Re: .0001" Accurate gantry CNC design suggestions?
Originally Posted by
Thunderskunk
......
Maybe somebody like Tormach will see the niche market and make a $10,000 CMM for simple, low tolerance inspections. But maybe not.
No reason you couldn't use a mill for a pretty good (not a great) CMM. Should be able to get into the +/- 0.0005 range depending on the resolution of the machine.
I have thought about adding CMM capabilities to my mill. Not much of a step in my case, I already have 1 micron scales installed and run it with a Galil motion controller, so all I need to do is write the software and buy or build a decent probe. Maybe I'll get ambitious and write the software. Been thinking about ways to make a really accurate probe. It should be able to use the G code to compare the expected shape to the actual part and log any deviation. Not to difficult. The main problem is that my shop is not temperature controlled so real accuracy is not possible.
Jim Dawson
Sandy, Oregon, USA