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  1. #61
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    12
    Quote Originally Posted by kiwibrick View Post
    Hmmm I think I might have to invest in one of these Kress spindles to supplement my router for cutting smaller stuff, I've had a really hard time finding a spindle/router that has collets available for the smaller tools in 240V and not ridiculously expensive.
    Hi, I bought one of these instead of using a standard wood router for the following reasons. Double bearing in the spindle end. (Not just 1 like a standard router). Electronic speed control so that when you start cutting the router up's the speed to maintain the set rpm. Also the range is 5000 - 25000 rpm so can it can run at a reasonable rate or slow it right down so that you won't melt perspex/polycarbonate etc.

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    61
    I have a SuperPID so speed control shouldn't be a problem on either my wood router or the Kress, they do look like nice spindles.
    They have some ice mounts there too and at a reasonable price, guess I better put one of these in the budget! :banana:

  3. #63
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    532
    ice mounts?

    Wouldn't they become problematic wen the spindle warms up?

  4. #64
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    61

  5. #65
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    54
    Yea I wouldn't get a Kress again with the cost of collets and such. It'll be a water cooled spindle for my next build for sure.

    Spent some time with my new clamping nut I ordered from the same guy as I got the collets from and it seems to be different to the official one. Bit thicker ring inside which does now seem to grab the collets, I can tighten them and still get them out.

    I've got a feeling though after the stresses of cutting and changing tools a few times the eccentric is going to wear down. It seems like a lame way for the collet to be held in, don't know why the couldn't have just copied the exact Kress collet design! :tired:

    Anyone know a good online store to get some nice and fairly cheap end mills? Thought I might start stocking up on V carving bits, ball end mills, end mills for cutting aluminium and a few others.

    EDIT: Actually speaking of my next build I put together some designs for my next CNC, not in love with either of them but I'm still hunting the zone for ideas. Here are the designs:
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails cnc 1 (Medium).jpg   cnc 2 (Medium).jpg  

  6. #66
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    532
    Quote Originally Posted by joshendy View Post
    I've got a feeling though after the stresses of cutting and changing tools a few times the eccentric is going to wear down. It seems like a lame way for the collet to be held in, don't know why the couldn't have just copied the exact Kress collet design! :tired:
    Until I actually had my spindle I didn't get why the eccentric ring was so important, but from looking at the ones inside the ER11 nuts I don't think they'd wear down, is the one in yours particularly thin? The only load on the eccentric is when you're loosening the nut from what I can see...


    Quote Originally Posted by joshendy View Post
    Anyone know a good online store to get some nice and fairly cheap end mills? Thought I might start stocking up on V carving bits, ball end mills, end mills for cutting aluminium and a few others.
    ctctools.biz has a good range and reasonable prices. If you're looking for standard carbide square mills there's a couple of ebay sellers who are cheaper. I've got some packs of 10 from 'carbidechiu' on ebay and they were cheap and do the job.

    The only issue I've had with cheap carbide tools off ebay was some engraving tools that where the tip was not on-center. Didn't notice till I got my new machine, I assumed it was the crap spindle I had.

    It seems that if you want square cut end mills there are lots of options, but for other tools you need to break out the $ a bit faster.

    For v-carve tools I was recommended to http://McJing.com.au but I've never ordered any from there yet. They list some on their site and I called up for confirmation on how they are constructed and the chap was helpful but really didn't seem to understand what I was asking.

    I've been using a NZ made evacut 90 degree carbide tool which cost $65 from Mitre10 which is OK for large sign stuff but it leaves a nasty 'notch' where the two carbide blades touch which shows up in smaller work. Per the photo attached.

    I also tried a (very) cheap tool from bunnings but it was junk and flew apart when I tried to take a 5mm deep cut from MDF at 2m/min. Luckily I had the dust shoe 'door' closed!

    I've got a guy from By-Ray Cutting Tool Specialists visiting me at the office today to show me some options in V-Carve tools. Picking they wont be cheap but I'm using them for billable work so I can build it in.

    Quote Originally Posted by joshendy View Post
    EDIT: Actually speaking of my next build I put together some designs for my next CNC, not in love with either of them but I'm still hunting the zone for ideas. Here are the designs:
    So, you've decided your hobby is making CNC machines then, not making things with CNC machines?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails crop shortbread.jpg  

  7. #67
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    54
    Quote Originally Posted by kiwichris View Post
    Until I actually had my spindle I didn't get why the eccentric ring was so important, but from looking at the ones inside the ER11 nuts I don't think they'd wear down, is the one in yours particularly thin? The only load on the eccentric is when you're loosening the nut from what I can see...
    Yea the stupid collets I got only bite onto like 0.1mm of the eccentric ring. Therefore with enough turning force they may just rotate down through the ring scratching it along the way. Its what they did to my official Kress clamping nut.

    Quote Originally Posted by kiwichris View Post
    So, you've decided your hobby is making CNC machines then, not making things with CNC machines?
    Yea haha I hope not! I worry that myself sometimes. I think when I get around to building my first guitar I'll start to realise what I've got infront of me is a good CNC. I just keep dreaming of having a strong, well constructed, round linear rails, ballscrew CNC machine. I think I'll get over it though and start focusing on my CNC.

  8. #68
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    532
    ROFL...

    I don't think you'll have any real issues with your machine, from the photos it looks good and solid and if you can make that dust shoe out of acrylic you can do anything you want in wood.

    There are a few folks on this forum who clearly are focused on making the worlds best DIY CNC rather than making things with them which is fine. The trick is to recognise when your machine is good enough for what you wanted to make in the first place and stop fiddling with it!

    I got out of the design-build-design-build cycle and although I'm now broke I think it was the right decision. Otherwise I'd still be designing and building in two years time the way I was going!!!

  9. #69
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    54
    Quote Originally Posted by kiwichris View Post
    ROFL...

    I don't think you'll have any real issues with your machine, from the photos it looks good and solid and if you can make that dust shoe out of acrylic you can do anything you want in wood.

    There are a few folks on this forum who clearly are focused on making the worlds best DIY CNC rather than making things with them which is fine. The trick is to recognise when your machine is good enough for what you wanted to make in the first place and stop fiddling with it!

    I got out of the design-build-design-build cycle and although I'm now broke I think it was the right decision. Otherwise I'd still be designing and building in two years time the way I was going!!!
    Yea when you're doing the whole DIY thing, your CNC is NEVER finished! I've still got a bunch to do on my CNC, maybe then I can be happy with it.

    But yea I envy your machine, being able to jump right into what you got it for. Don't envy being broke, but in saying that hobbies are meant to make you broke. If they aren't then its not a "real" hobby haha.

    Managed to rough up the brush on my dust shoe and bend the thick bristles of the brush a bit and now it folds under the pressure of the Z coming down much easier. Hopefully I'm going to do a little test cut in some MDF of a half scale Flying V guitar, I might record it and throw it up on youtube.

  10. #70
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    54
    Well its been a while without an update, I've been busy doing nothing. I finally got off my ass and went out and found some nice clear flexible PVC material for my new dust skirt. It works a treat, will be great while cutting plastics and metal and I'll use the brush strip one strictly for wood.

    I've made a nice video of me cutting out the new dust skirt with my fancy new camera. Well it's not that fancy but it does record 720p HD video so go enjoy some high-def CNC'ing.

    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YHAqdXDTdM]DIY CNC router cutting dust skirt - YouTube[/ame]
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails SAM_0038 (Medium).JPG   SAM_0042 (Medium).JPG   SAM_0044 (Medium).JPG   SAM_0045 (Medium).JPG  

    SAM_0051 (Medium).JPG  

  11. #71
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    532
    Ummmmmm.

    Why did you not run the vacuum cleaner _while_ you were cutting it, rather than after the mess was made? At least when I did that for a youtube video I took the shoe off!

  12. #72
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    54
    Quote Originally Posted by iela13euoiw View Post
    I know that they are dearer than the ebay ones. However if you're having so much trouble getting bits out then how much is it going to cost you if you accidentally damage your spindle one day trying to remove a bit?

    For me having a high quality collett means that I know that the bit is well clamped and that the runout is minimal which equates to good machining.
    Pictures don't seem to be working. The new clamping nut I ordered seems to have fixed my situation, the bit goes in well and comes out first go. With any luck my problem is sorted for now. If I do run into the problem again I may well get higher quality collets or just change spindles.


    Quote Originally Posted by kiwichris View Post
    Ummmmmm.

    Why did you not run the vacuum cleaner _while_ you were cutting it, rather than after the mess was made? At least when I did that for a youtube video I took the shoe off!
    Haha the vacuum is on, the Kress spindle is really quiet as its running around just 12000 RPM. All you can hear in the video is the dust vac. That video also was the very first time I used my dust shoe, I was keen to see if it even worked. I think it worked okay but yea that dust vac really didn't suck up much, maybe a proper dust collector for xmas might be an idea.

    Cheers,
    Josh

  13. #73
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    54
    Hello, just thought I'd post a quick update. Haven't been able to do much on the CNC due to all my time being spent finishing off my degree.

    I've brought some end mills and finished my designs for my cable carrier mounts to hold/support the cable chain to the machine. I've also got the designs finished that will replace temporary parts on the machine.

    I'll post some pictures when I get some work finished but until then I put together two videos showing the process of building my CNC machine. Figured it was much nicer than reading through a post and loading all the images. Also most all the pictures in the video are narrated so you can understand whats going on.

    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLfHb9LRWuc]Building my CNC Router - Part I - YouTube[/ame]

    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE0xENr-Uwk]Building my CNC Router - Part II - YouTube[/ame]
    http://www.cnc4everyone.com - Help and articles on everything CNC
    http://www.joshendyblog.net - My personal blog with in-depth info on all my projects

  14. #74
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    5516
    Cool videos! And once again, great build!

  15. #75
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Posts
    1183
    Great build I like it and I second it cool videos..


    Lou
    http://www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-cnc-router-table-machines/140832-cnc-software.html

  16. #76
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    1955
    Great build and videos. I really like the method you used to bond your tubes.

    Since you are gathering ideas for another router anyway, my suggestions:
    - Try to design the frame so it also becomes an enclosure for the router. (dust, noise)
    - Consider making a fixed gantry / moving table design version if the goal is stiffening it up
    - In theory, if you run the vertical tubes on the sidewalls all the way to the bottom, this is slightly better than ending them on the side of the lower tube. Not a big deal though.
    - Some people like to keep all of the screws, etc covered to keep the dust out.

    Easier said than done. Nonetheless, I really like your build.

    Take care.

    Harry

  17. #77
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    54
    Thanks for the compliments! I really liked watching the videos myself, good reminder of how much work and time I put into this machine.

    Quote Originally Posted by harryn View Post
    Great build and videos. I really like the method you used to bond your tubes.

    Since you are gathering ideas for another router anyway, my suggestions:
    - Try to design the frame so it also becomes an enclosure for the router. (dust, noise)
    - Consider making a fixed gantry / moving table design version if the goal is stiffening it up
    - In theory, if you run the vertical tubes on the sidewalls all the way to the bottom, this is slightly better than ending them on the side of the lower tube. Not a big deal though.
    - Some people like to keep all of the screws, etc covered to keep the dust out.

    Easier said than done. Nonetheless, I really like your build.

    Take care.

    Harry
    Thanks for the tips, I've noted them down. My next build will be very different to this one. When I get the room I'll be retrofitting a mill and create much bigger, beefier parts for the new CNC. I'll also be constructing a steel frame and using much higher quality components like ball screws, thk linear rails and water cooled spindle.

    That will be a few years off yet, but who knows... I can get really impatient sometimes!
    http://www.cnc4everyone.com - Help and articles on everything CNC
    http://www.joshendyblog.net - My personal blog with in-depth info on all my projects

  18. #78
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    54
    I managed to get some time in the workshop yesterday. Got some 25mm thick HDPE down on the table and cut out a bunch of spacers that I'll be using to mount the long lengths of L shaped aluminium extrusion to the machine which the cable carriers will ride along.

    Again thought I'd make a video. This video shows some cool angles of the CNC while cutting and you can see how effective the flexible clear PVC dust skirt works at containing the chips. Even with my cheap dust vac, when the dust shoe gets low enough it picks up all the chips/dust surrounding the cut.

    The clear PVC has already proven its use. When doing my first cut I forgot to properly tighten the collet and while running the profile toolpath the tool popped out! I saw sparks through the clear PVC and immediately bashed the E-stop button I've got mounted on the wall next to me.

    If I hadn't seen the sparks I'm not so sure I would have noticed anything went wrong. Couldn't hear anything through my ear muffs and the dust vac running loudly as always.

    I was very lucky, the tool managed a pretty quick escape from the collet and nothing was damaged. The sparks were from the collet nut spinning across the tip of the end mill which was stuck in the material. Even more amazing the job wasn't ruined and I was able to return to zero and continue the cut (with the end mill properly secured this time)

    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aC_eW1pggg]CNC Router - Cutting HDPE plastic - YouTube[/ame]
    http://www.cnc4everyone.com - Help and articles on everything CNC
    http://www.joshendyblog.net - My personal blog with in-depth info on all my projects

  19. #79
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    54
    Hi, thought I'd post another update. Haven't been doing to much lately, been busy finishing University and unfortunately just recently have been diagnosed with an eye disease called Keratoconus. I've got eye surgery next week to help stop the progression of the disease so I decided to spend some time in the workshop to take my mind of it.

    I found my little cross laser I had laying around for a few months which I had intended to use as a quick zeroing system for the CNC. I already had the mounting hole in the spindle mount so I thought I'd wire it up and see how it works.

    Took longer than I'd thought. Bloody wires broke off the laser and I had to resolder some new wires. Also ended up adding a M5 grub screw to lock the laser in place.

    Here's a quick video showing how it looks:

    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1h3mpoVXpE]CNC - Zeroing Cross Laser - YouTube[/ame]
    http://www.cnc4everyone.com - Help and articles on everything CNC
    http://www.joshendyblog.net - My personal blog with in-depth info on all my projects

  20. #80
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Posts
    1036
    Nice video. Good luck with your surgery.

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