Hey all, long time lurker here.
After years of looking, thinking, pondering, money-saving, etc... I have finally started.
(Money is a bit tight at the moment, so it may take a while to finish though. Isn't that always the way?)
The general plan is a moving gantry system using aluminium extrusion as the frame. I'm hoping to mainly cut wood with a guitar being a definite goal, but I'm also hoping to do some light aluminium stuff at some point. So far I have bought the following:
Ballscrews - from 'solar.jean' on eBay
1 x RM1605-350 ballscrew + nut
1 x RM1605-550 ballscrew + nut
1 x RM1605-850 ballscrew + nut
Supported rails - from 'solar.jean' on eBay
2 x SBR16-300 rails with 4 x SBR16UU bearings
2 x SBR16-500 rails with 4 x SBR16UU bearings
2 x SBR20-800 rails with 4 x SBR20UU bearings
Spindle - from 'solar.jean' on eBay
1.5KW air-cooled spindle + Huanyang VFD + Mount
Stepper motors + driver - from Homann Designs
Gecko G540 kit with 3 x 387oz/in. nema23 motors
Motor couplers - from 'wholesale-eshop' on eBay
3 x 6.35x10mm helical couplers
For the framing, I was going to go with AME System 40 series. I'm doing a rough design now so I can order enough.
Anyway, here is the general gist of the design I'm planning out. It's all 80x40mm extrusion so far. I'm going to be adding gussets where possible to any 90 degree angles.
I'm currently trying to extend the Y axis slightly to fit a guitar body. I think I under-bought on the rails and ballscrew, but the package for the 3 axes was a great deal.
I haven't decided on software yet, but I'm at least thinking of Mach3 for the control.
There is going to be a fair margin of winging it on this build, I think... I'm open to any comments or suggestions.