Very neat little project, I had to add myself t the thread so I could get the email updates!
I'm very excited to see it being completed for use....here...
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-cn...0_machine.html
Several machines are out, but these are the first pictures I've seen of
one of them. So far there's only one of these larger A-10's. Once this
one's up and running, I'll begin making more of them....
There are 2 smaller ones that are being finished right now and I'll have
pictures soon.
John
I DO Love this machine! I think it's one of the classiest looking
machines I've ever made......with the white/black/silver contrast
and sleek stylized lines.
This one is going to New York.
I'm Realllly tempted to keep this one for myself, but, I do have
to make several more, so I'll make mine like this one. It's basically
the same as the one that's on it's way to Norway.
Keeping large white parts clean is a little tough when they get
re-assembled for test fitting several times.
Well, back to work!
John
You could use chrome plated brass acorn nuts for all the external nuts, that would bump the bling factor a little for very little extra cost.
Have you considered farming out the painting? I think I mentioned it before. You could concentrate on the cutting (and assembling) and get a local paint shop that has a spray booth, curing ovens and paint knowlege about hard durable washable paints etc to do the paint side. It would free up your time for manufacturing more units and probably(?) give you a better or more durable finish (not that there looks to be anything wrong with your finish).
Yep, I do use the acorn nuts on some machines....
I've been sending out black locknuts on these white ones for
nicer looks. They're not seen in the pictures because repeated
tightening & loosening of the nylon insert type tend to ruin them
after awhile.
I do have someone willing to do the painting. But....he needs to get
about $75 for each paint job. Painting sounds like a breeze. And for some
it may be, but from my experience, the $75 the guy wants is a good price.
Lots of time and attention to detail can go into a nice paint job.
I'd sure love to have him do them, and I may in the future. Right now,
I'm doing what I can to make them as inexpensive as possible....to get
some out and in use showing examples of what they can do. For a machine
that's being sold for less than $500, I don't know of one that'll do better
work....
John
A4 model. Approx. 10.5 x 9 x 4 cutting area.
This one started as a prototype to see where things needed to be
sized and adjusted and hole placement. But it's really looking Great
already....
It's only about half done right now. Lots of time just looking at it
to see what & where anything may need changing. It's a little
smaller version of the A-10 machine. Not much, though.
Also, this one goes back to the more angular design that was
mentioned earlier, to possibly make bolting on add-on's easier or
whatever modifications someone may want to make.
It's a really GOOD Looking machine already. I think I want color
in the reinforcing side panels, and painting them a few colors is
going to be a problem to get it perfect, so I may go to some
high quality pressure sensitive labels in the future.
So far -So good with the A4. It's gonna be a Great machine...
John
I'm just taking my time with the A4 machine. Trying a few things
here & there....
Here's what I've mentioned about coloring lettering with epoxy....
How's & Why's....
I use this particular brand of epoxy, though most 2 hour types will
work fine. This cures harder than the hardware store variety and
is what pro jewelers use. Epoxy 330....good stuff...
I mix it on a cardboard scrap like in the picture. I squeeze out equal
amounts the best I can. Close enough is normally good enough.
The testors paint can be seen. Most oil based paints work fine. I
use these paints because the repeated opening and closing causes
paint solvents to evaporate soon and by the time I use these tiny
amounts, the paint is still good. Plus, I get lots of colors for little $$$.
It doesn't take much.
I don't mix in any container as it's hard to judge the amounts....and
also due to time. This stuff will begin to set in about 10 minutes and
become too hard to flow well into details.
--Also, epoxy generally will heat fast...and can actually Boil at about
less than an ounce. Spread out on a card gives a bit longer work time.
I dip the stick into the paint....just a little..... and mix while turning
the card to get a thorough mixing.
Wipe off the stick and mix once more to be dang sure it's really
mixed well. A bad mix is a nightmare to deal with when it's used
for something like lettering.
Fill in the detail with the bamboo skewer.
Some will get out on the surface....it takes care and attention to
get it mostly within where it should go, but the stray little globs/drips
that get where they shouldn't be can be easily enough cleaned up
with Q-tips.
Trick to that is to wet the q-tip in your mouth and smooth the tip
with your fingers to be sure no stray cotton gets stuck in the epoxy.
Just wipe of any excess epoxy from around the now-filled lettering with
the damp q-tip.
That works because I don't attempt to fill lettering to the top. I
leave it so the smoothing of the q-tip doesn't get into the wet
epoxy.
Leave each color to cure for several hours before moving to the next.
This works great for something someone can take their time with.
It gives a very professional appearance and is extremely durable.
Simple and cheap to do...
It's not practical for someone who's trying to reproduce machines
like I am. I'll need to consider getting stickers/labels made. This
takes too long for me, but I wanted to do it on this machine while
I'm waiting for special parts to be delivered. And to show an example
of something I've mentioned a few times.
Yes, little parts can be made from colored epoxies. But they don't machine
well. Too rubbery when they get heated from friction. Plus, too much epoxy
mixed at a time can boil and blister. Not every epoxy has that problem....
there are thousands of formulas, but the 2 hour type generally does.
Mixing done on the flat surface like the cardboard card keeps the heat
from being concentrated as it would in any container.
Someone could easily machine themselves some type of emblem or small
logo design and cast the colored epoxy into a rubber mold made from
the original carving to reproduce many of them. There's lots of uses
that go well with things done on our cnc machines.
It doesn't take much paint to color it. A few trial runs should be done
to get the idea of what's too much. Opaques, metallics, transparents,
translucents....all easy to do. Hard and durable once cured.
Well, enough for now. Hope that's interesting.....
John
John,
Just when I thought your machines couldn't get any nicer, you go and do this. Wow! I keep telling myself I can't buy one of your machines until I get my DIY CNC up and running, but you're ruining my resolve!
Keep up the good work,
Dave
Thanks Dave!
I wish I could do it with them all, but it takes too long.
I imagine many of us have tried to figure out how to paint
the Cool lettering that VCarve Pro does. This takes a little time,
but it's pretty easy to do to get *Great* results....
John
I did overlook a little smudge right below the letter "r" in
microcarve. That happened when I did the large black square
and I didn't notice it. It's cured now, so it's there for good.
John
There's a type of epoxy that they do counter tops and clock
coating with. That can be mixed in larger volumes and used in
a bottle with a syringe needle to do large areas such as a big
sign might have.
It's a softer epoxy, but that may not matter on something like a sign...
I never tried it myself. I do know that different colors have different
solvents in them and that can affect the hardness with that sort
of epoxy. But it does work very well enough to warrant some trialing & erroring....
John
Well, I think it's a pretty Bad-A$$ looking little machine...
Painted up industrial gray. It'd be hard to guess the machine was
MDF without a close looking over of it....
It's just tacked together now after a few days of paint drying.
A few more parts to be made and it'd be ready to go.
This ones smaller size made aluminum angles un-necessary, but
they could be added easily enough if someone wanted them. They
sure couldn't hurt anything.
This is such a cool machine that maybe I'll make mine in this style now.
It's got a really solid industrial look & feel to it.
This ones not spoken for in case anyone's interested. Time is getting
short for getting machines completed in time for holidays. A few of the
few weeks left are for shipping alone.
Well, I'm Very Happy with this one. Too much time was spent on it though,
so I really need to get some stickers made, like I mentioned....
John
Well its an awseome looking little machine. What are the overall dimensions...
Garry
Thanks Garry!
Without the motors attached....
19" wide
21" deep
16.5" high
weighs about 35-40 lbs I'd guess.
Cut area approx 10.5 x 9 x 4. 4" depending on how it's set up
with the table.
It does have a "presence" to it. I like it a lot. May be my standard
machine I end up producing.
John
That ones gone already. I'll start another in a day or so.
That one was pretty special with all the extra time that went
into it.
John
@ 5:31Originally Posted by microcarve
This ones not spoken for in case anyone's interested.
John
" That ones gone already " @ 7:03
no problem selling those huh??
"witty comment"
@ 5:31
" That ones gone already " @ 7:03
no problem selling those huh??
Yeah, I didn't expect that one to take long. I bet I have welllll over
40 hrs into it. There'll be very few I get to put that kind of time into.
I'm still doing fine refining of the design and trying to figure if the
A10/A4 design is better than the smaller design I've been making all
along. Both are great looking machines that have their place.
I can say that I'm Highly Impressed with the quality of people who've
bought the ones that have sold. Those machines went to some
people who really know their stuff....
I'll start making parts for the next A4 in just a few hours. I Love
making these things!
John
I have just sat and read through this whole thread. What a fantastic piece of kit you are making and its refreshing to see someone being so open and honest about how it all works (or doesn't) as the case may be.
Couple of questions on the A-10 model
Would you be able to ship to the UK?
Will it cut aluminium?
Thanks
What is the price for the machine ready to run? Where are you located?
john morand
Thanks Very Much Gliderask21!
Yep, I'll ship them about anywhere anyone's willing to pay the shipping for.
...Though it can get expensive in some cases....
Aluminum....
It'd depend on what someones expectations are as far as cutting
aluminum. That can vary wildly.
IMHO....only an iron mill, or an $$$ machine that was designed for such
work from the beginning, is the right way to "machine" aluminum.
But most any cnc "router" can mill it just fine if all the necessary
aspects like speeds, feed rates, cut depths, and choice of a proper
cutting bit are balanced. Very necessary for good results. So with
some trial & error and practice beforehand, it'll cut aluminum
very well.
The machine is designed and built with such extremes in mind
and is very rigid, strong, durable and reliable. It uses some of
the same principles that the iron mill uses such as intentionally
induced friction in motion via the sleeve type bearings and round
rails. That basically eliminates any "play" in the system.
There's also a very rigid and stable metal Z axis to securely keep
the spindle in place and on track with no sloppiness.
The relatively small sizes of all parts and components add
immensely to it's stability and strength.
The exceptional rigidity of a fixed gantry design is a huge plus.
So, While I think that genuine machining of aluminum is a job for
the big iron mill, these machines do try to account for those type of
forces, and handles them very well.
It's always a hard question when someone asks about machining
aluminum. There are so many pictures of what that could mean
that may come to mind. These machines do try as best as I can
possibly do to say that yes, it'll cut aluminum. But it'll take a bit
of trial & error to get everything all in balance.
Like with most everything else....a bit of practice....
John
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