and a test program loaded... see the results for yourself.... ..and here's some stills of the results.. Quote
artyman Posted July 28, 2013 Author Report Posted July 28, 2013 The final part of these planned upgrades is now fitted.... LASERS !!!! The Y-alignment laser was fitted when I made the tool mount and is an integral part of it, now I need to mount the X-alignment one... Yes... I know the mount doesn't look like it's in line with the spindle mount... and it isn't - but the laser IS square to it. With the lasers mounted and wired up... time to test they work with my wiring... ... and they do. The final step is focusing and alignment. I decided to have them focused when the Z-axis is in the home position, as they are not needed while cutting, so being out of focus in any other position is not a problem. Firstly, create some G-code to engrave a crosshair that I know is in line with the X & Y axes, and the origin at the centre. I did this with a 0.3mm 90deg engraving bit at a depth of 0.2mm. Now with the tool at x=0, y=0, and z=home, I can switch the lasers on and line them up with the engraved lines. This way I can use the laser lines to aid in positioning my workpiece as well as having a visual reference of the tool position. Quote
artyman Posted September 17, 2013 Author Report Posted September 17, 2013 After much experimentation and tweaking of the CNC I believe it's finally working properly... so I decided to make myself something small that uses multiple tools... Starting with a 6mm end mill to pocket the recess... then a 3mm, 90deg 0.3mm engraving bit to carve the design and put the chamfer on the outer edge.... finally a 3mm end mill for the cutout... YES... it's a COASTER !!!!! Quote
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