Hey folks. Been lurking, reading, researching and reading some more. Thanks for all the great info!!! I have been very interested in building my first CNC machine for a few years, and finally have decided to pull the trigger and get on with it! Please accept this post as a form of introduction and my first question here on OpenBuilds. I recently built a Delta 3D printer in kit form which has been great for some projects, and do a bunch of machining on old-school lathe (SB9) and mill (millrite powermatic). But the machining is all manual measurements and hand-driven. Time for some precision. My primary goals will be to mill aluminum, G10 and some carbon fiber plates. Nothing too terribly thick, mostly 1/16" - 1/8" with possibly some thicker aluminum (1/2"?). I had been planning on building along the lines of the Ox, but using C-beams. Then I get the announcement for the Plate maker in the inbox, and I begin wondering if this might not be a good entry-level option for me. It seems to be large enough for any projects I'd have in the foreseeable future, and the bundle seems very helpful for a noob. The video demo shows some solid work on aluminum - and nothing I would be doing would be much more complicated than that (except possibly needing more rigidity for work-holding). My question is: would an X/Y machine be better for my purposes than the Ox style builds? Although I'm very comfortable with my vertical mill and the moving bed, I guess I assumed that a CNC machine with double Y beams would be more rigid. Perhaps I'm mistaken. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer, and I look forward to more education and adventures among the OpenBuilds community. Scott
Hi, you could always update - use two plates to strenghten along y - now long but still slim parts could now be milled once turned acording to y. Or start using two actuators for y if going for wider x-proportions. Just figure in these upgrades beforehand - buying longer c-beams, to acomodate the extra plate-without loosing milling area- if desired. Traditional mills with moving table usually go for 2 rails and 2 wagons each. mostly only one ballscrew in center. Smaller Mills utilising only one beam center have been done before. Quite common is the use of the KR33 or KR 44 compact linear rails. A very good example is here: For smaller parts, only slightly bigger milling area than the plate underneath it will be fine. Once going bigger than the supportplate the overhang will start to tilt the setup and your cut will either not go all the way through or the surfaces won`t be cut at 90deg. at least... than its time for an upgrade. So just give it a try, an upgrade is not the end of the world ( not all money wasted) greets flo
Thanks for the response Flo. It's true that I can always upgrade/update the build. And good to know that much of the investment can still be utilized. I guess my basic question is whether the moving or static bed is more rigid? In my research I had been focused on the Ox style stationary bed, but now this new bundle has made me question the alternatives. I just need to understand the pro/cons of the 2 options. Appreciate the help and the video link.
EDIT: Seems I was doing a ton of searching under the wrong terms. Swapping Gantry for Cartesian brought up a lot more discussions on the pros and cons. It looks like the hybrid design of the C-Beam plate machine (table moving on one axis only) should be rigid enough, and may make the most sense for my budget, current projects and space requirements. Also, with the ability to make plates of my own design will help offset costs of future builds.
Hey Moto, Upgrading a fixed gantry machine that has a one axis bed will increase its rigidity for not much more money and work. You'll just give more support to the workbed edges colinear to the axis. In combination with Openbuilds V-Slot, I believe the C-Beam machine is a perfect candidate for this if one feels they need a more sturdy set-up later on. They'll even have the plate maker there to save a few bucks on plates! Joe
Thanks Joe. That's exactly what I was thinking. Looks like I'll be diving in to this hobby feet first in the next few days. Now to focus on the electronics. Mark got some good results with the xPRO V2, but I'm curious as to the practical differences between that and the tinyG. More research.... I'm afraid that question may be like asking "what's the best motor oil..."
