So after lurking and watching for awhile I've decided to build my 1st cnc. It's going to be a steel frame with a roughly 2' x 4' envelope. It will be used mostly for wood and plexiglass, however I'd like to be able to do light passes on aluminum in the future. Looking forward to any comments and suggestions as I start.
X-Axis:
5/8" Thompson Rails, supported in 3 sections with 2 frelon bearing trucks per side
Y-Axis:
THK 15 Series, 2 bearing trucks per rail
Z-Axis:
Purchased Vexta ballscrew/stepper stage I got off eBay. I don't have the ballscrew modeled in the screenshots below...but its there in real life.
Frame:
2" square tubing, 1/8" wall thickness
Gantry:
2" square tubing, the two horizontals are 1/4" thick to make it easier to tap for the THK rails
Steppers:
HobbyCNC Nema 23 305 oz/in unipolar steppers on X and Y, Z came with a stepper
Belts/Pulleys:
X and Y Axis main drive-open ended L series timing belt, .375 pitch, .75" wide
The endless belts off the stepper pulleys will be XL series
All pulley's off the steppers will be 20 tooth, all other pulleys are going to be 10 tooth.
Router:
Porter Cable, not sure which model yet but I will be using the ER precision collets.
Drivers/Breakouts: HobbyCNC Pro Chopper Driver Board.
Initially workpieces will be clamped on to the table, however after I get the CNC part figured out I plan in doing vacuum clamping, but I'll start with 1 step at a time.
Got the pictures to work....so let me know you guys think and any questions/advice you have on it.