Small rigid router - Design advise needed

[mitchejc]

Bit too far I think

Eddie, are you sure? Only an 11 hour flight I'll supply all the beer and sunshine you can tolerate :-)


Thanks for the very detailed reply, much appreciated. I'll go thru it with a fine comb tonight and google the stuff you are referring to that I'm not familiar with.

[T0rnado69]

I'll supply all the beer and sunshine you can tolerate :-)

you got your ticket yet eddy :)

[mitchejc]

Outch, got some prices on steel cabinets. My budget is experiencing a severe hangover to get the machine this far so are there perhaps any cheaper options that's feasible and then hopefully upgrade later? My other problem is that I don't have any tools to cut holes etc into a steel box so I have to factor that into the price. I understand why a steel cabinet is the best choice but can one get away with a wooden box with a metal back plate or something to that effect?

[Blackrat]

lol i almost fell over at the prices ....

i went to visit a friend one day, and found an awesome box in his neighbors garage which he said i could have !!!

look into having a 2mm box laser cut, its still cheaper than buying one, you just have to draw it

+1 on the SIZE of the box , my box is quite big .... or so i thought lol

[Clive S]

My other problem is that I don't have any tools to cut holes etc into a steel box so I have to factor that into the price.

I see a pillar drill and hand electric drill in your shop. 600 x 600 x 300 should more than big enough, You don't need to put the VFD inside the control box. Just how big a box was you considering? ..Clive

[mitchejc]

@blackrat, maybe laser cutting sheet metal is a good plan as I know its going to cost way less than what these enclosures cost but I'm probably going to have a very hard time to arc weld it together. I've tried welding thinner material but it was hit and miss and I burned holes like you wont believe even with 2mm rods, so there's much to learn in that department.

Clive, now that's a great looking box! Those LCD displays really got my imagination going... Can I extend the offer for free beer and sunshine to you :-) I'm a bit scared of butchering an expensive box with what tools I have. I have not done the layout yet as suggested by Eddy but I was guessing maybe 600x400x300 as a ballpark? Content would be 1x PC ATX Powersupply, BOB, VFD(vfd face outside the box) 4 x Drivers and few relays. The driver are quite big at something like 180x160x60 if I recall correctly and I would like some spare space for future expansion.

Excuse my ignorance but what's those white square things in your box?

[mekanik]

Try and get smaller rods, years ago before i got my TIG setup i was trying to patch up a car and only had a stick welder but got some rods from the Local BOC outlet, think they were about 1mm dia but had a substantial flux coating and was told it contained iron fillings, worked OK on thin plate so 2mm plate you should be fine if you could find some.
Know the feeling about the price of steel cabinets, Norweb insisted i had to buy a specific size/type of cabinet/kiosk. It cost 600GBP
Regards
Mike

[Clive S]

@blackrat
Clive, now that's a great looking box! Those LCD displays really got my imagination going... Can I extend the offer for free beer and sunshine to you :-) I'm a bit scared of butchering an expensive box with what tools I have. I have not done the layout yet as suggested by Eddy but I was guessing maybe 600x400x300 as a ballpark? Content would be 1x PC ATX Powersupply, BOB, VFD(vfd face outside the box) 4 x Drivers and few relays. The driver are quite big at something like 180x160x60 if I recall correctly and I would like some spare space for future expansion.

Excuse my ignorance but what's those white square things in your box?

I don't think you will get all that in that size box. I would think twice before putting the ATX inside the main control box as beside the board you would need a power supply, hard drive fan etc plus all the connecter to the monitor, keyboard mouse.
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The LCD displays were from China about £2 each, the housing for them was done with a 3D printer. The white square things are the 5V and 24V power supply's there also another converter to step up the 5V to 12V to power the motion control board. 24V for the E-stop and 5V for the BOB.
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I don't think many people on here put the VFD inside the control box. Remember most of these box housings have a bottom plate that you remove and make the holes for the connectors so if you f#%~k it up you just make a new plate.
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Does the free offer include the flights. only kidding. ..Clive

[EddyCurrent]

As I said earlier;

5. . . . , the space you need is going to be bigger than you think.

If you don't do it on CAD then cut some cardboard shapes full size to represent the electrical items and shuffle them about.
I was going to say, if you look at standard panels that will give you some dimensions to aim for. It troubles me that after all that excellent mechanical work you want to scrimp on an enclosure.