Excuse the pic with the beer. It sort of shows the set up lol.
First off, I have built this 8 x 4 CNC Router, the mechanical side comes as a kit and I spec'd the electrical side of it. We initially got this set up due to price and we wanted to test the water before we went all in on an industrial machine. I fully understand we dropped the ball when getting this, its had no end of issues and lessons have been learned but in all fairness it works for what we need it to and has paid for itself already so I can't really moan too much.
We use it mainly for template cutting sheets of 6mm Ply so for what we currently use it for, its fine. That being said, I recently added 25mm round linear rails to the z axis which has removed alot of flex. Im now thinking that I would like to build on that and add supported round rails to the X axis (8ft side).
Im thinking of removing the current angle iron. Adding a steel C Beam 3 x 2" in its place (top side only) and mounting the supported rails onto this. This should raise the bearing surface up so its more in line with the spindle height effectively lowering the bed if that makes sense.
To make this work I will need to remove the MDF side sections and create effectively a T Piece using 12 or 15mm Aluminium plate.
I use the machine in the business so a complete rebuild, at least in one go, is out of the question. I also want to keep the possibility of gremlins in the machine to a minimum so I would be upgrading it in sections.
X Rails
Y Rails along with rebuilding the gantry in Ally/Steel
Z Axis - replacing current MDF with Ally/Steel plate.
I fully understand that Ply/MDF isnt the greatest. I want to try and stiffen the machine up and once this is done I will look to add ballscrews to both the X and Y.
Does any of this sound as though I would be making a huge mistake? Any reccomendations on rail or ally plate thickness?
I think ideally we will keep this machine until we have the money to go full industrial, vac table and a ATC. Another reason for pushing this unit as far as possible is that to get a bigger machine will require 3 Phase which will be another additional expense.
Feel free to ask any questions.
Machine needs are soft plastic, MDF and Birch Ply. V Carving in Oak/maple is the hardest job we would put through it.
Thanks for reading!