Newbie - My CNC Router Build

[TheHandyman]

I decided that if anyone is wondering about the parts I've chosen and ones that I am still waiting on here is a list with photos of my purchases.

Makita RT0701CX7 1-1/4 HP Compact Router


One usb to parallel controller.



Four Nema 24 Dual Shaft Stepper Motor 3.5A 439 oz.in


2 X SBR16-265mm 16 MM FULLY SUPPORTED LINEAR RAIL
2 X SBR16-1065mm 16 MM FULLY SUPPORTED LINEAR RAIL
2 X SBR16-1335mm 16 MM FULLY SUPPORTED LINEAR RAIL
12 X SBR16UU Router Motion Block


4 - 24 Teeth HTD 3M Timing Pulley Bore=8mm
12 Meters of 3M belt 15mm width 3mm pitch


10pcs New 608ZZ Radial Bearing
Dimensions: ID 8mm OD 22mm Width 7mm


Cable drag chain wire carrier 15*20mm R28 1000mm (40")

[TheHandyman]

Parts continued: (This completes my purchase as of the moment. Not to include MDF and assorted hardware)

20 Pcs V-156-1C25 Micro Limit Switch SPDT


AC 660V 10A 40mm Red Sign Emergency Stop Switch


CNC Kit 4 Axis, 5 Axis Breakout Board TB6600HG 5A


2 - 36 Volt 10Amp Power Supplies


CNC router Tool Setting auto-Check instrument 35mm test tool

[handlewanker]

Hi, this is where it gets interesting.....so many variations to choose from.......I have to go down this path too eventually when I get to your level of completion.

BTW......please pardon me for being a doomwatcher but the wood dust that clouded the air in the video was a big danger too from an explosion.

A common silo explosion is caused by wheat dust and any dust mixed with air is a potential fire hazard.

I mention this as just after the last war we kids used to prowl round the new building sites after hours looking for bits and pieces of wood etc to "aquire".

The builders used to heap piles of fine sawdust from the floor sandings, and as kids we took great delight throwing it in the air and tossing lighted matches into the dust cloud.....the ensuing fire ball was awesome to see.......singed my eyebrows off and some hair too.

In an enclosed space it will explode like a bomb.......I mention this because I heard the roar of a heater in the one video with the sawdust cloud and if you have any flame present it's deadly......keep safe as we want to see the router working as planned.
Ian.

[mactec54]

TheHandyman

The 608-ZZ Shielded Bearings are a bad choice of Bearing Type, you want to be using, rubber shielded (608-2RS ), they keep the dust out, the ZZ do not

[TheHandyman]

TheHandyman

The 608-ZZ Shielded Bearings are a bad choice of Bearing Type, you want to be using, rubber shielded (608-2RS ), they keep the dust out, the ZZ do not

mactec54,

Thanks for that info! I will upgrade them according to your suggestion.

Randy

[TheHandyman]

Thanks again mactec54,
Just purchased 16, 608-2rs bearings. Way more than I need but one never knows what the future brings...lol
Randy

[TheHandyman]

Hi everyone,

So I've been thinking since the start of this build about a spindle over a router. I recalled salvaging a bunch of equipment from
one of the jobs I've done in the past and one component was a AB-VFD. Well I finally decided to dig it out and research its specs.
Turns out that this VFD is 1.5kVA, now I am thinking of upgrading to a water cooled 1.5kVA spindle. Since I already have the VFD
it would cut my costs down on the upgrade.

Any thoughts? I am not very familiar with Variable Frequency Drives but wired up a few over the years with many years of commercial and industrial
construction as an electrician. The thing is, I actually never ran or started them up. Someone else has always done that, someone who was familiar with
their operation on the jobs I've wired them at.

Randy

[handlewanker]

Hi, a good move.....a hand held router would not last the course like what you now contemplate.

Think in terms of a few hours continuous running and a hand held would soon wear the bearings out.......the brushes and commutator would also pack it in after a short while and at the same time the software would be unable to interface with the router for speed control as you would need to have with the water cooled spindle, although with wood you'd probably be running at the max anyway.

Water cooling means you need to have a constant flow through the spindle and that could just be a flow to a bucket or from the tap, but a dedicated pump and cooler would be more sophisticated if more complicated to make or costly to buy in.

I'm heading down that path too and outlaid on EBAY for a small radiator, pancake fan and pond pump with the intention of making a closed circuit stand alone cooler unit that recirculates the water etc......that is, when I get to getting the spindle bit.
Ian.

[mactec54]

TheHandyman

Just check the spec of the VFD, it will need to be able to go to 400Hz, to run one of those spindles

[TheHandyman]

TheHandyman

Just check the spec of the VFD, it will need to be able to go to 400Hz, to run one of those spindles

Thanks mactec54,

I just screen grabbed from the PDF file for it and here are the specs on my particular drive. My model is the "AAA" in the photo below.

I'm hoping that I read this correct. kVA output is 1.5 @ 230 Volts. Does that mean I can run a 1.5W spindle?
Randy

[mactec54]

TheHandyman

That would be a little short being 3/4Hp @3.8amps, you need at least 5 to 6 amp output for the 1.5KW Spindle most use 3Hp VFD for these spindles

[TheHandyman]

TheHandyman

That would be a little short being 3/4Hp @3.8amps, you need at least 5 to 6 amp output for the 1.5KW Spindle most use 3Hp VFD for these spindles

Thanks again as I do not know much about these. I guess I'll have to wait and upgrade later on down the road to a matched set.

[TheHandyman]

Hi all,

Got a couple new parts in the mail and expecting more today. Hope to work on the cnc project tonight and tomorrow.
Watch for new updates and photos here soon.

I have to plane 200 board feet of maple this morning for a good friend before I am able to get back onto the project. But
by doing him this favor it will in turn provide me 1000 board feet or more of maple and other various hard woods for my
future projects. I have around 600 board feet of maple and white ash now that I got from his land in which he cut down,
loaded and brought to the saw mill for me and I paid the sawmill fees. Hard to say no to him when he asked for the favor
and a couple hundred board feet of the lumber from my pile.

[TheHandyman]

Hi everyone,

I am in need of some advise and or help here. As I have mentioned before when I hooked up my controls and manually
moved my X and Y axis on the cnc that my gantry seemed to chatter/stutter so to speak when moving along the Y axis. I chalked
this up to the possibility that only having one stepper motor centered under the table that it was creating an un-even pull on
the gantry. I have since ordered more parts to solve this issue.

Well today I took my gantry off and made some tweaks, added hardware etc to get ready for and install dual steppers. After
making sure the gantry was set and to start the install of dual steppers I noticed that I still have the chatter/stuttering type effect
when pushing very slowly on the gantry. I am baffled.

Is it possible that I need more spacing between my bearings that are riding on the rails? Could it be the weight isn't balanced
from the back of the gantry to the front where the router will sit? Any help would be appreciated before I continue on this build.
I really need to solve this before continuing.

I posted a video below in hopes that you can see what I am talking about.

Thanks,
Randy

[TheHandyman]

No thoughts?

I think I am going to try adding 3 inches between my bearings tomorrow night and see what happens.
I had set the one bearing to the back for the weight of the main crossing of the gantry and the front one is
set at center of my router bit. The distance is 9 inches outside to outside of the bearings. Maybe by adding
another 3 inches will help. I will have to decide where to shift the total weight of the gantry though. I may just
center the gantry between the 12 inch space and see what happens.

[daniellyall]

are you doing it with the stepper motor connected also are the bearings clean

[TheHandyman]

I've done it both with and without the stepper motor connected, same situation in either case.
Bearings are brand new...I even cleaned them from any dust and sprayed a touch of lubricant.

I actually removed the plate that holds the bearings to the gantry and checked the alignment,
made a few adjustments and they slide a bit smoother. Once the weight of the gantry is added
it seems to create the problem.

I'm thinking that maybe once I add the dual steppers to the axis it may help resolve the problem.
At least I hope it does. I may try that before making the bearing plate longer.

[bhurts]

Have you tried adjusting the bearing blocks. I believe the can be tightened up a bit.

Ben

[TheHandyman]

Have you tried adjusting the bearing blocks. I believe the can be tightened up a bit.

Ben

By adjustment I am to assume you mean the set screw on the side of them. Yes I did. I tightened them all the way
and even loosened them 3 turns each. Doesn't make any difference at all. Backed off they slide smother of course
but I still get the same amount of stutter when barely pushing on the gantry.

Randy

[handlewanker]

Hi, just my 2 cents worth as it's purely from watching the vid........pushing on one side and getting a run like you are getting is not too bad.....it may feel worser than we can see as we can't feel the effects from a video.

The aspect ratio of the Y axis bearing block spacing to the span of the X axis bridge is quite large.....this in itself would make a grabbing effect to the far bearing set when you push on one side only instead of the middle, probably due to the gantry crossbeam flexing a bit and going out of square.......even the teeniest bit would make the gantry shudder.

I would push on the centre of the crossbeam, but as the centre is above the Y axis rails you get the same effect as pushing on one side and this will cause a tilting effect, same as a one side push.

If you still get the shuddering effect by pushing on both Y axis bearing blocks.....down at the bearing blocks level.... simultaneously......you'll need long arms for that....LOL......then I would carefully measure the span of the Y axis rails to see if you have them dead parallel.

You'll need a long gauge to do this........a piece of steel tube with a nut welded in one end and a screw with a rounded head to act as a stick micrometer would do the trick simply.....it needs to be adjustable to sense when the rails are apart or together end for end......you can also use a feeler gauge on the tube end to test the spacing of the rails......how did you set them up originally?

Being virtually ball races, but in a linear mode, means they need to be aligned dead true to one another.

I find that those bearing blocks, having balls running point contact on the round rails, are not all that smooth running....feel gritty etc.... when you put a load on them compared to Hiwin type rails.

Your biggest problem is if the spindle shudders too when the gantry moves back and forth as this will transmit to the cutter and job.

When all else fails to remedy it, run the machine and see what effect you get.....maybe it's looking for perfection where it cannot happen, wood being wood etc.

In any case, fitting twin drive screws to the Y axis should make it run much smoother.....beware the missed step syndrome in one stepper.......see if you can't do a toothed belt drive synchro solution to couple both screws to one stepper or both steppers.
Ian.