Production grade CNC router Vs Homebuilt CNC router advice

[Washout]

Oooh a where's Wally competition?

I think Wally may have run off with the rest of the Z axis plate for the motor mount and the other set of bearing blocks that should be on it...

[JAZZCNC]

Oooh a where's Wally competition?

I think Wally may have run off with the rest of the Z axis plate for the motor mount and the other set of bearing blocks that should be on it...

That's one but there's another thing missing.?

[njhussey]

OOoooooo is that the ballscrew connected to a lovejoy coupler (and therefore directly to a stepper) with no AC bearings I see before me??!!

[JAZZCNC]

OOoooooo is that the ballscrew connected to a lovejoy coupler (and therefore directly to a stepper) with no AC bearings I see before me??!!

We have Winner.. (shared with Washout)
There actually is Fixed bearing at other end but still it's not good design and shouldn't be like that on machine costing that much money. These machines use smoke and mirrors and people need to start looking deeper to see the real truth.!

[SweetAs]

haha love it.

So come on then Jazz...point me in a good direction?

Ive been having a look through some of the build logs. I like the look of this one http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/6988-routercnc_MK3

I feel I have a few long days of looking through build logs and the forums to get some sort of idea of parts that I want to look at. Happy days!!

[routercnc]

haha love it.

So come on then Jazz...point me in a good direction?

Ive been having a look through some of the build logs. I like the look of this one http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/6988-routercnc_MK3

I feel I have a few long days of looking through build logs and the forums to get some sort of idea of parts that I want to look at. Happy days!!

That's my machine. Glad you like it and for its size it will happily cut wood no problem although you will need 1610 screws not the 1605 ones I fitted (to get the feedrate up)
But if you want to go bigger (1200 or 2400mm that you mentioned ) this would need some work. The gantry is only 80x80 heavy gauge profile and would need to be bigger or multiple profiles or steel box if double the width.
I would also recommend the raised X style machine which many others have built as this removes the gantry drop down sides. Much stiffer and not much extra work to build. Keep the ends open to feed in the sheets.
Also at this size you should look at the pros and cons of rack and pinion on the longest axes instead of ball screws, especially at 2400mm

[SweetAs]

No probs, like I said it does look good

Cheers for the info regarding the screws. What sort of feed rate and depth do you use for timber at the moment? Im thinking along the lines of Birch Plywood...

In terms of beefing up the gantry, would 100 x 100mm suffice do you think or would I be better seeing if I could get a box steel frame welded together

Forgive the ignorance, what do you mean raised x style machine?

[JAZZCNC]

So come on then Jazz...point me in a good direction?

I already did by telling you to look around the forum and have patience, do the research it pays off big time in the end. I don't do favorites so not recommending anyone over another but there are many on here that more than good enough to do what you need. All those that finish and endup with working machine are winners IMO.

I will give advise on design etc. The best design will depend on your needs really. Some are better suited than others if working large sheets.

Like been mentioned the high sided frame with Gantry sat directly on the rails is very strong design, one I've developed and used many times. Down sides are it does limit access to the front or rear which isn't always ideal for sheet work.
However Combine this with strong gantry design like the "L" shape Gantry design made from HD profile and you'll have machine that will handle most materials upto steel. ( Edit: Don't mean will cut steel but upto ie Aluminium,brass etc.)

If you want more access to the bed then a more conventional machine with raised gantry will suit better. Again if built correctly it will more than do what you need.

Both these larger machines below are built from same materials (steel, profile) and do the same job of cutting woods, plastics etc. Both are strong strudy designs and Only reason the designs are different is because each had different needs. One needed flexiblty of cutting deep materials so uses an adjustable height bed, the other is mostly for panel work etc where access is more important.

The other smaller machines will equally cut thru woods like butter but are built to work in confined space so need good access to bed while at same time not having parts hanging off sides etc so are designed such to hide parts away and save space.

Then we have ultimate in space saving when we go vertical.!! . . . . Yes vertical machine gives lots of advantages and something to seriously consider if space is premium, or not.!
I'm actually building an 8x4 vertical machine for sign maker at the moment that when done will look like the Cad model shown. At same time also building the other Cad model with 4th axis on side. Again both use Steel and HD Profile.

Any of these designs will more than do what you need. And don't let any dodgy looking Bloke from spain tell you it needs to built like brick shit house and weigh the same has tank it doesn't.!

Hope these help give some idea of design which will suit your needs and abilty's.

[TheDarkKnight]

We have Winner.. (shared with Washout)
There actually is Fixed bearing at other end but still it's not good design and shouldn't be like that on machine costing that much money. These machines use smoke and mirrors and people need to start looking deeper to see the real truth.!

I had intended writing an intro post first but there's so many great posts in the intro section alone as I got distracted

Jazzcnc - I have no links with Axiom cnc machines and have never used one, but I do however want to point out that your comment about the coupler layout on this machine in question is perfectly fine and commonplace now in industry. I have seen them used on machines and automated equipment ranging from $80K, to $3.8M, and ranging from locations such as Foxconn in China, Ferrari in Italy, and onto all the large furniture manufacturers in San Francisco.

The layout performs the same in testing as the conventional layout, is cheaper, easier to assemble, cuts down on spare part inventory, is more compact and it also cuts down on inertia. The fixed end can use either a double row bearing, or 2 pairs of angular contact bearings depending on precision required.
The layout also has the added benefit of having to only machine one datum surface for the single end bearing assembly - a welded or bolted tab being all that is necessary on the opposite end to locate motor. Slotted holes are often used on this tab to tram in the screw parallelism in relation to the rails.

Instead of saying ''shouldn't be like that on machine costing that much money'', you should be saying "I'm delighted to see it feature on a machine costing so little money" - whatever that cost is

I would expect to see this layout more commonplace as time goes by as it spills from industry down into the pro user/hobby market.

Below is just one example of the layout on an industrial cnc. There are many more that can be found too.



Just because you haven't seen something before doesn't mean its bad

Anyways....best get up that intro post eh!!

TDK.

[JAZZCNC]

Just because you haven't seen something before doesn't mean its bad

Like wise change isn't always for the better only time tells the true picture. Which I'm sure Mr Trump will learn you soon enough.!!

Can tell you it won't be happening on any machine with my name on it.!!

Like you I've seen industry change methods over the years, often based on cost cutting rather than improving peformance and like wise seen these new methods dropped in short order. This I'm sure will be another given time.?