[joecnc2006]

Yes i will offer a kit for those who can not cut the parts them selfs. I did not switch to the porter cable, the pictures above shows the same Hitachi, I bought the router mount from K2CNC it is very good quality, and the material alone would have cost me quite a bit so it was worth it to me to buy it, the Z Axis rear plate i made has the same bolt pattern rear plate has the same bolt pattern.

[Dougie085]

Oh I thought you said you would switch to the porter cable later or something. Is the porter cable just lighter?

[joecnc2006]

no i meant i may switch later on, to the 3.25 hp porter cable, it is a heavier router.

joe

[Dougie085]

Oh so you were going for a more powerful router. I sent you a PM by the way.

[Dougie085]

How long does that aluminum channel come in? Like max length? How hard would it be to extend the table to be able to take a 4'x8' sheet of mdf? Or a 4'x8' cutting area? It should just be a matter of making the table longer right?

[bp092]

well two things, you will need longer extrusions and you have to switch to rack and pinion, it's been discussed before, and in the future would go more towards the shopbot route with r&p instead of leadscrews as used now.. aluminum channel? Do you mean the 8020? You can get it from 8020 surplus (their ebay store) as we did in I think 72" lengths, we didn't even cut them down.. very stable, straight and slick extrusions..

[Dougie085]

Yes the 8020 extrusion is that the longest length it comes in? Also what is a rack and pinion design? All I've seen used on the forums is the leadscrew. I haven't been here long though.

[bp092]

http://shopbottools.com/prs_alphaexplore.htm you can see one of shopbot's latest to get an idea of what a 4x8 joe's would look like, they use some pretty industrial extrusions though, those will set you back a bit. I have found that the ones used thus far as extremely strong and durable when used together with the rest of the design. The motor gets mounted and moves with the gantry or on the table, instead of being mounted stationary on the end of the axis. It moves more or less like this. But as said before by joe, if ever expanded to 4x8, going this route woudl be reccomended.

[blueoscar]

Hi Joe,

I'm a newbie at this stuff but fairly proficient at woodworking. I'm also an amateur luthier and have lots of ideals for using cnc to that end.

You're 4 * 4 cnc machine looks amazing and you seem to have worked out a lot of the tough problems. Do you possibly have any cad files and specs of your fantastic design? I would be happy to pay for them. Your work is inspirational.

Cheers,

Richard Cohen

[Dougie085]

He's currently in the process of putting together a build guide and will be selling it. He hasn't decided on a price yet.

[Dougie085]

So with the rack and pinion you don't need to have one on each side? At least thats how shopbot has it. It doesn't look to complicated at all really.

[Glidergider]

Dougie,
Are you saying the shopbot has only one rack and pinion. On one side? I think it's a dual drive. One rack and pinion on each side.
Dave

[Dougie085]

Ok thats what I was asking as its hard to tell from those pics.

[joecnc2006]

So with the rack and pinion you don't need to have one on each side? At least thats how shopbot has it. It doesn't look to complicated at all really.

Yes One rack and motor on each side, On the gantry you can still use the leadscrew option. Also with a longer span you will need to beef up the 80/20 to prevent sag, this can be done with a steel plate 1/4"x5" wide for a distance of 4' in the center if you want to do a splice of two of the 80/20's one on each side. this plus the angle on top and bottom for the rails should be sufficient, but this is another design change. we can discuss in a mod section of we like. I would rather prefer this to stay on topic of the present 4x4 machine.

Joe

[truman]

how long do you think for your plans I know I am bugging but your the one dangling the carrot LOL


Rob

[joecnc2006]

hopefully two weeks or so, it is very time consuming adding every single washer and bolt.

[nicksterjack]

Just in time for Christmas. Santa will be making me happy this year.

[joecnc2006]

Just so ya'll know I will be providing very detailed drawings and e-drawings, this will eliminate any question about the build and construction of the machine.

For example I have even drawn up the K2 Hitachi Router mount. my drawing and original picture.

Now all I need to find a 3d model or draw is the Router itself.

Anyone volunteers? LOL


Joe


EDIT: the original picture is from K2CNC, it is the one on their website for sale.

[ger21]

My PC 892 model is in the Share your file Art or Part thread. Is that the same size as the Hitachi, 3-1/2"?

[joecnc2006]

My PC 892 model is in the Share your file Art or Part thread. Is that the same size as the Hitachi, 3-1/2"?

I will look for it or is it something you can e-mail me? The Hitachi is 3.3" just about exactly, so I can just put your in for aesthetic purposes for now.

Here is the machine thus far, i just need to add the Z-Axis carriage and some misc. parts then finish to this point, then make the drawing files from the 3d drawing, should be fast and easy, and also work more on the instructions.

Joe