Given enough time and money you can get any sort of machine orientation to work. A cantilevered gantry can work but it depends upon what one means by “work”. There are examples from metal working machines but those machines are of massive construction often requiring a significant foundation that they are often grouted to.
Unless one is very well equipped to build such a machine it is far better to consider the simple solutions. By this I mean the machine shop facilities but also the engineering chops to model a machine with a cantilevered gantry. This especially if you are tight on time.
This is understandable, thAt is the ability to take on other tasks. What you run into is a far bigger engineering challenge. Depending upon the end results you need to achieve that might mean a much larger machine. Larger as in bulky not snigger working area.
That is good.There are a number of high end furniture makers near me as well as quite a few mold making shops, I had thought it would be nice to work with them making large unique components, hence the 16''Z, it would be an attractive feature I know without a doubt. If I can figure out a solution for a long Z movement that would be incredible but if for whatever reason I am stuck with a max Z height of something in the 10 inch range that will not stop me from following through on this build. I should also mention we have a crane in our shop and a beefy forklift so I am not worried about fabrication, we regularly fabricate welded assemblies larger than this machine might be, although not nearly as complex...
I built a steel frame for a bench in my cellar, for some reason it got heavier every time I welded something to it. At times people underestimate material handling efforts required in a build.
A moving column machine could easily be a horizontal mill or even a boring mill..
I am honestly surprised to hear about the morbidelli, it seems to be a very robust machine.
So I am slightly confused if there is a difference between a moving column and cantilever gantry design? Would the cantilever gantry have the Z carriage built onto it while a moving column create the Z movement in a similar way that a conventional Vertical machining centre does where the whole spindle slides up and down?
Sounds like you need to invest in cranes. In any event yes thinking about how to load the machine and the human factors involved is important if the primary job of the machine is to handle large heavy timbers.I have to say that at this point an open sided design (On the long side) is almost a must, the loading is just so appealing that I am not sure if I could consider going back to thinking about a gantry design. Right now we have a small gantry router and loading from the end is quite annoying, there have been a few times loading with a forklift and the machine gets bumped and then we have to re-level the feet.
Note I have no experience with a Moribidellie (sp) but don’t assume one persons problem will also be yours.
Nothing you buy will be perfect!! It doesn’t sound like you need incredible precision here, so consider your options carefully.Hey mactec54, I am surprised to hear you think a moving column would be a bad idea for a large Z movement, I had thought this approach would be the best for Z height. Like Peteeng says, I have seen massive machines plowing through extremely hard materials with a moving column design.