Quote Originally Posted by proddy View Post
hey lads, ive not been on 4 a while due to changin my ideas on a few things for my 1st build an am now seekin advise on these, im still lookin at doin 3d carvings

1, has any1 any thoughts on the "bearing an ally angle method" for the slides as shown on buildyourcnc.com??? It works OK, good enough for low accuracy wood carving at least, and cheap!

2, has any1 any thoughts on the 3axis stepper motor complete kit for 128 quid on ebay??? Which one? Need a link to it!

3, would a stripped down plunge router work as a spindle or would there be too much "slop"??? Some good stuff been done with cheap routers. Main issues (although i have no personal experience) is noise level and duty cycle - they are on much longer on a CNC machine than in manual use so heat can be an issue, so higher powered ones are thought better as they handle the load better. But beware of the weight factor, bigger ones can weigh 3 - 4Kg.

4, is tr10x2d with delrin nuts sufficient as lead screws??? Yes if you don't want too much speed. The efficiency is low compared to ballscrews so bigger steppers required to get high cutting speeds. On a 400mm work area a 1Nm stepper (with 1.5A drivers) will work with 10x2 + delrin (I have similar) but will be limited in speed, especially with a heavy router -I use a die-grinder as a spindle which weighs 1.7Kg. A 3Nm stepper gives more 'go' but won't be possible in your £128 stepper package, you'll be paying £40+ each for the steppers and are looking at 4A drivers!

im still not sure wether to use a fixed gantry or not coz i wont need a table bigger than 400mm x400mm but its always nice to have a few extra inches eh:naughty:

Fixed gantry, moving table is advantageous if the workpiece is significantly lighter than the router and associated Z and Y-axis gubbins as better cutting speeds can be achieved. It is harder to construct tho.
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