New Machine Build Z²


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  1. #1
    Member ger21's Avatar
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    After 4 years of design changes, and a few prototype parts, construction is under way on Z², a mostly wooden machine with ultra high performance goals.
    For anyone who hasn't seen the design thread, it's here.

    Cutting are will be ~50"x72"x6". Both spindles will have full access to the cutting area.

    All NEW Hiwin linear bearings.
    15" 15mm rails with flanged blocks on the Z axis.
    67" 20mm rails with flanged blocks on the Y axis.

    These have already been purchased.
    X axis will be ±90" rails, either 20mm or 25mm.

    Z axis' will be driven by G251's powering 380oz steppers and 1/2-8 4 start screws from Roton, with modified Roton plastic nuts.
    This may be upgraded to G201x's and the new 400 oz motors from Gecko.

    X and Y axis will be driven with my stepper powered version of Mike Everman's Servobelt
    I built a prototype, but the final versions will be modified slightly for more strength.
    Gecko G201x's powering 570oz motors, geared 4:1. X axis is dual driven with slaved motors.

    Per my usual pace, this will likely take another 2 years to finish.

    Here are a few AutoCAD renderings to get started.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Z²-render-1-jpg   Z²-render-2-jpg   Z²-render-3-jpg  
    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


  2. #2
    Member ger21's Avatar
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    Default Y axis first.

    I've already built prototype spindle carriages, and am happy with their design, so I'll build those after I have something to mount them to.
    The next most important part is the Y axis carriage, which carries the Y and Z motors, as well as the two Z axis'.

    Mounting metal parts to wood rigidly is not an easy task, as the wood will compress as bolts are tightened. Their may be no way to eliminate it, but we need to minimize it as much as possible.

    My original plan was to epoxy some steel bar stock to the baltic birch, for mounting the linear rails to. I was quite concerned about several things. Mainly, hot to align the rails, and how to get them all in the same plane.
    About 2 months ago I had an alternate idea, which hopefully works as expected.

    The rails (and some other metal parts) will be mounted to hard phenolic epoxied and inserted into the plywood.
    I've found that using machine screws in holes tapped in plywood have tremendous holding power. So I figured I could go one step further, and avoid using inserts to mount the rails, by tapping into thickened epoxy, which is very tough.

    So, the first step for my rail mounting plate was to route some oversize holes for the rail mounting screws, and fill them with the thickened epoxy. When cured, the excess was surfaced away, along with .002" of the plywood.

    I performed 7 or 8 operations (and tool changes) over the course of about 2 weeks on this part, keeping it bolted to my table the entire time. (Home switches sure are nice, thanks Roman)

    Next step was to epoxy the phenolic rail mounting surfaces to the plywood.

    Once cured, the phenolic was surfaced, and shoulders for rail alignment were added for the outer "master" rails.

    After surfacing, mounting holes were drilled with a 1/8" bit, for tapping with a 4mm tap. I'll have about 7/8" of tapped hole into epoxy and phenolic, and I'll probably loctite them down.

    Next step was to route two clearance channels for the AB nuts, using a 1/8" ballnose. Since I was removing a lot of material, and needed this to stay as flat as possible, I painted the channels while the part was still bolted down, with a few coats of silver hammered paint. then my impatience did me in. not waiting 48 hours between coats caused some crackle in the paint, so I eventually scraped it all out down to bare wood, and started over. The scaping gouged the perfect finish that came off the router, but I'll live with it.

    (Most of the machine will be painted with silver hammered paint, mainly due to the forgiving nature of it. I really wanted to put a nice smooth finish on everything, but decided against it due to the time it would take. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist where finishing is concerned, so going hammered will save hours of filling and sanding. Remember, it is wood)

    Once the paint was dry, I used a 90° bit to chamfer the edges of the phenolic. Last step was to route the profile, including a rabit at the top for alignment. All 4 sides of the Y axis "box" have rabits to key into the top plate, assuring squareness.

    Now that the part is cut, it needs a few more operations to create the joint that locks the side panels into it.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Z²-z-back-plate-003-jpg   Z²-z-back-plate-004-jpg   Z²-z-back-plate-007-jpg   Z²-z-back-plate-013-jpg  

    Z²-y-back-011-jpg  
    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


  3. #3
    Member ger21's Avatar
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    Default Y Side & BackPanels

    The sides were much simpler, just profile, drill, and add a decorative bevel that gets wider as it goes along the curve.

    These need two dadoes cut on the (manual) router table, for locating the front and back panels.
    All parts will be joined with epoxy, and 1-3/4" long 10-32 machine screws which are epoxied in place. The screws heads will be filled and painted over.

    The back plate is where the Y axis drive mounts, so more phenolic mounting surfaces.

    First, I routed out a pocket and epoxied in the phenolic. Then re-pocketed the phenolic, drilled the belt drive mounting holes, and cut out the part. I need to drill and tap two steel plates for the mounting bolts, and epoxy them to the back of the panel.

    Once cut, I grabbed my prototype belt drive, and tested the fit. It fits perfect, with one big exception. I won't be able to get it in when the whole thing is assembled. An easy fix will be to enlarge the cutout by about 1". I'll CNC a template and hand route it with a flush trimming router bit.

    If I don't have to work Saturday, I'll try to get these ready to assemble.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Z²-y-back-008-jpg   Z²-y-back-007-jpg   Z²-y-back-001-jpg   Z²-y-back-006-jpg  

    Z²-y-back-012-jpg   Z²-y-back-013-jpg  
    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


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    Wow Ger, you sure know how to make unfinished plywood look like a million bucks!.
    Very creative assemblies and high quality craftsmanship, looking forward to seeing following this thread. (for a long time).
    Keep up the good work Ger!!

    JTCUSTOMS

    "It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are."
    Clive James


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    Gerry,
    Slow down, we don't want to rush things ;-)
    This is a very interesting composite structure you have come up with.

    I will be watching.
    I need a bigger machine.

    Thanks
    Dave



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    Member Khalid's Avatar
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    Amazingly you have started the build... and my build also started... I have made inserts with external and internal threading.. the thread will be made into the wood and the inserts will go inside the wood and then i will use internal threads of the insert for bolting...
    Very nice build so far...

    http://free3dscans.blogspot.com/ http://my-woodcarving.blogspot.com/
    http://my-diysolarwind.blogspot.com/


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    Member Khalid's Avatar
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    ooopss.. I am really very very impressed.. Your gantry will be rock solid by using epoxy..During 4 years of design period, you have got some nice ideas and out-of-the-box off-the-shelf solution..Thank you for sharing such a brilliant ideas with us Gerry...

    I hope you will use the Auto tool zero for multiple tools in your this router too.. but how this will be implemented for two z-axes will be very interesting

    Best regards
    Khalid

    PS:
    Epoxy idea is really great..i love it man...

    http://free3dscans.blogspot.com/ http://my-woodcarving.blogspot.com/
    http://my-diysolarwind.blogspot.com/


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    Member ger21's Avatar
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    Khalid - threaded inserts are a lot of trouble to install. I've found that tapping the wood itself is very, very strong, and very fast and easy.
    However, if you want to disassemble at some time, than inserts are better for that application.
    But imo, any joined parts that are not permanently bonded with adhesive (along with screws) will result in a weaker joint. Maximum strength and rigidity is the goal here.

    And yes, both Z axis' will auto zero during toolchanges. I have an idea of how I'm going to implement the dual Z's in Mach3, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Of course, a custom Mach3 screenset will be involved (1920x1080).

    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


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    Gerry,
    When you do your holes for fasteners do you have a constant section on the holes or do you enlarge the far side of the hole? This will make it impossible for the epoxy to pull out of the hole?
    Dave



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    Gerry,

    Glad to see this project finally getting momentum! I've had good success using phenolic for my last machine, and the one I'm working on now will also be made of phenolic! The smell however is horrid.

    Getting your wood components to withstand 1G over time, weather, and shock I think is the big challenge and you seem to have it covered. Was kind of wondering how you handle the spindle offset of the dual carriage in Mach?



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    Awesome!

    I can't wait to see it come together!



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    Member ger21's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dfmiller View Post
    Gerry,
    When you do your holes for fasteners do you have a constant section on the holes or do you enlarge the far side of the hole? This will make it impossible for the epoxy to pull out of the hole?
    Dave
    First, there's no way the epoxy can be pulled out of the hole. And actually, it's easier to enlarge the near side. You use a very thin epoxy, and let it soak into the grain for a few minutes, then add thickened epoxy prior to inserting the screw. What you end up with is the screw "fastened" to a far greater portion of the board then just the threads.

    However, my method gives plenty of strength without the extra trouble of the enlarged hole. Or I should say that this application doesn't require it, as the threads alone are plenty strong.

    But here's how I go about preparing for the screws.
    First, wherever I'm using a screw, I drill a 1/8" hole on the CNC when I'm cutting the part. I use a Precisebits 1/8" collet, and a short drill bit for more rigidity. (I get them at McMaster-Carr) I drill at 5000rpm, using the SuperPID.

    I then enlarge the hole and countersink on the drill press, for consistent countersink depth. I think it's a 9/64" drill bit

    At this point the parts are clamped together, and the countersunk hole is used as a drill guide to drill about 1-1/8" into the part receiving the threads. This is done with a hand drill.

    When all the holes are drilled, the assembly is unclamped, and the holes I just drilled get tapped with a 10-32 tap in a hand drill.

    The last step is to enlarge the countersunk hole with a 3/16" bit for screw clearance (I should get a 13/64" bit for a bit more clearance).

    At this point, apply epoxy, and screw together.

    I use 1-3/4" screws, and even without epoxy, the threads are so strong that they can't be stripped. So rather than bore out the larger pocket for epoxy, I just put a few drops in the hole and dip the threads in the thicker epoxy.

    Of course, all the surfaces are coated with epoxy as well.

    West System has some very good information on using epoxy on their website.
    WEST SYSTEM | Use Guides

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Z²-resizedimage200175-use-16-gif   Z²-y-assembly-001-jpg  
    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


  13. #13
    Member ger21's Avatar
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    Yesterday I machined the dado's in the side plates and the joint to accept them on the front panel.

    I used my router table with an Incra Ultra Fence system, that allows me to move the fence in ±.001 increments. The joint on the front plate was made using a 1/2" bit with the plate flat on the table, and a 1/4" bit with the plate on edge against a tall fence. Came out perfect.
    I used a 1/8" bit for the dado's in the sides. However, I messed up the dado for the back plate. I lost track of which side I was cutting, and made it too loose. Fortunately, it's loose towards the back, so I can just clamp it to the front panel during assembly. The front panel to side fit is very snug.

    I think I'm going to add a doubler of 3/4" plywood to the sides, to add a little more stiffness, as it's a 9" span inside. All 4 panels will key into the top, so that will help to stiffen the upper portion. For the bottom, the best thing would be to box it in, but I since it's open for the Y motor, I don't want it to fill with dust. I think I'll just add two vertical spacers from the belt drive opening to the bottom.

    I need to redo the CAD model shown in the first pic to accurately reflect what I'm building.

    Also, before I cut the top, I need to figure out how I'm going to route the wiring. I have wiring for 3 steppers, AC for two routers, 2 rpm sensors for the SuperPID, and two compressed air lines (coolant/chip clearing). I'd also like a wye fitting to spit a single 6" dust hose into two 4" hoses.

    This morning I'll make my template to fix the back plate, and drill and tap all the holes for assembly.

    Due to variations in plywood thickness, I need to assemble the "box" and measure the spacing between the "tabs" that key into the top. I'll do some test cuts in scrap to ensure they all fit tight, to hold everything perfectly square.

    During my trial assembly yesterday, I discovered that the left side and right side thickness are .01" different. That's a lot, and is quite noticeable.

    On a similar note, we did a job at work two weeks ago that used about 140 sheets of maple plywood. They were lockers for a college hockey team. Before cutting everything, I built a mockup to make sure everything would fit, as the sides had rabits and dados to accept the other parts. I measured the thickness of the first 5 or so sheets of plywood (all the same), and built the mockup. When I started cutting, about 20 sheets in the sheets were .04" thicker. Fortunately, since we use cutter comp for all our programming, I was able to lie about the tool diameter for the rabits and dados and keep on cutting. But plywood can be a major PITA!

    But since all the baltic birch (It's actually Apply Ply) I'm using was free, I can't complain too much

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Z²-y-assembly-002-jpg   Z²-y-assembly-003-jpg   Z²-y-assembly-004-jpg   Z²-y-assembly-006-jpg  

    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


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    Registered RedskinsJBS's Avatar
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    Free plywood you say? Now I see why you finally started your build .

    You know, I thought when doing the research for my build that I had accounted for everything that I would need in my CNC machine, but it seems like that list is only growing, even after I've "finished" my build. Can you list some more of the improvements that you are putting into you Z^2 build? I'm interested to see what else an experienced hand deems vital.

    "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten"


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    Member ger21's Avatar
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    Free plywood you say? Now I see why you finally started your build .
    I've had it for 2 years.

    Hmmm.
    Auto Zero (both routers)
    Electronic Home switches
    Limit switches
    Cycle Start, Pause, and Stop buttons on the machine. Probably Auto Zero buttons as well. E-Stop too. Plus an extra E-Stop button as a safety to kill power to the spindles during tool changes, mounted near the spindles.
    Compressed air for blowing chips out of the cut.
    Vacuum Table (with threaded inserts for flexibility)
    4th axis
    Either a pendant or XBox360 controller
    Widescreen HD monitor for custom Mach3 Screenset.

    Pretty much anything you could possibly want or need. Nothing goofy, though like lights on the spindle (no offense for those of you that are easily mesmerized by watching the tool cutting)

    I may be missing some things that I haven't thought of yet, but there's only so many things you can add.

    Some people like lasers to locate parts, but I use a constant origin that doesn't change.

    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


  16. #16
    Member Khalid's Avatar
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    Gerry.. nice progress but why didn't you use MDF? why are you using Plywood... share with us man

    http://free3dscans.blogspot.com/ http://my-woodcarving.blogspot.com/
    http://my-diysolarwind.blogspot.com/


  17. #17
    Member ger21's Avatar
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    It's hardwood plywood. It's stiffer, stronger, and holds screws better. I can't think of any property of MDF that's better.

    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


  18. #18
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    Gerry,
    Thanks for the insight into how you are mounting the screws. It sounds like a great way to do it. Without your information I would have done it wrong.
    You Z axis is looking really nice.
    Thanks
    Dave



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    The "plywood" Gerry is using is an extraordinary wood product. ApplePly is not ordinary plywood. It is heavier per sheet, solid, fills in plies never show. Once you use ApplePly, other plywood is just not acceptable.

    Read about it here: States Industries Appleply



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    Sometimes I think how you can put together such a complex machine, it is a surprise and exciting thing

    Wish you together it quikly.

    http://www.morntech.com/: Laser engraving machine , CNC router


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