[keen]

Hi - While I am waiting for my X3 to arrive I plan to make a bench. I suspect the small bases that come with the machine would not be as stable as a larger bench and would be best bolted down to the floor - especially in earthquake country! I thought I would weld a frame from angle iron and bolt down a heavy timber top - I suppose about 1.2 m long (47") and around 0.65m (26") wide and 0.8m (31.5") high ? I do not know what the machine base to table top surface height is - so I cannot easily work out the exact ideal height for a 6ft operator. I imagine the PC is best on the bench on the right of the machine? - for those who are right handed. - This is why I imagine it would need to be 1.2m long? I imagine a polycarbonate (Lexan) chip screen between the PC and the machine would be sufficient? then I thought about putting castors on each corner to allow moving it around etc - and jack screws beside the castors to take the weight long term and allow easy leveling. - any thoughts or information very welcome!

[InspirationTool]

I'd think about cleaning and if you want to do flood or mist coolant. That will guide your design.

CNC machines can make a TON of chips in a hurry.

-Jeff

[keen]

Thanks - I plan to put the bench in a workshop corner - against 2 concrete walls - and I will have the Lexan screen on the right side. But yeh, maybe I should also attach some thin raised walls around the bench to reduce the chips that 'fall down the cracks" Cheers

[vladdy]

I had made a new bench for my old south bend last summer and used 1.5 by 2.5 rectangular box tubing, based on a fairly low overall cost..wound up using large casters [lockable], and put in a lower shelf for a plastic tool / spares compartments..
Also welded in a chip tray that collects 'most' of the shavings, but I also cut without lube, a mix of HSS and carbide cutters..so no splash shielding..
I angled the front and back legs to give a larger support base, while leaving a relatively shallow top mounting surface..I also set the bottom shelf slightly back so that I could get comfortably close to the lathe..
I made pads mounts for the shelf only on the ends where it would normally mount to the bench, so it's fairly open, and easy to cleanup..
If you want to see what the final result was, I can take a couple of quick photos..

enjoy

[keen]

Thanks Vladdy - I think I can visualise your design - some good tips.

[ETM Shop]

The steel stand that is made for the SX3 is quite stable; I used leveling feet from McMaster to level it.

What it lacks though is proper way to keep coolant and waste off the floor and walls surrounding the mill. To combat this I am building a cabinet that sits around the mill.

Starting with the base, I constructed a table that sits between the mill and stand, I created a sloping surface that slopes in all directions towards the front of the mill so material is easy to clean. I coated it with fiberglass (ugh) and then painted it with a very tough enamel paint from a paint shop.

I chose to add feet to both the stand and the mill.

I am now constructing a cabinet that will sit on drain table and around the mill with sliding glass doors for easy access. I am adding luxeon LEDs below the mill head to illuminate the work piece and the coolant system integrates into the drain table as well.

[keen]

Looks classy - gives me some more ideas - cheers

[syil]

Very good job.did your connect the coolant?

is it sable,have noise?

[ZipSnipe]

Nice camera dude , those have got to be the cleanest hi rez pics I,ve ever seen on this site. Oh yeah the stand looks awesome, good work.!!!

[bohica]

Here is another example of a mill stand. It is designed for full flood coolant. Although it is not yet completed, you can get the general idea.

Construction is 1/4" angle and plate for the structural frame with 16ga steel and some 1/8 angle for everything else. Vibration isolators are installed on the mounting pads, and the leveling feet shown will also serve as vibration isolators as well.

There is a 15 gal cooling tank in the base and plumbing to carry the fluid to the mill plus a quick disconnect fitting for a hose near the front. All of the electrical is condiuted out of sight. There will be switches on the front for both lighting the and coolant pump. The mill base will be screened to prevent chips from going under the mill to the drain.

[syil]

very good design.you konw Syil just prepare to make a bench of our CNC x3 and x2.so i think we can learn somthing from customers.

[Flatline's Up!]

never used flood coolant before, how big of a mess does it make? Is it necessary to put up lexan splash walls (if so, how high?) or is just a drain table like pictured above good enough?

Trying to get my plans together for mine as well.
Thanks,B

[ZipSnipe]

Flood coolant makes a big mess and eats paint like theres no tomorrow. The tool and die shop I work at only uses the flood coolant on high speed drilling of aluminum and mist for everything else.

[InspirationTool]

I would recommend walls at least as high as the mill.... Make allowances for adding a "roof" in case you need it. If I get an X3 I will be adding a large sheet metal table cover that covers the width of the table and the Y axis to act as a drip shield. It's a pain to clean chips out of the T slots, and I plan to never move my vises after they are installed.

Mist is supposed to be cleaner, but I'm doing a lot of deep pocketing in aluminum, so it's flood for me.

Looking at some of those stands, I'd begin to worry about the width of the top frame versus the narrow supporting stand. What happens if a heavy guy leans on the far edge?

-Jeff

[ETM Shop]

The coolant method employed depends on the job; but all methods make quite a mess. If you're operating frequently then misting proceeds to coat the shop with a fine layer of coolant/grime mixture. The stand I showed above will have a fully enclosed cabinet around the mill to keep the mess contained.

As for the stability of the narrow stand, it is quite stable; for the sake of the unforeseen however mine is secured to the wall.

[bohica]

Flood coolant does more than just providing cooling, it flushes the chips away from the cutter and helps provide a better finish.

The mill table shown in my previous post will have a plexiglass top, with hinged doors in the mill head area and a removeable front plexiglass panel. Because the top of the sides of the bench are 16" above the mill table, I expect to have little or no coolant loss.

The paint on the table is an industrial uerethane paint that is very corrosion resistant. I don't think any water based coolant will effect this paint at all. The table cost about $500 to build and that included $100 just for the paint.

Stability? Don't know yet, but when you load a 1000 lb mill on this table it should be very stable. However, like EMT Shop, I have provisions for securing
the table as a just in case.

[syil]

500$..very expensive.but very good looking.we just planning make this kind accessory for our machines.but still consult the customers need a big cover or now.

Xushuo
Syil

[SyilAmerica]

Flood does make a mess. That's for sure. I've always wanted to play with those "votex tube" type of cooler/chip clearing units. Any type of enclosure should be constructed to suit all purposes.

[dafowfidy]

Does anyone have the footprint dimentions and the foorspace need at maximum travel for the X3? I am waiting on my machine, so in the mean time I am laying out an enclosure that will use the syil stand and be constructed with the 80/20 10 series product.

[ETM Shop]

I'm just going off my memory here, but the width is approximately 48". The X-Axis moves approximately 18" from center in either direction, but the stepper is another 6" and for symmetry, I just made it 24" from center in both directions.

The Y-Axis extends about 11" from the front of the mill base (If I recall correctly.)

Someone here has a series of solidworks models for a base, I did all the measurements and then found that he had already done it. You can download his zip file with all the necessary drawings for maximum outer dimensions.