intro - nothing built yet but a pile of parts

[desbromilow]

G'Day,

more of an intro than anything. (and to shut up the annoying "you haven't posted..." message)

I'm sitting in remote WA and have been collecting parts for about a year for a 4 axis CNC Mill. Mostly steppers (how do you know what the stepsyn model numbers mean?), rails and a bucket full of bearings.

I was planning on casting most of the hardware, but a complaint from my landlord has put a halt on my casting activites for the time being.

What are the thoughts on the best style of mill? I'm more concerned about rigidity since my CNC mill will be used for metal milling if possible - so I'm inclined to build in the traditional vertical mill style (Viz, Taig, Bridgeport, etc) as opposed to the gantry style. - Is one style better than the other for rigidity? FWIW, my desired machining envelope wil be around 300Wx450Lx250D

Does anyone have any experience with the 4 axis controllers shown on Ebay (Item number: 330283520329) - the price seems OK (compared to building it myself), but the ad is lacking a lot of detail.

My setup - taig lathe, assorted hand tools, welder (stick), and a lot of scrap metal, and salvaged bits and pieces. My software will be turboCAD for the CAD, and probably EMC for the drivers (although I may go to Mach3 if I can afford it at the time - this is hobby after all)

anyway, there's my intro... once I get to sticking bits of metal together, I'm sure the questions will come a lot more frequent, but until then I'll mostly be lurking.

Des

[blackbeard52]

Des
If I can suggest...please stay away from unknown drivers...if it has been tested on CNC, it will more than likely be tested here...AND do you want to spend LOTS of time and money trying to get an unknown to work?????? Ask me how I know......for a few dollars more you can get a number of reliable drivers that the tech support is unsurpassed. I wont steer you in any specific direction but even the build it yourself kits available by the Zone supporters are simple to build and the cream of the crop drivers assembled are true plug and play.

[elmerfud]

Hi des,
Sounds like my build!
Downloading pdf catalogues from mazak, okuma and deckal maho are good inspirations.
A fixed bridge carrying X + Z with Y moving under is quite rigid and has a small 'footprint'.
Although, fixing the table and incorporating Y in X + Z assembly is tempting as it gives an even smaller footprint with similiar rigidity.
A fixed table for hobby work is very tempting!

[jfh2007]

HI all,


I am interested to find out if there plans for any Meetings in the new year

regards

John Hansen

[jfh2007]

HI all,


I am interested to find out if there plans for any Meetings in the new year

regards

John Hansen