My new project. Hobby CNC machine

[PIMPMYFZR]

Dude the coolest part of this new machine ur building is
You get to build it with your dad ... My dad would just sit back and watch me work ..lolol

[megaloxana]

What software did you decide to go with?
Also don't leave your output simply towards metal and wood. Since your cutter isn't the most powerful tool right now, it will actually work perfect for cutting FOAM. Anything you make out of foam, you can make a mold of and create fiberglass and carbon fiber peices. Especially if you ever get to making a large machine...custom fairings anyone?

[docrider]

What software did you decide to go with?
Also don't leave your output simply towards metal and wood. Since your cutter isn't the most powerful tool right now, it will actually work perfect for cutting FOAM. Anything you make out of foam, you can make a mold of and create fiberglass and carbon fiber peices. Especially if you ever get to making a large machine...custom fairings anyone?

[bweight]

Still haven't decided 100% on the software yet.. So far though it seems I'm gonna use Rhino V4.0 as I've become friendly with it.... I got the new computer (not a bad deal.. P-4 2.0Ghz, 256MB RAM, 40GB HD, CDROM, 15" monitor for $80... ) Set it up last night.. Have the motors mounted and wired. Did some testing on the driver board and finished setting that up last night. Tried "jogging" the motors, but I don't have the internet in the garage yet (will tonight hopefully) and I couldn't quite get the configuration figured out for the motors in the plotting software. Tonight is another night though, as I believe I'm armed with all the correct info ..

Oh, and for the actual milling software, I'm using Mach3..

God I hope this works as well as I've been reading it does.. I'll take some pics and vids tonight if I get to properly test it out...

[megaloxana]

Nice, rhino is a pretty versatile program. I mostly work with Autodesk Inventor and Solidworks, but have dabbled in rhino a while back. Hope everything works correctly for ya.

[bweight]

Woohoo.. She's alive.....

After some issues I had to iron out.. (namely reboot the damn pc after some installs)... I finally got all 3 motors wired into the driver board to see if I actually did it right.. just wanted to jog the motors as a test.. I still have to mount the tool before I can actually do live tests w/drawings and see how well it cuts. That will be this weekend though for sure.

Anyways, as promised, here's a short vid.. You can't see very much movement in the video, but you definitely can hear them moving.. Sorry bout the quality. It's just my Kodak digi....

[ShogunTX]

Man that's sweet mad props to you sir!

[megaloxana]

She's alive, she's alive!! mUAHAHAHA

[bweight]

So I'm very close now to completion and actually starting to work on items. Just a few more minor adjustments..

Last night after speaking with the guy I bought the plans off of for the machine, I understood a few more things and some of the software didn't seem so greek anymore.. so I plotted out the dogbones that I'll need and tried cutting them out of plywood as I'm waiting for the aluminum cutting bits to come in. Here's the final product:





They're not exactly the right size, cause like I said there's a few adjustments that need to be made.. and they're super thick, because the plywood was that thick..

Anyways, here's a short lil vid. of the process.. didn't film the entire thing cause the batteries in the camera died and well, it's much of the same as what you will see in it anyways..

[PIMPMYFZR]

kool , now start making some mad $$$$$$$ with that machine ...

[megaloxana]

Thats awesome man. Get her fine tuned and show us the goods.

[bweight]

Just got home.. picked up the 1/4" cutting bit that came in this afternoon.. Then I started hunting down some 6061.. damn this stuff's not cheap. Went to a local plate sales shop. They specialize in everything metal.. Well, they can only get me a 1/4" x 4' x 12' sheet of 6061 for a nice grand total of $950 + taxes...

So then I asked for something a lil cheaper.. well.. 3003 1/4" x 4" x 8" sheet is $235... Not as bad, but still not the material I wanted to work with.. Especially since I'm still in the "Testing" phase.. The guy there told me to head up to a welding shop and see if they have any scraps lyin around... I get there and they've got nothing in 6061 for scrap, but he comes out with a nice sized (haven't measured but I'd say at least 14" x 14") 1/4" 5051....... $15 and I'm on my way.

Not only that, I get home and the guy who I asked regarding my setup issues has responded on the yahoo group.. given me what *should* be the proper co-ordinates I need to cut more accurately...

So I'll be away for a little bit. I'm going to plug those numbers in, cut that piece of wood again, and see if it's accurate. if it is, then expect to see a few things posted here tonight.

[ragedigital]

http://www.onlinemetals.com/index.cfm

I'm sure there are cheaper places, but it will give you an idea...

[haunter]

mcmasters is cheaper i think too

[bweight]

Thanks for the links guys. .I had the onlinemetals.com one rage, but I lost the bookmark, thanks again..

I knew about mcmaster-carr, but unfortunately I don't think they ship to Canadians without a specified account.. we'll see when I contact em...

Anyways, tonight was a little frustrating because it was the first time cutting metal, and didn't go as smooth as I'd have liked it to go.

First off, I can't use the bit I used tonight for doing it.. it's a round tipped end mill and when it went through the plate, it left a lot of left-overs because the tip is rounded. That'll be fixed when the next set of bits come in tomorrow.

Second, I've still got lots to learn about the software, that's for sure. Took me almost an hour and a half into the "project" to realize why when the cutter was pulled out of the metal and repositioned it went slower than paint drying.. *doh*

Third.. when someone tells me to leave the feed speeds alone.. I should really listen. Cause that caused a few headaches and problems at the end..

Anyways, I've finished the first dogbone cutout of aluminum. it's almost to exact spec. off the drawings with MAYBE .5mm of variance.. not bad if you ask me, and certainly more than adequate for me as well. Tomorrow when I get the other batch of bits in, I'll try them and maybe have a little better luck cutting the 2nd one out as well as the 2 spacers I'll need.. We'll see how things go with that, then I'll look into tackling some projects and orders should anyone want/need anything.

But here's a couple short vid. clips, and pics of the (rough) finish on the first piece cut out of aluminum.










Also have something else I'm gonna work on for the projects I make.. Build a small hobby anodizer out of a tool washing bin.. Should be able to anodize the aluminum different colors and finishes... That'll be the next item on the list