[CarveOne]

Like others, it took me a minute to read from beginning to end (actually two weeks) and it was well worth the effort! Very sharp and beautiful build CarveOne! I really appreciate you attention to detail.

Donny

I feel yer pain Donny! Flipping through these posts has to be a drain. This has been a long trip getting this far with it. It's been a lot of fun though. Are you contemplating a first build or already have a CNC machine?

[Donny M. Carter]

I feel yer pain Donny! Flipping through these posts has to be a drain. This has been a long trip getting this far with it. It's been a lot of fun though. Are you contemplating a first build or already have a CNC machine?

Thinking about a first build. Nothing in particular yet, just soaking it all in!

[CarveOne]

That's a good start. I find that one in the 3' x 4' or 4' x 4' is a good size to start with because most of what you will be making probably doesn't exceed that size machine. My big machine takes a lot of space in the shop but doesn't have the project size limitations. I don't really NEED one this big, but who cares, I just like showing it off.

If you want to build a proven kit, look at the CNC Router Parts kit offerings. If you like to DIY then CNC Zone is the place to learn..

[CarveOne]

A few Z axis parts that have been painted black.

[CarveOne]

The X axis e-chain rack is installed. It may need to be repositioned when I start installing the e-chain. Everything should still be aligned relative to the guide rails though.

[Donny M. Carter]

The X axis e-chain rack is installed. It may need to be repositioned when I start installing the e-chain. Everything should still be aligned relative to the guide rails though.

I showed my wife this pic and she immediately said, "oh chartreuse"!
Beautiful machine!

[CarveOne]

LOL! Tell her "thanks" for me.

Neon chartreuse has replaced fluorescent orange for safety vests and is on a lot of other things nowadays. Even my plastic roadside trash container is this color.

[CarveOne]

I made some progress installing the Z axis assembly and the r&p drive behind it this morning. This means the next chore is to reinstall the e-chain, control box, and wire it all up again.

[CarveOne]

This evening I transferred the control box and the cables/e-chain from the old machine frame to the new machine frame and placed the e-chain in the racks and routed the wiring to where it goes. Tomorrow I expect to splice the wiring back to the motors and the CPU fans that I had put on the motors.. Then reinstall the M12VC router, dust shoe, and hook up the vacuum hose. With luck, the system will come alive again tomorrow.

[CarveOne]

I went out to the shop this morning and finished wiring the motors and fans. Once I move the computer cart over to the machine and hook up the parallel port and power cables it will be ready to let the magic smoke out. Before doing that, the computer and control box will be cleared of dust buildup from previous job sessions. May as well do it before getting started again.

I have to make a trip into town first. Sometime in the early afternoon we'll know what happens.

[Khalid]

Nice build but soon you will see the high speed limitation with your machine. This is because the table size is too big and you will see that comparatively the old IPM will look slow to you with this machine.

[CarveOne]

Yes, I know. When I double the size of the 3D carved project the time it takes is more like three times longer or run it three times faster. The Celtic weave coat rack I made caused the Z axis to jump up and down like a sewing machine during the 4-1/2 hour raster tool path. Cutting a 10 foot long version would take a long time. To minimize the sanding effort I used a 0.005" step-over at 200 ipm feed rate. Actual feed rate was more like 80 ipm due to the Z axis movements required. I go out and cut the grass or do something else because watching it makes my eyes hurt. .

[CarveOne]

Eureka! The Green Monster is ALIVE!!!

Still need to install the dust shoe and dust collector hose. Sometime tomorrow I'll clamp a dial indicator onto the Z axis and make a height map of of the spoil board surface to see how much to skim off with a surface plane tool path.

It plays Stairway to Heaven gcode with only a few buzzes coming from the fan attachments on the steppers. I'll make four more of the PVC pipe coolers I made for the smaller machine.to put on this machine. Those work very well for cut jobs that run over 3 hours. If the job is under 3 hours run time I don't use the fans.

I sure am glad this part is over.

[spyderxxx]

Congratulations C1

Can't wait to see it run.

Ed

[CarveOne]

Thanks Ed. I'll make a short video tomorrow. My skydiver friend wants to hear it jog around. I'll do a second short one with stepper music.

[Donny M. Carter]

AWESOME!

[CarveOne]

Thanks Donny.

Sometime later this year I hope to design and build a new Z axis that can handle a 3-1/4 hp Porter Cable 7518 router. I need to start looking for some suitable rails for it that can give 8" of travel. The existing Z axis is able to clear a 6" block of material and cut down to the spoil board. Originally, I wanted to cut molds for fiberglass R/C models and UAV projects for a friend's business.

I also want to build a removable rotary axis for the spoil board sometime in the future. It isn't a high priority though. I have most of the steel tubing, motor, and other material for the structure already on hand. Camaster has a nice one for their small machine. It's sold with their machine or as an accessory. I'll be looking at their machines again next month at the Aspire camp and will see if Joey @ Camaster will give me a "show special" price on a basic one without the Camaster mounts. I think it may be adaptable to fit on the spoil board but they normally use it along the side of their machines with an overhanging gantry. They build really nice machines.

[Khalid]

Atlast you succeed .. Now Ger21 is far behind the schedule I know you will really love this big machine

[CarveOne]

Succeed yes, but it still needs some tuning to get it to an optimal condition, as you already know from your many builds. I'm very happy with it so far. I made two short videos this morning and need to edit them before posting the files anywhere. For the jogging video I arbitrarily set the speed to 800 ipm and accel of 30. It had no problems with that in X and Y directions. This is faster than I'll be cutting anything, but I'll eventually try to match the 1,400 ipm that the previous machine could do with the processor it has and the parallel port interface. A new computer and better interface would help a lot.

[ger21]

........................... Now Ger21 is far behind the schedule .........................

With more than one project, too.