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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    23

    My steel frame router

    Long time reader, first time poster here. I'm into the home stretch of building this machine so I thought it was about time I shared with the community.

    (edit) Doesn't seem to want to let me post pictures. Guessing I have too few posts. Trying as links:

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FsjS474GOs...1600-h/001.jpg

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FsjS474GOs...-h/cnc_002.jpg

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FsjS474GOs...-h/cnc_003.jpg

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FsjS474GOs...h/DSCN0001.jpg

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    23

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    23
    And a video of it running:

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpbJZdD8GiM"]YouTube - Home made CNC test[/ame]

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    1955
    Hi - nice project. I really like the fixed gantry and enclosed nature of the frame design.

    I am not sure, but you might need some dampers on the motors based on the sound in the movie.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    1147
    That is an interesting design and congrats on getting it moving. Do you plan to make a housing around it?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    267
    ahh lemme guess... umm... CNC setup and running on the kitchen counter.. hmm. Bachelor by any chance?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    23
    Quote Originally Posted by harryn View Post
    Hi - nice project. I really like the fixed gantry and enclosed nature of the frame design.

    I am not sure, but you might need some dampers on the motors based on the sound in the movie.
    thank you; it's entirely possible. I really don't know much about dampers so any info would be welcome. What would they improve?

    Quote Originally Posted by FandZ View Post
    That is an interesting design and congrats on getting it moving. Do you plan to make a housing around it?
    I do, in fact it's already in progress. I'll get some more pics as soon as the enclosure is finished. I plan to have the whole thing boxed in in hopes of running coolant when necessary.

    Quote Originally Posted by analogman View Post
    ahh lemme guess... umm... CNC setup and running on the kitchen counter.. hmm. Bachelor by any chance?
    lol, guilty. I'm pretty well used to explaining myself to some degree whenever I bring a new girl home. ("so.....what do you do for a living again??") To be fair, I did have an ex who let me set up lab tables in the living room for this kind of thing.

    This is the first thing we cut with it (back out in the garage, that is, not in my kitchen):


    It's proving to be very strong. At 70ipm I can put all my weight into trying to stop it and it won't miss a step. Nothing flexes or binds. I can't wait to see what all I can do with this thing.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    628
    Nicely done! You're going to have a great time with it. I like the look of the design, and the fact that you can easily enclose it. Good work.

    Steve

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    23
    A little bit of the "dog house"




  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    146
    Beautiful! How did you find it welding that frame together? What size tubing did you use and how did you deal with welding distortion?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    23
    Welding wasn't bad, but I've done a lot of precision frame type stuff in the past (such as the frame for my ongoing lotus seven project). It's all 16 gauge 1" tubing. I cut everything to exacting lengths before hand so that I could assume their cold length. Put everything together with tacks and corner clamps to start with, did all corner to corner measurements and shifted/adjusted where necessary. It's slow going, but it came up right on the money for the most part. On my lotus frame the corner to corner is within 1/32" over 12 feet using the same method.

    There is a smidge of error in a couple places though, which is foolish not to plan for. I adjusted for this using shims I cut up out of one of those auto parts store feeler gauges (like raising one corner of the bed up to level it to the top axis- Feeler gauge strip under the rail mount).

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    23
    Teaser:



    Still plenty of work to do. I ran out of sound deadening material, so more is on the way.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    1955
    Hi - very well thought out and executed project. I wish I could weld like that, but then again, that probably would mean I need to do it everyday.

    What are you using for sound deadening?

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    23
    Quote Originally Posted by harryn View Post
    Hi - very well thought out and executed project. I wish I could weld like that, but then again, that probably would mean I need to do it everyday.

    What are you using for sound deadening?
    I wish I could say I got to weld every day, but I really don't. Usually only maybe once a month or so. Everyone should learn though- I started out with a flux core (gassless) 110v MIG (well, not technically MIG when flux cored) welders and converted it to argon later on. Definitely a very useful tool and skill to have.

    The sound deadener is ebay "fat-mat" for car applications. It's the same stuff as dynamat, but a little thinner and a lot cheaper.

    Here's my rig as it stands:


    and the t-slot table, with a vice clamped in (you can see the sound mat inside):


    and most importaintly, results! Utah-Teapot milled into a scrap piece of 1/4" aluminum plate:


  15. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    1955
    That looks nice - looks like some LED lighting in there as well?

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    23
    Thank you!

    uh...yeah...about the lights...I kinda didn't plan that one out very well, so those are some cheap stick on LED lights from autozone. It needs much improvement, but it's getting me by until then. I think I'll still use LEDs so that I can keep the voltage low (just in case they short or something, don't need to be feeding 700v back through my controller from a cold cathode). That, and a few other improvements to the machine in general.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    1147
    Hats off to you man. Good job! Am I right in assuming that is a harbor freight laminate router? Makes me wonder would it could do with a porter cable router.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    23
    Quote Originally Posted by FandZ View Post
    Hats off to you man. Good job! Am I right in assuming that is a harbor freight laminate router? Makes me wonder would it could do with a porter cable router.
    And I may be forced to that very soon. The (you guessed right) harbor freight router is a bit strained, and doesn't seem like I'll get even a couple months work out of it. I think it would be wise of me to invest in a spindle with a real collet.

    Any suggestions? Is the chinese 1.5k spindle something that can get coolant all over it without becoming dangerous, while we're at it?

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    1147
    Quote Originally Posted by Spiv View Post
    And I may be forced to that very soon. The (you guessed right) harbor freight router is a bit strained, and doesn't seem like I'll get even a couple months work out of it. I think it would be wise of me to invest in a spindle with a real collet.

    Any suggestions? Is the chinese 1.5k spindle something that can get coolant all over it without becoming dangerous, while we're at it?
    I'm the wrong guy to ask. I've just built my first strictly hardware store machine. I'm useing a 2.25hp Hitachi router that I think was steel for 89 from amazon. I have have been very impressed with it so far.


    Reading around things are looking positive for the Chinese spindle. Some have gotten units with run out but the seller has done exchanges and handled problems accordingly. I don't see coolant being a problem. It's not that hard to water proof a component, especially since the cooling is taken care of away from the spindle.

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