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I'm using a Logitech wireless keyboard with built-in touchpad at the moment. Haven't had any problems with that (a lot of people say that you shouldn't use wireless keyboards as they aren't too reliable in a noisy environment) but a wireless MPG would be good. I keep looking at the Chinese wireless units for around £100 which would make zero-setting while leaning over the machine much easier. Still, finishing the swivelling monitor bracket so I can actually see the monitor properly while zero-setting would be a good step in the right direction...

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Originally Posted by Neale

I'm using a Logitech wireless keyboard with built-in touchpad at the moment. Haven't had any problems with that (a lot of people say that you shouldn't use wireless keyboards as they aren't too reliable in a noisy environment) but a wireless MPG would be good. I keep looking at the Chinese wireless units for around £100 which would make zero-setting while leaning over the machine much easier. Still, finishing the swivelling monitor bracket so I can actually see the monitor properly while zero-setting would be a good step in the right direction...

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I'm not to fussed about the wireless thing, I can almost reach the keyboard from the machine but would make life a lot nicer if I could just have something to jog it around easily. do the one's that state mach3 just plug straight in to the pc? or do they go into the csmio ?

The Mach3 ones talk to Mach3 via the PC and some kind of USB wireless dongle. They don't connect to the IP/M. The wireless versions look like updated versions of the wired (USB) versions that have been around for a while.

cool ill have to look in to those a bit more.

so moving on for my goal of cutting alli is 2005 ball screws for the two on the x and 1605 for y and z the right ones to go for?

Any idea on the ali gantry, I know jazz uses them a lot on his but not sure if they are all designed for the same purpose? it would certainly make my life easier if I didn't need to use steel.

5mm pitch is a bit low for cutting wood but plenty for cutting aluminium, or at least this is true on my machine. However, I've only just started trying to cut aluminium so haven't much experience of this yet. On balance, as I said earlier, I probably should have gone for 10mm pitch but as I do a lot of small work and 3D machining, it's acceleration more than absolute speed that improves job time so in practice it's not that much of a problem - for me. There's a bunch of engineering trade-offs in there and you have to decide for yourself where the priorities are.

I have no experience of aluminium gantries. I've gone from MDF to welded steel, so can't make any intelligent comments about aluminium but there are plenty of people out there who do use aluminium (my feeling is that this is the most popular material by far for gantries) and there are plenty of build logs and other comments about it. In practice I don't think that the weight difference is particularly important (which is not intuitive, but then neither is the fact that the rotational inertia of the ballscrews is a major factor in limiting gantry acceleration) so it's down to material availability/price and facilities available for machining and assembly that will probably drive the decision. I have a MIG welder and milling machine, which was a major factor in my choice. YMMV...

I'm trying to decide how is best to do the stepper mounts to include a belt drive to each of the ball screws.

I was going to have them on the side but that will increase the over all width a fair bit

I was all so wondering if there is a way I could have the motors inside the main tube but not sure its a great idea.

any one have any ideas or suggestions ?

Attachment 21756

Attachment 21757

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

I'm trying to decide how is best to do the stepper mounts to include a belt drive to each of the ball screws.

I was going to have them on the side but that will increase the over all width a fair bit

I was all so wondering if there is a way I could have the motors inside the main tube but not sure its a great idea.

any one have any ideas or suggestions ?

Attachment 21756

Attachment 21757

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Structurally/mechanically ok but need to get cables to the motors plus best to put holes in the mounting plate and maybe box section as well to allow for cooling.

yes, I was thinking I would probably have the mounting plate welded on the end and then have a hole in the side to post the motor in and allow it to be mounted up, just hoping there will be enough room to get the pullys on doing it like this.

the other think I'm just trying to think about is mounting the ball screw blocks, and having a method to adjust them a little if needed so rather than mounting them direct to the steel have a plate in-between them with some elongated mounting slots?

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yes, I was thinking I would probably have the mounting plate welded on the end and then have a hole in the side to post the motor in and allow it to be mounted up, just hoping there will be enough room to get the pullys on doing it like this.

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I don't think it will be a good idea to weld a plate on the end.
How about making a motor mount with the appropriate centre hole and elongated slots made out of ali and make it wrap around the box on the outside left and bottom edge. That way the motor can be fitted to the mount and then slid into the box and bolted through the flanges of the mount into the steel box section.

do you mind explaining why not?

this is what I had in mind, could easily add extra cooling around it and then would print some cover with mesh in to prevent crap going in.

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

do you mind explaining why not?

this is what I had in mind, could easily add extra cooling around it and then would print some cover with mesh in to prevent crap going in.

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Ok that looks fine if you can wiggle the motor in there I would think you will have to mill out the steel plate so that the motor would be inlet into it because the motor shafts are generally not long enough for the pulley.

yes I have that recess drawn in there it should be fine getting it in and then will just tap the holes on the motor



like I mentioned I'm a bit worried about getting the bk blocks all lined up so thinking maybe make some plates up like in the pic just to allow 1.5mm ether way incase the holes are not perfect. but now just thinking maybe I would be better making a bracket from angle ali and using a fk support instead?

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

. . . like I mentioned I'm a bit worried about getting the bk blocks all lined up so thinking maybe make some plates up like in the pic just to allow 1.5mm ether way incase the holes are not perfect. but now just thinking maybe I would be better making a bracket from angle ali and using a fk support instead?

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If you want to go the route you have drawn then you can make the mounting plate into a tramming plate. Add a cup-point grub screw to each corner which contacts the RHS underneath and allows fine tuning in/out and various angles. When aligned the bolts are tightened down holding the plate in this position. Be aware you are relying on the stiffness of the cup point area contact with the RHS to give the stiffness of the axis as seen by the machine, but if this worries you once it is set up you can remove the plate, cover the underside with machine epoxy and tighten back down. It will set with the alignment position you dialled in using the grub screws.

See here post #23. Grub screws around edge of bracket give alignment, then main bolts tighten against them:
http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/9141-...gestions/page2

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yes I have that recess drawn in there it should be fine getting it in and then will just tap the holes on the motor

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I see the recess from the outside but it is usual to recess from the inside so that the motor sticks out more.

Are you sure the the motor and shaft with the pulley on will stick out enough?

thanks for spotting that i realised i hadn't modified the front for the motor to slide the rear is like this. I have left 5mm thickness. I like the idea of using grubs I was going to do something similar for the gantry but sounds like a good idea to do it all round and then like you say just bed everything with epoxy after that way you don't have to do all that sell leveling resin stuff. :)

I keep hearing dean say adjustment adjustment adjustment which I think is exactly right for diy stuff

all fixed will see if I can find some pullies to put on there but its the same as what I did on my other machine essentially so should be fine.

so thinking this for the screw support instead, at the moment I have the bracket at 15mm alli, not sure if that's ok or if it would need to be bigger, tbh I haven't looked to see what section is even available.Attachment 21779

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I have left 5mm thickness.

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Personally I would cut that down to 3 mm to get the motor shaft sticking out more.

found some pulllys on line so had a play 5mm is just doable, going down to 4 would be plenty so will do that. even at 5 mm the pullly would go all the way on its just a bit harder to do the grub screw up.

hmm now on to the y and z not looking forward to trying to draw this!

so just kinda throwing something together if anyone has any thoughts let me know I'm not really to sure what I'm doing.

getting a bit obsed with trying to get this designed and built asap so was up until 2am last night searching the forum and looking for ideas, I keep ending up looking at zeeflyboys thread and drawings as it looks so nice.

I'm still trying to rough out the design and get a feel for what I'm doing



what I'm wondering at the moment is how fare do the hiwin carriages need to be spaced apart, what's a acceptable distance?





Attachment 21783

I steel I have that I'm going to use for the machine has a bit of surface rust from sitting out for the last two years so wanted to try the viniger trick to clean it up. I didn't have any white viniger to hand but did have a bottle of brick cleaner acid so gave that a try and can't believe how well it works! One the design is complete I will cut all the bits to length the pop it all in a tank to soak :)

After the vinegar bath you can spray WD40 at the inner side since you are going to paint the steel from outside, the rust I see is not that much that is going to cause trouble but it is always good to take precautions.

i think your supposed to do a alkaline solution after the vinegar or acid to neutralise it and then yes i should probably get something to put on the inside. I will see if i can spray some red oxide in there and if not go for the machine oil option or similar.

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I seam to have stalled a bit on this project as I cant decide a nice way to do the y axis

from what I read the best option is for the rails to be top and bottom of the gantry

However in doing that it doesn't make it all that easy to make the mounts for the carriages adjustable and to get everything perfectly lined up.

what do people do to solve this as it seams most people use this configuration?Attachment 23771

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

what do people do to solve this as it seams most people use this configuration?

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Hi Charlie,

Here are a few that work fine. Bit heavier profile 120x80.

Attachment 23776
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Hi dean

thanks for that

If I can go for that rail setup with one on the top and one on the front it would make life a lot easier!

It was only a first sketch so I can easily bump up the size of the section if needs

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

I seam to have stalled a bit on this project as I cant decide a nice way to do the y axis

from what I read the best option is for the rails to be top and bottom of the gantry

However in doing that it doesn't make it all that easy to make the mounts for the carriages adjustable and to get everything perfectly lined up.

what do people do to solve this as it seams most people use this configuration?Attachment 23771

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Hi Charlieuk,



I have the same thing to think about.

I think i am gonna use set screws in the stationary Z plate pointing at the side of the top and bottom carriages.

So i need a little extra room in the bolt holes in top and bottom mounting plates.

Setscrews will be removed after i am satisfied things are square and torqued down, before moving part of z axis is mounted.


Grtz Bert.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-A320FL met Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by JAZZCNC

Hi Charlie,

Here are a few that work fine. Bit heavier profile 120x80.

Attachment 23776
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Attachment 23778
Attachment 23779
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dean could I ask how wide you go for you y/z setup? 200ish?

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Originally Posted by JAZZCNC

Hi Charlie,

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Thats an incredibly nice looking beast, congrats!

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

dean could I ask how wide you go for you y/z setup? 200ish?

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Many good ideas in those photos, can I steal some? :-)

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Originally Posted by Nickhofen

Many good ideas in those photos, can I steal some? :-)

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Go for it take what you like and if not sure just ask.

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

dean could I ask how wide you go for you y/z setup? 200ish?

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Yes, 200mm is about right.

Just note that in these pics the rails are on the back plate and bearings on the front plate. This is because these machines required deep material thickness's with long tools so Z axis needed to lift high. They also only going to cut wood or softer materials.
If don't require thick material or long tools then Stronger Z axis can be made by putting rails on front plate and bearings on the back plate.

This pic uses rails on front plate notice that it's highest Z position. Also notice Charlie 90x45 profile in L config.

Attachment 23789
Attachment 23790

I wont need this machine to use particularly long tools but 120mm z travel minimum would be nice . Do you think this is doable with this design with the rails on the front plate ?

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

I wont need this machine to use particularly long tools but 120mm z travel minimum would be nice . Do you think this is doable with this design with the rails on the front plate ?

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Yes If remember correctly the machine in pic below is 120mm and that is using short gantry sides. Most I've built allow 150-160mm. That is total travel so got to factor longest tool to get actually Max material thinkness.

Also if using the 120x80 setup you can gain little clearence and extra travel because bottom rail is on front not underside of profile.

cheers many thanks indeed sounds like it should work for my needs, ill get all the other details figured out and hopefully I can get to work!

so I went back to the start and stated fresh as I had made a few mistakes on the size

im still thinking of in cooperating a 4th axis to also machine aluminum.

im assuming running it down the length of the x to one side is the best option as it will be stiffer with the spindle not traveling across the gantry.

What I cant decide is is it better to have it inside the main frame or mounted outside given the main machine is going to be fairly heavy duty and was going to have raised rails. What I don't want is it to take loads of time to set the 4th up so I never end up using it but at the same time it would be good to keep the machine as compact as possible.

any one got any advise?


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Something like this you mean.!

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yes although with the raised rails on my frame it wont make it quite so easy/ neat otherwise it would be trying to have it setup on the inside of the main frame and x rails.

I do have enough width to have it going across with the y axis but not sure if its silly to do that because of the less rigidity the gantry will have in the center all be it probably not a huge amount.

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Originally Posted by charlieuk

yes although with the raised rails on my frame it wont make it quite so easy/ neat otherwise it would be trying to have it setup on the inside of the main frame and x rails.

I do have enough width to have it going across with the y axis but not sure if its silly to do that because of the less rigidity the gantry will have in the center all be it probably not a huge amount.

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If you look close you'll see the Y axis doesn't drop below the gantry so even with raised sides it will pass over the rails.
Not sure what you mean by less rigidity.? This setup doesn't affect rigidity at all. While the gantry is wider the bearings are still located exactly at same place they would be if gantry ended at rails. Only thing it does is make machine wider. This is offset by the fact don't loose any cutting area and no messing around with setup.