[tjskcnc]

Hi cnczoners! I have not posted on this site for a long time. Maybe years. Busy earning a living. During this away time I have built/designed/sold/rebuilt over a dozen machines all in search of the ultimate machine to do what I need. Doesn't exist, so I have built and am currently using two (2) machines. Still not 100% happy with either but they do their jobs well.
A friend into laser engraving wants to move into CNC router type work.He paid $25K+ for his system. I told him I could build a machine for the price of the low end machines available from Rockler (Shark) and others in that price range with a much larger cutting area and sturdier build. This build is a T&M project to build this machine. A lot of details will be omitted because it will infringe on proprietary material by Solsylva, Joe's Hybrid, CNCRouter Parts, and other ideas and designs I worked from. You may recognize various parts and configurations from a multitude of DIY designs. If ANY proprietary material is exposed, and you are the owner of that info, PM me and I will change the posting if your claim warrants it.
For all you haters, skeptics, flamers, etc., this is not a "be all/end all" of cnc builds. Just a culmination of my experience designing and building machines to do the jobs I needed them to do, on a budget, with as many materials on hand and readily available.
The machine will be designed to do the following tasks:
-Cut thru half inch maple plywood
-Cut at least 60ipm (I am aiming for 100+ipm)
-Engrave with Router with accuracy at .04 depth
-Switch router for laser head
-Ability to cut Aluminum and other soft metals
Nobody has a perfect system. Not even mine. I make guitars, skateboards, and skateboard molds with my cnc machines. I do everything from fine engraving to cutting thru 1/2" maple plywood, in 3D, with my machines. I design my work in Solidworks, Mastrercam, Alibre, Vectric, ArtCam, Rhino, and others.
So, if you care to follow a build from an a@@@@@e with a bad attitude, let's go. I will be posting photos of my progress. I have built the table frame and legs. Assembling table now but playing Pandora thru my cell phone and don't care to unplug. Will take pics further down the line.

[ger21]

-Cut at least 60ipm (I am aiming for 100+ipm)

I'd aim for at least 200ipm. The machine will be much more usable, and the cost increase would be minimal.

[manofmanyhats]

Assembling table now but playing Pandora thru my cell phone and don't care to unplug. Will take pics further down the line.

Tease!

Sounds like a fun build.

[Devastator]

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

[tjskcnc]

First pic is of my current machines. Foreground is a 24x24 cutting area maxed at60ipm with Hitachi router. Used for engraving and guitar bodies. Central is the computer station. Farther is my big table, 23x42 cutting area. Cutting maxed at 200ipm but have run rapids at 300+ipm. 3.25hp Porter Cable router. Used for cutting skateboards, skateboard molds, and anything too large for my smaller machine.
Attachment 324812

[tjskcnc]

This is the current status of the new build. I have tried this build several times following Solsylva's instruction manual using 2x4s and 2x6s but have always failed. The wood has always been too warped and wet, shaped like lasagna. I spoke to the buyer at my local lumber yard and he said they purchase their 2x's from the same companies as the local Lowe's and Home Depots, so no improvement on wood quality there. What I opted to do this time was make my own 2x's by laminating 3/4" pine boards. Now my 2x's are perfect, and with the added glue and cross grain support, they are stronger and less likely to warp over time.
The slots are for adjusting the height of the table for material thicker than the normal table height will allow. Stop blocks with screw adjusters will be used to set the table height (I have always wanted an adjustable table.) Slots for the long axis are to make it easier to accurately adjust the rails.
Attachment 324814
Attachment 324816

Using small cnc to cut parts for this build. Showing the bolt holes in the long rails being cut.
Attachment 324818

Now working on the gantry.I use a drill bit, then a center punch, to mark my holes accurately. You can see the extra hole in the angle iron required because I was not so accurate on my first attempt.
Attachment 324820

Gantry with iron rails attached. 4 boards thick, with addition of angle iron, provides a very solid gantry rail. Many ideas for this come from Joe's 4x4 Hybrid modifications available in his user forums.
Attachment 324822

Have made a couple test parts to align the v-bearings, now on to designing the gantry sides. They will be close to Solsylva's design as far as the roller skate/aluminum support bearings, but, as you can see from my current cnc tables I prefer a direct connection to the motors instead of a belt drive. My research has shown me that stepper motors are not designed for the "sideways" stress of a belt drive. I will opt for a fully supported lead screw with a direct connection to the stepper motor.

[fretman_2]

Nice!!

[Devastator]

Coming along nicely!

[tjskcnc]

I'd aim for at least 200ipm. The machine will be much more usable, and the cost increase would be minimal.

Actually, no cost increase for this build. A couple bad bearings froze on my big machine and pretty much trashed the top end. I am pirating all the salvageable parts I can for this build. One lead screw was bent beyond use, but I have a few extra laying around. I think I actually have enough parts to build another machine. I should be able to run rapids in excess of 300ipm. Cutting thru 1/2" maple plywood . . .

[tjskcnc]

More progress:

CNCing the gantry sides
Attachment 328616

[tjskcnc]

Gantry installed.
Test plate to make sure I measured holes for the bearings correctly before cutting Zaxis parts.
Attachment 328620

Zaxis parts cut and ready
Attachment 328622

Box glued and drying
Attachment 328624

Zaxis box installed
Attachment 328626

View of the bearings

[tjskcnc]

CNCing the Zaxis face plate out of HDPE.Have a bunch of it laying around from a previous project.
Attachment 328630

Bearings installed
Attachment 328632

Installing the rails using a temp face plate and bearings as a guide
Attachment 328634

face plate installed. Shows walnut for rail spacers but changed to HDPE because the wood was too brittle for the application. I could hear them crack when attaching the rails. HDPE spacers for the rails took a lot of time to get perfect thickness.

[tjskcnc]

A couple Solidworks drawings from the design stage...
Attachment 328638