advice on upgrade to 5 axis control

[alanb]

A bit of general information. The distance between the two supports on the headstock is 300mm and between the headstock and the end is 600mm. I just weighed the tool post and it is approx 25kg including the xy table top. The rails are clamped in the supporting 30mm deep x 25mm wide solid aluminium rectangular section. The support legs are solid ali 25mm diameter and bolted into accurately 15mm diameter housings bored in the rectangular section. I thought when making it that I could run some threaded rod between the legs for support, but it has not seemed necessary. The feet are anti vibration pads and sit very firmly on the work surface top. I made it like that because I wanted it to be fairly portable so I could move it into the house over winter as it gets too cold to work in the shed. There at least I can write the gcode and test the outcome using a pencil instead of a cutter (would not dare try to machine something in the house!!). It has got progressively heavier (and me weaker) and this has become a 2 man lifting job. The original design idea was to make the headstock and work holding parts as separate unconnected pieces (and I may do just that at some stage in the future). But I later decided on the current setup cannot remember why. Its final incarnation will be as a six axis machine used to cut patterns in wood and pewter and etch in brass plate. The headstock will move linearly in the X and Z directions and rotate around Z. The tool will move linearly in the Y and Z directions and rotate around Y. I want to keep the two Z movements because the aim is to cut patterns on a profile outline such as the side of a bowl. I think this will simplify my code as the profile outline will be traced by the Z on the headstock leaving the Z on the tool for depth cuts.


Alan

[mocha]

A bit of general information. The distance between the two supports on the headstock is 300mm and between the headstock and the end is 600mm. I just weighed the tool post and it is approx 25kg including the xy table top.

snip

Alan

Alan, what's the overall length of the round bar between the feet? 900?

The spreadsheet I alluded to earlier is here; http://www.mycncuk.com/forums/showth...lculator/page3

The figures Ross mentioned in and around that post were for "25mm dia. 1500mm span and 250N (25 kg) load the best case deflection would be just over a mm but worst case is 5mm depending on the restraints."