Build Thread- Well, why not

[dayo30]

Mitja,

Here are a few more pictures:

One is of the pen, for making large drawings.

The next is of two Guppy 2 fuselage sides.

Another is an overall view of the whole setup - the open computer case contains the stepper board and the power supply.

Not wanting to spend a lot of money on a power supply, I cannibalized a couple of old computers, and used two of their power supplies in series, to get 24 volts. The computer, running Mach3, and the monitor are also someone else's junk.

Since the power supplies now provide several voltages, I brought them all to the front panel, to use as a universal source when not used for CNC

Regards,
Don

[dayo30]

Well, I don't know what happened to the pictures - they were there when I previewed the post. I'll try again.

Don

[BroncoOV10A]

Hello Mitja and all others on this thread

For 2 years I have been procrastinating about a cnc router to compliment the cnc hot wire cutter for foam.
Today I purchase the Al tube in 32mm sq X2.00mm which is standard size in Aussie

I will put a small Al cutting blade in my compound sliding saw to cut accurately.

In another forum on turning a pedestal drill into a milling machine the centre post is filled with concrete to give it more rigidity. With the fitment of the spacers in the tube for bolt support this lends itself to be able to fill the tubes with a cement plaster mix that would improve the rigidity to minimize twisting and sagging and add weight which may make it more stable on the feet ??? I'm not sure if it could help lessen the vibration, and still allow the bolts etc to be removed for maintenance or taken apart for storage etc.

Thanks for the inspiration and a great router that is within my abilities Mitja

Cheers Geoff

[Tisr]

Hi Mitja

I guess your machine must have been running for about a year now. Do you have any suggestions or improvements on the design that you would recommend to someone who is looking at building one now. I am particularly interested in how your Y and Z rails have performed. I remember you saying that a smaller version might be more accurate, do you think this is the case.

I only ask these questions because in the last few days I have been able to recycle a number of printers and photo copiers and now have pretty much all of the motors, limit switches and rails that I will need. From our junk room at work I have the power supply, cables, plugs, etc all covered. Pretty much all I will need to order will be the aluminium and bearings.

Like you I want to use this machine to cut balsa and ply for building rc gliders in particular a Mark Drela Allegro Lite.

Thanks sharing some great ideas with us. Look forward to hearing any advice you have.

Thanks

Dan

[Tisr]

Hi Mitja

I guess your machine must have been running for about a year now. Do you have any suggestions or improvements on the design that you would recommend to someone who is looking at building one now. I am particularly interested in how your Y and Z rails have performed. I remember you saying that a smaller version might be more accurate, do you think this is the case.

I only ask these questions because in the last few days I have been able to recycle a number of printers and photo copiers and now have pretty much all of the motors, limit switches and rails that I will need. From our junk room at work I have the power supply, cables, plugs, etc all covered. Pretty much all I will need to order will be the aluminium and bearings.

Like you I want to use this machine to cut balsa and ply for building rc gliders in particular a Mark Drela Allegro Lite.

Thanks sharing some great ideas with us. Look forward to hearing any advice you have.

Thanks

Dan

[Ultralajt]

Sorry, I really did not follow CNC Zone for a while now...
Yes, my router now run more than one year now.

What I would change if I build another one?

- use of INOX profiles 30x30 for X rail instead aluminum.
- use of trapez threaded rod and nuts to get rid of backslash
- use od 23 size steppr motors as larger threaded rods demand stronger motors.

Y and Z axes have unique rails made from rods taken from printers. Bearings left some rails in their surface, but they dont get any larger now. I just tighten bearings twice and it is just O.K. Of course, rails should run paralel, othervise one side of the travel will have freeplay and another will be too tight and needs more power to travel....

On my current machine I only make fine tunning twice in one year. I just release some nuts and using carpenter C clamps minimize freplay on rails, and then tighten bolts again and remove C clamps.

I also greased threaded rods twice as grease between rods and nuts minimize freeplay (backslash) a bit.. and of course make machine goes more smoothly.

Regarding 6 mm threaded rod for X axe, I must warn you, that you should avoid high revolutions on it as it can in some cases start to wobble and steppers will lost track of steps... and part that you cut will be ruined. This is problem if you choose fast moving of the router when travels from one to another place over the cutting material... trough the air. You should set the speed just bellow in the safe regime.


For any further questions, you can send em email or use message option at my website and I will reply instantly....

Mitja

[picolandio88]

Hi Ultralajt can you post the other planes of your cnc. tanks

[Ultralajt]

Hi!

Long time no see...

These days a new thoughts circling in my head!

As CO2 lasers and apropriate power supply became affordable
40W CO2 Laser tube + Power Supply Engraver Engraving | eBay

I came across idea, that I am able to make another machine from scratch, and buying CO2 laser, power supply, mirrors and lens with mirror brackets and lens head.

I intend to go cheap, so will use power supply and electronic board from my present CNC router, that work with Mach 3.
Electronic has outputs for all three axes stepper motors (X,Y,Z), and for switching spindle on/off.

Now some questions:

- how laser turn on and of its beam? Is it simply by switch power supply on/off, or there is some another way. I am thinking of poor man system..using a Z axis with a switch, that will turn beam on/off.

- how can one regulate laser beam power? I find on some instructions that a potentiometer is connected on the powewr unit and turning it one can set proper power. My electronic board does not have output that could be used for laser power setting. So a potentiometer with a scale would be pretty simple matter.

- what is apropriate CO2 laser power for cutting balsa wood of thicknes from 1 to 5mm, 3mm thick Poplar plywood , and aircraft grade birch plywood from 0,4 to 3mm? I am looking for a 40W laser.I dont want to buy much powerfull laser that will in reality mainly work with half of its nominal power...
How power settings affect on laser tube life? Will 50% of power lengthen its life twice?

- What is more important for nice, precise clean cut trough a wood? It is laser beam power, or laser beam traveling speed, or both depending of the wood sort and its thicknes.

- for max 5mm thick wood, what is better to use for a lens focus length, 55 or 100 mm.

Suggestions, hints, tips, experiences from DIY experts welcome!

Regards!

Mitja

[Ultralajt]

Any one please??

[louieatienza]

You'll need air assist to keep the parts from burning to a crisp. Also good ventilation at least, and preferably enclosure with exhaust.

I worked with laser in the past, but not with wood, so I don't know if laser would bring up pitch or such to the edge that may need to clean before glueing. I do know Taylor Guitars now uses lasers to cut their soundboards and some bracing parts...

[Ultralajt]

Thanks, but my questions were:

Originally Posted by Ultralajt - how laser turn on and of its beam? Is it simply by switch power supply on/off, or there is some another way. I am thinking of poor man system..using a Z axis with a switch, that will turn beam on/off. - how can one regulate laser beam power? I find on some instructions that a potentiometer is connected on the powewr unit and turning it one can set proper power. My electronic board does not have output that could be used for laser power setting. So a potentiometer with a scale would be pretty simple matter. - what is apropriate CO2 laser power for cutting balsa wood of thicknes from 1 to 5mm, 3mm thick Poplar plywood , and aircraft grade birch plywood from 0,4 to 3mm? I am looking for a 40W laser.I dont want to buy much powerfull laser that will in reality mainly work with half of its nominal power... How power settings affect on laser tube life? Will 50% of power lengthen its life twice? - What is more important for nice, precise clean cut trough a wood? It is laser beam power, or laser beam traveling speed, or both depending of the wood sort and its thicknes. - for max 5mm thick wood, what is better to use for a lens focus length, 55 or 100 mm.

[Deep Groove]

Originally Posted by Ultralajt Hi! Long time no see... ... Suggestions, hints, tips, experiences from DIY experts welcome! Regards! Mitja

Originally Posted by Ultralajt Any one please??

Originally Posted by Ultralajt Thanks, but my questions were: ...

Sorry, Mitja, but that didn't sound very welcoming. Louie has been a very prolific and helpful person on the Zone for years, and gave you some "hints, tips, and experiences" as you requested. Perhaps you did not intend to be so abrupt, but that is how it struck me.