CNC Router - Milling 4130

[Craig Van Sickle]

Yes, this will be my first CNC machine.

I really enjoy assembly. Like I did with my Bearhawk kit. CNC makes the majority of work primarily about assembly. Top that with insane precision, suits me just fine.

You will love it. I'll often work through my design/cut files in the evening after the house has gone to bed. It's probably one of my favorite things to kick back with the laptop, cup of coffee, and some Netlfix with a quiet house. The next day when I hit the shop everything is ready to go. It feels like magic to see the things you drew the night before appearing out of the raw material.

If you like assembly, something that I'll often do is design interlocking parts and cut the slots just the right tolerance to slide in with a tap and hold. Sometimes hit it with a pinner and glue, screws if I want to take it apart later. Those joints that nest are very strong even with minimal screws to suck them up tight.

HDPE plastic cuts very nicely and is extremely useful for that space between wood and metal. I cut these RC skis out of 1" HDPE/aluminum. They have an integrated slot that sets the angle limits and spring to keep them tip up in flight without using cables.

IMG_7038.jpgIMG_7474.jpg

[robcaldwell]

Incredible!

[Craig Van Sickle]

It's a good thing my wife thinks cutting airplane parts is a fun date Elevator center hinge.

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[triumphantduke]

it has begun... sized and spec'd out a modification of this CNC router: https://forum.v1engineering.com/t/lo...-upgrade/18266 - I like it because it seems "accessible" to start and I can convert plastic bits to metal or make improvements once its done if needed.. I'll be harvesting my Duet 3 board from my 3d printer and modify the design a little to have the 3d printer nozzle on the carriage as well.. which will be its own challenge for the speed - weight - strength envelope (3d printing goals seem to be fast, strong, light - CNC looks like they are heavy for rigidity and run slower)
time to do some modeling for my personal tweaks - and we'll see what happens!

for reference..it would help me out a lot in the design to learn from your experience. Like planes its all about balancing the trade offs for what you want.
-what was the rated holding torque for your stepper motors?
-spindle power? to get the 4130 abilities
-if you could do it again what would you tweak for your CNC design
-your biggest perceived challenge to overcome? stiffness/chatter/speed/repeatability/tolerances?

[Craig Van Sickle]

it has begun... sized and spec'd out a modification of this CNC router: https://forum.v1engineering.com/t/lo...-upgrade/18266 - I like it because it seems "accessible" to start and I can convert plastic bits to metal or make improvements once its done if needed.. I'll be harvesting my Duet 3 board from my 3d printer and modify the design a little to have the 3d printer nozzle on the carriage as well.. which will be its own challenge for the speed - weight - strength envelope (3d printing goals seem to be fast, strong, light - CNC looks like they are heavy for rigidity and run slower)
time to do some modeling for my personal tweaks - and we'll see what happens!

for reference..it would help me out a lot in the design to learn from your experience. Like planes its all about balancing the trade offs for what you want.
-what was the rated holding torque for your stepper motors?
-spindle power? to get the 4130 abilities
-if you could do it again what would you tweak for your CNC design
-your biggest perceived challenge to overcome? stiffness/chatter/speed/repeatability/tolerances?

425oz holding
https://www.automationtechnologiesin...-1000-kl-6060d
2.2kw spindle
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077BYVT56...ing=UTF8&psc=1

For the money, I'm completely happy with my build and wouldn't change anything. I had zero expectations to cut 4130 steel and am still shocked at how well it works. I spent more time than most on the setup and this is what paid off for cutting steel.

Chase every bit of backlash out possible then measure and enter that in your software for compensation. In my case the couplers needed an upgrade. With some lead screw bearing improvements and better couplers I was able to get backlash down to .001". Get it as square and straight as possible. I chased some very slight arcs from my linear rails to get them extremely close.

Even with the 50"x50" work area I've had no issues with chatter/stiffness/repeatability and that's probably due to all of the setup. I'm a huge fan of closed loop steppers after using them, and all my machines from here out will use them or servos.

Zero cleanup for these cut edges. Still shocked at this little 1/8" lakeshore carbide plowing through the 4130 and leaving this finish. No cleanup pass. These machined edges weld so nice.

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[triumphantduke]

nice, thank you for that!

ok that makes give me a warm fuzzy for the steppers I chose, the 425oz nema 23s. I did order a 3kw spindle, so that'll be interesting to see what that and the frame influences in the end.

What wattage is your power supply for steppers + board? ...assuming you have one for the spindle and another for the steppers and board...

[Craig Van Sickle]

nice, thank you for that!

ok that makes give me a warm fuzzy for the steppers I chose, the 425oz nema 23s. I did order a 3kw spindle, so that'll be interesting to see what that and the frame influences in the end.

What wattage is your power supply for steppers + board? ...assuming you have one for the spindle and another for the steppers and board...

48vdc to the steppers. Board runs on 24vdc and 5vdc. Spindle is 220v

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077KS9LRY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1