# Birth of a 4-axis CNC machine



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*T-slot comes home*

I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now. 
Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.

I have a pretty good idea what I want and the materials I can acquire on the cheap will dictate most of what ends up becoming my completed machine.

I want to be able to do 3 axis machining on a small basis, but also a 4th rotary axis for doing and carving on turnings and 3-D objects.

I've found a lot of good componants and they've come down in price even since last year.
This T-slot is from an old test bench that my Father had gotten and wasn't using. He gave it to me as a birthday gift. What he really gave me, was the birth of my new machine. I figure I've got just enough here to make up the framework of a decent hobby machine.

There's no real budget sitting around for this project, so I'll have to acquire peices out of my monthly budget.
This will be a slow going project. If I finish it within the next two years, I'll be pretty satisfied. For now, this is what I've got.










I spent a couple hours last night stripping this down and cleaning it up. It sat outside for some time and a lot of the bolts and nuts were rusted. They're all now soaking in oil in a #10 can to clean them up.

T-slot is like the grown man's erector set. This stuff is cool. This 2" X 2" stuff is way more rigid than I thought it would be. I've decided to do a double rail framework to make it even more rigid. It should work fairly well I think.

That's it for now. Stay tuned. Take notes. Thanks for reading along!


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


Hey DS, this will be fun.

Building a machine like this is such a mind consumer. I still keep getting the bug to build another, but too much stuff is in the way. I will watch with delight what a craftsman such as yourself will create.

You probably know, but the ebay 8020 store is a great and cheap way to get the missing extrusions for this.
http://stores.ebay.com/8020-Inc-Garage-Sale

Steve


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


Thanks Steve!
It's seeing the machines that folks like yourself have made that has emboldened me to take the plunge.

I have a short list of things to buy as soon as I can scrape up about $600 with no where else to go. I suspect it won't be the last short list.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


You can't go wrong using the Tslot or 80/20 extrusions! They are strong, versitile, and better than any other solution including custom machined parts.
When I was working I built several production tools using Tslot material and the only dissapointment I had was using the linear slides but then my expectations were too high. They did provide a good smooth movement but the lateral play dissapointed me.

Are you going to use linear bearings?
Stepper or servos?
PLC (would be rather novel), Laguna uses that) or PC control?

Have you looked at the Legacy CNC and their 1/2 axis?
Legacy CNC
Kind of a partial solution to another dimension.

*Too nosey, too many question!*


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


I'm looking at using stepper motors. Servers would we terrific, but I am going to try this on the cheap for this machine.

The controller I am looking at can handle four 3.5A stepper motors and I'm going to max that out. It is a nice self-contained unit that can be driven from the on-board keypad and display (Think manual pulse generator), or, it can be fed by a PC via a parallel port interface.

There is a rotary axis with a 3 jaw chuck and a smaller NEMA23 motor that uses pulleys to gear it down. It looks like it will fit the bill nicely for about $200.

The main conflict for me is the spindle. I really, really, really want an ATC spindle. But, the cheapest one I've seen is $2500.00 I can get a non-ATC spindle for under $500 so there is a huge difference. I keep trying to think how to make an ATC and adapt it to a non-ATC spindle, but, no joy on that front yet.

For bearings, if I can find some used THK linear bearings that would be awesome. T-slot systems has a ball bearing slider made for thier products, but I have no idea how suitable they would be for the X,Y & Z axis functions.

The tailstock on the 4th axis will use the t-slot nylon bushings with a locking brake to adjust for stock length. I still need to work out a rack and pinion setup for the X axis and am still entertaining other solutions in that regard.

When I'm done, my machine should resemble the Legacy machine quite a bit I suspect.

All good questions. I don't mind at all.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


YES!

This will be very interesting to watch…

That's an expensive bunch of extruded aluminum there… good stuff!

Thank you.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


Auto Tool Change - huh, it seems like that would not be the "main conflict" yet. You could always add it later. (?) The price difference is amazing.

But hey, I guess that shows that this is not going to be just a throw together machine.

I love it,
Steve


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


The conflict, for me, is between wanting the ATC capability and not wanting to spend that much money.
You are right though, I can delay that decision for quite some time.

Who knows? I might fall into some extra dough next year.

In any case, I am designing a space above and behind the rotary chuck for the tool holders. I should be able to fit 5 or 6 of them there.


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


So, last night I went out and started assembling the framework.

I decided to use the corner brackets on the ends of the rails to make the corner joints because I thought they would look cooler that way. The rails have holes for this purpose, but, to my slight dismay, they are not tapped. So I spent about an hour tapping the holes with a makeshift tap before I could put anything together.

By the time I called it a night, I got one end of the unit assembled and I have a good vision of how it will come together. ( I remember kid's erector sets being easier than this.)

I'm going to take pictures this weekend as I hope to get the rest of it put together.

BTW, my homemade tap was a bolt which I cut across the threads with my dremel tool's cutting disk. It worked fair enough, though I think my drill has seen better days driving the tap under lots of torque. I did get a blister on the knuckle of my thumb though-soft hands being what they are. (I cut wood with my computer mouse after all.)


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


I take it you are not using the 80/20/Tslot joint connectors! Those connectors are really strong.


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


Yes, I am using the connectors where they apply.

The main reason is the asthetic of it all. I didn't want open ended rails hanging out in the air.
It actually looks pretty good this way and it is also really strong.

Pictures will follow on Monday.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


*Yup, this stuff I'd strong!*

There are end cap cover available that just snap into the extrusions. They do not require any hardware.

There are also groove covers available. These are useful for keeping dirt and/or sawdust out of unused section of the extrusions.

When I was contemplating my own build I was considering an enclosed cutting area with sliding Plexiglas doors for access because I had enough snap in sliding door tracks for two 4' x 8' tables.

I am sure you can find these on eBay if you can wade through the over 6,200 items just for 80/20 extrusions. I am lucky as the local Tslot distributer and I are on friendly terms and they are less that 8 miles from my house.

Using these extrusions opens a whole new world of possibilities!


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


I've wanted to do this for a long time. My main hobby was electronics about 5 or 6 years ago. Up until about 3 months ago I hadn't touched it since that time. Unfortunately for my woodworking I haven't done anything but electronics for about 3 months, so now I've gotten the bug again.

Due to an unfortunate set of circumstances at the plant I am now retired at 62 years old. I plan on trying to earn whatever the SS people will allow me to with a combination of my hobby woodworking, buying and selling on Ebay, and some websites that I have in my mind. Web sites are also a hobby of mine. I have too many hobbies actually.

I am seriously thinking of buying a laser engraving machine and a small 2ft by 4 ft commercial CNC router and they're both Jim Dandies. Surely with these machines I will be able to make some extra money with my woodworking. However, for some crazy reason I still want to build a CNC for myself. I'm hoping also to get a small milling machine and lathe since I no longer have my machine shop at the plant. So, I guess you could say I'm going to have sort of a busy retirement.

I wish you the best of luck on this project and I'll be checking it out to see how you are coming on it. May you be happy in your work.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## JL7 (Apr 13, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


Very interesting….I have a little stash of the 80/20…...looking forward to seeing what you come up with…...


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


I wonder how many LJ have this stuff stashed away?

*Maybe we should setup a swap forum!*


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


Do you mean like this Trade and Swap Forum?


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## Bagtown (Mar 9, 2008)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


Following along. . . .
I've programmed and run many CNC machines (Routers, Mills, Lathes) but always wanted my own to play with.
Looking forward to following along.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


I didn't know about the Trade and Swap Forum! But, yes that is what I mean!


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


I'm on board for the ride. This should be cool.
And I know about hurry up and wait for parts.
To me that gives you a lot of time to think it out.
I am wanting to build a work bench and I have pictures of benches plastered all over my office wall. I will just sit and think of what features I want and will use.
Good luck.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


I'm NO leader, so I'm following along!!!


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## ajancnc (Nov 22, 2012)

DS251 said:


> *T-slot comes home*
> 
> I've been planning a 4-axis machine in my head for more than a decade now.
> Every time I go to put it on paper, I get another idea and end up trashing all my notes.
> ...


Nice Blog! Thank you for sharing this valuable and informative blog. Keep us inform like this. This blog is good and interesting blog to read. Best of lick for your future.


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*Putting it together - a start, anyways.*

Well, as promised, here are some more pics of the process.

*Before;*









First thing I had to do was tap the end screw holes for the corner brackets. I could have used these with the t-slot connectors and not had to tap anything, but I wanted the brackets to do double-duty as end caps too.

I didn't have an appropriate tap, so I used my dremel tool to cut a groove across the threads of a screw, being careful to leave a good cutting edge on the leading edge of the threads.

With a little 3-in-1 oil and my power drill, it worked out nicely.

*After;*









It didn't take too long to get it put together to this point. I have about 2 1/2 hours into it so far.

*It's beginning to take shape;*









I'm pretty sure I will need to add some sort of levelling legs underneath it in order to set it level and true.
Right now the thing has a twist in it and is put together mostly to solidify the vision I have in my head for this.
The leveling legs will likely add another 4" to 6" in height to this which will put it right about where it should be.

I won't bother to true it up until that part is done.

There will be another frame inset inside this one that will hold the 4th axis motor and tailstock.
It will be hinged at the head and have an adjustable height on the tail end-probably with some all thread. (Details pending, of course) This will allow for tapered work. (The infamous pseudo-5th axis.)

The side panels will probably be filled in for rigidity, but I want to be sure that the bearings and pinon gears will have the required room for mounting before I do that part.

The current overall size is 28"W X 68"L X 28"H

Thanks for following along. Stay tuned.

I have a dining table project coming up which may provide funds to buy the next batch of parts. That could be as soon as Thanksgiving. We'll see how it goes.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *Putting it together - a start, anyways.*
> 
> Well, as promised, here are some more pics of the process.
> 
> ...


Yes… It's starting to take shape!

Looks like a rugged, SQUARE chasis…

Very good…


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *Putting it together - a start, anyways.*
> 
> Well, as promised, here are some more pics of the process.
> 
> ...


Sweet.

That seems like a nice size. Long enough to do panels, yet it won't take up the whole shop.
Have you thought about being able to add a vertical vise for dovetails etc? Kinda silly, but fun.
Color me jealous.

Steve


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Putting it together - a start, anyways.*
> 
> Well, as promised, here are some more pics of the process.
> 
> ...


*Looking good!*

From my experience, if you the Tslot or 80/20 connectors there won't me any twist as long as the ends are square!

Extrusion are a very good solution for this kind of build. I have seen a lot of CNCs made out of MDF but they don't look as good as yours will!

What is the final cutting area size or did I miss when you mentioned that?


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Putting it together - a start, anyways.*
> 
> Well, as promised, here are some more pics of the process.
> 
> ...


Well, all of the brackets and connectors have a little give in them - not to say that they flex, but rather, you can tighten the brackets in a crooked position if you're not careful.

Since I assembled this on the tailgate of my pickup truck, (a la "Mere Mortal" style), I didn't spend much time truing things up yet.

When I true it up, it will simply be a matter of loosening most of the screws half a turn and then setting the legs with a level, then tightening them up as I go.

My garage floor is anything BUT level, so there is really not a good reference there.

The extrusions I have came with a set of wheels, (two fixed and two 360 degree). 
They would put this at a good height, but the importance of a good level reference surface cannot be over-stated here. This is a machine that will be set in place and not moved again. 
"Roll-around" capability is NOT a typical requirement of a CNC machine!

Speaking of which, I haven't decided on the final location in my garage for this guy yet. That is going to take some re-arranging.

I'm not exactly sure of the final cutting size, but I am aiming to turn up to 16" diameter by 48" long.
Flat stock would be nice at a minimum 24" wide X 48" long, but it will probably come up short on the width due to overhead of the spindle.


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## boxcarmarty (Dec 9, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Putting it together - a start, anyways.*
> 
> Well, as promised, here are some more pics of the process.
> 
> ...


Don't take too long DS, You got me on the edge of my seat and I'm fixin' to fall off…..


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Putting it together - a start, anyways.*
> 
> Well, as promised, here are some more pics of the process.
> 
> ...


16" diameter x 48" long … that's quite a log! How much HP is going to be on this axis?

I know this is going to be awesome to see working, a lot like the Legacy CNC videos except much LARGER!


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *Putting it together - a start, anyways.*
> 
> Well, as promised, here are some more pics of the process.
> 
> ...


Nice set off legs you have there DS.
I am liking this project as well.


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Putting it together - a start, anyways.*
> 
> Well, as promised, here are some more pics of the process.
> 
> ...


I doubt this will ever see a log that big. (Though I turned some 14" X 42" pedistals a couple years ago that would be perfect for this machine-I found the pic on my phone, so here it is.)









Mostly I want to be able to carve custom corbels and turn some longer legs. 16" diameter covers the corbels-not likely to be more than 20" long. 48" covers most turnings I might do-most likely not more than 6" in diameter.

Still, the 4th axis will be geared down and not spinning very fast, while the X, Y and Z axis' will have fairly good sized steppers, max'ing out at 3.5A per axis.

This machine will not be used to process panels, but could make onlays, corbels, rope and twist turnings and other fancy-dancy accoutrements for cabinetry.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Putting it together - a start, anyways.*
> 
> Well, as promised, here are some more pics of the process.
> 
> ...


I'm sure your are familiar with www.CNCzone.com, but figured I'd provide the link anyway. A wonderful site for anything and all things CNC. I actually was reseaching a cnc build there and discovered LJs, so here I am. I WILL eventually build my CNC, just as soon as I overcome my procrastination and finish my WW shop set up.

Following along…...


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Putting it together - a start, anyways.*
> 
> Well, as promised, here are some more pics of the process.
> 
> ...


As soon as my CNC arrives I am joining that group, specifically the Shopbot group.


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*How lovely are the feet!*

Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…

I knew I needed a good foundation on this beast of a machine I am going to build, so I went about looking for a suitable set of leveler feet for it.
What I decided on turned out to be fairly cost effective and appropriately substantial to handle the anticipated load I'm going to put on this thing.

For $26.99 I found a set of four Billiard table legs on Amazon which looked like they would mount up perfectly to my machine. 








When compared to the furniture levelers, there was no comparison. 6" diameter cast metal feet with a chrome finish-Nice!









First thing I had to do was to flip the frame upside down and drill a 1/2" hole through the bottom of the rail.









I added the T-slot nuts into the rail and screwed the mounting plate to the bottom of the rail. For this I had to shorten the screws a bit as they bottomed out before tightening the plate. That proved to be the most time consuming part as all I had was a cut-off disk in my dremel for the task.









The feet threaded right into the mounting plate and they are very secure.









Once all four feet were attached I flipped the frame back over.

Voila! It's starting to look like something.








I still need to true up the framework, but that will be a relatively simple task, now that I have adjustable feet for it.

My next big purchase are the THK rails for the main X axis. They are 65" long and cost around $500.00 for the pair. This might seem overkill, but I intend on this thing being very accurate and tight toleranced.

It will be one of many substantial investments into this future CNC machine.
Thanks for following along! Happy Thanksgiving to all!


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Good move. Good idea.

Are you planing to add a skin to the sides to prevent racking? I have not ever worked with those extrusions so maybe it's not a problem. (?)

Man, this is fun to watch.

Steve


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


I love watching guys who are as talented and determined as you do their stuff. Can't wait to see how it all turns out in the end.


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Actually, I have some 3/4" MDO plywood that I will likely use to enclose the upper portion of the sides. I don't think it is necessary for racking, but it will help keep the dust and chips from spraying everywhere. It certainly will add strength to the unit and not hurt in that regard.

Mainly, I just want to make sure that it won't be in the way of any future components before I add it to the framework.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


It's nice to be able to see a true trip into the future…

Thank you for the blow by blow description of your project!

You're doing a First Class job of it!

Happy Thanksgiving to Y'all too!


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*Yes, these extrusions are really wonderful!*

You are making good progress. Is this going to be a gantry type? Have you decided on the motors? How about a PLC for control like Laguna uses on the CNC. *Too many questions!*

When I was working we used T slot and 80/20 material almost as much as paper. Our model shop stocked some material, was set up to cut the end connector mounts, and even developed some innovative components for our internal use. I was fortunate to be able to use this material in a number of application because the are very cost effective.

Adding the MDO will also make it sound real nice when the motors kick in!

I see that you haven't solved the racking problem yet and since you aren't using the the end connectors. adding gusset plates to the corners will help, the longer the better. Typically the gusset are added on the outside but they can be cut to fit on the inside also.

Are you going to add casters too as this will become heavy when the actual CNC hardware is attached?


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Yes, there will be a gantry for the Y and Z axis.

No, there will not be casters. This will be installed in place and not moved.

I've seen the T-slot gussets and will be likely using a few on the gantry to help rigidize it. I keep wondering if MDO gussets would be just as effective in certain areas.

Yes, there will be an external controller, though axis interpolation will likely happen on a PC and not in a PLC. (I won't know for sure until I get to look at the controller's manual, but I don't think it will be smart enough for interpolation.)

I'm putting together quite the wish list of parts in my Amazon queue. They will be purchased as the budget allows. I've selected motors, the controller, gussets, THK rails, the 4th axis jaw, mount and motor, and I just recently found a tail stock that will mount nicely too. I still need to find a nice rack and pinion setup for the X-axis. I've seen some, but nothing that suits my application yet.

As I go, I keep finding better parts and swapping them out on my wish list. The goal is to get the best value parts possible on this machine without breaking the bank.

As money allows, and the build progresses, I will pull the trigger on the next parts needed in the build from my wish list.

Thanks for your interest.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Looking good!

Are you doing a build log on CNCZone.com???
CNCRouterParts.com has mechanical drive parts, well pretty much everything to build a CNCRouter & entire machine kits available.

Looking forward to following along on your journey!!!


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## boxcarmarty (Dec 9, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


I'm mesmerized…..


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## whitewulf (May 11, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Are you building a wood router or mill for metals ? Steppers/ servos?
Not sure I understand the thinking behind "rack & pinion" on X-axis?
Is it going to use Open/Closed loop?


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Rack & Pinion: Rack is attached to the frame, while the motor & pinion is on the axis to be moved.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


DIYaholic is right and has a good photo of the implementation of rack and pinion. That's the way a lot on CNCs, including mine are done, and it appears to be a good solution. I have seen implementations of the lead screw but not as often and I think the thrust bearings may become an issue under heavy loads.


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


oldnovice said: "DIYaholic is right…"

I don't hear that too often, actually at all!!!


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


DIYaholic you must be married ….. that's a joke son! But when your right you are right!


----------



## boxcarmarty (Dec 9, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Now his head is going to swell 3 times its size…..


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*DIY *-thanks. I've actually looked at that Rack and Pinion setup. So far, it seems the most promising.
The main thing is getting components the sizes that I need. It looks like I'll be using one and a half lengths of gear track to fit this together.

I'm also hoping to eliminate the rubber belt from this assembly as it introduces a small "backlash" into the axis when changing directions. I'm shooting for 0.0005" repeatability spec, which means no rubber drive belts in the major axis'. Of course, this is subject to change as the budget allows, or rather, doesn't allow.

*oldnovice *mentioned using a lead screw, (or a ball screw), but my X axis will have 64" of travel, which is a bit long for an unsupported lead screw-it will wobble. (I've seen this on an DIY machine before.) Since my Y and Z axis' are fairly short, a ball screw is currently my choice for these axis'.

*whitewulf*, this will be for working wood - though, plastics and non ferrous metals could be managed well enough on this machine. Initially, this will be an open loop setup. I was, just this morning, looking at encoders for some of the functions, but, I'm not yet sure if I will need them. There will be home switches on each of the axis' which will allow some correction for missed steps.


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## whitewulf (May 11, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


The rack & pinion is definitely cheaper, however .0005 will be difficult unless you can find ground rack & pin. Perhaps a dual pinion spring loaded to remove backlash.
That would very costly, a larger diameter ball screw will solve the wobble.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*DS251 I think you misunderstood what I said!*

I said the lead screws have more issues than rack and pinion! Thrust bearings being one and, what you mentioned, wobble over long lengths.

If you use stepper motors and rack/pinion, you don't need encoders!

Encoders are just an added expense; an incremental encoder needs to be set at some reference either at a home position (predetermined by proximity sensors or the like) or project start position (determined by your settings and project) while an absolute encoders for the cutting area of your CNC will be very expensive plus, I don't know how you would translate your project dimensions to absolute encoder values.

In either case the position information of the encoder will be identical to the rack/pinion position unless there is a problem with the rack/pinion mechanism.

*In other words, an incremental encoder is the electronic equivilant of a rack and/or lead screw!*


----------



## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


I love the width of the feet. Nice find and nice price.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*whitewulf, take a look at the specs for Shopbot, Legacy, Laguna, and others and you will see that the tolerances are not that hard to reach!*

Moving a table and the work puts an enourmous amount of thrust on the lead screw, bearings, and the mounts of the two! The motor needs to be mounted to the shaft with a zero backlash coupling to alliviate any alignment issues.


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## whitewulf (May 11, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


OldN,
ALL THOSE MACHINES MENTIONED, are "advertised precision" Temperature alone will cause more variation, you start out cool morning as machine air heats you will be Much less likely to have accurate parts.

If you have a rack/screw, with .0005 precision per foot, it will add up to .0025/.003" in 64 ", a far cry from .0005" 
Encoders are only as accurate as the leadscrew or rack. They only show location you told machine to move.
Proper closed loop uses glass scales/ lasers to see if you actually got to the actual place sent.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


I have yet to see variations you mentioned.

Of course a home built laser will use a *laser interferomter for precision* as most of the industrial units do*!*

The workpieces will change that much or more for the same reasons!

Linear encoders for the lengths of the axis are NOT cheap either!


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*Sorry I was getting a little snooty in my last post!*

Many industrial CNC routers use rack and pinion for the X and Y axis drive and ball screws for the Z axis drive. Those machines that do use ball screws for the X,Y axis are very expensive and use a belt drive belts to alliviate some of the thrust issues. These lead screws are LARGE!


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


I am less concerned with positional accuracy as I am repeatability…
Whatever the cut ends up being, I want to know that I can move to that same location again and have everything register correctly. In truth, positional accuracy to 0.003" is likely very sufficient for my purposes, while repeatability to 0.0005" will be paramount.

The positional accuracy can be offset and scaled in the controller to within the resolution of the motor steps. Some errors will be injected into to this at that level and it is unavoidable unless you get spendy.

The repeatability spec allows me to run multiple passes with different profiles and have them mesh properly. The same offset and scale errors will apply to all the cuts and produce acceptable parts.

On the other hand, if repeatability isn't tight, the registration from the first pass with one cutter and the second pass with another cutter will be off and this will NOT produce acceptable parts.

Worse yet, from one part to the next, this registration will not be consistent and would be unpredictable.

All this discussion on accuracy is a moot point when you consider we aren't looking at Finite Element Analysis or anything like what the "Big Boys" put thier machines through to ascertain accuracy. (I assembled this frame on the tailgate of my pickup truck for Pete's sake.)


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*DS251 your head is in the right place. Don't let us give you any crap!*


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Update:
The big limitation on this build for me is money. It seems that everyone else wants my money more than me and this project seems to take the back seat to other demands.

I did, however, get a nice gift from my brother for Christmas a few weeks ago. An Arduino UNO programmable microcontroller and an LCD display Shield for it. 
He knows that I know how to program these and it now has me thinking of writing some interpolation code and creating a stand-alone controller for my machine.

I'll need an ethernet shield with a MicroSD card for program storage, as well as the motor drivers, but the LCD and button shield that he gave me with the UNO should handle the other functions nicely.

Have; (Arduino UNO programmable microcontroller)









Have; (Sainsmart 16X2 LCD display shield with buttons)









Need to buy; (Ethernet interface with MicroSD card slot)









All this would allow me to run the machine without a seperate computer running Mach 3 or other controller software.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*DS251,*

Won't you be programming, writing the code, on another computer & transferring the code to your system to debug?
... will you be able to debug obvious errors on your Entry computer to make debugging easier?

I find this very interesting… Thank you for taking the time to keep us informed!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Joe, yes and no.

I will write the C programming language code that will read the g-code from a file on the SD card, do the math for axis interpolation, calibrate the drives and actually command the motors to move. That code, once written, will be programmed into the operating system of the above pictured circuit cards. It becomes, in essence, the operating system of my machine. This will also read the keypad buttons and display a control menu on the lcd screen. 
In theory, this only ever needs to be done once, but, I am certain I will continue to update it to enhance the machine's abilities from time to time.

On the other hand, g-code programming, which is the list of numeric instructions that tell the machine how to cut a particular workpiece, will be done on an external CAD/CAM computer and the resulting g-code will be sent to the machine, either via the local network, or by being transferred onto an SD card.

Once a g-code cutting program is transferred into the CNC machine, it would no longer need an external computer to run. You would just select the desired g-code program on the display menu and select start and it will execute without an external computer.

Most DIY machines have an external PC that interperets the g-code and spoon feeds the motor movements to the machine. This has the drawback of being subject to Bill Gates' infernal Windows Operating System with all that is inherently difficult for real-time cutting operations as well as needing a PC out in the shop environment, (not good for the PC).
The stand-alone controller will eliminate the need for the extra computer in the shop.


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Wow, DS. 
I have written embedded code professionally for over 30 years. This will be a daunting bit of code on a little -Arduino while it is also running a network stack. Do-able, but daunting. But hey, I have done crazy things before too.

Steve


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Yeh, that is one of the considerations. I'll have to evaluate how much processing overhead the networking library takes away from the main controller. I spent 16 years writing embedded code before returning to my woodworking roots. I've made these lil' buggers do some incredible things before. Lean and mean.

Mostly, I need the ethernet card for the larger data file storage of the SD card reader, but having network interface ability sure is nice for data transfer.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Most people don't realize this, but on-orbit bus controllers that keep satellites in the proper orbit are based on the original 8088 1MHz PC processor. The radiation-hardened 2 micron cell size makes them mostly immune to the cosmic interference and radiation in space.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*Hey guys this is woodworking!*

Just kidding as I spent nearly all of my 40 years working in that environment!

The first programming was done on an IBM 1401 in FORTRAN in 1967 … that's a long time ago before any microprocessor or micro-controller.

My first embedded control programming starting with the 8080 micro controller in about 1974 or so. I still remember a lot of the instruction set … I don't know if that is good or bad.

The first 8080's I bought were ceramic packaged at $395 each and today you can buy a laptop for that price.
The also did some cell phone programing but got out of that ASAP as I hate those things.

The last program I wrote was about 4 years ago for a distributed real-time control system using IEC61131-3 for controlling the introduction and extraction of various chemicals in a number flow-cells for micro-array DNA synthesis.

After that I quit!


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## Bagtown (Mar 9, 2008)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Geez, when I was a young CNC machinist, we wrote G code by hand.
And we didn't have much memory, so we were frugal with movements in the program.


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Well I just ordered my ethernet card with the MicroSD interface on it. (Today was Payday)
I also loaded up the controller with a sample program that sent some simple text to the display.
It worked like a charm

Now I'm even more excited about this home brew controller than before.

If I get a chance to assemble the A axis frame or parts of the Y axis tommorrow, I will update this blog.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


DS,
Since you are building a CNC, and we know that once set up for a build sequence (for the CNC build) it is just as easy to make two parts as it is one part…..
How's about you build MINE, while you build yours???


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


What I can do, is, when I get the controller working, I can make my source code available to anyone else who wants to buy their modules and put them together. The modules program over a USB connection and is not all that complicated to set up.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


DS,
I plan on making a CNC & the electronics baffle/intimidate me the most. Probably because I've never really dealt with it before. I know that Mach and what not require a parallel port (a thing of the past), does your setup use just USB connections? Can a non tech savy person, such as myself, handle the setup, diagnostics and trouble shooting? Also, not including step motors & cad/cam computer, what are the costs involved in your set up?

I need to revisit the CNCZone again. Are you posting over there???


----------



## boxcarmarty (Dec 9, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


What did he say???


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


The Arduino UNO card uses a USB port to connect to your PC for programming and communication. The unit can be configured by adding "shields", or expansion cards to add functionality. So I have a $25.00 Arduino UNO microcontroller card, a $10 LCD and keypad shield and a $22 Ethernet and MicroSD shield. All of that will connect to the same parallel port connection that the Mach 3 / PC would connect to on my machine.

Once setup, I will use the ethernet (Cat 5 connection) to communicate to the machine from my network PC for transferring the g-code files. This completely eliminates the need for Mach 3 and a shop PC to run it. All the Mach 3 functions will be available on my LCD menu on the machine itself.

The Arduino set up is probably the LEAST difficult micro-controller environment to set up and use for the non-technical person. (That said, it's probably still a bit intimidating to the un-initated.) 
Once I have the operating program written, though, anyone who can install software will be able to follow step-by-step instructions to program the card for thier machine.

And no, I am not currently posting on the CNCZone, though I am very aware of it and will likely end up posting there with my entire build at some point.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


BTW, oldnovice, I took a semester in FORTRAN at the community college right out of High School. After they dismantled the old VAX mainframe I never found another computer that would run it. 
I think some of today's five dollar 8-bit embedded controllers could run circles around that multi-million dollar museum piece.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*DS251*, you are correct about computing power. With the advent of the micro controller/processors the computation game changed dramatically. Anybody remember mini computers … the microcos killed them off!

*It's been fun ride in electronics and it get better ever day!*


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*YES!*


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


The ethernet/MicroSD shield arrived this weekend and I've started in earnest to consider the Basic Operating Program for my CNC controller.

What I discovered is that I can operate the ethernet card as a Web Server and host an html-based Web Page Operating Screen. That means you can log in to the machine with any internet browser and control the machine from an html web page. Upload and manage files, set up the machine parameters and even control the axis' and spindle in real time.

The more I think about it, the more I like it. 
Imagine using your iPad to wirelessly operate your machine from a web page!

I will have basic controls on the machines front panel, but the real power will come over the local network.
The cool part is that for the DIY home brew crowd, you can customize your controls simply by writing html pages.

Sweetness!


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


If you can do that *Doug* then you will also need an ATC so you can achieve "hands off" operation!

*Web pages are definitely a way to go!* Maximum flexibility, minimum effort!

*You know there is a potential commercial market available for your developments!*


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Well Hans, the ATC is high on my list if I hit the lottery soon.

I wrote some basic diagnostic type programs this evening just to get a feel for the environment and test some of the features of the card. Some of the supplied development libraries were out of date and it set me back a few minutes. In the end I wrote a decent little test code that worked just as I had envisioned.

I still wonder if this will have enough power to do what I want, but I was turned onto a newer version that has the ethernet and microsd card with twice the processing speed. So that may be the next step if I run into a wall with this one.

So far I am content with baby steps. I have a few test files loaded on the SD card and will try some basic file management functions next.

I expect that, if successful, this will change the way we think about DIY CNC controllers.


----------



## Bagtown (Mar 9, 2008)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Wow.
This is really impressive.
When I think back 24 years when I was going back to school to be a CNC machinist, and what we had to work with.
We still had equipment with paper punch tapes…..

Mike


----------



## Bagtown (Mar 9, 2008)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Good morning,

RANDY IS FAMOUS!
Well, his shop is.
Actually the blog about his shop is..
To be accurate, the blog entry about the French cleats is…
.
.


Congrats on the shop tour of the month mention in Mz. Debbie's February emag.

You've come a long way from the dungeon Randy.


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


DS,
All the techno babble is confusing & gives me a headache!

Sounds like you are really onto something. I wish I was more tech-intellegent, so as to comprehend what you are really saying!!!
I will understand all of this….
As soon as the next latest and greatest innovation/advancement needs to be learned!!!

Mike,
I was reading the eMag and was caught off guard by the mention!!!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Can you say *M O R E - P O W E R *!!!










168MHz processor 
384KB Code Storage. 
100+ KB Available RAM
2 GB MicroSD Card capacity
On board 10Mbps ethernet capability.

Woo Hoo!
No more processor power worries!

All for the amazingly low $59.95

This is the same open source and format as the Arduino Uno, but 10 times faster, and lots more memory and included features. It's as if this thing were taylor made for my machine!

Just ordered it… Can't wait!

*WOO HOO!*


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


I ain't "Tim the Tool Man Taylor" but….

*M O R E - P O W E R* !!!


----------



## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Aye Jim I'm giving her all shes got!


----------



## boxcarmarty (Dec 9, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


What you talkin' about Willis???


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*All for the amazingly low $59.95*

You have got to be kidding! It just support my statement that Ethernet connectivity is inexpensive!

That little board has about the same capability as the first IBM PC and Ethernet 10x faster.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Actually I failed to mention it is a 32-bit processor and can run .NET framework.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*OK, that is just ridiculous!*

Looking at the photo, it appears that the largest components are connectors; I/O, Ethernet RJ45, micro SD connector, and wall wart power.
Are there any on the other, as we used to call it the SDR, side of the PCB?

*Could you provide a link to the specs on this?*


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...












http://www.netduino.com/netduinoplus2/specs.htm

As far as I can tell, there are no componants on the backside of the board.


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


*Thanks for the link!* This could be fun!


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Well DS, that looks a lot better. No comparison between the old 8 bit AVR and this 32 bit ARM processor. It even has floating point!

I see that it also has a USB Host port. Maybe you could use a pendant on that port. Makes jogging and zero setting a lot easier. I use a Shuttle Pro V2. They still sell them on EBay for not too much if you are willing to do the EBay thing.

So now what? How do you plan on controlling the motors? I believe you mentioned that you were going to use stepper motors. Are you planning to off-load some of the work to motor-controller chips, or do all the phase stepping yourself?

This all sounds like fun,
Steve


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *How lovely are the feet!*
> 
> Okay, so I finally had to spend some money on this project…
> 
> ...


Steve, even if I don't use a USB pendant, there are enough I/O ports to discretely connect a pendant to the unit.

I keep going back and forth between an external pendant and a button/LCD display control at one end of the machine.
The pendant has the advantage of the scroll wheel for moving the axis'. I certainly will want that, even if it is fixed the one end of the machine instead of in a handheld pendant.

For motor control, I can use basic dumb drivers at this point. I haven't finalized that part yet, but, I think it will be sooner rather than later. I have a basic A-axis frame built, but, so much depends on the dimensions of the A-axis head and tailstock that I have to hold off until that is put together.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*










Just won these on eBay!

I'll bet most of you gave up on this build!
This will be for the main x-axis which will carry the gantry.

There's enough resources (read money) left to buy the A xis motor, gear head, chuck and tailstock.
After that it's back to the waiting-for-money game. :-(

If only the clerk at the 7-eleven would stop selling me the LOSING lottery tickets this would go faster.

Expected delivery March 27th
(I feel like a proud Papa)

----------------------------------

UPDATE:

Score another one for eBay!

This is a 100:1 planetary gear box with a NEMA 34 Stepper motor.
It will become the drive for my rotary A axis. that takes me from 200 steps per revolution to 20,000 steps per revolution. SWEET! And for the auction price of $72, it can't be beat.










This should arrive in the next week or so.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ok, ya got linear rails…..
Length?
Brand?
Guides?
You know, what are the vital stats???

Oh yeah…
Congrats on the score!


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sweet. Those look really nice.

Sigh, real linear bearings. If only I had…

So only a few more things to buy 

Steve


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Still… very interesting…
Thank you.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Okay I was in a hurry before when I posted.

Here is the skinny:
They are THK rails 1960mm long (77")
Each rail has two SR20 Bearing blocks on them

I know, I know there are a lot more things to buy, but, this is a significant step forward in the right direction.

Next step is to assemble the A-axis. I'm looking at a used 100:1 reduction gear box with a Nema23 stepper motor for $70…I would need a chuck and a tailstock to complete the assembly.

Baby steps… I'll get there.


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


DS,
You obviously have a "plan", but are you adjusting said plan "on the fly", for your purchases, or are you just purchasing according to the plan?


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


There IS a plan, but it is a flexible plan. These rails are longer than what I need and I will cut them down. The remaining portion of rail might be useful for the Z axis if I can get a couple more bearings for them.

More than a plan, I have a vision in my head of what I want to accomplish. There are multiple options that are suitable for my purpose, so, as certain opportunities arise, like these rails, I will exploit them as best I can.

I had in mind to purchase a 4th axis head with the chuck, gear box and stepper motor all in one. That option is about $280. Then I saw this used gearbox with a stepper for $70. I would just need to make a mounting plate and add the chuck and I'd be good to go.

The pre-assembled chuck was a 3 jaw chuck and that really isn't what I want on this unit, so I'd be replacing the chuck anyways. There is an advantage as well that the used gearbox is 100:1 where the full unit had only 8:1 gear reduction. For the relatively large diameter turnings I see myself producing on this machine, the bigger reduction gives me more fine resolution.


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sounds like a "PLAN" to me.
That is how I do everything.
Picture it…
Purchase supplies…
Start the build…
Then WING IT!!!

With so many variables involved in such a complicated build, I tend to get "Analysis Paralysis"!!! I end up more undecided (& confused), with the more research I do!!! It doesn't help matters that I'm not an engineer or an electronics geek!!!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's just it- I've been analyzing this build for 15 years already. 
Time to just do it.


----------



## JL7 (Apr 13, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice score…..


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What are the cahnces of that.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I just scored a Gear box for the A axis. (See the update in the OP.)


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice score on the gear box!!!

That should provide enough resolution!
How many Pixels??? Lol!!!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well, the Rails and the gearbox are here… There is so much more to buy and do that I can hardly decide which direction to go next.

I've been looking to buy my Y-axis rails and I keep getting the nagging feeling that I'm going to want the machine to be wider than it currently is.

That means buying longer 8020 t-slot material, longer rails etc.

I think it will be worth it to be able to machine larger width panels. (36" vs. 24")
The current size is a funciton of the t-slot rails that I was given and not the purpose-built machine I am looking for.
Hmmm. It's just money I guess.


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Linear Rails - WOO HOO! - eBay doesn't totally suck after all.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I agree, IT IS ONLY MONEY…..
Thankfully, it is YOUR money & NOT mine!!!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*Bet you thought I gave up on this...*

I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.

I was going to have to cut down most rails anyway so I thought I'd rather have the extra capacity.
Also, while I had the entire assembly tore down, I decided to add the maple panels into the frame to rigidize the entire assembly. It has really made a big difference.










The y axis began with the guide bearings and some 2" angle.
I threaded the ends on the 80/20 rails and secured them to the angle. The plan is to add maple panels in these as well. I'll cap these with a top maple panel and attach my horizontal rails to the front.










The gantry should be fairly rigid when fully assembled.










I've decided to focus more energy this year to completing this machine. 
Unfortunately there is less of a budget this year than there was last year. Still, I'm gonna see this through.










UPDATE: put the gantry together last weekend… More pics to come.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


Hang in there as it doesn't look much like a CNC at this time.

Isn't that extruded aluminum a delight to have/work with? One of my last projects, before I got laid off/retired, was vision inspection system to inspect the laser assemblies which I built with the 1" size of T slot material including linear slides, a screened PC location, and flat screen monitor. This inspection system was moved into an optical class 1 clean room about 9 months before I left. I really fell in love with the camera I used on that system as it was fast and all parameters were accessible by the PC and the inspection state machine. *OOPS got a little off topic*
------------------------------
Aren't you concerned about increasing the noise level with all that resonant plywood?


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


You are a class act DS.
The stiffeners seem like a great idea.

I forget, are you planning on belt drive?

Steve


----------



## boxcarmarty (Dec 9, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


Hang in there DS, You only have 11 more months in this year…..


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


"...Aren't you concerned about increasing the noise level with all that resonant plywood?"

I don't know about resonance or harmonics….
But, I do know it LOOKS like a great idea!!!

What do you mean the budget is less.
You need to adjust your priorities….
You don't really need three square meals a day!!!

Stay focused…
I want to see this thing in action!!!


----------



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


That looks like a pretty good start anyways. I hope that it goes well for you.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


Wow, should be quite a machine when finished. Keep up the good work!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


Well considering my budget last year was ZERO, a little less than zero is not very encouraging.

Not worried about resonance… The maple is pb core and that stuff is fairly dead acoustically. Besides, the whine of the spindle will be about all you'll hear anyways.

The panels are built like a glorified tgi beam, only with 80/20 aluminum instead of 2x material. I rabbited the edges of the panels to slot into the 80/20 nice and snug. When I checked it for square it was dead nuts on. 100x more rigid now.

Steve, the x axis will a rack and pinion. The jury is still out on whether a belt will be involved. I'm hoping to do a direct gear drive.
The y and z axis will be direct lead screw driven.
I have a100:1 nema34 planetary gear for the a axis.

I am hoping to have the gantry frame assembled this weekend ready for the linear rails. (Which I still need to buy)


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


A ZERO budget … that sounds typical of us wood workers!

Just wanted to make sure you weren't build a sound amplifier.
I can't hear my spindle, all I hear is the cooling fan and when the cutter starts to work!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


I've been toying with the idea of a tool changer from the beginning. The atc is a MUST HAVE in my opinion, but they are super expensive.

Lately though, I've seen how some diy guys have used multiple spindles to hold the other tools and not need an atc.
Non atc spindles are about a sixth of the cost of a tool changing spindle so it makes some sense, but you can't realistically use more than about three spindles on a machine my size. Two would be more practical for me, but would limit me to a roughing tool and a detailing bit.

In my way of thinking, if someone came up with a front loaded automatic changer that could mount to a plain spindle, they could sell that puppy all day and all night. My brain won't stop imagining how it could work… I might need to see this through.


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


*Doug*, customer #1 here if you develop an ATC for a plain spindle!


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


Doug,
I'll invest $10.00 in the startup!
Now go get to work, Partner!!!

& NO!!! I won't be a silent partner!!!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Bet you thought I gave up on this...*
> 
> I decided to widen the machine when I started planning for the y axis.
> 
> ...


This project is gaining momentum. Got some unexpected fundage this week. Can buy lots of hardware.
Not enough to finish yet, but a good amount of progress.

Randy, ten bucks is ten bucks. Thanks for your support.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*Y axis coming together...*

Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.










I was able to mount them and begin assembling the y axis carriage.
As soon as the rack and pinion arrives I'll be able to make the motor mount box and start focusing on the z axis plate.










The y axis rack and pinion gears are stuck in Chicago almost a week already. Not sure what the hold up is.
The cable drag chains arrived today from the east coast with no issues.

The chains themselves came as three separate 1 meter lengths. Opening the links wasn't nearly as difficult as reattaching them. After some trial and error and at least one broken link, I got the two sized chains that I need.










I bought some 1 1/2" x 1/16" aluminum angle to make the drag chain trays for both the x and y axis and should finish those this weekend. If so, I'll update this post with more photos

In my recent shopping spree, (the money is blown already, btw) I was able to locate a used ISO 25 tool changing spindle, but it was still nearly $3600. That's a little better than the new ones I've been finding for $13500 but both options are still outside my reach.

UPDATED PICS:










Added the y axis cable drag chain tray to the back of the gantry. Decided to hold off on the x axis tray until that rack and pinion is installed.


----------



## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


Looks like you're doing just fine!

Will be interesting to see how it develops and how it works!

Thank you.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


*Doug*, that chain looks a lot like a Kabelschlepp or Gortrac cable/hose carrier!
Is that a metal chain?


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


Yikes. It's almost alive.
And you got your ATC. Wow.

Steve


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


Steve, unfortunately no, I don't have my atc. I found it, but don't have that kind of scratch hanging around to buy it. (Still out of my reach)

At least now, I know what I can get one for and can try to plan for needing at least that much money to get one.

Hans, that is a fiber reinforced plastic drag chain. About $20 per meter.
Maybe now it is starting to look more like the machine I saw in my head all these years.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


It's coming to life


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## JL7 (Apr 13, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


Good to see you're still making progress on the CNC! Looking forward to seeing it work…..Hang in there….


----------



## toeachhisown (Eddie) (Mar 30, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


DS it getting closer to home ,looking good


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


Perhaps you need to play & win the lottery….
Then the ATC wouldn't be out of reach.
Plus, with all the extra money….
you can do all the things that the voices in your head tell you to do!!!

Ya know, you could have just made the cable carriers….
Of course you would need to use a completed CNC to build them!!!

Progress is looking good.
Carry on….


----------



## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


HOW DID I MISS YOUR BLOG?

Love the progress you've made.

Can you please detail how you secured the plywood panels within the 80/20 frame?

What do you have in mind for a controller?

I used the G540 on my mill conversion and it works great. Now a days there are N23 steppers that are purpose built to match its voltage limits and ideal impedance (or is it reactance?)

Are you going to run it with Mach 3?

I'm using it on my mill and it's actually a very powerful little program.

Watching with interest :^)


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


Matt, here are some scraps that will show the joinery of the panels to 80/20. In addition to the rabbit in the panel I am using angle bored screws from the back side to attach the panels.










As for the controller I am most definately NOT using Mach 3. Nothing against it really, but I have lots of experience in programming embedded controllers and I will likely program my own controller using an off the shelf card.

You can view some of the controller candidates in my previous blogs. Netduino is still in the running, but the raspberry pi will also be evaluated.

My plan is to have a web server embedded onto the controller card that would use an HTML page to proffer the basic controls of the machine.
There would be no dedicated computer running Mach 3 or any other program to operate it. Just use whatever web browser enabled device and enter the IP address of the machine and it will pop up all the controls needed to operate it. The browser could be anywhere on the web. (Can you say Skype and remote operation?)

Mostly, my motivation regarding the controller is cost. An embedded control card costs about $70 and wouldn't need an additional computer, or expensive software to run it. When I am done, I may make the firmware open source to allow others to use it on the cheap.

Anyway, I'm glad you found this blog and I hope to keep making it interesting.

Randy, I keep telling the clerk,"I want winning tickets this time!", but they never listen.


----------



## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


Whoa…. Your programming skill set is way beyond mine…. So rock on with the controller.

Mach made tuning the steppers a breeze, and has a pretty spiffy interface for hard and soft limits and work coordinate systems, etc…. So for a dubber like me it was a good way to go.

Watching with great interest :^)


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


Interesting, and way beyond my comprehension. Can't wait to see it in action.


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *Y axis coming together...*
> 
> Received the y axis THK rails yesterday-just in time for the weekend.
> 
> ...


"Transformers transform!" 
Optimist Prime


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*Early Christmas... Motors and power and drivers -- oh my!*

Looky what fell off of the ups truck in front of my house today!










1600oz micro stepper motors 7.8A drivers and power supplies…
All good to go.

The Y rack and pinion showed up earlier too

Unfortunately, this is the end of the shopping spree for now.
I'll have to see how far I can go with what I have.

--------------------
Weekend update:

Y axis motor box progress.








Mounting brackets on back of y axis carriage connects motor mounting plate to 80/20 rails.










Layout of the Nema 34 hole pattern.










Cutting on the scroll saw. (This would easier if I had a working cnc machine)










Completed motor plate ready for mounting










Completed motor box w/ mounted motor. 
I am prepping the pinion gear for attachment but have to wait on the appropriate coupler which is on a slow boat from China.


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Early Christmas... Motors and power and drivers -- oh my!*
> 
> Looky what fell off of the ups truck in front of my house today!
> 
> ...


Christmas in February….
Looks like you have some work to do….
So, NO SLACKING!!!


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Early Christmas... Motors and power and drivers -- oh my!*
> 
> Looky what fell off of the ups truck in front of my house today!
> 
> ...


That should keep you busy this evening … at least!


----------



## toeachhisown (Eddie) (Mar 30, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Early Christmas... Motors and power and drivers -- oh my!*
> 
> Looky what fell off of the ups truck in front of my house today!
> 
> ...


DS its starting to come together , look forward to seeing this baby walk


----------



## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *Early Christmas... Motors and power and drivers -- oh my!*
> 
> Looky what fell off of the ups truck in front of my house today!
> 
> ...


Somebody is getting ready for some fun


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Early Christmas... Motors and power and drivers -- oh my!*
> 
> Looky what fell off of the ups truck in front of my house today!
> 
> ...


I edited this post with my progress for the weekend.

So much to do and so little weekend…


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Early Christmas... Motors and power and drivers -- oh my!*
> 
> Looky what fell off of the ups truck in front of my house today!
> 
> ...


Progress is progress….
If you quit your job, you'd have more time to work on the CNC.
Then, you can start a business, putting the CNC into service!!! ;^)


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*

Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.

At first I didn't think I could get a box this nice. These water-tight Nema enclosures are big bucks!
But, I found a guy on eBay with a reasonable asking price, ( his wife must've wanted to park her car in their garage again ), and I made an offer, sobbed out my poor man's DIY cnc router story and he took pity on me and let it go cheap.










The enclosure is 20"w x 24"h x 8"d.

It took a bit of effort to mount this. I had to remove the cable chain tray, insert t-slot nuts into the rails without disassembling the entire machine, revise the cable chain tray and reverse the door hinge.

Keep in mind that the box weighs over 40 lbs, it is low to the ground and I had to support the weight and line up the nuts and the holes with one hand while trying to blindly start the bolt into the threads with the other hand. This left me with an achy back and I took several breaks before it got fully assembled.










One nice thing about the Nema box is that it has a removable back-plane panel for mounting all the electronics.










Next up is planning the electrical layout inside the enclosure.
There is a small chunk of change to spend just in the wires. Still will need terminals, breakers, main power switch and 220vac pigtail.

That all will have to wait until next month before I can afford all of that. In the meantime I might be eating bologna sandwiches to get extra money in the budget.

Thanks for following along.


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


Electronics enclosure??
You mean these things aren't powered by hamster wheels??? ;^)


----------



## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


Looking real professional.
Where do the hand planes go?


----------



## lightcs1776 (Nov 14, 2013)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


Interesting project, and well done.


----------



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


This is looking great. It's going to be a fine machine for the shop.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


----------



## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


OK…. I'm confused….

220v ? for what? Spindle?

1600 oz steppers? are they NEMA 34s? That's some serious torque for a small machine.

Also…. I see a stack of power supplies. are you setting up each motor with it's own dedicated PS?

I'm very intrigued by all of this, as it's not run of the mill CNC zone hobby stuff, and I know that you really know your stuff.

Inquiring minds want to know….. what is the meaning of all of this :^)


----------



## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


and while we're at it…. what software are you doing your 4 axis g-code in?


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


How do you plan to keep the electronics cool as some of with get a little "warm"?


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


Wow, lots of questions… Lemme see if I can answer some of them:

Hamster wheels work, but, are less reliable and slightly more messy than solid state circuitry.

The hand planes will live in the tool changer carousel and will be part of the aggregate head (as if)

The spindle will be 220vac 3 phase, but will run with a vfd inverter from single phase 220vac. All told, the machine will pull about 25 amps, which is a bit much for 110v wiring.

Yes, nema34 motors. The machine may be small, but i want it to last. Even these motors are less than half the size of the pro models I am accustomed to. Btw, torque can be exchanged for speed. I won't likely achieve 1100ipm like the big boys, but I hope I'm not limited to sub 200ipm ranges either.

Each driver has its own PS. 80v 8a peak power per channel. There will be a small 5v PS for the controller as well.

So far, there are a couple of contenders for the controller card. The netduino card would use C# and the .net micro framework. The raspberry pi controller can run Linux and you have your pick of languages if you go that route - including php and a proprietary programming language.

Keeping electronics cool-each ps has a temperature activated fan and each driver has a huge heat sink on one face (which I will strategically place so the ps fan draws air across them. )

The main question is how much heat will accumulate inside the enclosure. Quite a bit will transfer from the back plane panel into the aluminum machine frame and into the air. If that doesn't bleed off enough btu's, there is a removable panel in the bottom where I can install a filtered fan to pull in cool air into the enclosure.

I am happy to answer any and all questions. Thanks for your interest.


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


Just one more *for the inquisition*, have you selected the spindle or narrowed it done to a few?
On my CNC all the electronics, except for the spindle controller, are in a NEMA enclosure sans fan too.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


There is an ATC spindle I could buy for around $3600 without the VFD or the carousel. I have been seeing some used spindles from dismantled machines going for around $1500, so that kind of sets my range. Minimum 3hp up to 5hp or so is what I am planning for.

When the money is sitting around bored with nothing else to do and a killer deal comes up, that is when I will ultimately select my spindle.

As for the enclosures, the vfd will be inside one. Not sure if it will fit in this one or if I will need a secondary enclosure for it, but protecting electronics from the elements is never a bad idea.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


I had a thought the other day that I might sell my truck. Since I have this new job so far away and I bought a new car for the commute (38 mpg Altima) the truck has sat in the garage collecting dust and costing insurance payments.

The plan goes something like this:

So, I sell the truck, use the money to finish the machine, use the machine to make money, buy a newer truck.

Any thoughts?


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a plan….
Of course you could just store the truck, save the insurance money. That may not be enough to fund the finish of the CNC though. It really depends upon the value/condition of the truck and whether it is already paid off.

The most important thing is….
Get the CNC finished, as I NEED to see it working!!! ;^)


----------



## Underdog (Oct 29, 2012)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


Well if you're not using the truck… and you WOULD use the router, then why the question?

Do you really need the truck?


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


Sell the truck so you can start trucking on the CNC!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


Thing is, I LOVE MY TRUCK! (It's been paid off for several years now and that helps me love it even more)

It's been parked for the last six months now and I have to make excuses to drive it on the weekends just so it doesn't rot in the garage.

I had a heart attack last September and I haven't taken on any new projects since, so, it just sits there.

BUT, when I do begin using the cnc machine, I will need to haul wood for projects and perhaps haul finished parts to local shops.

When my truck was approaching the 100k milestone, I looked at trading it instead of doing the major service a truck of that age requires. When I picked one out at the dealership and called my wife to come check it out, she stood right next to me (and the new truck) and asked, "so where is it?"

Turns out I had picked EXACTLY the same truck just a newer model year and she just assumed she was looking at my old truck. That's when I decided I would drive the wheels off the old one instead of taking on the huge debt of a new one.


----------



## Underdog (Oct 29, 2012)

DS251 said:


> *Control box enclosure - the machine now has a key!*
> 
> Now that I have all my power supplies drivers and controllers, all those electronics need a nice safe playground to hang out in away from the dusty environs that the machine will no doubt foster.
> 
> ...


Well that's different. I totaled (cost if two airbags mostly) my previous truck and still grieve over it.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*Control panel layout and wiring*

You can't tell, but, I've been puttering around with the control panel for a couple of weekends.

I still need a few standoffs to mount the open circuit cards to the backplane, but everything else is bolted down.










The motor control wiring from the drivers out to the machine takes a shielded four wire cable that costs less for 500 feet than for 100 feet. Weird how that works. I can get 500 feet for $55 but I only need 100 feet, which would cost me $69.

I have no idea what I'll do with the other 400 feet.

I've offered my truck for sale - partially to pay a bunch of taxes, but also to buy Aspire 4.5 software and my ATC tool changing spindle. (Not to mention the z-axis bearings and ball screw and the x-axis rack and pinion)

If all goes well, I can use the machine to produce enough to re-buy a newer truck later.

That's it for now.

Once I get something completed where I can push a button and something moves, that will be super cool.

Thanks for following along.

UPDATE:
Got the main breaker box installed on the nema enclosure. I installed strain relief fittings for a 10awg pigtail in the bottom of the box. That cord and plug is a small fortune too.
Finished more wiring on the control panel. Mounted more terminal blocks for the low voltage stuff.










I broke two pilot bits drilling through the nema panel with a 1 1/4" bimetal hole saw. I figured out the hard way that in metal it's best to drill the pilot hole first, then add the hole saw. The first time the pilot punched through the saw grabbed, broke a tooth and bent the pilot bit. I shrugged it off as a fluke until the second hole did exactly the same thing. Unfortunately that was my last 1/4" drill bit. Had to buy a new drill index today. (Sigh)

Man, there's lots to do still!


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *Control panel layout and wiring*
> 
> You can't tell, but, I've been puttering around with the control panel for a couple of weekends.
> 
> ...


Sweet.

You can use the barrel from a pen for standoff spacer material. The white Bic ones cut pretty cleanly. But you seem to have this all under control.

This looks majorly cool. I really want to see it all go - I'm sure you do too.

Steve


----------



## Underdog (Oct 29, 2012)

DS251 said:


> *Control panel layout and wiring*
> 
> You can't tell, but, I've been puttering around with the control panel for a couple of weekends.
> 
> ...


Nice to see you keep making progress. Thanks for keeping us posted!


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Control panel layout and wiring*
> 
> You can't tell, but, I've been puttering around with the control panel for a couple of weekends.
> 
> ...


*Doug*, are those four boxes the axis drives?

With regard to the shielded cable cost, is it possible that the 500 feet is what is on a reel and to roll out 100 feet will require labor and leave them with a partial roll?


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Control panel layout and wiring*
> 
> You can't tell, but, I've been puttering around with the control panel for a couple of weekends.
> 
> ...


Hans, the four black boxes are the axis drivers and the chrome boxes are power supplies.

At the top left is the CPU power supply then the opto- isolation card (sometimes called a breakout card) interfaces the low voltage controls to the high current drivers.

The CPU with a basic LCD display and keypad is at the lower left. It has USB and Ethernet connections.


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Control panel layout and wiring*
> 
> You can't tell, but, I've been puttering around with the control panel for a couple of weekends.
> 
> ...


Progress is looking good.
Step by step….
You'll soon be there!!!

If you want to use up the extra cable….
You could build me a CNC!!!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Control panel layout and wiring*
> 
> You can't tell, but, I've been puttering around with the control panel for a couple of weekends.
> 
> ...


Made a little more progress today. Unfortunately, it visually looks about the same as before, just more wires connected…

This is gonna take a while.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*The F-150 gambit... Git er done!*

Well, me, myself and I had a come to Jesus meeting and decided that if I wanted to get this machine built in my lifetime I was going to need to take drastic measures.

When I add up all the parts and software I still need to complete the machine and begin producing amazing onlays, moldings and turnings, it came to nearly $7000!

How was I going to do this at my current pace? Fact is, that I wasn't going to finish anytime soon.
So, I decided to sell my beautiful F-150 and use the money to finish the build.










A couple of things factored into my decision process.

1) being diabetic and having had a major heart attack last year, my odds of being around in the next ten years keep getting less and less likely. So, I needed to finish sooner rather than later.
2) now that I have a long work commute each day, I bought a fuel efficient car (2013 Altima gets 38mpg - no lie) and my 15 mpg F-150 has been mostly garaged for the last six months. 
3) while I will need a truck to haul materials once the machine is running, there will be no need unless the machine is actually running. 
4) I figure I can produce about $1k per day of product on the machine at full capacity and that at that pace it can buy me a brand new truck in short order.

So, the gambit is on.
The truck is sold. 
The money is in the bank. 
I need to execute my plan in order to succeed.

Wish me luck!

P.s. A few cool things happened once I made this decision.
1) a local hardwood supplier has offered to supply me with pre made wood blanks and to carry my finished products in their catalog. (Solving the time consuming need to glue up and mill the blanks and giving me a direct outlet to my ultimate customers)
2) a local, well established, interior designer has agreed to lend her name and expertise to developing a product line specifically geared around the capabilities of the machine.

Of course, now, the pressure is on to finish the build.
I'll keep you updated. Thanks for following along.

UPDATE: I've ordered several parts for both the x and z axis mechanics and the sparks are flying!










After swapping my 60t carbide blade for a metal cutting blade, I got the x axis rack gears trimmed to length and mounting holes drilled.
The z axis linear rails needed a slight trim as well. It was like Fourth of July came early!

Another driver arrived for the "fifth" axis stepper motor. Ok, it is not technically a fifth working axis, but rather the tool changer carousel motor. It still needed a driver and that arrived. I keep trying to figure out whether I need another power supply for it or if I can piggy back it on top of one that would be idle during a tool change event.

I decided to add an I2C 16 port I/O expansion card to the netduino controller. It will be slower driving from this card, so it will only handle all non time sensitive input and output signals, like motor enable, motor direction and LCD display data. All time critical signals will still be direct driven from the controller. As far as the controller goes, ipm, ( inches per minute) is everything.

Progress is progressing…


----------



## JL7 (Apr 13, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *The F-150 gambit... Git er done!*
> 
> Well, me, myself and I had a come to Jesus meeting and decided that if I wanted to get this machine built in my lifetime I was going to need to take drastic measures.
> 
> ...


Good Luck DS….that is a big sacrifice. Sounds like you have some great connections set up to keep the machine busy…..

Can't wait to see the finish…...


----------



## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

DS251 said:


> *The F-150 gambit... Git er done!*
> 
> Well, me, myself and I had a come to Jesus meeting and decided that if I wanted to get this machine built in my lifetime I was going to need to take drastic measures.
> 
> ...


Wow, that's a grand plan. I wish you well. The thought of selling my truck to purchase woodworking equipment would never cross my mind. I NEED my truck.


----------



## freddy1962 (Feb 27, 2014)

DS251 said:


> *The F-150 gambit... Git er done!*
> 
> Well, me, myself and I had a come to Jesus meeting and decided that if I wanted to get this machine built in my lifetime I was going to need to take drastic measures.
> 
> ...


Good luck to you, sounds like you have motivation and a plan. I'm with Bill M., I would never give up the Chevy.


----------



## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *The F-150 gambit... Git er done!*
> 
> Well, me, myself and I had a come to Jesus meeting and decided that if I wanted to get this machine built in my lifetime I was going to need to take drastic measures.
> 
> ...


*I wish you LUCK!*

Keep up the good work!


----------



## toeachhisown (Eddie) (Mar 30, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *The F-150 gambit... Git er done!*
> 
> Well, me, myself and I had a come to Jesus meeting and decided that if I wanted to get this machine built in my lifetime I was going to need to take drastic measures.
> 
> ...


Good Luck DS,sometimes you just got to go for it win ,lose or draw one thing for sure if you dont go for it it want happen


----------



## JulianLech (Jan 13, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *The F-150 gambit... Git er done!*
> 
> Well, me, myself and I had a come to Jesus meeting and decided that if I wanted to get this machine built in my lifetime I was going to need to take drastic measures.
> 
> ...


Selling your truck is a serious commitment. You should plan on being around for a lot more than 10 years. Good luck with your project.


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *The F-150 gambit... Git er done!*
> 
> Well, me, myself and I had a come to Jesus meeting and decided that if I wanted to get this machine built in my lifetime I was going to need to take drastic measures.
> 
> ...


My hat's off to you DS! Making good decisions and executing them at the right time are the key to success, and your story shows that your head is working 100% efficiently even if the rest isn't. I can't wait to see the finished machine and what it can produce. Best of luck with it!!


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *The F-150 gambit... Git er done!*
> 
> Well, me, myself and I had a come to Jesus meeting and decided that if I wanted to get this machine built in my lifetime I was going to need to take drastic measures.
> 
> ...


Define your goal….
Develop a plan….
Eliminate obstacles….
Get to it, to do it!!!

What are you doing reading this post???
You are supposed to be building your CNC!!! ;^)

Good luck. Looking forward to watching the "fast forward" build!!!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *The F-150 gambit... Git er done!*
> 
> Well, me, myself and I had a come to Jesus meeting and decided that if I wanted to get this machine built in my lifetime I was going to need to take drastic measures.
> 
> ...


Update: I've ordered a whole bunch of parts to finish out the x and z axis.
See details above.


----------



## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

DS251 said:


> *The F-150 gambit... Git er done!*
> 
> Well, me, myself and I had a come to Jesus meeting and decided that if I wanted to get this machine built in my lifetime I was going to need to take drastic measures.
> 
> ...


Happy to see you making progress!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*Z-Axis comes together*

Z-Axis ball screw assembly










Z-Axis Plate preparation










Z-Axis linear rails










Z-Axis motor mount










Coming together










Still have to finish the ball screw to z plate attachment bracket but that should be quick work.


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


Looks pretty cool. It should be fun to see this monster in action. How long before it's finished?


----------



## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


Some serious engineering going on here.


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


Wow, nice ball screw and slides. This is sweet.
Are you going to put a finish on that MDF? Maybe just even a wipe on type. Just thinking.

Steve


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


If any of the words in this forum are taken out of context, this forum could be flagged!

Just out of curiosity, why screws versus rack and pinion?
Don't lead screws need thrust bearings?


----------



## Underdog (Oct 29, 2012)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


Ball screws are extremely precise. I had to have ours polished a while back, and the guy told me he stocked the ball bearings for the thing in some insanely small increments of an inch… it was like .0001" precision or something like…

So yeah. I'd prefer the ball screws myself.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


Stefang, how long until it's finished? I have no idea, however, with the funds from the truck sale, things are on the fast track. Much depends on how much free time I can scrape together on the weekends to work on it.

Steve, I keep going back and forth about applying finish to the panels. I probably will, but, since I pretty much determined i might have to rebuild every panel at least once, (a theory that has held true so far), I've been waiting until it's all put together to apply a finish.

Hans, the x an y axis are both rack and pinion. The z axis has a considerable weight load along the direction of the axis. In addition to the precision Jim alluded to, it takes the weight and allows the motor to move more linearly in both directions. Otherwise, when it is lifting, it would bog down more than when it is lowering and there would be an error in interpolating the axis. For the x and y axis, the load is the same in both directions so the r n p is more appropriate.

As for thrust bearings, the lower support is a plain bearing and floating, ( no axial load, per se'), however, the top support has a double thrust bearing set up. One facing up and one facing down to handle axial loads in either direction.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


The blog made the Emag. Thanks Ms Debbie!


----------



## Sigung (Nov 20, 2013)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


Very impressive.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


I'm currently negotiating for a 5hp HSD spindle for this 'lil beast.
It is over $7k but should make a difference.

The fall-back would be a 3hp no name spindle for about $4500

Grrrr… I wish it were done already sometimes.


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


What are the trade offs besides HP? There is probably a difference in size and weight for sure!
Are the speeds similar?
Collet capability?
In my son's machine shop they have some CNCs with reversing spindles for special requirements.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


The 3hp is not name brand. If they go out of business i could be stuck without replacement parts,.
It also cannot handle larger cutting loads like the 5 hp can. So if I am hogging a large relief, the 5hp spindle would allow me to use larger, more aggressive tooling, thus, finishing the cycle faster. It uses ISO25 tool holders which are much less common and hard to find.

The 5hp HSD spindle is totally legit, can handle large cutting loads without bogging down and in general is much more bada$$. It uses ISO30 tool holders which is among the most commonly used and readily available on the market. The company has been around a long time and their designs are proven reliable.

(Can you tell which one I'd prefer?)


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


The 3hp max rpm is 18k while the 5hp is 24k
I failed to mention this before because i will rarely run it above 18k rpm anyway, so that makes little difference in my application.


----------



## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


I think that a 5HP spindle is overkill for a machine this size. And I wouldn't be too concerned about spare parts availability.
I've had the bearings replaced in HSD spindles by HSD USA and the bill was about $2500, for a 10HP spindle.

For $7000 you can buy 3 Chinese 3HP ATC spindles and have 2 spares.

It sounds like you'll be doing mostly carving type work. Meaning the machine will be running for a few hours, then change a tool, then run for a few more hours. So you'll be doubling the price of your machine so it can change tools for you, which is less than 0.5% of the time it's actually running.

In Mach3, I can change a tool in less than 1 minute. Mach3 automatically measures the new tool, and continues cutting. While an ATC would be nice, it's almost impossible to justify on a small machine like that.

The new router I'm working on will have two spindles, which will cut down on tool changing quite a bit, and is still a fraction of the cost of an ATC spindle.


----------



## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


"Don't lead screws need thrust bearings?"

Oldnovice, I've seen you mention thrust bearings numerous times throughout these blogs.
The fact is, thrust bearings are actually very simple, and make screws the easiest method of moving a CNC machine.


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


*Ger21*, many many years ago (circa 1972) I worked on a project involving an X,Y,Z axes for the automated testing of keyboards. This X,Y,Z table was large enough to hold 4 108 key keyboards (inverted above the table) at once (4' x 4' solid steel) and the Y,Z axes had enough mass to move four machinist workbenches when starting and stopping. We, and our suppliers, had a difficult time specifying and locating thrust bearings of sufficient size to absorb the thrust of those axes. The axes had to move fast enough to simulate keyboard operators at the time and had to actuate each key four times for different supply voltage levels. The X,Y,Z table was controlled by a Honeywell mainframe (no PCs available yet), driven by high Honeywell high performance servo motors, and had two bays of custom test circuitry. It was featured in several automation magazines and made the cover story of one. We built a total of 4 of these test systems but the advent of the PC based test systems killed them shortly after the last one was completed.
That is why I mention thrust bearing as they caused some issues way back then but knowing now what learned from that experience, we should have used rack/pinion for the X/Y axes.

If that machine were to be built today it would be much cheaper to buy a CNC to actuate the keys (it wouldn't even require a router/spindle)!


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


The x axis drive shaft and the last of the bearings I needed finally arrived off the slow boat. I now have all the parts I need to button up the x y and z axis'. That project will take most of, if not all of my weekend.

After that I can focus on the spindle, the tool carousel, the controller and the a axis headstock, tail stock, bed and torsion box.

I think I have come to a decision regarding the controller.
I will use TWO, yes, two netduino cards!

It has worried me since I started talking about using an HTML network interface in conjunction with my controller that the asynchronous nature off the protocol would wreak havoc with trying to maintain maximum speed and real-time motor control accuracy. Then I figured something out. I can set up the primary motor control to run in MDI mode only and use a simple interface like I2C to send one line of g-code at a time. It would have a busy/ack pin just like the old slow parallel port printers that would signal when it was ready for the next line of code.

Then the second controller would be free from real time constraints to spool the entire code file, handle network packets and manage displays and buttons and whatever else neat-o stuff I want to pack in there.

I'm starting to get excited about it.


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *Z-Axis comes together*
> 
> Z-Axis ball screw assembly
> 
> ...


*Doug*, take a look at IEEE 1588 PTP time sync protocol. I worked on this, when I was still working, in 1995 and it has become a mature standard providing time synchronization down to nanoseconds over Ethernet.

It is being used by many industries from power systems to cell phones and any other time critical applications.
There is all kinds of information available on the web including some tutorials.


----------



## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

*X axis build (again)*

I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.

Well, now that I am ready to finish the x axis, I had to remove the y and z from the gantry.










The pinion gear assembly took a bit of work but they are finally ready.










Due to the depth of the pinion gear and the mounted flanged bearing, I had to build out the ends to get the correct spacing.



















I debated about banding the edges first or fitting everything then banding.
When push comes to shove, I wasn't certain I wouldn't be remaking these ends more than once. So, no banding yet.










I figured out I will need a tensioning bearing in the middle of the timing belt to reduce backlash.
I have some left over bearings from the pool pump motor rebuild. (It was cheaper to buy.ten than to buy the six I needed)

This should be a fairly simple proposition, but I ran out of weekend before I got it finished.

I got the x axis stepper motor mounted and the main drive rod installed on one end. (It's a double ended motor shaft)










The 10mm drive rod turned out to be short by the time I cut off enough for the pinion gears. I didn't count on having to space it so far out either. I have a 5/8" diameter rod that I've drilled a socket in the end and tapped set screws from the sides. As long as I can get it mounted straight, it should serve nicely.


----------



## toeachhisown (Eddie) (Mar 30, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


DS its starting to take shape ,cant wait to see it in action


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


This is going to be an amazing tool when finished.


----------



## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


Some serious engineering ventures here.


----------



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


After you get it finished this will make a great addition to your shop so please keep us posted as work progresses.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


It is great to see your progress!
Looking forward to more….
REALLY…. anxiously awaiting a video of chips flying!!!

Carry on….


----------



## JL7 (Apr 13, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


Nice to see the progress DS…....keep pluggin' away!


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all of your encouraging comments. There is still a long way to go it seems.

With the summer heat, it makes working in the garage a little unbearable at the peak of the day.

My folks were just in Park City, Utah last week and got snowed on - in June!

It was 108 degrees in Phoenix today.
185 degrees on my cars steering wheel… Ouch!


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## PatrickB (Apr 30, 2010)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


Good luck with the build, any man willing to sell his truck to make it happen is a man on a mission.
Pat


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


The last few months I've been focused on getting the controller finished. Unfortunately it feels like the build stalled out. The learning curve with C# and the .net micro framework was just taking me way too long.

After some contemplation, I decided to do what I was previously determined not to do - buy a pc and a copy of mach 3.
Within 24 hours of installing mach 3 on the new pc, I was moving motors with my mouse - a very exciting moment!

The build is back on track. By the end of this week I will have the parts I need to button up the x y and z axis' under nc control.

Then, it will be on to the tool carousel, the spindle and the a axis
When I install the controller in the box, I'll update the blog with progress pics.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


DS,
Glad to see this update….
I was worried about you.
OK, I was more worried about the CNC not getting built!!!


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


DS,

I guess you finally finished your CNC… did you post it on another thread?


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


Well, Joe, I wish I could say the machine is finished… but it's not.
I did button up the x, y and z axis and I performed a preliminary test of all the axis'.

There are some tweeks I need to do because the x axis torque is high and the gantry inertia is also high and the pinon gears want to skip if the acceleration is too high. (the pinion gears are spring loaded to maintain tension and minimize backlash)

It was about that time that I had a whole bunch of "life happens" stuff and the project got mothballed again.
Nowadays, I am getting my CNC fix at work on a really big machine and I'm not feeling much pressure to finish this one. HOWEVER, I do want to finish it.

I've pretty much decided to rebuild my gantry to lighten it up to lower the inertia. And, I am considering buying the geared-down pre-made pinion assembly instead of the "roll-your-own direct-drive one that I built. Both of these changes will address the pinion gear skipping that is happening on the x axis. Also, I can tune the Acc/Dec in software to ramp up to speed slower, although, I am about a strong and quick machine wherever possible.

The only issue now is as things always are; Time and money - need more… of both!
Thanks for your interest, Joe.


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

DS251 said:


> *X axis build (again)*
> 
> I put off assembling the x axis rack and pinion until I was able to purchase the rest of the parts. The y and z axis has to build on the x axis. I bought the linear rails a long time ago, so the y and z were built on top of this.
> 
> ...


So, recently, I've been trying to renew my interest in completing this machine. It's been sitting for nearly five years now. It's hard to believe it has been that long.

I nearly resigned myself to the idea of not having the atc spindle.
That is, until I saw this guy.










The main difference between this and the rest of the 3hp 2200 Watt spindles is that this one has ISO-30 tool holders that can take an ER32 collet.

These are some pro-level specs in a power rating you can run on 220V 1ph electricity that you have around your house. I've never seen that before.

Now, just to get myself motivated to go out to the 110 degree garage and tear into it again. (Yes, I want to rebuild the gantry a third time) Bigger, better, faster than before. (Cue $6M man theme song)


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