its a start (8x4)

[reefy86]

Hope i ain't being a pain to some of you guys as i do tend to ask a lot of question lol. i really hope this goes far and i do have the budget for it but patience is key in this hobby and one i am looking forward to doing.

so machine size in total is 2m wide x 3m
cutting area is 2440mm x 1220mm

frame is made out of 100x100x5mm mild steel with 10mm steel plates for the rails and will be sent off to be machined (quoted £900 for machining and probably an extra couple hundred for transport)

z axis is 560mm long for the front movable plate 30mm and 450mm long for the back plate with fixed bearing blocks both 30mm thick and the bearing plates for the y axis is 20mm thick.
2x 550mm 25mm hiwin rails (was going 15mm but not that much in price difference so why not)
420mm long tbi sfu1605 ballscrew using htd 5m 20t 15mm wide1:1 ratio

y axis is 1820mm in total with 2x 80x120mm aluminium profiles in a L shape with 30mm thick gantry side plates. the aluminium profiles have 2 20mm plates each side 1 that bolts to the x axis bearing blocks and the one that bolts do the aluminium profile (gantry)
1x 1450mm tbi sfu2020 ballscrew with a 2:1 ratio
2x 1450mm hiwin 25mm rails

x axis is 3000mm long in total with 2x 2700mm 2525 ballscrews (bst doesnt seem to show they have these in the tbi range) with rotating ballnuts also using 2:1 ratio
2x 2900mm 25mm hiwin rails


weight of gantry is roughly 95kg (not including ballscrew, rails, motor and motor mounts so probably touching over 100kg )

ive not had a chance to look at the motors yet but looking at the either the closed loop nema 24's 5.5Nm or 10Nm (looking for recommendations with the above spec)

looking forward for the advice..

thanks guys

[reefy86]

Any feedback?

[m.marino]

What do you plan on cutting with it? Am I correct that you plan on using 2525 ballscrews for the X axis. At that size you might want to look at a rack and pinion set up. Though that does require a bit more in parts of the set up over a ballscrew. Interesting design that is similar to ones that have been used by more than a few members of the forums over the years. Would I be correct in guessing that you have done some reading in the forums before starting this design?

[reefy86]

Just wood and plastic mainly. It's accuracy I need the most so would rather stick with ballscrews. Yes I've done a fair bit of reading and had a lot of help. I did want to start this journey a few years ago but ended up losing my relationship so had to go on hold. In a much better place mentally and financially so I'm back again lol.

[AndyUK]

Looks pretty beefy.

Can't seem to see how the X axis is driven, would be nice if that was in the CAD. I'd also decoouple the X axis bearings from the gantry with an additional plate (I use the same setup you've drawn and adjusting the angle of the gantry and getting to the bearing blocks is a nightmare). Having another plate between the bearing blocks and the gantry extrusion will give you much more flexibility. Also be careful of how you attach the drive here; you want to be able to twist the gantry without forcing the ballnut to rotate too.

Oh and naming conventions seem a little off, just like mine is. Most CAD and CAM software treat X and Y as if you're looking at a graph. Decide where you want to stand when using the machine. Away and towards you should be Y. Left and right should be X. At the moment it sounds like you want to stand off to the side to use it. Eaiser to fix now then when it's built and all labelled up.

[reefy86]

Looks pretty beefy.

Can't seem to see how the X axis is driven, would be nice if that was in the CAD. I'd also decoouple the X axis bearings from the gantry with an additional plate (I use the same setup you've drawn and adjusting the angle of the gantry and getting to the bearing blocks is a nightmare). Having another plate between the bearing blocks and the gantry extrusion will give you much more flexibility. Also be careful of how you attach the drive here; you want to be able to twist the gantry without forcing the ballnut to rotate too.

Oh and naming conventions seem a little off, just like mine is. Most CAD and CAM software treat X and Y as if you're looking at a graph. Decide where you want to stand when using the machine. Away and towards you should be Y. Left and right should be X. At the moment it sounds like you want to stand off to the side to use it. Eaiser to fix now then when it's built and all labelled up.

Hi Andy there is 2 plates like you have suggested but in the 3d render it looks like its just one plate but the 2d photos you can see 2 plates. yeah ive not finished the design yet still have the x axis to do and a few other bits. not quite sure if i should go 32mm on the x axis screws or stick with 2525 yet. i always get mixed up with the x and y lol but yes y axis is the view i will be using it at (away and towards as you say)

thanks

[Kitwn]

Looks pretty beefy.

Can't seem to see how the X axis is driven, would be nice if that was in the CAD. I'd also decoouple the X axis bearings from the gantry with an additional plate (I use the same setup you've drawn and adjusting the angle of the gantry and getting to the bearing blocks is a nightmare). Having another plate between the bearing blocks and the gantry extrusion will give you much more flexibility. Also be careful of how you attach the drive here; you want to be able to twist the gantry without forcing the ballnut to rotate too.

Oh and naming conventions seem a little off, just like mine is. Most CAD and CAM software treat X and Y as if you're looking at a graph. Decide where you want to stand when using the machine. Away and towards you should be Y. Left and right should be X. At the moment it sounds like you want to stand off to the side to use it. Eaiser to fix now then when it's built and all labelled up.

On the choice of which is X and Y, Andy is absolutely right, but one thing to consider is the fact that on your computer screen the horizontal X axis is longer than the vertical Y. If you match this on your machine then the screen real-estate is better used when displaying your drawings, especially if you tend to cut objects that fill most of the bed of the machine such as full, half, quarter etc. sheets of ply. I stand to the side of my machine so making X the long axis was the obvious choice.

[John McNamara]

Hi Beefy Reefy.....

Yep that is a meaty beast....

It looks like the frame base design is not easily picked up by a pallet truck?
That will require a 100mm gap between the bottom rail and the floor and a rail for the other end of the pallet truck forks to push up against.

It's going to be heavy so you need a way to move it around. If you can only pick it up from one end maybe a dolly to support the other end as it will be too long to balance.

Regards
John

Grabcad will provide you with a model.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Grab...h=514&dpr=1.75

[reefy86]

Hi Beefy Reefy.....

Yep that is a meaty beast....

It looks like the frame base design is not easily picked up by a pallet truck?
That will require a 100mm gap between the bottom rail and the floor and a rail for the other end of the pallet truck forks to push up against.

It's going to be heavy so you need a way to move it around. If you can only pick it up from one end maybe a dolly to support the other end as it will be too long to balance.

Regards
John

Grabcad will provide you with a model.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Grab...h=514&dpr=1.75

Thanks for the tip John appreciate it :)

[reefy86]

Hi Beefy Reefy.....

Yep that is a meaty beast....

It looks like the frame base design is not easily picked up by a pallet truck?
That will require a 100mm gap between the bottom rail and the floor and a rail for the other end of the pallet truck forks to push up against.

It's going to be heavy so you need a way to move it around. If you can only pick it up from one end maybe a dolly to support the other end as it will be too long to balance.

Regards
John

Grabcad will provide you with a model.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Grab...h=514&dpr=1.75

fun times ahead