Chronicle of a Geek! (Part 2 A new dawn)

[voltsandbolts]

Ok I’m kicking off plans to build my second router. My first was a jgro, witch is still in operation but I long for something that’s just a little more, you know a little bigger a little faster… (I have been told it’s a sickness) Will it ever end?

I’m not ready to give up the space it would take for a 4’x 4’ machine so I plan to build one that will handle 2’x 4’ maybe a bit more. I know there are some good designs out there like the Joe 2006 and the Lion Claw LC50 and I will be pulling together ideas from all over the Zone as well as the Net in general with a few of my own ideas mixed in (whether original or not) I am open to suggestions, not trying to reinvent the wheel here just build a sturdy machine.

The Pic below is the project I am currently working on.

RobWms

[denz]

This will be a thread not to miss.
Looking forward to the upcoming posts

[voltsandbolts]

Thanks denz, Me too!

I will try to keep you updated, but sometimes the rest of my life gets in the way of my fun. I will try to post a few more views of what I have come up with so far.

RobWms

[voltsandbolts]

Ok, a look at how I may do the steppers on the main axis. I am also thinking of a single motor in the middle with a belt drive out to the lead screws.


[IMG][/IMG]

[martkrui]

Is the base plate going to stay a single plate or are you going to add a torsion box ?
I love those V groove bearings but they are just so BLEEP expensive :P

[voltsandbolts]

This is just a concept at this point. Yes a T-Box or some other support (metal frame) will be needed to prevent sagging of the MDF. The best price I’ve seen on the V-bearings is about $10 each. I am working on a cheaper solution though…

Rob Wms.

[martkrui]

Now I'm curious

I've just ordered 40 bearings to create the linear guides like from buildyourcnc.com

[voltsandbolts]

40 of them $$$ Ouch! That site is very inspirational!

I am trying to keep my design easy to build with all of the more complex shapes sized to fit on my JGRO. I love the V-bearings but need a source in the $4 or less per unit to be practical. I bought 100 skate bearings when I built the JGRO so I’ll probably find a way to use them.

[martkrui]

40 V bearings ? I WISH

they are just to expensive. I meant 40 * 608ZZ simple bearings.
This is the style I am going to build :

I've seen one alternative to V bearings by just bolting together 2 normal bearings. But the axial loads would be high and the created slot very shallow.

Therefore I've opted for the methode in the picture. More work while building but cheaper in materials. Also the possible issues finding a replacement bearing when a V bearing fails made me go for the simple bearings.

[voltsandbolts]

Hey they work and there fiscally responsible too!

[voltsandbolts]

Hey they work and there fiscally responsible too!

[voltsandbolts]

I see a lot of guys are using Vcarve Pro, it looks like an awesome package and I would love to have it… maybe some day. I have been using ACE converter (It makes notoriously inefficient code) and some hand coding but finally sprang for something that will let me design and cut without having to deal with the coding too much. I picked up a copy of Cut2D It looks like it will fill my needs for now, and besides the Boss (Wife) said that’s all I could afford.

RobWms