Solsylva First Cut!

[bpwagner]

I am so excited... I finally got the guts up to do a first cut on my Solsylva CNC machine (and first post). It only took me a year and a half to get to this point! My machine is the dual lead screw Solsylva table, with Probotix electronics and steppers, a deWalt trim router and an old Sony laptop running Ubuntu and EMC2.
Here are some pictures...





I noticed when I cut it one side of the table was ever so slightly higher than the other side of the table making the engraving deeper on one side. Any suggestions as to what I can do about this?

Another thought - my machine runs very well despite my lack of woodworking skills. I built my machine with hand tools, a chop saw, a hack saw and a drill press. It does not have ball screws or acme rods and it still works. For those lurkers out there, don't let the lack of skills or lack of professional tools get you down, just keep building until it is done. I learned loads along the way and my skills increased ten-fold!

I look forward to posting some of my cnc 'art' soon.

Brian

[Hyrum R]

Hey, congratulations! I also built this same table about 2 years ago. I'm now building the bigger belt-drive version.

You need to plop down a spoil board and then surface it. That will make up for any inconsistencies so your cutting will all be at the same level.

[Eurisko]

Congrats, Brian !

It looks great, and I'm jealous... can't wait 'til mine starts making chips. Or sawdust.

[mcyr]

In addition to what Hyrum said (surfacing a spoil board) you should also spend a little time squaring up the x and y axis from actual cuts made at 90 degrees to each other. It might require a few turns of one of your x-axis screws to get the cuts 90 degrees. I built the same machine you did about two years ago and absolutely enjoy using this machine. David Steele has produced a fine set of plans for cnc's. Oh, I used mdf for my spoilboard and a 1" bit to surface. Get ready for a lot of dust. Don't ask how I know this. All I can say is that a year later I think the dust is still settling. Also, with a large enough stepover (say 60%), you can see if the bit is cutting flat (ideal) or sawtooth-like (bad if you plan to do 3D stuff)using a flashlight to see the shadows if they are present. What you are looking for is one side of the bit, right or left and front or back, are cutting a little deeper. This will require adjusting your bracket holding the DeWalt router. I believe this is called tramming.

Good luck with your projects!

Best regards,
Mike

[CarveOne]

Congratulations Brian! Looks really good.

CarveOne

[bpwagner]

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. I will try the surfacing of the machine trick this weekend.

[flyboy1015]

Congrats on finishing your machine and making some cuts. I have to agree with MCYR, you need to do some squaring on your gantry. I clamped a scrap piece of plywood and then made a couple of short cuts on the x axis and then a couple of cuts on the y axis. I did this in a pattern and distance that would match up with my L square. I put the square on the plywood to see if the X and Y axis slots were squared up with each other. If not, I'd adjust one of the screws and then cut again until it was square. Mine is within 1/32 inch in 2 ft.

[pipertom]

Great Job!, You will enjoy the using machine!

Cheers!
Tom