5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"


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    Cool 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    Ahoy all! My name is Christian.

    I've embarked on an arduous journey to design build a 5 axis CNC router.

    I have been following the CNC world for about 5 years now, and only recently got my own CNC Mill about 5 months ago. It's a CNC Fusion converted Sieg X2. So I'm not super experienced with machining, but I think I'm a quick learner on all things machining after being a keyboard warrior for so many years.

    I've already started building it, and I've already got the vast majority of parts to build it, I just have to actually build it now.
    Parts purchased so far include:

    Drive gear and bearings:

    • 12x SBR16UU 16mm dia. round rail bearing block
    • 2x SBR16 16mm dia. 800mm long linear bearing rails
    • 2x SBR16 16mm dia. 1200mm long linear bearing rails
    • 2x SBR16 16mm dia. 1800mm long linear bearing rails
    • 1x (1605) 16mm dia. 600mm long machined ballscrew
    • 2x (1605) 16mm dia. 1150mm long machined ballscrew
    • 1x (1605) 16mm dia. 1800mm long machined ballscrew
    • 4x (BK12) 16mm ballscrew driven end support
    • 2x Holdren Astra TS 4 stud non-ABS front wheel hub assembly 1998-2005
    • 6000RS rubber sealed deep groove ball bearing (10mm x 26mm x 8mm)


    Total: AUD$1388.51

    Electronics:
    • 1x Warp9 6 axis ethernet SmoothStepper motion control board with terminals for Mach3 and Mach4
    • 1x C41 PWM variable speed control board with 2 relays
    • 1x 5V/2A switching power supply unit (KL-10-5)
    • 1x 48V/7.3A switching power supply unit (KL-350-48)
    • 1x Unregulated linear 1440W/72VDC/20A toroidal PSU (KL-7220)
    • 2x Geckodrive G251X
    • 4x Geckdrive G201X
    • 2x NEMA23 280ox-in 2.8A 1/4" dual shaft stepper motor (KL23H276-28-4B)
    • 3x NEMA23 570oz-in 3.5A 1/4" dual shaft stepper motor (KL23H2100-35-4BM)
    • 1x NEMA34 1200oz-in 1/2" single shaft stepper motor (KL34H2120-42-8A)
    • 1x 2.2Kw air-cooled spindle
    • 1x 2.2Kw VFD
    • 75' of 4 conductor 18AWG shielded motor wires


    Total: AUD$3320.46 (USD$2267.47 :O )

    Material:
    Length Size Material
    16m 89mm x 89mm x 5mm mild steel square hollow section
    8m 89mm x 89mm x 3.5mm ||
    4m 125mm x 75mm 5mm mild steel rectangle hollow section
    1m 150mm x 50mm x 5mm ||
    2m 75mm x 75mm x 6mm mild steel angle
    12m 50mm x 5mm mild steel flat bar
    300mm 25mm x 50mm aluminium 6060 T5 flat bar

    Total: AUD$749.07


    Screws:
    Qty. Head Size Length
    16 socket hex, cap head M5 25mm
    136 || || 20mm
    24 || M6 50mm
    48 || || 20mm
    32 || M10 20mm
    16 hex head || 15mm

    Total: AUD$95.00


    Grand total: AUD$5,553.04
    $500 over budget so far... Who saw that coming? :P

    I still have to buy a computer, I'm thinking an old Dell workstation, something with buffered memory and a xeon CPU and all that jazz to keep her reliable. Opinions?
    I also need to get more wiring and such.

    I was going to build the whole thing, then post a completed machine thread here, but I then figured I'd get more out of an on-going thread. I also hope this thread will serve as a wealth of information for someone building their first machine of this type, because there's little information out there on DIY 5 axis machines. I spent months scouring the internet for every picture and thread I could find to get ideas to make the design as easy for me to build as possible. I hope you can all input a lot of information to make this thread one of those 'gold mine' threads for the topic of DIY 5 axis.

    The Details

    I need this machine to be able to carve moulds for my vacuum forming machine that I also built just before this (pictured below). "What type of moulds?" you say? Well I'm glad you asked. I'm going to be making RC car body shells, so I need a machine that can make nice smooth forms and also reach minor undercuts. I still haven't sorted out what material these moulds will be, I'm not too familiar with the 'foam and plastics carving' side of CNC, so any advise would be GREATLY appreciated on what material would be best for a very smooth surface finish, is easily machined, and is dimensionally stable both over ageing and when being used to form a body shell i.e. having a -13PSI vacuum of force on top of it.

    The size of the machine is much larger than most RC cars would call for, but I wanted to be able to make a body for all sizes of cars 1/32 all the way up to 1/5. I also love full size cars, so making fender flares mould or whatever else for full size cars was a consideration, but not critical factor in the design.
    The total machine dimensions are approximately 2143mm x 1289mm x 2083mm, however that is just what the CAD design, it already change a bit since starting the actual build process. Because things seldom go according to plan.

    Pictures and Videos


    So with that out of the way lets get into some photos, because that all you really want to see, isn't it? :P
    I'm just going to talk about some design philosophies and other things that I feel are worth mentioning as I go through the photos of what I've done so far.

    Firstly, as promised, the vacuum former in question:

    It's heavily based on the Protoform design by Doug at Build Your Own Vacuum Forming Machine.


    Here is a drawing that I quickly made from the CAD design, I've changed the size of the gantry structure to something a little smaller because I felt it was a little overkill for the rest of the machine. Some other small things are changing, but I won't bother to model them unless I need to.


    And here's a rendered view.

    On the topic of the overall design, particularly on the gantry, I'd like to talk about an observation I've made on different styles.

    My machine is a type where the gantry is basically a just a straight bar across from one side to the other and the cutting table frame raises the linear rails up to the required height.
    The other type of gantry design is what I believe is often called a 'moving bridge' gantry where the rails that the gantry ride on are about level with the cutting surface of the machine and there are two large columns that go straight up and hold the cross beam section of the gantry rigidly. A bridge gantry is picture below.


    This is a moving bridge gantry design.

    There is also a very common bridge gantry design where the gantry itself stays still and the table moves on only one axis. I believe that design is to keep the weight of the entire gantry off rails and just moving the table. This is a good design, however it requires a lot of machine for not as much cutting area.

    The design of my machine where the rails are raised to the height of the gantry (lets call it 'straight gantry') makes the potential for a rigid frame easier to achieve because you can use two smaller sections of (in my case) steel to hold the general gantry in place. Unless you have the tools to work with 200mm x 200mm sections of steel accurately, in which case I recommend you go for a moving bridge or a fixed gantry where the table moves, or a compromise of my machine's design and a moving bridge gantry (more on that in a moment).

    On that "observation" I've made - when a tall machine like these is cutting material, the gantry will be handling forces from varying directions, the most significant one to me is when cutting in either the positive or negative direction along the X axis (the one that the gantry travels on) because that's typically where the least bracing is. The machine will never be cutting a piece of material that is level with the rails on my machine, therefore there will always be a leveraging action on the bearings that the gantry rides on, which can significantly multiply the forces exerted on them. This will be just fine if you have the right rails and bearings to handle this, in fact it's no problem at all. However if you (like me) have had to cut the budget a little and buy rails that may be a little under-sized from the machine, I think this is something to consider.


    In this quick diagram I made is a side view of my machine design.
    The orange rectangles are the linear bearings that the gantry rides on, the blue area is the most common space that my machine will be cutting, thus the length of leverage over the bearings. The arrows obviously indicate roughly the direction of force on each part.

    The advantage of a moving bridge design is that the X axis rails are closer to level with where the tool is cutting, therefore reducing the the leverage on the bearings. Then the entire gantry kind of becomes one of those toy plastic eagles that balances on the tip of its beak and the wings cantilever past the beak to balance it out, and then the rigidity of the eagle (gantry) just has to be rigid enough not to flex under stress.


    Where the point of contact with the finger is the cutting tool and the weight in the wings is the location of the linear bearings. (Do I sound crazy yet?)

    Another advantage of the moving bridge gantry is that because the rails are closer to level with the work piece, any variations in the straightness of the rails will be exaggerated less in the location of the cutting tool as the gantry moves.
    So by now you'd think that a moving bridge gantry is by far better than the design that I've chosen, and from all perspectives that I can think of, it is. However, I don't have the tools to work with the size of steel that I wanted to make a moving bridge gantry out of, plus (and more importantly) I realised this phenomenon after starting production of the machine so it would be too major of a change. Obviously my design still works, there's plenty of huge commercial machines that use the straight gantry design. Also, having the raised linear rails helps keep them out of harm's way.

    Now more on that compromise design - a moving bridge gantry has the rails below the most common space to be cutting, so why not just combine a party straight gantry design and a moving bridge by just raising the rails half way? Well you can and I think it's the best way to keep extra stress from leverage off the bearings. There's this Chinese manufacturer that has chosen this design and personally I love the look of the entire machine, it looks awesome.


    This design puts the rails level with the most common cutting height, increasing rigidity.
    Here's their Alibaba page:
    Hot Sale !! 5 Axis Cnc Machine * Cnc Milling Machine 5 Axis For Foam Wood Mould Decoration - Buy Cnc Milling Machine 5 Axis,5 Axis Cnc Machine,5 Axis Cnc Product on Alibaba.com

    And that's the end of that obsessively long discussion on gantry design philosophy. I want to reiterate that I believe everything I just said is not important if you have a sturdy design and adequate rails and bearings. Moving on...


    Here is a screen shot of how I make sure I can get all the right lengths of steel that I need after cutting it to 4m lengths for transportation. Not something that most of you wouldn't already have figure out, but honestly, it wasn't immediately obvious to me a while ago and I want this thread to be handy for a lot of people. 5 axis machining should be more accessible to the DIY community and I want to try help with that. Autodesk's Fusion 360 will have 5 axis CAM in the near future so hopefully I've come in at the right time to build this machine because Fusion 360 is going to be super cheap for the functionality that it has.


    Short of spending 3 hours with a file on each end, this is the only way I can get square ends. This is 89mm x 89mm x 5mm square hollow section steel. So that's why I say I don't have the tools to work with 200mm x 200mm steel.





    These plates go on the top and bottom ends of all four corners of the machine. The ones you see here have been faced off with a fly cutter on my Sieg X2 CNC machine for a good mating surface for when they will have another piece of steel bolted down, which will support the gantry rails. The others were just roughly cut to size and had an 18mm hole through the center then an M16 nut welded in place for levelling feet. The 18mm hole was made with a helical interpolation on the X2.


    Sorry about the sideways-ness. It isn't sideways on my computer. That plate is to be welded to the bottom all four corners of the main frame with the nut on the inside of the steel hollow section.



    To try held those foot plates square for welding, I machined all the faces of a scrap piece of the 89mm x 89mm hollow section including the ends, then clamped it in place for welding like so. It worked quite well.


    I'm using a flux cored wire MIG for all the welding because that's the best I have access to right now. I don't have any real good reasons to not have gas by now, but as you can see I've managed to figure out gas-less welding alright now.


    Welding the shorter ends of the machine together, only just fitting on my homemade T-slot welding table. The critical dimension to meet here was having the center piece the same distance from the ends nearest the camera because those ends are where the gantry rides. Obviously you want your gantry to be level with the cutting surface of the machine.





    I ground a lot of the critical ends with a concave-like shape so it was easier to get a square end by only having to ensure the corners be square, then the plate to be welded on the end just rests on those corners when welded. When all you have is a 300mm disc sander for this job you take any opportunity to make things easier. I simply stuck a magnetic square to the end and measured off that face to get the correct distance for welding that center piece pictured above on the welding table.

    If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry, it's just me cheating because I have less that adequate tools. Moving on...




    To keep heat distortion down, I welded half a side, then welded half on the opposite side, then finished the other half of the first welded and so on... You can see where I stopped and started in the middle of each bead in that last photo.



    Welding those longer sections in place. As you can see, I have clamped some scrap pieces to the already welded shorter ends, then rested the longer pieces on top to weld them level and all that jazz.


    I wanted to talk about how I levelled and squared it all as I slowly welded it piece by piece so I made this video. Isn't my voice sexy? You should see my face! Haha (shut up Christian).
    One thing I neglected to mention in the video is exactly how I'm adjusting the height of each corner to make it level for welding. I have M16 bolts in the bottom as feet for each corner, I showed those plates being made above. So obviously I just turn the bolt as necessary to level out each corner. Actual feet would have been much nicer for this, when you turn the bolt it sort of rolls on a high spot on the concrete and sends that whole corner out of square.


    (This photo is also sideways, that center bead is actually vertical.)
    Good enough for gas-less MIG? Still welding in half lengths to reduce distortion.


    Doing some beginner level scraping for a good mating surface between the X axis rail supports and their mounting plates. This is before any scraping.


    2nd pass.


    3rd pass.


    Final pass.


    Same but opposite end.

    I know only the outside areas are contacting and that's less than optimal, but I don't think it's that important, it's got the widest points of contact possible anyway, and I also just wanted an excuse to try scraping steel.


    The plates are then mounted in their intended place, then I rest the X axis rail supports on top like this, ready for welding. The rest I've done it like this is to give myself the best chance possible of maintaining that large contact area after welding. If I welded the plates independently than just bolted the supports on top the plates would not be level and thus the supports would not have a good mating surface.


    The plates are tacked in place then the X supports are unbolted so it's easier to weld.


    First welded...


    'A grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain't.'


    A whole bunch of brakets for holding ballnuts and ballscrew bearing blocks. They're yet to have holes drilled in this photo. I'm extremely skeptical that these will be thick enough to take the forces necessary, but I've already got the material. If they flex too much I'll do something about it.



    I then machined the ballnut blocks. These are awesome looking little things, but for some reason I managed to cut my hands four times that day, including one that had a stationary carbide end mill slice through my nail.


    All six M5 screw probably aren't necessary, but again... They look awesome.


    A bit of a mock up of the X and Y axis ballscrew assembly.


    MacGyvering a drill press out of a megnetic drill because my actual drill press sucks. I'm drilling the holes in the X axis carriage here.


    I'm using this little template hole pattern for the mounting holes for the linear bearings ignore the four bolt pattern on the right, that one had a mistake. I simply square the template up against the sides of the carriage material and transfer the holes. The center hole that the transfer punch is resting in is a hole for adjusting the set screw in the top of the bearing to maintain tolerance on the rails.

    And that's all I have for this introductory message. All future progress will be posted in new messages throughout the course of production. All advise, or just opinions are welcome.

    Similar Threads:
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2353-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2353-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2325-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2325-jpg  

    5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2348-jpg  
    Last edited by ChristianLL; 11-11-2015 at 06:47 AM. Reason: Updated photo of vacuum former


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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"


    Here's a video of the ballscrew bearing block that I wan't allowed to post in the original message because there's a limit of one video per post.



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"


    And another video that I wasn't allowed to post. This is one of the X axis carriages mostly complete.



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2354-jpg
    Welded those gussets in place. Somewhat a tricky job to keep neat with gasless MIG. Covering the parts in WD40 works well to keep the spatter from sticking.

    5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2358-jpg
    Positioning and squaring up the carriage to the vertical columns. It was important that I square it off the face that the linear bearings mount to, because the gantry is supposed to be 90° to the linear rails, which are parallel to the table surface.

    5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2361-jpg
    It is irritating me that the hexes aren't all in the same orientation, but I can't change it, the holes in the column (blue piece) are tapped. They also have nyloc nuts on the inside of the column to ensure they're never coming lose. However, I haven't a problem with this design. I feel like the piece of angle isn't substantial enough, particularly in the vertical side. I've used 75mm x 75mm x 6mm angle, I feel like I should have gone with 150mm x 150mm x 6mm to space those bolts further apart, reduce flex of this piece, and it would cut out the bracket needed to hold the ballnut mounting block.



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    I'm not sure why you need a 5 axis machine to make forms for vacuum-forming - don't they need to be able to release? But in answer to your question; for this sort of thing look into the high-density urethane tooling board materials, like Precisionboard and Butterboard. They carve easily, hold good detail, and should last a while.

    [FONT=Verdana]Andrew Werby[/FONT]
    [URL="http://www.computersculpture.com/"]Website[/URL]


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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    Awerby, thanks for the advise on the tooling board, I've had urethane in mind, but it seems to be hard to find that kind of stuff my area.

    The reason I want a 5 axis machine is because the body shells will have undercuts on two sides e.g. left and right sides of the car. Then I can cut two slits at the front and back to flex the formed plastic outwards and easily lift it off. That's the plan, anyway.



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    Here are a couple of places you can order tooling board: Precision Board Plus HDU - Coastal Enterprises ; https://www.goldenwestmfg.com/ .

    You can probably produce those models, even with the undercuts, using 5-axis indexing, rather than having to implement 5 live axes. Both the hardware and the software will be more standard and hence cheaper. Here's an example of how a car model was made on a rig like that using DeskProto, a relatively inexpensive CAM program : DeskProto Gallery: 5-axis machining a Austin Healey car model

    [FONT=Verdana]Andrew Werby[/FONT]
    [URL="http://www.computersculpture.com/"]Website[/URL]


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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    I've just requested a free sample of Precision board. It looks like this is the solution, thank you very much for the link.

    I've considered making the machine 3 axis with the same tall Z axis so that I can just hold the work piece sideways for machining the undercuts, and that's still basically the backup plan if 5 axis just doesn't work out because I recognise that it's hard to make a B/C spindle head. However, I'm not one to shy away from a challenge, I'd rather give it my best and gain experience and knowledge from the failure than just quit immediately.
    The CAD/CAM software is going to be Fusion 360, which I'm already using for my Sieg X2, it's really an excellent package. They are yet to release a version with 5 axis CAM, but it's already got tool orientation, so I know it will work with my backup plan.



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    Quote Originally Posted by ChristianLL View Post

    And another video that I wasn't allowed to post. This is one of the X axis carriages mostly complete.
    In the video the bearing blocks are installed turned the opposite to each other so the adjustment screws are facing different direction. Perhaps you noticed that afterwards, or perhaps you think they never need any adjusting but if I were you I'd install those blocks so that they face to the side I can reach easiest, just in case... I would also drill holes for the top adjustment screws, in case they loosen up and need adjustments later. Just an idea...



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    I just assembled it for the video, it was immediately disassembled after it. For the final assembly I'll be sure everything is nice and neat like that.
    I have also drilled holes for the top adjustment screws since this video.

    Good observation though, thank you. It sounds like you've worked with these linear rails before, no?



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    Last night I reached a nice milestone of getting a somewhat built gantry rolling on rails, though it's still very much a work in progress. Here are some pictures.


    First I drilled the wholes through both sides of one of the 125mm x 75mm hollow sections, then simply line them up like this and use a transfer punch to get all the others marked out and ready for drilling.
    You can see black marker lines where I was going to cut to expose the heads of the screws better, but that was an on-the-stop decision that turned out to be a bad idea, so I scrapped that, I think I came up with a cooler solution anyway.



    Multiple clamps, positioning the columns ready for transferring all those holes from underneath.


    Poor lighting in this shot. There's four M10 socket hex, cap head screws holding each large horizontal section to the column.


    Being slightly inventive about how to turn the screws - a standard 8mm allen key, an 8mm deep socket with an extension. 'Twas quite satisfying how nicely that worked and kept the holes on that back side of the gantry small and discrete.


    Looking rather pretty up there aren't you, Gantry?

    One advantage of using two pieces of hollow section to form the gantry like this is that you can adjust the distance between the two to make sure that the Y axis rails that run along it are parallel without having to machine or grind anything, just bolt one in place and make sure it's parallel to the table. Roll the Y carriage to one side of the gantry and tighten that side of the second piece of hollow section, then roll the Y carriage to the opposite side and tighten that side down and suddenly you have perfectly parallel Y axis rails. However, making sure the rails are straight is still an issue that requires attention like any gantry.



    That's all for now. I think I might focus on reinforcing the table frame next, it's clearly the weak point when I knock it.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2366-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2374-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2368-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2370-jpg  

    5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2377-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2382-jpg  
    Last edited by ChristianLL; 11-14-2015 at 02:03 AM. Reason: Forgot something


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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    Well I've made some more progress, however I ran out of welding wire so I have decided to get some gas instead of the flux cored wire that I've been using. Pricey stuff gas is, but it should cut down on the messy spatter that this flux cored has been giving me.

    I started welding the supports for the table surface in place and ran out half way through that. Here's some photos of them:


    I'm thinking I'll add a leg under the middle support to really give it some extra rigidity and hopefully cut down potential vibration buildup in that area. Also, as mentioned above, welding with gas should eliminate that spatter. What's left there is just what I couldn't get off easily, and that's the cleanest one.


    This is the part of the Z axis that doesn't move up and down. I drilled the holes for mounting the Y axis carriages, then soon realised they didn't fit to the gantry. A mistake on my part for not updating the hole locations in the CAD model and not checking them before printing out the drawing of the part. I had to flip this piece around and re-drill the holes in the correct locations, I hate having unnecessary holes in my creations, I hate knowing there's a messy error like that but money constraints are making me overlook it. Luckily the Z rails will cover them up quite nicely anyway. As you may be able to see here:


    More photos:



    After getting those holes re-drilled she looks all nice a pretty on the gantry there. It almost feels like I won't need to weld gussets in those pieces of angle, but I will anyway, a CNC machine can never be too rigid.

    That's it for now. I'm waiting on that welding gas for now, I've already got a bunch of end plates to cap the ends of many of the pieces of hollow section, also I need the gas to weld all the 50mm x 5mm flat bar that makes the mounting surface for all the linear rails in the machine so there's not a whole lot to do until that gas arrives. I do have a question for what may be my next update - I want to fill all four corner pieces of hollow section as well as a couple other pieces with a vibration dampening medium, I'm thinking sand. I've read through all the speculative forums about dampening and what medium to use, it seems to me like sand is the best option that won't break the bank for my machine. Anyone more informed than me who could share there opinions? Thank you.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2390-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2391-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-screen-shot-2015-11-21-11-38-a   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2418-jpg  

    5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2420-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2421-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2424-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2424-jpg  

    5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2421-jpg   5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"-img_2418-jpg  
    Last edited by ChristianLL; 11-21-2015 at 08:47 AM. Reason: Fixed sideways images.


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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    Is everyone else having trouble with my images loading? I've requested a support ticket to resolve the issue but that's been over a week with not a hint of response. What do I do to fix this?



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    Just to give some closure about this build, it's still fully in progress and has not even come close to abandonment. I just haven't been updating this thread because none of the damn pictures will load, it's no good without the pictures. I'm still likely to answer anyone's questions or comments though.



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    The pictures in all your posts except the first load fine for me. This looks like a really well thought out build and I can't wait to see your machine in action.



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    Oh thanks manofmanyhats! If things are loading for other people then maybe I'll take some more videos and pictures to update everyone on the progress tomorrow.



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    Quote Originally Posted by ChristianLL View Post
    Oh thanks manofmanyhats! If things are loading for other people then maybe I'll take some more videos and pictures to update everyone on the progress tomorrow.
    Awesome. I don't think this subforum gets much traffic, hence not many people commenting. You may want to make a post in the DIY machine section.



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    I just noticed this thread, and want to encourage you to continue posting. The first post has only a few pictures showing - what host are you using? You can try a free account a Fotki to see if it works (it is what I use): Member Sign Up | Fotki.com, photo and video sharing made easy.

    I have 3 2+ meter linear slides in my basement waiting to turn in to a CNC about the size of yours, and several harmonic drive sets to build the A and C axes... I have plans in SolidWorks but no action on the ground as yet. Been thinking of building a test rig out of 2x12 lumber to make sure my basic design will work before putting the $ and effort in to a steel and epoxy granite machine I have planned...

    CAD, CAM, Scanning, Modelling, Machining...


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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    cool build!



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    Default Re: 5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

    Quote Originally Posted by ChristianLL View Post
    Just to give some closure about this build, it's still fully in progress and has not even come close to abandonment. I just haven't been updating this thread because none of the damn pictures will load, it's no good without the pictures. I'm still likely to answer anyone's questions or comments though.
    No problems seeing your images or video. Just keep them coming...



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5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"

5 Axis CNC Plastic Cutting Router "The CutaRouterer"