by swaggs21 » Mon May 21, 2012 11:03 am
This machine will be loosely based on what I have learned so far with my two (or really 5 machine builds thus far) CNC Mills.
I will be using this as a monument and electronics engraver, with some other tasks and things in between. The build will not start till probably early 2013, but preparation for it will start soon enough.
I have a 72'x157.5" CNC Mill that I can no longer get stock that big for, so I am going to cut it down to 72"x103" and use the rest for the base of this machine.
The base will be 72"x55", 20mm linear block and rail, debating between 2x2 tube, 2x4 tube or 25-5010 to span the X.
Ultra-light preload blocks will be used, G540 and Nema 23 motors with rack and pinion drives on Y/A, with belt drive on X.
Going to try and push the X as fast as possible, somewhere in the 3500-4000ipm range since the carrier and laser head should only be 4 pounds total.
The table will be open to where I can slide a cart for general purpose holding into place, but I can also slide it out and use a hydraulic lift table to put a monument, casket underneath.
New change to the design will allow a hood to be over the machine instead of it being an open air machine, which was the original design.
Will be using Mach3 for machine control since I already have it and am very familiar with it.
The machine design is fairly complete at this point, just need the time and money to put it into action....