New Machine Build- Richster's Solsylva dual leadscrew build

[Richster]

Okay here we go with a Solsylva CNC table build. Since there seems to be rather a lot of overlap between the two forums, and one tends to lead to the other, some of you may recognise my good self from this project!

Firstly I want to congratulate David on an excellent set of plans, which are well worth the money in my opinion. Shipping to the UK isn’t so bad either! I’m actually fairly well into the build now, but want to start the build log from scratch just in case I am missing any of the finer points. BTW the plans are in imperial, which means there’s a little head scratching and conversion to do, however it’s actually quite straightforward and in some ways make aspects of the build easier. For example, the bearings are actually metric in the first instance, so are a good match for M8 threaded rod. That said, aluminium section is still sold in imperial measures.

I’m not going to divulge much information about dimensions and specifics of the build – go buy the plans if you want to know! I have however shrunk both the width and length of the table slightly so that the finished beast will fit in my car (which is a pretty average UK saloon)

UK SUPPLIER LIST TO DATE

Timber: Mostly 18mm and 24mm birch ply recycled from the skip at work (thank you employer….) For thicker sections I have laminated two 18mm pieces to give 36mm. We have a couple of big saws which are a Godsend for this.

Aluminium angle and threaded rod: Metal Supermarkets (Park Royal branch)

Aluminium channel: 13mm*10mm*1mm, available at B&Q. This size worked best for me, unfortunately Metal Supermarkets don’t stock it.

Rails: 25mm and 19mm chrome steel tube from Travis Perkins. B&Q actually stock the same range, but of course charge more for it. This is the stuff used for towel rails, wardrobe hangers etc

Bearings: Bought off eBay months ago, the complete set was about £15 I think

Steppers and drive: Xylotex 269oz 3 axis kit, bought in the USA. Unfortunately they don’t currently ship to the UK.

Belts and pulleys: Not really found much, so probably have to bite the bullet and import from USA

First things first I converted everything into metric and knocked up a CAD model to check everything fits. In particular since the drivebelt is only available in certain lengths, I needed to be sure my reduced width will work OK.

A further change I have made from the original plans is to install the x-axis stepper at the rear of the machine rather than the front. Functionally I don’t think it will make a difference, and will keep it out of the way a little better.



In addition to the build, which doesn’t deviate much from the plans really, I have designed this base for the machine. Since the finished thing is farily large, I wanted a unit which could be stored upright, and also have wheels.



So the X-axis stepper will be behind the rear panel, which doubles as the base when stored vertically. Other features of the design included cutouts for carry handles, and also a section at the front of the machine where the router can be withdrawn without having to disassemble the Z-axis gantry. The two sets of four holes at the top of the rear panel are for castors, also salvaged from the work skip.

Looking at the base from the rear, the castors are attached to the four baseplates shown, and the motor will be installed in the middle, connected via a drivebelt to the x-axis leadscrews on each side of the machine. In addition, I have included two cutouts for cooling fans.



Looking underneath the table, I have built two enclosures into the base, both featuring an intake fan and exhaust holes. These will probably be covered in aluminium or similar, not shown currently. The purple blocks are the fans, and the red blocks are the electronics. The high voltage components (i.e. the 240v-24v PSU) will be on the RHS of this image, and the stepper controller on the LHS. This makes it nearest to the Y-stepper which is also on the LHS of this view. The angled wood sections will, I hope, help direct the airflow through the compartments.



At the front of the machine there is a further ‘enclosure’ which I may use for some form of control panel, featuring jog buttons and so on. That’s probably one for the future though!



So that’s the current plan, a few initial questions, particularly re the table design:

- In principle is it a good idea to mount the electronics in the same unit? I don’t know what levels of vibration I might get.

- From anyone’s experience, would the Xylotex PSU need to be cooled by a fan? I know the stepper motor driver does. The kit comes with just the one fan, but it’s intended that the two are in the same box I imagine.

- Does my COG look reasonable?! The lower wheels are under the main table, and the upper wheels are more or less in line with the Y-gantry.

- Moving onto the Z-axis, the two side panels are specified as tempered hardboard. I’m not sure where to get that – does anyone have experience with using plastics for this? There’s a whole wealth of products out there (Nylon, Polycarbonate etc) and even after reading all the blurb I don’t feel much wiser!

- I’ve got a few ideas for some electronics, but that can wait for now. In particular I want to eliminate connectors and so on from the stepper hookups, so these connections are as robust (soldered probably) as possible. Can’t be doing with frying the drive board!

I have no idea what this will weigh, but in know that in addition to the birch ply (which is quite weighty) all the little bits and pieces add up to, well quite a lot!

Any comments/ ideas gratefully received at this stage! I have actually built and painted some of the bits already, but that can wait for a future (and shorter) post

[mcyr]

Hi Richster,

I think you'll really enjoy this build. I know I did. I can answer two of your questions:

1) Yes, you should plan to use a fan on the PSU, especially if you plan on mounting it in a cabinet of some sort that will restrict air flow. I built a rack to power two CPU fans so that one blows over my PSU and the other over the HobbyCNC breakout board.

2) I used 1/4" ABS plastic for the carraige sides and all the motor mounts. In fact, I used a smaller cnc to make these parts as my real world "homework" to learn about cnc. Drilling pilot holes and cutting out the oval hole (on one of the sides for access to the Z-axis leadnut to make adjusts) with a cnc was a whole lot better than I could have done by hand. I even learned how to make a pocket on the textured side of the ABS so that the stepper motor would mate cleanly.

David's plans are well written and allow for lots of modifications, but still allow for adjusts for those us with less than perfect machining/construction as in my case. The end result is I can cut to about 0.003" accuracy.

Good Luck,
Mike

[Richster]

Thank you!

Yes I am enjoying the build - I've actually built most of the components already and am just waiting to put everything together. Will post some photos in a few days. I am fortunate to own a drill press which is pretty much essential for the build IMO, plus have access the a panel saw at work which is awesome. So hopefully I can get things pretty accurate. I got the y-axis bearings tried out this weekend and the movement is lovely and smooth.

Re the motor mounts, I was thinking about making some tempoarary wood ones, then using the machine to make some parts for itself, much like you have done.

Anyone any views on the vibration issue, i.e. is it smart to mount the electronics to the machine in some way? I want to minimise the number of connections i.e. none between the steppers and driver board, to reduce risk of damage to the drivers.

Cheers - Rich

[mcyr]

Rich,

What vibration are you concerned about? From the router or from the steppers? Both?

I used the recommended Porter Cable router and don't really find all the much vibration due to it. There is enough mass in the table to dampen it out. The two all-thread lead screws for the x-axis do a fair amount of vibration when doing a rapids move (depending on where it is on the x-axis) but I believe this is because I have to re-adjust the bearings which I neglected to do after tramming. I plan on doing this after I get my current project completed. Most likely I'll be able to increase the rapids speed and reduce vibration simultaneously after doing so.

I'm not sure I understand your concern over this issue. I wouldn't attached any electronics to the cnc at all. My BOB and PSU are housed in an old PC cabinet, remote from the CNC. I soldered the wires from the steppers to the cables running back to the BOB. I also used e-chain to keep everything clean and orderly. I don't think there is any chance to accidently disconnect a stepper while running to fry a driver chip.

I may not be understanding what you are concerned about. If so, my apologies.

Mike

[Richster]

Yes I don't know what to expect really, but it sounds like as you say since the machine is fairly beafy then the issue probably isn't so bad so I've not got much to worry about. If I go ahead with my base then my unit will be really solid! I guess I like the idea of having everything in a self-contained unit, but that's not absolutely essential. I think I'll go with that for now and see how things work out. I'll be buying a second fan in the next day or two so I can cool both my compartments (to be) effectively.

Out of interest, have you implemented any kind of relay control for the router power connection? I have seen some driver circuits and like the idea of having this functionality.

Cheers - Rich

[mcyr]

Hi Rich,

No, I haven't tried that yet. I'm using Mach3. And I'm not sure how I be able to do it without a VFD. So instead I using a manual variable speed control that I picked up from Harbor Freight. I find that I run pretty much at the same speed for what I'm cutting.

I highly recommend the auto-zero feature that Mach3 supports. It sure speeds things up. It's pretty simple and I'll have to search for the links on CNCZone if you're interested.

Best regards,
Mike

[Richster]

Any of you UK-based builders managed to source long leadnuts? Based on DIN standard, the normal length for a M8 coupler seems to be 24mm. I'd like something a little longer - any ideas? I don't have a lathe so making one is not an option.

[Richster]

A few initial photos to prove that something is actually happening! Actually there's a good chunk more than this complete, but the paint is drying currently!

First up here's the completed y-gantry. This is made of 2 sheets of laminated 18mm birch ply, so is pretty solid!


The bearing trucks are complete and work beautifully:


Test fitting the y-bearings...


and the z-bearings...


Good news is I now have most of my parts, just waiting on a couple of pulleys to be shipped over from the USA (can't find a European supplier)

The Xylotex 269oz stepper motors


Next up I am working on the Z-axis. I haven't chosen a router yet - I am wondering what the best options available in the UK are? There's a few which I have been looking at for this, bearing in mind I probably want to use a trim router, but I am conscious that I don't want something too underpowered.

Bosch GKF600

Makita 3708F (quiet but possibly underpowered...)

Trend T4

Any thoughts on any of these? Thanks

[thkoutsidthebox]

I'd normally say Bosch without even looking at them...but I did look! Go with the Trend because of the variable speed.

[georgeburns]

Have you thought about Hitachi? I'm in love with the brand for small power tools. I've been using the plunge base version of this router for 2 years. Whisper quite as far as routers are concerned.

http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-M12VC-...7699061&sr=8-2

[Richster]

That Hitachi looks good - the only problem is I haven't found a UK version on the Internet, i.e. I want a 240V 50Hz version rather than having to rely on a converter.

Thanks anyway - let me know if you spot one It also looks like the motor may be hard to mount to the spindle plate, but I guess I'd need to see one in the flesh to be sure.

Cheers - Rich

[Richster]

This week I have mostly been working on the Z-axis, around the day job. Here it is almost complete, though I haven't built the spindle plate yet. In the end I decided on 10mm MDF for the sides - it seems fairly rigid for now. Also I figured I could bond this better with PVA wood glue, whereas I might struggle to glue a HDPE sheet, which was my original idea.



Fitting the hardware to the front and back. I'll be cutting down the M5 bolts which hold the four bearing assemblies to this component - other than that all tensioning rods are cut to length.


Finally I test-fitted the assembly to the completed y-axis gantry. It works beautifully for now