[camcam]

I built a CNC about a year back and it has been working great, but, the noise is so intense.

I would have to say it comes from the router head. I am thinking of building a new holder for the router. I do a little work with molds and was thinking of creating the complete mount out of polyurethane rubber. It is going to take a lot of rubber so I was wondering if any one has tried and if it helps.

Thanks!

[esm]

Can't say I've worked with polyurethane but I've done a fair amount of sound dampening. I would imagine most of it comes from the router, the rest comes from the router transferring vibration to the frame of your machine. Sound is vibrating air. Stop the vibrations, stop the sound.
What's your machine made out of?

To quiet the large compressor in my shop I wrapped the tank with 2 layers of roofing bituthene, then built an enclosure around it out of MDF,bituthene and egg crate foam. I used lots of screws, bracing, wood glue and caulk to seal that puppy and make it impermeable to vibration. (I used to build custom car audio, and probably will again once my machine is built)

Mass is your friend when it comes to sound dampening, do everything possible to securely attach the router to as much mass as possible.
It sounds like a great idea. If only you could plug those darn vent holes in the router.
Post some pics once it's done.:banana:

[ger21]

Two things you can do. If cutting with 1/4" or smaller bits, the bits will make a lot of high pitched noise while cutting. Using larger 3/8" or bigger bits will get rid of the high pitched noise.

The other thing is to use a variable speed router at the lower speed settings.

[camcam]

The machine is made of MDF. Thinking about rubberizing the two pieces that clamp the router. See pictures.

Thanks!

[ger21]

As I said, I don't think that's where the noise is coming from, and I don't think it will help. But feel free to try and see.

[camcam]

I will give the 3/8 bit a try. Easy enough to do. I will look into the variable speed routers as well.

Thanks!

[esm]

Excellent point ger21. Since your machine is mdf it does a good job of dampening vibration. Having the y axis rails enclosed under the table eliminates most of the chatter from bearing to rail contact (and it looks clean, too!) The plastic(?) housing on your router already does a good job of killing vibration to the machine. If your machine was all metal with a metal router, dampening would be of more benefit to you. If your router is already firmly mounted I'd start with ger21's recommendation.

What about a plexi enclosure over the machine? Hinged on the rear, spring lift gas shocks to lift it.

[camcam]

Hey ESM,

Yea thought about the cover, not only for the noise but to cut down on those airborn lung particulates.

I like the gas shock idea!

Thanks.

[CurtisU]

Could it be worn bearings in the router?

Curtis

[camcam]

This router is new, my old router ended up with a non conductive air gap in the windings. I have to admit it was worked pretty hard. Noise levels about the same between the two. Loud! Have to wear the ear warmers.

Thanks for the reply!

[CurtisU]

BTW, really slick looking machine, good luck finding the source of your noise.

Curtis

[skip20]

Try using a mini mill or mini wood lathe spindle with a belt kit.
The noise is way lower & you can get 3000 RPM out of them.
You can get a HF wood lathe for $100 now, try that spindle.
Check out HOSS mill, GREAT idea's.
I mounted a HF mill head to my table & now getting ready to build the tool charger for it with RPM gauge from Little Machine Shop.
You may need to add a brake on you Z motor with a timed relay to hold the extra weight if you lose power.

[davidmb]

I notice from the pictures that you have two speakers on your driver enclusure, how about playing some real loud music so you can't hear the spindle. ;-)

I guess try to limit the noise source as much as possible, lower spindle speed ect, but an enclosure would give the biggest improvement, I built an enclosure for my dust extract ( 1500W wet/dry vac - cheap but very very noisy ), now I can hardly tell when it's on, the noise from the air intake drownds out the vac itself. Pics on my gallery page.

[camcam]

BTW, really slick looking machine, good luck finding the source of your noise.

Curtis

Thanks Curtis, very happy with it. It's been working great and it is all due to the CNC Zone forum. I knew nothing about CNC until I came here. All the great information and ideas here helped me get it built.

Thanks to everyone here at CNC.

[diamus]

It may be worth you time to find the source of the noise. Like esm said sound is vibrating air. Find the source of the vibration and you will be more likely to eliminate the noise. You can use a mechanics stethoscope, a rubber hose, or even a piece of doweling. Turn on the spindle and place the probe on different parts of your router until you find the worst offending locaton. That is where you should start dampening if you can. On a safety note be careful not to damage your hearing. If your router is making that much noise it could be dangerous to place whatever device you use in your ears. I might start by just "feeling" for vibrations, just exercize caution.

[camcam]

Hey Diamus,

Thanks for the tip. Tonight I bought a variable speed router and a 3/8" bit as ger21 suggested. This one is a Ryobi 1 HP (starting to get a collection of these). I have to change the mount to hold it but will probably do that over the weekend.

I will probably make some rubber molds/mounts while I am building the new mount. I also think I will make a box as well to collect the dust and I am sure that will help with the noise as well but the box will probably come later. The spindle idea sounds good but that will be my last resort as it looks like it will take some work and redesign.

Thanks Again

[camcam]

OK, built the new router mount for the Bosch variable and threw in the 3/8 router bit.

Noise level down about 40%. Equal to my router table with a full size Porter Gable. I can live with that. Thanks Ger21 and everyone else!

[diamus]

I am glad your new router cut the noise. Good luck with all the rest.

[esm]

That's great! :cheers: