Choice of T-Slot Table Plate..

[joserojo]

Hey fellas... cnc newbie here requesting your valuable help!.. :-)

I have been looking for a T-Slot Table plate for my very first router, for milling small aluminum parts... I am interested in the following Techno -Isel table plate:

http://www.techno-isel.com/lmc/Produ...tes20375T1.htm


the 1 meter long ( about 39 1/4 inches ) is $ 341 , not cheap, but not too expensive..

TECHNICAL DATA

Cross Section Area: 5545 mm²
Weight/Meter: 15.07 kg/m
Moment of Inertia Ix: 22.85 cm⁴
Moment of Inertia Iy: 6628.3 cm⁴
Max Twist: 0.5 mm/m
Flatness: 0.5 mm/m
Manufacturing Tolerance as per DIN 1748/4

anybody has experience building a CNC router with this table plate?... I really appreciate your help!..


Thanks much!!!!!!!

[JerryFlyGuy]

I priced it w/ them a couple years ago. It was pretty pricy.. Decided to just cast and machine my own..

[joserojo]

thanks JerryFlyguy!.... well... "Cast" and "machine my own" are very intimidating words to me! :-)

I am a newbie... so that idea is out of reach for now... :-(

my goal is to slowly buy the components as budget permits, due to my limited machining abilities I prefer this approach, I am a hobbyist, and I understand how frustrating it is sometimes when you try to save money by doing certain things yourself...right now I can afford to buy the table... and I am interested in your opinions about this table plate from Techno Isel... hey JerryFlyGuy.. let's suppose budget is not an issue.. would you recommend this table plate?

Thanks again!

[JerryFlyGuy]

Oh I suppose from a purely..'does it work the best' perspective yes... I think this is the best stuff I've seen. I'm certainly no expert and I've not used it but it does seem to be the most 'robust' of the various variety's I've seen. My main concern w/ all this extruded stuff is the strength of the slots when tightening stuff. I've always worried that I'd bend the slots. It's another reason I planned to go cast [I put alot more meat in the flange of the slot]

In my case it would have cost more than $10k to do my machine, which wasn't a financially viable option. Instead it's going to cost me ~$1k in propane and t-slot cutters etc to cast and machine my own. Obviously this isn't an option for everyone [if your not a backyard caster, paying a professional foundry to do this would be even more expensive] but it's certainly cheaper in my case.

[joserojo]

Thanks much JerryFlyGuy!.. you've got me curious, a flat table.. how do you secure the components?.. is it a threaded table top?... can you please give me a link that shows your design?

Thanks again!

[JerryFlyGuy]

Sorry I don't follow when you say 'flat table'? My table was first built w/ a wood deck. The deck was filled w/ ~600 holes and had threaded inserts [Blind or "T" nuts inserted from the back side of the wood. The wood deck came to almost 3" thick when it was done. All Mdf w/ the bottom layer plywood. It was all screwed down to the steel channel cross members [which tie the two side rails of the X axis together].. then it was all planed/machined flat.. I've since found that it was much easier just to screw down into the wood where ever I needed to.. I now wish I'd saved the couple hundred bucks I spent on blind nuts.. oh well.. live and learn..

[joserojo]

ohh ok... you made the bed using MDF and steel channel cross members... nice!.. do you have pictures?

I really appreciate your help!... thanks!

[foam27]

just make a bed out of bosch/rexroth extrusion.....

[JerryFlyGuy]

Joserojo, I don't have any photo's published at this point.. nor a website which shows the completed machine.. maybe at some point.. to much to do right now..

Foam, I think you'll find that the stuff from Techno-isel is alot more robust than that which is sold by Bosch

[joserojo]

Thanks Foam and Jerry... yes..my concern is flatness and robustness.. both parameters seem to be covered by Techno-Isel table plates... please correct me if I am wrong... I saw the technical specifications for bosch-rexroth extrusion and it is very flat and robust... but from their web page... enough 1''Height x 2'' Width x 39'' long (a total of seven of these in order to compare to the Techno-Isel table 20mm x 375mm and 1000mm long) goes for $553 !!! the Techno-Isel goes for $341 ..... where can I find cheaper bosch-rexroth stuff? thanks!

[JerryFlyGuy]

I think the Techno is best suited for our application. [machine bed/table]

[joserojo]

Jerry... I believe you are right...although not cheap, in my opinion this is a fair price to pay for a flat and robust table that even comes with the t-slots... my previous post with the price comparison was just for informational purposes for other fellow members, I still have more research to do, I haven't made my final decision... I am waiting for metalexpress to answer a question about one of their aluminum plates... I will keep you posted.. thanks!