Steel framed fixed gantry draw slide build super cheap

[Steel]

finished off the z axis today, i finally gave up on having supported bearings on the lead screw and mounted it directly to the motor as ill only be using this machine for wood/plastics it wont be a problem

https://youtu.be/cj665WQhmYU

[Steel]

So today I made some progress...
I mounted x axis to the base
I updated z axis face plate to alloy insted of ply
I decided I didn't want the y axis motor sticking out the side so
I mounted it inboard
Im using my cheap ebay router

overall Dimensions are as follows...

Length of base 550mm
Width of base 500mm
Height overall 800mm
cutting area...
X 400mm
Y 260mm
Z 90mm

[A_Camera]

Sorry to sound negative, but you will kill that Z stepper very fast if you start using the machine. The screw seems to be hanging on the motor axis, which is a VERY bad idea, since the motor and the motor bearings are not designed for that heavy job. Same on all the other axes as well, but the Z is probably the most critical, and at least one end of the screw must be fixed. I also don't understand why use drawer slides. Those have just too much play and are not fit for the purpose. But OK, if learning is the purpose then fine, but considering the time you must spend on this, I am sure that real parts are better investment than parts which later on must be replaced, especially considering that replacing and squaring will be very difficult since you have welded everything possible to weld.

[Steel]

Don't be sorry the world is full of negative people !!! the stepper bearings will cope no problem,I am using heavy duty draw slides as i wanted to build a machine that uses alternative components as much as i can

Can you do me a favor and start a thread on your machine that way you can remove your links from my post and place them on your own post
cheers Dave

[JAZZCNC]

Can you do me a favor and start a thread on your machine that way you can remove your links from my post and place them on your own post
cheers Dave

He hasn't placed any links on your post. They are part of his Signature and are on every post he makes which is perfectly fine.
He's also correct in what he says and I don't see it as being negative.? What your doing is joke in terms of real cnc machine and these Important things should be pointed out for the sake of others who are new and thinking this is acceptable way to do things. It isn't correct or accurate and it will cause problems or fail so he's perfectly correct to point it out.
End of the day this is forum for debate and if you post something then don't get upset when someone disagree's with how your doing things. Either explain why done this way or choose to just ignore the poster or better still accept and learn from them. But don't tell them to go away just because they are not blowing smoke up your arse or not saying what you want to hear.!! . .

[Steel]

What your doing is joke in terms of real cnc machine and these Important things should be pointed out for the sake of others who are new and thinking this is acceptable way to do things.It isn't correct or accurate and it will cause problems or fail so he's perfectly correct to point it out:

Why do you think its not acceptable to be creative, innovative, and experimentative and do things differently ? after all there's more than one way to make a chocolate cake right !!!

[A_Camera]

Why do you think its not acceptable to be creative, innovative, and experimentative and do things differently ? after all there's more than one way to make a chocolate cake right !!!

Don't worry, experiment and be creative, nobody wants to prevent you from that, but the solution you came up with is not very experimental or innovative at all, been tried many times before and there are plenty YT movies about it as well. I was there once as well, thinking that it may be possible (but quickly realized it won't fit my needs), and yes, it is possible to do the way you want to do it, but like I said, depends on what your goals are. For learning (the hard way) is fine, for making things with it, it is not. At least not if precision is part of the equation...and you are wrong about the motor bearings, they are NOT made for this sort of job, they are just made for supporting the rotation of their own shafts, not the huge forces a CNC is putting on them, so they will fail pretty fast. But of course, you don't have to believe me, I am just an amateur just like you... I also like to experiment and like innovative solutions, and I learn something almost every day and not always listen to what others have to say, so just continue with your project. I just thought that you may be interested in what others may see but you don't. Of course it is acceptable to be creative. Don't be so childish.

[JAZZCNC]

Why do you think its not acceptable to be creative, innovative, and experimentative and do things differently ? after all there's more than one way to make a chocolate cake right !!!

I don't think it's unacceptable to be creative, innovative or experimental. However your not being creative or innovative.? You are being Tightfisted and cheap which are not to be confussed with the latter.! . . . . . If you took the same approach in baking Cake the outcome would be the same.? . . . It would taste Shite and end up in Bin.!

Experimenting is fine and something I fully encourage. But your not inventing or creating anything that hasn't been tried before by others dabbling in CNC. So please don't try to tell others that what your doing is OK and will work fine for CNC machine.! . . . It's not, it's complete rubbish and by the very nature of innapropriate components used along with piss poor engineering is doomed to fail.

So when experienced builders comment don't take it as being negative because they are actually trying to advise YOU and OTHERS against making big mistake.! . . . The time you have wasted on this crap would have been better spent reading the forum and then searching Ebay or selling sites for deals on suitable components. Just like if can't bake Cake better going to ASDA.!