Time to share

[Sasquatch]

Hi.
I'm working on this machine for a while now.
dimensions:
legth 100cm, width 85cm(motor to motor) 65cm inside of the uprights.
working area 450x700x200mm(X Y Z)
26503
from above quick render i have done:

Gantry, Z plate and base welded + stress relieved.
Z plate and gantry machined to 0.01mm, or should I say: I cant see any twist or bow in them.

Base machined to +-0.1mm, got fed up with machining company and decided to go for epoxy self level cast. I woud scrape it in, but i can't afford surface table big enough to give me reliable reference for this size. I have 600x400mm one i can see/masure twistand dip in my base rail supports.

Gantry and base uprights will be filled with epoxy concrete for reinforcement and dampening purposes.

So far i learned that:
"precision" engineering companies in my area can't measure 0.1mm bow in 1000mm and 800mm long parts and can't machine them flatter than 0.1mm.
What is mystery to me is why they have gigantic granite surface table in their inspection room.
Hand scraping is loooong process but works.

Photos to come soon.

[Sasquatch]

Epoxy casting is bullshit.
Looks brilliant, even quick check with straight edge looked promising.
But check it with dial indicator and mallet+chisel is your next tool.
Luckily it's only 440g of epoxy and 2 days wasted.

[Lee Roberts]

You forgot the pics

[Sasquatch]

You forgot the pics

Yes, too pissed off by wasted time, sorry

[AndyUK]

Yes, too pissed off by wasted time, sorry

Yep. Been there. Not to mention the wasted money. But keep at it :)

If its worth anything, my second pour went a LOT better. They're within +/- 0.05mm immediately after the pour, and its a nice smooth deviation so easily shimmed. You have to be very careful with the type of epoxy and the method of the pour - but theres lots of info and videos on here if you look carefully.

[Sasquatch]

Big problem with pouring is that I already have holes drilled and tapped. PVC hose on screw, greased and threaded in keeps threads safe but disturbs surface.
My mistake, taken machine shop word for flatness and drilled before checking.
Today chiselled off all poxy epoxy and made map of unevenness.
Two opposite corners are 0.1 and 0.35 mm high.
Remaining 700mm and 600mm of each rail are within 0.02mm, easy to scrape in.
Good news is I got my money back for machining.

Plan for big deviance is to use dremel with carbide burr to speed things up, one cross pass takes 0.05 off. Take it to within 0.05 with burr then continue by hand proper way. 20-30h should be enough.

Base cleaned up and ready for scraping:
http://sasquatchv.eu/images/2019/10/12/DSC_0011.md.jpg (http://sasquatchv.eu/image/URQO)
http://sasquatchv.eu/images/2019/10/12/DSC_0012.md.jpg (http://sasquatchv.eu/image/Um0V)

[Neale]

Plugging screw holes before epoxy pour is, as you say, a recipe for disaster - meniscus around each plug needs removing at the very least. However, a sellotape patch over each tapped hole works fine, doesn't disturb the surface, and you can see where the holes are to drill a clearance hole in the epoxy when set. I had to have two goes at mine, and I had drilled and tapped the holes by the time of the second pour. I did have other issues, but tapped holes weren't one of them. In my case, the bow in the 1800mm X rails was around 3-4mm, and given 3mm wall thickness, machining or scraping were both out of the question!

[Sasquatch]

Thanks for casting advice, I'll stick to scraping.
I'm sure casting works sometimes, but, I prefer more predictable results.

Meniscus wasn't big problem, IN2 epoxy from easycomposites is setting in very irregular way. It looked like skin was forming in random areas and pulling surface up between meniscus on the walls. It was up and down 0.1mm. To be clear : I mixed it well ->electric drill with spiral paint mixer->5 minute vacuum degas->pour. I didnt go with west epoxy as i figured that 20 minutes pot life won't give me enough time for degas.

[JAZZCNC]

I didnt go with west epoxy as i figured that 20 minutes pot life won't give me enough time for degas.

Thats one reason you went wrong. West's 209 extra slow hardener gives you plenty of time and gives hours to settle.
I've used this method on 20+ machines ranging from small to 10x5 machines without any problems. Both with and without holes drilled. I've got a 6 x 4 Granit table to check against and Flatness is to within 0.01 when done correctly.
The key to holes is to use epoxy putty.

That said let me just say that if you're just using the machine as a general router for woods, plastics, etc then your not going to see 0.1mm error across that length.
It's too easy to get caught in the trap of overthinking or trying to reach accuracy that isn't reachable with DIY tools. Without a reference surface to check against then your just pissing into the wind and guessing to the accuracy.

[John McNamara]

Hi Sasquatch

You gave up too early. Look what the world is doing.

https://www.google.com/search?q=epoxy%20cnc%20mill%20-site%3Apinterest.*&rlz=1C1ASUT_enAU791AU791&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiF8sbGm5nlAhUZWX0KHYb6DtwQ_AUIEigB&biw=1484&bih=700&oq=epoxy%20cnc%20mill%20-site%3Apinterest.*

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1ASUT_enAU791AU791&biw=1484&bih=700&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=_xWjXeCSM4r3vgSIj6G4AQ&q=cnc%20mineral%20casting%20-site%3Apinterest.*&oq=cnc%20mineral%20casting%20-site%3Apinterest.*&gs_l=img.3...19675.24743..26095...0.0..0.228.813.0 j4j1......0....1..gws-wiz-img.Z6RPWS4vSRE&ved=0ahUKEwigjrzzm5nlAhWKu48KHYhHCBcQ4dUDCAc&uact=5

Regards
John

[Sasquatch]

John, I think you misunderstood. I gave up on pourig unfilled epoxy to level uot linear rails supports.
I would love to build my router entirely out of epoxy granite. Unfortunately getting aggregates in less than tonne per grade and lack of big enough flat surface to cast against pushed me towards steel.
I'm still filling sections with epoxy granite but with aggregate far from optimal, mostly as dampening medium. Also hollow 100x50x4mm gets easily crushed when bolted together. Gantry beam is filled with epoxy granite to stop this. Gantry will be bolted with 4 m8 bolts at each side.

Also if(and mostlikely will) my Z axis proves too flimsy to give reasonable aluminium cut finish it will get cast epoxy granite upgrade. But that's distant future.

As for works update :
Scraping done to within +0.05mm.
Gantry beam is granited up
Tomorrow hand scraper will get workout.

[Sasquatch]

Update,
Decided to order proper straight edge, HELIOS-PREISSER 0464103 Stahllineal DIN 874/0, 1000 mm. Straight and parallel to 0.012mm
Came today, wrapped in cardboard with massive dent 200mm from end. Dropped it on granite surface plate -> 0.03 mm feeler gauge fits under, clearly bent.
Sent it straight back(pun intended).
Good in a way, laser+camera alignment (http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/12966-DIY-Laser-levelling-using-webcam-and-laser-level) works out much cheaper and as far as i can say just as accurate.

[Sasquatch]

Z axis greasing extensions
http://sasquatchv.eu/images/2019/10/22/DSC_0026.md.jpg (http://sasquatchv.eu/image/Uxgx)

http://sasquatchv.eu/images/2019/10/22/DSC_0024.md.jpg (http://sasquatchv.eu/image/Ujq3)