CarveOne's Work Table CNC Router Build

[CarveOne]

I thought some more about turning down the ends of the lead screws and figured out a way to add extensions without turning the ends of the lead screws. More info on that thought later.

Today I picked up a piece of 1/4" x 3" x 24" steel I ordered from the local Fastenal store that I thought was going to be regular cold rolled steel for making the Z axis slider plate. It turned out to be that size - but was precision ground flat stock. It looked too good to let them have it back even at the price I was having to pay for it.

I also ordered 8 linear carriages from www.cncrouterparts.com today. I should have the work table stiffened up by end of this weekend - just in time to start making steel parts again.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

I updated my drawings this evening with the following changes.

1. The Y axis rail changed from 3" to 4" width.
2. Added a spoil board.
3. Raised the gantry.
4. Added a second Y axis rail stiffener tube. Not sure there is enough room for them yet. Will know when Ahren's carriages arrive next week.
5. Added longer carriages on the X axis.

I scaled the jpg image up by 20% but I doubt that it will be any easier to read.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

I have two outside thermometers fighting over whether it's 0.5 degrees F or 5.5 degrees F this morning, so it looks like I won't get much of anything done out in the workshop today. The temperature won't get above freezing all day. May have better luck Sunday afternoon. At least there is no likelihood of snow or freezing rain.

Meanwhile I'll spend some time in CAD drawing stepper mounting plates and other things today.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

The weather did not follow my prediction for today, making me as good a weather forecaster as the local TV weatherman. Light snow flurries and a cold rain later in the day. Too cold to mess around in the work shop.

I made a few drawings this weekend though. Maybe the .gif images will look better than the previous .jpg images. These drawings are subject to change as needed.

CarveOne

[Khalid]

good progress so far CarveOne... I wish to see the pictures of snow outside your workshop... Hope you are enjoying the build

[CarveOne]

You are clairvoyant Khalid,

The weather forecast for tonight is 4" to 6" (maybe a little more) accumulation of snow beginning sometime after midnight. I will take a couple of photos for you before going to work. The snow should be coming down heavily by then and will continue for most of the day.

I will pick up some 1-1/4" steel angle and 3/4" steel round stock tomorrow for making the x axis parts. I already have the 3/8" x 4" steel flat stock for the bearing plates. Looks like I'll be having lots of fun with the lathe and mill for a while. Lots of parts to make.

Exporting the drawings in .gif format didn't help much for image quality but they at least show what the CAD files will look like for determining if the viewer wants to bother downloading the files and checking out the details. These files are for review (or entertainment) value only at this point in the build.


CarveOne

[CarveOne]

Khalid,
The snow started later than predicted and we may not get more than 4". This is about normal for this area. Here is what we have so far.

CarveOne

[Khalid]

wow....cool man you are living in heaven.. what a beautiful scene your shop added value to the scenery too... It looks Great

In our northern areas, currently we have snow fall...and very chill there... Hey man care yourself... we want to see your built

[Khalid]

oops.. Just come back to say thank you for beautiful picture..No doubt, it refreshed my mind...

[CarveOne]

Thanks for the compliments Khalid! The snow did not get any deeper than in the photo. It changed directions during the day and stopped accumulating earlier than expected.

I would say the same about your mountain photos with your friends and your home photo.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

The weather is supposed to be warm enough to spend significant time in the work shop Saturday and Sunday.

Picked up the 1-1/4" angle and 3/4" round stock needed for completing the X axis parts this week. Will spend much of the weekend time cutting and turning metal.

I have a partially completed a construction drawing of the work table that is being converted to a cnc machine. I'll try to post that file by this weekend.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

I had an unexpected day off work so I got an early start on making the steel parts.

First, I cut the right angle brackets with the metal cutting band saw and cleaned up the rough edges on my 12" disk sander. I will drill the round and slotted holes in them tomorrow.

I spent most of the afternoon turning the lead screw extensions on the lathe. These have a 1/4" tail on them for the stepper motor couplers. The section that fits the 1/2" ID bearings is a very close slip fit that takes a while to custom fit. The 1/2" hole in the end for the lead screw is just center drilled in the lathe. They fit onto the ACME rods pretty well. During installation I'll drill a hole through the extension and ACME rod and press in a roll pin to tie them together.

The 1/2" ID collars will be made tomorrow, and then start working on the bearing plates and stepper motor plates.

Ahren Johnson at www.cncrouterparts.com says that I should receive my order of linear carriages in a day or two.

More photos to be posted over the weekend.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

My employer called last evening and said that the local post office was holding a package for me. Since we did not work yesterday, they couldn't be delivered to my work location.

I picked up these lovely machined parts this morning. These are really nice Ahren. Thanks much. Can't wait to get all of this stuff assembled into a working machine.

CarveOne

[ahren]

CarveOne,
I'm glad you like the parts -- looking forward to seeing them in action!

Best regards,

Ahren
www.cncrouterparts.com

[CarveOne]

Me too Ahren,

I assembled a short and long carriage and tried them on the one of the rails. These really do roll nice. Feels like zero friction.

Here are three more parts I've completed so far today. These are for the rear of the two X axis lead screws and the Y axis lead screw. Not sure yet if I will need one for the Z axis. (Get your red hot chips here, bring your own salsa please!)

Onward to making the right angle brackets now. These will connect the bearing plates to the rails of the X and Y axis.

CarveOne

[Khalid]

CarveOne..Great job so far.. Are you doing the lathe work yourself??... I thought you are a woodworker but seems you are a good machininst.. I think your next project will be to convert the Lathe to CNC..

Good progress...

[CarveOne]

CarveOne..Great job so far.. Are you doing the lathe work yourself??... I thought you are a woodworker but seems you are a good machininst.. I think your next project will be to convert the Lathe to CNC..

Good progress...

Yes, that's my 12" x 37" Chinese lathe. I have a large bench milling machine also. I can make most anything I want to but I'm a hobby machinist and self taught thanks to internet machining sites. Though I can MIG weld also, I will assemble this mostly steel machine with bolts and nuts so that it is adjustable and easily modifiable.

I will have more parts finished today. I will drill the holes in the right angle brackets, then start making the bearing plates and stepper mounting plates. When these parts are completed I can assemble the complete X axis. More parts photos to be posted later this evening.

Here's another photo for you Khalid. I went outside just as the sun was coming up and saw this sky over my carport. At first I thought it was pretty, then I noticed the red sky through the trees and thought my woods were on fire. Had me worried for a second or two. I wish the photo is as good as the actual view a week ago.

CarveOne

[cnccutter]

CarveOne....thanks for posting your build..what router motor are you planning on using? And what feed rates are you anticipating , say in 3/4" plywood?

[CarveOne]

CarveOne....thanks for posting your build..what router motor are you planning on using? And what feed rates are you anticipating , say in 3/4" plywood?

Hi cnccutter,

I will be using Xylotex 425 oz/in motors recycled from my first build. I really don't have a clue as to how fast this will feed until I see first hand results after the build is completed. I'm hoping for a lot more power and faster feed rate from the same motors using the 5 start lead screws, Gecko G203V drivers, higher voltage power supply, and steel construction though.

Time will tell.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

The temperature hasn't gotten above freezing all day here, so it has been slow going in the CNC machine shop today. I completed the right angle brackets with exception of the 3/8" holes for the stepper motor mounting plate supports. I decided to wait until I make the bearing mounting plates and use the bearing mount plate holes to punch the centers of the holes in the right angle bracket with a transfer punch after the rails and brackets are assembled. This will insure (?) that the holes match up correctly, I hope.

I'll assemble the X axis rails and brackets this evening so they will be ready when needed.

I wondered today how many times Widgitmaster has used such a high tech precision tool setup as I used to drill holes in the ends of the 72" X axis rails. My little utility building's width won't allow the rail to be clamped to the left or to the right of the milling machine and have the drill where I needed it. You just have to find a way to deal with your limitations sometimes.

CarveOne