Thanks for that. Is going to be a huge box of an enclosure at that size but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

I am in the process of doing a cabinet for the Lead 1010 with high Z mod right now. It has a 48" X 48" base. The height of the enclosure I am going to make is 43" (1092mm) from the base of the table that the router sits on to the top the enclosure. I am going to have a vacuum hose, water lines and wiring for my VFD spindle. I would go higher if I could but I am limited by duct work in my basement. In my configuration when the Z is all the way up it measures 36.75" (933.45mm) I have the high torque motors. Hope this gives you an idea of what one measures.

Just a note my Z is not setup like they tell you to do in the videos for the high z mod. It works more like the stock z you just have more clearance but not as much as if you set it up there other way.

 

Brilliant, I will factor that into my build when I get the machine set up and on the table. Keeping the idea of modifying the Z axis from the bride for the time being as she thinks I am spending to much money as it is.

 

Understand that one

 

Current setup it's a 1000mm x 1500mm setup eBay/Chinese clone with all parts for high z axis purchased from OpenBuilds plus all the parts Bulkman3d on eBay cheaped out on. Also added 4th/A-Axis for rotary turning.

Still working out the kinks.

 

Ooooo... shiny! I like that "toolbox" at the end, too.

I assume the "tailstock" slides in the v-slot to allow for various length stock?

A rotary axis is something I've been dying to hack into my Half-A-Lead (actually it's been high on my wishlist since building the previous machine), but I've got too little Y travel right now to even consider it. Maybe some day, once I find enough space to expand to full-width. Or just give up on being able to walk past it.


-Bats
(Any chance you've seen anyone on ebay or aliexpress offering a good price on a couple cubic meters of empty space that I could expand the machine into?)

 

Yes the v-slot allows the tailstock to accommodate anything up to around 40 inches properly mounted between the turning centers. How did you ever see the blue tool box in the background!?

The rotary axis has been high on the list and mandatory for my build since saving and planning for this thing for the last five years! The issue I'm having is efficiency. The thing take an eternity to do any on the rotary axis and it's not feed or travel speeds. I'm going to try using larger bits for my rough cuts. As an example it took 3 or 4 hrs just to turn a 3.5inch square into a circle with a 1/4" endmill taking 1/8 deep passes and 1/8" stepover.

 

The high Z was the icing on the cake that came out right as I was finishing my design and purchased. I've waited so long because I need the adequate clearance for the Z and wanted to be able to turn a 5inch blank.

G-code is a hacked version of a major very expensive software package. For me has a huge learning curve and not efficient. For my needs and furniture making I need Conversational CAM CCAM4 from Legacy. Or figure out how to properly program the gcode arcs etcs.

I use OnShape for all my CAD. And thinking about trying fusion360 gcode CAM. ONSHAPE also has gcode output with KiriMoto. I saw a few videos online about open source and VERY cheap wrappers but don't seem to find it again...countless hours of watching videos on how to program 4th axis....!

 

I have looked thru the forums but I am still not warm and fuzzy about what I have found. The High Z Mod for Lead CNC says 8" of clearance. What is the working range? What is the z-axis travel? (A short travel could be moved higher in the air)

 

Does the "Z" axis have a different length of travel? (What is the length of "Z" axis travel on the High Z Mod?)

 

I just finished building my Lead1010 and designed an enclosure for it. I went with 47x50x36H. this allows for the motors and the dust shoe option.
Here are a couple photos, i have doors on two sides and clear on the top. I'll aim to post a build thread if its of interest.

 

What constrains the "usable length of the axis".

Are you referring to the ability to access a deep pocket relative to the outside diameter of the router in relationship to the stiffness/rigidity of the bit and the material and feed rate?

 

WOW, that's a great setup! Are the windows glass or plastic?

 

Thanks!
It's 1/4" clear polycarbonate. The white panels on the two sides are 1/4" HDPE Plastic with haircell finish on both sides. There is a rubber molding strip that goes in the track after the panel it keep it snug. BTW, the materials for the enclosure including the wood pallet weighed 280 lbs. haha. its solid!

 

Yeah, thank you. When I first started trying to think of how to describe this, I was thinking of giving some sort of description that was describing flat platforms that were spaced far enough away so that the collision issue was removed from the constraints.

In hind sight, I could have just pulled up a CAD model and looked at the hard stops.

 

I'm about to tackle changing my lead 1010 with high z mod to this configuration. Any chance someone has a photo the backside? Or better yet, a video of the process? Thanks a ton y'all

 

Can anyone tell me why the High Z-Mod turns the Z Axis C-Beam backwards?
Why not just add the necessary parts as already assembled on the standard height?
Seems to me the Lead Screw should be in the back so dust does not get shot right into it?

 

Looking at the difference between the two setups on the Part Store... One's moving rail, one's moving carriage? High-Z doesn't look like it could feasibly use moving rail, it would lose too much range of motion for any reasonable length of rail.

 

Thanks Rob, I have spent the better part of the night relearning Sketchup and reconfiguring the Lead Machine 1000x1000 to a Z-Mod 1000x15000. It actually looks like it gives a very healthy clearance for material thickness. Depending on the length of bit used you can get at least 6.5 to 7 inch clearance. I'm going with it and I'll report back on the outcome. It really is not that much difference. It may cost a bit more but not much really. Note, the longer the bit, the less clearance... But I really only needed a few inches. We will see.

 

Can someone give me the measurements of the height clearance for a cabinet ?
Havnen't got the mod yet so might build the enclosure before hand.

 

Thats a nice way to do it, you dont happen to have a machine file for this plate if it worked well do you? I am about to do the same thing thanks

 

Looking at adding the High Z Mod to my Lead 1010 and possibly adding the Newbie CNC Linear Actuator for my Z anyone have experience with that kit? LEAD 1010 SLIDER 7" travel
ALso can anyone suggest or tell me what spindle they are using or would be best for this setup? Thank you!!