hello every one i love this site. with out this site i would have not even thought about building a cnc machine. i am posting because i am ready to start building my machine i have every thing except electronics and steel witch should be here this week(hopefully) i have some drawings witch i can post if anyone is interested

im always interested in other people's design and ideas

here are some of the drawings that i spoke of as you can see the y+z asises are not complete yet, i am waiting for the motors to turn up so i can finish that part

Hi! You do have a very good design.
I am also planning to buid one; but right now I am thinking of a 6' gantry with electronics complete from Dynatorch. Then I will built the table.
Seeing your sturdy design, I am thinking if it is wiser to just buy the electronics and built the gantry and the table.
Btw any user out there of Dynatorch? How does it fare in usage since it is a DC servo closed loop system. In comparison with competitors it seems fewer people are using Dynatorch? Am I right in my assessment? Thanks for comments

i like ur idea for the grating part and why did u choose to have the table soo low? and what materials are u planning on cutting (max size) other than that the design looks good and will work.. did you ever find out how much that igus stuff would cost? i havent really contacted them yet but am wondering how expensive they are..

hi the finished table height will be 700mm to the top of the cutting surface ididn't want to have it any higher then that because it would be to hard to reach the centre of the table. i am planing to cut 1500x3000x12mm sheets of m/s max. the table travel is 1800x3300x220mm i have bought 3 x 6' lengths of igus chain these are the spics- open style side hinge cable and hose carrier 1.38"H x 2.87"w overall sz. 3.94" bend radius they cost me $90US each plus mounting brackets $27US a set. i bought these from mcmaster-carr

Really nice. What motor torque are planning to use to move the gantry?
Just one motor to drive the gantry?

hi i am planing to use 2 closed loop servos 600oz-in

Table frame made! i have casters on the under side of table to allow me to move it around while i work on it

Great Job on the frame. What size frame material are you using?

terrydullaway,

Your machine design, Looks very good.

With your "X-axis" rails on the outside of the machine, It should prevent slag from getting on the rails :)

I am using 250X150X5mm RHS for frame, i used this size so that i can span 3600mm with out table flex.
X axis bearings will also have a shroud covering them to further protect them from slag etc.

Great design . How did you make sure that the X axis rails are perfectlly parallel to prevent gantry binding?

I haven't fitted the x axis rails and rack up yet what you can see in photo's is a length of flat bar that i have plug welded into place, i have set the distance from the top of the RHS with a length of extruded aluminium flat and a lot of clamps and stops etc. I used a machine level to set the frame up when i welded it so the two beams should be in resembly good relation to each other. as for the bearings and racks i am getting aluminium tracks machined to hold them at the correct distance from each other and that will sit on top of the flat that i have welded to the side of the table

Just a picture of my progress

Hello terrdullaway i am from Bundy to. great job on the frame i have completed my 4th axis mill although not on the size of your machine. My machine travels are x500 y200 z450 stepper motor driven.

looks great and when do you think u will finish it?

My machine is all but finished all i have to do is finish the moter covers and bolt them on. i have had it running for about 6 weeks at the moment i have a router attached to it. Rabs how long have you hade your mill going

Lets see some pics!! Great job.

how long did it take ya to build that?

My machine is all but finished all i have to do is finish the moter covers and bolt them on. i have had it running for about 6 weeks at the moment i have a router attached to it. Rabs how long have you hade your mill going.I am new to this internet suff so if it goes wrong let me know . I have had mill running for about 18 mouths and it has not missed a beat it has run by itself on a job for about 18 hours.

It took me about 4 weeks to build and about 2 more weeks to tidy up the wiring and make a box for all the electronics to go in.I started off with normal old acme threads but to much friction or to much back lash.So i invested in a set of three ball screws with adjustable back lash. I bought my stepper motor ,drive boards,ball screws ,transfromer from www.psm-cnc.com.

TerryDullaway,

I like your design a lot, you've obviously put a ton of thought into it and the results (so far) are excellent. I am also building a dual-purpose table (plasma and dremel), but much smaller in size.

If I may make a suggestion... in your pictures I see an angled end to the bases that the casters bolt onto (http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11243), and that looks to be at ankle height. If there is no structural reason for those protruding angles, you might want to lop them off.

I built an engine run stand three or four years ago (for testing automotive engines, EFI, etc) and I had a bottom radiator support that stuck out. It took me 2 years, and 37 ankle bone scrapes before I finally got smart and hacked the unnecessary protrusions off.

If they are necessary for structural reasons, considering a block of spongy foam wrapped around the ends.

Great machine!

midiguy,

the angle cut on the base that you refure to is for machine feet to bolt to. when the table is in use the casters will be removed and the table will sit about 100mm lower than it is in the pictures.

Gotcha. I was just concerned about your ankles. I built an engine testing stand similarly, and every time I walked past it, or used it, I skinned at least one ankle.

good job, looks good.