Figured I would go ahead and start this thread. As soon as Joe can finish my kit and it gets shipped to me I will be building and taking a lot of pics. I am a totally newbie to CNC Routers (I have a CNC Hot Wire Foam Cutter, but CNC and steppers are about the only thing they have in common LOL).

I have gotten the aluminum angle and will be ordering some hardware in the next few days. I have lots of questions and would appreciate all the help I can get.

Looking through the instructions it does not give the diameter of the pipe used for the X Y axis's. Can someone please let me know what the outer diam is. I am going to try and fine it in DOM tube as it is usually smoother than the galvanized pipe I have seen used.

Any tips or suggestions please feel free to add them in.

Thanks
Glenn

Hello Glenn,

Welcome to the club! :)

The pipe that is commonly used is gas pipe as follows:

X-Axis 1" (4 60" pieces)
Y-Axis 3/4" (2 36" pieces)

The dimensions are I.D.

I don't know what the O.D. is but have heard of other's that were thinking about using DOM tube.

I used black pipe and got it pretty darn smooth by chucking it up in a lathe and using green scratch pads and emery cloth to polish them up. Came out pretty good, however it did take some time to get them like that.

Look forward to seeing your progress!!

Thanks for the reply. I don't have access to a lathe that would turn 60" pieces to smooth them up. Thats why I was thinking DOM would be smoother. I am going to look on the McMaster Carr web site and see what I can come up with. They have a warehouse about an hour from my house that sells over the counter.

Thanks again for the response I appreciate it.

Glenn

Sparky did an excellent job running his on his lathe. I wish I had a full 60", I have like 50" max otherwise I would have produced something similar. None the less by hand works too, just requires a little more elbow grease and some sweat :). They don't have to be perfect I've noticed though, after putting some hours on the machine it makes its own indentations anyways, so any bumps get eventually worked out more or less.

Sparky did an excellent job running his on his lathe. I wish I had a full 60", I have like 50" max otherwise I would have produced something similar. None the less by hand works too, just requires a little more elbow grease and some sweat :). They don't have to be perfect I've noticed though, after putting some hours on the machine it makes its own indentations anyways, so any bumps get eventually worked out more or less.

Thanks Brian

Ya, a little elbow grease goes a long way! Your pipes turned out very nice as well.

Glenn, I also read somewhere in one of the posts that someone was going to try using drill rod. A link was posted to a site that sold lengths over the standard 36". I can't remember where but it was pretty spendy!

Will be watching to see how the DOM works out!

The Dom pipe works good.

Rick used them in his build and the O.D. is the same as the Gas Rails

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23546

Joe

If anyone has links to DOM tube with the proper outer dimensions please let me know. I have not been able to find it with the right outside diam. I figured the DOM would be rounder and also have a harder surface than the gas pipe. The 1" Pipe is an actual OD of 1.31"-1.32" 3/4" Pipe is an actual OD of 1.05"

I will update with a few pics of some parts I got later tonight. I have the Hitachi Router from Lowes (got a killer deal, will explain in the post with pics).

Also got the 3 AXIS kit from www.hobbycnc.com Ordered it 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, it was shipped by noon on Saturday and I got it on Monday afternoon. Talk about FAST service!

I also got the aluminum angle from Lowes. Going to order bearings and the hardware in the next week or so.

How goes the kit cutting Joe! (no pressure, I am just excited!)

Thanks
Glenn

Look into structural steel, it is also the same dia. and very smooth.

O.k. for anyone interested. Here are some pics of the Router and the details of my getting it.

I went to Lowes to check out the Router and get a price. They had two on the floor, one in a nice new full color box. Another in a brown box that was kind of beat up looking. I went for the new shiny color box. Then noticed that the old beat up one have a price marked down on it. It was one that someone had bought, used lightly and returned. The bottom plate is barely scratched and there was just a little dust on it. Marked down from $120 to $90.00. Then I had a Home Depot Coupon for 20% off and they matched it. Got the Router for $72.00



Next up is the aluminum angle that I got to make the bearing slides out of. No big deal here, but I am totally new to this and trying to include everything.

More to come later
Thanks
Glenn

thats a steal! nice work

Thanks. It's one of the best deals I have had in a long time.

I got the 3 axis Pro package from HobbyCNC and will be taking some pics in the next couple of days. I know some of you would like to see what actually comes in the kit as there are no pictures on the site. I have built a couple of the HobbyCNC boards in the past for my CNC Router so I know they have great instructions and will go together fine.

Thanks
Glenn

Another quick question for you folks.

The bolts that are used in this kit. Are they threaded all the way to the head, or do they have the long unthreaded shoulder.

Thanks
Glenn

If you can find them, the full length threads are better. The bolts I ordered were just threaded part way and I ran out of thread in a couple of spots and had to make some bolts from threaded rod.

I and others here ordered from Bolt Depot (http://www.boltdepot.com/DefaultB.aspx). Easy to use and price seems fair, you can buy all of your bolts full thread from them.

Dwayne

Thanks for the info guys. Bolt Depot is where I am looking, just wanted to confirm about full threaded bolts.

Thanks
Glenn

yeah, I used both as well but had to purchase another order from BD when I realized you need full thread in some areas as mentioned.. BD rocks, and they are cheap cheap cheap.. love their service, and you soon will too

yeah, I used both as well but had to purchase another order from BD when I realized you need full thread in some areas as mentioned.. BD rocks, and they are cheap cheap cheap.. love their service, and you soon will too

Same here Glenn. I found I had not enought bolt or to much, and in some cases ended up using longer bolts with extra washers. Ordered from Bolt Depot. They have been great to deal with.

By the way, were you wearing a mask when you stole that router, good score! ;)

I more or less ordered the entire order twice, still was cheaper than retail believe it or not :D.

No mask, but I was in uniform!

LOL



O.k. I ordered the Bolts from www.boltdepot.com

The Acme Threaded Rods, nuts, drill rod, couplers and spiders from www.use-enco.com

The bearings from www.vxb.com and the transformer to finish the power supply from www.alliedelec.com Still gotta make or get a box to house the power supply.

Next question for me is do most of yall just hardwire the motors and everything, or did you use some type of connector? I was thinking of using Network cable connector (looks like a larger phone plug connector, I don't know the proper name for them) but they have 8 wire ability and if they can take the voltage used in the motors would make a nice clean connection between the motors and the control box. I am about to do some searching but if anyone has some pics or links to posts please do link them.

Thanks
Glenn

cat 5 connectors (8 pin network / phone connectors) are not made for that kind of current. they may handle the voltage, but I know (I was a network / phone tech ) that they will not get rid of heat. The problems you may face range from the clip melting and the jack slipping out every once in a while, to starting a fire. never increase the gauge of the cable when working with high draw devices, cat 5 uses 22 gauge, your motor probably uses 16. since I'm new to this myself, I don't really have any advice on what to do, but I know what catches on fire. cat 5 is for signals, not current.

danny

I'm still new to this, having only cnc'ed a micro mill and a PCB router, but I have had good luck with the molex connectors like used on computer hard drives. I bought some at Radio Shack, and they seem to take the 24V/2A that I drive through them.

Been at work and just got in. Thanks for the replies guys. I have ruled out the Cat5 connectors right after the post. I talked with a good friend who does a lot of networking at his job and told me to to NOT use them for this application. (oh well, it would have looked cool LOL).

The wire that comes in the HobbyCNC kit and the extra wire that he sells is 6 conductor, 22ga, stranded, unshielded cable. I think Joe used all the stock stuff with the kit and it works well for him. I have been looking at the Molex and the CPC connectors. I did find a couple of threads where guys have been looking to do the same thing. My problem is I want Bulkhead connectors on the actual power supply box and then cant decide if I want to hard wire it to the motor, or put a short pigtail on the motor with another connector.

On another note, what glue is everyone using to assemble the MDF?

Thanks
Glenn

I used Titebond II

More pics of my aquasitions soon.

Question. I know it says 60" and 36" lengths of the respective sizes that are threaded on both ends. The local stores to me have the pipe in 10' lengths with threads on both ends. I could get a pair of the 10' ones and cut them in half to make the 4 60" lenghts of 1". Are the threads a necessity, or will it work just as well without it?

Thanks
Glenn

Works fine without them, in some ways they help. Jay made an excellent reccomendation that I did myself as well, taking the drum attachment and sand the inner circles on the mdf end parts (especially if you got a kit from joe) and sand them a bit and keep a pipe near by to check. Joe's kit will accept the pipes regularly, but it just makes things all that much easier. Threaded pipe ends in the same fashion. I actually also undersized them a quarter inch or so so I had a little in on each side, that way you won't ever have it pushing the MDF parts out.

Thanks for the reply. I ended up getting the Pipe from Home Depot. Got their galvanized, in black ink it says made in Korea, but the stamp says China. So one end of each piece has threads the other is smooth. Kinda ill when I got home, I though I looked each piece over pretty good for gouges and stuff. Found that about 3" to 5" from one end of the 1" pipe I have some grinder gouges. I think I can turn the pipe so that the bearings wont ride on that part but it still bugs me.

What kind of shape are everyone elses pipes in?

I was trying to find some domestic made steel, local supplier can get me 3/4" seamless black steel, they are out of 1" and the shipment is a month behind already. I guess I am looking at a lot of elbow grease to smooth them up as I don't have a lathe that I can get them spinning on to make is easier.

Got everything else delivered this week. Now all I need is the kit, and I am working on a computer to run the software.

Thanks to all for reading and commenting.

Glenn

WooHoooo, just heard from Joe and my kit should ship out by Friday.

Got just about everything else here at the house. I will MAKE time to get some pics of everything this week (da twins are wearing us out) http://bellsouthpwp.net/J/e/JennViv/twins.htm

Even got the Porter Cable compressor/nailer combo. Had a part time job and used the extra money with a couple of coupons at Home Depot and got a great deal on the 3 gun compressor combo.

Thanks
Glenn

PC makes great nail/staple guns, some of the best. Those products will last you time after time. Look forward to seeing the progress of your build log.

I can second the PC nail/staple guns. Great tools that have served me well.

Like you Glenn I am purchasing my hardware/software/nuts/bolts and prepping
for my kit arrival. Wife already has a list of projects she wants done once the
machine is running....

As for cleaning up the pipes I am going to build this http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showpost.php?p=280760&postcount=39
to clean up my pipes for the axii to ride on.

Gene
Augusta, GA

Congratulations, that's 2 pretty little helpers you are going to have. I don't see how you are going to have time to build a CNC with twins.

Good luck...

Doug

Thanks. We have a 17, and 9 year old sons as well. The twins are making me ditch some other hobbies to spend more time at home. The CNC Router falls right into that for me.

Glenn

O.k finally some new pics.

Here is the Porter Cable Compressor/Nail Gun Combo that quite a few people are talking about. After coupons and discounts I got this out out the door for $225.00

Here are pics of the ENCO Stuff (long cardboard tube is the 1/2" ACME Threaded Rod, the short box is the Drill Rod). Then pics of the 1/2" ACME Nuts and the LoveJoy Couplers. Threaded rods, nuts and bolts, clear tube, bearings. HOBBYCNC 3 Axis Pro Driver kit with 200oz stepper motors, and the transformer and an extra fan to complete the power supply.

Finally as reccomended by CNC Jay. My Bobble Head CNC Router Mascott

Glenn

Glenn,

You've got a couple of cuties, congratulations!

That's the same PC set I purchased. I've really been impressed with them.
You got them for a great price, good job!
Checking out your build log is like a trip down memory lane. All the hardware looks so familiar!
Bobble heads, too funny! I can't wait to see Jay's next video. With the 1/2-8 two start rod and jumbo motors, his bobble head will probably be wearing a neck collar! :)

Bob

Another GA boy here, planning to start one once Joe can cut another kit. Which steppers did you get in your HobbyCNC kit?
I am thinking about the 305ounce steppers, but I don't want to stray far from Joe's original as I hardly know what I am doing with this stuff yet.

Bob

Looks like you got lots of goodies. I'm glad people are taking recommendations of where to buy stuff from. I started out at home depot and said screw it (no pun intended) and then got everything online. The enco/bolt depot and vbx combo really does it. Bolt depot is so cheap and there is no hassle and the time spent in the stores is time you could have spent on the build. Glad you got everything online though. I look forward to your build and seeing your machine built.