I just started welding up a machine of the same layout this morning. I spent a very long time figuring out how I wanted to build this machine. I need a machine which is very precise. I make wood and brass camera parts which need to be machined to +/-.0015. I felt it would be easier to make a rigid fixed gantry/column and moving table than it would be to make a moving gantry. I realize that a moving table takes up more floor space than a gantry, but floor space was a secondary consideration to rigidity. I machine boards less than 12 inches wide and can saw the brass sheets I use to 12 inch widths. The longest parts I will machine are less than 24 inches and less than 3 inches wide. To be able to get multiple parts from one board, I decided to make the machine have 6 feet of X and 1 foot of Y. Part thickness will always be less than 2 inches. To add some flexibility to the machine, I decided pretty much arbitrarily to build in 5 inches of Z travel plus 6 inches to allow for long cutting tools for a total of 11 inches in Z.
The machine is consructed of 2X2 steel hot rolled tubing with a rather heavy 1/4 inch wall. This is heavy and stiff material. Hopefully it will make a rigid machine.
Barry Young
Young Camera Company  |