HuntinDoug Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 First off: Thanks Brian for the new CNC area! So, I've been planning on this build for a couple years now. I bought a commercial machine in 06'. Now it's time to move to a larger, more "stout" machine. Harware: Viper X2 - 40" x 60" 8080 base profile 30mm Thomson precision rails 8" Z-axis with 20mm rails High precision 2525 ballscrews Machined Aluminum table top Porter Cable 892 w/ K2 mount Electronics: Gecko G540 controller 3- KL23H286-20-8B 425oz motors 48v 7.3a power supply US Digital Encoders for closed loop system MPG12 Pendant Software: Windows XP pro sp3 RhinoCAD 4.0 with MadCAM Mach3 I have the machine assembled, and I'm working on bug fixes in Mach3. Here are some pics: Machine table with unassembled parts: PC table: More to come........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Those are a fairly hefty rig arent they. Should be cool to see it assembled & running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmth Builder Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Cool stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Hey Doug, question for you. But first the build is looking good. Okay question time. When you are doing the finish cut on your necks, the back carve. What settings are you using? The reason I ask is I forgot to give you some advice on that type of carve that should speed the operation up. First what speeds and feeds are you using. Including plunge feeds. So here's a tip for you to try. Go into your M3 general config and turn on plasma mode. Keep CV on as well. Then in your GCode, or with your CAM, edit or gen your plunge rate to 20% to 45% of your feedrate. Run sim to see the time. Also run a test piece I think you will find that this should cut off somewhere between 25% to 35% in your time possibly more. This will only apply to your finish cut not roughing. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted April 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 Hey Doug, question for you. But first the build is looking good. Okay question time. When you are doing the finish cut on your necks, the back carve. What settings are you using? The reason I ask is I forgot to give you some advice on that type of carve that should speed the operation up. First what speeds and feeds are you using. Including plunge feeds. So here's a tip for you to try. Go into your M3 general config and turn on plasma mode. Keep CV on as well. Then in your GCode, or with your CAM, edit or gen your plunge rate to 20% to 45% of your feedrate. Run sim to see the time. Also run a test piece I think you will find that this should cut off somewhere between 25% to 35% in your time possibly more. This will only apply to your finish cut not roughing. Mike I'll have to try that. On the speeds & feeds for the necks I run. Honestly...It's been so long since I generated the TAP file in ArtCAM...I cant recall what speeds I used. I think I went fairly conservative on the plunge rate, maybe 20 ipm. I think I set up the actual carve at 100 ipm. I adjust it on the fly for the wood species I'm running. I dont do a roughing pass, so there is more stock left around the voloute. Sometimes I have to slow it down quite a bit in that area if I'm running a rock maple neck. Now for a machine update. The machine is fully assembled. But, I have hit a run of "snaggs" as of late. The G540 blew a drive, so I had to send it back. Still waiting on it to come back. Also I came down with pneumonia a couple weeks ago. That has slowed me way down on the machine, and working around wood dusts. Hopefully I'll be back at it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted August 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2012 Well...I figure it's way past time for an update on the CNC build. I have the machine fully assembled & running. I have my trusty Xbox USB controller hooked up & running as the machine controller. And, I finally finished the enclosure with plexi doors just in time for the guitar building classes that start on Sept. 6th. So, I thought I'd share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 That turned out great! Waiting for some in the works video... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted July 1, 2013 Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 I'm curious what something like this costs to build, assuming you are starting from scratch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted July 1, 2013 Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 If you don't mind me asking, what does this come out to when its all Alex's up and ready. Their site says $1700... But then you add ANYTHING and it jumps huge. For someone not as versed in CNC yet its hard to get an actual estimate of what you'd walk out paying for what you actually need. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted July 1, 2013 Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 If you don't mind me asking, what does this come out to when its all Alex's up and ready. Their site says $1700... But then you add ANYTHING and it jumps huge. For someone not as versed in CNC yet its hard to get an actual estimate of what you'd walk out paying for what you actually need.ChrisChris, IMHO to build a consistent machine with tight tolerances, minimal flex, power to work hardwoods easily, as well as size to do more than just guitar work. Plan on spending at a minimum of $3500 and go up from there. That's building one from scratch. Most of the kits I see need some major upgrades to get the sturdiness and power. I'm not saying they are not good machines just they need some reinforcement in areas or changes in electronics, possibly both. When you add these changes in the cost of building one yourself correct from the start is easily justified, IMHO.Also the knowledge gained by building it your self, will help later when problems arise. YOU will have first hand knowledge of how your machine works and is made.Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted July 2, 2013 Report Share Posted July 2, 2013 Yeah... but I have you Mikro... Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted July 2, 2013 Report Share Posted July 2, 2013 I'm aware you can buy kits etc that need upgrading, I'm more interested in knowing the cost if a machine that doesn't and will never need upgrading, that can handle working as a business not a hobby. If this is a machine that doug had upgraded to from an industrial machine, than this is something that gets my interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 Doug, as your sig suggests, you seem to be a CNC guru... I know virtually nothing about CNC's and I remember someone at a local business saying they upgraed to a vacuum table and it solved a lot of their mounting problems being they did a lot of unique jobs. I'm curious if there is a reason you dont use a vacuum table? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted July 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 I'm curious what something like this costs to build, assuming you are starting from scratch? I lost track at about $5K. That includes everything though... Doors, router, bits, specialty collets, vacuum pump, etc. All in all, the machine far outweighs most commercial models of the same size. It can handle running all day with no problem. Having built it definitely helps when doing repairs & maintenance. I have plans to use this machine to build most of the parts for a smaller machine that will be for inlay only. I'm curious if there is a reason you dont use a vacuum table? I've made several part specific vacuum tables out of off cut corian material from a local counter top shop. The one I use the most is for fingerboards. I can radius, taper, slot, & cut inlay pockets at the same time with no worry of clamps being in the way. I'm in the middle of tearing everything down for the move. Once I get everything moved, I'll try to post more pics & videos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Thanks for the reply Doug, much appreciated. Pics, video and any info is always good. Do you have a couple reccomended supplier for the CNC components you have used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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