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  1. #1

    My First All Welded Steel Router Design

    I have been thinking of a completely new design for a router, using THK linear slides and ball screws driven by NEMA34 steppers! The base will be made from 3/8" hot roll steel plates MIG welded together, then machined to support a 24"x24"x5/8" Blanchard ground low carbon steel T-Slot plate. All three axis will be above the T-Slot plate, using the THK slides.

    For a spindle, I have considered taking a 90° attachment from a Bridgeport sized mill apart, and custom making a bearing housing and drive system. This will give the machine an R8 collet spindle!

    My goal is to have the center of the spindle travel a full 24" in both X & Y axis!

    Here is my 1st concept drawing!
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails SteelRouter.JPG  

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    2502
    Quote Originally Posted by widgitmaster View Post
    I have been thinking of a completely new design for a router, using THK linear slides and ball screws driven by NEMA34 steppers! The base will be made from 3/8" hot roll steel plates MIG welded together, then machined to support a 24"x24"x5/8" Blanchard ground low carbon steel T-Slot plate. All three axis will be above the T-Slot plate, using the THK slides.

    For a spindle, I have considered taking a 90° attachment from a Bridgeport sized mill apart, and custom making a bearing housing and drive system. This will give the machine an R8 collet spindle!

    My goal is to have the center of the spindle travel a full 24" in both X & Y axis!

    Here is my 1st concept drawing!
    Machined weldments with linear rails are a fascinating and modern way to create machine tools. Now to really take it to the max, consider a couple of other possibilities:

    - Round shapes have a lot of strength advantages. DOM tubing is pretty nifty stuff. Think of using it as a structural member under your table rather than right angle plates.

    - Fill some or all of the spaces inside your welding fabricated "castings" with epoxy granite. It's really easy to do and adds tremendous dampening. Properly formulated epoxy granite actually dampens better than cast iron.

    - You could also consider a table made from epoxy granite. The stuff sets up to a couple thousandths of flat and your Blanchard grinding would surely fix what's left.

    There is quite an interesting PhD thesis available from one Bamberg that doesn't take a PhD to glean a lot of valuable machine tool design ideas from it.

    To give an idea of a design inspired by Bamberg's work, I refer you to my page here: http://www.cnccookbook.com/CCEGGantry.html

    Rather than digress further, I humbly yield back to the master.

    I look forward to seeing another fantastic Widgitmaster creation take shape!

    Cheers,

    BW

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    3498
    ‎widgitmaster
    Why are you going to All-welded construction?... Isn't you need to tackle with warping in steel after welding..and many other issues!!!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    8082
    Very interesting project concept wigitmaster. Onward and upward!

    I think you should consider TIG welds for some of the trickier parts and MIG welds for less critical parts. Controlling warps is a developed talent and it can be done if you have the patience. Like anything else, it takes some thought and the "just get it done" attitude won't do. A good weldor can show you how to compensate for metal movement.

    CarveOne
    CarveOne
    http://www.carveonecncwoodcraft.com

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    3498
    I think he will machine the surface to 0 after welding... also IMHO, the cantilever will not that stable and there will be some deflection as it elongate to its maximum extent.. Deflection and vibration what i see during cutting...

  6. #6
    As stated in the beginning, it is a concept! This is also intended to be used as a wood router, as I'm not trying to reinvent the Bridgeport mill!

    My experience with weldment's is they do warp and twist, so extra material will be added for a final machining of critical surfaces. Like under the T-Slot plate, and under all the THK rails & trucks, including the mounting area of the ball nut & end bearings.

    I have been making so much aluminum, and all the routers I've made look identical! So something different is needed to keep my mind busy Like something stronger than a 1/8" Dremel or Proxxon spindle!

    Widgit
    www.widgitmaster.com
    It's not what you take away, it's what you are left with that counts!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    761
    Nice concept. Your Y axis may have bind or balance issues with all the weight out on the end of the Z axis mount plate. Just a thought.
    Wayne Hill

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Posts
    6618
    This is my take on this design as well.
    While THK linear ways are very good at what they do and can take massive loads, I don't think they will work that well balancing another axis like this.
    I think they would work much better in the table.

    That said, if you were to use another set underneath as well as the two on top, that may take the forces better.

    Rather than this way, consider using a large square or rectangle tube. Mount the rails on it. Then encase this tube with the solid gantry and attach the trucks to that.
    I think this would provide a stronger balancing act at the spindle.
    Lee

  9. #9
    I realize my drawing is vague, but I will be putting a 3/4" thick steel plate between the X & Y axis, and had planned on milling a slot for the rails & trucks to nest in. This will keep them from moving side to side, as the screws only supply downward force.

    The Y-Axis ram will be a 6" dia 3/8" thick wall tube milled in half and welded to a 1/2" thick plate. After welding, the plate will also have slots milled for the rails! Surely this will provide adequate rigidity for light milling, drilling and routing! The only problem I foresee is the massive weight, as I may need to build a portable lift table to move things around my shop! With that said, the various base sections might need to be bolted in order to make it easier to work with!

    Widgit
    www.widgitmaster.com
    It's not what you take away, it's what you are left with that counts!

  10. #10
    After a little Googling, I found a picture of a similar design!

    Looks like it has a 4-axis on the Z-Axis!

    Widgit
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 4-axisEngravingMachine.jpg  
    www.widgitmaster.com
    It's not what you take away, it's what you are left with that counts!

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