Thread: New CNC Mill on the horizon
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24-02-2014 #101
!!!!. . .You did realise I was taking the Piss with the comment about over building the Base Frame(trestles). . . !!!!
Don't be surprised if the build and progress slows down they always do at some point and the things seem to fly along then just crawl for no apparent reason.? . . . .Just keep pluging away and it will happen.
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24-02-2014 #102
Sorry! read it wrong thought you meant the base of the gantry!!!
Yeah the trestles are the way forward in cmc frame work torsionally perfectly no movement and you can fold it away after use :)
Well just ordered the materials for the z axis so thats next, i think there will be a lull before we get the steel framework done and then it will be all the fiddly bits that take the time!
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28-02-2014 #103
More materials arrived so looks like it won't be too long until the y and z are done!
Plus turned up a few stainless parts for various bits around the machine :)
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28-02-2014 #104
Are you still going to mount the Z axis motor on 4 posts like in an earlier drawing ? I think it's a better idea to mount it on a piece of box section so that the pulley and belt are inside the box, motor mounted on top.
Spelling mistakes are not intentional, I only seem to see them some time after I've posted
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28-02-2014 #105
Eddy,
Yes its still going to be mounted on the 4 posts, the tensioning system is not pictured in the original drawing but is part of the posts. Once the machine is fully constructed I will be buiding some thin sheet covers for all exposed areas and have won some good machine bellows for the linear rails.
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02-03-2014 #106
Long day in the shop today, but very successful thankfully.
Started out making up a block to machine the front plates on, my combination mill and lathe has one real flaw and that is the spindle working ant any major extension and it becomes very inaccurate so I needed to find a way of building the bed up. So I bolted together a bunch of 20mm aluminium plates and surfaced the whole thing and it worked perfectly, somewhere I could clamp the pieces down safely and solid in order to machine the surfaces near the top of the mill.
I machined up the top and bottom bearing plates first and faced the edge that was going to meet the y axis front plate (as the standard plate saw sits from the supplier seem to have a draft angle of about 1 degree) and then it was onto the main plate which I stepped to fit the top and bottom plate by 5mm.
A few holes and it was all together very nicely, its quite nice making the plates to "fit" the machine thats in front of you rather than having it all made up in kit form I can now see the benefits.
So all in all a very successful day, y axis slides left to right very smoothly with no tight spots whatsoever all dialled in with a DTI.
I have mocked up the z axis so still need to do some machining on the front plate of the Y for the ballscrew and surfacing for the bearings but with this new mill setup this should be a breeze! (won't speak too soon)
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02-03-2014 #107
It makes a nice job when you have a proper milling machine. I like how you stepped the main plate, it makes a good solid joint, the whole thing looks great.
Spelling mistakes are not intentional, I only seem to see them some time after I've posted
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02-03-2014 #108
Originally I was going to have a load of parts cut for me but I as I was not sure my Mill was up to the job, or the long runs needed 400mm plus in some cases however I sort of took the bull by the horns in the end when i couldn't get them all done and bought some good measuring devices which makes all the difference.
Also spending time to get the correct cutters, feed speeds, and DOC are important. Luckily I used to run a large CNC lathe and had a load of high quality end mills left from this which just turn aluminium into lovely little chips so its not so much a problem but like I said the play in the spindle when extended on the mill is not good so trying to get the workpiece as close to the start point of the mill was important. After that is was surprisingly satisfying :)
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02-03-2014 #109
Looking good, well done. G.
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03-03-2014 #110
Looking good , getting jealous of everyone's build...especially as you all seem to have lots of nice tools to make it with. (Note to self...must get my DIY spindle mounted in something so I can cut my Ali plate and start making my bits...)
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