Another fascinating, full of potential CNC machine!
Let me say bravo! Mark, you guys @ Openbuilds did it again! Such a great build, very detailed and super easy to follow instructions.

The Lead CNC seems ready to make loud noises in the CNC industry. It capability to support different Z axis configurations/customizability make it very unique and from what I can see, the process seems pretty simple/straightforward.

Being able to accept a Plasma cutter is a total new level! It's like a combo machine.

Looking forward to see all the cool projects openbuilds community members will create using this machine.

Lead the way!

 

Is it possible to add more wheels to the y plates? Just curious, since there's the two extra screw holes in the plate on the top and bottom, I think.

 

I watched the build video. Why not use Black Angle Corner Connector instead of Cast Corner Bracket or file the tabs off the Cast Corner Brackets?

 

I'm on the fence, wish there was videos showing it cutting before I pull the trigger on this $2K (CAD) purchase.

 

Waste board size is different in the Sketchup drawing and on the main page..which one is correct? They're different by over an inch. Also, is there a way to safely lower the waste board, possibly with using different brackets to hold the supports underneath and drop them 20mm?

 

I don't think it'd be possible to lower the spoilboard, since, brackets aside, it looks like there are a few 20x40 rails running the length of the machine underneath it. The only option I could see - which could gain up to the thickness of the spoilboard, if not your full 20mm - would be to split the spoilboard into pieces & lower it flush with the rails (and, of course, expose the rails to damage... but no one ever really rapids a live tool straight into the understructure of their machine, right? :whistlinginnocentlybecauseItotallyneverdidthat: ).

Orrrrr.... I could be entirely misinterpreting your question and/or have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about... but if you don't hear back from someone with a clue before then, I can check it out & let you know once mine arrives. I'll probably starting out stock (albeit with a half-length X-axis), but suspect I'll be looking for ways to get a little more headroom in short order, too.


-Bats

 

Thank you Bats and Rick for the ideas.

If I used 20x60 for the front and rear end rails, would that add any forward/backward rigidity issues? I have one on the way as well..I'm probably just overthinking it. I plan on using a 3/4" mdf board to allow t-nuts to be drilled and inserted but allow leveling a few times.

My other concern was the front and back of the spoiler are out of reach of the router to level in case I need to put a longer work piece through the machine. Maybe I just do the back with it clamped down somehow and then slide it back a bit (move the control box) to cover the front lip.

 

Just out of curiosity, when are these likely to be shipping? Do they go out on Monday, or are they still somewhere in preorderland? (Preorderville? Preorderia?)

Not that I'm impatient - sort of the opposite, actually. I still haven't sorted out a spindle, and I'm trying to figure out how much longer I can afford to keep stalling on the decision before I find myself with a shiny new machine that I can't use.


-Bats

 

That's great... but how do I tell whether the lump of metal will be compatible with an ER20 collet or only take an ER11?

The weight's really a lesser concern right now, though - I doubt there'd be any trouble at all with the weight from an 800W (and the more I read, the more I suspect that a short-X build would even be ok with the 1.5kW). Power-wise, I doubt I really need anything more than the 800W anyhow - it's possible I'm underestimating the Lead, but after an afternoon of plugging values into G-Wizard, I have a feeling I'd run into structural problems if I tried taking the sort of heavy cuts that would demand a bigger spindle.

The main thing that's kept me from already pulling the trigger is the collet situation, and that's something that building the rest of the machine probably won't help me with.

Also, while some of the ebay spindles are coming from resellers on the west coast & might arrive in a few days to a week, orders direct from China can easily take a month or more to get here. I've already been stuck CNCless for a few months now, and I'd really like to be able to get back up and running again as soon as possible once the kit arrives. After all, if I end up waiting for a spindle on the slow boat I might be try to do something I really shouldn't - something disgusting, even... like trying to stick a filthy old Harbor Freight trim router on a beautiful, new, and previously unpolluted Lead Machine. *shudder*

That sort of thing, once done, can never be taken back... Deliberately putting myself in a position where I could even be tempted by such an unspeakable act would be almost unforgivable.

So... yeah... For the sake of the poor innocent new machine (and very possibly my immortal soul! ), I think I'd better try to pick out a spindle before the new toys start landing on the porch.

[edit: Oh, and the one bit I left out is that there is a 110V spindle that'd solve my ER20 problem... but it's a 2.2kW, and I'm very nearly as certain that it will be too heavy as I am that the 800W won't. Of course, even if I built the machine, tested it, and discovered it could support the beast, my wimpy little 15A circuit wouldn't.. Can't one of you UK people just toss me an extension cord & let me borrow some of your lovely 220? I promise I won't take all of it! :huuuugepleadingpuppydogeyes:]

-Bats

 

Mine arrives this Wednesday for a USA destination!

 

That's a rather personal ques...
Oh.. on the spindle. Right.

I'm still really trying to figure out some way to wrangle an ER20, but at this point I'd probably settle for an ER16.

[edit] That'll teach me to post silly responses to answers to sillier questions before having my morn...afternoon caffeine. I completely forgot that we'd moved from spindles to extension cords. I'll take any end on an extension cord... but it should probably be something waterproof, in case you don't manage to throw it all the way here on your first try

It's certainly tempting, and not the first time I've considered it, either - although that's going to be one seriously fat extension cord running half the length of the basement (not sure if I can get away with 10/3 or 8/3 power cord on that, or if I need to deal with the additional headaches of Romex). It would probably also have to be something with a switch at the outlet & "In Use" lights at either end.

The main reason I've been reluctant is that She (or, lately, He) Who Does Laundry In Binges will often occupy it for the majority of a day at a time, and I still have uncomfortably clear memories of the battles between modem & voice users for the house's one phone line.

Still haven't completely ruled it out, though.


-Bats

 

@Mark Carew @MaryD I took the plunge and purchased the Leads kit. I'm not in a habit of buying without seeing some information on performance. Do you have any additional information to share on the performance of this kit? Any videos of it cutting material? More specifically I'm curious about the strength of the kit compared to your other kits.

Thanks,

Rob

 

Mine says it'll be here Monday, but the box according to Fedex is too small to contain any of the extrusions..makes me think there's a tracking number I'm not seeing, or like the page says, black isn't shipped until Dec 10. Correction - Monday.

 

I'm obviously not in any position to speak authoritatively (not only having my Lead Machine still on the way, but no prior hands-on experience with Openbuilds hardware), but based on comparing the designs & peppering those more experienced with questions, I'm expecting the Lead to show pretty similar performance to a similarly sized Workbee system.

As far as I can tell, the biggest differences in design between the two involve swapping the custom plates holding the Workbee's X-axis with a pair of upright 20x80 v-slot rails, and cutting the number of wheels in half (appearing at the corners of the linear motion components of the Lead, but in rows on the Workbee). Of the two, it's the change in wheels that I still don't have any real sense for - I'd love to hear from someone in the know (especially Mark or anyone on the design team) about the reasons for the two difference designs, and how much (or how little) impact it ended up having.


-Bats

 

Ahhh... I hadn't seen that "December 10" line before (no idea whether it was just added recently, or if I just ignored it. or both).

I think I did end up going with the black version, though, so I guess I've got a little extra time to make a decision. I guess it might not be the greatest idea to plan a big batch of last minute Christmas gifts for the finished machine, either. Not that I would ever wait until the week before to start work on gifts likely to require months of labor. Nope, not me.


-Bats
(Fun Fact: 'Christmas in July' is the traditional name for the holiday where my belated gifts are finally delivered)

 

I didn't see the 10th until a couple days after I pre-ordered. It gives me time to clean up the garage, lol.

 

"Ok, everyone - cars in the driveway! The garage is dedicated to important stuff now!"


-Bats
(hrm... that raises an interesting question... I'm in an at least mostly-climate-controlled basement, but do people with unheated garages/sheds/etc run into thermal expansion damage when the lines freeze on a water-cooled spindle, or does the tubing/reservoir relieve the stress? I've never seen anyone talk about using antifreeze or exotic coolants on a spindle)

 

My garage is too small to park an SUV in..so no cars in there anyway.

Can anybody confirm if the kit comes in two boxes and what I am seeing tracked is the hardware/router pack? 36.1 lbs and 21x11x9 inches.

 

Mine shows 33.3 lbs, 48x8x8, 1 package. Also due to me Friday via FedEx. I assume it’s multiple packages but they only sent the tracking for one of them.

Kind of scary, but I guess I deserve it for jumping on what seemed like a great deal with very little information. Not really a fan of YouTube instructions and was hoping more information would be forth coming.

I’ll wait and see what shows up and take it from there.

Brian

 

Well..some of us might have to be the source for upcoming information. Maybe we can forge ahead with V2.

 

I'm right with you on the Youtube directions. Videos are a great reference when you're stuck on a step and need to see exactly how someone managed to fit Tab A into Slot B, but they're far from convenient to follow step-by-step through a large-scale assembly project (your mileage may vary - especially if you have a monitor mounted right over your work area that, unlike mine, is actually capable of playing Youtube videos).

Of course, I have a love/hate relationship with instructions to begin with [note on report card: "Lil Bats shows an unsettling distrust for authority in all forms"] and have a bad habit of "forgetting" to check the manual until everything is together and I can't figure out why I still have half the pieces left over and nothing works, so I'm a little more willing to accept some of the pain of an early adopter in hopes of making things less and/or more confusing for whatever poor fool gets stuck following behind me.

Maybe if we're really patient OBs will talk Ooznest into carrying the Lead and they'll put out one of their almost-as-cool-as-Lego-but-less-colorful assembly manuals for it.

In the shorter term, though, would there be any chance of getting that Sketchup model in more portable formats? Something like STEP would be awesome, since I'd love to be able to pull it into Autodesk Fusion. Once upon a time I was reasonably comfortable getting around in Sketchup... but that was way back when it was still a Google product (and probably closer to the beginning of that period than the end - I feel old), and, after spending tonight flailing helplessly at the model and/or UI, it's clear that something in me is rebelling against the effort of starting all over again. Or maybe is rebelling against the fact that every other click feels like it leads to an upsell.

Or maybe is just plain lazy.


-Bats
(...or maybe should've gone to bed hours ago)

 

Anyone still waiting on shipping notification? My order still says "Awaiting Fulfillment." Ordered the Silver version on Thursday (first 50).

Sent an email and haven't received any reply...I know they are busy with all of the orders.

 

I suspect that given the small size of the team they are all hands on deck getting orders out the door.