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  1. #11
    Clive S's Avatar
    Lives in Marple Stockport, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 17 Hours Ago Forum Superstar, has done so much to help others, they deserve a medal. Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 3,333. Received thanks 618 times, giving thanks to others 78 times. Made a monetary donation to the upkeep of the community. Is a beta tester for Machinists Network features.
    Quote Originally Posted by tankproof2 View Post
    Yes ok, I can see the logic in that, but just how much £££ do I need to make a good frame? Is 1200£ even enough?
    Don't get despondent. This is a good forum and you will get help.

    But first try and help yourself by reading some of the great build logs on here, there are plenty on them.

    Draw the frame up in CAD and ask for criticism. You will need to lean CAD anyway.

    Linuxcnc with a P/port is very doable and is free, the BOB (breakout board) £5-6 on ebay. That alone will save you a chunk on money. For a simple basic machine linuxcnc can be set up in 15 mins.

    But don't buy kits of part as they are never matched up. We can point you to the best places to buy the rails ball screws etc.

    Start with the frame.
    ..Clive
    The more you know, The better you know, How little you know

  2. #12
    Just consider that many of the accessible online metal stores factor in delivery on their prices. Talk to a local supplier - you might be surprised. Also if you happen to be passing any fabricators it might be worth enquiring (I approached a fencing fabricator and they knocked up (welded) a 100x100x4 box section top-frame for a bench, 1600mm x 750mm for a ton... which I thought was pretty good, and flat to less than a mm (as best as I could measure). Also, when sourcing Argon for welding I did speak to a one-man band who showed me around his workshop - a bit of a chat suggested I could buy steel from him cheaper than the usual online stores. Lastly, I bought a load of 100x50x5 box section, a convenient 1.6m long from a fabricator off eBay - was only 20 miles to collect. 6 months later I found similar for sale 20 miles in the opposite direction - turned out they'd bought from the first guy. Keep your eyes open. If you can weld, then you can build a frame pretty cheaply.
    Last edited by Doddy; 21-11-2020 at 09:32 PM.

  3. #13
    If you find your local Steel stockholder you'll buy 80 x 45 x 4mm wall in 7.5mtr lengths for about £60+vat. Depending on size 1 or at most 2 lengths will get you the base frame.
    For the aluminum for the Z-axis and other areas of the machine, If you have any local engineering places nearby it's worth calling in and asking if they have an offcuts bin. Often what they call scrap pieces we call a Z-axis and they will sell you it at scrap value or if you drop on right bloke a few pints.
    Drop on the right place and you might get steel off cuts their too.?

    With £1200 it's just about doable to build a decent machine if you are careful and don't waste money buying the wrong stuff. Like has been said stay away from any electronics kit as they are nearly always made up of rubbish and poorly matched.

    Linux CNC with a BOB will get you going cheaply like as been said and then it opens up a whole world of expansion if you move to Mesa, it will also open up a whole world of head-scratching as well depending on your skills and temperament learning to speak all thing Linux CNC but to kick you off cheaply it's perfect.

    The secret to the successful building of a good machine is to NOT RUSH or BUY ANYTHING and always ask before buying because often someone will point you to a cheaper or better option.

    If you take the Build route then the first thing to do is start a Build thread, even before you lay paper to pen, and ask ALL your questions in this thread. Don't start new threads asking questions because they get lost with time, keeping all your questions in one place makes it easier months later when your looking for reply. It also keeps your thread high on the trending list where you are more likely to get replies.

    Good luck and don't waste money on those rubbish Kits as you will regret it.
    -use common sense, if you lack it, there is no software to help that.

    Email: [email protected]

    Web site: www.jazzcnc.co.uk

  4. #14
    Ok, my foot is off the buy pedal.

    i have looked though this forum and see 2 ways of doing it. 1 steel welded frame, 2 Epoxy Granite my question whould be, which is the best/ most cost effective? for a 1.2 x .75m machine.

    i will start a build thread now and get cracking on the cad.

    thanks for all the help, Tank.

  5. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by tankproof2 View Post
    Ok, my foot is off the buy pedal.

    i have looked though this forum and see 2 ways of doing it. 1 steel welded frame, 2 Epoxy Granite my question whould be, which is the best/ most cost effective? for a 1.2 x .75m machine.

    i will start a build thread now and get cracking on the cad.

    thanks for all the help, Tank.
    Ok, that's easy, Steel is the better and cheaper choice for a machine this size. Why.?

    Epoxy granite would be the stronger machine but would cost far more money by the time you have built a substantial mold for it and bought the materials, then you have the weight of the thing, it would be VERY heavy.
    Then you have to consider the machine design.! Moving gantry or Fixed.? Epoxy granite would require you to build a fixed gantry otherwise you'll be into BIG and expensive motors to shift all that heavy mass around on a moving gantry machine.
    Then you have the size, Fixed gantry would require roughly 2x the area for one of the given sizes.

    The best combination is a steel frame with the rail surfaces epoxy leveled to give you better accuracy with the least hassle.

    When you are looking at builds pay attention to those that put the rails on high sided frames with the gantry sat directly onto the carriages. This is the stronger design for your needs with cutting aluminum.
    If you want a good example of what can be done with basic tools then check out Joe's build. There is many other's similar as well which use this style of the frame design and very well made.
    -use common sense, if you lack it, there is no software to help that.

    Email: [email protected]

    Web site: www.jazzcnc.co.uk

  6. #16
    Ok i will go ahead with steel construction, sorry i wasn't able to find Joe's build could you please send me a link, Tank

  7. #17
    Clive S's Avatar
    Lives in Marple Stockport, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 17 Hours Ago Forum Superstar, has done so much to help others, they deserve a medal. Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 3,333. Received thanks 618 times, giving thanks to others 78 times. Made a monetary donation to the upkeep of the community. Is a beta tester for Machinists Network features.
    Quote Originally Posted by tankproof2 View Post
    Ok i will go ahead with steel construction, sorry i wasn't able to find Joe's build could you please send me a link, Tank
    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...S3i705fuSogBXT
    ..Clive
    The more you know, The better you know, How little you know

  8. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by tankproof2 View Post
    Ok i will go ahead with steel construction, sorry i wasn't able to find Joe's build could you please send me a link, Tank
    http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/4513-3-Axis-CNC-router
    -use common sense, if you lack it, there is no software to help that.

    Email: [email protected]

    Web site: www.jazzcnc.co.uk

  9. #19
    Ok, so i have done some research and come to some conclusions. but i have a few questions.

    i have found multiple options for a few things and would like to ask which is best


    spindle- they are all around the same price but with different vfds but which is the best?

    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3225...c00DrQIm1&mp=1
    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3298...c00DrQIm1&mp=1
    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000...c00DrQIm1&mp=1



    steppers i am thinking nema 23 and these are the options i have found which is the best?

    https://www.welectron.com/JMC-iHSV57...ed-Servo-Motor (this one comes with integrated drivers but is about the same cost as the other with a CW8060 driver)
    https://www.cnc4you.co.uk/Stepper-Mo...H401-03-Nema23



    drivers-

    i am thinking of going for a way over kill driver to give me head room for new/ more powerful motors

    options are the cw8060 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/6127...archweb201603_

    or cheap out and get some https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3291...c00DrQIm1&mp=1

    my question is what is the best cheap stepper right now?

    as far as voltage goes i am thinking 48v but is this too high?

  10. #20
    Ok well the first spindle is the better choice because of the VFD, It's made by Huanyang and is well tested on 10,000's of machines, the other two are copies and lower quality, that said even the huanyang isn't the best quality in the world but I personally have fitted 100's with less than a handful of issues so wouldn't hesitate to fit one or recommend buying one.
    The Black one I've only fit on a couple machines and wasn't impressed with them, the white one I've no experience other than I know someone who had one and it blow up after 7 months.
    The spindles are all the same. One other thing to mention is the water pump.! These pumps included in the kits are 230V Mains powered and DONT have an earth which isn't cleaver in a submersible pump IMO. I won't fit them.!

    Motors:
    The first motors with intergrated drives are not steppers they are DC servo motors. Never used so can't comment but 180W isn't a lot with only 48Vdc and won't suit a large machine.

    The second motor is a run of the mill stepper, nothing special.

    Drives:
    The CW8060 are not very good drives at all and certainly NOT going way over kill.? 80Vdc drives are what you will need for a decent sized machine to get the higher feeds you'll want.

    The cheaper Dm542 are ok for a small machine but are limited on the Max voltage at 50vdc, for a large router like what your planning then you'll want to be running your motors with around 60-65Vdc to get the best speed and torque from them.

    Now personally I wouldn't fit any of these because they are basiclly OLD technology, Newer Closed loop motors with Digital drives are much better and won't cost much more money.
    Also look for drives that provide AC input and it will save you the trouble of building a DC power supply and a little money.

    However, why are you even looking at buying this lot when as far I can see you haven't even decided or designed the machine yet.?
    You are a long long way off needing any of this and while it's tempting to buy so you can test on bench all your doing is wasting warrenty and they will learn you very little.
    Also, without knowing the Mass etc of the gantry you could easily buy the wrong size motors/drives.

    Again I'll advise you to NOT BUY ANYTHING and say go do more research on the motors/drives and why voltage is very important. But only so you have a better understanding of why getting this part right is so important and not so you are better armed to buy now. Only buy when you need or close to needing them.
    -use common sense, if you lack it, there is no software to help that.

    Email: [email protected]

    Web site: www.jazzcnc.co.uk

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