Hello Folks,

Back when ViaCAD 2D/3Dv8 was in prerelease I bought a seat on the word of a few other folks that have used it. Started working with it and liked what I was getting as far as models to set up for CNC work on a gantry router.

Then End of August comes the need for some maintenance on said machine due to so problems that where cropping up. Well to make a long story short that machine has been sold due to not meeting my requirements any more after a very hefty servicing and parts replacement. So I have a problem, no Mill (gantry router) to cut my parts and I need that to make the precession parts that I sell to clients.

Solution is starting in ViaCAD 2D/3D v8 and using that and Shark FX Beta v8 and with the help of a more experienced CNC builder/user started designing the new machine. Which looks like this:

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With the help of the same fellow CNC builder it is coming into reality as this:

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As you can see it is coming along nicely and we are able to extract the pieces directly from ViaCAD/Shark with only having to make minor changes to them before cutting them out. They still need some drilling and tapping so that everything can go together and I did not put the bolts into the working model as we both considered that over kill at the time.

If anyone would like a copy of this for making their own CNC Gantry router you are more than welcome to contact me. I will post some additional pictures if there is interest when the machine is closer to completion and once complete.

For anyone who is interested in it's size the profile that the ball screws are mounted to is 1.1m long and it will have a cutting area of 860mm by 360mm by 175mm (minus bed thickness).

Thanks Tim and Co. for a program that does what it is meant to and for fixing faults we find.

Michael Marino, DC
Owner Free Reed Foolery

Yep, I second the additional pictures.

Nice looking leadscrews too!

Mike...

No I am in Edinburgh though hopefully will be moving to the Glasgow area in the next year. Here are a few pictures of the Z axis (the ball screw pictured is not the one used and a few items where changed during production). [ATTACH]4169[/ATTACH]

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The Aluminium is 3/4" (19.05mm) or 1/2" (12.25mm) thick plate the extrusion is ITEM extrusion and is recycled from machine tear downs (reason for not being new looking). The ball screws are rolled (ground is better just outside the budget currently). The precession profile rail is ABBA 20mm and there is a wide range of quality in that area. The rest of the ball screws arrived last week and right now all that is going on is finish work and getting ready for the machine to be moved up here where I am (Edinburgh).

Hope that help folks and will post more as I get them and will also post some video once it is up and cutting.

Michael

Well work is progressing and after a serious case of things going not right we are back on track. The photo's here are of the machine as being assembled. All parts have bee trued and squared in the assembly process. It is going to be a whole lot of fun to get cutting once it is finished and up here.
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As you can see we have had to make some minor changes and one is due to not being exact with instruction to the company I ordered the ball screw from. Live learn and drive on. Also The gentleman I am working with on this is going to be recutting the top y carriage plate to allow for very exact truing of the Z axis in the vertical.

One nice thing is the wife (she who does the companies books) has cleared the purchase of Shark FX once I have the funds from the work this machine is going to be doing. That is nice as really enjoying beta testing the software.

Michael

Michael

Great stuff, many thanks for sharing!

Tim

Chris,

We are moving along after some minor set backs (tool breakage, and other sundry problems) and should have the machine up here shortly for me to start working with it. The Pulleys are in place on the Y and Z axis now and it is to the stage of the little things getting done. I will be modifying the model to show all that has been done to it and also completing it in the form it should have been (see ball-screw issues there).

Space is an issue with these beasties when you get into serious usage as mine takes up a footprint of 1200mm (47")L x 750mm (30")W of which 680mm of the width must be on supported surface. Also it is 750mm tall which can in someplace in a shop make for problems (near a wall with shelves).

That is the shop of the guy that is building it for me as I don't have the equipment to mill aluminium at present (this machine solves that issue). Please keep watching and will post the final pictures and a link to youtube when it is here and up and running.

It will also allow me to post a huge amount of products that I have designed in ViaCAD 2D3D v8.

Michael

Well a bit of a follow up on my machine.

Some points that you might want to think about if you design your own:

1) Include electrical pathways in your design structure (the moving parts most importantly)
2) Include the space or access for all lubrication points.

3) Know what your plans are for use and build about 20% beyond that.

Currently I have upgraded to 4 AM882 Leadshine drivers and can get up to 10.5m/min velocity with 2m/sec^2 acceleration with very exact repeatability on the X axis, 8m/min same acceleration on Y and 2.5m/min Velocity with same acceleration on Z (considering z only travels max of 160mm, that is fast). Some of my lubrication points are a pain to get to and I am working on fixing that.

Hope this helps folks thinking in this area as ViaCAD really has helped in design and prep for building.

Yeah, too true, Tom.
I'd be more than a little worried if I had to justify the price gulf between the two.
You'd probably need a banker to explain that one :D



Martin.