[Sinkoumn]

Hi all, I figured since there haven't been too many new build logs put up I'd follow my build progress on the forum to share my experience building Joes CNC 2006.

I have been working on it for two days now, so here is where I am at with the build:

I had put an ad on craigslist to see if anyone in my area would cut out the parts - to my surprise I had about 8 offers to cut the parts. I wanted to order the parts through Joe, but do to limited funds at the time I decided to go with the local guy.

After all the nesting of parts here is what I ended up with, I saved the Rhino file to be opened in Adobe Illustrator and color coded the nested files for pocket depth cuts:
Pic 1: 8'x4' sheet - .5" MDF (sheet 1)
Pic 2: 8'x4' sheet - .5" MDF (Sheet 2)
Pic 3: 2'x2' sheet - .75" MDF
Pic 4: 2'x2' sheet - .75" HDPE
Pic 5: 1'x1' sheet - .5" HDPE
(Note, I left out the sheets that didn't have any pocketing)

[Sinkoumn]

Once all the parts were cut here is what I got:
(I should also point out that I have a friend that works for a hockey rink board company, and happened to have some red HDPE - so that's what the red parts are )

[Sinkoumn]

Of course there are always some mishaps, and in my case it was a weird case of internal shifting on a few of the parts. I don't know if this happened when the files were transferred over or what, but here is what the end results where on a few parts:
Pic 1: Holes line up, but pipe/rod holes are off-kilter
Pic 2: With the bolts in place to give a better idea of miscut
Pic 3: Hmm, looks a little off...
Pic 4: Again, center hole shifted off center (Z axis carriage)
Pic 5: So, as you can see the carriage is not center in terms of being level on the ground; however,
Pic 6: when you place the square on the internals of the carriage, everything is nuts on square.

Luckily the guy that I worked with to cut the parts is a stand up guy, he has been more than willing to recut any part that I need fixed - so I'm going to definitely get the CNC router end support plates (front and back) recut.

I am going to try and make the Z Axis carriage work. I think that it shouldn't pose any problem - I will likely just bore the rod hole that is off center to a larger diameter and install my anti-backlash assembly (reason being is that even though the center hole is off, the four bolt holes are right on; unless there is something I can't see, it should work out).

[Sinkoumn]

The next step was to dry fit everything, unfortunately I didn't take any pics of that until after I primed the parts:
Pic 1: Parts all layed out on cardboard ready to be painted (and of course I still got paint on the floor (nuts), oh well )
Pic 2: Gantry dry fitted
Pic 3: Same setup, different angle
Pic 4: Making sure the table is square when being glued up (the primer paint 'overspray' was removed shortly thereafter).

[Sinkoumn]

Next thing was to shine up the pipes and cut the angled aluminum- I ended up going with the black coated pipes from HomeDepot and managed to find the aluminum at Fleet Farm (every place I went (HD, Lowes, Hardware Hank, ETC) had 1"x1"x1/8" angled alum. or 1.5"x1.5"x1/8" angled alum. the 1.25" was tough to find).
Pic 1: My 'poor mans' setup - Lathe using the electric hand drill, table vise, small drill press table, clamp, and electrical tape :cheers:
Pic 2: Hand drill with the electrical tape (held up like a rock I might add)
Pic 3: Here's how I made a cheap bearing - drilled hole through pipe cap (larger than outer diameter of bolt to be inserted), and then slid a bolt through with locking nuts (for the vice to grip), and a washer to let the pipe cap spin against)
Pic 4: What I started with, and what I ended with - not too shabby
Pic 5: Halfway done with the shining
Pic 6: Finished pipe

One thing that have still to do is treat the pipe with oil - can you use any style of oil or is gun blue the only way to go?

[Sinkoumn]

I don't have a radial arm saw or a table saw at my place (it's all up north at the cabin), so I had to use the good ol' sawzall and bench grinder to make the bearing slides. I measured everything twice and then cut it out on the table vise. Once all the parts were cut to length, I ground them down to drill the anchoring holes using the bench grinder at first (rough cut), then used a hand file to finish the job.

I am still waiting for my bearings to get here, so that process with be the next step with these plates once the parts get here, I just wanted to get this part of the build out of the way.

(One helpful note to any future builders - label your angled aluminum pieces to help tell them apart, they start to look a lot alike when they're all cut and sitting on the table , plus that way I know what piece goes with what plate (and what side goes to which))

Pic 1: My table/radial arm saw - SAWZALL
Pic 2: Test fit for length before final sanding
Pic 3: Anchor hole drilled and test fitted before final channel leveling with hand file
Pic 4: More test fitting into respective spots
Pic 5: X-axis bearing block installed and solid (slides, but doesn't twist)
Pic 6: Proof that I didn't goof and lodge the bearing block inside of the case

[Sinkoumn]

Gluing up the skins on the table, Y Axis gantry, Gantry torsion box, etc.
Pic 1: Getting excercise while building, carrying the plates in and out is a great way to work out without working out
Pic 2: Gantry torsion box
Pic 3: Y-Axis gantry box
Pic 4: Table fully glued and lined up with pipes

This is where I'm at for now. I am planning on finishing up my priming today, and continue to wait for my bearings. I'll keep posting my progress.

One thing I wanted to get some input on is the controller/power/etc. I was originally going to go with the Xylotex setup (for the ease of setup and being all prewired and whatnot), but after reading up on them I think I'm going to go with something else due to the problems a few people have had working with the Xylotex.

I've been looking at the HobbyCNC Pro package and the walkthroughs of getting them put together; I do have experience with soldering, but nothing past working with Xboxes and Playstations - does anyone know if the solder points are as fine as that type of work, or is HCNC board and the solder points fairly large and easy to work with?

Any input on a good all around package for power, controller, and motor size?

Thanks much!
Mike
Sinkoumn
:cheers:

[Mr.Chips]

Good looking build Mike and good pictures.
It's a real plus to build from Joes plans because it is a tried and true machine. It eleminates a lot of guess work and trial and error.

Keep up the good work.

[joecnc2006]

the build is coming along real good, keep us posted.

Joe

[Sbthomas13]

It's looking good so far! I like all the pictures and descriptions. Hopefully that Z Axis Carriage won't cause you too many problems...if the bearing block can be adjusted to account for the misalignment. I can't really tell what is quite wrong with it that causes it to not be square. You have to be careful and make sure that the Z axis rails aren't on an angle. Just make sure your bit is perpendicular to the table when you get to that stage.

[Sinkoumn]

Not too much done today, but something is better than nothing! I'm still waiting on the bearings so I can fully dry fit everything, so in the mean time I got the router holder all drilled/bolted, and actually proved that down time can be productive - by cleaning my shop!

But at the same time, after working for a painting company in highschool, I have to add that I HATE priming - worst part of any job

Pic 1: Rear plate - I had to modify/add-in the pockets because I goofed on the hole diamter in nesting
Pic 2: Another shot showing that miscalcutations can be controlled by having to do an extra step - in my case, clearing extra holes.
Pic 3: Finally snug, but really tempting me to paint the whole setup Red, White, and Blue.
Pic 4: My girlfriend kept checking herself over after I'd hang out with her, wonder why
Pic 5: Didn't clean off the work bench in two days, hopefully someone can relate to how quick messes pile up in the workroom
Pic 6: Luckily my bearings still aren't here so I had plenty of time to kill tonight - even was rambunctious enough to hit it with some scrubbing bubbles!

[Sinkoumn]

Thanks much for the reply on the build! I couldn't have done any of this without watching/reading/following all of the builds that you all have contributed to the site!!

Hopefully I can save up and start the 4x4 shortly this build is done! But that's tomorrow, so for now I'm content with getting this project up and running

[flyon]

I blued mine using a gun blueing cream I got from WallyMart. I think it was Blue Wonder. I read online that those blueing creams don't really offer much protection against rust. It only took a few hours, and so far no rust. I would do it again. Just be careful with that stuff, it's nasty.

[Jmtwo]

Thanks much for the reply on the build! I couldn't have done any of this without watching/reading/following all of the builds that you all have contributed to the site!!

Hopefully I can save up and start the 4x4 shortly this build is done! But that's tomorrow, so for now I'm content with getting this project up and running

You're going to love the 2006.

I'm doing the same thing, I finished my 2006 about 3 weeks ago and I'm loving it! I have already gotten the plans for the 4x4, but the 2006 runs so well it's going to make it tough to start building a new one.

[Sinkoumn]

Not too much going on today - I'm actually just going to the shop now to finish up the X-axis rails, and that's about it. Luckily my bearings are coming tomorrow, so that will allow the build to get some steam and really allow me to make a lot of progress with the machine.

In the mean time, I also ordered the HobbyCNC Pro Driver Board Package w/ the 305oz motors, the 24VAC 10A Triad (Magnetek) Allied Electronics part #9678482 (115VAC Only) transformer, and then I'm building my own case out of lexan (or I might even build it into the computer case).

But I have also been looking into the CNC4PC breakout boards (C11 in particular) - I like the op. isolation, limit/home switches, and charge pump capabilities of the setup. Once I get everything setup I will likely place my order for one of those as well.

Take care all,
Mike

[Sinkoumn]

Hopefully I put this in the right thread this time.....(nuts)

I got all my bearings setup last night and did some trouble shooting on a few of the problems that I noticed. So here's a little update as to where I'm at in the build:

I marked up all of my lines and center punched the holes for the bearings (I used the rail method outlined by bradtal (http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50892) - it worked PERFECTLY and was very simple). All of yesterday was spent on assembly line type work - where I cut down every bolt, then moved on to marking every angled aluminum, then moved on to assembling the bearings, and etc, etc etc. I think I ended up becoming cross eyed later on in the night from all the repetition :tired:.

Pic 1: Marking out all the cut lines using my dial mic - basically I set at length and dragged across surface to scribe my line.
Pic 2: TESTING the piece for clearance over the plate - this is a great example for any prospective builders how close all the tolerances are with Joe's setup (but that's a good thing IMO ).
Pic 3: Another closeup shot to show clearance.
Pic 4: Success!! The first bracket makes perfect contact with the rod and slides perfectly. Hopefully all of the rest will follow the first and be a breeze.
Pic 5: I do like the VXB bearings, but you do somewhat get what you pay for i.e. this bearings shield was not set and just plain fell off - I would test the bearings before putting them onto the bracket, and it seemed that about 1 in 7 would either bind up or had a considerable amount of drag in it (so those got tossed aside). If you're trying to achieve a 'frictionless' system, these won't do. But all-in-all the bearings are great (unlike my out of focus camera work)

[Sinkoumn]

More pics from the build!

Pic 1: Assembly line in action
Pic 2: I think I'm going cross eyed, but finally they're all done
Pic 3: Installed onto the plate with the tubing and u-bolts attached - it's definitely is a good feeling to have the piece slide effortlessly while feeling tight as a snare drum!

Bearing block problem - I noticed that my half-inch bearings didn't fit into the bearing blocks very snug (actually not snug at all, they had some side-to-side action). After some further investigation I noticed that the bearing block was cut with to large of a diameter for the bearing (block has a 1.155" dia, while the bearing was sitting at 1.13" dia). So that left me with two options: Have the blocks recut; Or, Macguyver up a solution. I chose the latter. What I did was took some electrical tape and made single wraps around the outside of the bearing until it was wide enough to sit snuggly center in the bracket. I figure if that leads to any problems I will just recut the bearings myself on the machine when it's completed :rainfro:
Pic 4: Note the diameter.
Pic 5: Electrical tape applied - only took two wraps.
Pic 6: Tape trimmed and viola! Bearing sitting snuggly center (hopefully is stays there once the machine is fired up and running

[Sinkoumn]

The mailman brought me my Hobby CNC kit yesterday :banana:

I'm still finishing up my X-axis rails, but should have that done today. Once that is done I plan on building my electronics box - scored a 3'x4'x5/8" sheet of plexi from a friend that works at the hockey rink company.

With painting the parts, what does everyone else do? I have already primed each part individually and have dry fitted all the parts together; but I'm just curious what everyone else has done to paint the final coat of paint on the machine? Did you take apart the entire machine and paint each part individually; or did you just paint it all fit together (seems that when something fits perfect and then you go to take it apart to paint/move/etc it will never line up that well again).

Any thoughts/insights for painting?

[joecnc2006]

I glued together then primed and painted, prime with water wood glue mixture, 30 water 70 wood glue, then paint your preference either can spray or brush on.

joe

[Sinkoumn]

Awesome, thanks much for the info Joe! Now I just need to figure out what color to paint it :idea: