Hey guys,
I’m looking to build a fairly stout moving gantry CNC in the 24”x 36”x 6” +/- range. I basically just started my research but I know (or at least think I know) that I want it to have rigid rails and ballscrews. I’m looking for pretty high accuracy/ repeatability, .001” or better, so I want to use sound techniques and hardware. I want it to be made from aluminum and steel; no wood or plastic. I’m willing to spend somewhere around $3-4k or so building the machine, motors and controller. I have access to heavy duty lathes and milling machines, as well as a pretty well stocked tool shop and welders.
The general design would be something similar to the Ironman by Blurry Customs utilizing some 8020 and steel/aluminum plate.
http://www.blurrycustoms.com/Images/IronMan%201.jpg
The purpose of this machine will be primarily for small inlays, such as you’d find in pool cues and jewelry boxes, tooling diameters would be down to .020" and smaller. I will eventually add a 4th axis attachment, mainly for indexing but also for rotational carving. I’m not concerned with spindles just yet, as I’ll likely use the Kress motor I’m currently using for live tooling on my lathe. Right now my primary goal is the frame and controls.
Currently I have a very limited knowledge of what is required regarding motors, drives, gear reductions and what it takes to figure out what size motors to use, as well as what size and thread ballscrews I’ll need.
I’ve tried to find some build threads for something similar but I find it hard to locate that kind of info here. This site has far too much info to weed through and I can’t seem to be specific enough to fine-tune my searches, so I’m hoping someone here can point me to a thread or two that could get me started or maybe even some plans I can use, if something like that is available.
Anybody here care to help a newbie out?
Regards,
Frank