I've been building this thing for about 3 months now, most of the parts have come from e-bay, some from second-hand engineering suppliers, and the ali plate from the scrapyard. I think the only things I bought new were the electronics, including the gecko 320's.
Of course, I got all the ideas from here, I think HomeCNC may notice a few similarities with his deisgn, which really first got the idea into my head when he built his aluminium beast, thanks man! Also a big thanks to Balsaman, who has helped out a lot wit hthe electronics, through his own thread.
Anyhow, piccies!
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/gantry.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/ugly.jpg

Yep, you can tell I get a bit over-enthusiastic about using engineers blue!
Steadily coming along:
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/sideish.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/motor_front.jpg
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/motor_side.jpg

Sorry guys, I got a whole catalogue of building pics, so you're gonna have to get your boots on a do some wading!

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/zscrew_left.jpg
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/PSUFront.jpg

The next couple of pics are how it stands today.
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/zenergy.jpg
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/angle33.jpg

As you can see, I still have to fix up a table-top, and attatch the router. But apart from that, it's pretty much done. Let me know what you think.:confused:

The machine looks very sturdy. To do that with only few tools it takes a lot of skill. I think I saw a z-axis from your previous CNC machine in one of the pictures. By the way thank you for bringing me to CNCzone. Keep up it does look good. Chris

I think HomeCNC may notice a few similarities


WOW! I sure do! Very good work Kong :D
Even your Linear bars are the same as what I got from Ebay!

The design you came up with is just amazing, it had to be copied! My linear rails are 40mm dia, and the supports are 40mm tall. Due to their shear mass, I skipped the aluminium cross rails, and have just used the rails as the framework, it works well.:D

Finally, I get to see your machine! Looks great. Have you spun the motors yet?

Eric

Yep, and what a scary moment! In reading all the horror stories of people blowing their gecko's, I was sure something was going to go wrong. But it didn't, all is well. I still need to do some tweaking of the Linux EMC controller software, but I can see the shear power of the servo setup. Actually the steel table that the machine sits on will need to be beefed up a bit before I can increase the accelleration on the servos, as it tends to rock a bit! Thanks for the circuits Balsaman, the err/res is great:D

If you follow the gecko instructions to a tee, it works out great when powering up for the most part.

Eric

Kong,

Oh, your linear rods are much larger than mine are. That was a good find. I need to clean my wiring up. Were did you get that nice wiring track?

Looks very,very nice.

How did you make the bore for the bearing blocks for the z axis? I had to use wood blocks for mine because I dont have any metalworking equipment ( at least until the machine is built and new alum. ones can be cut)

What metalworking tools did you have available to build this if any?

HomeCNC, the energy chains were bought from RS electronics (http://rswww.com) in the UK, I bought 2 meters, but could have used more. It ain't cheap though at around $25+ per meter.
jimbo, I bought a Taig (http://www.taigtools.com) lathe for the purpose of making the linear bearing blocks, the leadscrew bearing blocks, and the AB nuts. So it pretty much paid for itself. I also turned down the leadscrew ends on it, not recommended though! If I lived in the US, I may have considered a Sherline lathe, but we don't have those over here:(
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/lathelong.jpg
I wouldn't want to do that too often though!

I got the home/limit switches wired in today, and mounted my monitor arm.
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/MonArm2.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Zlimits.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/YLimits.jpg

I wired the home switches in series, assuming that EMC would home one axis at a time, then jog off the switch until it opens again. Strangly enough though, it homes the axis until it hits the switch, then stays on it? Perhaps it's something in the config file I've overlooked, any ideas?

edit - Yep, something I overlooked. There is a setting in the emc.ini called "home offset" that moves the axis a specified distance away from home after it hits the switch. I will test it tomorrow.

Wow!!!! Whatta brute! Hell for stout. Very clever rig for turning screws.... longer screws require a bigger door? Try that on your wife for the shop upgrade!!! (LOL). Very impressive Kong!

Kong,

You are doing such a good job! Did you first use a CAD program and draw your machine? Helps to know were to drill your holes :)

What router/spindle are you planing to use?

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/router2.jpg

Yep, and in my defence, it was the first thing I ever drew in 3d CAD!

Kong


Ya did good!
Very strong looking router.

To see you post your router gives this
newbee more inspiration.

Thanjks
Barbwire Bill

Hi HomeCNC,

E-Chain is available in the US from IGUS. www.igus.com


Steve.

Kong,

I noticed in your first pic the rust on the rails. Looks just like my surplus rails.
Could you explain how you cleaned them up.
Your setup looks great! Thanks for posting the pics

Yep, mine are surplus too, and spent a couple of weeks outside whilst I made room for the router. Not knowing any better, I used wet and dry sand paper, with some WD40 (light spray oil) to wet it. It did no damage at all, and they turned out great.

Kong

What do you think of the motors you got from mclennan. What voltage are you running them at? I'm using the same ones for my router but haven't powered them up yet. Congrats on the machine by the way - very impressive.

Excuse my ignorance, but who are mclennan?! I recall buying the servos through ebay from a company, so I take it they were called mclennan:confused:
Anyhow, they are brilliant. I run them at there stated 24v, and they have plenty of power. I bought 4 in total, so I have a spare one which has been running the lathe.

I can't wait for a response! If those motors are still available someplace I would look into it! I hope Buckie555 answers quickly.

I think you're gonna be out of luck. If buckie and I are on about the same thing, they were up for auction about 4 months ago, and they were un-used obselete stock, 15 years old. I don't think it's fair for me to tell you I got them for £20 GBP each....oops:D

:( by the way....I don't know if I posted earlier about your machine but it is highly impressive. I'll imitate(flattery) your concepts.

Mclennan acquired Moore & Reed some years ago and the motors they were selling through EBay were some of theirs that had been sitting in their stores for years. I bought 6 of them. Sorry Bloy I think they offloaded all of them. Kong, I'm glad to hear they've got loads of power - game on!

Damn it, what a mistake! Just checked my z-axis for perpendicularity now the table is bolted down, and it's waaaay out.
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Out_Square.jpg

So I have dismantled the hole y-z assembly to re-drill my out of position holes.

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Dismantle1.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Dismantle2.jpg

I wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't so damn cold over here, I've had to pack up now (17:00) coz my hands are numb!

Mine needed the same adjustment too. You have a few places you can make the adjustments to.

1) If you slot the upper linear bars so movement can be made, this will work but it will make your Y axis screw not align with the nut anymore.

2) You can shim behind the Z axis plate to make the plate perpendicular to the table. This may cause some problems with connecting the plate flush to the lower bearings.

3) You can open up the holes in the X axis side plates at the lower linear bearings. If you use one bolt hole as a pivot, you can get the Z plate where you want and slot the others holes, then place the bolts back in the bearings. I think this is the best option.

Thanks for the advice, that should come in handy next week when I get the spindle mounted and the dial indicator on it. For now all I am trying to do is get it close, then I can mount an old plunging router easily and use this to make the mounting plates for the proper spindle. Which, as I forgot to answer you before, is possibly the only american-style round bodied router in England. It is a Japanese import, 1250w 1/2" router. If the CNC starts to pay for itself, then I can warrant buying a decent spindle from the US.

Hooray, made the first cuts today....

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/RMounts3.jpg

I cut the mounting plates for the spindle using an old router simply bolted to a plate of ali, which was then bolted to the base of the z-axis plate. I had a lot of trouble with feeds/speeds, and ended up re-starting the first cut about 4 times. Then, it got about 4mm from the final depth, and the spindle crapped-out. It went well for the second one though, even if it did take around 1 hour to cut!

They are not mounted yet, I'm gonna leave that for tomorrow when my brain is a bit refreshed. Good fit though!
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Mount1.jpg

Feed rate overide is a great feature of Mach 2. I always start a new job with the feed rate overide set down at 40%. Then I move it up after I see that everything is fine.

I finally got the router attatched, and began tramming-in today. Due to the bumpy table top, I drew an X in the centre, and jogged the spindle around it, keeping the dial indicator in the same spot. So far I have got the x axis down to 0.1mm in an 8" radius, and the y axis is down to 0.4mm. It's getting a bit late for spinning motors now though! I hope to get the table top sorted tomorrow, finnish the tramming and check for square. HomeCNC, thanks for those tips, I slotted the x-axis at the bearings like you said:D
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Router_Mounted2.jpg

My machine needed adjusting everywhere...:). I did so and have not checked it since. I wonder how well it maintains adjustment. I don't want to check!

Eric

Originally posted by kong
Hooray, made the first cuts today.... *snip*

Wow, that's impressive! Can you tell me something about what spindle RPM, type of mill and cutting speed you used to cut that?

If it can cut aluminium like that, then it's strong! Nice work!

// Arvid

It was slow! I used that dodgy old red router, mounted quickly, so therefore not strongly. I used a 6mm slot drill, cutting 1mm per pass, at around 300mm/min. Spindle rpm was around 20,000 I'm sure it could have been done faster if I spent more time setting up the spindle in the first place.

Have you planned what to do with the router cord? I just love your wiring and track! My router cord and other wiring needs to be re-done.

Oops, must have forgotten to mention that. If you check the last photo, at the back of the z-axis carriage on the left, you can just make out the socket for the router. The cabling goes through the energy chains, into the control box and a solid state relay.

What kind of bolts(screw) do you recommend to use? size and type and etc.

For constructing the machine? I used 6mm cap screws (allen screws), except on the base where I used 8mm. Just use the largest you can I think.

Kong

What do you think of the B&Q router head that you have used? I'm interested because I'm thinking of using the same model. How loud is it? Is there much noticeable runout in the bearings? At £80 it just seems too good to pass up even if it only lasts for a while just to get me up and running. I'd be really keen to hear your feedback.

thanks in advance

Neil

£80? When I bought mine it was onyl £50! For the price I paid, it was a real deal. However, I don't know if I would pay £80 for it. It is good, noisy as hell, but the biggest problem is the variable speed does tend to slow a bit on big cuts unlike a true "electronic" router. My father has just given me some money to buy a new one, and I will be ordering the Makita RF1101 from the USA shortly after christmas. You can get that one delivered for £130, although you will need a 110v transformer. Best advice is to pay the bit extra now, rather than in a few months. Just a thought, but B&Q do the big 2000w model for about £100. Might be worth a look?

Just wanted to take the opportunity to say well done to www.coastaltool.com for their excellent service. Check this - I ordered the Makita RF1101 on their website on Monday evening. The guy gets back to me to make sure I understand UPS will charge me VAT, then he gets to me again to let me know the parcel will ship Wednesday afternoon, ready for delivery.....on Friday to England! I just checked the UPS tracking, and it is currently in the air over the atlantic. Should have my machine finnished next week, just need to make some new mounts for this new spindle and get me a transformer so I can use it!

Kong

I'm going to go with your suggestion and spend the extra cash to get the Makita rather than the cheap B&Q router. I see that you posted a complementary note about Coastal Tool. Has your router arrived yet and would you still recommend them / the RF1101?

Thanks in advance

Neil

The router is quite amazing. The bad news is that UPS charge the VAT before they deliver the router. You're looking at around £39 for this, plus the £138 for router + p&p. Bringing in to around £180.
Oh yeah, then you need a 110v site transformer to get it to work, so that's another £50! BUT, after all that, you do get an extremely quiet router, that seems to have plenty of power, and continuous variable speed which doesn't slow down when it starts cutting like the B&Q one will. I guess you could buy a bigger 240v router over here for the same price, but then you have mounting problems and noise to contend with. If I did it all over again, I would still go with the Makita.
One more thing, they sent me the RD1101 not the RF1101. Must have been out of stock. They use identical motors though, but one is a d-handle design, other just has two knobs. Hope this helps!

Cheers for that Kong, that's decided then, I'll order mine later today. Thanks again.

Well guys, time for a quick update! I must learn never to buy an rc nitro car before my projects are completed!!

I have taken delivery of the Makita RD1101 router, and wow, what a machine. Quiet as a hairdryer, Nice!

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Makita.jpg

Oh yeah, here's the socket for the power, coz I forgot it before! Fortunately I was able to take this one off of the d-handle assembly of the router, which meant I did not have to take the router appart to stick on a different plug/lead.

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Power_Socket.jpg

Yep, that thing's getting waay dusty! I cut the slots in the marine-ply sub table today which will form the base of a T-slot table.
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Slot_Bed.jpg

And more dust:

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Dusty.jpg

You can just make out different coloured slots. I changed the design half way through cutting, to give me fewer slots, so only half of them are cut to full depth. Wish I'd made my mind up before cutting them all, but nevermind!
Anyhow, a quick clean up, and a nice coat of polyurethane varnish should finnish that off until tomorrow.

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Varnish.jpg

Oh damn, I knew I forgot something! Before I secured the plywood down, I ran some 1/4" thick angle ali across the bed for added support. Hopefully it should stop the ply from dipping over time.

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Supports1.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/uber_router/Supports2.jpg

Looking good! Thanks for all the pictures and updates.


Cool, another person in RC. What car did you buy? Here is my pride and joy. www.coldfusionracing.com/Supermaxx/index.html

Nice T-Maxx, you make those ali parts yourself? I bought the Nitro Rustler. I have already made the front A-Arms in aluminium, hopefully I'll get some more bits made by the weekend, since I smashed up the rear shock tower, oops!

edit - Hey, it's electric! Is it a T-maxx?!:confused:

TMAXX??!! I'm insulted:p

Brushless electric Emaxx all the way! Most of the parts are from www.supermaxx.com


I did make the lexan skid and servo mounts though.

I just had a look through your gallery - some good stuff on there. How difficult do you find it cutting lexan? I haven't tried for a while, but alwas had problems with too slow a feed. Anyways, I made these today on my router:
http://www.btinternet.com/~jasonrsmith/A_Arms.jpg

Front A-Arms for the rustler. just gotta drill the mounting holes.

Nice arms. The holes are the hardest part because they can't be done on a cnc router.

Lexan is fairly easy to cut by hand with a band saw, jig saw, ect. I have always contracted out my work for the chassis so I couldn't tell you about the cnc process.

I never cease to be amazed at the diverse interests and talents around this place.

Great job Kong! Hopefully I will get there soon. I have built three machines now, but my former partners did the running. I am a hot rodder by history, and a fabricator by habit, and can't wait to get something cut out! Just gotta make the money to do a project for myself. Btw...WD-40 rubbed on to bare steel with a scotch brite pad or rag will keep it from rusting. You have to do it about once a week for a car that sees the outside a lot, but I don't know about inside only stuff. Old hot rod trick.
Cheers

I work a lot with lexan sheet and it is one of my reasons to build a large 8x4 machine down the road.

The jigsaw is my preferred method of cutting, the pitch of the blade is the most important you want 2 - 2.5mm of pitch (around 3/32") with a new blade you will be left with a perfect finish.

Lexan can also be scored and snapped like glass, so long as it is not too thick.

I also plane the edges with a wood plane, works great.

Excuse me for butting in.
I must say, to all of you wood & steel Router Guys, you are doing such a nice Job in those CNC Routers and posting all these pics.This is Interesting Stuff!
I'm a machinist, and woodworking I have done a little bit in the past.
Some days, I would like to mount a router on my mill and do some steel carving.

Kong: it looks like that Makita of yours is the way to go.I can't stand Noise!
I only got 4000 RPM on my MAHO CNC mill.

Konrad

Kong, do you think that cutting 1/4 aluminum would be too much of a chore on a regular basis if my router were at least as solid as yours?

Sorry to bring up an old thread but you're one of the only people who cuts aluminum with their routers.

I don't think cutting 1/4" ali woul dbe a problem, but that will depend on the type of cutting you are thinking of. Now, if you are making a flat chassis for an RC-car, it should be ok, but if you want to create a nice 3d surface in that 1/4" ali, I wuold forget it!
So yeah, 2.5D will be fine, but would really strain the machine for constant 3D cuts.
Somewhere in the diy router section is another router, built especially for aluminium, but I have no idea who made it.....perhaps Steve someone? It uses a "C" section ali for the cross members, and looks extra strong. It is worth hunting for.

Yeah, it's all flat 2d stuff.