New CNC Mill on the horizon

[fvfdrums]

Had a reply from Chai, says it should be 9-10 days from now as something to do with fed ex and HK I did not quite understand but nice to know they are on their way.

So I have been thinking about siting this machine on a concrete slab poured on top of my garage floor which currently is not particularly level. Has anyone done this before? if so what sort of thickness do you think I would need? I was thinking I could lay down about 1" and then screed the top with a self level compound?

Then once I have built the frame bolt that down to the pad (hopefully eliminating too much twist) and then do some of this wizardry with self leveling epoxy?

Does this sound overkill or feasible? I am going to this much effort on the machine I would hate for a wonky floor to put pay to the accuracy.

[JAZZCNC]

If your planning to leave in same place all time then I'd just bolt it down something like level then epoxy level.

If your planning to build off the pad then yes it's worth taking time to get flat and level. THE most important bit is building off a flat surface that's not in twist.

Have thought about epoxy levelling the floor.? When I worked for Honda we had epoxy levelled pads for accurately setting Suspension.

[fvfdrums]

Its going to be in the same place for the foreseeable - (until the other half decides she wants half the garage for something)

I was thinking of using the pad to build the frame sections on to make sure they were flat and true (more so than garage floor!)

Then assemble to whole thing on the pad and bolt it down.

How thick would the epoxy need to be? I am just reverting to cost here probably be able to deal with a slab as I can get all that on trade no sure I can the epoxy! heres hoping though :)

[fvfdrums]

Whilst i am here....

.... I have been thinking about how to tackle the bed design. Initially it was going to be steel frame with an ally plate then strips to make up t slots however I am now thinking why not use the steel frame (60mm depth from the box section) as th catch tank for the coolant?

So box section steel frame which is the moveable bed. 20mm thick aluminium strips running 90 degrees to the box section cross members. either an aluminium angle edge maybe something like 4"x1" to prevent some of the splash getting everywhere or just some 3mm steel flat bar on its side welded round the edge. Then on the bottom of the steel box section a sheet of something like acrylic or polycarbonate which is sealed against the bottom of the frame (rubber gasket and a silly amount of bolts) obviously I would need to create some sort of fall so the coolant went back down towards a collection spout.

Would this work? or is there a better way of doing it? Apologies for all the questions today had a boring job to do which required very little brain power!

[JAZZCNC]

Would this work? or is there a better way of doing it? Apologies for all the questions today had a boring job to do which required very little brain power!

My bed is done this way and yes it works fine. I looked at many choices before going this route but all other options where far more expensive.
One large piece of plate with a matrix of holes was the preferred choice but far to expensive and also came with little scope for cock-up's. With the strip system then I can just replace any strips that get damaged.

Many ways and lots are equal or better but IME any that are better will be quite a bit more expensive.

[fvfdrums]

Still no sign of the ballscrews, been tracking the fedex shipment but Chai says fedex had a warehouse explosion or something and now everything has had to be reordered in terms of when its shipped so I guess I am in the hands of the Logistical Gods!

[JAZZCNC]

Still no sign of the ballscrews, been tracking the fedex shipment but Chai says fedex had a warehouse explosion or something and now everything has had to be reordered in terms of when its shipped so I guess I am in the hands of the Logistical Gods!

Yes I'm waiting for stuff has well and it's been stuck in Hong kong for 11 days and just checked it's now in France so hopefully may see it UK next week if the Frogs aren't on strike again, then well hopefully see it in months time after the Lazy arse UK customs decide to process it.!!

[fvfdrums]

Yeah mines just made it to Stanstead, it spent all yesterday in France so looks like things are moving a bit.

[fvfdrums]

So fedex finally arrived this morning with a parcel from Chai,

Packaging was a bit limited compared with the other parts I have recieved from China. Upon inspection it looks like at least two of the longer ballscrews have quite a bit of a bend to them. I dont have a dti to hand but turning them I can see it by eye.

Is this a common thing? and how does one go about straightening them ?

I knew it was all going too well :)

[Jonathan]

Is this a common thing? and how does one go about straightening them ?

I've got round it in the past by ordering ballscrews and rails at the same time, since the rails add sufficient strength to the package, but if you're getting the rails elsewhere that's not much use.

How long are the bent ballscrews? You can try clamping it between V-blocks, and pushing down in the middle to bend it back... but it's not going to be easy.