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IndustryArena Forum > WoodWorking Machines > DIY CNC Router Table Machines > Heavy large scale gantry mill/router/3d carving 5 axis build
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    189

    Heavy large scale gantry mill/router/3d carving 5 axis build

    Been working on the design of my latest machine. I've got a half dozen cnc machines under my belt now and with the help of others here on the forum and 2 years designing the build has started on my most ambitious project to date, a 5 axis mill.

    I plan to use the machine to help in the fabrication of the sculpture that I create. Specifically

    3D carving of the female form.

    Here's a couple of examples of my sculptures and the general layout of the machine.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Picture 458 (Medium).jpg   Picture 460 (Medium).jpg   Picture 464 (Medium).jpg  
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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    189
    a few of the sculptures I do and will be able to scale up and down with the new machine.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Amy.s (Medium).jpg   Feir010.jpg   Picture 061 (Large).jpg  
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
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    5728

    Sounds ambitious okay

    Did you really carve those sculptures with a CNC mill? They look more like they were welded or soldered together. Do you think the aesthetic qualities they have will survive the scaling-up (or down) process intact?

    Do you have a design worked out for the 5-axis mill? It's hard to see what you're planning to do from the miscellaneous pieces of steel and process shots you've shared so far.

    Andrew Werby
    www.computersculpture.com

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    189
    Today was a huge day for visual progress. The months of fabrication of the parts including the gantry are finally one. It'll take the next day or two to make sure the frame is plumb and the rails are properly aligned.

    CNC metal mill drilling pilot holes for the brackets that hold the frame in place.

    Brackets welded to cross members and opened up to .75" to receive the bolts that will hold the structure together.

    Gantry is introduced to the frame for the first time. Hopefully my CAD skills and measurements are close...

    A little while later the gantry is carefully lifted via a floor jack a foot or so of the floor. Step one..

    a couple of hours later the gantry is getting closer to home..


    Gantry finally in place. This was heavy and dangerous work. Balancing a piece of steel like this on one floor jack and then rotating in 90 degrees is a *****. Resting for a while..

    Here's a shot of my now messy shop with me in the pic so you can get a feel for the size of the machine.

    More as it happens...
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    Picture 474 (Medium).jpg   Picture 479 (Medium).jpg  
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    189
    Molds were made from a real person, then the pieces that make up the sculpture were welded together.

    Sorry for the confusion..

    Quote Originally Posted by awerby View Post
    Did you really carve those sculptures with a CNC mill? They look more like they were welded or soldered together. Do you think the aesthetic qualities they have will survive the scaling-up (or down) process intact?



    Do you have a design worked out for the 5-axis mill? It's hard to see what you're planning to do from the miscellaneous pieces of steel and process shots you've shared so far.

    Andrew Werby
    www.computersculpture.com
    Is a sentance fragment?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    189
    Today I put a jig together to align the primary THK rail along the X axis. Holes were drilled and then tapped with using lots of cutting oil and the slowest speed on my cordless drill. I set the clutch on my drill near it's lowest setting and got all the holes done without breaking a single tap.

    Later the rail was placed on the frame and each socket head cap screw was installed so that they are all still loose but the heads are beneath the surface. This allows me to move the gantry back and forth to get at all the screws.

    Late in the day I started positioning the X axis ball screw assembly, more on that in the next few days...
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Picture 472 .jpg   Picture 473 .jpg   Picture 479 .jpg  
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  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    189
    Can a man have too many clamps? NO!!

    Here I am setting up the ball screw for the X axis.

    Once measurements were taken it went to the CNC mill to make the mounting brackets. Everything will be roughly aligned and then shimmed to precision near the build end.

    Next step: Contemplating the 5th axis.. Here in place with yet more clamps... Thinking...
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Picture 472 (Large).jpg   Picture 473 (Large).jpg   Picture 485 (Large).jpg   Picture 486 (Large).jpg  

    Picture 488 (Large).jpg  
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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    1147
    You don't F around do you? It's looking great. That 4th/5th axis, depending how you look at it, is going to be all business. How heavy do you think it'll wind up being?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    106
    I'm more interested in the process of making those sculptures, mostly the part about casting and pulling the molds, how about some detailed pics lol, jk .

    Looks like its going to be a nice machine.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    189
    Been working on the electrical enclosure for the 4 G&L Servo drives. Got luck at the local scrap yard and scored a enclosure box for $5.00 Got all my wiring done in a couple of hours this afternoon.

    Next,I took a dell desktop machine and liberated the essentials from the plastic fluff and brackets. Now it will fit nicely in my interface enclosure with it's touch screen monitor.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Copy (4) of Picture 494 (Large).jpg   Copy (3) of Picture 495 (Large).jpg  
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  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    189
    Now for the deep Z axis. I hit the local scrap/recycling yard this morning and purchased a couple of pieces of 1 inch thick by 5 inch pieces of 6061 T-6 aluminum. This is the primary material I will use for the Z. I started off by chopping to the length a piece of the material to mount the bearings. A chop saw with a carbide blade made the cut quickly. I'll set up the mill to true the end after rough cutting to length.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Picture 497 (Medium).jpg   Picture 496 (Medium).jpg  
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  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    189
    A couple of years ago I picked up a couple of THK linear rails and cassettes at the same scrapyard for $10 for the pair. I got 4 rails and 4 cassettes and some .5 inch aluminum. The rails are about 26 inches long. An hour later I had it stripped down and a "pile o' parts" on the table. Bearings were well greased as you can see and are in excellent shape. Time for some thinking..
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Picture 490 (Medium).jpg   Picture 492 (Medium).jpg   Picture 509 (Medium).jpg   Picture 494 (Medium).jpg  

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  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    189
    Slept on the Z axis for a night and came up with a plan. It will be based on the 1 inch thick by 5 inch 6061 T6 aluminum pieces procured at the local salvage yard. Here the mill is happily plugging away doing a G83 routine for the mounting holes for the 4 bearing cassettes. A quick tool change and it's back counter sinking the mounting holes.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Picture 499 (Medium).jpg   Picture 501 (Medium).jpg   Picture 506 (Medium).jpg  
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  14. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    189
    Bearings and rails took an hour of so going back and forth with a run out gauge to make sure they are dead on parallel. Once done they are tightened down and I'm moving to position the ball screw. After a lot of thought I went with a somewhat unorthodox design for the Deep Z axis. Rather then run the screw done the center I opted instead to run it to the side. This allows me to keep the two load bearing members as close together as possible. Considering the stout construction of this axis due to its unusual reach I see no problem with mounting the screw off center. It's got a 19 inch inch Z travel. Grin
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Picture 507 (Medium).jpg   Picture 509 (Medium).jpg   Picture 511 (Medium).jpg   Picture 514 (Medium).jpg  

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  15. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Posts
    409
    Looking Good!, Just wanted to mention that I use a similar Z design, my plates are 3/4" thick x 6" wide and I only have about 4" of overhang and I get a bit of bending when cutting.

    Are you worried about the 1" bending during cutting?

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    189
    Quote Originally Posted by Phife View Post
    Looking Good!, Just wanted to mention that I use a similar Z design, my plates are 3/4" thick x 6" wide and I only have about 4" of overhang and I get a bit of bending when cutting.

    Are you worried about the 1" bending during cutting?
    I've got some hardened steel that has been pre-drilled. I've also got some spare THK rail laying around. I'm planning on attaching the hardened steel at right angles to the sides of the slides to give them more rigidity. I'll do that after I test fit the rest of the bits.

    L
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  17. #17
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    3498
    Tristar.. I really like your efforts building this machine.. Can you kindly tell us about the electronics and motors you will use?
    Regards
    http://free3dscans.blogspot.com/ http://my-woodcarving.blogspot.com/
    http://my-diysolarwind.blogspot.com/

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Posts
    1166
    The result of mounting your lead screw off center will be extra side loads on your linear bearing blocks. This will reduce their life. Details on calculations are in the THK catalog. However as long as your bearings are oversized for the job, you should still be fine.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    1016

    cam software

    what cad cam software are you planning to use with 4-5 axis?

    looking good keep up the hard work

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    189
    Quote Originally Posted by eloid View Post
    what cad cam software are you planning to use with 4-5 axis?

    looking good keep up the hard work
    The only CAM software I have is BobCad 21/23 and it doesn't support 5 axis machines.

    However, I believe I can get some good results by indexing my A and B axis and then re-orienting the part in the software and writing an additional tool path for each quadrature.

    Fully functional 5 axis CAM software would expand the machines capabilities.

    L
    Is a sentance fragment?

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