(VIDEO) Steel/Welded CNC Router-Mill

[thisoldtony]

Greets all, thought I'd share my latest project.. sometime back I got it into my head that a CNC
router/mill would be a fun addition to the hobby.. after shopping around I thought I'd build my own.

This is a fixed gantry style (moving table), it'll be mostly for aluminum but I do plan to break a few
end mills right away on some steel

Mostly 2 1/4" thickish-wall steel tubing.. all amateur tig welding.

Let me know what you think.

[el bob]

That was a great video. Your helper was awesome. Looking forward to part two.

Thank you for putting together a video on welded machine construction. Question, when you set up your frame joint using tig wire spacers, do you pre-plan for said spacers up front in your CAD design by making the tube lengths all shorter (the width of the welding wire)?

PS - At the end of the video, when you put your boots up on the frame - where's your helper kicking up his boots taking a rest on the frame too?

[forhire]

Looks good Tony. I remember when my kids would hang around the shop. Enjoy the little guy, they grow up fast.

[thisoldtony]

Thanks!
elbob: I do not -- but for my own projects I do the CAD a little on the rough mostly just component placement.. making the parts myself means I can work
on the fly. The extra space doesn't go in anywhere 'critical' all my components will bolt to the weldment.

[A_DAB_will_do]

Thanks!
elbob: I do not -- but for my own projects I do the CAD a little on the rough mostly just component placement.. making the parts myself means I can work
on the fly. The extra space doesn't go in anywhere 'critical' all my components will bolt to the weldment.

Tony. Great video. You're a natural on camera. I'll follow along on your build as I'm curious to see how this turns out.

A couple quick questions:

Do you have a budget in mind for the project? Just trying to see what something like this will take in terms of real $ to complete.

Were you going to pour non-shrink grout under the feet for the table? I noticed you have the table floating on nuts for adjusting the frame level and plumb. But those all threaded anchors seem a little lite weight for stabilizing the machine. Just my uneducated guess, here so tell me if I'm just plain wrong. Or are you going to install shims under the legs to transfer the load down to the floor?

[thisoldtony]

Dab: no clue on budget but I'd be surprised it if was more than $1500-$1600, all tolled (not counting one's time). I already had all the motors,
electronics, etc etc from a CNC plasma table I broke down years ago; all the bearings/screws are cheapest I could find on ebay; and not a lot
of metal involved (it's really not a big machine, considering).

And I wasn't going to do anything with the floating feet but now you have me worried!
The anchors are 9/16" and there's about and inch of clearance to the floor that I plan to minimize,
I don't expect they'll be a problem but if they turn out to be, yes, I'd probably make some blocks to size.

Thanks for watching.

[thisoldtony]

Thanks Mick!

[ostie01]

When will we see the next video, I want it now

Great job and editing this video should take at least a full day.

So let see the second video.

Jeff

[thisoldtony]

ha! not sure.. couple of weeks? I'm trying to figure out what to fill the frame with to get the ringing down.
Not even sure it'll be a problem, but if it is, now is the time to fill it!

i'm leaning towards silica sand (sand blast media) -- not the top contender but the cheapest. maybe pour a few quarts
of motor oil in there to 'slush it up a bit'.

suggestions are certainly welcomed!

[ostie01]

Just an idea, I think I would use self leveling concrete.

Jeff

[forhire]

ha! not sure.. couple of weeks? I'm trying to figure out what to fill the frame with to get the ringing down.
Not even sure it'll be a problem, but if it is, now is the time to fill it!

i'm leaning towards silica sand (sand blast media) -- not the top contender but the cheapest. maybe pour a few quarts
of motor oil in there to 'slush it up a bit'.

suggestions are certainly welcomed!

Fill it with used motor oil. Likely free. Should dampen it well. I'm sure sand would work also.

Have you read this thread? One of the suggestions was pea gravel.
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb...pening-170046/

[thisoldtony]

greets folks.. here's hoping you're having a good thanksgiving.

Part 2 of my cnc build it out, thought I'd share. As always, comments and
criticisms welcomed!

[thisoldtony]

third and last part of the router build.
build a rubber band rifle (repeater, underlever, winchester style) at the end, if you'd rather just
see the machine working instead of listening to me carry on.. it starts at about 26 min mark.

thanks for watching!

[In Utopia]

Outstanding job.

[ManoKai]

@ Tony - completely OUSTANDING and professional build! Your problem approach/methodology, attention to detail, and CNC work is top-tier. By far the best produced, edited, and informative build video on the forum or on any related fab site, IMPO. You valiant partner's (son) engineering flair on the gantry setup is priceless. The rifle job is way trick x 10!

Thank you son and tell him we're proud for his efforts & contributions to the custom design/build. Hooyah!

[Boostinjdm]

@ Tony - completely OUSTANDING and professional build! Your problem approach/methodology, attention to detail, and CNC work is top-tier. By far the best produced, edited, and informative build video on the forum or on any related fab site, IMPO. You valiant partner's (son) engineering flair on the gantry setup is priceless. The rifle job is way trick x 10!

Thank you son and tell him we're proud for his efforts & contributions to the custom design/build. Hooyah!

Careful. You're going to bruise him.

(this is really just a tag so I can find the thread easier)

[Ovrrdrive]

You do amazing work. It's inspiring.

[Mikel_24]

Just amazing. Seriously. I am wordless!