MY CNC machine

[owel]

After a few months of planning, setup, purchasing and learning, my CNC machine is now up and running.

Sample of a .06" Aluminum, drilled and milled for IEC AC inlet jack, fuse holder, XLR jacks. Man... everything fits in the hole so perfectly.

The machine bed is 12" x 24" so it's big enough to mill 19" wide panels. The rotozip and whole assembly is rigid enough to mill thick aluminum typically used in case panels.

Using an 18" NEC LCD Touchscreen on movable arms! CNC Computer has wireless connectivity to the LAN/Internet.

I'm using SheetCam (thanks to another Prodigy member for that software tip) and Mach3.

Next goal: Fine text engraving and 3D countour milling so I can have front panels a'la Grace or Focusrite Reds.

 

[Arrigotti]

So, do you plan to maybe open up your services to this DIY community......of course I'm sure we'd all be willing to make it worth your while.

I know that metal work is one of the biggest hurdles in building this stuff, especially the square holes.

 

[maxwall]

second that

 

[okgb]

Yeah having a nice engraved [ or screened ] panel always helps
for a " pro " look , clients just feel better and think it sounds better
[ more expensive ]

You could probably do a good business , just with basic templates
of the BM projects alone , i know i'd be in for a few .

 

[nielsk]

If we could send you files (& panels) and you could CNC 'em, that would be grand! Are you up for this?

thanks,
Niels

 

[Ptownkid]

I'm definitely going to offer my services to you all, I'll post some pics of my setup as well.

Text is the big hurdle, but I finally made an engraved panel today. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

[owel]

Let me think about it... this post wasn't really meant to solicit business.

I have lots of my own cases to mill and depending on how much time I have left over, and after I get more practice out of this, then I *might* offer custom panels as a service.

We'll see... I'm not totally writing off the idea, but the timing may not be right yet.

 

[Ptownkid]

You should send me an e-mail and we can chat about the things we've figured out.

Text is definitely a difficult beast, tons of compatibility issues. EG; i took a DXF drawing to a local guy a while ago who runs mach 3 on his system, and it would not recognize the text at all...neither will the software that I am using (step-four Xpertmill). Thankfully Step-four has a plugin module for creating and editing text right in their milling environment, but I'm not too pleased with the snap and positioning aspects of it's editing features.

Time will tell.

Did you make all of your machine? If so, hats off to you sir, i wish i had the time to invest into learning how to do that. Istead I spent a small fortune on mine. Hopefully i can get some panels going soon.

 

[owel]

Ptown, No I didn't make it. Time is money. And for me, it makes more sense to buy something already working and debugged. I don't have the luxury of time to build one from scratch and learn how to build it right.

I still hope to buy a real CNC machine... but it's 5 figures the one I want. Add to that a laser engraving machine. Another 5 figures.

As for text engraving with CNC, not all TrueType font will get rendered as vectors (i.e. DXF file) for use with CNC.

There are special software that claims to convert any TTF to a vector and then generate the Gcode for it, but it's not 100% perfect all the time. Sometimes its better to use simple text fonts. And for some complex TTF fonts that worked and got converted, sometimes there are issues with letter spacing, or irregular text height. Frustrating...

The only foolproof way is to re-trace the text design in CAD using plain lines and circle commands. Guaranteed to work, no matter what text style you use, but tedious and laborious. And you have 100% control over everything... positioning, snap, spacing, etc.

i took a DXF drawing to a local guy a while ago who runs mach 3 on his system, and it would not recognize the text at all...

The problem is DXF files (exported from your CAD) do not explode the text into it's basic lines and arc shapes. It's still a text object referencing some TTF font on your system.

Mach3 I don't think recognize "text" as is. It's just a GCode processor.

You need another program to convert text to DXF (i.e. with all text exploded to it's basic line shapes) then export to Gcode, before handing it over to Mach3.

 

[nrgrecording]

The Touch Screen is a good idea! Looks like the industry-computers used with the "big" machines. Have fun with the cnc. :thumb:

Whats the speed of the X/Y axis? 10mm/sek?

Frank.

 

[owel]

Frank,

Yes, the touch screen is VERY, VERY convenient! Love it.

I still want to add a wireless keyboard and mouse to this setup... then install a keyboard drawer under the table.

XY movement is 70-100 IPM. Of course, in actual use, it's less than that, depends on what material you're milling, how deep is the cut, and type of bit used, etc.

 

[nrgrecording]

[quote author="owel"]I still want to add a wireless keyboard and mouse to this setup... then install a keyboard drawer under the table.
[/quote]

Or one of these small keypads with 0-9, enter... They're available with USB so you can use it parallel with your PS2 keyboard. Probably a nice thing to have when adjusting the zero point. :wink:

There are also some of these rollable keyboards available which means that you can catch the keyboard matrix controller and make your own cnc-remote-control with some momentary switches. :idea:

 

[flaheu]

This week seems to be the router week. :grin:
In a previous post I told that i've just got a big "pro" router, now I've got 2 :grin:

These are huge beast

I had some problems to interface these monsters with a new controller (thanks to Jacob and people who suggest a solution to my problem).
This week-end I've just tested it and it seems to work nicely :grin:
I have to put everything in a nice box and rewire all.

What's nice with these, is that I can route a very big area in one "shot".
Also I have 2 x 60000rpm mill per machine, so I believe the finishing should be great. I have also a "vacuum" table covering the whole work area (1200mmx 900mm), which simplify alot my clamping for flat panels.

So hopefully, I would be able to "produce" rather quickly.

 

[BYacey]

I'd be concerned about metal filings and debris getting into the electronics with the computer and touch screen that close to the mill bed. You might want to consider moving them away.

 

[Ptownkid]

or build an enclosure

 

[owel]

Byacey, yeah. I had to shield the vent holes on the controller box.

My table isn't finished yet. On my to-do list is building a safety cage (made with plexiglass/acrylic panel and some 8020 parts)... that will cut down on the noise too. I just can't resist using the CNC right away to see what it can do.

flaheu... that's one big monster beast. Nice.

 

[nrgrecording]

Mr. flaheu!

I don't want to see that picture! Iam unenvious. :twisted: :green: :green: :green:
Well, THAT is a cnc. With this one - cnc is fun.

The spindles are looking like air cooled Alfred Jaeger HF Spindles with pneumatic toolchanger? but where is the tool station?

And regarding the vacuum table... you, or the pre-owner used ethanol as lubricant? What do you use for the vacuum? It looks like a big vacuum area... does it work with a vacuum cleaner, a sidechannelblower or a rotary vane pump?

I love that machine!
Frank.

 

[flaheu]

nrg,

You're right, in total I've got 5 spondes Jaeger, but they haven't got any tool changing system.
For the table, what you see is just dust, they're pretty dirty .
The vacuum pumps are rotary vanes are from the first tests they suck very well

I love my machines too, the new controller is on its way to b finished, so I hope to engrave very very soon.

 

[JBVries]

Hi Owel,

What kind of lamp is that you have there? Looks like something I'm looking for.

Cheers!

JB

 

[jwhmca]

What are you using for coolant?