[snoyce]

Hi,
I,ve just ordered kit 3 from merchantdice.. It looks a nice kit having most of what i need in it. Kevin is helping this project along by making these kits. It makes life a bit easyer if you dont understand the metal work side of the project. Having done a calc on the price it also offers quite a cost saving as well. I look forward to building the kit along with the plans from Nick...
If it looks like snoyce,s photos i will be a happy man....

Glen

Hi Glen,

Cheers for the kudos. You will be happy with the marchant dice kit. did you consider the supported rails? I'm pretty sure mine will be accurate enough for hobby purposes but if i was building again which im sure i eventually will (i'm hooked) i'de definately go for the supported rails with the heavy router im hanging off my z-axis i'm not sure how well it would cope with harder materials.

Cheers

Steve

[dan dimock]

Could one of you post a link for the Marchant Kit?
Dan

[glenfraser]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rockcliff-Rout...QQcmdZViewItem

Yes i did consider the supported. But what i might do is drill and tap the ends of the bar on lathe. So they are pulled. Then stick the 2 end bits of the table in mdf together and drill. This seems to work on a demo machine i made....

Glen

[snoyce]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rockcliff-Rout...QQcmdZViewItem

Yes i did consider the supported. But what i might do is drill and tap the ends of the bar on lathe. So they are pulled. Then stick the 2 end bits of the table in mdf together and drill. This seems to work on a demo machine i made....

Glen

Be interested to see that ( i think i understand what you mean ) on the z axis i just cut the two support members clamped them together and drilled 2 16mm holes through both pieces and the alignment seems to be pretty good.

[glenfraser]

ok here is a couple of pics with the rod tapped and the screw/bolts in the end of my test machine. I havn't started the rockcliff yet but this is the kit3 i brought off of ebay uk for it. I may tap the ends of the rods for it ....

Good news is the merchantdice kit turned up today....

This Kit (Kit 3) contains upgraded linear components for making a small CNC machine. Plans: www.rockcliffmachine.com
x6pcs 60 Case Round Rail Carbon Steel shafts + x12pcs Pillow Block + x12pcs Linear bearing + x3pcs Trapezoidal spindle +
x3pcs Trapezoidal nut + x3pcs coupling + x10pcs Radial Bearing.

Sizes are:
x2pcs W16mm(h6) x 370mm (14 1/2" approx) Round Rail
x2pcs W16mm(h6) x 575mm (22 5/8" approx) Round Rails
x2pcs W16mm(h6) x 800mm (31 1/2" approx) Round Rails
x12pcs 16mm Pillow Block SC16
x12pcs 16mm Linear Bearings LM16UU
x1pce TR12x3D x 400mm (15 3/4" approx)Trapezoidal Spindle
x1pce TR12x3D x 600mm (23 5/8" approx) Trapezoidal Spindle
x1pce TR12x3D x 850mm ( 33 1/2" approx) Trapezoidal Spindle
x3pcs LRM12x3D Trapezoidal Nut
x3pcs SOT-20C-6.35x6.35
x10pcs 608 2RS Radial Bearing (ID 8mm OD 22mm W 7mm)



All were packed well and are in A1 condition....

The blocks are ace as well as couplers etc..

Great value for the money...and for all us guys on this side of the pond. But i think the guy does ship worldwide

Glen


The 3 x Trapezoidal Spindle is not shown in the picture....

[Ettore]

I have started on my Rockcliff router (great plans, BTW) and am a bit uneasy about what motors and control electronics to use. Could someone point out a discussion about that or recommend a kit to buy? Thanks, Ettore

[dan dimock]

Why don't you look at HobbyCNC, they will have what you need, I went with them because of the help you can get from them and also a lot of the members on this site uses them.
Dan

[Ettore]

dan, Thanks for the suggestion; HobbyCNC was on my short list, but I don't know what goes with what, so I'll email them for their recommendation. Ettore

[wolfdagon]

I am in the process of gathering everthing that I need to build a Rockcliff. Originally thought about using my Dremel until I read so many posts recommending against it. A quick search for trim routers found one at Harbor Freight for $19.99. Anyone have any experience with it? Grizzly also has two different ones for $45.

I have an old Black and Decker plunge router that I think is 1/2 horsepower. I think I will dig it out and check it, but I am pretty sure it is to heavy. What is the maximum size/weight router I should use with the Rockcliff?

[edo]

I've had great luck with the HF Trim Router - and for $20, I'll buy another if it breaks. It has some runout but it's only really noticeable if you stop the cut against an edge. HF also has a cutout tool (42831) that is probably the same - the body shape may make it more difficult to mount, but it comes with 1/8" and 1/4" collets. The Trim Router only comes with a 1/4" collet. I bought a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter from MLCS (Item #241) for $4 (free shipping) that works great.
Ed

[wolfdagon]

I don't think they are the same. If you look at the manual for each you will see that the cutout tool is rated at 115V, 420 watts, 3.5 amps, and 28,000 rpm. The manual for the trim router rates it at 120V, 2.4 amp, 400 watts, and 26,000 rpm.

[dwacker]

Good Morning,

I just purchased the Rockcliff plan set and am searching for recomendations as to which unit to build. I would like a machine that will cut shapes from 1/4and 3/8 Acrylc. Is the basic uint capable of doing this task.
I am located in the US and am also interested in finding some parts suppliers.

Thank You
Don Wacker

[dan dimock]

I have just started my build, I went with a board kit from HobbyCNC and found a power supply from the CNC Zone, look under the classifileds heading and you will see a picture of a tranformer and it is member TCR 2637, he has one with all the parts on sale. This might help you a little.
Dan

[edo]

If you look at the manual ...

People actually look at manuals? I just noted they were both orange and assumed...

Actually though, there are inconsistencies with those numbers. The Cutout Tool at 420 watts would be 3.5 amps at 120V, not 115V. The Trim Router says 2.4 (Startup) amps in the manual - this is a max of 288 watts at 120V and not 400. But if you believe the 400 watt number, it is 3.5 amps at 115V or 3.3A at 120V. To further confuse, the newest HF add for the Trim Router lists it as 110V, 2.4A, 28,000RPM (instead of 26,000).

[johnathan]

interesting

[jimluu]

Hi, I'm a newbie to the cnc scene. I bought the solsylva plan, but after reading it and browsing the forums here, it seems that although its a great set of plans, it is way too complicated for me. After reading this forum, I just purchased the manual from rockcliff. I'm building it mainly to learn about machine control, so I want to build it quickly. I'm really encourage by those you built it in a weekend. Seems like it takes months to build the solsylva machine. I hope to be able to document my progress here, but I'm real slow. I'll probably build the 'professional' model, since cost is not a huge issue right now. I don't have the plans yet, but if it looks real complicated, I might just buy a 'kit' from joe. I think I'll go with the xylotex complete 4 axis set with the 427oz motors while they have it on sale. I have a bosch 2.25hp router sitting around and I'm hoping to incorporate that into the design. A total newbie question: how does one chose which router bit for a given cut?

[snoyce]

how does one chose which router bit for a given cut?

As a newbie myself this is how "i" choose a bit based on research on here i've been using ballnose for finishing and endmill for milling/profiling.

As far as diameter the bigger the better (speed wise) i'm starting to build up a feel for it but it basically comes down to a trade off, weather your prepared to do a tool change reset your offset and then another finishing pass or take longer to do the cut with a finishing pass in one taking less material in a pass thus finishing slower.

Also depends alot on the job your doing how much detail, thickness, material etc. At the moment i'm making some experimental bookshelf speakers and I designed it so there are no sharp inside corners so it meant I could mill out whole parts with a 6mm straight router bit. The speakers are built in 18mm layers so the router bit needed to profile down to 18mm and i can't imagine finding a 2mm router bit that would survive an 18mm deep cut giving me nice sharp inside corners.

The learning is the fun bit!

Steve

[wolfdagon]

Actually though, there are inconsistencies with those numbers....

To further confuse, the newest HF add for the Trim Router lists it as 110V, 2.4A, 28,000RPM (instead of 26,000).

I had noticed the inconsistincies, also. Had not noticed the latest changes though. With so many inconsistencies I think I will stay away from Harbor Freight.

[jimluu]

I finally had a chance to read over the rockcliff plans. Very impressive and gave me many ideas and questions. I basically want to build a flying gantry design with a cut area of 24x48inches. I'm looking to modify the 'd' design a bit because I don't like those skate bearings. Just doesn't seem precise enough. I'm thinking about using a square type linear bearing as side rails on the x and y axis and mount a truck directly on the bearing block. Is there a down side to square versus round? To keep things simple, I would also buy a premade z-axis.

[lgroulx200]

I'm looking to modify the 'd' design a bit because I don't like those skate bearings. Just doesn't seem precise enough.

The skate bearings are very precise. I felt the way you do when I built my 1st machine. It used skate bearings and black gas pipe.

Larry