I want to DIY.. some questions please!

[Shinobiwan]

Hi Ant,

I knew you got a CNC machine but only after reading about it on here as I haven't been reading DIYA much lately.When I read about your machine I thought 'oh, you too!'.

Aye. I'd been looking longingly(as you do) at them for years but things fell into place the middle of last year and I suddenly found myself with a decent size workshop.

But I did get a wife and a bigger listening room in exchange.

Simon, it seems like we're in the twilight zone here. We've both bought a CNC, we build speakers and now we've both saddled ourselves with partners who moan about all the MDF dust we walk into the house or that the dinning room isn't an assembly area.

I'm going for 2ftx4ft as sheets commonly come in that size, and also they fit in my car so I can collect myself. I thought about vertical mounting too, but I'm worried about the practicality of clamping work pieces in place, and I also want to make a dust/sound cover.

You can build in a cover and have it vertical. Its more work in the design stage but can make for a really neat machine when space is an issue(when isn't it?). If I'd DIY'd I'd have likely done something very similar to this:

http://www.denfordata.com/pdfs/produ...cal-router.pdf

Very tidy package that would easily allow for a 4x4ft bed. All the crap falling into a pan at the bottom rather than all over the workpiece or into you rails etc. is another plus. Really there's not many downsides aside from increased build complexity and more awkward clamping. You could add vacuum bed later to solve the latter.

If your spending the sort of money I think you are then its worth considering.

I got the spindle today actually :) I was unsure if I should get the 1.5Kw or 2.2Kw motor, but decided to go for 2.2Kw firstly because it was available from CNC4U at the same price as Chinese sellers, and also because I don't want to limit my cutting speed for the sake of £100.

Good stuff but the ER16 collet might be a bit limiting. Can I ask why you choose that over the ER20? I looked around long and hard at cutters and most of the extra long series cutter are 12mm shank. These cutters allow thick(ie. 100mm) baffles to be safely machined.

So what are you doing for a water-pump, and does it need a radiator to cool the water? If so, I thought I might run the water through one of the alu extrusions.

Absolutely no need for a radiator/fan setup in this country, maybe the Sahara. I'm going for simple so that means a bucket with about 25ltrs of water, a dash of anti freeze and a regular submersible pump in the bottom. That's all you need and anything else is additional expense and not warranted. The only thing you need to watch out for is the pump head height capacity something like 3m is fine.

By the way, Mr. ZappAutomation, please don't use the shredded paper for packing my floor is all messy now. At least get a paper shredder that makes long lines of it rather than flakes. :) Other than that thank very much for your great and fast service!

Yep can't say I'm a fan either. No matter how carefully you try to remove things from the box that stuff still goes everywhere. I'm sure Gary is laughing whilst he's packing these things.