4-axis CNC-router, NEMA23 steps, Gecko 540, Water cooled spindle

Hi all!

So, I've got a CNC-router project going on these days. The project is well underway, and a lot of pictures have been taken to document the whole process.

First of all, I'd like to point out that I'm a chemist, not a wood-/metal-worker. It's expected to do some stuff wrong, and other stuff much harder than needed.

Secondly, I've had ALOT of help from my friend, Robert / Vegabond. He've got his own homebuilt CNC-router aswell. Without his help, this project would never have been started. His build-thread: (in norwegian - sorry)http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81469

First off, some specifications;

Axes:
4 axes - all four driven by NEMA23 step motors (380 os/inch)
X and Y axes both have 16mm screws of 10mm pitch
Z axis has a 16mm screw of 5mm pitch
The linear rails are of the type HIWIN AG15, and the blocks (2 per rail) are of the type HIWIN AGW15CAZ0H/E1

A-axis: Some kind of rotary table - the type is not yet determined

Driver:
Gecko 540 - operating at 48V

Spindle:
1.5kW water-cooled, with some VFD (controlled by the Gecko/PC). Chineese type.

Materials:
The table was build by 40x40mm HUP (aluminum), and every other 45x45mm T-extrusion profiles. This was because of the lack of extrusion profiles. The ones we got was recieved for "free" (cost me a bottle of whiskey). They're REALLY expensive.

Gantry: Aluminum (HUP) 100x50mm.

Table legs: Alu (HUP) 40x40mm

Y-axis: 150x15mm aluminium, "folded" around the gantry.

Milling area:
Estimated to be about LxDxH: 1100 x 700 x 250mm

So, its time for some pictures :D

I believe the first set of pictures speak for themselves? Its all about cutting most of the materials for the table. Also machining of the screws, and filling up the car :)

Also, our driver is Roberts son! :D

Ok, so this next set of pics is about drilling a few hundred holes in all the HUP which make up the table.

I'm hoping these pics don't need awful lot of explaining?

Next up is is making the link between the gantry and the table.

So next is the plate in front which will hold the gecko, aswell as the X-screw and X-stepper.

The gantry is next. A million (or so :P) holes were drilled and tapped.

The HUPs where the Y-rails was going to be mounted on, was milled to give the rails a flat surface.

The Y-stepper and Y-screw needed to be mounted in the gantry aswell.

The bearing block was milled out (the pictures shows two blocks. However, only one was used in the end (the one to the right)).

Some pictures of the current state of the CNC. This is how it is today.

Much is done, but much is still to be done.

Next on our to-do-list is making the rest of the Y-axis. This require a lot of milling!!

When I recieved the 1.5kW water-cooled spindle, I was of course eager to try it out right away.

However, to our surprise, the grounding was terrible!! It was near non-existant.

So we opened it up, and shockingly, the grounding wire was just put loosly in there. We screwed it tightly to one of the screws, which gave a solid grounding.

Wow! You have access to some great machinery. This is a VERY nice build, capable of some serious work when finished. GOOD electronics choice--It should do well over 12000 mm/minute rapids--If that long 5/8" screw does not whip.

Thanks for sharing!

CR.

Thanks for the feedback dude :)

Yes, my friend Robert has these machines at his work - and luckily hes allowed to use them freely in his spare time!

I hope we can manage the "whipping" of the screw by mounting it in the other end aswell. We're not sure how secure we're going to fasten it. So far I have two ideas. One is a bearing at the end securly tightened in a piece of aluminium. And the second idea is the same, but with a spacer of rubber between the aluminium and the bearing to allow the rubber to absorb some movement.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vaffel

I hope we can manage the "whipping" of the screw by mounting it in the other end aswell. We're not sure how secure we're going to fasten it. So far I have two ideas. One is a bearing at the end securly tightened in a piece of aluminium. And the second idea is the same, but with a spacer of rubber between the aluminium and the bearing to allow the rubber to absorb some movement.

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This will probably work. Whichever you choose, make sure there is a way to adjust the screw end for alignment.

CR.

Yes, that was the plan. Both the height and sideways. I also believe I'm going for the rubber-spacer-plan aswell.

On another note, I'd like to recommend buying from Ahren Johnson at cncrouterparts.com!! I got my electronics kit (steps, gecko, cables and limit switches) from him. However, when the gecko arrived, the A-axis was dead. The G540 has a red LED for each internal G250, and this was not lit at the A-axis when I tried it out.

Of course, I contacted Mr. Johnson and told him about the problem. Not once did he suspect me of not telling the truth! He contacted Gecko, and within a business week I had a new G250 module in my hands!! 2 minutes after, the gecko was up and running as it should.

This is probably the best customer service I've ever experienced :)

I just thought Gecko and cncrouterparts deserved some credit!!

So now the CNC is finished!!

Heres a video of it. Unfortunatly - we speak norwegian in the video, but hopefully it would prove interessting anyways.

Pictures will be posted later today!

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W752qK180Ls"]YouTube - My friends homebuilt cnc[/nomedia]

Ok, then some pictures!!

Hi, you have a very nice machine, and fast work as well.

I didn' t notice it the first time I read the thread, but in the pictures in the first post, you are not wearing any safety glasses. It would be very sad to have built such a nice machine and then to loose your vision.

Thanks dude :)

We allways have eye protection on. And the person you see in the photos is my friend, Robert. When on the band saw, its not needed because of the very slow speed of the band. And on the lathe, the lathe isn't actually running while photographing. But thanks for the concern :)