. .

Threaded View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    I'm not sure if this should be in mills or routers, but here's some construction detail of a machine that I've made:



    It's something I drifted into and was not well defined (not an approach that I would recommend!). Bits were designed to suit whatever I could get hold of cheaply. When I first started it, the intention was to be able to do some 3D relief carving in wood, but as it progressed, I realised that I really would like to machine aluminium, even if slowly.

    The machine is designed around the cheap 500W ER11 DC spindle motor that's all over ebay, amazon, etc. At the time I didn't know better, but DO NOT do the same.


    Z axis was made from a length of aluminium 'U' section extrusion. As expected the back of it wasn't flat, so I hacked out the middle with a woodwork router and then levelled the rest using abrasive paper on a flat plate (I have a 25mm thick glass plate that I use as my flatness reference).





    The Z axis guides are 12mm THK rails that were NOS from ebay. They aren't ideal as they aren't preloaded and don't have side seals (but they were cheaper than Chinese ones. I set the rail centres such that 123 blocks were a convenient size to set the rails parallel (ignore the dial gauge - it's not doing anything)



    I made the Z/X axis adapter plate in 3 pieces to form a channel for the Z axis leadscrew to run in. The front plates were marked out and drilled as one piece before sawing a section out of the middle to create a channel for the Z axis leadscrew.





    The original idea was to machine the seat for the ballscrew nut with the parts assembled, but they wouldn't fit in my lathe, so each part was machined separately and then fitted together:









    The X axis rails were also NOS THK ones from ebay, but these were a bargain - they're 15mm 4 race type with medium preload.

    Out of photos for this post - will continue later.
    Last edited by Misterg; 22-11-2022 at 10:55 PM.

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to Misterg For This Useful Post:


Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Diy CNC mill-router-thing in my attic
    By Pencilfish in forum Workshop & Equipment
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 29-11-2021, 06:18 PM
  2. Funny forum thing.....:disillusionment:
    By Voicecoil in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 07-04-2021, 06:47 PM
  3. Replies: 11
    Last Post: 26-08-2020, 09:04 PM
  4. Trying to get this thing to work
    By GeneO in forum Machine Discussion
    Replies: 29
    Last Post: 21-01-2020, 09:29 PM
  5. Bought a laser, now there's a thing
    By Robin Hewitt in forum Laser Machines & Building
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 25-02-2013, 07:20 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •