Thread: CNC Router (Work in Progress)

So the electronics, motors and cables have been completed.

I decided to make the base from steel and the gantry from aluminium. My choice for a steel base is that it adds weight and stability and because it is fixed it does not require additional motor power.

I also wanted to have the rail supported laterally and vertically along it's length. The rail is 2 inch by 1 inch bright mild steel and is attached to the sides of the frame. The backbone and turnbuckles let me adjust one side without affecting the other side. There are slotted holes in the crossmembers to allow for adjustments.

Rather than waffle on perhaps if I post pictures it will be clear as mud for everyone

The bearing carrier contacts three faces of the rail and I will be able to get the fourth face of the rail when the lower gantry crossmember is fixed in place.

The bearing holders are adjustable so that I will be able to plumb the gantry as well as make minor adjustments to each bearing.

There will be a total of twelve bearings on each side.

The first photo shows the bearing carrier on the rail. Second is the bearing carriage and the last is one of the bearing mounts before it was painted. Skateboard bearing have been used.

Well that is about it for the moment. Next I will be making a frame to hold the router and at the same time I will strip down the base and paint.

Just ask if you want more detailed photos or descriptions.

To make my posts easier to understand the photo below is a finished CNC router of a similar design to what I am building. Go to the following site for the full story.
http://www.tedatum.com/thms/project4.html

The design is called a gantry router for obvious reasons and it consists of a X and Y axis which takes care of length and width and a Z axis which is depth of cut.

Rotary motion is supplied by computer controlled stepper motors which generally have 200 steps per revolution and these are attached to a threaded rod on each axis. A nut on the threaded rod attaches to the axis and as the rod rotates the nut is pulled along. This converts rotary movement to linear movement.

Accuracy is in thousands of an inch depending on the build quality of the machine.

If you want to know more about this go to
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/
and be prepared to spend many nights (translated weeks) learning about how these things work and are built. There are free plans (Jgro) and heaps of variations to have a look at.

The units can be built from MDF at relatively low cost and smaller units can use motors from discarded printers and a Dremil or similar for cutting. There units are not a new concept and a couple of members of this forum have alrerady built these.

Well done Rod.

Nice one. Well worth another green but it says I have to spread them around

I have been following the article in the American DVD magazine as well.

Yours is well up there look forward to more posts

Cheers sam

Thanks Sam

This is one of those projects that takes ages to complete. I don't expect this to be finished for at least a few months yet but I am really enjoying the journey.

It has been stange not visiting this site a regularly as I used to and I do miss the woodworking.

Sawdust is a lot kinder to bare feet than swarf as well.

Enjoy Rod

Look forward to sharing the journey with you.

I am off back to sea so will have the water under mine for the Xmas period

Cheers Sam

Update
I have stripped the base down, painted and modifed it after a few suggestions from forum members on CNCZone.

I have made a mobile bench to mount it on and have completed the first axis on the gantry.

Progress is slower than I would like but there has been a few steps backwards to get it this far.

Hi Rod
You are doing a wonderful job - looks great!
A project like this has been on my mind but it must take up most of your life. Please keep the posts coming. What are the cutting dimensions on your machine?
Cheers, Ray

Hi Ray
Thanks for the encouragement. I am not sure what the final cutting area will be as it depends on how I finish the construction. The base is 1 metre long and the gantry is 700mm wide. These dimensions will be reduced by the placement and width of the next axis.

I haven't sketched it out and the design changes as I make it to fit in with the materials I have and any new ideas that pop up. Well that's my story and I am sticking to it.

There are quite a few of these being made successfully out of MDF but I opted for steel and aluminium.

Wow Bob... it certainly doesnt look DIY made.(prob better than a brought one)

Mine will be mainly MDF, hopefully good enough to cut aluminium parts for number 2. Main problem is finding Delrin..............

There has been three or four listings for Delrin on ebay in the last couple of months. It comes up doing a search for lathe.
A lot are using the plastic cutting boards (HDPE) and finding it OK. I can only find thin cutting boards locally though.
There is a fellow in America that makes Delrin anti-backlash nuts for $US15 and they look very good for the dollars.
Here is his site
http://gonebowlin.com/dumpsterCNC/

I pulled the gantry apart again and bored a couple of holes to reduce the weight.

I finished the adjusters for the bearing which has made it very easy to align and adjust the gantry. I am pleased with the gantry - smooth and no play or racking along the entire travel.

Anti Backlash nuts are now finished and seem to work well. I machined two flanges and welded the stock nuts inside the flange. Springs between the plates keep the set screws tensioned.

Next step is to mount the acme thread and attach a motor for some movement.

Originally Posted by bennylaird

Mine will be mainly MDF, hopefully good enough to cut aluminium parts for number 2. Main problem is finding Delrin..............

Hello Benny,

try these guys in tullamarine:

www.eplas.com.au

they have Delrin and uhmw poly. (they custom cut from huge sheets, and don't seem to mind very small orders)

Cheers

Greg