After cutting with this thing since August, I figured I should probably calibrate it. It seemed to cut fairly accurately, but I figured this would be a quick little project that would put my mind at ease. My calculated steps/mm for both the 1/2"-10 five start (Y axis) precision Acme Screws and the 3/8"-8 four start Acme screws (X and Z Axis) were 125.984 at 1/8 microstepping. They both move the nut 1/2" per revolution. To calculate this I used this formula: step per inch = (motor steps * microstepping) / (travel at one turn of the motor in inches) .

So, (200 * 8) / (.5)=3200 steps per inch. Converted to millimeters: 3200/25.4 = 125.984251968504 steps/mm

Prior to calibration, when I sent the Y axis 1000 mm it traveled about 1000.3 mm. The X axis went about 500.99(ish) when sent 500 mm. To obtain the correct steps per mm, I used the following formula:

(Commanded distance/Measured distance) * Calculated Steps/mm = New steps/mm

Y axis:

1000/1000.3 = 0.999700089973
0.999700089973 * 125.984 = 125.946216135158
New Y: 125.946 steps/mm

X axis:

500 / 500.99 = 0.998023912653
0.998023912653 * 125.984 = 125.735044611676

New X : 125.735 Steps/mm

The Z did not seem to need correction, although I could probably use the new X axis value since the Z screw was cut off of the X screw. I put this info in the video, but if you want to watch it after reading this, feel free to fast forward.

 

Close. Good eye. It is a dry suit, but for kayaking. Well, technically, it is for kayak fishing. I get bored "just kayaking", but at least if I don't catch anything I still had a good day kayaking. The ocean off the Oregon coast and the mouth of the Columbia River are both very cold so even in the summer I wear one. Big shout out to the inventor of Goretex.
Columbia River mouth fish porn (old drysuit): :

 

This was just across the river from Astoria at Dismal Nitch. I think Lewis and Clark either ran out of happy names, or were just sick and tired of traveling when they got there. The rain probably didn't help.

 

AAACK! I dropped my old laptop. It wasn't the first time, but it ended up being the last. Apparently, it isn't recommended. It would not fire up and I thought I lost all my files and photos of my build. I took out the hard drive and, using some tools a co-worker had access to at work, we were able to image it (after some time in the freezer) and I recovered what I wanted. Phew! I got smart and uploaded them here finally. I thought I had already, and my plan was just to re-download them. I was wrong--and worried. They are here now.

 

Sadly, I knew better. One is none, two is one. I had been backing everything up on my google drive and a thumb drive, but laziness prevailed and I forgot. I may try your suggestions with an old PC. I have a couple.

 

The Amazon Fairy came today! I got my new mister as mentioned by mcbuilder22 here C-Beam "2" XLarge CNC Router has arrived Amazon.com: Mist Coolant Lubrication Spray System For 8mm Air Pipe CNC Lathe Milling Drill: Home Improvement along with some bits for milling pcbs.


This thing is seems to be made for v-slot. It mounted in about 1 minute. two 25mm M5 screws and two drop in t-nuts and it was on.




I am not 100% sure this is where it will stay, but it looks like it will work. I will loose about 10 mm on the x axis, but I could never afford to buy a 26.25 inch wide piece of aluminum anyways.

 

I slightly re-positioned it at an angle to make it easier to attach the hose. It works awesome. Now I just need to add a vacuum system because it blows the chips far better than I expected. My helper doing a quality control inspection.
Right now it is tied into my main air hose spool on the garage ceiling. I may get one of those cheap Harbor Freight 1/4 in. x 25 ft. Coiled Polyurethane Air Hose and hang it directly above. It will be lighter and will stretch then return to its original position.

 

I needed a better dust shoe that was adjustable. I tried one that fit around the router and had magnets holding on a bottom piece, but it never stayed on very well. There are lots of other great ones on Thingiverse - some specifically for the Makita even - but all were designed for 3D printed mounts, or the Openbuilds-type mount with a 3D printed shim. At the time I built my CNC I had no 3D printer, so I bought an aluminum mount from China. I chose this one because it is 124 mm wide and my x-gantry plate was 125 mm wide.


I had to drill my own mount holes, but that was pretty easy being made from aluminum. Anyways, I have been using Fusion 360 to design the dust shoe and mount. I wanted to make it adjustable and easily removable. I made it a 4 piece design for ease of printing rather than 2. The shoe, the pipe, and the part that mounts to the spindle mount are printed. The fourth piece will be milled from some 2 mm acrylic I found in my garage. It is nearly complete.

The shoe has 5/16 inch threaded rod threaded into it at two points and the tube will be inserted into it. I was impressed at the ability of my printer to print threaded holes. These components will slide up and down on the part that is mounted to the spindle. The acrylic will be super-glued into place upon completion. Here is what it should look like, but at 0.2mm layer height, not quite so pretty:

 

Thanks for the kind words. I will try to answer your questions:

I do not know what parts were used in the Ox-Metal by Schematix. I already had mine built by the time he posted his build so I have never bothered to look at it closely. Sadly, I do not know every part that went into mine because I did not make a parts list. I drew the modeI in Sketchup and physically counted on the drawing how many screws and of what size I would need using the Ox screw lengths as a reference. I also bought extra (which still was not enough). I know OB Ox uses 15 mm screws to mount their plates to beams, but I believe I used 25 mm for attaching plates to beams. It was easier and cheaper to buy them in bulk from the OB Parts Store. A lot of changes and additions were made as I built it. Although a majority of parts are available in the files section of this build, for me to make an accurate parts list, I would have to disassemble the whole thing to count and measure some of them that are not readily visible.

Also, when I started this build, and placed my first order in the Fall of 2015, C-beam was relatively new (and frequently out of stock). My original design was going to use C-beam but due to it being hard to keep in stock at the 1500mm length I changed the design. It would have looked similar to Kyo's C-beam CNC (but not as sexy) which has become known as the Sphinx .

I would love to be able to do this, but I have a job that has me working way more than I would like to right now, and kids that keep me busy on weekends. I have not had a chance to use it for myself for a few months now. I could not even give you a fair estimate of when I would ever get around to it, or even how much it would cost. I have no idea where you are since you did not list it in your profile. If you were local to me that would make it easier because you could source the aluminum and get it to me which would save me a few hours of my time. Then, if the cuts did not turn out right I could easily repair or replace them. I personally don't feel comfortable cutting something for someone out of aluminum and shipping it off to find out there was an unknown flaw. I have very little experience thus far with cutting aluminum on my machine. I have done a few smaller items, but I would hate to ruin a $20-30 piece of aluminum due to my inexperience.

I paid someone to 3D print them. It was well worth it. However, if C-beam is used (ie. Sphinx type build), you do not need them. I got the STL file here: V-Slot connector

I had a co-worker that owed me a favor and he had a lathe and was willing to try turning the ends down. Also, you would need to find the right anti-backlash nuts for the thread pitch you choose. 8mm nuts are far easier to get and so are 8mm threaded rods. The only reason I used 3/8" was because for some reason, that particular size and thread was really cheap in a 6 foot length and because I was buying 1/2 inch from the same place (McMaster-Carr). Because I needed at least 1/2 inch for a 1500 mm axis, I knew I was already going to have to get the rods turned down on a lathe or spend a lot of money for a 1/2 inch shaft coupler. Metric couplers are way cheaper.

I do not want to discourage you, or anyone else from trying this build. It is a great machine that has worked pretty much flawlessly from the time I first started it up. However, If I were to do it again, I would build something like the Sphinx. C-beam Sphinx Also, according to the last time I added everything up, I have spent approximately $1700 on it including the bench it sits on. I have added a couple other things like the blower nozzles, but those weren't that expensive.

Although I have a 670x1270 mm cutting area, I have only used the full size once to make a Halloween gravestone out of two inch foam board. Usually, I use about 1/4 of the cutting surface. If I were to do this all over again, I would build it about 850x1000mm or 1000x1000mm and out of C-beam. That way everything would be off the shelf parts-wise. The beautiful thing about the Sphynx is that Kyo made a detailed parts list and an actual build manual. He also made great instructional videos. You can also order the plates from someone that really knows what he is doing C-Beam cnc . Many people have built this proven design in sizes up to 1000mmx1000mm.

For me a lot of this build was done to see if I could do it without a CNC machine using only my existing tools. I have spent significantly more time building this thing than I have using it to make stuff. If you want a machine built quickly, and with the availability of great support here on this forum, I would choose one of the commonly built ones that have parts lists and manuals.

-Craig

 

I finally got around to trying the Xbox controller with Estlcam. I should have done it a long time ago. This is the kind of jogging that is actually fun! Also my knees don't hurt afterwards. I need to mark this build as "done."

 

I did not like the threaded inserts in the particle board. I had several start to pop out when tightening clamps. Maybe they work better in MDF. They would probably work better in plywood. I prefer the particle board because I have a lot of it left over from shelves of old cabinets I removed, and full sheets are very economical. I think if you inserted them into the spoil board and then flipped it so they were underneath, they would be more secure.

This is my most recent upgrade, as of yesterday. I purchased a sheet of 5/8" particle board to make strips. I wanted 3/4", but the lumber yard was all out. I ripped half the sheet into sixteen 2 3/4" inch strips and three 1 5/16 inch strips on a table saw. This way I will have several spares to replace worn out strips.



The tracks called for #6 cap head screws. I went with #6 pocket screws (which had a nice low profile head) at 1 1/4" long to make sure they would to come loose. I have two layers of 3/4" particle board below the t-tracks.


I should be able to come up with a way to secure this vice fairly well for larger aluminum chunks, or rocks in case I go crazy and try carving them. I have bought bits to try.


However, for day to day use, I plan to put a 90 degree corner piece in the 0,0,0 corner then I have an idea for clamps that will act like the adjustable part of a vice that can be used on the other two sides. This is why I put so many tracks on. I wanted lots of places to secure the vice part. I will try to get a mock-up done in the next few days to show you.

I also designed a couple sizes of cam clamps with 1/4" holes to bolt into the t-track. I cut a couple out of scrap plywood and they seem to work, but it was cheap plywood so my faith is not high in them. I may try oak next. I literally have a ton of oak (or more). My dad used to build cabinets and my job was to salvage oak out of pallets. Actually, my perception at the time was that it was more slave labor than a job since no money changed hands. But the knowledge I have gained from him has more paid off. I plan to also make some out of ABS since the local Tap Plastics has a lot in their scrap bin all the time. They practically give it away where I go. The fuller the bin, the more generous they are because I was told they count on people like me (or should I say us) coming in for small quantities. I will also try with aluminum.

This clamp is about 4 inches. I also have one that is about 6 inches.

 

I will add the DXF file to this build for the clamps if you want to try one out.

I just ordered a Whiteside 1" surfacing bit since Woodcraft was all out. I did buy some of these 1/4-20 T-nuts from them though. I felt I had to buy something since I wasted the time driving all the way there.


And one of these Dustoppers to help my dust collector. I had to 3D print an adaptor though.

 

Yes. It is for a 5 gallon bucket. A friend bought one and said it works great. I have been using a shop vac because my dust collector plugs due to a screen to keep out larger flakes. I want to go back to the dust collector because it is so much quieter.

 

The collector seems much quieter, but it is also a lower pitch which is less annoying to me. Somebody on this forum asked me the same question about two years ago so I made a quick video showing the two side by side. For some reason over 1200 people felt it necessary to watch it, and five took the time out of their day to let me know they didn't like it. I get a chuckle every time I see it .

 

The dust collector is by no means quiet, but the pitch is far less irritating to me or - I assume- the neighbors. I was thinking of installing it in an enclosure outside my garage in a small lean-to type shed attached to the wall. It would be cheap to construct and all dust would go outside. Due to my central air unit being outside along the same wall, there is about 4 feet of space along the wall I can't really utilize (ie park next to) anyways.

 

This sounds like fun!