Yes, that or the bit is not the right one for plywood.
It seems to me the base of the Routy is robust enough to take stronger motors with revised plates to modify it to the strength of the Ox, without a full rebuild ... I will need to look at both more carefully and see the exact parts that would need modified to add more v-wheels, and beef up things a bit so it can hold a 2 to 3 pound router ... Appreciate the OX is now complete and plates are all in Sketchup files ...

 

Being a guitar maker I cut a lot of wood from spruce to rosewood. I have gone to carbide spiral down cut bits to avoid chip out. Some people say the downcuts don't last as long but if you are dealing with a $60 spruce guitar top I would rather spring for a new bit. I will post a link to a luthier supply were I get them or Google Stewart Mcdonald or Luthiers Mercantile. https://www.lmii.com/products/tools-services/rout/shape/drill/end-mills

 

Thanks for this link ... lot of interesting things to spend money on here!

 

I have bought regular up cut bits from this place and they will sell small orders. Prices are a little better. I use them down to 1/32" for inlay work. Baltic birch machines well if you can get it. I bought some plenolic coated plywood from Rocker to build some jigs and fixtures very nice stuff. http://www.bqtool.com/square-end-mills.html

 

Both places look good, especially for detail work.

See attached files for my first Routy cutting of garlite for holder for my Dremel tool. Much better than the temporary way I initially used ... now to experiment with bits, speeds and different materials.

 

Thanks. This is my next hurdle... after truing all the axes. I was thinking of using aluminium similar to a scope mount

 

I felt I need to get a more solid mount before I could do much at all, tool was getting pushed around some ... not too worried about truing Z-axis as will be mostly cutting thin stuff, and for X and Y, I will check it by cutting some test patterns now that mount is more secure.

Yes, I did use Sketchup/SketchUcam ... as per the attachments. The segmenting is in the Sketchup files also, it is minor and could be easily sanded out. I did not choose to try to find where to do this for this project As I recall there is a setting somewhere.

I have ordered some mills for aluminum which should also work great for plastic/garlite ... based on web search ... I also already have some 1" blocks and a 1/8" sheet of aluminum I got from McMaster Carr ...

Lakeshore Carbide Inc.

DescriptionUnit priceQtyAmount
1/8" Rougher/Finisher Variable Flute End Mill for Aluminum ZrN
Item# 360018XRF$16.47 USD2$32.94 USD
1/8" Rougher/Finisher Variable 2 Flute End Mill for Aluminum ZrN
Item# 350018XRF$16.47 USD1$16.47 USD
Subtotal$49.41 USD
Shipping and handling$6.20 USD
Total$55.61 USD

 

Looks like I got the axes all trued, haha.

 

Thanks for the instructions ... strange an arc is and arc, but a circle is segmented, I did not realize this and your help here is appreciated!

 

So after I make a circle in Sketchup, when does it get made into segments? And will it get made back into segments even if I convert it to an 360 degree arc?

 

Thanks ... sounds like it is not a good idea to explode components when using SketchUcam ...
Seems if it is a circle or arc in memory, when I select it, it will all be selected, but if it is "exploded" then individual segments are selected for editing, etc. So I guess this is pretty clear to me know, thanks for the lesson.

 

Hi all, been reading up to get caught up on the thread. I ordered most of the parts from whatever version of the parts list is on the site currently in the files section as of 2/11/2014. For better or worse I will be building (something) hopefully routy this weekend. Seeing as how I could be considered as one of "The Dude's" tusken neighbors, I too would like to avoid unnecessary shipping charges if possible because I live in BFE.

I would like to contribute to the parts list... there seems to be a power supply oversight on the list. Just curious what you guys are using to power your machines with? I didn't see any mention of the power supply or any pictures of it in the build either. Are you running off a 24V or 12V system? Does your power supply provide multiple 12V or 24V service lines or not? The more detailed the info the better as I will be purchasing one very soon and wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

 

When all is said and done I'm going to have enough screws left over to almost build this all over again. I'm hoping 20mm M5's will be sufficient to attach my 13mm thick leadscrew nut to the plate. I had to add 2 1mm washers to allow clearance for the screw heads.

 

The power supply depends on what spindle or router you are using and what driver board. For example, the protoneer cnc shield can accept between 12v and 36v on it's input. Whereas my spindle requires up to 48v. Therefore I am using a 48v power supply with a DC DC converter for the board.

If however you are using a dremel or similar then this will plug straight into the wall, and so you will only have to consider the driver board, and so you might want to go with a cheaper 12v supply. You also need to consider if your supply can put out enough amps for everything you are going to connect.

I think the reason it is not specified is because there is no standard cutter and no standard driver board. What driver board and cutting device are you going to use?

Yep, know that feeling. Ended up using 6,8,10,20,35 and 45mm m5s, and a bunch of washers as spacers. The problem is that you might only need a few, but you may as well order a bunch because the price is the same!

 

Well I'm using a PC ATX power supply. 2 actually. One for the board and one for the spindle. I got a box of 100 m5x8mm? screws and used them all plus about 75 t-nuts. I used a grinder to shorten the screws that needed shortening but you could use washers on some(or get 6mm screws, haha). There are some special long screws that go on the gantry plates that slide along the y axis. I forget their length but I used some from my garage. If you get the wheel kits, you'll reuse many of the nuts and bolts for other pieces like the z gantry.

 

Quick tip for cable management. Well worth getting some of this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1m-100cm-40...al_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item2ec87ff6de

to avoid snagging wires on moving parts.

 

You can look at the TinyG site for info on power supplies, motors, etc.
https://github.com/synthetos/TinyG/wiki/TinyG-Start
For some general info on stepper motors try
http://reprap.org/wiki/Stepper_motor
especially as OpenBuilds store is out of stock on these again.
I also modified a PC power supply and use it in addition to the MeanWell 24v supply for 5v, 12v.
But for Routy I run Dremel tool off 115v line ... for motor electronics/driver I am using same as OX ...
https://github.com/synthetos/grblShield with Arduino Uno R3.
All I have milled so fairs Garlite, I will try some aluminum after I get some mills I have ordered. Mostly want to make some specialized brackets from some 1/8" and bar stock.
Working well so far, plan to tune up the machine then cut the plates for the Ox soon.

 

I am planning to let my Routy grow into an OX! Appreciate any comments on the following:

When I built my Routy, I already made it 480 mm wide, so I think the base Y-Axis section is good to go ... but I do plan to add more brackets to stiffen the base a bit.

I have ordered stuff to build the OX X-Z section ... and plan to add a set of holes to the OX brackets to make them work with 20x60 V-slot ... do you think there will be any strength problems with using the Routy bed with its 20x60 rails? Should I keep the brackets at the same height relative to the top of these Y-rails adding the holes 20 mm above the bottom 3, or should I move it up adding holes 20 mm below the top 4 holes in the Ox brackets? Anyone know offhand anything else that should be modified on OX X-Z section?

Also ordered new belts and pulleys, and will order from somewhere 3 Nema 23 motors (Store is out on these). I have also ordered the new 20 amp 24v power supply in the store ... just in case I need more juice for the bigger motors.

Should I post this here ... or somewhere else?

 

What bearings have people used on the 6mm leadscrew? For some reason I overlooked the fact that the 625 2RS only have a 5mm bore.

 

I used 1/4 inch rod and these bearing from the parts store
R4-ZZ Ball Bearing - 5/8" x 1/4" x .196"

 

McMaster has 6mm ID with 13mm and 19mm od. I found these but you have to buys a pack of ten http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/kit825

 

I ended up getting a delron nut like used on the Shapeoko. I bought a piece of 8MM stainless steel rod from Mcmaster and Carr. They sell bearing that are 8mm ID and 16 od. I haven't picked them up yet. I haven't heard anyone mention the Inventables company are they not used by this group.

 

Ok, so I found a 6mm bearing with a 15mm outer diameter and figured double rubber shields would have to be ok so I ordered them up here: http://www.avidrc.com/product/1/bearings/116/6x15x5-Rubber-696-2RS-bearings.html

Hopefully they will do the trick.

 

One trick I have heard of is to use heat shrink tubing to shim a bearing for a better fit in the race or plate. Electric tape is a low tech solution. On another forum people were complaining of bearing runout in dremel tools. In reality the bearings were good just a poor fit in the dremel body. Guys used the tape or heat shrink tubing to shim them to take out the play. Good luck.

 

The plate seems to accept a 15mm bearing snugly so I went with 15. Others have said that they have had luck with 16 but even at 16mm it is a "very thin" series of bearing so I figured I would go with what appears to fit. I ordered some with rubber bearings and some with metal. I'll still probably get them before I get my electronics after I sent the first order to Guam on accident.

 

Thanks for the tip, I will pick one up for sure. I'm kind of OCD about loose wires anyway.