new router project......got lucky

[vpl]

I've been in the process of "building" a cnc router. Until I ran across this unit. I got from a guy locally. I believe it to a decommissioned wood type router. It was modified to be a really big printer. Then scrapped. Its seems to be about 80%+ complete. There is no stepper or linear drive on z. There's no computer, software, or vacuum source, but most of the electronics are there. Being I have never seen a complete build all the way through there will will me more stuff for sure. But the bulk of the work is done and likely better and or quicker than I could have made it. Does anyone know what brand this might have been?? It has a usable table size of 4X8++. z is 3.5". Anyone have any ideas on what router would be applicable to this size table? It has a single Mdrive 34 on x and y. There are to racks running the length of the table on each side. One stepper is on an axle with gear/belt reduction at each end to run pinion drive gears on both sides. Not exactly the way I would have built it but for the price.......
I guess I'm fully committed now. Hit me up if you think you may have any parts I may need or maybe you just have some friendly advice. I'm, pretty much flying by the seat of my pants. Thanks for looking!
Vince

[DIYaholic]

vpl,

That's a lot of metal there. You may be in over your head, trying to get that behemoth hunk of metal up and running. I would be willing to take it off your hands and relieve you of the arduous task. LOL.

Nice score. It will be fun to bring such a machine back to life.

Good luck with the "rebuild" and remember to post tons and tons of pic's & vid's.

Randy,

[CarveOne]

That's a real nice score. I'm jealous of just the frame part of it. The new (or replacement) NEMA 34 step motors will require some extra cash and any necessary replacement drivers to run them will be more expensive but the results will be well worth it. If you got it for free (or not much money) then you will have indeed gotten lucky no matter how much you have to spend on it.

CarveOne

[cyclestart]

Mdrive ? A Google search turns up stepper motors with integrated controller, encoder and power supply. Interesting. Have you ruled out reusing these units ?

If you got this thing for anywhere even close to scrap price it's the cnczone find of the year so far.

[vpl]

Originally Posted by CarveOne The new (or replacement) NEMA 34 step motors will require some extra cash and any necessary replacement drivers to run them will be more expensive but the results will be well worth it. CarveOne

Would you take a minute and clarify? Thanks!
Vince

[vpl]

Originally Posted by cyclestart Mdrive ? A Google search turns up stepper motors with integrated controller, encoder and power supply. Interesting. Have you ruled out reusing these units ? I want to use what I have. I only need to bu one stepper hopefully. If you got this thing for anywhere even close to scrap price it's the cnczone find of the year so far.

The guy I bought it from bought 2 at scrap price. He sold one to me to recoup or make some $$. He kept the nicer or bigger one. You couldn't buy the x axis linear motion rails for what I paid for it. No I didn't get the cnczone deal of the year. But I did score. Just from a time standpoint, I feel I'm way ahead. There are several different components that would cost way more than what I paid for it.......

[vpl]

Originally Posted by DIYaholic vpl, That's a lot of metal there. You may be in over your head, trying to get that behemoth hunk of metal up and running. Good luck with the "rebuild" and remember to post tons and tons of pic's & vid's. Randy,

Randy,
Yep I agree-in over my head(no lol about it). That's why I'm here!!! I don't even know where to start. What fun!!!
I'll post as money and time allow this project to move forward. Thanks for your post.
Vince
(ps If I just can't manage this project there's plenty of scrapper right here in the pacific nw who would come take it free of charge!!-lol)

[cornbinder23]

What part of the PacNW are you in? I would love to come "scrap" it out for you lol.
Looks like an excellent start for a great machine, I am in the process of modeling my next build, 4x8 table, right after I finish my lathe conversion. Its funny, after I finished my mill cnc conversion and flood "VMC" enclosure I was sure I was going to be making parts left and right for my other hobbies ie: motorcycles, guns, nitro rc etc.. but I have been having so much fun with the machines I cant stop working on my "next build" long enough to even think about those other hobbies. Too many toys too little time


JTCUSTOMS

[CarveOne]

Originally Posted by vpl Would you take a minute and clarify? Thanks! Vince

The Mdrive 34 label indicates to me that it is probably a NEMA 34 size step motor. Even without the integrated drive circuitry that the one in your photo seems to have they will be almost twice the cost of a NEMA 23 size motor that many of us hobbyist builders use. They also draw more current, so a higher wattage (more expensive) power supply is needed.

If you only need to buy one motor for the Z axis to get it working again it won't be so bad. Mach3 will run on older computers with a built in parallel port or from a plug-in parallel port card, so you can maybe find a free or low cost used computer for this machine.

CarveOne

[harryn]

Hi, there is no one here that wouldn't buy it for 2x what you paid for it, and be happy.

The M Drive is a commercial version of how ims does their drivers and motors on the high end stuff. If you think about it, what could be more ideal for a system designer than being able to mount the power supply, motor, and driver all in one unit ? Not much. It eliminates a ton of cables, racks, assembly, and part numbers. For a commercial user, m drives are just about ideal. The only downside is cost, but for you, that is a non issue on this unit.

The dual side rack and pinion witht the shaft will greatly reduce the potential for racking, so that is all good - as in the correct way to do it.

As far as the router itself, you have a lot of options, but for getting started, I would recommend a router that has 3 useful features:
- Variable speed - very useful for different wood cutting conditions
- Ramped speed control (so it starts up in a ramp, not just on / off - much safer, especially for hand held use)
- Closed loop speed control - keeps the rotation speed constant under a wide range of loads, vs the speed changing under load.

I have a Bosch router with these features - love it. There probably are other brands with these features, I just haven't had to look further than this one.

[harryn]

Can you show us some more pics of the back of the Y axis. It almost looks like that one might be a belt drive setup, but I can't tell for sure.

[lovebugjunkie]

You may not have gotten the “steal” of the year here on the zone but I bet you come close.

I gave a local welding shop a RFQ on a table using 2x2 steel half the size of yours, they came back with “I'll give you a good deal at $2800). Now I have no idea if this was a good deal or not but I told the guy for that price I'll buy a welder and give it a go myself.

So yes, you most likely got a great deal.

Good luck on your build, will be following it.