Got the acme screw mounted on the Y Axis, and mounted the gantry. I was not 100% sure the SBR12 rails would support my gantry weight, but it is smooth and easy to move.
What size is your spindle. I see you chose to have the table moving in the Y instead of the gantry. As i am still researching about doing a build i would like to know what your thinking is for building it that way, if you dont mind.
Thank you for posting this. I didn’t realize how much can be achieved with just wood. I was thinking of getting a 3d printer to make the parts I need. Perhaps, I just need to go to the local hardware store and get some wood and start putting things together.
When you screw the bolts into the wood, do you add inserts?
@Wayne_Friedt That is the Zen Toolsworks spindle, 24-36 volt model. Guessing about 350 watts.
I studied several designs and then came up with this interpretation. If you have not settled on a design, I strongly recommend @Dave_Gatton free plans @ http://cncsidewinder.com; in fact I have looked over his design and will probably make one as soon as I get this one running.His video tutorials are great, and I viewed them all.
@Bruce_Lunde I will check that out. Thanks for the info.
@Dat_Chu Exactly why I built this. I am confident I can build better parts with this, then I could by hand, and I can remake parts of this that perhaps do not perform as well as I thought would as I designed it. I saw Dave’s plans, and already see ways to improve some of my parts with some of his. I think I will also replace wood parts (as I can) with aluminum, that I am sure I can cut with this. Very excited to reach this stage, working on motor mounts as I type this, so it will be running, very soon!
Nice build. What’s the final cutting capability on the table going to be?
@Eric_De_Larwelle 760 mm x 1110 mm or 30" x 44" as it sits.
@Bruce_Lunde what’s the ballpark cost of your build? How much is scavenged vs bought new?
I have about 460.00 in it, but all the metal for the Z was scraps I had on my save bin. Also, I already had the electronics to drive it, as I had them on my smaller mill (steppers, stepper driver and breakout board).
@Bruce_Lunde USD I assume?
Yes, you are correct, USD
Nice big build. How is the rigidity in the machine in x and y? I tested mine with a fish scale and a dial indicator attached to the tip of the spindle. It would be nice to compare our respective design rigidity. With my z axis at - 4.5 inch bellow its top travel and with 5kg of pulling force, I get .009 and .007 inch of flex in x and y direction respectively. Would you like to test your’s to compare? I suspect your might suffer from low rigidity in the y axis, but I think it can be corrected with minimal work. See my YouTube videos if you want to check mine.
@Antoine_Talbot I do not have the fish scale! but I will see if I can borrow one to make that test!
Lookin good Bruce! What steppers / electronics are you planning on running? Also, software?
@MoserLabs I have the Kelinginc 4030 drivers and Mach3 software currently, with 287 oz-in steppers that I hope will work. I am looking at the smoothie and TinyG for the future, as the current units are tied to my parallel port and i want to consider something newer such as USB to drive it. I removed these from a smaller CNC. I use Cambam and Vectric Cut2D to produce my g-code currently.