Hi fellow Aussies,
I was hoping to start a sub forum here for a few reasons.
Mainly because of our remote distance from the US and UK.

Things we could post in here are lists of local suppiers, ways to meet each other and share ideas, and most importantly we can talk in metric. (he he)

This sub forum is not to be viewed as an us and them forum, it is just a way to easliy know who we are in the main forum.

You could start by posting who you are, and where you are from.

I am from Melbourne Donvale.

Oh and one last thing to remember......

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,oi, oi oi,

EDIT:

Well things have progressed here rapidly. Within minutes of making an unofficial request for a forum dedicated to Aussies it was created by the admin here. It has been descided to include our New Zealand neighbours too. Since we so close in the world and we have a good trading infrastructure.

So welcome Kiwis

How does it go? Kiwi, Kiwi, Kiwi, oi oi oi ?


PS. I guess this forum is on probation. If we dont use it it will be removed. I urge any reader to alert other Aussies and Kiwis to visit here and make some region related posts.

Their you go you ask you shall receive!

How fantastic, thanks very much CNCadmin.

Now all I have to do is make sure I am not the only one in this section. :)

Originally posted by ynneb

Now all I have to do is make sure I am not the only one in this section. :)


YOU GOT THAT RIGHT! lol :)

ynneb -
Can we cross the 'Tassie? I know there are a few Kiwis participating on the 'zone too and the same long supply lines too. I'd be interested when I'm downunder, would you let a semi-ExPat Yank lurk? Metric though - that might be tooooo far.
I'm Jim. When in NZ, I'm on my boat in the beautiful Bay Of Islands - about 3 hours north of Auckland. Next year may be sailing/relocating to OZ. As for now, I fly in/out via RAAF Richmond, then via train to Sydney and on to NZ. Maybe a bit downstream - but would be happy to tip a few and have a bit of a chin-wag when we get there.
:cheers: Jim

Loverly, High seas,
From memory we still have an ANZAC treaty.
Why not include our New Zealand neighbours. After all ther are enough of you here stealing our jobs. ( I am not serious about that statement )

Maybe in fairness we can request the forum to be renamed as Australian and New Zealand club house. I think the inclusion of New Zealand is a smart idea because of the regular, easy, and quick trading we do.

Welcome on board High Seas. A chin wag would be great.

Giday mates

This 'downunder' forum is a great idea which should lead to some cool DIY machines in the land of OZ and NZ.

Let me introduce myself.

But before I do I would like to apologise in advance if I carry on too much, its just that CNC machines' are my life, I live and breath them. CNCzone has been a godsend as it has shown me that I'm not alone.

I am lucky enough (or unlucky, sometimes I ask myself what did I do wrong to get here) to work in the industry. I am a CNC service engineer for a local CNC machine tool manufacturer.

I know what your thinking, do we make CNC machines in OZ? Yes we do and they are without doubt the best of their kind in the world. Something that we are very proud of.

I service all aspects of the machine from software to electronics to motors to ballscrews to rails to anything.

When I'm not 'on the road' I'm either repairing the CNC's or servo drives or and other electrical/electronic components or providing technical support for customers or service engineers in far of lands.

I am in the very fortunate position to be able to gather unused/scrapped part to begin my own project.

My plans are for a 4 x 4 foot (sorry I should speak metric) 1200x1200mm router. the Z axis will have 305mm clearance under the gantry. Work on the metal from should start in a few weeks if I'm not sent off to some exotic land to fix another machine.

I'm using a full industrial control with servo drives and an operators panel with MPG and feedrate override pots.

I hope to start its own thread so everyone can enjoy it.
Although I don't really know if its going to fit the 'home made' credentials.

Anyway I've gone on for too long and I've only just started. I could talk CNC machines all night.

I look forward to hearing from any and all from downunder.

oh, I almost forgot, I'm located in Melbourne.

Thanx

Boros

G'day All...

I'd like to be added to this list..I have a fully fitted hobby w/shop..
Lathes , mills ,saws and drills. etc. I'm trying to get a forge going and i have the gear to build a small aluminium smelter..I still work full time and can't find enough time in the week to do what I want to..I've just aqquired 5 x 1.8 deg nema 23 steppers and have just ordered 4 kits with mosfet drivers to see if i can work out how to utilise them on a small mill.I live in the " Rust Belt" of OZ, (SA). I look forward to learning all that you fellers know about cnc.. Regards..Croc.

Hey guys I hope you don't mind a (I think ya'll call us Yanks), Yank posting. I have a small request if any of you live near the Lighting Ridge opal mines. I want one of you fellers to run over there and pick me up a perfect 20 -30 ct. black harlequin with 5 colors showing. I could send you a $10 -$20 us for your trouble!:D :D

On a real cnc topic though, do any of you know if anyone is grindand polishing opals with cnc?? I am wanting to build a minature all aluminum 5 axis for that and a couple of other purposes but I don't know if anyone has tried this or not. Any info would be appreciated.

Mike

ps if you find any opals like I mentioned for a price like that please buy me three or four!:D

Welcome,Boros,CrocDundee,and trurmite.

I look 4ward to meeting you Boros, since you are just around the corner.
Crocdundee, You come from the engineering state of Oz, with the Hills Hoist originating from there. Although the Victa mower was a pretty good achievment from NSW.

Yes turmite we call all Americans Yanks. Dont you only call southeners yanks? Oh and your cars we call Yanks tanks.(Generally the large old cars, the ones with fins)
I am not sure if your 10-20 dollars would get us that far. Australia has a land size of 7,686,850 square kilometers ( Dont know what the would be in miles) I am guessing a round trip to Coober Pede ( the popular opal mine) would take about a weeks, driving.
I would suggest buying your opals from an online dealer.
I havnt heard about CNC polishing/cutting. Sounds like a good idea though.

Have a look at this online catalouge http://www.opalsdownunder.com.au/catalogue/index.htm
I agree opals are pretty amazing to look at.

ynneb,


Nope southerner's aren't yanks here. Saying that out in the open here in the south would probably get you fed to the gaters!:D

I really was kidding about the opal and the money. I can't afford a opal of that size and quality. A solid black like that with no defects would be out of reach of most people on earth. I have a friend who cut and polished the 17th rarest opal in the world and your great country has it on display at least to my last knowledge. Lloyd's of London had it insured for $17,000,000.00
I'm surprised I could even type that many 0'd!:D

My brother had the good fortune to travel to Australia last yr with the company he works for and he was totally taken with it. He said the diversity of the land was amazing. Desert to rain forest.

Mike

Is this guy in the group? If not, he should be!

jetboat (http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/hawkinsp/jetboat/jetboat.htm)

turmite

still digging
x30000 ct though if lucky

Hi there,
just thought I'd post a quick note to introduce myself. I come from Geelong and allthough I dont yet have a CNC set up to speak of I do have intentions of building a CNC router, most probably using EMC to drive it. I do have some servo motors which I picked up second hand in Singapore but I'm still trying with some difficulty to source some schematics and specs for them.
Cheers
Splint

Welcome Splint,

Post all the info from the servios and you might get lucky from someone on this forum. Might want to start a new Thread.
Hager

Hi guys!
Just popped in to see what you guys are doing. I'm a down under member also, however a bit far to the west, Africa to be exactly, LOL!

Klox

hi
i am down under in the process of assembling the parts at present
have got :
xylotex driver,stepper motors ,24v dc power supply
thk bearings,
ball screws,

at present playing around with spindle have a foredom type handpiece looking at flexible drive to run it
size of mill/engraver approx 20cm*20cm*8cm
still designing the frame and gantry which will be aluminium
moving table type,
great site

ken

Just out of interest, and probably stating the obvious, feel free to start new threads in the Aus,NZ forum. Just incase you thought this sub forum was just a thread only and not a stand alone forum.

It would be good to see lists of suppliers that related to your state.

Or

Articals and pictues of locally built machines.

Lists of Trade shows would be good also.

Any thing you want that is related to our region.

Also if you could list your state and suburb that would make it even better. I actually have already met up with Boris because of this forum. Funny thing that it took a world wide forum for us to meet up and our houses are on the same page of the street directory. What are the chances of that?

Hello all,
Michael here from Wyndham Vale ( Melbourne's west suburbs).
I joined the cnczone forum around a week ago and was informed of the aussie branch by ynneb, thanks mate.

I have done a stack of surfing on the web for anything and everything to do with cnc routers and it seemed to me that Australia did not really have much to offer in the way of cnc routers at a hobby level.

Its times like this I wish I was a yank or a pom, there are just so many people into the hobby cncs over there.

Just a bit on myself, I am a fitter and machinist by trade. I started and completed my apprenticeship at the ordnance factory Maribyrnong and from there worked in another heavy engineering place then onto a light engineering joint. cnc machines being part of my normal working life during all the time working as a machinist.

I have been off the tools for the last 3 years and am now an operator in a chemical plant, must admit I miss the cnc machining side of things. I can jump onto a mill or a lathe any time but there is nothing better than writing your own pgm and hitting cyc start.

I am planning on building a router with an operating range of around the 600 x 400 size (3 x 2') mostly cutting out various shapes out of mdf from 3mm to 12mm. A vacuum table is the goal as all the parts I need are to be fully cut out of the sheet and clamping is not an option.

Anyone got a vacuum pump kicking around?

cheers all Michael

G'day all,

Michael come on mate don't wish that upon yourself. I myself am a proud aussie, thank VB for that!

Reside myself down the VIC peninsula area. Not too bad thus would love a change. Been quite awhile between changes!

Anyway nice to see an aussie section, don't no about the NZ part, they maybe too busy trying to cash in on hearding sheep off to the U.S. for Uggs!

Cheers Boys. Bretty...

Hi All,
Bob here from Timboon near Warrnambool in South West Vic.

Michael,
Have seen online pics of old refrigerator motor\pump units used as vacuum pumps. Dunno about longevity as I have a feeling they normally have some oil in the refrigerant for lubrication. Probably got info filed somewhere in my puter.

As well as a normal pump there are other 2 other options depending on just how high a vacuum you need.

1. A venturi setup powered by compressed air.
2. Old household vacuum cleaner will work in the lower ranges but a bleeder inlet is essential as the air most flow thru the motor to keep it cool so it doesnt burn out.

Hi Guy's,

Dave Here (AKA Kookaburra). I'd Love to join the list. We are CNC control manufacturers for the diy and beyond markets. We are releasing an exciting new device shortly and will be announcing first here in the Zone. Keep your eyes peeled. If you want more info, we can discuss it the Aussie forum when the time is right, can't tell you too much as this is not an advertising forum.

I'm in Oak Flats near Wollongong NSW :cheers:

If you want more info, we can discuss it the Aussie forum when the time is right, can't tell you too much as this is not an advertising forum.

Yes you are right its not an advertising forum, but it is acceptable to talk about products that relate to CNC, thats the whole point of the forum. Why dont you tell us what it does but not mention its name?

You got me interested in what it might be, so I went to your site. I see you are releasing new servo drives. They sound interesting. How will they compare with the other Aussie drivers, Rutex, price performance etc?

Hey Kooka,
Really look forward to those extra special deals that you are going to give me and all of my mates, Nah just joking!!!! -------------(sort of) :D

Nah dont joke garagefela, I expect huge discounts. Actually we can be the beta testers for the new drivers and Kooka can pay us to test them.

Hey Kooka,
See how this forum works, we promise only to bend your arm as far as WE can stand it.

Cheers M

Hi Guy's,

My arm is nearly broken I think, LMAO.

Checking with CNCadmin, what I can actually say here, so please be patient. If you PM me a request I can give you some info on the drives or I will post what I can shortly.

Well Boss Man has said it is ok to talk about the product specifications.

The new drive is a fast, ultrasmooth running, dc servo drive. It is an intellegent device using high speed programmed micro processors (not pics). Our drives come in two models 1. 0-80V 25amps 2. 0-200V 20amps. These are realistic specs, not pushing the boundries of the fet ratings like other devices. The drives are featured with an inbuilt step multiplier, 8 bit and 12 bit selectable error count, +/- 1-10V controlled output for driving servo amps or vvvf drives, fast 2meg encoder input acceptance, 2meg step input acceptance, PID tuning, current limiting facility. The drive can run in velocity or axis mode which will allow the user to use it as a spindle speed controller acceping PWM information from the PC software for programmable spindle speed. The velocity/axis modes can be software switched to allow third party software (which we and others distribute) to perform automatic thread cutting on lathes as well as other functions. The new device does not have an annoying hunting noise when the motor is in a stopped condition.

There are other features that our drives have but I think this is enough to bore you all with right now.

I think this is all I should morally say for now.

Hey Guys,

Another Michael here, too many already i think.
I have met Boros already, great bloke and his machine will kick ass when its up and running.

My details

I am a newbie to all of this.
I want to build a cnc router to route out wing ribs and fuselage formers, i'm into model aircraft in a big way. I figured i coulf combine my passion for aircraft and electronics into one, what a nutter!!

I'm sorry ynneb i missed that barie the other day, but I was tending to my new born son, I think the wife would have spat the chips if i said i had to mosie out and catch up with a few fellas.

Any how, i would love to catch up with you guys, chat about cnc and all the great things I could build.

On another note, why in the hell arn't there any cnc surplus stores in Melbourne?? i went to singapore and found two shops with stacks of cnc surplus stuff, i was a little kid playing in mud.

Cheers
Mikie

Please keep CNC related building in the appropriate forums.

Now that youz have all been roused on by CNCAdmin I'm gonna swing in & shout out hi.

HI

Richard here.
In Sydney looking at starting to produce stuff from the bottom up. Lathes, Mills, Drills, parts & chips ... I think I'll start at the Foundry with a few books ... Ergh

LOL Richard,

Are you gunna get vinegar and scallops with those chips? Welcome to the Aussie clubhouse.

Dave,

You're a man to my own heart. Chips & scallops, the staple diet of any working tradie :D

Thanks for the welcome.

Does anybody know or have done any home-brew foundry work? I'm looking at starting this project from the VERY bottom ...

Hi DaDukeofoz,
if like me your interested in melting metal try this link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hobbicast/ or this link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/castinghobby/ or this link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HomeFoundry/ or this link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/metalcasters/ or this link http://l.webring.com/hub?ring=hobbyfoundry
I'm not yet to the stage of doing my own castings but it's well up there in my list of things to do, in fact my main reason for getting into cnc is to make precision high quality patterns and machine the the finished castings. Welcome to the forum.
Splint

Hi Mikie,
if you have the address and contact details of the surplus cnc shops in Singapore can you post them here please, someone here may want to know where to go if they happen to be passing through Singapore.
Cheers mate
Splint

DaDukeofoz (Richard),

I think I have some info still on a newish process of using a modified microwave oven (believe it or not) to melt metals. If you want I can try to dig it up.

Okay, details as requested.
This is such a good shop, you can also use him for mail order.

Kaichin Electronics
L.Y>Ling Manager
10 Jalan Besar #03-25 Sim Lim Tower Singapore 208787

Tel 62990375
Fax 6298 2996
Email kaichinemail@yahoo.com

Mike

Thanks Mikie,
that's interesting you say you can use him for mail order, I was there in mid January and asked him about mail order and he said he didn't do it because it was too much mucking around. I guess if you have an order worth enough to him he'd do it.
Thanks
Splint

Oh,

Well I was there in September of 2003.
He was happy to mail order then, but maybe something happened in the interim and he may have changed his mind?

He isn't the cheapest bloke, but he has everything you could want to build a machine.

He isn't easily peruaded either to let stuff go at a cheaper rate, though i got a heap of pillow blocks for $2 ea.

mike

Hey guys,

just thought i'd say hi. I'm a uni student in brisbane, and would love to build a CNC at some stage, unfortunately money hasn't permitted up until this point. but i still enjoy reading the site, and contemplating different designs. and i've just scored a trial with a company doing CAD/CAM work and programming their CNC :) i should get back to reading the 1000 page surfcam manual...

Cheers

Adam

Good on you Adam, just let us know when you descide to start on your machine and I am sure we will help you get through.

what a great idea will follow this closely . am trying to get a wood router up and working in north queensland ,and would apreciate any advice etc cheers bob

Hey guys,
I'm an apprentice machinist (mature aged) in Brisbane, working on CNC Lathes, Machine Centre (Milling Machine) and very shortly a Macturn. All of the machines are Okuma brand.

I've been an apprentice for 7 months now, but before that I have been employed as a machine operator - using metal cutting lasers, fast wire profilers and a wood router over the past couple of years. I don't own my own machine, but I use one daily and am very interested in anything CNC. I just found this link and am very pleased that there are other "southern hemispherians" on this website besides me!

I don't know if I am any use to anyone regarding the electronic side of CNC machines, but I have very good knowledge of the mechanicals and how to program them.

Thanks,
Shane (nashyboy)

Welcome Shayne,

Maybe this forum will inspire you to build a machine for yourself?

/Mikie

Hi Mikie!
I hope to build one some stage in the future. Just have to work out exactly what I want and what I want it to do.

hi am in cairns qld pity you were not closer .interested in wood routing . got the machine ,but need help with the software , cheers bob

greetings and salutations!

Is anyone else building CNC hobby machines in adelaide? I'm about to start building my third one and i haven't even finished my first two! ^_^

Adelaide, whewr's that?

Only kiddin, I like how you think kn1ghtjp, build as many as you can while you have the enthusiasm.

Bob,

What software issues do you have, we could try over email,etc to get you going

/Michael

Hey Bob, just read through this thread, do you still have your machine?

I am in Cairns (ish), in the process of building a wood router, expect to start making dust within a month or two (or smoke)

Russell.

Hi all

I am in Perth and planning to convert my mill and lathe and then on to a large router

Hennie

Make sure you post build logs with photos Hennie, always good to see more Aussie builds.

Russell.

Adelaide, whewr's that?

Only kiddin, I like how you think kn1ghtjp, build as many as you can while you have the enthusiasm.

Bob,

What software issues do you have, we could try over email,etc to get you going

/Michael


i asked a japanese exchange student where adelaide was and he said it was the capital of australia. but anyway, i was born and bred in adelaide, but the cold got to me now i live in brisbane (southside). i am looking to build (actually started) a mill. but the lathe will be on the way once the mill is done, at the rate im going the mill will be completed by 2060(lol).

under australian suppliers you should add:

www.minibearings.com.au

this company is known as

Small Parts and Bearings, they are located on Wecker RD, Mansfield, Brisbane (about two doors down from the mansfield tavern).

(about two doors down from the mansfield tavern).

So you can get your bearings and beer in one stop... sweet.

Russell.

So you can get your bearings and beer in one stop... sweet.

Russell.

or ball screws and beer, or bushes and beer, bolts and beer. i think you have an image now.

sheesh this thread did not last too long!!! and I dont suppose anybody is watching it any more.......if you are, I am Aussie and designing a CNC Mill from the ground up. with a view to building one.....so it is a lot of reasearch and design to get it right the first time. 800x600x300 is the projected size. anyway if this has moved somwhere else can somone let me know? I also have a small job in Al. if anyone is interested in doing it in Aus.

cheers,
Lachlan.

oops.....I did not go to page 4.....sorry.

To follow on. I live in Newcastle (for 6 months more anyway) and would love to chat CNC with anyone here in Aus who is doing somthing similar to me. I have found quite a few resources myself. I am also learing AutoCAD and SolidEdge but would like to try Solid Works as it seems to be more accepted in the industry (CNC).

BTW and mentioned above does anyone know of anyoneelse that would like a small job milling up a Part for a motorcycle? might turn into more parts if it works out.

nice to be here and also hope to chat more to fellow aussies who dream about CNC machines......(LOL! I do have other interests!)

Oh and just quick overview of my mill:

X axis: 800to1000mm
Y 600 or more
Z 300 (prob maximum)

Sliding X-table
stationary gantry.
All steel base and table will prob. be Al.
building without decent machine tools. so might need some help with precision parts. lots of ideas in the area of alignment and straightness but need some more.
looking at using steppers at this stage but who knows.....
Spindle will have to decent because I plan to have a mill capable of milling Steel, so I really need a variable speed (using manual change toothed belt drive) and considering the use of RC Car/ plane motors they seem to be really good bang for the buck and power to weight. could even put 2 or 3 in parallel for some real power.
this one here: http://www.espritmodel.com/accesories_axi5330.html
could deliver almost 2kW! and weighs 650gms.......
love to hear some thoughts! cooling might be an issue tho.

anyway rambled too much!

Regards,
Lachlan.

What a great idea.

I'm Colin, live on the Gold Coast, work in the exciting industry of commercial insurance (can you feel the sarcasm), hey at least I get every weekend free to play in the shed! Am doing my first CNC retrofit to a mini lathe - learning curve +++++++

An Australian offshoot would be awesome as trying to find things like motors, drivers etc is a nightmare, not that you can't find any, just there isn't a lot of choices in Australia (not that I have come accross).

Actually a list of suppliers for parts in Australia would be great!

Be definately keeping an eye on this.

hi guys still looking at getting my wood router off the ground . need some help with software ,what are people using to design projects in 3d ,thats easy to use and affordable . help would be apreciated . good cutting bob

Hi Colin and Bob,

Dunno about software not really experienced in that area however I have been learning AutoCAD 2005 at TAFE....Big curve, check out http://www.emachineshop.com/ quite cool little software package but I don't think it is very compatable with anything as it is designed for them only. But I learnt to use it and helped with my adventures into SolidEdge - I'll try to attach my efforts so far....cool that worked!

I'll put together some sort of list of suppliers I have found that may be usefull. some very expensive and some cheap.....be nice if we had some sort of industrial disposal industry like in the US.....eBay is a must in my opinion there is a guy selling Aluminium scrap there, good prices I think......5083/6061-t6 sometimes.....I'll see if I can make a list out of my bookmarks file. But IMO either way you are better off sourcing from OS....lost cheaper, even with shipping....prob better lead times too.

Hey All,

Ebay is definately the go, would just be nice though to be able to sometimes talk to someone over the phone, or to see some items (eg: stepper motors etc) rather than just forking out $$$ for something you hope like mad actually turns up - I've only been ripped off once but there is always the chance, then you have to rely on Australia Post!

On the subject of recomendations though. I bought all the electronics for my CNC lathe conversion from www.oatleyelectronics.com
They are in Australia.

Great (quick) service, easy to build kits, emailed a few times about different things and have always received a response, don't really sell suitable motors though, but these kits are great for my first CNC adventure, hooked up to some motors and an old computer and it went first go! I know........I'm scared too!!

www.oceancontrols.com.au also has some kits and stepper motors.

Hope this helps someone.

Hi, finished compilig a list for perusal, Might not be nearly as many Aussie suppliers as you might have hoped (or I thought!!), however there is a lot of information there and in some cases you will find that the US prices are reasonable.

There is also a LOT of just general information on CNC have a look anyway might be of some use to you guys. Do check ebay for supplies. It is worth it.

cheers,
Lachlan.

Nice work Lachlan, I will be filing that list somewhere for future use, I haven't even finished my first router yet and I am already planning my second, lol. This stuff is very addictive.

Russell.

How do

Well, i am in Tassy, Launceston to be prezact. I know bugger all but hope to overcome that. My background has nothing whatsoever to do with CNC. It gets better. I have a couple of disabilities - i think one of them is my mouth, another one is my height. Not that i am real tall you understand. It's just that at 6'3" most equipment stands are too low. i like scrounging, love it. Hard garbage collection night/day was always my favourite. Going to the tip was even better. By gee i used to get some schtick for bring home more that i took, but you can't waste it now can yer, i mean to say?

Anyway, now that i am disabled i would like to make somethings that will help me make life a bit easier and if figure that CNC milling and lathework will do just that. Plus casting aluminium, moulding plastic etc.

Thus far i have scored my neighbours dead microwave so i have the beginnings of a power supply. I have been scrounging the local computer and printing places for old printers, video recorders etc. So it looks like my first CNC device will be made from old printers if i can get to them before they get thrown away - wasters, sheesh.

Oh for those who haven't try a web search on the name Dave Gingery - never met him and he is dead now but that man deserves a chest full of medals. Talk about creativity and inventiveness, he was brilliant, a ruddy genius. He could build anything FROM anything. What a pity we don't have the knowledge to make brain recordings he would have been a wonderful library all on his own.

Ok, the first thing i need to make is a decent breathing mask as i have to avoid all dust. I have to make my own because my head is too big. Shuddup youse mongrels. German hat maker down in Hobart siad i had the second biggest bonce he had come across - lovely, real nice, sigh. So i have tried the Trend head gear, the Triton gear, the 3-M gear etc etc. To small and some is just rubbish.

What i need is a light to wear, battery-powered fan, HEPA filter with a pre-filter. There isn't one. There are $1400-1500 units (BOC Gases has some) and there are the really expensive ones - i have a firefighters one.

So i am making a prototype. There are lots of folks who need them. I figure on making them available though LungNet and the Asthma Foundation at cost plus: this way folks who are in similar positions to me will be able to do more if the choose to. Like me includes those of us who cannot use unpowered masks because we don't have the lungpower to draw the air through the mask.

The mask also needs to be made out of decent materials not the flimsy break if you look at them sideways type plastics they use. And, certainly, not at the enormous prices that gear that was the tag "medical" on suddenly seems to get.

So, there are bits that need moulding, machining etc. My hands are not too steady so i will use a machine to help - a CNC machine to be specific and, if i have built the machine myself - oh, bliss!

I am really look forwards to all this. Maybe a little glossary would be handy so i can ask questions that sound intelligble?

This is better than my first Meccano set.

Tom

chronological age: 57
mental age: 10 (big enough to use tools that work).

Hey Tom,

Not that I'm a regular on CNCZone but welcome! How's Tassie this time of year, I'm on the GOld Coast so it doesn't really change that much up here.

Aaaahhhh, 'dump diving'.....some of my best memories as a kid! No doubt some of my mother's worst!

Good luck with the whole CNC thing, be prepared for a learning curve of biblical proportions. I know, I was in your position not more than 3 months ago, knew absoloutley nothing about CNC (though it stood for Can Not Comprehend):confused: , but now have a fully functional CNC lathe to show for it.

There seems to be a lot of info on the web that misses out some important steps and considerations for beginners, some things have to be found out the hard way, (usually hard way = expensive)! Luckily I managed to get it right first go...I know...I'm as suprised as everyone else, but it did take a lot of research, using the old builders saying of 'measure twice cut once'!

If you are unsure on what exactly is required from a controller point of view, I found the simplest explaination on the Oatley Electronics website www.oatleyelectronics.com one of the staff there even built his own milling machine using their boards. They are the same I use and for the cost, have had no probs whatsoever.

Either way, if I can offer any assistance just ask.

Colin

Thank you Colin, that is very kind of you :-)

Tom

Hi Tom,
I would try to keep the design as simple and cheap as possible. Would think a simple 12 volt fan as used in computers would sufice. This could then be hooked to a 12volt battery pack. Think Nicad initially but NiMH would be best for production. Sizing the fan would I think be preferable to any form of speed controller (lower cost). Maybe have an option for just a simple dust filter as this would suit a lot of people.
Paul

Hi Tom,
I would try to keep the design as simple and cheap as possible. Would think a simple 12 volt fan as used in computers would sufice. This could then be hooked to a 12volt battery pack. Think Nicad initially but NiMH would be best for production. Sizing the fan would I think be preferable to any form of speed controller (lower cost). Maybe have an option for just a simple dust filter as this would suit a lot of people.
Paul

Yes Paul i agree with you.

Thus far i am going with a 9volt battery (small, cheap and slows fan), the fan will be the blower type fan which fits nicely up against the filter which at this time is a P3 Sundstrom Particle filter that has a clip on grill with a prefilter pad.

For the prototype filter case i am using white thermoplastic; this will become injection moulded plastic (which needs dies).

The hose is readily available. The mask will be based on a CPAP design but the head strap clip comes from emergency resuscitation gear this will need making. Prototyping of the face mask will in clear polycarbonate thermoplastic, (samples are on the way). Also need to make a face seal from neoprene.

Later on, if this one is viable, would be looking at increased airflow on demand which would require circuitry. Not sure about a datalogger yet. Manual or automatic air control.

Initially the unit will be dead simple and it might even stay that way. The more advanced electronics could be useful for testing purposes and gather data for stats. The medical profession like stats, me too, come to think about it.

Multiple power sources - NiMH battery pack, mains and emergency 9VDC battery would depend on where unit is being used.

If the 9volt battery works out ok i could stick with that. Will be undertaking some trials, obviously. i have a guinea pig selected and he wont refuse will i.

Tom

You should start a new thread so we can follow your project.
Think everyone here has an interest in breathing. ;)
And I think most would be interested in your solution. You may even make some sales in the future. Have seen posts asking for cheap HEPA solutions but no answers.
Paul

Half and Half
Half Yank and Half Aussie. Up in Sarina, Qld. G'day. Building a wood router. Learning Linux and EMC2. www.granelements.com Have a sherline with flashcut controller. Just boxed up a Xylotex controller - works fine first time! No magic smoke lost.

Don't think there is any CNCbody living near me except cane farmers and coal diggers.

[B]Don't think there is any CNCbody living near me except cane farmers and coal diggers.

You're not totally alone in CNC, I make regular trips (every 6 or so months) your way from Cairns, in fact returned last week from there, if you are still playing around with CNC in 4-6 months time I'll give you a call, I might have my second machine going by then. Any excuse for a quiet Ale.

Are you going to post a build log for your machine ?

Russell.

Build Log
Love to meet a CNC crocodile wrestler. Call by for a coldie on your way thru. Want to post a build log, but so green I'm waiting for someone to tell me how.

Ha, dunno bout croc wrestler but I am pretty addicted to this CNC stuff.

Russell.

Hi Everyone,
I just discovered this forum - been a cnczone member for a couple of months and only just stumbled upon you guys!

I'm in Canberra (the Nation's capital - had to laugh about someone in an earlier post thinking Adelaide was the capital!).

Anyway, my background is 5 year fitter and turner apprenticeship in Her Majesty's Royal Naval Dockyard, Portsmouth, England. A great apprenticeship - learnt heaps.
Never worked as a fitter and turner though, went off to sea as a marine engineer when I finished my apprenticeship.

In the 'merch' for around 7 years then got married so settled in Pompey again for a couple of years working as a senior toolroom technician at the IBM mainframe computer factory nearby - great place to work, anything we wanted we just ordered it. We had world class toolroom machines and tools. No CNC stuff though.

Immigrated to Oz in 1972, lived in Emu Plains (just across the Nepean river from Penrith, NSW) worked as an office products customer engineer for IBM in Sydney for a couple of years but left as they wouldn't transfer me to the IT section (I wanted to work with computers).
Moved to Canberra and into computers, worked as a mainframe hardware engineer, then senior, then tech support, then (ugh!) management. Had enough after 20 years or so of being on 24x7 call out (money was great but you've gotta have a life!).
Now working as a technical writer.

Have never lost my love of machining though and I swore that one day I would get a lathe. I got one about three years ago and was as a happy as a pig in you know what.
Then early last year I decided I needed (wanted) a milling machine so I could use all the cutters etc I had brought with me back in 1972!

One thing led to another and I am now in the process of CNCing my mill, with the lathe to follow after that. Didn't know anything about CNC before I started browsing forums, have learnt heaps!!

My gear is only cheap Chinese stuff but it does what I want. A 9x20 lathe and a X2 mill. I have fitted them both out with Shumatech DRO's (I can recommend them) and have bought a Xylotex driver to run the steppers I got from Keling Inc. I'm currently machining the motor brackets etc from a set of plans I got from Fignoggle designs (I wanted to keep the manual controls as well as use CNC).

Am I having fun? You betcha!

Cheers,
Dave.
:wee:
PS:
A guy was asking for help on a USA forum and I figured he was in Canberra, so I asked which part so I could go and see him and maybe help. He lives in the same suburb as me and when I asked for his address I found he lives five houses round the corner from me!
We both cracked up when we found out we were near neighbours!(group)

Welcome aboard Dave. Pun intentional.
The CNC thing becomes quite adictive and I have to agree this forum is the best resource I've found. If you can't find it, ask and someone will point you in the right direction.
Paul

Thanks Paul - many a happy hour spent sailing the seven seas :) .



Welcome aboard Dave. Pun intentional.

The CNC thing becomes quite adictive and I have to agree this forum is the best resource I've found. If you can't find it, ask and someone will point you in the right direction.
Paul

Yep - you've got that right!

Cheers,
Dave.

We are slowly getting our stocks sorted out:

http://www.casa.co.nz/motors/

It is a lot of work for a 1-man-band (which I am these days except for a little casual retired help) but the 'collection' is quite extensive and we will try our best to help even before our resources are properly organised.

We are sometimes even SKYPE enabled and we do-do PayPal.

[QUOTE=chola;191756]Hey All,

Ebay is definately the go, would just be nice though to be able to sometimes talk to someone over the phone, or to see some items (eg: stepper motors etc) rather than just forking out $$$ for something you hope like mad actually turns up - I've only been ripped off once but there is always the chance, then you have to rely on Australia Post!
<snip>

To Anzac group
I'm in Invercargill (Worlds Fastest Indian town) Shifted lathes and milling gear out to my cow shed in the country from the town
I bought a non- working Shizuoka cnc mill back from UK and have a Ahha conversion with Dolphin software. Stepper motors. Making con-rods , plastic dies and light aircraft parts for home-builders. Other interests -Aviation-flying /engineering Jaguar V-12 ,Motor sport and most things mechanical.
All the best to the group.
Neil Robertson (1942 model NZ)

Hello Neil,
I won't mention Mick Jaggers description of Invercargill then ;)
Still its better than Jafa town.
Welcome to the zone.
Paul

Hello Neil - another 'chipsweeper' has questions - please tell us more:

The model?
Hobby or commercial?
What is an AHHA conversion?
What/why Dolphin software?
What problems?
What costs?
How happy?
Some pictures (machine & typical products/parts)?
etc.

In my curiosity I just found this:
http://www.centroidcnc.com/lowcostm39.htm

To Anzac group
I'm in Invercargill (Worlds Fastest Indian town) Shifted lathes and milling gear out to my cow shed in the country from the town
I bought a non- working Shizuoka cnc mill back from UK and have a Ahha conversion with Dolphin software. Stepper motors. Making con-rods , plastic dies and light aircraft parts for home-builders. Other interests -Aviation-flying /engineering Jaguar V-12 ,Motor sport and most things mechanical.
All the best to the group.
Neil Robertson (1942 model NZ)

To Allan and others.
Shizuoka is re-badged in the UK as Matchmaker.
This was a 1988 model with Posidata 2800 and a tape drive.- and 800 in/oz steppers. plus 40 Cat tool holders 5 hp motor
I paid 600 UKP and shipped to NZ in a container along with a nice unmarked but older Adcock and Shipley Horizontal mill (Manual) some wire wheels a Jag. diff and a 20 inch rotary table.
This was 4500NZ but got it all here undamaged.
The Ahha conversion allows a PC to run the system -still using the original power supply , and the UK agents Eagland Machine tools.supplied the cards , software , and wiring information to convert it.
On line help was available from John Stevenson who had a similar conversion in UK and digital pictures went back and forth.
I have little electronic knowledge but do/did all my own electrical wiring andrepairs to keep a farm cow shed,pumps,chillers , and machine shop running. I use all three phase motors, and have a good stable supply to the dairy shed/workshop.
After a frustrating run with Bob cad and its non-existant back up . I now use Dolphin for the cam and G-code generation usually from Generic cad 6 dxf files.(Dos based.)
Dolphin allows viewing the simulated tool /cutter path. and so far no errors or ruined work due to its faults. I leave the machine running and have a coffee- Can't do that with Bob cad.
The total costing has been about 15,000 NZ. - Purchase, pick up UK containering and Shipping Fees (no customs!) Hardware /software.
I run with Pentium 100. Bare bones - no widows CD or usb, and draw and code on separate computer, save to a new floppy disc then to mill.
It is used to make ? money and I charge $66 per hour and try to be fair with costs. The replacement value would be close to $80G I suppose, - and there is the experiance gained over the five years of operating. It also has a 24 position tool changer ( not wired in yet) as it only takes 20 seconds to replace tools and I tend to machine mostly with carbide tools of 25mm or 40 mm . plus centre drill for marking positions.
This is larger than a Bridgeport and a Bed Mill- also more rigid than a turret machine.Weighs two ton. It is accuracy rather than a speed requirement and the 4 x old motorbike connecting rods that I'm making at the moment from 4340 steel are within a thou in any direction.
I have pictures of most of the machining and parts made , and am setting up a video camera to record the machining so that others may understand how it all works- There seems to be a lack of this visual information available. to any one starting out - especially in Invercargill where there is only two machines.
While in UK in 1964 I lived across the Street from the mentioned Mick Jagger and his boys. We used to trek down to the Bedford CA van/pie cart equiv,at the end of the street for breakfast.- Always stood 'up wind' though.
Just off to IRD to put in my pension application
Neil Robertson
"Lathes-Mills & Cnc."
Invercargill NZ.
Happy to answer questions - neilrob@woosh.co.nz-
027 3200 903 (just corrected)

Hello Neil - another 'chipsweeper' has questions - please tell us more:

The model?
Hobby or commercial?
What is an AHHA conversion?
What/why Dolphin software?
What problems?
What costs?
How happy?
Some pictures (machine & typical products/parts)?
etc.

In my curiosity I just found this:
http://www.centroidcnc.com/lowcostm39.htm

Centroid looks like a neat turn-key conversion, but that control box is a big mutha!

Neil, you just HAVE to let us know what an Ahha conversion is!

I looked at Dolphin, it looks quite good but it's a little expensive for a hobby machine like mine, and is mill only unless you buy the lathe add-on.

I've seen pics of the stuff Neil makes - VERY nice!

Cheers,
Dave.

Hi Neil,
You just pipped my post by a minute, so I know what an Ahha conversion is now - but what do the initials stand for?

Re BobCad, I downloaded a trial version but didn't like it. Some time later I got bombarded with e-mails and telephone calls from Bob himself (in the USA) urging me to buy. Talk about the hard sell! I was not impressed. He even rang me again to try and sell it to me after I e-mailed him to say I wasn't going to buy!
Guys like him really torque my nuts. (nuts)

Cheers,
Dave.

Thanks Neil - very interesting. I'll make contact in due course. We are just reviewing our 'basic' Bridgeport 2x CNC and trying to decide if we upgrade from Stepper to Servo (among other issues)...

Preemtping Neil's authorative reply (if he returen from visit to IRD)...

I presume "Ah'ha" is what we exclaim when we see the 'solution' to our probelm or our dielemma is resolved...

Hi Im John I come from Wellington, NZ, came out of my time in 68, worked at West Arm for a couple of years and then went to to Canada where I have been on OE for the last 36 years. Mind you I have been home twice in that time, last time was in 84. Been working on CNC machine tools for 20 years now. At present I am working on a CNC conversion project. Rebuilding a " Royal Oak" 4H-72 De Vlieg and converting it to fully 7-axis programmable CNC. Hope to the machine in operation by May.

Hi John,
Welcome to the zone. I'm sure everyone here would love to see some pictures of the conversion if that is at all possible.
Paul

Ullo,

I posted a new thread as well, which has probably busted some subtle social norm, but I'm over it.. :)

Chris from Leeston, just south of CHCH.

A hobby cnc'er. Looking to (finally) build a router this year to make some home projects (dolls house for daughter, model aircraft bits etc). Looking at rockcliff design due to reports of fast build, but really want something bigger, we'll wait and see what I come up with!

I'm a Linux zealot, so I'll probably go with EMC (Got it working yesterday with a test machine made of floppy drives, long story). Qcad for drawing and NCplot seems to be the pick for dxf-gcode and backplot checking from what I can see, unless you have a large budget, which I don't...

I've got a background in electronics and computers, ran my own business designing/building and exporting microcontroller gadgets and making some small kits for a few years, which I gave up in 2004. Currently the I.S. manager for the local council (Selwyn) and part time photographer.

I'll start a build log thread in the DIY section once I've got some sort of direction, might stop me from procrastinating over the design part of the process like I did last time I started the project...

Cheers, Me.

I used to live in Prebbleton back in the 60's when I was doing mechanical engineering at uni in Chch. Im responsible for the rebuild of the companies machine tools and CNC retrofits. We are taking a few of the old machines built back in the 60's, tearing them down and retrofiting them for CNC At present we are converting a De Vlieg horizontal boring mill to 7 fully proggramable axis with full 5 axis capability. The controller that is to be used is a Heidenhain iTNC 530. The machine will have 3-D part probing and tool probing. Te reo is a bit flaky I an still on OE in Canada, been there since 70 but was home with the wife in 83. They speak english and french here but no Maori.
Haeri ra
John

You probably wouldn't recognise Prebbleton now then... In the last 6 years it's gained 400 new houses... Growing like topsy.

Sounds like you're doing some interesting work over there on your extended OE. I'm just venturing into CNC as I said. I have got one toy made to test/learn some jargon and software, but outside that I'm a newbie.

Although I do have a small lathe, which makes me an almost machinist, I'm most happy with a soldering Iron and computer by my side. The electronics & computer setup will be easy at least. :-).

Cheers, Me.

Hi guys count me in im a motor cycle & jetski engineer from sydney & love shaping metal in all sorts of ways along with all sorts of mechanical things that test our minds,any ways good to see all you guys so keen.Greg B

hi all
were are all the kiwis
I wanting to bluid a cnc plamsa have all engineering skills but little eletronics skills and looking for any help
Is there any one selling drives,motors,interfaces in new zealand as i can bliud the table etc

hi all
were are all the kiwis
I wanting to bluid a cnc plamsa have all engineering skills but little eletronics skills and looking for any help
Is there any one selling drives,motors,interfaces in new zealand as i can bliud the table etc

There are a few of us here, but not that many by the looks of things.. What part of NZ are you from?

I'm just south of CHCH, and can help with electronics bits... As for suppliers, there are a couple, but be prepared to spend some money, as there are no 'hobby/diy' cnc suppliers in NZ. There are a couple of good outfits in Aussie though, who will ship.

Cheers, Me.

Hi

My name is barrie cole and I am presently doing sub contract programming
I live in eltham

G'Day Barrie,
Welcome to the group. What sort of programming do you do (i.e., what language/s)?

Dave.
PS - Where is Eltham?

Hi

My name is barrie cole and I am presently doing sub contract programming
I live in eltham

Should have been more precise , sub contract cnc programmer and operator. using edge cam v11.5. Eltham is a suburb of melbourne . close to greensborough /templestowe/warrendyte

Hi my name is Scott and I'm a CAMoholic. LOL

Work for a company called SMI Group in Whangarei NZ. We do remote build super yacht interiors. Found this forum sometime ago while looking for something else and forgot about it until i was cleaning out my bookmarks. I know I'm sorry but I'm on board now and can't wait to find out heaps of goodies and learn heaps of stuff.

We have an SCM Record 125 and I program it using AlphaCAM V6 3D 3-axis. I am currently researching 5-axis routers and 5-axis software. I'd love to hear any comments on machines and set ups you might have. Is there an appropriate forum it should be posting that information on?

Cheers

Scott

Hi from Sassafras in the beautiful Dandenong ranges 40 Kms east of Melbourne. I had a shopbot some years ago but marital and related issues now have me in a smaller house with even smaller workshop so it is a maxnc these days. I am planning to build a wood working cnc about half sheet, say 1200 x 900 mm that will fit in my workshop. Trouble is, the maxnc is too small (115 x 200 x 100 mm working volume) to make many useful parts for a larger machine. Any one got a machine in Melbourne that could help me get started on my next machine??

Cheers
Brian

Hey Boros,

How is it to work on cnc stuff?
I have been fixing spa's for a while. I am near canberra. I have built a couple of machines and am thinking about unpacking and reactivating them. Now that the shed is allmost built.

Love to chin wag if you get out this way.

Is there anybody in canberra that has a mill set up that could route pc boards?

Thanks

aussiegeorge
04 1946 1897

Hi all, first post :)


Based in the suburb of Preston in Victoria, don't really know much about cnc, came across this website via another forum and a post by another Aussie member crocky. I have spent the last 3 days reading everything I can find on the forum, and I am really blown away and what people are doing.

Still trying to get my head around how everything comes together. But I am already starting to formulate a plan on building my own cnc router.

I have fully equipped woodworking workshop and a small metal lathe so I should be well equipped to tackle a project like this.

I have never even seen a cnc router in the flesh, so if there is anyone else in my area I'd love to check one out.


PS I apologize in advance for any newbie dumb questions I ask, lol.


thanks

joez71

Howdy to all, Based in mentone, melbourne with a kasuga machining centre, heidenhain control, First time I have used cnc and I love it, more fun than the 50 yr old mill I was on. Big learning curve though, I am the only one at the place that can use the machine at the moment, but its fun. except when I crash,
regards, Kevin

G'day there mate,
I'm not alone!Good to see some Aussies and Kiwis here.
I'm new to CNC,I'm going to build a CNC router to help with my hobby,building and flying R/C model aircraft.
I will be grateful for any help and info you blokes can offer.
I hope we can get to have a jaw wag sometime soon.
Thanks for listening.
Seeya,
balsadust_au....(aka Larry)

Nice to be reassured that there are 10 types of people in the world!

Those who understand binary and those who don't!

Cheers
Murray
Frankston, Vic.

Hi, okkers and all!. i'm from land of the long white cloud (not shroud or clod!) and watching all with interest. I guess the key thing mentioned that is of interest to me is source of components. I was quoted some 16 mm ballscrews from Melbourne through an NZ company for about $270 nz delivered per metre and that seems pretty expensive (THK I think) nuts at $260 each ouch.
Steppers and servos also though available here most vendors are supplying to companies who use large expensive items. I have luckily linked up with a party here in Hamilton who manufactures large "nested" style routers for the furniture and related industries (Icam) pretty impressive stuff. He has offered to help me make best choices so that will help. In Adelaide for a couple of weeks late Sept.
chow
Raynor J
Hamilton NZ

Hi, okkers and all!. i'm from land of the long white cloud (not shroud or clod!) and watching all with interest. I guess the key thing mentioned that is of interest to me is source of components. I was quoted some 16 mm ballscrews from Melbourne through an NZ company for about $270 nz delivered per metre and that seems pretty expensive (THK I think) nuts at $260 each ouch.
Steppers and servos also though available here most vendors are supplying to companies who use large expensive items. I have luckily linked up with a party here in Hamilton who manufactures large "nested" style routers for the furniture and related industries (Icam) pretty impressive stuff. He has offered to help me make best choices so that will help. In Adelaide for a couple of weeks late Sept.
chow
Raynor J
Hamilton NZ
Hi Raynor,
The pricing is why so many of us here use acme thread or other cheaper alternatives. The ball screws are beyond the price of a hobby. A lot of the Australians on the forum have used belts. I have imported all my steppers, it worked out cheaper than sourcing locally. We just don't see the second hand stuff the goes on ebay in the States around here. There is a guy in Palmerston North who sells some stuff. He is on cnczone somewhere.
Paul

Hi Raynor,
The pricing is why so many of us here use acme thread or other cheaper alternatives. The ball screws are beyond the price of a hobby. A lot of the Australians on the forum have used belts. I have imported all my steppers, it worked out cheaper than sourcing locally. We just don't see the second hand stuff the goes on ebay in the States around here. There is a guy in Palmerston North who sells some stuff. He is on cnczone somewhere.
Paul
Hi Paul, Interesting answer on the use of belts. i am finding the forums a bit of mission to navigate and pick up everything of interest. can you point me somewhere for more info on the belt option. I am only realising that it seems viable from some of the web feedback, but what about accuracy repeatability/ any facts on that. the table footprint I am favouring at the moment would be around 1000 x 700 with maybe 150 "Z".
Raynor J

Hi Paul, Interesting answer on the use of belts. i am finding the forums a bit of mission to navigate and pick up everything of interest. can you point me somewhere for more info on the belt option. I am only realising that it seems viable from some of the web feedback, but what about accuracy repeatability/ any facts on that. the table footprint I am favouring at the moment would be around 1000 x 700 with maybe 150 "Z".
Raynor J

Belts can be accurate to a few thou.
What will the machine be used for?
Look for threads started by YNNEB and I think EPINEH.
Benny (YNNEB) knows a lot of the Australians that have built belt machines that were inspired by his machine. You could PM him asking for links or names.
Paul

Hiya Guy's,
Well this is my first post so I might aswell introduce myself, I live up in the Adelaide hills on a 85 acre farm totally off the grid and i'm a fitter/machinist/welder by trade. I've been into programming pic's for a few years now and I've decided to make my own cnc from scratch.
I guess I'm like many new comers here navigating this huge forum is a bit of a daunting task but slowly I'm getting there.
Anyway the cnc I'm planning on making will be around a 1200x2400 wood router primariliarly for making wind turbine blades. I've gotten onto a cheap sorce of acme thread and the company I work for also sells timing belts and pulley's etc. I have my own machineshop here with 2 lathes, 2 mills a surface grinder and a full shop of tooling (well allup I have over 20 ton of gear), I recently converted my bridgeport to VFD drive and it runs perfectly off my 3Kw sine wave inverter so I guess I'm one of the few green machineshops in Oz. With the acme thread I'm on thinking I could design and make a ball screw type nut and thus eliminate any backlash (very early in the thinking stages though).

Anyway enough ranting for now

Cheers Bryan :)

Look for threads started by YNNEB and I think EPINEH.

Nup, not me, Benny (or YNNEB) is the belt man, he has several black belts...lol.

There are also some quite capable rack and pinion machines around as well, Greolt just finished a very nice one, link :

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28979

I think the belt option will give you quite enough accuracy for a hobby router style machine, I have even seen a chain based router around here somewhere, I cannot remember many details but it looked pretty sweet.

Stick with the forums Raynor, it is very overwhelming at first but it does get easier and everything is laid out quite well.

Good Luck !

Russell.

Thanks for the tips. I trawled the pages a bit and it would seem without talking with yenneb direct that the belt drives can work but ok only on larger wood routing duties.
I am primarily wanting to route/cut out 2 thru 4 mm thick plastic, acrylics and styrenes, plywoods and maybe 0.7 mm or therabouts brass aluminium. I am not worried about speed but need accuracy for model making. At the moment as of now I am considering ballscrews and drives from the "Homeshopcnc" web page. Items that look reasonable for a first machine which is going to use second hand THK34 as a single main rail and SMC MY1C25G-450L (pneumatic) motion unit with the piston removed for the y axis. Looking at table 65mm thick mdf around 1000 x 400.
The z axis again from SMC pneunatics actuator MGPM25-100 again with piston rod and piston removed to be replaced with ball screw.
What say you observers to that arrangement
rgds
Raynor J

Thanks for the tips. I trawled the pages a bit and it would seem without talking with yenneb direct that the belt drives can work but ok only on larger wood routing duties.
Raynor J

Smaller should be easier.
You could proberbly recycle most of the belt system from a large printer or photocopier if the loads are light. I'm not trying to put you off ball screws, just let you know the other options.
Paul

Thanks Paul. How do you quantify "light loads" I expect my cutting of acrylic sheet etc in the 2-3 mm thick range would probably come into the category of light (using multicuts) but as soon as I want to venture into any metals i might be stymied.
thanks Raynor j

G'day,

I am in Perth and am looking for someone who can cut 50 or so identical 200mm x 200mm shapes from a sheet of mdf. Please email me at harrproa@gmail.com if you are interested.

regards,

Rob Denney

Hi guys I have been watching several builds of CNC Routers I am keen to try hand, but finances are already stretched so time will tell I live in Auckland NZ ex pom from way back Toolmaker by trade now retired, hobby is slumping and fuzing glass sell a lot at craftfairs thinking I could make mold patterns on cnc router I realise not the cheapest way of doing things but would keep the grey cells bouncing around my shiney skull I have lots of skills engineering wise willing to help anyone with info or ideas.regards shiney66

hi shiney 66, good to catch up with other kiwis having a go at this technology.
I'm in Hamilton and would like to hear from other kiwis trying things out. My potentil machine is very much on paper only at this point. I am watching a friend of mine put an all metal unit together, and will see how that goes before i commit. There was another kiwi who signed off as (something like!) "an old fart from central north Island" but I could not find his message and an answer i sent just disappeared. So maybe he will see this and answer again. It would be great to be able to make contact with all the local people.
cheers
RJ Hamilton

Hi guys. There are quite a few Kiwis here but spread around a bit. Noticed one lives in Spain. I'm in Upper Hutt. The biggest problem here is finding cheap supplies. Let us know your plans and we may be able to help with ideas etc.
Paul

Im in south oz too, Adelaide, bought an old defunct cardboard carton cutting creasing machine Lazerkomb German built with 1745x & 1610y travels & not much z space(yet). It had a few spindles originally, which could be bought down by air cylinders to mill or knife cut or crease the cardboard. Spindles are all missing but has round, supported all along linear balls rails &2 pinions on common axle engaged into 2sides racks to keep the gantry squre. Porous mdf base table with suction pump under, with half of table area able to lowered somehow to get ~150mm more height under the Y-gantry. It has 2 servos & 2Heidenhain Scales for feedback, but all the control electrics really old &nbg. I would love to make it all go again "someday". & use it to drill csk holes in aluminium parts we make. Have cnc now but these parts may get much bigger and the wont fit on 700X & 420Y of the mill we now use.
Ozzie & NZ forum sounds a good idea. I am OK on the mechanical stuff & CNC mill programming but very limited on the cnc electronic side... thought this could be a godd "retirement hobby".

Hi guys. There are quite a few Kiwis here but spread around a bit. Noticed one lives in Spain. I'm in Upper Hutt. The biggest problem here is finding cheap supplies. Let us know your plans and we may be able to help with ideas etc.
Paul

Hi Paul,

I am also from Upper Hutt... LOL

And you are right. Finding parts is a major show stopper here!!!

Anyone know of a place in NZ or Australia that sells Acme screws at an affordable price. (I am not going to pay NZ$100/Meter for a thing you can get in the US for US$5/Meter)

Cheers.
Bert.

I am thinking of useing 12mm threaded rod you can get it by the meter length from Engineers Supplies. .A.P.S in Auckland also sell it, think its made at Gartner Engineering thread rolled bright mild steel should be acurate enough I was thinking along the lines of splitting nuts and squeezing them with belvill washers to get backlash elininated still all thoughts at the moment.will have a look around engineering shops in UK as visiting next month lets keep in touch regards Shiney66

I am thinking of useing 12mm threaded rod you can get it by the meter length from Engineers Supplies. .A.P.S in Auckland also sell it, think its made at Gartner Engineering thread rolled bright mild steel should be acurate enough I was thinking along the lines of splitting nuts and squeezing them with belvill washers to get backlash elininated still all thoughts at the moment.will have a look around engineering shops in UK as visiting next month lets keep in touch regards Shiney66

Thanks, I have sent you PM.

I will give the place a call and hear what they have to say. Might consider a 20mm threaded rod in the end.(Just to get the plasma table going)

Hi Paul,

I am also from Upper Hutt... LOL

And you are right. Finding parts is a major show stopper here!!!

Anyone know of a place in NZ or Australia that sells Acme screws at an affordable price. (I am not going to pay NZ$100/Meter for a thing you can get in the US for US$5/Meter)

Cheers.
Bert.

Try MATT SINCLAIR (80+!), Coburg, Melbourne, 03 9354 2588.
Don't think he is on the web. Nice bloke.
He makes screws and nuts almost any size/thread to order. Normal and stainless, or any other material seems to be within his reach.
I have seen 4 meter long screws. He can do 6 at a pinch (From what I've seen)
Made on manual machines. Don't know how accurate pitch is though.

Only just fell across this thread.

I'm 58, Melbourne, Deer Park.

Have X3 'with the lot'. Got lazy and bought one complete.
To busy working to create a CNC from scratch.
Have a Sheridan lathe, thats going to cop a few stepper motors soon, to slave off the X3.

Electronics design pays the bills.
White goods electronics. Elcheapo hi volume. Done all all sorts of micros.

I believe I can give helpful answers on the following subjects:
Balancing machines.
Ultrasonic cleaners.
Power supplies, including switch-mode.
Driving MOSFETS, IGBT's, PIC micros and others.
DC and BLDC motor drive up to a few KW.
Aircraft (fullsize) related engineering.

CNC wise, cut my teeth programming a Bosch CC120 with a 10 ton OKK beast attached.

Still write the odd bit for it. 7HP feed motors. It rocks (and shakes litterally)!
It will make 200 liters of swarf per day! 10mm chips, 0.2 thick, real hot.
It throws them 3 or 4 meters, when they miss the guards.

Making tiny prototypes for volume products on the X3

I get quite a few solid carbide bits from a PCB manufacturer.
The bits have done their hole count limit, but most are still useful.
Broken 1/8" Carbide shanks make great raw material for PCB router bits. Any body want a 10 or 20?
Send me stamped address padded bag, after you email me.

Enough of me for now.

Neil.
:drowning:

Only just fell across this thread.

I'm 58, Melbourne, Deer Park.

Have X3 'with the lot'. Got lazy and bought one complete.
To busy working to create a CNC from scratch.
Have a Sheridan lathe, thats going to cop a few stepper motors soon, to slave off the X3.

Electronics design pays the bills.
White goods electronics. Elcheapo hi volume. Done all all sorts of micros.

I believe I can give helpful answers on the following subjects:
Balancing machines.
Ultrasonic cleaners.
Power supplies, including switch-mode.
Driving MOSFETS, IGBT's, PIC micros and others.
DC and BLDC motor drive up to a few KW.
Aircraft (fullsize) related engineering.

CNC wise, cut my teeth programming a Bosch CC120 with a 10 ton OKK beast attached.

Still write the odd bit for it. 7HP feed motors. It rocks (and shakes litterally)!
It will make 200 liters of swarf per day! 10mm chips, 0.2 thick, real hot.
It throws them 3 or 4 meters, when they miss the guards.

Making tiny prototypes for volume products on the X3

I get quite a few solid carbide bits from a PCB manufacturer.
The bits have done their hole count limit, but most are still useful.
Broken 1/8" Carbide shanks make great raw material for PCB router bits. Any body want a 10 or 20?
Send me stamped address padded bag, after you email me.

Enough of me for now.

Neil.
:drowning:

A man of many talents I see... Thanks for the info on the threaded rod's.. ;)

Hi Rob,
If you are still looking for a quote for your MDF parts, please email me, i am
in Perth too. cbowler@iinet.net.au

Regards

Colin

G'day,

I am in Perth and am looking for someone who can cut 50 or so identical 200mm x 200mm shapes from a sheet of mdf. Please email me at harrproa@gmail.com if you are interested.

regards,

Rob Denney

I am thinking of useing 12mm threaded rod you can get it by the meter length from Engineers Supplies. .A.P.S in Auckland also sell it, think its made at Gartner Engineering thread rolled bright mild steel should be acurate enough I was thinking along the lines of splitting nuts and squeezing them with belvill washers to get backlash elininated still all thoughts at the moment.will have a look around engineering shops in UK as visiting next month lets keep in touch regards Shiney66
Hi, I'm in Bulls and sell the odd piece of equipment for Hobby CNC projects. One method of using threaded rod for CNC use was presented in a post 2000 model engineers (do I mean model engineers workshop) and used a nut made of 3 pieces of the same threaded rod with bearings, that tracked on the main thread. Produced zero backlash and ballscrew like movement.

Hi Paul,

I am also from Upper Hutt... LOL

And you are right. Finding parts is a major show stopper here!!!

Anyone know of a place in NZ or Australia that sells Acme screws at an affordable price. (I am not going to pay NZ$100/Meter for a thing you can get in the US for US$5/Meter)

Cheers.
Bert.

Hi Bert! probably wrong forum for this post. I met harry an sabrina double and their daughter patsy who resided at 55 routley crescent upper hut NZ in 1957 when I was in US navy aboard uss picking (destroyer) they were very gracious people and treated me so well! anybody ever hear of them? Noel Manis now 70 yrs old. e-mail skzzyx@yahoo.com

Hi Bert! probably wrong forum for this post. I met harry an sabrina double and their daughter patsy who resided at 55 routley crescent upper hut NZ in 1957 when I was in US navy aboard uss picking (destroyer) they were very gracious people and treated me so well! anybody ever hear of them? Noel Manis now 70 yrs old. e-mail skzzyx@yahoo.com

No entry for Double in the local phone book. Thats quite a few years ago.
Paul

Hi all
My name is Rex I live in Canberra I have several years of experience with CNC Machining centers useing Hidennhand /Mastercam /Solid works.
I am also Retrofiting a Mill in to CNC useing Gecko/Bobcampbell/ModIO good to see Australia taking off in the Hobby CNC market.

Send a PM to Syil_Australia.
Frans is just a short drive from your place.

HI Crocdundee

As a new member, as Iam to, the name say it all, you can handle what you put your mind to. That is more than me. I have been looking for the magic place to press, so I could put up a post, as you just have, but I havent found it, could you help me ? You is my last resorce.
Iam a Dane in OZ. and good lock with your project....
Thank you!

Jorgen

Nice to be reassured that there are 10 types of people in the world!

Those who understand binary and those who don't!

Cheers
Murray
Frankston, Vic.

Hello Murray
That is great, probably the best I have seen for a while!!!
I have only recently found the cnc site and am struggling with finding my way around it. I am in Mulgrave and interested in hearing from anybody near here who is into cnc.
Regards
Don
Mulgrave, Vic

Hello all
My name is Phil, located in Melbourne Northern suburbs (Tullamarine) and I have been introduced to this CNC zone by my brother ClaudioG located in Brisbane.
I have my own home workshop comprising a lathe, bench drill and have also recently purchased a Pantograph metal copying (milling type) machine with scale up/down facilities.
I hope to attend the Melbourne BBQ in May.

I am currently interested in either purchasing a CNC machine and am looking forward to what is available.

Cheers Phil

Hi Phil,

Good to see that first post of yours finally appeared.

I might be able to to give you a family discount on a WidigitMaster Midi CNC Router that has hardly been used :D I should be using the WidgitMaster Wide machine soon, so should be able to let the Midi go.

There's heaps to read about here so enjoy.

And the BBQ should be a great intro to CNC and the local people involved.

Cheers,

Claudio

Hello all.

My name is Don. I am new to CNC but am finding it very interesting. I have not yet started building a CNC but I am spending hours researching the options. I live in Mulgrave a suburb of Melbourne. I am no longer working and my background is is servicing scientific and medical instruments. I originally did an apprentiship at Defence Standards Laboratories in Maribyrnong.
Regards
Don

Greetings All,
I live at Moss Vale, NSW roughly 2 hours south of Sydney and 2 hours north of Canberra (shorter times if my wife is driving!). I am retired and a 'woodie' ... woodturning and dovetail boxes etc. Am interested in CNC to do timber signs as well as designs on boxes.
Not keen on building my own CNC router and will probably buy a small desktop model. Favouring the Romaxx at this stage and would use Mach3 and Vcarve Pro.

Alan

Hi all,
Just joined the forum, the first one that I have ever joined, live in Mt Eliza (South of Melbourne). Have an X3 with servos and a CNCTechnix controller, now I have to build a workshop to house it and get it out of the laundry.

Should meet some of you at the BBQ as I am coming with locoau.

All the best

Dave.

Hi all,
Just joined the forum, the first one that I have ever joined, live in Mt Eliza (South of Melbourne). Have an X3 with servos and a CNCTechnix controller, now I have to build a workshop to house it and get it out of the laundry.

Should meet some of you at the BBQ as I am coming with locoau.

All the best

Dave.

Hi Bamber and welcome to the forum. Did someone say Barbeque? I am in process with building a shed. Got it in goulburn from Southern Garages. Really nice folks. There are a couple of things that they don't tell you. It really pays off to void the warranty and weld the joints of the trusses. If I had it to do again I would order extra joiner plates to stiffen up the trusses. The trusses are C beams and really floppy by themselves.

There is another shed that I built out of scraps. Roller doors are a treasure! They are made out of really good steel and each one comes with a really nice pipe to make frame work out of.

Hi, I'm Ian from between Toowoomba & Kingaroy, Qld. I've been a lurker here for a couple of years (?) reading what I can & dreaming of building a router. WE hand-rout a lot- timber signs, and HDU foam, but I have just bought a big beast.
I'd been considering some nice Multicams & Matcams & the cheaper chinese ebay 'specials', but quality was one issue, and high cost was the other, and there was no inbetween with those contrasts from China to USA.

Anyway finally an opportunity came to buy a 2nd hand machine- it used to be an Esab, new in 1990, and it was upgraded with Tekcel servos, drives, controller board & everything in 2001.

The people I bought it from use Enroute 3.1 basic to do the toolpaths, and it has a Tekcel K series 2 driver & "Tekmove" to drive the router. I got the PC & dongle & software with the purchase, and about 50 assorted router bits- mostly flat 2-flute upspiral 1/8" 1/4" & 10mm ones, and a couple of engraving bits of solid carbide rod ground half away & sharpened on the leading edge.

Specifics: the router is a 3 phase 3 horsepower Perske with speed control box & inline power filter. The Esab bed that it sits on is 2.6 x 4.2 metres in size, but the gantry sticks out a foot more on the left with the controller panel etc, so it takes up 10 of width in the shed. Routable bed size is a whisker under 7 x 14 ft, though they had it setup to work on 12 ft max length.

Gap under gantry is almost 6", but clearance under the collet is more like 4 1/2". Collets are 1/8", 1/4", 10mm, 12mm.

I have a BIG learning curve ahead, but I am somewhat familiar with Rhino, and use Corel a lot as far as vectorising goes.

WE have only single phase power here, but we have a big 3 phase diesel generator (20 kva). The router also comes with a vacuum bed and about a 15 hp vac fan, but they took all that off to get more clearance under then gantry- and they use an MDF sacrificial board to screw stuff to to hold it down.

I've breifly looked into rotary phase converters, and have not reached any conclusions yet.

We take delivery of the machine later in the week. It's still in Sydney being dismantled at the moment.

Oh, I do have a query or two, in advance...
They (the seller) still has the original Enroute cds, which I have now. They do not have the Tekmove driver cds though, so they make judicious use of Ghost to image the hard drive, for reloading it, in the event of a stuffup. Is it OK for me to ask if anyone here might have driver cds for Tekmove- I'd appreciate a copy, if possible.

Also, originally, the machine had (well it still has it) a bracket joined to the router plate, under which a trailing plotter blade can be attached. It used to be a system with a kind of seesaw balance, a spring, and weights, I understand. That way the weight/downforce on the plotter blade is set by the weights you add, and not by the Z axis travel of the router.
This attachment is missing.

I would love to get one, or to see photos of what it looked like, to remake one. We have an old plotter here, but there are many times I could have made efficient use of something bigger, and the idea of using this as a flat-bed plotter is very tempting.

Hello Murray
That is great, probably the best I have seen for a while!!!
I have only recently found the cnc site and am struggling with finding my way around it. I am in Mulgrave and interested in hearing from anybody near here who is into cnc.
Regards
Don
Mulgrave, Vic

Don ,

I live near you, I am in Narre Warren South and I have been a member for a few month, I Have A small EMCO Compact 8 Lathe with a Vertical Milling attachment that I want to retrofit CNC, give us call and we have chat i have plenty of time as a retired.
Regards
John. Phone 9703-1935

Hi all, my name is Frank and I live in Brisbane. I am currently searching for a hobby to keep me sane in retirement. I have never done any machining of metals other than a short lathe course through TAFE a number of years ago.

Now I have the time and a bit of spare money I am looking at purchasing a small lathe and learning how to use it. That should take me through until i fall of the perch like Monty Pythons parrot.

I have been fascinated by the capability of CNC machines and operators and the ability to turn a slab of metal into a very useful item.

I will keep reading these forums until I gain enough knowledge to buy a small CNC machine for my lathe eventually.

Thanks

Frank
Brisbane
"Nothing is as frightening as regret".

Gday All,
Darren here in Hastings Vic. Im just at the stage of completing my first CNC router. I built it as per the Rockcliff plans. Im using a probotix package to drive it and mach3 to run it all. If anyone has any ideas or can help with the set up, please let me know. Im glad I found this group of locals.
Regards
Darren

We have plenty of ideas and can help but you need to close the scope of your questions a little bit please.

Hi I the very same happen to me with bobcad and what prices ???

When you purchase Mach 3for $159 Us , included you get a limited copy LasyCam, now if you need something more than that, you get LasyCad Pro for $70.00Us
Regards
John Hansen
Narre Warren South,
Melbourne

Hello All,

I've been lurking off and on for a couple of years and will soon be active i hope as i will be possibly getting a roland mdx-20 cheap!

Best Wishes

Darren
Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne

PS i'm also involved in avr's c, vb and analog design. so ask and i'll help if i can.

Hello!all,my name is evan ,i am in shanghai china , i am a CNC programmer now(using UG_NX2 & AUTOCAD) ,and before i also am a CNC machinist (FANUC,SIEMENS_DMG,MAKINO,etc).
I hope discuss CNC , CAM with you all together , and I am very glad to hear from you all , feel free to add me , my MSN is ugclub@hotmail.com
LET'S DISCUSS CNC TOGETHER!!!:)

Hi,

Anyone from the Burdekin area south of Townsville,:wave:

Darren.

Not quite from the Burdekin but I am about 60 k's south of Cairns :)

Russell.

This may have been answered before, and I did a search, but couldn't get too far- where's a place from which I can get mail-order carbide ball-nose & fine engraving endmills in 1/8" & 1/4" shanks. There seem plenty of places with 4mm & 6mm shanks, but our router has imperial collets. I don't mind mailorder in Australia, or ebay type mail order from Singapoer/Hong Kong etc.
Thanks, Ian

Did you find any Australian suppliers ?

Yes, but not from any responses here, unfortunately...

Onsrud bits- very good- have a dealer in Perth which I found via google.
PLenty of bits are available at Carbatec- standard woodworking stuff- but good if you don't yet have that stuff. I was more interested in solid carbide cutters.
Multicam USA have an aussie equivalent renamed Matcam- they have a catalogue of bits which you can get if you contact them.

A place in Brisbane resharpens engraving bits. (found via google)

Positive Camtech in Sydney have a pdf catalogue (old) but it shows you a lot- on their website.

Nothing cheap though, anywhere! (yet!)

Hi Stewey, Take a look at the Routerbits.com website. You can download their catalogue.
They have a large range of bits at very reasonable prices. delivery from the USA takes about one week. We bought some bits from them a couple of months ago and were quite impressed with the service and the bits.

Rocket.