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Thought I'd post an update here.

My last post was in Dec 2012. I finished this machine during the Summer of 2013, right after I graduated high school.

As of Jan 2016, I'm a junior in college...

kgtiger and voltsandbolts, thanks for the feedback! I've definitely enjoyed the experience of building a CNC.
PaulRowntree, I think you are right about the mounts being a safety concern. I plan to...

I thought I would take a moment of silence to recognize the tools who made great sacrifices for this conception of this CNC machine.




http://i.imgur.com/ero7Kl.jpg...

Hello, I've finished my last axis!

http://i.imgur.com/jqALTl.jpg
It is surprisingly sturdy, not perfect but it doesn't shake while the router spins.



http://i.imgur.com/z1Junl.jpg
If you...

Good question, no great reason. The threaded rod is softer than the hard, coated bolts so it was quicker to file down the threaded rod. I've seen your build and it's spectacular!


I love your...

CarveOne, I don't have die cutting threads! But if I did, I would use them.
woo, I like your idea, my 'loose' bushing with a short area of contact is less effective than a super long 'loose'...

jasoneule,
Thanks for your advice, I switched to using a jigsaw, saved lots of time and effort!
Hearing that tapping with good taps takes under a minute is surprising. On my long list of American...

Update, lots work, some progress. I have been working on my work table and x-axis, might have a moving axis in a few days.
I drilled holes in my sacrifice work surface for t-nuts, and sunk them in...

Working on the x-axis, progress is good.
I finished my torsion box base and added the mounts for my x-axis. I put in PVC with 1/4" threaded rod inside for extra rigidity. Each mount is attached...

Today I built the torsion box base. It went quite smoothly, I squared and wood glued the edge pieces one at a time and used little 1" nails(brad nails?) to keep everything in place. Then I filled...

Thank you for your inputs, will have to think more about building proper couplers now.

Anyways, I received my 220oz.-in. dual shaft motors from MPJA and a HobbyCNC Pro board. Needless to say, it...

Check out this video on building a torsion box. Its somewhat unrelated but the techniques of adjusting the legs, leveling the surface, and checking flatness are useful. I recommend watching from...

I was wondering about alignment issues but with low rpms, I wasn't too worried. I believe you are describing a method similar to this one?...

I have been quite busy! In the last two days, I have worked for 22 hours and got 11 hours of sleep. I have gotten my parts cut at my high school's shop on their AXYZ 4008 machine....

Lets see some pictures!

Yesterday I recieved the metal I needed from a nearby machine shop(for free, thanks!), got a tour and learned tons. I really liked their Haas machines.
Today I got 42 lbs. of hardware from Enco,...

Arnell, thanks for the resources, between the Zenworks and microcarve's builds, I decided to do some last minute redesigning of my machine. I cut down about 20 MDF parts, about 75 less bolts, and...

Here's what I've been up to:
-Not going to the metal shop to pick up metal, visiting a friend's father's machine shop, who has all the scrap metal I need (saving me $60 :) ).
-Got a old Dell PC...

Hi,
I've spent a lot of time on CNCzone and other websites learning and researching CNC machines.
I've also spent a very long time drawing and designing my CNC machine on Inventor.

Right now, I...

Now your method makes sense, :D not sure how I didn't see it earlier.

For the bearings?
I added 5/8" slides, with oil-impregnated bronze bushings to be shoved into 3/4" PVC on both ends.
The...

Sorry microcarve, I must be slow today, I'm struggling to understand how the jig helps :confused:

I understand that the jig will line up the rails parallel to each other, but how does that help me...

Thank you, the more I see your mass-built builds, the less I like my design and the more I like yours.

I do have 2 questions though, how do you keep the rails parallel to each other when...

I was wondering if alignment would be an issue, sounds like one nut would do the job.
For the slides however, a total of 4 slides seems necessary for stability.



Thanks! I've done some...

Hi, I'm in the process of building a 12"x12" fixed gantry CNC machine.
For the X-axis (long axis), I have a central 3/8" threaded rod and two 3/8" drill rods.
The backlash nut is going to be a...

I did not consider clamps, I will go ahead and add another inch for that.

Also, I meant to say that my main threaded rod (not drill rod) would prevent movement of the table.

Thank you! I will build this at 2-3/4" and can always add a 1/2" or so extra if I decide I need it.

BanduraMaker & msimpson99, I was assuming the 3/8" threaded rod fixed at both ends would keep my...

Hi, I've been designing a 12"x12" CNC machine the last few weeks and have questions on the cutting height.
I plan on using the machine for PCB designing which needs very little Z-axis height,...

Another good way is to jog a stepper, from the computer, the entire length of the axis. If its a 48" axis, tell the software to move 48".
Measure the actual distance traveled and compare it to how...

Any progress?
Did you try mounting the dremel more securely, and was it successful enough?