[freedj]

I am making drawer sides and drawer fronts for my kitchen cabients. I need to be able to flatten 16-20" wide boards out to about 32" long. My immediate need is to flatten 80sq/ft of walnut and 320sq/ft of maple and I would like to automate the process.


I have started work on a new machine to help me flatten lumber that is too big to go through my jointer and planer. I am planning on using the router sled technique to do the flattening and as i have very limted shop space, I don't want to build a dedicated machine with a large footprint.It needs to be able to setup and break down the machine quickly so that it isn't a pain to use it or the rest of the shop. It should break down into easily manageable pieces. (2 x rails, the gantry, and the control box/power supply).


I want to use as much existing tooling as possible so i am planning on using my bosch router as the spindle with a 1 1/2" surfacing bit for the planing and my cast iron table saw table as the base to setup the machine on.


Using the router planer setup, I only need an automated x & y axis. The router should clip into the gantry with its regular baseplate for Z axis control.


The side rails will hold the router at a fixed distance from the table and that is really the only critical dimension. As long as I can get those to be a consistent size and my table saw table
is flat, I should have a planar top surface for the 'gantry' to ride on. Im thinking of using a t-square type setup for the gantry. I feel like this machine doesn't need to be super rigid because it's just going to be sending the cutter head back and forth with low forces on it.


I want the controls of the machine to work by letting me specify two opposing corners of the board and hit the run button.
The machine could cut in one of two patterns. Sweep and return (like a printer), or a edges in in if the structure is rigid enough to support it.

I'll be starting as cheap as possible and upgrading pieces as they prove to be unsuitable for the task.


Pieces I have:
Massmind THB6064AH stepper drivers
NEMA 23 Steppers (3.35A, 1.8deg/step, 227oz-in bipolar)
Arduino Uno & 4x20 display
1/2 13 all thread & nuts
12v 15A power supply (borrowed from a friend)

Has anyone made a machine like this?

[freedj]

I have a sketchup I made over the holidays of my initial plan. The two X-rails would be clamped to the table saw, and the gantry would set over the top of them. Finally the router would get clipped into the cutout in the carriage.

[freedj]

I also made a mockup of the control using some tiny steppers i had. This is demoing the printer style of flattening im thinking of using. By using this patter, the cutting would always be taking place as it moves away from the clamped x-rail, never at full extension of the router from the t-square.