Build your own tools

[artyman]

Hi,

As the plans for my (upcoming) MBLC required a lot of CNC work doing, I thought to myself... Why not build one?

So... several hours of internet browsing later, and jaw-dropping of the prices of kits, I started out to design my own to the size i wanted.

The design spec was simple - to be able to rout a panel the size of a 6u rack panel.

The process of sourcing parts began, from various sources, Ebay being the most prominent, and the design started.

Being on a tight budget, the most expensive parts - lead screws and ballnuts were replaced with standard threaded bar and a clever arrangement of wood block and threaded inserts to reduce backlash.

Now building it starts...

Beginning with the z-axis and gantry:-

Edited October 7, 2012 by artyman

[Shuriken]

Nice, me envious :homestar:

[taximan]

I was going to order a kit from America at a cost of around $500 how does this compare with your costs?

Looking good by the way.

cheers

Paul

edit ...I just noticed you are in leeds..................better make sure it's locked up safe at night as I am in Sheffield :)....joking

Edited October 6, 2012 by taximan

[rosch]

amazing work!

i need a clear screen for my 6582 hahaha

but seriously, you did an awesome job. knowing how crooked woodwork can be done, this looks like an advertisement saying buy me

:thumbsup:

[artyman]

Thank you

It's a steady process having to cut and drill each piece accurately, and believe it or not... I've only had to re-make 1 piece!!

The advantage of a kit is that 90% of the hard work has been done, it only has to be assembled. The disadvantage is that there's limited options on what size machine you can build, I've built mine to fit the space I have.

Mine has cost me somewhere in the region of £250-300 so far, and there's still some bits to buy... e.g. drag chains to keep the cabling tidy, and channel for it to lay into. I'm expecting the total cost to be about £300.

btw, I used to live in Sheffield... went to University there.

Rob

@ rosch.. cheers, if this turns out to be accurate enough, I may be able to do the odd midiboxer a favour or 2. :wink:

[taximan]

Hiya,

This is the one I was looking at but the table is too small,apparently bigger machines are in the pipeline though.

http://www.mydiycnc.com/catalog/3

cheers

Paul

[artyman]

yeah.. I was originally looking at something similar, but it's far too small for what I want, and kits for the size machine I'm building were looking at being £800-1000+

[smokestacksproductions]

I wish lumenlabs was still around, they had one with a 19"x19" cutting deck for under a thousand...

I really don't like the idea of a CNC router that uses wood for the frame. I think extruded aluminum (like 80/20) would be much more accurate and long-lasting

[artyman]

Yes, you are right that aluminium would be more long lasting, but I've done a LOT of online research into this and most DIY CNC kits and plans use wooden frames, so it's not an un-viable option.

I don't see any reason why a wooden-framed CNC should be less accurate than an aluminium framed one. Built correctly, a wooden frame can be perfectly stiff enough to satisfy the needs of lightweight CNC work.

The other reason I decided on a wood frame was cost - as I don't have the tools to machine the sort of size pieces needed, I would have had to get them custom made, which would more than double the price tag.

[artyman]

The Z-axis is now threaded up, and the slider is moving smoothly :frantics:

The gantry (X-axis) now has the bottom brace fitted and is ready to have the Z-axis mounted, and also start fitting to the base section.

Next job is the motor mounts... make all 3, and fit to the Z-axis, and then the X-axis, once the z-axis assembly is mounted and moving smoothly.

Edited October 9, 2012 by artyman

[artyman]

Test fitting of the gantry assembly to the baseboard, mainly to check my marking out is good before drilling.

All is as planned there, and the gantry runs smoothly on it's rails.

next was a dry fit of the rest of the base assembly, and clearances are looking good there.

time now to drill all the bolt holes , including a 9x6 grid on the table to fit 54 t-nuts, for clamping points.

[Hawkeye]

Very nice project :-)

[Lamouette]

Do you think, that will be suffisant to cut 3mm Aluminium sheet at final ? like schaffer job ? :flowers:

[artyman]

I'm not sure how well it will perform with metals, though I'm hoping it will be able to cut Aluminium and Brass.

It will be the subject of some very careful experimentation. :thumbsup:

@Hawkeye - thank you, I'm hoping all the effort will be worth it.

Edited October 17, 2012 by artyman

[artyman]

Well.. after a busy period at work, and looking for a 'new' car, I find myself back on leave, and time to do some more work on this.

Now that I've dry fit the pieces of the base section, it's time to drill and bolt everything down.

Also at this time I've drilled a grid on the table and fitted T-nuts to the underside for screw-in clamps. Note also the 2 braces on the underside of the table to reduce any flexing.

These additions to the original design, fortunately were possible without interfering with the bottom brace of the gantry

EDIT

Also showing detail of the thrust bearings used on all of the lead screws.

Edited November 7, 2012 by artyman

[artyman]

The end is just about in sight.....

Stepper motors are now fitted. Just the limit switches to fit, then wire it all up!!!.....

.... and hope it all works !!

[artyman]

Now that I have the microswitches, and the E Stop switch, it's time, with a little help from my daughter, to fit those.

The X and Y axes were an easy fit, One set screwed directly to the structure, and the other needed just a simple L-bracket to fit.

The Z axis, however was a bit more challenging. Although I got subminiature microswitches, they were too wide for direct actuation as the other axes are arranged, so a little inventive thinking was called for.

As I had roller actuators, I decided to cut chamfers on the Z-slider, and mount them inline. This also meant that i had to file a notch in the side wall so they wouldn't interfere with the tool mount (when fitted) as it passed over.

[artyman]

The fixed wiring on the base section (X axis motor, X limit switches & E Stop switch) is now complete....

Next is the fun part... all the wiring that feeds through the drag chains.

[artyman]

Finished wiring now.... time to power up and test !!!!

[taximan]

Hiya,

Looking good so far,good luck for the live test....................are you going to hide under the desk?...............................just in case (just kidding)

cheers

Paul

[artyman]

Video of the first test, after lots of head scratching during the configuration of it all...

[artyman]

Finally, after my busiest time of the year at work... I've managed to find time to fabricate the tool mount and fit my spindle.

 

I'm incredibly pleased... not only is the tool solid in the mount, but it's also perfectly perpendicular to the table !! :smile: :D :happy: :hyper:

 

Next step is to buy the full version of Mach3, then I can start cutting!!!

 

 

[artyman]

Cutting has started !!!!  I now have a working, completely self-designed and built CNC router ! :smile: :hyper:

 

http://youtu.be/NqMiZW-_tUQ

[artyman]

First job for the CNC.... make some clamps....

 

Simple job to start with, but they came out really well...

 

every pass around the profiles was perfectly aligned....not bad for a machine made from mostly reclaimed scrap MDF !!! :wink:

[Hawkeye]

I like it very much! Good quality cuts! And with the thickness of the wood you managed to cut, I am quite sure, it would work on aluminum or thin carbon fibre plates, too!

 

The best thing is now, that you can reinforce parts of your CNC with its own self-made parts, if you think it is necessary... a self-improving machine - skynet is online :-).

 

Would you give us a short list of parts, ie. stepper motors/control logic kit used in your CNC?

 

Many greetings!

Peter

Edited January 10, 2013 by Hawkeye