bought a used 48" X 48" X 5" used router table

[travis_farmer]

just an update.

I have installed the Leadshine drivers, and 36Vdc power supplies, as well as finally cleaning and lubing the screws and rails. now my CNC router runs smoothly, and quietly, with no missed steps.
I have also received and installed the mount for my Makita RF1101 router.
http://tjfserver.ddns.net/misc/0004.jpg
all the limits work, with the exception of the vertical axis (have to open it up at some point, and have a look). i still have yet to install the home sensors, so LinuxCNC complains that it has not been homed yet. but i can jog the axis around.

once i get the home sensors sorted out, then i can draw up a schematic of the working electronics, and proceed to take the test rig apart to install it more securely into a cabinet.

ToDo:
1) Home Sensors
2) final build of controller
3) establish software limits for LinuxCNC
4) wire up relay to turn router on with software
5) buy a starter set of CNC router bits
6) read the CNC how-to books i got off amazon

i still have to build a door to cover the large hole in the side of my camper too, as well as rebuild the roof, so i can take the tarp off the back of my camper. that and i have to make the AC power panel built in, so i can get rid of the light duty extension cord to replace it with the 220Vac, 30A supply cord.

but things are coming along, and i think i can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

~Travis

[pippin88]

You don't need additional home sensors. Just use one limit on each axis as limit+home

[louieatienza]

As far as #5 - buy bits as you need them. And if they're ones you need, buy two back-ups. Trust me on this!

You can use regular router bits. You just can't push them as hard as those intended for CNC use.

[travis_farmer]

You don't need additional home sensors. Just use one limit on each axis as limit+home

Hmm, that simplifies things greatly.

As far as #5 - buy bits as you need them. And if they're ones you need, buy two back-ups. Trust me on this!

You can use regular router bits. You just can't push them as hard as those intended for CNC use.

CNC router bits can't be purchased locally, so to establish what i need, i figured a starter set, like Freud 87-208 from amazon, would let me choose. once i know what i need, i can order some backups.

~Travis

[Biggs427]

Make certain that that you will need most of the cutters otherwise you will end-up using 2-3 cutter out of 8 and won't have any spare. Been there done that...

It may be just me but I find the Freud spiral cutter brittle. I never had problems with Freud saw blades or normal router cutters but the two spiral cutters I own have chip of carbide missing on the side. Never had this kind of problems with my Yonico, Amana or Onsrud cutters.

Edit: Since your in the US, you can order Onsrud on Amazon ad a good price. That said, I started with cheap Chinese cutters when I began working with my first machine. Breaking a 4$ cutter because you learn is not that bad but breaking a 40$ compression cutter is.

[louieatienza]

Make certain that that you will need most of the cutters otherwise you will end-up using 2-3 cutter out of 8 and won't have any spare. Been there done that...

It may be just me but I find the Freud spiral cutter brittle. I never had problems with Freud saw blades or normal router cutters but the two spiral cutters I own have chip of carbide missing on the side. Never had this kind of problems with my Yonico, Amana or Onsrud cutters.

Edit: Since your in the US, you can order Onsrud on Amazon ad a good price. That said, I started with cheap Chinese cutters when I began working with my first machine. Breaking a 4$ cutter because you learn is not that bad but breaking a 40$ compression cutter is.

Onsrud blows out tools on eBay, and I've bought endmills for as little as 5% of list!

[travis_farmer]

Biggs427

Make certain that that you will need most of the cutters otherwise you will end-up using 2-3 cutter out of 8 and won't have any spare. Been there done that...

It may be just me but I find the Freud spiral cutter brittle. I never had problems with Freud saw blades or normal router cutters but the two spiral cutters I own have chip of carbide missing on the side. Never had this kind of problems with my Yonico, Amana or Onsrud cutters.

Edit: Since your in the US, you can order Onsrud on Amazon ad a good price. That said, I started with cheap Chinese cutters when I began working with my first machine. Breaking a 4$ cutter because you learn is not that bad but breaking a 40$ compression cutter is.

at $140 on amazon, i thought the Freud set was a good buy, at least to start with...
I looked into Amana, and found them rather pricey, for me. i will look into the Onsrud cutters.

louieatienza
Onsrud blows out tools on eBay, and I've bought endmills for as little as 5% of list!

hmm, good to know.

I still have to figure out how to mount the home-limit sensors for the Z axis. with it entirely enclosed, it leaves little access to mount any sensor so it interacts with moving axis. i may have to give it some thought.

~Travis

[louieatienza]

at $140 on amazon, i thought the Freud set was a good buy, at least to start with...
I looked into Amana, and found them rather pricey, for me. i will look into the Onsrud cutters.

I have a thread that was stickied a while back, explaining different endmills and router bits and other tooling for the DIY crowd, that may be of interest...

[travis_farmer]

I have a thread that was stickied a while back, explaining different endmills and router bits and other tooling for the DIY crowd, that may be of interest...

found it, and commencing to read
thanks for pointing it out.

~Travis

[ger21]

Yonico on Amazon are decent, and economical.

[travis_farmer]

Yonico on Amazon are decent, and economical.

Actually, they aren't too bad (price wise). i bookmarked a few for when i have the money available to spend.

i made a temporary home switch for my Z axis using a alarm reed switch and magnet. i did a temporary mount with double-stick foam tape. i was very pleased to watch it auto home all the axis. though i had to reverse the wiring for the Y axis (never really noticed it was wrong before ). it moves slow during homing, so with a machine this size, i may just want to jog it close to home before shutdown.

I still need to setup a relay for the router so it auto powers on via software, and order some bits to cut with. but it is usable enough that i can possibly mill out some proper mounts for for some Hall-Effect sensors i plan to use in production.

things are starting to get exciting, in that it is finally starting to come together.

~Travis

[Biggs427]

Depending of the controller, you can adjust the homing speed.

[travis_farmer]

Depending of the controller, you can adjust the homing speed.

I found that, thanks for pointing it out

I did a quick video of a dry run, with no router attached, and wires run willy-nilly. the video doesn't show the small movements very well, but you can see the larger moves.

for windows media: http://tjfserver.ddns.net/misc/CNCtest4.wmv
and for those that use quicktime: http://tjfserver.ddns.net/misc/CNCtest4.mov

I don't do YouTube, so i am hosting the videos on my personal server.

now that i have a working machine, and figured out how to make it go, i can focus on the more important details, like enclosing the electronics, cleaning up the wires, and so forth.
I have the material to start making the new doors to cover the hole in the side of the camper, it is just a matter of building them, and waiting for a good day to install them, with no rain.

~Travis

[wizard]

Hmm, that simplifies things greatly.



CNC router bits can't be purchased locally, so to establish what i need, i figured a starter set, like Freud 87-208 from amazon, would let me choose. once i know what i need, i can order some backups.

~Travis

While buying a set will solve the issue of no local supplier it usually resilts in a large number of unused router bits and a big dent in ones cash flow. Also with some of the larger sets there is a real question of quality.

Im not totally against kits as they are a great way to buy special function bits or fixed purpose bits. For example i purchased a set of round over bits in five different radius as i knew they would all be used. On the other hand the really large and frankly expensive sets leave you with a bunch of cutters you will never use yet you pay for. Id go even further and suggest that the manufactures make up these kits out of bits that just dont sell well.

In a nut shell not a fan of wasting money on kitchen sink router bit sets.

[travis_farmer]

While buying a set will solve the issue of no local supplier it usually resilts in a large number of unused router bits and a big dent in ones cash flow. Also with some of the larger sets there is a real question of quality.

Im not totally against kits as they are a great way to buy special function bits or fixed purpose bits. For example i purchased a set of round over bits in five different radius as i knew they would all be used. On the other hand the really large and frankly expensive sets leave you with a bunch of cutters you will never use yet you pay for. Id go even further and suggest that the manufactures make up these kits out of bits that just dont sell well.

In a nut shell not a fan of wasting money on kitchen sink router bit sets.

alright, seeing as i am still not sure exactly what bits i need, what would be recommend for routing designs in cabinet doors, and sign making? I also plan to do a little plastic milling for various jigs and what-not.

I was thinking a selection of V-carve (chamfer) bits, not sure what angle would be the best. and some various sized flat and ball mill. as far as collets, i have 0.5", 0.25", and 0.125 (reducer bushing, Amana R8-102).

I just got my dust-collection head for my router. i will see about a picture of it mounted at some point. it looks good, and it separates easily to change bits, and accepts a 4" collection hose.

~Travis

[AMG Guitars]

Travis,
You got a really good machine there at a phenomenal price. I know. I bought one new. The servo motors on there are very good.
Keep them! They'll probably be cheaper to rebuild. It looks like it came with a pretty good spindle as well. All you need to get this thing to go is the controller box. I have the old style ISA slot controller (which works fine BTW) but Techno uses a newer style controller box these days. If you come across any of the older style boxes please let me know. I'd like to add a 4th axis to mine.

You should contact ISEL USA as this is an older machine. Isel makes the linear components in Germany (and you can still get all the parts you need BTW). You will need a special lubricant for this machine. There is a special grease and a special oil. I suggest you inspect, clean, and lube before you do anything. Then you'll have to reassemble everything. After that you should be able to push on the gantry by hand and see that it all slides good. One thing to note is that the Z axis has a brake, but if you have a power failure it will drop a little before the brake engages.

The Techno company in Hicksville NY can get you some of the special lubricant but they mostly do the electronics as far as I know. The mechanicals are ISEL (usa), and the're very good. This machine uses ball screws and when everything is working right it's smooth as silk. You can hear the balls drop as they cycle through. This is normal. This is a very capable machine but you should be aware that if you program arcs on a helix (you know, to engage the part as you come down into it) you will have to set your software to output lines on that helix because this machine will not do arcs like that. In fact I just spoke to one of their reps and even the newer machines will not do that. But it's not really a problem, just something you need to be aware of when you program. You can still ramp or helicaly engage a pocket but you must set your software to output lines instead of arcs. The machine will only run arcs in any of three planes.

I wish you the best of luck with your new machine and if you know a place where I can get used parts for cheap like you did!!! For one of these machines, please let me know. I'm particularly interested in getting another controller card for a fourth axis. My box has an extra slot for just that, but I never got one. The amplifier box I have has a cable that runs to an ISA card in the computer and I use Gcode Ver. 105c to run the machine. If you need a copy of this older software or post processor, let me know. It shouldn't be too hard to get it going though. Lately I've been experimenting with F-Engrave, G-Code Ripper, and Dmap2Gcode from Scorch Works. These are some really nice free programs and I was pleasantly surprised that they are totally compatible with the Techno. You just change the file extension to .NCD and you can use them to program your machine. If you use V-Carve note that it comes with 2 types of post processors for your machine for the older (ISA) and newer (PCI) cards.

Alex

[AMG Guitars]

The standard size bits works for me! Check out F-Engrave and Gcode Ripper from Scorch Works. Free programs that actually work! The rake angle is best if it's designed to cut wood. Onsrud does that. But on the cheap side I usually use carbide endmills and such. Toolinghouse.com makes their own tools called QuickKut (with a K) and have some pretty good prices for carbide. Search their site for ( QuickKut ).

[AMG Guitars]

You have NEMA servos! Why go to steppers??? Call ISEL USA. They told me I have NEMA servos just like you. My manual says these motors push about 250lbs of force, enough to bend the gantry on that machine, and believe me they will BEND the gantry on that machine! You should rebuild those motors. Do you have the proper cables for them? You can cut hardwood like butter with this machine. Your biggest problem will be properly clamping things in so they don't move on you. These motors will move 300 inch/min! Pretty scary fast, but you better watch your deflection.

[AMG Guitars]

They give positional accuracy and feedback to the controller. If you have servo's already, stick with the servos. If there's something wrong with them they can be rebuilt. Contact ISEL USA. But let's talk about that spindle, you really don't want it? PM me.

[AMG Guitars]

You need one tub of Alvania 2 grease and one pint of Tellus 23 oil. This is a German made machine. You can get that stuff from the folks in Hicksville NY. You really got a bargain there. I'm happy for you.