New Machine - Work in Progress

[rodm]

A mate (who happens to be named Rod as well) and I are building a desktop CNC gantry machine mainly just for fun. I have a heap of linear parts and he has a heap of electronic gear so it fits together nicely.

It will have a cutting envelope of 300 by 210 by 120 and will run a custom spindle on DC power.

We are also going to make a consol that will house the computer, driver board and MPG's and hopefully the machine will be portable - well moveable anyway.

Progress so far is about 70% completed and all the fabricated parts are from aluminum.

First photo is the base frame which is made from 100 by 10 flat and 40 by 6 angle.

Second has the table sitting on the frame. It has grub screws next to each mounting screw so that we can dial the table to the Z axis. Push pull fixing.

Third photo is the Y and Z axis which are actuators and they are ready to mount to the gantry sides.

[rodm]

The gantry sides are a bit tricky beacuse we wanted to keep the weight over the X axis linear rails as well as mount the Y axis motor on the gantry side.

Best solution was to cut them on my CNC router so that we could get it perfect. The first photo shows the plate mounted and the job finished. Yes under there are some good parts. :D

I used a 3mm drill bit to peck drill the mounting bolts and the pocket, engraving and profiling was done with the same 1/4 inch carbide mill bit. All up about an hour and a half to do the job.

Second photo shows the table cleaned up and the parts still held to the plate by tabs. The plate was 460 by 300 by 8mm and the RPM stands for Rod and the first letters of both our surnames.

Hopefully I will have more to show tomorrow.

[WillyInBris]

Is that pop rivets holding it together ?

How long did it take to cut the gantry sides and how deep do you cut on the passes, I hope you cleaned the swarf off your shoes before you entered the house :D

[rodm]

Hi Sean,
They are stainless steel round socket head screws. Lower profile so they look neater than the standard socket head screw. I have counterbored into the 10mm plate and used standard socket head screws where I could.

Depth of cut on each pass was half a mm and it took about one and a half hours to do the job. Feeds were 600mm/min and die grinder at about half speed. A squirt of WD40 on each pass as well.

Advantage of wearing thongs is you can leave them by the door but the swarf was all over me. I clean up immediaitley after a job like this as it spreads far and wide.

[rodm]

We trimmed the Y axis and mounted it to the gantry sides. Also fitted a wide plate under the gantry to stop racking. This is a very important feature I stumbled on in my first build.
The spindle plate was also done as were the ballscrew covers.
I have also attached a photo of the ballscrew we will use on X axis. A bit of overkill but it was the right price on ebay. :)
Maybe some more next week.

[rodm]

Got a bit done last week and hope to finish a lot more off this week.

The X axis ballscrew is in place - see photo - Double row angular contact bearing on the motor end and a deep groove bearing on the free end. After a few adjustments the screw and gantry run free enough that tilting the machine the gantry travels under gravity. Bearing mounts were made on the CNC X3 mill.

Finished off the motor mounts and mounted all the motors. On the rear of the motors I have turned up knurled wheels that help move the axes around as well as acting like a flywheel to reduce a little of the mid band resonance in the stepper motors. Helical couplings have been fitted between the motors and ballscrews on all axes. These take care of slight misallignments and take the load of the motor bearings.
Lashed up some wiring and a Xylotex board and gave it a test run on Friday night.
Motors are Nema23 269oz on all three axes.

We have a little DC spindle that is going to be fitted while we wait for an Industrail Sherline Mill Head (10,000 RPM) to be send from USA.

The table will be fixed and dialed in this week and then limit switches and some serious wiring added to the machine.

Our objective was to make a portable machine but this has already dropped to the moveable category :D because I always over build and it has added too much weight.

[rodm]

A photo to show how the table is clocked in. A couple of dial gauges temporarily mounted on the sides of the Z axis so that I can reach both edges of the table.

The grub screws set the height and the cap screws lock the table down. You have to go over the table about three times as each adjustment affects the adjacent fixings.

The table is within one thou all over and I will need to do this again in a couple of weeks to make sure everything is settled.

[crocky]

Hi Rod,

Looking good now :)

[rodm]

Thanks Bob

We fitted a temporary spindle last night, ran four jobs in acrylic and the machine works well. I wont post pictures as it is not how it will end up. It will be a month before the spindle arrives so I hope it works out OK.

[crocky]

You built it, it will be fine :)

I reckon we should make you put at least one photo up just to prove that it has cut something :)

I am cutting my first real lithophane on Corian right now as we talk, probably an hour or more to go yet :)

[WillyInBris]

I agree with Bob I think ya just having us on :wink:

[rodm]

Can't put anything over you blokes. :D

Best I can do is show you a photo of the spindle mounted. We ran four jobs and then disconnected it all. We are waiting on a spindle from USA so no point going much further after testing it with this little fellah. Need to do heaps of work - cross clamps, enclosure, trolley, console and tidy up all the wiring in the process.

Oh, the other photo is something that arrived from China this week. At 1100mm long there might be something brewing in the pot. :p

These are repalcment screws for Obott (my first machine) and I am hoping to get an increase in speed as they are 10mm pitch screws. Curently 5mm pitch screws on it so maybe twice the speed with these.

[Ch4iS]

dam rod you make it look so easy.

[jb2060]

Rod,

This is really a very nice machine. I love the precision measurements of the base. I will have to have a chat to you about some ideas I have for aluminium jigs that would attach to this sort of base.

cheers, Jason

[crocky]

Nifty looking spindle, even for it's small size :)

The screws look like the business too, should get Obott singing :)

[rodm]

Blue^Ray
After building in excess of ten machines to this design it has become fairly predictable to build. It is a proven design but I still try to tweak it a bit on each build to try new ideas.

Hi Jason
Always keen to listen to new ideas on clamping or anything else. I will be making four clamps for this little fellah.

Hi Bob
Quite surprising result for a 12 volt remote control car motor. That is an "O" ring driving the spindle and it was 6000 RPM flat out. Cut really well but it was only acyrlic so not a real test. We are putting on a much bigger 10,000 RPM spindle. Three weeks to go on that.

[R3R]

rodm

super stuff!! :2tsup:

i will get some time soon for a visit/catchup IRL

snowed under with work/etc etc

[rodm]

R3R
This machine is due to go in about a week maybe less if I get a bit more time in the shed. I still have my big machine and a mill to look at so there is always something here. Would be good for you to see this one though.




Ok just to prove to you stirers we did do a job see the attached dog tags. :)
I coloured them tonight and the other two were taken before the paint dried.
VcarvePro of course.

[Blu_Rock]

Oh, the other photo is something that arrived from China this week. At 1100mm long there might be something brewing in the pot. :p

These are repalcment screws for Obott (my first machine) and I am hoping to get an increase in speed as they are 10mm pitch screws. Curently 5mm pitch screws on it so maybe twice the speed with these.

Hi Rod, love your work. Regarding the Chinese screws, could you please tell me what type are they (acme?), how much they cost (+freight) and who you got them off? I am putting together the parts that I will need to construct my first machine and have a HobbyCNC Pro (305oz) 3 axis kit on the way.

[rodm]

Hi Blu_Rock,
Always good to hear from another CNC'er.
The screws are 10mm pitch and 16mm diam rolled ballscrews. All up $500 Aus inluding bank transfer fees. Freight was the killer at $200.
Purchased from here (http://www.bearing-fastener.com/Ball-Screw-107.html)

If you are thinking of using acme then plan on Delrin nuts or at least double nuts as there is a fair bit of slop in the acme threads.

What materials and design are you building your machine?

[Blu_Rock]

"muffled choking sound" .. those ball screws don't come cheap! Looks like I will go with Acmes. Thanks for the link anway... you never know, I may need it for MkX:).

I am still very early in the conceptual stage. I have been avidly reading WoodworkForum CNC threads and CNCZone for a couple of months now and was thinking along the lines of: HobbyCNC 305oz steppers, MDF body (but then again maybe aluminium/steel), skate bearings on pipe linear bearings, Dumpster ABN (maybe I will make one from Delrin - not sure) & Acme (probably 1/2") and an Ozito router setup - to test the water.

I may use the JGRO design as a basis for my Mk1 design but, ultimately, I would like to be able to machine at least aluminium and will probably end up going the whole hog with better components, if and when I get bitten by the bug. I really like your designs and may aim for something similar with my Mk2/3.

I don't really need a CNC router, but I want one bad :D. Probably 3/4 of the drive is to see a computer drive something that I have designed and put together. I have been thinking about making a CNC router for many years now and will probably need a few of them to tackle: 1) 4 axis, sculptural wood work 2) aluminium machining 3) a long 2 axis machine (about a 2m X axis) to fabricate Japanese Shoji screen components.

What design do you think would be required to be able to machine aluminium to +/- 0.001" tolerance (or even tighter)? (e.g. machine material, type of linear bearings, drive line type, stepper/servo size).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Blu

[rodm]

Hi Blu,
Your approach is like most are (including me) when you want to build a CNC machine.

Perhaps if I tell you my CNC journey it might explain to you why I build in steel and aluminum.
I was cost consious too and wanted to build a Jgro - Joe's machine wasn't built then. After studying his plans and reading for months I decided it was steel and aluminum for me. Reason being there is the same amount of work in an MDF design as there is in metal. Metal has more mass, is much more rigid and is not affected by moisture - well not to the extent MDF is.

I made the linear rails from skate bearings and square solid bar as you can see from photo. I met up with some fellows here in Perth that were building the Zoltar design and one of them had recently obtained some ballscrews so he gave me his acme thread and delrin nuts. Bascially that is what my first machine (Obott) was made from. It was I think the first home made machine that was finished and running over here in Perth and made aluminum parts for the other guys to finish their machines off.

After about a year of hard work the delrin nuts had backlash and I swapped them out for rolled ballscrews and commercial linear rails. I took the opportunity to modify the base to a slighly better and more rigid design. It was a progressive upgrade and the machine probably had near 800 hrs of use on it. After another 16 months and more than double those hours I will upgrade it again to a higher pitch ballscrew to get a bit more speed out of it. This is an update to improve the performance and not maintenance.

The design I adapted from others on the Zone and sketchd for hours to make it more compact and catpure all the moving elements using readily available steel sections.

I suppose the point I am trying to make is if you have a strong and rigid base then you can modify the components on it and extend the life of the machine. I'll answer your question in the next post.

[rodm]

Hi Blu,
The Jgro has been superceded by the Joe2000 which I think has many improvments over the Jgro. Read the post above on my thought on MDF design.

The Dumpster nuts are good and something I would steer towards in that type of build - with Acme thread as allthread is too fine to get any speed from. If you are having trouble getting acme thread get it from Enco in USA.

CNC is fascinating and I still get a buzz watching some jobs run. Sculptural work is 5 axis machine work but you can do some on a 4 axis and layered sculptures on a three axis machine.

To machine aluminum to 1 thou you are looking at a CNC mill. You can cut aluminum on a Gantry router but the flex is eveident if you make two items, one a mirror of the other. The forces in cutting deflect the machine/cutter enough to feel the difference in the parts.

CNC opens a lot of new doors and making a machine adds a great deal of satisfaction to the work.
The post above and this post are my opinions and should not take you away from your own thoughts and adaption of skills.

If you can then go to the Melbourne CNC BBQ on 24th May. There will be probably 30 attending displaying working machines and all sorts of goodies including door prizes.
I am flying over for the day with another CNC'er from Perth and it would be great to catch up with as many as possible.

[Blu_Rock]

Rod

Thanks very much for the comprehensive reply... much food for thought.

One of the first CNC threads that I read was your thread with the pictures of your home-brew linear rails and I was blown away with the level of engineering and construction skills that you brought to bear. I hear what you are saying about building off a solid base and I will keep that in mind as I firm up my plans.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to make Melbourne on the 24th but would definitely like to make it to a CNC BBQ in the future. Regards Blu

[rodm]

Time for an update. Finishing off these machines does take a bit of time so that is my excuse. :)

I have made a tray that will become part of a trolley to make the machine more portable. It also allows cables and bits to be fixed down so they don't get jammed up in the moving parts. Clamps are also done and can be seen at the ends of the table.

I fitted a web camera - see black tube left side of spindle mount - so X and Y can be zeroed in a crosshair and then the cutter zeroed to that point. I also fitted a Z axis touchplate so that the cutter can be zeroed to the job. Both of these fixtures make setting up a breeze. I have included a video capture of the camera in action on another machine of mine.

If you look on the ends of the motors I have replaced the aluminum knurled wheels with Vexta Dampeners - the yellow thingos - and it is remarkable the difference these make. It has taken out mid band resonance in the steppers and the Z axis stepper is running very comfortably at 1500 RPM with no resonance. Apparently they are filled with silicon gell and they are also quite heavy so there might be a bit of flywheel effect there as well. These were an ebay purchase just to have a play and see what happens and the results blew me away. Previously I have only been able to get about 300 RPM from these steppers due to mid band resonance.

That will do for now with lots more to come such as hood, trolley, console ,etc.

Forgot the most important bit - New Spindle arrives next week. Wahoooo

[Greolt]

Rod tell us some more about the dampeners.

Where do you get them and how much?

Greg

[rodm]

Hi Greg,
I would highly recommend these to anyone with steppers. It was one of those purchases where you think that looks interesting and buy it. They cost me $6.00 US each plus shipping so very cheap for the benefit they give. The buyer I got them from is on my favourites and this was the first time in a couple of years he has listed these and I got the ones he advertised. I'll send you his link off line.
I have attached a photo of a set in each elevation so you can get a better perspective of them. They are 44mm in diameter and quite heavy for their size. I have seen the home made rattler style on CNCZone with tubes and rods and also the rubber and steel washer design by Zylotex but these are silent.
Number on the casing are Vexta Clean Damper, Model D6CL-6.3.

[crocky]

Hi Rod,

Send me a copy of the link too please :)

[rodm]

I ran this on the machine with the little DC spindle. Over 195,000 lines of code and 2 and half hours of cutting at 2.5 metres/min. Could have cut it faster but the little spindle was struggling for power however that "O" ring driving the spindle held up which was amazing.

It was cut into a cheap $2.50 PVC cutting board and I coloured it with black acrylic paint.

I reckon that is as good a test for a machine as you can get. Missed steps would have been obvious with such a shallow cut.

I might post this on the CNC projects thread later.

Sherline spindle arrives this week. 10,000 RPM and variable speed.

[crocky]

Looks good, better watch out - that is where mine started :)

[Big Shed]

That is brilliant!:2tsup:

Seems a shame to use it for a cutting board now:D

[rodm]

Hi Bob,
I have enough to do building machines so I can't see a lot of this type of work happening from my shed. I must admit I am inspired by your lithos but haven't had a go at them yet.

Big Shed,
While it looks difficult it is a very easy job to do - mostly standing and watching. I see you posting in the metalworking lathes, etc so be careful as that is how I started. Bought a lathe and mill and have been building CNC machines since.

[rodm]

The spindle arrived- wahoooooo
I have mounted it which required modification of the Z axis but no real problem with that.
Have refitted the video camera and it really looks the part.
I am happy with the balance and tested the max RPM at 10,000 so their claim is correct. We have a MT1 collet chuch mounted in it and a set of collets ready to do. It runs a variable speed 90 volt dc brush motor.
Getting a bit late to try it out doing a job but it sure is quiet compared to a die grinder or router. Maybe a video tomorrow night so you can appreciate how quiet it runs.
A few photos to show it finally in place.

[crocky]

It certainly looks the part now :) nice looking spindle :)

[Blu_Rock]

Rod, that spindle looks pretty impressive. Great job on the cutting board too!

[crocky]

Hey Rod,

Where is the video? Like it was the fourteenth so you have had more than enough time :)

Still waiting for xylotex here!

[rodm]

Hi Bob,
My excuse is that I am preparing jobs for the Melbourne meet. :rolleyes:
I have done seven jobs so far and will be doing an inlay tonight. I hope it works.
I am trying to get a lot of different jobs done to show the features of Vcarve and at the same time using this machine where I can. So far I can't fault it and the Sherline spindle is holding up well.
See you on Saturday. :2tsup:
We are going to be a bit more brain dead than normal as we leave at 12:30 pm so no sleep for us.

[crocky]

Ouch!!!

12:30pm, what a drag :(

When you can, get us a video :) it is good if you can't fault it so far though :)

You have a bit to answer for too, you are one of the reasons I got so involved with the CNC thing :) It will be good to be able to chin wag and soak up all the Vectric type info that you will have for us :)

[spidey4fun]

Hi Greg,
I would highly recommend these to anyone with steppers. It was one of those purchases where you think that looks interesting and buy it. They cost me $6.00 US each plus shipping so very cheap for the benefit they give. The buyer I got them from is on my favourites and this was the first time in a couple of years he has listed these and I got the ones he advertised. I'll send you his link off line.
I have attached a photo of a set in each elevation so you can get a better perspective of them. They are 44mm in diameter and quite heavy for their size. I have seen the home made rattler style on CNCZone with tubes and rods and also the rubber and steel washer design by Zylotex but these are silent.
Number on the casing are Vexta Clean Damper, Model D6CL-6.3.

Hey All.. new here. I've been searching high and low for these dampers. Best price I've found is $72 EACH... ouch!! Would you send me some info on where I might obtain some with a little less pain!!

Cheers
Brad.

[rodm]

Hi Brad,
Welcome on the forum.
I have already bought all the dampeners from the seller and spread them around so sorry none left from that source.
I did look up the price of these and was a surprised as you are.
Only thing I can suggest is to keep looking every week on ebay or maybe investigate making your own.
By the way we all got similar results with a 5 fold increase in RPM's.
Good luck.

cheers,
Rod

[spidey4fun]

Thanks for the welcome Rod. I had a feeling that might have all sold but figured I'd ask anyway. I've been watching ebay and Google searching. I might luck out..hopefully.

Cheers
Brad.

[rodm]

We have decided to go all the way with this machine and will add all the fruit as time goes on. Next week there will be some major works done to the electrics and energy chains will be installed to carry all the wires.

I have not been idle and apart from preparing all the demos for the Melbourne meet, including some done on this machine, I have been working on a console. I have overcome a major hurdle getting something to input all the signals from the console to the computer. My solution was to pull apart a keyboard and use the keyboard module then map the combinations to find each key.

The advantage here is that most operations in Mach3 operate with a shortcut key (eg AltZ, etc) and I needed to find a way to create AltZ using a single mechanical button.

After much googling I found that keyboards work on a matrix and the keyboard underlays give you the combination of this matrix. It took me two nights to follow and record the matrix and then a couple of nights to solder wires to the tabs on the board and make a module suitable to hook wires into. I hope that makes sense.

Anyway see the photo and it might help. More of this to come as the LCD monitor, computer and MPG's are mounted in a console.

[Zoot]

Rod,
Great machine and great spindle! Is it rude to ask how much the spindle cost? What do you see as the advantages of a spindle over say a die grinder?

I really appreciated your talk at the Melbourne CNC BBQ ... came home and purchased the VCarve and Photo Carve package. Just learning how to use them before trying the designs out on my Widgetmaster Midi that is being shipped from the USA.

Regards,

Alan

[rodm]

Hi Alan,
The Widgitmaster is a great little machine and sized perfect for your box work.

The advantage of the Sherline spindle is its runs a lot quieter than a die grinder/ router. I would not recommend it to you for wood as it only has a top speed of 10,000 rpm and for small cutters in wood this is on the slow side.

The complete unit was $640 so it isn't cheap either.

[WillyInBris]

HI Rod new console :2tsup:, the ideas just keep coming :D

[rodm]

Got an hour in to start tidying up the electrics. This shows you once you have a machine running you can make a half decent job of a lot of bits that are needed to finish the machine off.
The first photo shows a bit of unknown aluminum bar 50mm by 3mm which was used to make the panel. Below the bar is the panel after it has been cut and polished with a cloth buff.
Second photo shows the plugs installed in the panel. If you have ever had to hand make a panel like this you will appreciate the ease and accuracy of doing it CNC. Note that I have spotted the holes for the screw mounts.

[crocky]

Brilliant as usual Rod :)

[rodm]

Hi Bob,
We do a lot of these little things in a machine build and I thought it might be worth sharing one of them.
Just because you asked before :) I have taken a video of it cutting so hopefully soon as I work out how to download moviemaker and post it on youtube you might get a glimpse of a half finished machine. :D
cheers,
Rod

[Zoot]

Rod,
The panel looks great, but could you tell me what sort of sockets you are using? Don't the leads to the steppers need 4 wires, yet the sockets don't look big enough!
I am designing my control box for my Widgetmaster and I thought that I would have to use some sort of DIN 9 plug and socket.

Cheers,
Alan

[rodm]

Next two photos are the backing panel which was also cut with the CNC machine and the two bits together.

Hi Alan,
They are called mike plugs and have their origins from CB radios. I find them very good becuase they clamp the wires to the connectors and have a screw connector to hold the plug in the socket so you don't accidently pull the plug out - very important features for Xylotex dirves. They are quite large in comparison to DIN plugs and the hole in the panel is 16mm diam so that gives you an idea of size. They are also capable of carying a fair amperage so their is little loss through the connector.
They come in 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 wire configeration and I mix them up so there are no mis-wires. See photos and they are available from Altronics and Dick Smiths - look online.

[Zoot]

Thanks Rod,
The panel looks great with its timber surround.

I found the plugs and sockets on Jaycar online and have placed my order.

Cheers,
Alan

[rodm]

Here's the video finally


YouTube - CNC Gantry Router with Sherline Spindle

[crocky]

Hi Rod's,

Well done :) thanks for the video :)

[asuesue]

they lo:pok great

[rodm]

Hi Asuesue,
Thank you
Looks like you live in China. I get a lot of parts for my machine from China so you are lucky to have them local for you.

[rodm]

To update the progress we got stuck into the electrics this weekend and fitted the connector panel, energy chains and routed the wiring through these components. Also fitted handles for transporting.
The base is the next project for this machine and a console is being built in parallel.

[Zoot]

Rod,
I am always impressed with the neatness of your work and your attention to detail ... this project reflects that as well. Keep up the good work as we all get lots of inspiration from your projects.

Regards,
Alan:)

[Greolt]

I like the look of those hold down clamps. :2tsup:

Greg

[rodm]

Alan,
Have you got the Widgitmaster yet?

Greg,
The clamps are improving with each new machine. I have had some good feedback from Macca and have taken his comments on board.

[Zoot]

Being a patient man that I am!!!
No, the unit has not arrived, but I do have some paperwork from Customs to say that it is in the country and because it cost over the magical $1,000, they have a large team of officials who are sitting down in a dark basement somewhere working out how much money they can extract from me!
I am building a control box along the lines of Geolt's that will sit under the WM and I should have that sort of finished today. I say 'sort of', because your really nice control panel inspired me, so am planning to use the WM to route both a front and back panel to fit a nice shiney aluminium control panel. So for the time being it will have wires and switches held up by sky hooks.

Cheers,
Alan:(

[rodm]

Hi Alan,
Sky hooks are good but do they comply with OHS and you have read the datasheet. :D
I haven't heard that term in a long time. :2tsup:

Good luck with customs.

[allmywebsite1]

Good i like your this work but u mentioned that it is for fun and cn't get the exact idea about that ,...........................

[WillyInBris]

Good i like your this work but u mentioned that it is for fun and cn't get the exact idea about that ,...........................

Rodm enjoys building tools and very good ones at that, he does it as a non for profit hobby, I think he missed his true calling :D

[rodm]

It has taken about a month of research and trial and error on a few components but I am confident I have a handle on some of this mumbo jumbo electronics for the console.

The keyboard I modified in an earlier post got trashed. I now have a Hagstrom Keyboard encoder and the advantage is I can send multiple keystrokes from a switch. It has the capacity to hook up 72 switches which is more than I will ever use.

I folded up some galvanised iron for the case and the front has two slopes - one for the switches and monitor and the lower one for the keyboard and touch pad. I got a 12 inch touchscreen for the monitor.

The case will house a 3.2ghz dual core computer with 2 gig of ram. Plenty for CAM and design software.

I have cut up the mounting of a computer and installed them in the case. There are three fans plus the power supply fan in the case so there should be plenty of air flow.

I have put a couple of photos of the case and the protoype switch panel so you get an idea of how it fits together. The protoype panel will be scrapped and a new panel made to fit the case.

[rodm]

I got the computer working and loaded a fresh versions of XP and Mach3.

I did the facia for the console and a quick mock up of it assembled. Note it is held together with tape and there are wires between the facias and box.

I cut the main facia on my gantry router and did all the switch engraving at the same time - you get to love these CNC machines. :2tsup:
There are forty switches in the panel and I could easily have added many more functions but that is enough soldering for me. The switches have LED's and I can power them through the computer power supply.

I have also been playing around modifying my Mach3 screen to make it easier for the touchscreen. I now have the option of using the touchsceen, keyboard and touchpad, MPG or switches to control the machine. I chose the touchpad over a mouse as it works better static verses chasing the mouse each time it rolls off the sloped panel.

Have attached progress shots and sorry about the quality of the photos.

[Greolt]

Rod

I must admit to being a little disappointed. :yawn:

All those imaginative machine names you have come up with and the best you can do is "CNC Machine Console" ???? :smack:

Seriously........ a real work of art Rod.

Amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it......:welldone:

Greg

[rodm]

Thanks Greg,
Yeah I know the name is bland. I chucked it on there five minutes before I cut the facia to balance it out a bit.
excuses, excuses.

[crocky]

I reckon it's a fine job :) well done Rod :)

[jb2060]

Really awesome job Rod...well done !!

[rodm]

Thanks Crocky and Jason,

Makes a nice change from making machines and something that has been on the back burner for quite a while.

I had to run a timber strip around the case to have something to screw the facia to and a simple job like that took me five hours including mounting the keyboard and touchpad.

Anyway the case is finished and only 140 soldered connections for those switches to go. :2tsup:

I'll put up the photo of it finished as the outside of the case won't change from here. Ooops sorry have e stop switch to add and speakers.

[GRS]

Hey Rod
The new machine looks great mate and very portable so I can feel a shed day comming up:D

[rodm]

Hi Gary,
Yeah it is about time we had another gathering and chin wag for us Perthites. I'll see what I can do in the next month or so.

More on the console.
Well a couple of days on and off and all the buttons are soldered. 240 soldered joints in all and the majority of them just to get the built in LED's buttons to work.
A couple of photos showing the facia soldered. I ran out of mounting room so I added a little panel to the back of the facia and shifted a couple of things around in the box to make it all fit.
The box now has the key emulator and a breakout board for the MPG. Should be easy to finish off now. Oh yeah I put a timber trim around the box so I could screw the facia down, added speakers and a USB port to the facia. It is getting busy inside the box but I still have a little room in there if I want to expand later.
Hopefully the next photo will be it all finished and up and running.

[rodm]

It's all back together and to my surprise everything worked.
The key emulator is a very easy way to do this project if you are like me and not inclined towards the electronic side. The MPG is a fun thing to have as well.
I can see myself wasting time just pressing buttons and playing with controls until the novelty wears off.
If I get keen later on I will paint the case but for now it is finished. :)
Last photo shows the speakers on the side and the USB port in the keyboard panel.

[dsquire]

It's all back together and to my surprise everything worked.
The key emulator is a very easy way to do this project if you are like me and not inclined towards the electronic side. The MPG is a fun thing to have as well.
I can see myself wasting time just pressing buttons and playing with controls until the novelty wears off.
If I get keen later on I will paint the case but for now it is finished. :)
Last photo shows the speakers on the side and the USB port in the keyboard panel.

Rod
I have been following along this thread in the background. From what I have seen you have done a superb job. I like the extra effort that you have put into the console. It helps to make your machine stand out from the rest and is something that you can be proud of.

:2tsup:

Cheers

Don

[WillyInBris]

Good work rod looks professional :2tsup: heaps more to go I would prefer mine Triton Orange I think Bob whats one the same colour, Greg wants his in Machine Blue Rodney said that he will just steal yours and Steve said he will make his mind up on the colour when he gets back :U.

Once again good work mate :2tsup: so whats next on the list as you are on Holidays :~.

Sean

[rodm]

Thanks Don,
Good to hear from a forumite so far away. The whole CNC thing has been a three year diversion from woodworking and I still haven't satisfied the itch. I am continually improving and gaining more knowedge with each new project. Can highly recommend it if you don't like couch sitting.


Hi Sean,
You know Triton Orange is my favouritie colour - NOT. :D

Big shed clean up then will be starting a new machine next week maybe. I have parts for four different machines but not sure what I will do first.

[Studley 2436]

Fairly impressive stuff Rod. Really good attention to detail. What I wonder if there is any sense getting a vertical mill fitting ballscrews and sensors and doing it that way?

There was one guy that asked Acme or Ballscrews earlier. For CNC it is not choice Ballscrews everytime. The reason being they have no backlash. The curves and so on you are describing on a CNC machine make it really important to have them. Start doing stuff like that with Acme and you are taking chances the machine will jump from the backlash and mucked up job.

Studley

[rodm]

Hi Studley,
I agree with you on ballscrews for the reasons you state as well as there is less friction with ballscrews.

However I have seen machines made with MDF and using allthread for screws and they have surprising accuracy and certainly good enough for woodwork so I keep an open mind.

Yes a vertical mill makes a great CNC machine with the added advantage of being able to do your CNC conversion parts while it is a manual mill.

I have converted two mills to CNC (X2 hybrid and X3) and compared to a grantry router they are fantastic. Very rigid and low noise but they lack the spindle speeds required for woodworking. I am also reluctant to use a metal mill for wooodworking as the sawdust can be a problem in the ways.

[Studley 2436]

My job Rod is CNC machining. So of course the stuff you can make is a bit different to the incredible machines that they are making now. I think they are doing rapids of 100m/minute! Imagine that with 500 kg of steel on the table and it stops within one micron! Boggling stuff. Yours for a mere $350,000.

I don't think dust would be an issue with a good machine, something like a Mazak or Mori Seiki, as using carbide tools steel does tend to produce a fair bit of this grinding type dust sludge when you consider all the coolant we use when cutting steel.

Getting a convo done on a knee mill or something the speed would be an issue. Just like you say. The new expensive mills are doing spindle speeds of more than 30,000 RPM with variable speeds etc. There are some very sophisticated tool holding methods to give the tool holding with the perfect balance required.

The knee mills I have used, typically called Bridgeports although there are many copies of the same type handy light machines but without enough rigidity for really serious stuff have a motor mounted on the head with a belt drive. I suppose you could speed it up but to do it really neatly would be a hassle. I wonder if some other machine would be an easier thing to handle.

Studley

[rodm]

Hi Studley,
You are at a different end of the scale to where I am. :)
I am just a backyard hack and learning as I go and my dream is a Bridgeport so you can see our minds are at different ends of the scale.
I have seen a video of a Masserati (spelling??) V12 motor being milled from a solid billet on a six axis machine and that really impressed me.
One machine I built ran at 17metres a minute but it was a disaster for me. My reflexes where not quick enough to stop a crash so I ended up slowing it down. I bet they test their code thoroughly on the 100m/min machines as it would be expensive crashing one of those.

[Studley 2436]

You are not kidding Rod. The common belief these days is that the Emergency stop button is a bit pointless because a crash is way over by the time you get your hand there.

Mind you 17 m/min isn't bad. Most machines around the place that cost serious money are in the 18 to 25 m/min.

The usual way to do stuff in a machine shop is to single block a program before you run it. On a mill you add on a bit say 100 mm so it is cutting air above the job and then just go through it one line at a time to see that it isn't going to crash into the job of a clamp whatever. The other one we use is two thumbs, one on cycle start and the other on the feed hold button. Press the feed hold when the tool is near the job and check the position screen to see where the machine thinks the tool is and how much further to go. It is slow but you get to be sure that the program is not going to do anything dangerous.

Mind you what I do is programming and machining which is a different thing to making a machine. I find what you have managed to do pretty impressive. Building the sort of machine that would go into a machine shop is way beyond a home shop. Has to be big really rigid be accurate to one micron. Million bucks for a machine like that. *G* Guys that do that sort of thing are shovelling scrap out that the scrap merchants pay them some thousands for each month. I know in Aerospace where they are working high grade aluminium such as 7075 they will get often $20,000 for a months scrap from one machine!

Studley

[rodm]

I know in Aerospace where they are working high grade aluminium such as 7075 they will get often $20,000 for a months scrap from one machine!

Studley

So gone are the days that the workers sell scrap on the way home for beer money. That is some serious waste there. :oo:

[gatiep]

Hi Guys,
Last Thursday night was a stormy, rainy, cold, outright yucky night in Perth. I had a call from Rod saying he was coming over. I went into the shed, got the lpg heater going when suddenly the shed roller door started rolling up. Next this shiny box followed by Rod made its appearance! Well we got hankies, tissues, rags and the like out to dry this alien as it got wet from a leak in sofisticated gutter system of my lean to.
Rod arrived with all the cables and accessories to fire the box up. Well after admiring the "Alien" for about 30 minutes, I gave Rod the go ahead to fire it up. ( I did check my fire insurance policy was up to date before he got the OK tho). Well he threw the switch and the screen and lights all started doing their thing. Hit a button and it actually shows text on the screen. The touch pad lets one scroll up and down,one can plug a thumb drive in, play back a dvd or listen to one's music in stereo from a cd or an mp3 player! I believe the 7.1 surround sound mod is nearly ready. Oh and the touch screen works too! It has a mic input and an audio out and built in speakers. Doing the touch plate thing and it counts the pause period down in some hung over voice too. One can activate the RESET from the screen, the keyboard, the touch pad or one of the switches.......remarkable, especially as Rod claims he is not an electronic wizz. I'm sure he must have a copy of "Electronics for Dummies" in his arsenal.
Well the short of all this for those of you that haven't seen this "Alien" in real life: Its a lovely bit of kit , made in true Rod style and like everything else he makes, it works! Well done Rod, marvellous kit, job well done.

Now as you guys know that when the guys 'review' a tool or a machine, they usually get to keep the unit. Well Rod didn't want to leave that unit with me but he did promise that once he's done some more work on it, he'll send it over after he's built himself a Mark 2.

Thanks Rod, your kind offer is much appreciated!

:U

[rodm]

Hi Joe,
Well I have been done over by a professional here. :)
The Boss and I had a good laugh at your rhetoric and you deserve to have the console after that effort – but you are not going to get it. :D

I got all the buttons programmed last night as well as the MPG and the new screens in Mach3.
After a mixed up day I did manage to put together a couple of tool trolleys I got three months ago and mounted the console on one of them. I put the drawers in the bottom compartment as it left the top shelf for the console and provided good drawer storage for my bits and pieces and cutters for the machine. Horrible photo but what do you expect at this time of the night. :-

[gatiep]

Looking good there Rod and I guess the Boss is happy that you got all the buttons programmed and hopefully working too. May be a win!!!!!!!!!
Nite mate, its gone 1 am. What happened to the evening?
Cheers