Thursday, December 20, 2012

My future toy or the long road of DIY cnc router

Just to start from somewhere, I purchased this kit with double shaft steppers, 3Nm ... a bit weak* :
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380531764624?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Next step will be purchasing the spindle, but cause they are expensive (way too much if you ask me; 170 pounds for 1kW with 8mm collar and 42-43mm collet @ 10k-29k rpm) I'll go with proffesional 1-1.5kW drill with manual regulation of rpms, which will be converted to digital regulation later. Probably will change the collet for using with bigger cutters/bores.

3rd step is buying/making all the other parts for the project:

  • the profiles for the main construction - the gate/portal and the base. Working area will be 1200mm x 1200mm x 250mm (that's right - 250mm Z-axis)
  • lead screws 2x ~1300mm for X- and Y-axis (50mm for each end-connection - motor) and 1x ~350mm for Z-axis
  • ball bearings, probably industrial class model(s) resistant to radial and axial loads
  • additional cables
  • stepper drivers 1/256
  • casing for the router control panel
4th step is a bit dificult cause the whole machinery will be commanded from mini Android PC, but for now I don't know if there's a Mach3 or similar program for Android OS. Also I don't know if it is problem-free to connect the breakout board to usb ports with Parallel-to-USB adapter and they work well under Andro ...

* - 3Nm is cool for soft materials but it's a lot cooler to see 200Nm steppers of proffesional milling machine with weight around 1500 kgs that move a block of steel .45 with dimensions 600mm x 600mm x 200mm

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