Addons and Upgrades for CNC Routers

[justin22885]

i was wondering if anyones uses a CNC probe on their CNC router to backwards engineer 3 dimensional surfaces into a computer?

also, would it be at all possible, if the Z axis had enough travel, to set a fourth axis device over the home position of the CNC router, a fourth motor to spin (if your controller can handle it) and use the CNC router as a lathe, or four axis mill?

[Weldtutor]

Originally Posted by justin22885 would it be at all possible, to set a fourth axis device over the home position of the CNC router, a fourth motor to spin (if your controller can handle it) and use the CNC router as a lathe,

The CNC Zone has several 4th axis router builds for lathe work.

This LINK shows one members (Khalid) 4th axis work in several of his posts.

See #430, 438, 440 & also some earlier ones for more information & pictures.

[justin22885]

i wonder if theyd be sufficient enough to make your own ballscrews.. also, what about the probes? has anyone made a DiY digitization probe yet? ive seen some plans on the internet for it, it would be great if they worked as well as commercial ones? and i might be looking into some optical or laser based digitization probe i might be able to build myself

[ger21]

Here's a guy that sells probes.

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/ind...ic,5004.0.html

info on building one

http://www.indoor.flyer.co.uk/probe.htm

and some cool 2D probing programs.

http://www.razordance.co.uk/probe25D.htm


And don't plan on making your own ballscrews.

[CarveOne]

Originally Posted by justin22885 i wonder if theyd be sufficient enough to make your own ballscrews.. also, what about the probes? has anyone made a DiY digitization probe yet? ive seen some plans on the internet for it, it would be great if they worked as well as commercial ones? and i might be looking into some optical or laser based digitization probe i might be able to build myself

There are DIY touch probes on various CNC sites that I haven't found in Google searches. I didn't keep the links for them though. You will need software that can create a point cloud of dots for translation into a 3D surface model.

Ballscrews require machining equipment not commonly found in home workshops to make them with any serious kind of resolution.

Khalid's 4th axis is for wood turnings and carving. He does really nice work with it and it is a fairly simple device to make. Check out his photos of it.

CarveOne

[justin22885]

i think then ill make one with special mounting points in my table top to be able to set the 4th axis piece into.. and remove when not being used

[CarveOne]

Originally Posted by justin22885 i think then ill make one with special mounting points in my table top to be able to set the 4th axis piece into.. and remove when not being used

That will be the correct way to do it. You wouldn't normally want to tie up a dedicated place for it and lose the working space for other projects.

Build the whole assembly on a single plate that can be easily removed and installed with minimal realignment.

CarveOne

[justin22885]

yeah... route a recess in the table top somewhere that itll slide right into and fix with a bolt through the top of the plate

[CarveOne]

Originally Posted by justin22885 yeah... route a recess in the table top somewhere that itll slide right into and fix with a bolt through the top of the plate

I would just align the base plate on the table then drill a couple of 1/2" diameter locator holes in diagonally opposite corners for dowels that index the plate. Then add a nylon bolt to hold it down. If you make a pocket the size of the base plate you lose some table top support area when the base plate is not installed. The dowel holes are too small to be a problem.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

This is another link to a pencil sketch of a touch probe that may give you some ideas:

http://www.brusselsprout.org/CNC/1P-Probe/

CarveOne

[justin22885]

yeah.. i see your point.. better to position it properly.. and mount some sort of plate under the table thatll hold a nut, or be threaded that i could just place the fourth axis assembly over.. then run four bolts through the table.. the plate on the bottom side of the table could probably even assist me in securing wood for certain projects to the table

[CarveOne]

The base plate I'm thinking of is the one that the 4th axis for turnings is assembled onto. It just sits on top of your waste board when you do turnings and comes off when the 4th axis is removed.

T-nuts can be installed under your waste board for mounting the 4th axis base plate. Recess the flange of the T-Nut so it is flush with the bottom surface of the waste board. You can also use brass threaded inserts installed from the top of the waste board. Choose bolt or screw length so that it doesn't protrude through the waste board when tightened.

Dowel pins would be glued to the 4th axis base plate and protrude about 3/8" below the base plate into corresponding 1/2" deep holes in the waste board. They would just position the 4th axis base plate the same way each time it is installed onto the waste board.

CarveOne