Comments sought on new build: A CNC Router for RC Gliders and Planes

Yes if you could please. I am looking at 2 leisure batteries 115ah each, 2 x 100w panels and a 20A charge controller. All in about £250.00

I've got two 92Ah 12V batteries that I'd consider selling. They're these ones:
Enersys PowerSafe 12V92F - 12V 92Ah VRLA Battery £0.00 - Industrial Batteries - High Rate VRLA - Enersys V Range - Front Terminal FIAMM Batteries | C&D Technologies Batteries | YUASA Batteries | Enersys Batteries | Scooter Batteries | Lawnmower Batte
I've barely used them, but had them a while. I've charged them every few months though to stop them degrading. No idea what they're worth..

For the solar panels you're best off looking on eBay. A few months ago I got four new certified 190W panels for £120 each, then another two the same for £100 each. They're now on the shed roof and grid tied with an inverter also from eBay.

That's where I was looking, on ebay. The batteries that I was looking at are these 2 X 12v NEW 110AH LOW HEIGHT LEISURE BATTERIES NEW | eBay, the panels are these ones 200W solar panels-2x100W 12V Photovoltaic PV Solar Panel Module 12V RV Boat | eBay and the charge controller is this one Biard 20 Amp Solar PV Panel Charge Controller - Protects Battery - LED Indicator | eBay

Not so sure I'll grid tie them but might look at an inverter to run some bits in the shed as I'm in rented accommodation now and don't want to pay for altering the electrics. If I do look at getting an inverter then I might get more batteries and solar panels as I'm only going to be in the shed for a couple of hours every evening (well only if SWMBO allows!) and on the weekends.

Certainly something to look into!

I heard back from my friend, he reckons you'll be doing well to get it all for £250 (at least if it's all new). The panels will probably go up in price quite a bit, he reckons you'll end up paying about £100 per 100W panel. Also don't forget that unless you can charge the heli batteries direct from the LA batteries you'll need an inverter a decent one of which will set you back a bit.

Yes I wasn't looking properly, the panels are about £100 each! I can connect the batteries in series to get 24V so I can charge my batteries (5000mAh 6 cell 22.2V ones) in parallel with my large charger.

Spent an hour in the shed last night (half of it in the dark working by the light of the street lamp :smile: ) and knocked up a workbench. I'd calculated the lengths exactly and as is always the way I was rushing and cut the wrong piece so one leg (was going to put a leg in the middle of the bench as 6' long) missing. Still it's enabled me to tidy some bits away for the moment which should allow me to bring more stuff back from the fiancé's parents garage! Just got to get my bum in gear and make some shelves, though I'm away this weekend taking the daughter to Uni for the first time.
On another note I've just paid the import VAT and rip off fee (sorry clearance fee) for Parcelforce so should get my remaining linear rails on Monday. Just had the postie drop off some energy chain purchased on fleabay so components are building up! Best stop fannying around with my design and get buying some steel so I can cut and weld it to get on with the build!!
I've added braces at either end now to make it nice and ridged, also will be good when I come to do the self levelling epoxy for the X axis rail beds!
Attachment 10179
I've tried to keep a fair bit of the gantry as straight cuts but have the end plates to get machined and a slot in the front plate for the Y axis ballnut mount to be machined.
Question is.....do I get the square bits machined as well so the faces are flat and square or will the ends be ok as cut?
Next question is....does anyone fancy doing some machining for me? I've got a nice piece of 20mm Ali (1000 x 800) sat on a pallet waiting to be cut up...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njhussey

Next question is....does anyone fancy doing some machining for me? I've got a nice piece of 20mm Ali (1000 x 800) sat on a pallet waiting to be cut up...

---

Email me models or dxf's of what you want doing and I'll take a look. I'll PM you it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JAZZCNC

Email me models or dxf's of what you want doing and I'll take a look. I'll PM you it.

---

Same here ;)
Or just post the drawings?

Going to draw it up in a meaningful package as its in Sketchup at the moment. Got SW so will have a play with that and do some proper drawings. Either that or just do them in CAD :)

1390mm long 20mm NSK linear rails came in at 8.30 this morning so I have all my rails now. Just need to inspect them but they're wrapped pretty well and the box isn't too mangled so I'm hoping they're straight still! Hoping Chai sends my ballscrews (1610 for X & Y and 1605 for Z) soon. Ordering steel today hopefully, just waiting on prices back...

Well checking the FEDEX tracking number Chai gave me and my ball screws are in France at the moment!
Remembering Kingcreaky's build thread where he got different ball nut housings than he thought he was getting I asked Chai for the data sheet. Good job I did as they are different from what I thought I'd be getting (best ask before ordering next time just to make sure!) so I'd best re-draw them and adjust the mounting points accordingly...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njhussey

Good job I did as they are different from what I thought I'd be getting (best ask before ordering next time just to make sure!) so I'd best re-draw them and adjust the mounting points accordingly...

---

That's exactly why I won't make parts for folks unless dimensions are taken directly off the parts or they have them in hand so know which data sheets to work from.! . . .Even then I prefer them in my hands so I can do the measuring.!!

I'm drawing up the gantry plates at the moment in Draftsight so should have some CAD models soon. I'm in two minds whether to do the end plates with slots in so the top/bottom/front plates are located in the end plates (remember seeing something like that on a build you did for someone) or whether to fit the end plate on square to the ends and have less machining?
Yes I'm waiting to get all the bits in my grubby paws before doing the final drawings just for that reason, so I can check all components are as they should be...

Got my delivery from Chai today...thought I'd got all 1605's but then took a closer look and all was correct! From me paying to them arriving at my door was 9 working days. Excuse the out of focus pics but they were taken on my phone :)

Attachment 10235Attachment 10236Attachment 10237Attachment 10238Attachment 10239

OK Chaps a couple of questions if I may. I'm rapidly pulling all the bits together and just want to check that I'm not going to start this build and then just when I get going come to a grinding halt because I've overlooked something! Below is a list of what I have and what I think I still need to get. Can you take a look at it and suggest what else I've forgotten please?

Items already purchased
• 1000mm x 800mm x 20mm Aluminium Plate (eBay)
• 2200mm x 950mm x 10mm 6082 Aluminium plate (eBay)
• X axis 20mm NSK linear rails 1300mm long & 4 carriages (eBay)
• Y axis 15mm THK linear rails 750mm long & 4 carriages (eBay)
• Z axis 15mm THK linear rails 440mm long & 4 carriages (eBay)
• NEMA 23 3Nm steppers x 3
• AM882 drivers x 3
• PDMX 126 BOB
• X axis ballscrews x 2 1325mm long with Ballscrew, ballscrew housing and Fixed and floating end bearings and housings (Chai)
• Y axis ballscrews 750mm long with Ballscrew, ballscrew housing and Fixed and floating end bearings and housings (Chai)
• Z axis ballscrews 415mm long with Ballscrew, ballscrew housing and Fixed and floating end bearings and housings (Chai)
• 1 set of ER16 collets 2mm through to 10mm (Chai)
• 2.5m of IGUS 15 series 36mm x 24mm energy chain (eBay)
• 6 off mechanical limit switches (also have 6 off PNP Proxy switches in case I want to use them instead of mechanical switches) (eBay and cou”work”gh)
• E-Stop button
• Homemade 1.7kW brushless outrunner spindle (Me!!)
• 100mm x 50mm x 4mm 7.5m length of steel
• 50mm x 50mm x 4mm 7.5m length of steel
• 50mm x 25mm x 4mm 7.5m length of steel
• 24V 47A (twin server PSU’s) PSU for the spindle
• 75A ESC & Servo tester for the spindle

Items to be purchased
• PSU (parts as will make one)
• CY cable (will ask our works electrician if he has any going spare…)
• Cable Tray (as above)
• 5mm pitch HTD Pulleys and belts (lengths of belts still to be fixed)
• Bespoke Z axis Ballnut mount (one of you hopefully??!!)
• Epoxy for levelling the X axis rail beds
• Spindle mount to be machined (again one of you hopefully??!!)
• Various size taps for tapping all the holes

There are more bits that I think I need but at the moment I can't think....that's where you experienced chaps come in :eagerness:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njhussey

There are more bits that I think I need but at the moment I can't think....that's where you experienced chaps come in :eagerness:

---

Hundreds of nut's & bolts and Screws.!! . . . . Kid you not 200 bolts go no where.!! . . . DONT buy cheap taps and get spiral flute they make life easy.

Good electrical cabinet to put it all in and trunking to separate power and signal cables etc.

Now start building and stop over thinking because you'll never account for everything and plans will change has you go along.!!

What's special about the Z-axis ballnut mount that causes you to need a custom one?

The PSUs you've got for the spindle sound good. Do you have a source for them for a reasonable price?

Nuts bolts etc I'll get from one of my works suppliers...

Its a low profile one to fit between the Z axis plates without more machining, I'll put a pic up later if I've got one at home.

PSUs are Dell server PSUs which you can pick up off eBay. Normally twinned to get 24V by floating the earth on one and putting in series...or so I'm led to believe!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JAZZCNC

Hundreds of nut's & bolts and Screws.!! . . . . Kid you not 200 bolts go no where.!! . . . DONT buy cheap taps and get spiral flute they make life easy.

Good electrical cabinet to put it all in and trunking to separate power and signal cables etc.

Now start building and stop over thinking because you'll never account for everything and plans will change has you go along.!!

---

I'll get some more spiral flute ones Dean!

I'll ask our electrical engineer to get me a cabinet, probably a Sarel one as well as the trunking...

Will be starting the frame once the steel gets here which hopefully will be in the next day or so. Will get it cut up before work and at lunch and then start the welding bit by bit. Can't do it at home as no 16A sockets :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njhussey

Can't do it at home as no 16A sockets :(

---

Just bang an old nail in fuse it'll be ok for a few hours welding. .:loyal:

It's one of them new fangled fuse boxes with little plastic trippy things so you can't wrap tin foil round the fuse or bang a nail in.... :(

Got an electric oven? That will probably be on a 32 amp radial. I'm clearly not suggesting you pop the isolating switch off the oven and have the wire running out of your kitchen window. That would be irresponsible.

Andy, for a nano second I did think about it ;) .....however I'd have to have some sort of beefy extension lead going to the shed as it's a good 15 meters away from the cooker! I did think about getting a 5.5kv genny too but the cost was too much as I'd not really use is and its a new build so all the houses are crammed together so the neighbours would complain... simple solution is that I'll weld it at work, we have all the kit as it's what we do here!

Neil, I've really enjoyed reading your build thread. Nice to see a few fellow RC guys on the forum too.

Have you thought about building a vac-bed to use with your machine? With the thinner, light-weight material we modellers tend to use, a few people I know have found them really useful. With your machine being vertical it might be even more of an advantage?

My plan is to build one that can be used for cutting thin sheet materials but also removable for machining thicker materials.

Si.

Hi Si, thanks for the comments! It's not much of a build thread at the moment, more of a rambling design changing exercise...however I've now got nearly all the components (the steel came in yesterday) so I'll actually be starting the build soon :yahoo:

I have thought about a vac bed but I just want to get the build done. Will probably have one that can be put on the bed and taken off for other stuff (just like you) but how soon that gets done remains to be seen!! I also want to build a Vac former (for canopies, cowls etc) and a CNC 4 axis foam cutter for wing panels....already accumulating bits for the foam cutter :tongue:

Well as Jazz says I've stopped fannying around with it and cut the first couple of bits of steel to length so it's all go now at long bl**dy last :applouse:

Going to cut the rest of the steel before work and during lunch over the next few days. Hoping to start welding it up next week. It's going to be bloody heavy, I'm not looking forward to lifting it on my own as according to my calcs it'll weigh 74.4kg.

Will update with pics once I've started the welding as pics of cut lengths of steel aren't all that exciting...

Give me a shout when you're finished and I'll help you get it from the car to the shed. I wouldn't want to see "Man crushed by CNC" headlines in the local paper.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njhussey

Well as Jazz says I've stopped fannying around with it and cut the first couple of bits of steel to length so it's all go now at long bl**dy last :applouse:

---

Good Man and to Quote one my Youtube hero's Keith Fenner "Get Er Done"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njhussey

It's going to be bloody heavy, I'm not looking forward to lifting it on my own as according to my calcs it'll weigh 74.4kg.

---

Now add at least 50% more then imagine 25% of that Whizzing up and down back n forth and should give you some clue to how that shed is going to Rock n Roll. . :yahoo: . . . . . Anchor it down Well mate.!

I intend to anchor it down well. I'm going to put a layer of 18mm ply on the floor (to bring the floor total thickness to 36mm) as support and bolt through the shed floor to the baseframe. If it still 'Rock n Rolls' then I'll pour some concrete under the base and bolt down direct into that :eagerness:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jonathan

What's special about the Z-axis ballnut mount that causes you to need a custom one?

---

These are what I've drawn...
Attachment 10383Attachment 10384
I wanted them low profile to cut down on the machining required, i.e. so I don't have to get the Z axis plates machined for clearance and so I can get the rails nearer together which I know is not ideal but as I'm mostly going to be machining balsa, ply and carbon fibre will be fine!

They look very similar to these (which I'm planning to buy): Aliexpress.com Ball Nut Housing.

If anything I'd say they are lower profile than the one you've drawn up. The bottom bolt holes are in slightly different places but I'd be surprised if that was critical.

Looks like that's for a RM1605 ballnut, but your mounting holes for the nut don't match? The RM1605 holes are on 45 degree spacing and they're 5.5mm diameter holes so you'll struggle to get M6 through them!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jonathan

Looks like that's for a RM1605 ballnut, but your mounting holes for the nut don't match? The RM1605 holes are on 45 degree spacing and they're 5.5mm diameter holes so you'll struggle to get M6 through them!

---

And this is why I always insist the measurements on the drawings are taken from actual parts rather than Spec sheets taken from the Net.!!
So easy to assume they will be like the drawings only for something completely different to turn up.!! . . . .Thou in this case I reckon it's an Err has most ballnuts of this size use 45 Deg spacing & M5 bolts.?

Funnily enough I've taken home one of each item to measure with the vernier calipers ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wobblycogs

They look very similar to these (which I'm planning to buy): Aliexpress.com Ball Nut Housing.

If anything I'd say they are lower profile than the one you've drawn up. The bottom bolt holes are in slightly different places but I'd be surprised if that was critical.

---

I've asked for a price for 4 off (I can't see anything apart from a 3 off listing) so will see what they, well the 1610 ones, come back with as they look exactly what I'm after!

Just received some spiral flute taps from China so once I've welded up the frame (should have all the parts cut by the end of today as I did all the 50x50x4 box this morning and just have the 50x25 bed supports and bracing angles to cut at lunch!) and got some Ali cut for the gantry I can start drilling and tapping to my hearts content :thumsup:
Attachment 10386
Edit.....yep all steel for the router frame (not support frame) is now cut. Welding starts tomorrow :yahoo:

Managed to spend 1/2hr in the works at lunch tacking the frame up, well most of the time was spent clearing the bench and putting it back after :whistle: anyhooo....result is below:
Attachment 10395
Tomorrow I'll add in the rest of the cross members and if I've got time (I doubt it in the 1/2hr I have available) the braces :yahoo:

Todays tacking up....
Attachment 10402
When putting the first angle brace on an upright I found out that in my haste to cut them I set the angle to 40° not 45° :stupid: :hopelessness:
I would really like a couple of hours in one stint to go at it, I could then get it all tacked up and squared up ready for welding properly.

That's looking really nice so far Neil. Not bad for a couple of 30min lunch breaks!

Slightly off topic, but I found a video that I thought you might like. A neat way of cutting FR4 or CF without the nasty hazardous dust : CNC Fräsen GFK Ruderhörner - YouTube (make sure you watch the last 30 secs for neat bit of automation).

Si.

I've ordered these other ballnut housing and in total I bought 4 for about £26~
just purchase but don't pay and then say you want 4 or however many.

I've been welding my frame up and now that I have gas it's going pretty well! though i wish i had as much space as you do!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by firetrappe

That's looking really nice so far Neil. Not bad for a couple of 30min lunch breaks!

Slightly off topic, but I found a video that I thought you might like. A neat way of cutting FR4 or CF without the nasty hazardous dust : CNC Fräsen GFK Ruderhörner - YouTube (make sure you watch the last 30 secs for neat bit of automation).

Si.

---

Cheers Si, happy with it so far just need to press on next week and get it finished.

I'll have a problem cutting CF like that as my router is vertical and for the first little while will have a wood spoil board until I can afford an aluminium one. Then I'll be able to use coolant :)