Quote Originally Posted by irving2008 View Post
Jeff,

That looks really impressive. Some questions & thoughts...

The Y-axis looks like ally box section welded to some end plates, is that the case and if so what did you weld them with? and how did you get them square? The y-Axis supports, are they the thick PVC you mentioned earlier? were they milled to the T-shape for the mounting on the X-axis pillow blocks or is that 2 pieces joined?

Even tho my first MDF build isn't yet complete I'm already planning a ally and/or steel build, poss a 4-axis job that can act as a lathe too...

Instead of energy chain, which is expensive and bulky IMHO, have you considered using a spring pole (think of a bendy fishing rod) and bringing the cables down from above?
Hi Irving,

The frame of the router is steel box section welded to plates which are then bolted to the PVC ends. To keep things square I started with a flat surface, in this case an old RSJ I borrowed from work. I clamped a largish vee block to one end and clamped my end plate vertically to it. Next I clamp the box sections down to the RSJ with a space at each end to ensure parallel. The end plate is then tacked to the box section. I leave the box sections clamped down and move the vee block to the other end of the RSJ, clamp the other endplate to it and repeat. Once I have both ends tacked, I weld the plates in position. After that I check the diagonals and adjust if needed to bring it back to square.

I never get hung up on getting a small fabrication like this super square before fully welding. It's pointless as the welding will pull your corners in. Keep all your welding balanced i.e. if you weld one side of the box section, weld the other side too, I only welded the two vertical sides, welding all three would be overkill and introduce warping that is not easy to get out. Do the absolute minimum welding necessary.

If I had decided to do the gantry in Aluminium I would have used our Dual Pulsed MIG at work, faling that TIG would have been my next preference. My frame looks like Aluminium because I sprayed it with AluZinK cold glavanising spray to protect it while the build continues :)

The PVC end plates are in fact two pieces, the bottom piece is bolted into the vertical one (6 X M8 socket heads). I just cut them with my table saw (slowly) and then planed them on my 10" planer. As long as you treat it as very hard wood and take small cuts and slowly, you could be using MDF but of course it is a much superior material (IMO:)). I am very pleased at how it has worked with the steel frame.

Re: your idea of a spring pole, THAT'S A REALLY NEAT IDEA :D. I have two joists above the machine which I could mount it on and the controller could live up there out of the way of the dust too. Thanks for the idea, I'll set it up and post some pics :)

Thanks for the input Irving, much appreciated.