Machsupport Forum
General CNC Chat => Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) => Topic started by: BarryB on November 18, 2009, 12:21:19 AM
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Hey folks, I'm starting a new thread to show the final build from start to finish. Tonight is only a little bit. The plates are in, so here's a pict of them. Also I started to assemble what I could onto the gantry. It's so very cool to see it coming together just like the model;)
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/plates.jpg)
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/gantry_start.jpg)
I'll add to this thread as I make progress. I plan on having the whole thing put together by the end of next week.
Barry
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Brilliant idea Barry - I can't wait for part 2 etc.
Tweakie.
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Barry, where did you get the plans, parts, kit, etc? Looks great.
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I started by looking at everybody's machine on here. I settled on two designs I really liked. One was the cnctoolkit maker. I liked his frame. The other was doughty drives b/c drive. I started modeling everything. It took a long time, because I usually had to order the parts, take measurements and then remodel again to make sure everything will work together. So in the end, I can say that this design is mine, but all parts can be ordered online save for the custom plates. If it all functions well in the end, I might put together a build of material/parts list and suppliers so others can build one too.
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What material are those plates?
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It's all 6061 aluminum. I had all the plates anodized after cutting to protect them a bit and look better. There is a variety of widths, 1/2 inch, 3/4 inch, 5mm and 6mm. I've got picts of them alll getting cut on the waterjet, that's pretty amazing.
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Did you draw up the plates yourself? It is going to be one sweet looking machine once it's done. Have you thought about putting the spindle motor on a multi-axis head?
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Yeah, I did all the modeling myself. All the plates are cut from my models. I'm using the doughty drive B/C head for the spindle which is multi-axis. Take a look:
http://www.doughtydrive.com
His service is great too.
Barry
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I've seen that. He doesn't like giving up prices on his web site. :D I'd be very interested in your materials/build list.
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I like that you had the parts anodized. I have dropped my anodized parts on the concrete floor before. The floor chipped, and not even the faintest scratch on the part. It really protects them more than people realize. Makes it look more professional, too.
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Yeah, well worth the money, imo. Btw, I learned a secret for this. Ask around who your friends go to for anodizing. I found a great cheap place!
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Looking very good Barry. :)
Brett
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Here's tonights progress. It's really starting to look like something. Damn these things are getting heavy too;)
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/gantry2.jpg)
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/x_axis_start.jpg)
Not bad for a nights work. I'm thinking it'll be done mid week next week, we shall see.
Barry
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Barry, Where did you get the templates for the aluminum plates?
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I modeled them in Rhino3D. Everything on my build I've modeled, except for the Doughty Drive model, which came from Doughty Drive.
I posted a link to the model before on this topic:
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,12938.0.html (http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,12938.0.html)
I'm hoping the final build will look just like that. Well, except it's 6 inches taller at the base;)
Taking the models I've made in Rhino down to the waterjet company was a breeze to get cut. Everything transferred over seamlessly as .iges files. I'll post pictures of the plates getting cut too, those are pretty cool.
Barry
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I saw that link before. Lost track of it. NICE!!!
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Here's a bit more progress. The gantry is now on the base frame. Plus I've started to hook up the X-axis ballscrews, and motors. I keep getting amazed how everything is coming together, it's really cool. What you can't see too, is I've bolted the B/C drive to it's plate, and also the spindle to it's plate. I had to grind down the bolt heads for these items since they were sticking out slightly. I'm going to have to do that for a bunch more bolts tomorrow too.
She's starting to look like she means business though;)
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/gantry_on_frame.jpg)
Barry
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What are you going to use for a spindle? Looking great!
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Thanks, it's a labor of love, kinda;)
The spindle I chose is a 1.5Kw HSD spindle (I don't recommend them as their service is god awful). Tomorrow it'll be shown on the B/C drive. Going to ZZZ now, been doing this stuff all day, and of course shuffling off to the hardware store for stupid things I forgot like washers;)
Barry
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Brilliant work Barry.
Tweakie.
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More picts. I didn't get as much done as I wanted to today. Working with the Z axis was a biotch. Still though, after doing this much I had to see it move, even though, really only the x mechanics were hooked up. It moved like a champ though, awesome!
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/gantry_more.jpg)
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/gantry_more2.jpg)
Barry
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I want a copy of your plans! This thing will be great for 5 or 6 axis! Great work there Barry!!!!! 8) I'll bet 80/20 loves you!!
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I'm not opposed to making my plans available. I designed this to be 6 axis, and that's what my wiring diagram would be in the plans. Do you think people would pay a fee for the plans? I did spend a crazy amount of time modeling everything.
Heh, 80/20 loves me spending my money;) I'd love to be in the 'made with 80/20' catalog though. I'm not sure how you get in that though.
Barry
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Great looking machine Barry. I like it. I do have a question for you, though.
Put an indicator at the bottom of the Z axis, so as to read the distance between the axis and the table.
Push the top of the Z axis.
Pull at the bottom of the Z axis.
How much did it flex?
Keep in mind you will have the section with the trucks added on, along with the spindle, and any other mounts. All adding more weight to the equation.
I too, have a gantry made with 80/20. The rails are mounted the same as yours-directly to the 80/20. The posts, however are made from steel. The length of the gantry is roughly the same. I think yours is a 2 or 3 inches taller than mine. I am less than pleased with my gantry. Actually, it is one of the "live and learn" lessons on my build. I found that the rigidity of the 80/20 is comparable to a wet noodle. Well, o.k. maybe not that bad literally, but in terms where you need a halfway decent finish on a part, it's a pretty fair comparison. I find that the Z-axis bounces around so much (because of the flex in the X-axis) that I have to make more finishing passes than I should have to, and the speed at which I make the finishing passes is far slower (to minimize the bounce) than what it should be. This in turn can create other problems, especially if you need the speed, to get a proper cutter finish. Cuts in the X directions are fairly good, but when you exert any force or motion in Y or Z directions, the demon shows its teeth. 3D paths and\or many short changes in movement are an absolutely horrid affair. That sums up 90% of the machining I do, coincidentally.
In my case, you don't even need an indicator to see the flex, and my Z axis has only 6 or so inches of travel. I'm in no way trying to shoot your design or build down. I like it, and hope that you can throw it off the top of a building, run over it with a tank and explode some C-4 on it, and it never skip a beat and run like a champ. I'm simply stating a concern where a potential flaw is present, and thereby saving you allot of grief at a later stage. It would be much easier and convenient to fix it now rather than later, (if your has the same problem as mine) as you are somewhat still in the design and build phase.
I see that you have dual ball-screws for the Y movement. I had a short ball-screw on mine for testing purposes. I didn't have 2 long ball-screws, so I decided to drive mine with 2 belts. Big mistake, wish I would have bit the bullet and purchased 2 ball-screws like yours.
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Thanks for the concerns Sam, I'll keep that in mind if I do a mill 2.0. The design phase has been over for a while. This is now assembly. Here's the progress for today. The Z-axis is now done, and I've hooked up the B/C drive as well. The spindle looks rather lonely by itself on the table now, but I didn't have time to connect it. I'll do that in the morning. The Z axis is still really stiff, but we shall see if it's still that stiff once the weight of the spindle is on it.
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/bc_drive.jpg)
Barry
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Hey folks, I'm trying to finish the build over break, but the family is so needy;)
Here's the machine with the spindle on it, and also limit switches and plus/minus x, y and z.
For some reason Mach3 is crashing right now when I tell the spindle to turn on. It didn't used to do that, that's damn annoying. Anybody run into that oddness before?
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/spindle_limits.jpg)
Barry
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Looks great there Barry. Maybe your problem is that now that you have something really hooked up it needs to be switched in the config file. Someone else will chime in that would know more about this than I.
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thanks, it's been a struggle getting all this together. I did put one part in wrong (didn't follow my own design) and that caused havoc. I had to take a bunch apart and put back together.
Yeah, if anybody has experienced the spindle crashing, I'd like to know.
Barry
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Maybe you have 2 axis assigned to the same setting?
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Hi Barry,
Please don’t take this the wrong way – I am not trying to be critical or clever but…
Looking at your last photo I notice that there is a large unsupported distance between the position where the tip of your cutter will be and the first trucks on your Z slide.
It would involve a bit of a design change but if you reverse the positions of the slides and trucks (fit the slides to the moving part and the trucks to the fixed part) it will offer a reduction in this distance and possibly a considerable reduction in the resonance of this axis.
Tweakie.
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Thanks Tweakie, not a bad Idea. Right now all that distance is supported really only supported with the 1/2 inch plate and the 1515 80/20 part bolted to it. Since this is pretty much finished as is, I'll see how it fairs. If I need to add additional support, your idea sounds like the bees knees, and not too difficult to do. I'd need a different z-axis large plate, that's about it.
Barry
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More progress this weekend. I finally ordered cable chain and installed it. I think eventually I'll have those plates anodized that connect the chain, but I just needed some thin scrap aluminum to install it. No need to model/have those plates water jetted;)
I ordered fairly massive chain thinking in the future I might put a vacuum hose inside. Here's some picts.
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/cable1.jpg)
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/cable2.jpg)
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/cable3.jpg)
Next up are homing sensors for the B/C drive. I'll conquer that tonight too. It's so close to done, whew!
Barry
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Looks good Barry, can't wait to see some video of it working its magic. I was wondering what happened to ya.
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Yeah, I was out of it for a while, busy with work and other freelance. Now that xmas break has started for me, I can finally finish this biotch.
Barry
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Here is my first test piece cut. I think maybe the size is too small for the bit;) I haven't figured out how to rescale anything yet. I think it's cutting fairly accurately though. I'll need to test on something bigger soon. Oh, and this foam was just taped loosely to the table. I haven't built any helper clamps yet.
(http://www.3dmation.com/images/ru_cnc/skull_bones.jpg)
Barry
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Hi Barry,
Good thought about the Energy Chain - I chose the exact size and of course, now need to get more stuff in.
There seems to be a law relating to energy chain which says that 'you can always add one more cable but never two'.
You have certainly built a wonderful looking machine there Barry and it is definitely a machine to be proud of.
Tweakie.
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And totally unrelated.... nice demo reel on your site.
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Thanks Tweakie, it's been a labor of love, but glad I can finally use it. I have the obligatory sign as my first paying gig, but at least it's a cool sign, and big, each letter is about 18 inches and sculpted.
Thanks Sam, that reel is probably 6 years old now. I haven't updated it since I've had steady work since, and haven't been looking for freelance. What's not on there is Transformers, Deja Vu, Apocalypto, Ride Around The World, Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Diable 3, and Starcraft 2 teasers. Perhaps when I find the time, I'll update;)
Now, off to my local woodshop. I just found out I have Austin Hardwoods right next to me. I had no idea. I've been ordering everything online when I could just walk a little ways and pick things up by hand.
http://www.th-h.com/ (http://www.th-h.com/)
Barry
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Hi Barry, excelnete work, I'm designing a cnc router, but can not find much information to do the 5-axis, you think you can help to make the head A / B, I appreciate your kind collaboration.
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I recommend buying the B/C head from Doughty Drive. I'm about to upgrade mine if you'd like an older one for cheap;)
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Sure I've seen recommended but is too expensive, my idea is to make it myself with good items, so ask collaboration with some of the designs to go with determining what materials will work.
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Send me an IM if interested in my BC drive. IMO this is not an area you'd want to skimp engineering on, and my price may fit your budget;)