WidgitMaster's Largest Steel Router Table Project 9ft x 5ft x 8" Water Cooled Spindle

[CNCMAN172]

Widget, Those new aluminum pipes will actually add some additional thermal relief. Really looks good. Glad the new spindle is working so well. Like the temperature sensor and the fact it shuts things down if they start to get warm.. Very Nice
Russ

[keebler303]

...and use yellow wood glue to attach a full sheet of MDF in the exact center of the work area...

I'd recommend a foam paint roller to get an even coat of glue over the whole sheet and then some full paint cans, sand bags, etc. to weigh it down a bit so it gets glued down fully. You don't want one corner to be flapping in the breeze!

[widgitmaster]

This afternoon I decided it's time to remove the six wheels, and put the levelers on the legs. Then I jacked up the far end of the monster until the feet were way off the concrete, and had to place steel blocks under the levelers! Eventually I got all six points level within one line on my Starrett level, and locked the adjusters tight!
I never realized how much pitch was in the garage floor, and the big screw jacks really made the job easy
Widgit

[CNCMAN172]

That big jack is really nice and heavy duty. Looking good now your ready to mount those spoil boards.

[widgitmaster]

This morning I setup the monster to mill .05" off the ends of all 4x sheets of MDF, just to make them fit snugly between the long beams. Next I marked all the locations for screw holes, and started the 3 hour process of drilling, through the MDF & steel, then drilling the MDF bigger for the tap to fit in. Then I counter-sunk the holes so the flat head screws were 1/8" below the surface!. To speed up the process, first I used a big center-punch to make a divot at the intersecting lines, then I drilled holes in a scrap block of steel. This helped me align both the drill & tap squarely. The outer beams are 1/4" wall tubing, so I clamped the block in position. Then I climbed up on the table, and put the block between my feet to keep it flat on the table.

The monster is level, and the sub-spoil board is bolted down! Phew!
Widgit

[widgitmaster]

Monster Router Build

Started: June 8, 2013
Today: April 2, 2014

Total Days: 294
Total Weeks: 42
Total Months: 10

So far I have uploaded over 2195 images, and a bunch of videos!

The 2-do-list is shrinking!
a. Get Mach3 to interface with the PMDX-107 spindle speed control.
b. Get Mach3 to interface with the Z-axis tool length plate.
c. Stop banging my head against the wall every time I deal with Mach3!
d. Connect the dust collector in the shed to the garage.


I had no idea what a brain-drain it was to get all the little details working and documented in the router's big folder! The electronics was easier than Mach3!
If I do another build, I'm going to spend the money for a DSP control pendant! That would eliminate the PC, Windows, Mach3, and a ton of headache's!
Widgit

[JerryBurks]

..........
c. Stop banging my head against the wall every time I deal with Mach3!

I know most CNC builders are using Mach3 successfully but after looking into the options I bought the Planet-CNC USB controller for my machine.The controller plus license cost about as much as a Mach3 license and it works quite flawless for me. Has a ton of features that I don't all use and good developer support. Of course the manual is always 12 months behind the latest version.
I don't use a real PC, just an old 10" netbook that hangs off my machine. Only disadvantage is the small screen but still bigger than the display of that offline pendant.

[Dylwad]

I went with deskcnc and am 100% happy with it. Has been running flawlessly on a vista machine with a 12+ year old serial pci card for several years.

The gui is outdated, and it does have some bugs, but for the most part it just works. They are working on a new update that is supposed to be huge.

I can do cad, email, surf the Web, watch YouTube vids etc while the machine is running and it doesn't skip a beat.

[widgitmaster]

Sorry for the Rant!
Hopefully I'll be able to think clearly after my chiropractic appointment this afternoon
Widgit

[Jason Marsha]

I always thought it was me that had problems with the drill bits wandering off point, now I know I am not alone.

I used Widgit's scrap steel idea he posted a few months ago about tapping perfectly straight holes and now I have no more problems.

I have learned quite a few good techniques from this thread. Thanks Widgit.

I still do not have your patience Widgit but if I continue to use your ideas my work will be easier and look that much better.

Jason

[CarveOne]

Hey widgit,

We're still waiting to see that 48" Aztec calendar.you promised. You're not going to lay around resting on your backside much longer are you? tap, tap, tap (sound of finger tapping impatiently on the computer desk).

[Donny M. Carter]

I always thought it was me that had problems with the drill bits wandering off point, now I know I am not alone.

I used Widgit's scrap steel idea he posted a few months ago about tapping perfectly straight holes and now I have no more problems.

I have learned quite a few good techniques from this thread. Thanks Widgit.

I still do not have your patience Widgit but if I continue to use your ideas my work will be easier and look that much better.

Jason

Do you have a link to the scrap steel idea? I've searched with no luck! Thanks in advance!

[tinygiants]

Do you have a link to the scrap steel idea? I've searched with no luck! Thanks in advance!

I believe it is this post. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc-wo...ml#post1465658

[widgitmaster]

I always thought it was me that had problems with the drill bits wandering off point, now I know I am not alone.

I used Widgit's scrap steel idea he posted a few months ago about tapping perfectly straight holes and now I have no more problems.

I have learned quite a few good techniques from this thread. Thanks Widgit.

I still do not have your patience Widgit but if I continue to use your ideas my work will be easier and look that much better.

Jason

Hi Jason!
Glad to have been of some help!
The tapping / drilling guide blocks are really simple & easy to make, and the drilling or tapping results are only good if the guide holes are perpendicular to the product!
Widgit

[widgitmaster]

My back and knees have stopped hurting, so I decided to catch up on some of the maintenance on the big mill! The central lubrication system is not functioning as designed, so I need to investigate the problem! This requires the partial removal of the t-slot table, in order to expose the oil lines and ports! So after removing the power feed, end plates, DRO scale, and the gib, the table slid off and on to a T-Stand. Then I saw the problem, I have a badly pinched oil line!

Well, McMaster-Carr does not sell the type of soft aluminum metric tubing that I need, so I searched eBay and found a 10-foot coil of it! As this situation has been on my mind for a while now, I had already purchased a replacement oil reservoir with a hand pump! Now I need to wait for the tubing to arrive before I can finish repairs!

The mill needs to be in good condition, as I have a big project to do for a friend! I have to make a multi-spindle mounting system for a big CNC router table! The 5x water cooled spindles need to all be perfectly trammed and will require a spacing jig along with a tool setting plate!

This will be a good project to take my mind off the RED monster for a while

Widgit

[jalessi]

My back and knees have stopped hurting, so I decided to catch up on some of the maintenance on the big mill! The central lubrication system is not functioning as designed, so I need to investigate the problem! This requires the partial removal of the t-slot table, in order to expose the oil lines and ports! So after removing the power feed, end plates, DRO scale, and the gib, the table slid off and on to a T-Stand. Then I saw the problem, I have a badly pinched oil line!

Well, McMaster-Carr does not sell the type of soft aluminum metric tubing that I need, so I searched eBay and found a 10-foot coil of it! As this situation has been on my mind for a while now, I had already purchased a replacement oil reservoir with a hand pump! Now I need to wait for the tubing to arrive before I can finish repairs!

The mill needs to be in good condition, as I have a big project to do for a friend! I have to make a multi-spindle mounting system for a big CNC router table! The 5x water cooled spindles need to all be perfectly trammed and will require a spacing jig along with a tool setting plate!

This will be a good project to take my mind off the RED monster for a while

Widgit

Eric,

Check out Parker / Legris

Tons of surplus on eBay

http://tinyurl.com/pjmjtxa

Legris.com - The online catalogue

Jeff...

[widgitmaster]

Thanks Jeff!

The soft aluminum tubing and compression fittings arrived this morning, so I cut a piece of tuning off the coil and started bending it to fit! But before I put the new tubing on the mill, I need to cut a radius in the cast iron so the tubing has a softer, recessed corner for the tubing to nest in! To do this, I'll use one of my Kress 800 spindles as a die grinder! Using a 1/4" shank, 3/8: diam carbide ball burr!
Now that the oil tube has been replaced, I started re-assembling the mill's table. First I cleaned the table's & saddle's dovetails, and inserted the gib and it's lock-screws. With the gib adjusted, I finished up by attaching the end plates, ball cranks, power-feed, and limit-switches. Next I mounted the travel stops on the side of the table, and started feeding all three axis while pumping the oilier repeatedly! Eventually all the crud came out, and clean oil was making its way to all the dovetail slides and screws!
So I wiped up as much as possible, and threw a couple handfuls of speedy-dry on the mill's base to soak up the mess and the continuous drips!

Now the mill is ready for action, and I have a really big project just around the corner
Widgit

[CarveOne]

My 6 x 26 knee mill needs similar work done to it. It has clear plastic tubing under the table and it has come loose before I bought it from a friend and I helped take it apart to correct it. Using aluminum tubing is something I'll look into when mine needs a tubing replacement. The surgical tubing type stuff deteriorates with age and crumbles.

Waiting to see that big project.

[widgitmaster]

Just a note to say that I haven't abandoned the Monster Project, I have been busy making parts to mount three 2.2Kw water cooled VFD spindles on two different CNC machine! I cant post pictures because the company wishes to remain anonymous to protect their products, processes & the machines they use!! This big project will help me recover some of the expenses incurred during the Monster's creation! As soon as I'm able, I will start running the Monster and post more images!
Widgit

[tauntdesigns]

Sounds interesting.

I've ran a few multiple spindle machines back in the day.( Cincinnati Hydrotel, Bridgeport Profilers, and SNK 5-axis Gantry)

See ya later