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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    392

    Steel frame Ganrty router build

    Hi All,

    I have a number of projects on the go at the moment: X3 cnc conversion (has been hanging around for a while), Small DIY cnc lathe build (which is almost finished and I will create a thread for) and my main focus: A Steel frame 4' x 2' envelope gantry style router.

    Below is a rough CAD mockup:
    Attachment 212838

    I have all the parts to finish the build including: 25mm THK rails, 15mm THK rails, 40 Hiwin rails, Chinese C7 ballscrews for all axes, 3KW air cooled spindle, NEMA 23 steppers etc etc.

    I was going to build this machine from 8020 equivalent but after considering the cost I decided to get a local welding/engineering business to build the frame from 80mm sq tube (about 1/10th the cost of Alu).

    And just to prove this isn't a vapour ware project:

    Attachment 212840

    I will post more pics as work progresses.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    392
    Another quick pic showing it mocked up a little more. I cut the large Aluminium riser blocks for the Y axis gantry:
    Click image for larger version. 

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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    100
    Very nice! This will be a very very smooth and rigid setup

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    100
    Quote Originally Posted by uawgmsmco View Post
    Very nice! This will be a very very smooth and rigid setup
    I actually just ordered a full set of ballscrews and rails(linear shaft-type) last night for my router build as well. I'm subscribing! wOOt wOOt! :wee:

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    392
    I was going to use round supported rails but with the saving of the steel over Aluminium I managed to bag some really good used linear rails. The 25mm THK rails are really heavy duty.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    100
    yawww! very nice...definitely an aluminum-capable machine!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    1316
    Nice build, should be really sturdy.

    With the aluminum block risers how much clearance will you have underneath the spindle + bit.

    Jason

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    392
    Clearance between the top of the table and the bottom of the Gantry is 100mm. The Spindle has 100mm travel and the bottom of the Spindle will be 25mm above the table at it's lowest without a cutter chucked. I plan on adding additional mounting holes, both higher and lower on the Z axis spindle plate to be able to tune this though.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    1316
    The additional mounting holes will excellent. Nothing is more annoying than being just shy of being able to pass freely over your cutting material. Some of those jobs turn out to be whales that you have to pass on to competitors.

    I will be looking forward to more pics of your progress. The machine design is simple and looks like it will be very rigid.

    Jason

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    392
    A little more progress.
    I have fitted machine jacks to the bottom of the frame legs so I can level it.
    I have also drilled and tapped the X axis risers blocks and screwed them to the X rail cartridges.
    Ignore the extra holes, they're there for a reason. I don't know what it is yet but I'm sure I'll find a use for them!
    I have also drilled one end of the gantry and test fitted. It is held on to each riser with 4 M10 cap head bolts and a 10mm locating pin.
    Once I have drilled the other end of the gantry I will squared it up and use the gantry to position the opposite X rail, ensuring parallelism.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Click image for larger version. 

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  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    100
    This is awesome. I'm not saying you should feel obligated to make a ton of progress and take plenty of pics for us.....but you should. :banana::wee:

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    100
    I just noticed that you actually doweled your gantry's crossbeam to the aluminum bearing blocks. very nice!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    392
    Some more progress. I have drilled the other end of my gantry steel and bolted it to the x axis riser blocks. After squaring, this has allowed me to position the opposite x axis rail and start to bolt down. The video below shows how smooth and free the gantry movement is:


  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    392
    I'm thinking of adding a 20mm thick aluminium plate as the base machine bed (1500mm x 800mm). I would then add a second smaller sacrificial board to this based on the cutting dimensions. A plate this size will weigh in the region of 65Kgs, so will help damp down the structure.

    Anyone have any thoughts on this?

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    392
    We'll I've ordered two aluminium plates to make up the machines bed.
    The first is 1500mm x 800mm x 20mm and will be the main bottom plate and the second is 1240mm x 640mm x 10mm and will be mounted on top.
    The idea will be to skim both plates and drill and tap "a lot" of M6 mounting / hold down points.
    The travels on the machine will be 1245x806x120mm and the cutter will reach over one end so all the dead space will be at the other end. The space between the rails is 840mm so the will be a 20mm gap either side of the table, this means that the cutter will be able to get to three edges of the main table and all the edges of the smaller secondary table. The thinking behind the second plate is that it is slightly bigger than a standard quarter sheet of material.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    392
    Been working on mocking up the x axis screw and y axis rails.
    I bored out one of the X axis ballnut carriers and checked for alignment:
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Attachment 214252

    The Y axis should come together reasonably fast, the bottom rail is fairly true but the upper rail is cantered out at the top due to a bow in that face of the steel box section. The other side is better so I will probably reverse the gantry. I'm not going for any kind of super tolerances on this machine, I'm just trying to balance functionality, cost and accuracy.
    Attachment 214254

    Rough cut the riser blocks for the Z axis rails to create room for the ballscrew, should be a nice strong compact unit.
    Attachment 214256

    If the Y axis rail mounting is a problem then I will probably bolt a aluminium plate to the gantry face and then find a local shop with a mill to skim it flat (I'd get them to machine some journals for the gantry/x axis riser block mating surfaces at the sane time).

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    100
    Quote Originally Posted by matth View Post
    I'm thinking of adding a 20mm thick aluminium plate as the base machine bed (1500mm x 800mm). I would then add a second smaller sacrificial board to this based on the cutting dimensions. A plate this size will weigh in the region of 65Kgs, so will help damp down the structure.

    Anyone have any thoughts on this?

    I could have sworn I replied to this...or at least had the thought to then got sidetracked. I think the plate will be an awesome addition....I'd be doing the same thing with my build if budget allowed

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    392
    Cheers for the replies uawgmsmco.

    I do think that all the mass from the bed plate will help stop the steel from ringing. And as I can skim right to the edges it will give me a good flat datum.
    I have ordered some shim steel to pack out the connections between the ballnut carriers and the rail riser blocks. It seems that the variances in the steel are making it hard to determine perfect dimensions for components so shimming will be necessary.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    100
    My old man has a ton of tubular steel sitting in his shed that he's not using, and I was SO close to designing my machine with what he had.....but the issues you're having with achieving/finding good datum points are why I steered the other way. My machine will be all MDF, which definitely has it's disadvantage versuses steel, but I know I can make saw cuts that are straighter/flatter than some of that cold-drawn tubing. I wish you luck in that area...I saw myself getting way too frustrated with it so I turned away.

    As far as any ringing issues....I had a thought on my build....I was thinking about filling any open cavities I could with that "Great Stuff" expanding foam from home depot. It dries to a decent density...not super hard, not super soft, and I'm really thinkin' it could help with some resonance issues.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    100
    hey thanks for posting on my thread too!!!

    Cheers,

    Andrew

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