Hello from a lurker...

[kingcreaky]

Hi Si, a plywood kit - I think that you had better run for cover!!! G.

as I read it... I thought the same... :-D

forget wood. erase it from your memory

Drop me a PM, Im reasonably local and may have a solution to your quandry

[njhussey]

Drop me a PM, Im reasonably local and may have a solution to your quandry

Another machine in a month build log coming up Matt??!!

[firetrappe]

Lol, thanks for all the replies lads. TBH I knew I was going to get slated for talking about building from wood, I've got broad shoulders though so I can take it.

I've been using a machine built from 6mm MDF, drainpipe, gas pipe and cheap all-thread studding for 4 years. I don't think you can get much more 'budget' than that. But to be fair it's done what i've asked of it. Some pics attached of the type of things i've been cutting.

My reason for the plywood build was to spend money on decent hardware, supported linear rails, ballscrews, bearing blocks etc and also good electronics; this is the driver board, relay board and psu i'm using at the moment : www.easy-cnc.com * Your best option in driver boards for CNC machines

I was hoping that I could then use the ply machine and work on a better design in the future using the hardware and electronics i'd invested in.
I agree that £400 is pricey for some bits of plywood, but thought it was reasonable considering the R&D work that had been put into the design.

Kingcreaky, i'll PM you shortly.

Si.

[Jonathan]

From the images you've posted it's clear that your machine has quite a lot of backlash, so you definitely want to eliminate this by using ballscrews on your next machine.

I agree that £400 is pricey for some bits of plywood, but thought it was reasonable considering the R&D work that had been put into the design.

What R&D! If they'd done any R&D then it wouldn't be made from plywood. If you consider it worth paying for R&D, then just look at the build logs on this forum and you'll find all the information you need. I've recently posted about a machine I made, and I will upload the drawings/plans to the post very soon. No I'm not charging for it as it's all information you can get for nothing if you're prepared to spend a little time reading the forums. Charging for it would be like charging people to read this website...

[m_c]

By the looks of it, you are getting quite a lot of phenolic plywood for your money, which isn't exactly cheap, and is more stable than most other wood boards.

Yes, £400 could buy you all the metal you need to potentially create a better machine, but then you've got to learn how to work with metal and probably spend more on tools to be able to work with it or pay for somebody else to do it, whereas that £400 gets you a basic machine that needs a lot less input to get a working machine.

You already have experience of CNC, you have obviously done your research, and you have a reasonable expectations of what the machine should be capable of, so I personally don't think buying that kit would be a bad choice for you. However, I would be looking to try and find somebody who has already bought one, to make sure the kit they received lived up to expectations, and that they never got supplied with a bunch of poor fitting parts.

[JAZZCNC]

Yes, £400 could buy you all the metal you need to potentially create a better machine, but then you've got to learn how to work with metal and probably spend more on tools to be able to work with it or pay for somebody else to do it, whereas that £400 gets you a basic machine that needs a lot less input to get a working machine.

Sorry absolutely don't agree that thing will be harder to setup than pair of SU carbs that's been sat in scrapyard for 20 yrs (Know you'll relate to that Moray.) and it will quiver like a jelly if pushed hard.!! . . . . No contest.!

For less than £100 steel and £75 welder could have far superior machine. For £200 I'd cut and weld the bugger up no problem.!!

[m_c]

Sorry absolutely don't agree that thing will be harder to setup than pair of SU carbs that's been sat in scrapyard for 20 yrs (Know you'll relate to that Moray.) and it will quiver like a jelly if pushed hard.!! . . . . No contest.!

For less than £100 steel and £75 welder could have far superior machine. For £200 I'd cut and weld the bugger up no problem.!!

I've never dealt with carbs on cars of any kind ;)

[JAZZCNC]

What R&D! If they'd done any R&D then it wouldn't be made from plywood.

Agree with Jonathan but also under stand what your saying.!! . . . But don't think you realise just what can be achieved with £400.

I could build a base frame and Gantry for machine with 1000 x 700 cutting made from Box section steel for £60 and still have some steel left.!!

If you want bling and shiny then £500 would buy all the Aluminium plate and profile for this machine which purely by coincidence is very similar in design to Excel's machine here EXEL CNC SL6090 Pro that cost's £6000 and it's not has stiff or neat has my design(Which was designed and built well before they started).

With £2K you can build a cracking steel machine complete with profiled linear rails and all the trimmings.
To give an idea I'm just Finishing off a machine for someone like the one in the Picture which has profiled rails, ballscrews, 3Nm motor's along Proximity switch limits and energy chain all the trimmings etc.

Proper Control box (which I'm doing Now between typing here.!!) that has high quality 80V AM882 Digital drives, excellent CSMIO-P-M motion control card full with 24v signals and Estop system driven thru Pilz safety relay etc

All this for £2800 minus spindle.!! (and I'm covering most my time). . . . . Built from steel it would be Less.!!

[firetrappe]

From the images you've posted it's clear that your machine has quite a lot of backlash, so you definitely want to eliminate this by using ballscrews on your next machine.



What R&D! If they'd done any R&D then it wouldn't be made from plywood. If you consider it worth paying for R&D, then just look at the build logs on this forum and you'll find all the information you need. I've recently posted about a machine I made, and I will upload the drawings/plans to the post very soon. No I'm not charging for it as it's all information you can get for nothing if you're prepared to spend a little time reading the forums. Charging for it would be like charging people to read this website...

Jonathan, yes, my current machine does have a lot of backlash. Unfortunately there is quite a lot of play in the whole machine so I haven't even bothered trying to dial any of it out with software.

Maybe R&D was a bad term to use. The guy that sells the kits (which are cut using the machine he sells kits of btw) has revised the design and build instructions several times. He has a dedicated forum for people building the machine and has refined the design from his customers input to make it better and more fool-proof to build. 'Support' would have been a better reason for justifying the price. With several build logs to refer to from other people building identical machines (Startseite - CNC-Holzfraese), I felt that it would be worth the cost of the kit. It's the path I followed for my existing machine and it's the support and building tips/mods from the Phlatprinter community that made the build so much more enjoyable.

Sorry absolutely don't agree that thing will be harder to setup than pair of SU carbs that's been sat in scrapyard for 20 yrs

Jazz, My main concern was building the machine 'square'. I know how difficult it can be to build an RC aeroplane without warps etc. I'd much rather have an accurately machined metal frame that could be bolted together rather than glued and screwed!

Anyway, thanks to all the input from you guys i'm pleased to say the Plyw**d machine is looking much less likely.

Si.

[firetrappe]

Hi Guys, i'm back again with another newbie question...

I've spent most of the weekend reading the threads on this forum. I think my brain is overloaded with info now! At least I know a lot more today than I did on Friday when I first posted.

Anyway, my question.

My current machine is located at the bottom of the garden in a 8'x10' wooden shed. The shed is built on a slabbed base and has a wooden floor. I have a 10' worksurface down one length of the shed, the current machine is bolted to this.

With a more conventional steel or ali machine, I intend to remove the worksurface to make room for it. Depending on whether the machine is suitable for bench mounting or has it's own frame, is it sufficient mount it directly onto the wooden floor that is currently there (supported underneath), or would I be better off putting holes in the floor so that it stands on the slabs underneath the shed and is isolated?

Cheers,
Si.