My project is taking over the garage!
Fortunately my wife hardly notices since the garage was already overgrown with junk. Funny how she didn't even notice how much I cleaned it up. ... of course, I cleaned it up just enough to squeeze my CNC bits in there!
So I invite any comments about the components I spent my hard earned cash on, especially if you think it won't be suitable for the kind of machine I'm trying to build!
-New Z axis from THK. I remeasured this and it has about 20" of Z travel, not the 30" I was imagining. hehe. I guess I have to revise my goal of reaching 30" of Z depth for cutting foam. 20" will have to do for now.
-1" hubless timing pulleys, 0.375" pitch. These are pretty beefy and weigh about a pound each, without the hub.
-Collet nuts. I don't know what the technical name is, but they're fantastic! I when I turn the nut, the OD increases and the ID decreases at the same time. I just slip them onto a smooth shaft and tighten -- no keyways. Supposedly, these should handle the 110 in-lb of torque (at 200% peak load) that the motors put out.
-Bucket-o-belts. Miscellaneous widths and lengths, all 0.375" pitch, but none of the correct length.
-Ballscrew assemblies. There are now 4 of them (I originally had just 3). I decided to buy a fourth one to make the gantry stronger.
-Motors. I have 3 DC servos of 1/2 HP, 3 Emersons (455 series) and 2 smaller emersons (316 series). The picture shows the big Emersons next to the smaller ones. The Z axis has a smaller DX-316 Emerson mounted.
-Miscellaneous. I have a buckets of 1" Idlers, t-slot mounting hardware, energy chain, mismatched steppers, small induction motors, mounting hardware, etc.
Does anyone else feel like their CNC has "feature creep?" I can't be the only one who buys too many parts, can I? Once I get the motors figured out, I will probably sell the extras. In fact, I'll probably have to sell the DC Servos soon to get the $600 (or slightly less) back out of them.
That money can go into the frame. I am hoping to build a steel frame for around $1000. Building this frame is going to be the hardest part of the whole machine. I feel like I'm at the foot of a mountain right now, looking way, way up. When people ask me why I'm building a CNC in my garage, my answer probably sounds not much better than what mountain climbers say, "Because it's there."
So in the spirit of creativity and challenge, I say I build it "because I can!" |