[ahren]

Hey Orange,

Your machine looks great! Just FYI, the concerns you have about gantry placement and travel area were addressed in our early 2014 revision to the kits. These revisions also provide a larger gantry plate, move the gantry rail down a slot, and has a more solid mechanism to preload the V-bearings on the gantry and the risers. Feel free to contact us if you'd like to upgrade some of your components and we can work something out with you. If you decide to go with your own aluminum risers, best of luck with that as well.

Glad to see you're having success (and fun!) with your machine!

Best regards,

Ahren
CNCRouterParts

[OrangeClockwerk]

Hey Orange,

Your machine looks great! Just FYI, the concerns you have about gantry placement and travel area were addressed in our early 2014 revision to the kits. These revisions also provide a larger gantry plate, move the gantry rail down a slot, and has a more solid mechanism to preload the V-bearings on the gantry and the risers. Feel free to contact us if you'd like to upgrade some of your components and we can work something out with you. If you decide to go with your own aluminum risers, best of luck with that as well.

Glad to see you're having success (and fun!) with your machine!

Best regards,

Ahren
CNCRouterParts

Thanks Ahren! Actually I was very close to waiting for the newer model gantry risers but I wanted to keep building so I didn't. I saw the new one but to be honest it will be much more fun making my own. I built this for my PC modding hobby that I recently turned into a business, and I love modding things. After all the knowledge I gained building this I plan to build my own custom CNC from the ground up and design it totally myself. I cant wait. In the future I plan to build a really large custom CNC as well for production parts because I have a few designs in the works.

Anyways, I like your new design actually but I plan to use the existing carriage plate and bolt on a 8080 piece of extrusion where the bottom 90° angle brackets hold on the current 80x160. Then bolt the plate of aluminum to the outer face of the 8080 and bolt right into the edge of the gantry. This machine cuts aluminum like a champ with only a little bit of cutting oil, probably doesn't even need it but I use a little anyway. After the gantry supports are in place I will then have my full 48 by 24, I might even be able to squeeze it to 48 by 26 depending on the support design I make. Then I will make a aluminum extrusion table top so I can use coolant more often and remove and change spoil boards from MDF to HDPE with ease. Last upgrade will be to linear bearings I think they are just a much more accurate support system. I found a set of 2 bars and 4 bearing blocks at 5ft long for under 200$, which is only a tiny bit more than the v-con set up. I think vcon has too much room for error unless its either a broke piece of thick steel running the whole length, like on the bench top design you have, or if there was somehow a way to make a clamp that is one solid piece that the steel sits in, I just feel that my machine goes up and down in spots on the rails, I spent hours shimming the clamps.

Dont get me wrong, this machine is solid and I recommend it to anyone who inquires about it. I am somewhat a perfectionist and little things get at me that most people dont even notice. Building this machien taught me a lot and I cant wait to upgrade it and share my results with you guys.