I've got a little Taig at the moment, but like most in this hobby I'm starting to want something bigger...

So, I started to do some research on some of the larger commercial VMC's just to see how they're put together. I've never worked around any real machines so I thought it was interesting looking at the frames etc.

Thought I'd share and if anyone else has a shot of a machine frame, or the linear mechanics feel free to share as well!

http://www.hurco.com.sg/NR/rdonlyres/91C2A5DE-82B8-4423-A775-18F3043E5A1C/0/VMX64framemonster.jpg

http://www.hurco.com.sg/NR/rdonlyres/D4ED1906-7FA9-4C98-B97A-68B5ACB522D3/0/VMX24and30framemonster.jpg

http://www.hurco.com.sg/NR/rdonlyres/A082C25D-D9F8-4826-8A8C-FF265EAE5736/0/VMX50framemonster.jpg

http://www.manford.com.tw/images/vh-500-b.jpg

http://www.cncricho.com/rimages/608/SVMC-1370-machining-center.jpg

http://www.hurco.com.sg/NR/rdonlyres/325D2B78-C584-4A51-A37E-61A59D97C5DA/0/VMX42frame.jpg

http://acom-cnc.com/MGP-66-frame.gif

http://www.cncsystems.com/Campro-CSP1100i-Frame.gif

http://acom-cnc.com/MHE-5-frame.gif

http://img.alibaba.com/photo/225174949_1/machining_service_cnc_machining_center_metal_processing_service.jpg

http://files.solidworks.com/InternalMarketing/PressRoom/industrial/Makino2.jpg

( from CNC Cookbook: )
http://www.cnccookbook.com/img/OthersProjects/Machines/LZ720.jpg

http://www.cnccookbook.com/img/OthersProjects/Tools/VM1framemonster.jpg

http://img.alibaba.com/photo/225174949_1/machining_service_cnc_machining_center_metal_processing_service.jpg


Wow, look at the saddle on this one with those extensions! Has anyone here ever extended the saddle like this on a benchtop?

Wow, look at the saddle on this one with those extensions! Has anyone here ever extended the saddle like this on a benchtop?

those look like supports for the guards that are missing in that photo.

http://acom-cnc.com/MHE-5-frame.gif


What kind of tracks is this? I can't even tell what slides and what doesn't. What is that white thing that is where the table would be on a normal mill?

What kind of tracks is this? I can't even tell what slides and what doesn't. What is that white thing that is where the table would be on a normal mill?

That is a Horizontal Mill, see the spindle sticking sideways out of the column. The white thing is a rotary table with the axis vertical; a four side column called a tombstone would be mounted here and on each of the four faces multiple parts would be fixtured for high volume production machining

All the shiny metal parts are way covers (slide covers) keeps it all clean when you run high production... I work with Robo drills everyday, they are "somewhat" similar but we used floodcoolant enclosures... it all looks so much simpler with the enclosures removed^^

maybe i misunderstood what you said there about a rotary table but the big white round thing looks like an ATC magazine to me...I could be wrong though its late...

ok, yep i read you wrong...I see what you mean now...Ive heard of tombstones but never worked with one :P

thanks your pic, it look great

I miss the side mount style that for example Correa/CorreaAnyak and some other brands uses. Takes a little more space, but is extremely rigid. On the other hand I wonder why not more mills are router style, they are very sturdy even in big sizes (and after all, if you buy a machine this big, who cares about space then?... :) )

Great post DeusExMachina.:banana:

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. I have seen many homebrew machines that could have used the council of these pictures. Even with the small size of most of the machines on this forum, these are examples of tried-and-true design practices that can pay dividends in rigidity.

Look at the proportions. Look at the closed box design. Look at the way their geometry provide leverage against the cutting forces.

Very informative!:)

This also is a nice machinebase.
How about those 4th and 5th axis, are there exploded views or other jpegs on the net that clear the design concep up???

Those are cool, thanks Veteq and Svenakela.

Found a few more, its getting harder to find with simple image searches ;)

http://www.smtcl.com/smtcl/group/english/products/Center/VMC_series/VMC640/images/vmc6401.jpg
http://www.manford.com.tw/images/vh-2.jpg
http://www.hhrobertsmachinery.com/CNC_Machines/VMC/TW-2065/TW-2065-frame-side.gif
http://www.compumachine.com/images/Regionals/Takumiseiki/Takumi-Seiki-V26-Casting.jpg

Look at the bottom one in your most recent pictures; there is a feature that could be applicable to DIY machines.

The Y axis has outrigger supports. There are large boxways near the center of the machine but on each end there is what looks like a linear guide but the only the top is finished and there just seems to be a shoe sliding on it.

I imagine this is to support the unbalanced load when the X is moved to either extreme.

Good eye, Geof.
I immediately caught that. I mentioned a similar sort of outriggers in Jason's VMC build. I thought they could really be useful on extended length axes like this. I was thinking more along the lines of a stack of rollers bearings rather than linear rails, but they would work too. No real need for those outriggers to be massive. They are more to just stabilize an off balanced load.

I am working on a couple vibratory finishers right now, but after that, I want to do a fixed gantry or bridge mill. On the table, I would use beefy linear rails under the center and then just outriggers toward the outer edges. That should make for a solid table.

Thanks for posting the guts of these large machines. It will really help when we design our smaller machines. Some of these actually resemble some of the machines I have seen here already. Arie's comes to mind, but there are others.

The shoes that are there are maybe for damping off vibration,
i was in a big machine shop last week that is going to mill the parts off my benchtop and i talked to the boss over there. He was talking that the big machines use some sort of extra shoe that is used for ibration.

regards,

Roy B.

Yeah. If you think about it, if these were left unsupported out toward the end, it might act like a tuning fork with the right resonance and start vibrating and induce that right back into the cut. That ain't desirable. ;)

I'm pretty sure there are needle rollers in the outriggers.

Sven is correct, do a google image search for
INA LINEAR ROLLER BEARING
its the first image that pops up, for that application
the roller bearing is mounted to a tapered carrier
so that you can fine adjust the height and angle of
the end of the saddle