New Machine Build- CNC Machine V2

[gun_mike]

Hey guys,
This is my second machine build. Shortly after finishing my first CNC build, I realized that it was not up to my standards. So i've decided to build another larger, more rigid, more accurate and hopefully faster machine.
I started by ordering an 18.5" x 6" crossslide table from a local tool store. As for ball screws, I chose 3' of 5/8" rolled spindle, and 4 of the type 2 square ballnuts from Roton. Im going to preload each pair with hardware store springs. I will only have ballscrews on the X and Y for now. I've also ordered an X2 head with r8 spindle from Little Machine Shop. As of now, I'm still waiting for my THk SR23W/Rails which I scored on Ebay.
For the spindle motor, I will be using the 2.4KW treadmill motor that is sitting on my current CNC machine. I've picked up a bildge pump motor and a steel pail for the coolant.
As for control software, i'm currently using TurboCNC via win98 SE. In the near future, I plan on building a consol for the computer by integrating a reburbished 15" lcd monitor into a computer frame. I've managed to get a usb 2.0 thumb drive to work with win98 so transfering files from my laptop to the cnc computer is a breeze.
I've included a few pictures aswell. Let me know what you guys think
mike

[praetor]

Good idea, I am going to be following this build. Looks interesting.
Oh, by the way, How did you get the headstock that clean in the last pic?

[SpeedsCustom]

Looks cool, well be posted!


-Jason

[gun_mike]

Originally Posted by praetor Oh, by the way, How did you get the headstock that clean in the last pic?

Acetone and a razor blade, to get that awful paint off. Then I spent about 4 hours sanding the headstock on a piece of glass with 200grit waterproof sand paper. Talk about alot of work!!

mike

[gun_mike]

Well, today I got around to machining the ballscrew ends. It took quite a while to get them down to size. The minimal dia was .480 and I need to get them down to .475 (not much room for error). After hogging through the majority of the thread, I started taking 2 thou passes until i reached the minimal dia. I ended up machining some sleeves to accuratly secure the BSs' in the 3 jaw chuck prior to machining them. Anyways, here are some pictures

mike

[gun_mike]

Well, I have to admit I havent been working on the machine very much these last few days. Because I have been busy constructing a consol. It's very basic but I have left alot of room for extra things (jog wheel, buttons .etc). The consol measures 17" by 20" by 6 and 1/8th" deep. The frame is made from 1" angle steel 1/8" thick. The screen is a 15" reconditioned LCD monitor. I picked up a rubber keyboard from Princess Auto for $9. I've installed two fans, one for intake and one for outtake. There is also access to USB and MIDI ports (incase I want to and a pendant in the future). The machine has a 555mhz cpu, 128mb of ram, CD/DVD drive and 40gb harddrive. Im currently using Windows 98SE and Turbo CNC. The computer has no mouse plugged in. This is because i've had alot of trouble with mice and oil, metal chips etc in the past. Luckily It's fairly straight forward to restart in DOS-mode using the Windows button, arrow keys, and enter. =)

mike

[gun_mike]

I've been quite busy with building the machine lately. The structure is complete. I've mounted the SR25W rails and made sure they are parrallel to within 0.001."
I also installed a set of metal gears for the r-8 mini mill spindle. I plan to fill the mini mill head with gear oil. I still have to work out how I will stop oil from leaking out of the transmision shift leaver. Perhaps a new handle assembly and a recess for an o-ring will work.
I managed to find 2 large pieces of t6 aluminum from the local scrap yard, both weighing in at about 30lbs. The base measures 8x18x2, and the column measures 5x2.5x22. I've bolted them together with five 1/2-13nc hex bolts.
The column had a little bit more than one thou of flex, when I tugged on the top (indicator located at 10" from bottom). To resolve this I attached two gussets made of 1/4" alum plate. This has reduced the flex at 10" to barly a jiggle in the needle.
I installed the ballscrews and the homemade preloaded ballnuts. I wanted to test them as I have never had zero backlash. and sure enough when I reset the position to X0 the needle was at the orginal position. same with the Y-axis.
Tomarrow I will 'be making the bellows for the Y and Z axis. I stumbled upon a blog where a fellow made his own bellows by folding thin plastic paper and it seems to have turned out pretty well. He has provided a template for the folding pattern. He has made bellows for the sherline mill but, the template can be altered to fit just about anysize machine. here is the url for those interested.
http://www.ixen-cnc.com/2007/10/lead...line-mill.html

[gun_mike]

I've finally got around to finishing the machine. It weighs in at about 140lbs.
All three axis have zero backlash. The spindle tops out at about 4600rpm. I've installed metal gears for the r-8 x2 spindle head, on the downside it is very noisy. Overall im very pleased with the results. It seems to be accurate to +- .002" over a 4" distance which is plenty enough for what I plan to use it for.
I've recently started a 2 year program at BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology) which consists of 33 weeks manual machining, 33 weeks co-op, and 33 weeks CNC machining.
Hopefully this machine will be usefull for the latter portion of the program. Where I could use it as a training aid at home. At school there are about 7 Haas machines. I was toying with the idea of converting my machine to run on the same g-code platform (fanuc or w/e) as Haas machines. But I have very limited knowledge control systems of CNC machines. SO my question is, do any of you know of a g-code controller that runs on the same platform as the Haas cnc machines?
I Know at BCIT there is a lab which is filled with about 20 Hass machine computers. Would it be possible to hook one of these up to my machine?
I imagine they are pretty pricey.
Im using a 3-axis xylotex board for now. In the futur I hope to move on to servo's and geckos.
anyways here's a video of the machine in action

YouTube - CNC Machine

YouTube - CNC Machine

thanks for any help,
Mike Grobowsky

[hoss2006]

Nice work!

I found a Haas controller simulator sold on Ebay for $1000
listed in the Haas forum.
Pretty pricy indeed.
Read a couple people asking the same thing about using one to control a mill at home
and the news wasn't good.
Try posting a question there, maybe someone has figured it out now and will help.

[SpeedsCustom]

Omg, that looks and works amazing. Maybe it's just me, but you seem to be taking some pretty decent cuts there and pretty fast. I'm really freaking impressed and maybe also a little disappointed...Maybe I baby my TAIG cnc too much, you seem like you had no problem with that!


-Jason

[ataxy]

mike this machine looks well built judging from the way it operate in the video

[SpeedsCustom]

I can't believe how much material your removing at the speed. Looks decently fast. Man, I'm impressed


-Jason