[Bimmerkc1]

Rather than cover the whole process which i feel has been done i thought i would cover a few of the things i learned and changes or spins i put on it.
About 1 year ago i built the JGRO with the intention of using it as a learning tool and later upgrading. The JGRO served me well for about a year but recently I've been wanting to go for some bigger projects so the time had come to step up to the Joe2006R2 design. I want to first thanks everyone in this wonderful group for answering the few questions i had but more importantly for answering the questions i needed answered by sharing with those that came before me. I also want to thank Joe for his excellent design and for all the help he's given to the community. Also for all the documentation and files he shared without which the machine that i think will serve me for quite some time wouldn't exsist. All you guys are a great group of people and make this terrible evil little hobby we share something i've really come to enjoy and look forward to. OK that being said let's get to some good stuff and some pics.


When i first built the JGRO i had it on a workbench and i'm kinda proud of a few of the things i put into the bench design. I'm a computer qeek by profession so alot of the projects i've put together throughout the years always seem to have a PC spin on them. The first thing i was afraid of was the enemy of any PC, Heat and i was also really paranoid of the dust, I don't know how many PC's and servers i've taken the cover off of in the past and discovered the mother of all dust bunnys making the fans stop and generally gunking stuff up so here is what i did. I wanted to enclose everything to protect it but i knew cooling was going to be a challenge.

Solution

Build a bench with a filter on one end and fans on the other to draw the air through and eliminate most of the dust and heat. I also added a old PC power supply that had voltage too low to run a computer but perfect to turn my fans. The enclosure also allowed me to keep dust out of my controller and as an afterthought i figured out a way to integrate the keyboard and mouse using one of those underdesk keyboard tray that i found in my office trash. I also built a Monitor/Storage Cabinet with a filter on the front and some PC fans on the back also running off the PC power supply.

[Bimmerkc1]

When it came time to cable things up i had some Igus echain that i had used on the old machine and some other cable management i had from work so i threw my wiring together and think everything is pretty well protected and keeps things organized. I also opted on this build to add connectors to the controller box and Motor,Home,Limit connections because i might have to move next year and breaking this new beast down didn't seem like much fun.

[Bimmerkc1]

And finally a few more shots of the machine and of course my biggest helper in the shop.

[Bimmerkc1]

So what did i run into during this build?

Well the first and biggest challenge was cutting out the Joe parts on a JGRO well my friends i can tell you that with some careful measurement and a neat little trick you can do it. The first thing that really help me out was cutting a guide into my spoil board. I used a 1/4 spiral upcut bit and cut a channel about 1/2 inch deep all the way down the X axis, i then cut a slot all the way across the top of my Y axis, i went home depot and got a oak strip that was 1/4 inch wide x 1 inch and it was a very tight fit in the slots. Now i knew where my start point always was, using Vcarve and splitting the parts that were too big for my table i was able to cut all the large pieces for the Joe.
I was even able to cut the X axis long runs and keep them i one piece.

Another thing that i've done is add T-Track to my table for hold downs and i'll put 1/2 inch MDF in between the tracks to act as a spoil board. I know i'm losing some of my Z travel but i never do anything more that 2 inches thick and if i did i would just remove the hold down fixture.

[Bimmerkc1]

I'm sure I'll come up with more to share but i wanted to get started tonight and now I've realized i still need to get some real work done. I'll work on this blog some more tomorrow.

Let me know what you guys think and thank you all again i couldn't have done it without you.


Scott

[Bimmerkc1]

One last thing for tonight.
Since i have the new router i've retired the JGRO.
I canabalized it of all the electronics, Motors, and such.
The Machine is still in tact with the pipes installed and the bearings are still in it as well as the screws which were 1/2 13 all thread.
If someone added lovejoys and a motor/electronic controller then they could have a machine without doing the building. It was a good machine because it did in fact make it's big brother.
I mention this because if someone wants it i'm willing to give it away.
I'm in the Kansas City area and figure it served me well and if someone wants to get into this hobby and is intimited by building one then here is a chance and i would feel like i was giving back even if just a lillte bit.
I'll remind you that it is a home built machine and doesn't come with any warrany or anything like that but if someone were interested then PM me.
I'm not going to ship this thing anywhere you would have to come get it but if you are in the area and are interested let me know