New Machine Build- 6'7" x 4'7" gantry router - Aussie

[radiola]

Hi folks!
I thought I'd share the build of my router with you all. After 2 half finished attempts at making a router, a friend of mine neilw20 tipped me off to an old cnc turret punch that a friend of his was looking to get rid of. I decided to take the XY table and a few odd and ends to boot for the princely sum of 300 bucks.

[radiola]

It came with huge servo motors and very heavy duty rails. The x rails are 40mm and y rails are 25mm. As you can see the gantry runs lengthwise. It weighs about 150kgs and I had to use my engine crane to lift it on and off of the table. The unit as a whole is very rigid and I'm hoping my "BIG STEPPERS" will handle the job of moving it.

[danysan2525]

it looks good and it`s a nice price. i`m sure this time you`ll make a nice machine.

[radiola]

I decided to do away with the big servos as there were only 2 of them, and they are of unknown specifications. They sit on the shelf awaiting another application. I was very fortunate to win 3 massive stepper motors from POWERPAC. model k34HREL-LNK-NS-00. The motors are POWERPAC K34HREL-LNK-NS-00. They are 6 wire and 4.4amps in BIPOLAR series circuit to a
maximum of 65v with a holding torque of 2,790 oz/inch.

[radiola]

The original control box that came with the turret punch was salvaged and I scored a nice big power transformer and a few other handy components. After a bit of a think, I decided to cut it down a bit. Well, I think it came up okay!. The 'new' version holds the pc, (wireless networked), the power supply, and soon, the drivers for the steppers. I had a surplus bit of granite bench top in the shed to use for that modern look . It's now on casters and will eventually get a lick of paint too. The front panel was cut in half, as was the cabinet itself. I thought it might be good to have the jogging and other functions available via a control panel. Inside is spacious. There is ample room for everything (so far). I've added illumination when ever the door is opened. As it stand presently, there is a fair bit of work to do, no stepper drivers are installed yet. I plan to get that sorted soon but I made another unit out of a computer rack mounted case that holds 3 Gecko Vampires in it for now.

[radiola]

From the start i realised that I would want more height on the Z axis. The machine sat for 7 months while i rolled the ideas around and considered the possibilities. Jacking the gantry up was the most likely result, but i would have a machine that is around 6 foot tall and with a gantry of 150kg moving rapidly, the center of balance was going to be right off, it almost tipped over while playing around one night because when in it's "home" position, the gantry is actually overhanging off the table so to speak. The "overhanging" length of x axis was docked, and is now even. I decided to turn the table over which in my wisdom solved the z axis gantry height, and the supports for a full length bed. However, i am now faced with the daunting task of squaring the whole thing up. The horizontal bandsaw was dragged out and the 6mm thick square tube used in the frames sturdy construction was chopped down making the unit a foot lower to the ground.


And that's where i'm at now. I have to ask you good people for some help with any ideas on how to best solve the problem of squaring it all up. I note some people use set screws, others suggest getting the frame squared on a 'blanchard grinder', others use shims and many hours of tickling. I DO still have the reference of the original supports, but they are now under the machine. It's not the first brick wall i've managed to scale, but it's definitely challenging my limited ability. I would love to have the thing ground square, but the logistics and economics don't make it possible. Flipping it over and using the original side means that the machine will be higher, and the supports for the bed will have to be made anyway.

Thanks for reading my first post, I'm still very green on how to post messages and set up a thread, didn't realise till now i could have done it all in one hit