January 2010 – GrumpyGeek.com

One more step…

January 23, 2010 / By grumpygeek / CNC Resources, DIY CNC Router / Leave a Comment

I got a little time last Wednesday to work on the machine, so I went ahead and built the table top. It consists of of a 59.5 inch x 24 inch sheet of 3/4 MDF that has (3) 56.5 inch sections of .75 Inch EMT conduit attached to the bottom for support. The conduit is attached by (5) .25 inch x 2 inch screws spaced 13 inches from each other that are counter sunk into the table. The table is attached to the machine using 6 more of the .25 inch by 2 inch screws that attach to 3 cross dowels in each end of the machine. Nothing too exciting, but its another step down.

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One more step…Read More »

A sagging concern…

January 13, 2010 / By grumpygeek / CNC Resources, DIY CNC Router / Leave a Comment

Jordan Sipsip left a comment which among other things asked if I had noticed any sagging of the rails. I really had not noticed any issues with the rails flexing under the weight of the gantry, but I decided to do a quick test. I stacked a number of pieces of wood under the center of the longest rail so that they were almost/barely touching the rail.

I then moved the gantry to the edge of the stack and attempted to remove the top most piece of wood… it slid out without any binding at all. While not very scientific, I think this demonstrates the minimal flexing issues I have observed up to this point, and bodes well for the future.

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A sagging concern…Read More »

The build goes on…

January 3, 2010 / By grumpygeek / CNC Resources, DIY CNC Router / 2 Comments

Well thanks to the vacation, holidays, and the drop in temperature it has been about two months since I have done any appreciable work on the machine, but I had a productive day yesterday and thought I would post an update.

I have completed all of the lead nuts and carriers, bearing blocks, and added a support to the bottom of the Y axis to firm things up.

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The build goes on…Read More »