Need Help!- First build Belize

[belizewood]

Greetings from Belize,
I am a high school woodwork teacher at Ecumenical High School in Dangriga, Belize. I am building from scratch a CNC wood router. As you can imagine the school does not have funds for this kind of project, it can hardly pay for wood and regular tools.
The body and gantries are made from ¾” plywood.
The linier slides are off-cuts of aluminum angle from window makers, and bearings from router bits.
There is no CNC in Belize and no one that can assist, therefore I am seeking assistance outside of the country.
My biggest problem is the electronic parts driver / breakout boards, we have no electronics shop to purchase/donation of parts from.
At present I am scavenging stepper motors from old large printers, but I am only getting very small 48 step motors. I am looking for NEMA 17 to 23, 80 to 305 oz-in.
Therefore I am asking for any surplus parts you may have that can assist this project. Let me be very upfront, we have no money for parts, and no money for shipping.
Thanks in advance for your kind consideration.
Derek Jones
Head Tech. Dept.
Ecumenical High School
Dangriga
Stann Creek Dist.
Belize C.A.
P.O. Box 84
501-522-2114
http://www.scecumenicalhighschool.edu.bz/

[ahren]

Derek,
Thanks for contacting me -- looks like a good start mechanically. What are you using for screws on this system? I'll see what I can do to help you out with motors, drives and couplings. Can you get some 12V power supplies from old computers to string together?

Ahren
www.cncrouterparts.com

[belizewood]

Ahren,
The threads are ¼”x20 all thread, after looking at many web sites suggesting threads this was the only type we have here. The drive nuts are 1” long.
The bearings on the slides are from router bits some old and some not so old.
The bearings for the all tread are from roller blades.
Bearings here range from US$5 to US$15 each depending on size, my machine has 30 bearings US$150 to US$450 orBZ$300 to BZ$900 to put this in perspective the average monthly salary in Belize is BZ$800 or US$400

[ahren]

Derek,
That's fine. 1/4" to 1/4" couplers should be easy to find -- I was just concerned you would need a conversion to metric of some sort.
How long is your longest axis? Your machine may need to run quite slowly to avoid screw whip, given the small diameter and the 20 threads per inch. You don't have any 1/2"-13 (another common standard) available by any chance, do you?

Ahren
www.cncrouterparts.com

[belizewood]

Ahren,
No we are imperial, mostly because of our proximity to the US and American products.
The longest axis is 24”, my plan is to work out all the bugs on MK1 then to use it to make parts for MK2 that will be a little bigger, then cannibalize MK1 parts for MK2 and yes bigger and better screws. I will look to see if anybody sells ½”-13.
Derek