First of all, I'm sorry if this is posted in the wrong place.
I've been lurking here for a while on CNCzone and trying to soak up as much as possible, but now I need advice.
I run/own a small 2 man manufacturing company and now have a somewhat urgent need (within 2-3 months) for a "specialized" machine to accurately slice a round bar stock of crystal into slices or wafers. The thickness of the slices is important. I am trying to keep them within +- 0.0003" of a target thickness.
I have attached a basic sketch of what I think the machine is to look like. I have specifically omitted the coolant drainage/collection and splash issues for now. Please look at the .PDF as it makes things clearer (I hope).
I envision a basic machine consisting of 2 axis'. An accurate/precision axis to step the bar along to create the slice thickness (8 inches of travel min.) and a far less accurate axis (3 inches of travel min.) to push the crystal bar into a position stationary diamond blade and then retract it when the cut is done. Cutting will be water cooled. The concept is very similar to a tile/brick wet saw where you push the object into the blade.
Each axis will be driven by either a stepper or servo and controlled probably by Gecko's and then Mach2 or other comparable software.
I am a Mech. Eng. and have a good bit of experience with designing building fixtures, jigs, parts, etc. I have previous experience with the blades/motors/etc and sawing of this material. I have minimal experience with stepper/servo motors and controls.
My plan is to try to purchase (new or used, ebay etc) either a complete 2 axis assembly or each axis seperately and join them. To fabricate the bar stock holder and mount it to the uppermost stage. To build the motor/blade mount myself and mount it and the two stages to a rigid base plate. To purchase a preassembled Gecko/controller/PS box. To use as much preassembled stuff as possible to save time and compensate for my lack of experience in this area.
I am doing this because machines designed for crystal wafering are typically $20K to $30K used!, and old, and oversized for what I need, etc, etc.
Does my plan sound reasonable?? I am expecting to spend $2k to $4K to do this.
I would be willing to let someone else construct it for me, if they had the experience and the price was reasonable.
Any and all comments/questions are welcome.
Thanks for your time,
Andy M.
(Ga. Tech, BSME '91)