Newbie- Build completed

[GoFaster]

Hey All -

It took me a month but I just finished building my Joes CNC Model 2006. As a newb to CNC, I learned a lot along the way. In addition, I had an excuse to buy a bunch of new tools.

Some pics...

Parts from Joe


Glue up begins


Major assembly completed


Added a base


It moves!


Igus


Electronics board. Needs to be transplanted.


T-track and spoil board. E-Stop switches need face plate. Gantry sides need to be braced.


Time to start tweaking. I've already made some test cuts. Have to come up with a dust shroud very soon.

[WeCheat]

Sweat Like dude tell us a little more on your project. Good, Bad, PITA, what sent you for a loop AND what did you build it for? Sorry I am in 60's flash back right now

[tauntdesigns]

Poor lil' Gecko being chased by the..............

Nicely Done, let us know how it works for ya.

[joecnc2006]

The machine came out great, and nice base stand, the wheels with adjustment fixtures are nice.

Hope it runs well for you and you get allot of enjoyment from it..

Joe

[Mr.Chips]

You did a fine job on the CNC and stand, you can always spot woodworkers by their skillfully built work.

Good luck and will be watching for projects soon. Keep the good photos coming.

[Mike Stevenson]

Machine looks great. Can't wait to see some samples.

[GoFaster]

Thanks for the compliment but I am not a woodworker by any stretch of the term I'd like to thank the members of this forum for their invaluable contributions. The info here reduced the number of build-gotchas.

The assembly of Joe's kit was easy. It's essentially self jigging. My spindle came out about 2 degrees off vertical in the Y-plane because some of the holes I drilled in the backplate were off. Much hacking of the holes with an endmill got it pretty close. I will still need to true it up because I got small ridges when I surfaced the spoilboard.

I'm using the Hobby CNC ( 300oz in parallel bipolar?) motors from the kit I never built on all 3 axes. I'd like to increase the accel some more but I think the X-axis stepper is at it's limits. My motor tuning parameters are 200 ipm/15 accel on XY and 160/20 on the Z. As it is, while running a test file that took 2.5 hrs, the stepper surface temps were at 184-192F. I will need to drop the current from 3A to 2.5A before they demag or the coil insulation melts.

This is fun!

[Mr.Chips]

Originally Posted by GoFaster I will still need to true it up because I got small ridges when I surfaced the spoilboard. This is fun!

One thing that might be contributing to the ridges is that Joe updated the side pieces by adding some angle iron to increase the rigidity. This would be a simple thing to add before you tried to tweak anything else.

[DistortedDesign]

Don't forget to add the angle iron to the outside of your gantry for added support.

Looks fantastic!! I can't wait to start mine! Just waitin on my tax check and the weather.... 0 deg F is a bit chilly

[bboettjer]

GoFaster - Looks great!

I am interrested in the pattern you drew on the paper with the pen chucked up in the router. I understand that this pattern should show you whether you are in alignment, or not - how did you generate this pattern (downloaded, scratch-built, shared G-Code?), and how close were the intersections (I could not see clearly from the pictures)...

Also, I noticed the really nice limit switches you put on the table leg cross-piece - What switches are those? Have you found that they repeatably zero out in the same place?

I've seen folks on this build go though the desire for a dust collector, get frustrated because they can't 'see' what the cutter is doing and eventually just take it off... Personally, I'm for an enclosure for the whole machine, with plexi windows (dulls the sound, too)... I'm interrested in how you solve this problem.

Great Job!

Regards,

Bruce

[GoFaster]

Hi Bruce -

The arcs and lines were used to check X and Y for square. It came from this post
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showpo...&postcount=189

I was happy that the intersections were pretty much spot on, given the slight pen wobble in the holder. I knew that old Xmas wrapping paper would come in handy.


The limit switches were originally intended for my mini-mill conversion. But they are too large to fit. I used them on the router's X and Y axes, and micro-switches on the Z. I got them from Allied Electronics, opted for the SZL-VL-B adjustable version - made tweaking really easy.
https://www.alliedelec.com/Search/Se...SKU=642%2D2297

Yesterday, I hacked together a version of Buzz9075's "Yet Another Dust Collector". Between it and his air diffuser for the router exhaust, it made a big difference in the amount of debris that blasted everywhere and into the air. I'll live with it for a while to see how it works out in practice. If I am still happy with it, I will make another one out of acrylic so I can watch the cutting action



Note the plastic sheeting in the background? That's my machine enclosure that I put up immediately after the first MDF test cut!

[TCGliderguy]

I assume that cable track stuff is from Igus. Approximately what does it cost?
I've got their catalog here somewhere, but there aren't any prices in it....

Thanks!

-Taylor