Thread: Spindle router build

Looking good

What length rails are you using?

i started on mine some time ago but shelved it for another time

Digital router lift - proof of concept

The rails are HGH20 - not sure of the overall length but should be close to 280 mm. The whole stage is 310 mm long. The travel is a little over 100 mm. I was worried this wouldn’t be enough, but it’s plenty.

Leigh


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Looks great Ambrosia.

Im also looking at building somthing like Mikes, and was thinking of using a pre built linear stage like yours, again coming to the conclusion that I couldnt buy the parts for the price of the complete unit. I like how you have mounted is sideon to the front of the cabinet to improve the air flow, good idea. Would be interested in seeing some more information on what youve done for the electronics control side as well, ideally I'd like a full setup like Mikes, however might do something with Arduino first just to get a functional lift working, then add to that. Anyway will see how we go.

Keep up the great work btw, its great to help inspire the rest of us!

Thanks Leigh for chiming in and providing some more ideas

Do you have a link for HLTC because i can't find them AE and even searching for complete linear motion stages is painful. From a open it up and make it easier for people it would be good to locate a decent linear stage as it makes it a bolt in and you only have to align the stage in two planes not the individual rails as well.
I'll likely still just use individual rails still

What model is the Nema23? no issues with it holding in place? Stepperonline is my preferred go to for stepper motors especially if they have it in the AU warehouse. I'm assuming it is a 1.8 deg stepper, my fence steppers will be 0.9deg as that's what i have on hand. still need to work out what to use for Z lift.

Think i decided overnight to mount the lift assembly 90 degrees to the normal so it runs front to back

anyway, great job and great to see another spindle RT up and running

Cheers
Phil

I am going to start again, how about this Aluminum Alloy CNC Linear Stage Slide Stroke Screw Motion Table 250mm-500mm | eBay

I looked at one that looks the same but I wasn’t convinced that it was “rugged” enough to handle a vertical spindle mount but I stand to be corrected.
The one Ambrosia posted looks the goods but it isn’t cheap.

Phil:

Linear stage: XYZ axis Slide Linear Stage SFU1605 Ball Screw+ HGH20 Linear Guide +Nema23 425ozin 3N stepper motor+DM542 driver for CNC machine|Linear Guides| - AliExpress (Travel length 100 mm)

Spindle kit: Free shipping 1.5/2.2/3kw CNC spindle motor+HY VFD inverter +spindle clamp+80w pump+5m water pipes+1 set collets for CNC|spindle clamp|spindle 80mmspindle motor - AliExpress

The motor was from makerstore.com.au but I can't find it on their website. Maybe a runout. It was a NMEA23, 1.26 Nm with a S109AFTG 3A 40V driver. The motor seems plenty powerful enough at 24V. I bought a small one thinking I could use it for something else if it wasn't strong enough, and anyway it was cheap.

Chris - I spent way too much time looking at all the options for the linear stages, including the ones you have linked to which look like a vee-slot type. While I was OK with upgrading the motor if it wasn't strong enough, the idea of replacing the linear stage with an upgraded version if it wasn't good enough seemed a lot of work. So I went with the safe, overkill version. OK - it's a lot more money, but I figure a rigid spindle is really going to make a difference and I'm not sure if the Vee-slot rails are suited for axial loads. I think their mainly for linear translation. But then I have no experience with them so my opinion is only worth what you paid for it!

I got a PM asking to share the arduino code. I have no problem posting it here for all to see but let me clean it up and add few comments first so its makes some sense - I'm a lousy, undisciplined programmer! I have been meaning to do it anyway, as I often look at code I wrote a few years ago and no idea what's going on.

Leigh

Formite Gnc42 was good enough to share a blog and his code for a router lift over a year ago. Not nearly as sophisticated as Mike’s program but it was a simple but effective arduino program without a screen - just a switch and an encoder,Height adjustment router table

He used a Moto Monster driver board which was expensive in OZ at the time so I played with it so it would work with a standard T6600 style stepper driver that I had on hand.

Worth a look at I reckon if you want something simple.

Leigh:

Thank you - i've bookmarked them as they have a couple of options that are more than capable without buying the stepper as i already have nema23's that should be fine.
I have actually decided now to do an air cooled 2.2kw spindle, square body version and one of those linear stages would be perfect.

with the HGH rails etc they look expensive but when you add the parts up and take into account what you get they are really good value.

Chris - a quick look at the one you linked said no.... it's a simple roller bearing v-slot based stage (based on the picture) and i'd expect it would be a pain even in a well dust cleared table ... forget the DC anytime and you would have to do a tricky clean job to get smooth motion back.

v-slot stuff is loved by a section of the 3D print world but frowned on by anyone doing serious sized printers so it would be even worse in a RT.

What i still like about using individual SBR rails and ball screw setup is you can space the rails to your own situation ....

I have attached the Arduino Mega program and schematic. The programming doesn't make much sense without the schematic. The schematic has different pins for the I/O than used in the program as I updated it to make a PCB and had to change the pins around for the routing.

The schematic is for a version with 2 steppers on the fence and one on the router lift. There are 9 opto isolated limit switches; one for a zero probe, 2 for top and bottom router lift, 4 for each end of the fence rails and 2 for homing (router spindle center) on 2 fence rails. An interface is provided for upgrading to the Nextion graphics display. There is a debounce circuit for the encoder switch (for menu selection) and the 4x20 LCD display uses a 4 wire interface as I found that a simpler SPI interface couldn't keep up with the rotary encoder (but that could probably be fixed with better programming). I ordered PCBs from China from this schematic - they are yet to arrive, so it's not tested. My current prototype setup does not have a motorized fence and I'm sure if I'll get around to it.

The program was adapted from another project so there may be some variables that are not used and some names also don't make complete sense for this application. It's also a very basic version just to get it working so that I can work out what features I really need later on.

It does the following:
Raise and lower via the jog switch (toggle)
Raise router to the top limit switch to change the tool
Set zero when the tool touches the probe
Move to an absolute value relative to the zero set by the touch probe in increments of 0.1 mm
Uses the accelstepper library to accelerate and decelerate the stepper.
Stop when reaching the limit switches and only allow movement away from the limit

Disclosure - I'm self taught in programming and electronics. Happy to answer any questions though and listen to advice.

Leigh

Originally Posted by Aussiephil

Leigh:

Thank you - i've bookmarked them as they have a couple of options that are more than capable without buying the stepper as i already have nema23's that should be fine.
I have actually decided now to do an air cooled 2.2kw spindle, square body version and one of those linear stages would be perfect.

with the HGH rails etc they look expensive but when you add the parts up and take into account what you get they are really good value.

Chris - a quick look at the one you linked said no.... it's a simple roller bearing v-slot based stage (based on the picture) and i'd expect it would be a pain even in a well dust cleared table ... forget the DC anytime and you would have to do a tricky clean job to get smooth motion back.

v-slot stuff is loved by a section of the 3D print world but frowned on by anyone doing serious sized printers so it would be even worse in a RT.

What i still like about using individual SBR rails and ball screw setup is you can space the rails to your own situation ....

Thanks, that was just the first one I saw and you get what you pay for.

Phil,

The spindle kit I got came with a pump and hoses. I got a bucket full of water, chucked the pump in, connected the hoses and that was it - done. Spindle is completely enclosed and hopefully dust free. The other thing that put me off air cooled - I believe the air flow exits the tool end, so it's opposite to the dust extraction flow into the cabinet.

But air cooled works too...

Leigh

The absolute best thing about the water cooled spindle is how quite it is, no screaming induction motor. Yesterday I was speaking to Stuart at Illawarra Woodworking School where I helped build the fully manual one and he is still very impressed with just the manual version with a DRO and even more impressed with the lack of noise when it is running. That RT gets used every day in both a school and production environment and nothing has fallen off it yet. We used a plastic paint bucket for the water and drilled two holes in the lid.

@ Chris and Leigh on the air cooled v water cooled spindle, I appreciate the info and for all the reasons you both have the water cooled makes sense but my woodworking time is sporadic at best and often a long long time between using the tools so too me the extra noise and maybe air flow concerns offset the hassle of ensuring either the water is drained for extended periods of non use as it should be or risking corrosion and water going bad... I have a pool that’s a hassle enough if I was using it regularly or for production then it’s no brainer water cooled
besides I can add in the experience and knowledge of using a square bodied air cooled spindle for hobby/home use.
i should dive into this a bit more in my own thread