Down Sizing to 5 axis.

[Mister Mills]

Howdy..... I have made a decision that most on here would think to be a crazy idea. Totally strip down a full size and fully working home built 3m x 1.5m Cnc Router and build smaller machine !! Some may think it madness as most people tend to make their machines bigger over time. This is exactly what I did a few years back. I went from a small desktop machine bodged together from scrap and started building bigger better parts until I reached the point of a full size machine capable of cutting full sized 2.4m x 1.2 m sheets of mdf etc.

The reason for my madness is simple...... Space!

My machine has been pretty much Idle for two years since I completed her. It got to a stage that I had run out of space in my small garage. I had no room to move or to actually bring in full sized sheets due to the layout. Anything stored underneath the machine was getting covered in sawdust, metal shavings and cutting fluid.

When I started this adventure many years ago I had this insatiable urge to have a full sized machine but when I got there I realized I did not have any need for such scale. What was I going to make with it??? I still don't know!

A few words of warning to those who want to go big big big. Make sure you have the room to build such a beast and plenty of room for sheet storage and an assembly area for stuff you make on it, otherwise you will end up like me. One final word of warning. Make sure you can walk around or easily access all sides of your machine. One of my biggest issues was that i had built right next to two walls (Back and complete side of machine)and found I had no way to fix or lubricate should the need arise. "And it did"........ Given the fact the she was several hundred KG at that stage and impossible to move.

With the above in mind I have made the decision to downsize and maybe make her 4 or 5 axis. For the moment I will concentrate on 3 axis as I would need a functioning machine to make parts for the additional axis upgrades down the road.

Current spec.

• Aluminum profile construction.
• 3 Axis.
• 3m x1.5m. machine size.
• 2.4m x 1.2m cutting area.
• 2.2Kw Water cooled manual tool change Spindle
• Mod 2 Rack and pinion.
• 25mm Round lineal rail.
• Mist cooling.

Aspirations for the down sized machine.

• High speed.
• Servo drive. ( steppers for the moment but design for easy swap over )
• ATC.
• Automatic tool height measurement.
• Possible inclusion for plasma cutter/water table integration.(Maybe)
• Ethernet control.
• Video camera for remote viewing.
• Lighting.
• 1.5m x 1.5m (No larger and maybe smaller in one direction.
• 5 axis. (Start with 3)
• 800mm x 1000mm Cutting area( I will never need anything bigger) I think?? hmmmmm Might go bigger.
• Ball screws.
• Linear rails.( 25mm square but budget dictates ) I have some ISEL LSF 2x12 dual round rails and WS-5 200mm carriages (Salvaged) to try first.
• Fully enclosed for coolant and swarf containment.
• Flood and mist cooling for aluminum part cutting.

It's a big wish list but we shall see.

I'm going to stick with the aluminum profile as a build material as I can change the design should it be needed.

I will attach some images of the current machine and update as I make progress. Let the fun begin!