[MikeCaffey]

Hello,

I have been reading the forums for a year or so now, and the time to build my first machine has come!
For my medium i have chosen steel. six 2"x4"x3/16" one 2"x6"x3/16" and one massive 2"x6"x1/4" all 24' lengths and then one 1/4" sheet of steel for my cnc plasma cut parts.
+ lots of cold roll for bearing and motor mounts.

I have spent the last two years working out my design, just dreaming of the day I would have all the money it would take to build such a machine.
Well I ended up making a good friend and business partner over the past year who is backing the building of my machine!

My friend Jeff runs a custom wall rack company and is currently paying someone a pretty penny to cut his parts. I run a custom furniture business Wake Up Woodworks and have always wanted cnc machines for a long time. Yes multiple, I am already hooked. So Jeff is funding my machine in return for payment in cut parts. A very sweet deal for me, and him in the end.

Here are some parts details:

Bearings:
4 double 1" Thomson pillow blocks
4 single 3/4" Thomson Pillow Blocks
4 Thk profile bearings

Rack and Pinion
Pro Rack and Pinion kit from CNC router Parts, maybe some day go helical but it was not in the budget.

Nema 34 steppers

And here are some renders, the are still missing some things but it should show you what I am going for. I would love some feedback, but make it quick! I plan to start the build this week, all the parts are in hand.

Thanks for all the information out there.

Mike Caffey

[ger21]

Is the spindle mounted to a 1/4" plate? If so, it won't be rigid enough.

[MikeCaffey]

Hey Ger,

In the post I made yesterday I had a 2"x.5" cold roll bar running down the back on the .1/4" spindle plate. Actually last night i updated that part to be a 4"x.5" cold roll bar that runs down the whole plate and connects to the two 3"x.5" bars that the bearings mount to.

What are your thoughts on that?

My other idea is to cut some of the 1/4" plate and add ribs facing the other direction, like my other plate steel parts.

Also sorry if my steel terms are off, mostly a wood worker here.

Thanks

[ClaudDKLyons]

Your project seems good just need to complete it and check it's functionality . Hope every thing going well.

[MikeCaffey]

Here is a quick video of my Y axis bearings at work. I have a whole lot of pictures and videos to come. I expect to be cutting by the end of next week.

I have one last day on the mill for motor mount plate and ballnut connectors. Then I can weld my x axis together.

I ended up having all my 1/4" plate cut with a cnc laser. the cut quality came out amazing.

https://youtu.be/z_eEpSrPyrQ

[MikeCaffey]

So i have the machine up and running, making money. Feel free to check out my youtube page for frequent updates https://www.youtube.com/user/mikedcaffey/videos

I still need to get the lathe head attached and converted to a stepper motor. Maybe 4 months from now i will have that ready.


Machine facts and stats:


- All in all I spent $13,000 on parts and two months building it.

- It weights in at around 1800 pounds.

- the machine can cut 61"x97" on the spoil board, and up to 116" all the way to the lathe area. < i have already used the 116" on a 9' dresser i am making

- 10.25" of z travel.

-288 holes drilled and 124 of them tapped in a mix of 1/4 and 3/16 steel



My next step is the 4th axis lathe, then i plan to add a 40 watt laser and maybe a robot arm on the end of the machine.



This is my first machine, and i am so hooked now.

[torbide]

Thats awesome , glad to see a finished machine running.