[Rodm1954]

Hi All,
I am at it again and building another gantry router. Similar design to all my other machines but improving (hopefully) as I go.

My main goals are to build mass into the machine base and strength into the gantry.

Rather than bodgy up a trolley and the electrics at the end as I usually do I have concentrated a lot of effort earlier in the build so these two components are finished first. The trolley had to be built anyway as this machine was too large to build on a mobile bench that I normally work off.

There is plenty of gussets and later on I put plates front and back and an additional brace on the sides. Being mobile it has to be rigid. The castors are cast iron and rubber coated and rated at 560kg total so they should stand up to the load.

First photos are of the trolley and it has been built on my mobile trolley so some of the photo angles look a bit wierd. The shute down the length of the machine is to collect sawdust/swarf in a chamber to make cleaning easier. I gave up on vacuum systems long ago and now just sweep to the edge of the table and collect from underneath.

[LeeWay]

That is great looking work and a good design so far. I did find out that after my recent build, it was nice to have the electronics working first. makes it seem like you make real progress toward the end.
I don't recall how many times I had to take my lathe apart during the build. Maybe a dozen though. It was nice to have the motors already working on the screws to help do this.
I'll keep an eye on your progress.
Best of luck to you on it.

[Rodm1954]

The electrical enclosure I built into the trolley and it is IP54 (??) so it should be good for dust exclusion. I am using 4 Gecko 251's as the X axis will have two ballscrews. A smoothstepper and CNC4PC C10 breakout board and a board to control the spindle complete the electronics. The Geckos are mounted on a large heatsink.

I have built a power supply at 50 volts and are using a huge capacitor so I have hooked up four 12 volt fans in series to drain off the cap when it is shut down. I don't expect them to cool the drives down too much but it was an easy way for me to release the stored energy in the cap.

Electrical switches have been added to control a small air pump, vacuum table, spindle, spindle cooler and turn on the driver board. A main switch is to the right (green) and an emergency switch is to be added yet when I work out the best place to put it.

The VFD for the spindle is mounted to a recessed panel so it is flush with the front. I haven't made my mind up yet if I will use an air cooled or water cooled spindle - see photos.

USB and Parallel ports have been taken to the front of the machine and down low so I don't trip over the cords when they are connected to the computer console. See photo of console.


Ok we love photos so more of those

[Rodm1954]

On to the machine.

The base is made from steel plates and angle. I have used this construction design many times and it works for me.

See photos for detail on how it fits together. I have made the sides high and protection of the ballscrews and linear rails is part of the design concept.
There is a lot of steel in the trolley and machine base so this should give it a firm foundation.

Above the X axis linear rails it is all aluminum and I have used a very heavy section of aluminum for the Y axis gantry. I was concerned about the strength of the gantry sides so re-inforced it with a bit of 20mm plate. To disguise this I engraved the machine name Morphy into it. I call it badge engineering.

The name Morphy is derived from a description Gecko use which is that the micro steps Morph to full steps as speed increases. Morphy is a play on the word Murphy and there is a popular saying in Australia called Murphy's rules. You probably have to be Australian to appreciate that.

The gantry sides where cut on my first Machine - Obott and I will not go in to how that was named.

The X axis motor mounts were cut on a CNC X3 mill I have and are made to fit around the aluminum angle and side plates of the machine. That will be clearer after I fit them and post back here.

Cutting envelope will be around 1200 by 1000 by 130mm but I will not know the exact measurments until I make the joining plates.

That is enough of my waffle for now and I'll let the photos tell the full story.

[Rodm1954]

Thanks Lee,
Yes I agree it is better to have the mumbo jumbo electrickery out of the way so you can concentrate on the machine build.
Converting a lathe for myself is high on my list of jobs. I helped do a 9x20 with a mate and have been wanting to do one since.
For some reason I am not getting email notifications of posts so excuse me if I am not responding soon enough.

[CNCfun&games]

Rod M,

You’ve been quiet lately & I can see why.

You’ve been working on an an Exceptional Design,
and the execution is flawless as usual.

Four G251’s…. are you driving the X Axis from both sides?

Looking forward to future posts to see what surprises you have in store.

Regards…..W. Smith

[Rodm1954]

Hi CNCfun&games,

I have recently finished a couple of joint projects so that has been keeping me busy.

Glad you are still around and will have to go check your mill casting thread. I have another hybrid mill project waiting for me after I finish this machine. Will run Z on linear rails and the column is an 8 inch square RHS. An X2 head again with the belt drive conversion - should be fun.

Yes I will run a ballscrew down both sides of the X. Normally I use an wide plate under the table to stop racking and have a single screw down the centre. I want to keep the gantry sides low and short to aid rigidity so will have to use the double ballscrew to take out racking.

I hope to get out in the workshop tomorrow - family first priority today.

[Splint]

Excellent work there Rod, where did you source the spindles and VFD from?


Cheers
Splint

[LeeWay]

That is a very professional looking build. Could easily be a commercial product.
Fantastic job.

We have Murphy's Law here as well. No stranger to me.

[Greolt]

Rod

I was going to say "Good job as usual" but this ones even better.

Talk about raising the bar !!!!!! :cheers:

Hope you're going to keep this one.

Greg

[epineh]

Just quietly, if I ever move to Perth, one of the prerequisites of where I setup house is that it must be in Rod's neighbourhood

Cheers.

Russell.

[Rodm1954]

Thanks all,
Talk about put the pressure on - now I will have to make this thing work.

Greg,
Hope you are having fun. It is going to be 40 degrees C here tomorrow. Yeah I have to keep this one as I can't get it out of my backyard. Ooops.

Splint,
The spindles and VFD are from China. 0.8 kw, 6k to 24k 3 phase with a single to 3 phase VFD. They have larger sizes as well. From memory about $US450 plus freight for both the 0.8kw spindle and VFD. If you want a link I can send a PM to you.

[Rodm1954]

Lee,
Good to hear Murphy impacts over there as well.

[CNCfun&games]

RodM,

Just posted my latest work on my first moving Gantry Router here on this Forum.
Although my thread is not showing as much progress as you are!

I also bought 4 G251’s but with the Cand CNC Mini I/O Breakout Board for my router.
I’m using Duncan’s C10 on my 6 axis console with G203V’s.

Will be interested in your feedback on the SmoothStepper.
Are you using Mach 3 or EMC? Or ??

Haven’t posted lately on my Benchtop Mill Thread… Still fine tuning
the cores for the new column. Murphy reigns here in my shop!

Will be interested in seeing how you handle the lead screw for the Z axis
On your 8” square RHS. The X2 mod. sounds interesting. I’ve been fooling
around with some Sherline Spindle parts ala Joe Vicars’ modifications, because
ATC’s interest me. Unfortunately I have too many other irons in the fire!

Keep up the good work!……….W. Smith

[Rodm1954]

CNCfun&games

You like a challenge - gantry router, console and mill all on the go at the same time.
Really nice work on the gantry router. I am doing a similar design on this machine with a box wrapped around the Y axis. Mine will not be as finely machined as your one though.
I will be running Mach3 and the smoothstepper will be bypassed initially. I have been told there are problems with slaved axes and homing with the smoothstepper. Once they sort that out I can just plug the smoothstepper in train and see how it goes.
This machine has been in construction for a while now as I am trying to do all the things you normally do after finishing the machine. I am working on cross table clamps this week.

[Splint]

If you want a link I can send a PM to you.

Yes please if you could send a link. Is the spindle quiet when it runs?

Splint

[Rodm1954]

PM sent.
Yes the spindles are a big improvement on a brushed motor but there is no getting away from cutter noise. I consider them a good investment and will never be fitting a die grinder or router on a machine after these.

[Rodm1954]

Some use T slots but I prefer cross clamps. I use a full sheet sacrificial board over my table to protect the table top from cut throughs so it negates the use of T slots.

First I cut up 6 pieces of 40 X 40 x 5 angle and then cut 10mm off one edge so it was not so high on the table.

Next was a bit of lathe work and involved skimming the head of a 12mm bolt and then drilling and tapping an 8mm thread down the centre of the bolt. These were then drilled into the cross supports in the machine. See photo

I have four clamps that work off these - two to hold the sacrificial board in place and two for clamping the job.

That took care of anything that can be clamped over the cross braces but I also need to clamp between the braces. To do this I made 2 clamps that have a tab that swivels under the table and then a screw to pull it down tight. See photo of exploded parts which is easier than trying to explain it. Next photo shows it assembled on the angle.

Last photo show the two types of clamps on the machine.

I have made these before on other machines and know they work well so if it ain't broke don't fix it.

I am using a knurled cap I turned up that screws over the head of a cap screw. This means I do not have to use a wrench to tighten the clamps down and I can use different length cap screws if needed. Also I can always use an allen wrench if the bolts are too tight to undo

[Rodm1954]

Today I jumped to Z axis as it was only half a days work and I need to finish this machine. It is a new Isuko actuator and I have added a plate for the spindle and side plates to protect the ballscrew and strengthen the main plate.

Nema 276 oz motor is mounted and a helical coupling connects the motor to the ballscrew. I have mounted a 1 HP air cooled spindle as I am keen to see how these perform. It is has an ER11 collet which is limiting so I will eventually mount a 2 HP water cooled spindle that has an ER16 collet. This will be much heavier so I might have to add a brake to hold it when the driver board is turned off.

Couple of photos show how it was done.

[epineh]

This will be much heavier so I might have to add a brake to hold it when the driver board is turned off.

That looks pretty sweet Rod

I have the same problem for my Z axis on my next build, the servo I have for it has a 24v brake already built in, with no power the motor is locked, apply 24v and it is free. I guess it is power down failsafe this way which is good. I haven't seen these on steppers but I am sure you could adapt something, let me know if you want me to try chase one up for you.

Otherwise a big chunk of wood under the spindle will do the job

Cheers.

Russell.