Hello guys, we are new to this are of work, he do have a 3D printer and can work in cad however, this project is a little different. We need to setup a way to automate a polish/ surfacing job. We have thought about using a C-beam actuator setup to move the part and have the surfacing/ polishing tool fixtures above it. The hang up for us is, how to control it, we’re not looking for precision at the moment. We’re just trying to put it together and see if it will work and how well it will work. What controller/ software etc. and how would we get this to work?
You have basically just described a surface grinder, which can be had for a few hundred (I found one locally for $300) up to many thousands. Not difficult to convert to CNC..
Are there any in particular that are easier to convert then others? The only ones I have found are many thousands and only use a certain wheel.
I found this grinder that might work, either way, we would need the sled to move in order for it to work.
I was talking more along the lines of this. You just mount servos to the hand wheels and thats pretty much it. not easy, but not hard.. Downside.. those things are not light (so freight or local pickup). It was hard to determine what the scale of your project was based on the diagram. Also, most are 220, 380 or 460V 3 phase, although some can be driven by a VFD. 6" X 12" DOALL "DH612" HAND-FEED HORIZONTAL-SPINDLE SURFACE GRINDER - #25806 | eBay
That looks like a bit of over kill, I would think this could be done a lot more efficiently. I’m just not smart enough on these things to make it work. I’m guessing it would be an easy setup with a bit of information and the right setup. I thought about getting the mini mill and changing the tool from a router to a grinder. Wasn’t sure if that was overkill or the right way to go.
57 pounds is way too heavy for anything OpenBuilds. Can you give us a better idea of what you're grinding and how much material you expect to remove?
Stainless and or mild steel, we are only looking to polish so, from a blasted finish to a polished finish. The final polish to be done by hand.
If we used that grinder setup, the grinder wouldn’t be moving, the part on the bottom would be moving back and forth under the grinding wheel.
While I can generally handle physical build questions I'm not fully versed in what you're trying to accomplish. Are there any good references I can scan to get a better idea what you are doing? I'm not seeing how a hard stone and one without a Z-axis component is going to polish. Next question is will there be water or other liquids involved? Liquids flowing down on bearings is not a good idea. Anything you can offer would be helpful.
We wont be using the hard stone, we’re only using that as a setup since its already built for that style of work/ tooling. No liquids. If we use a tool like this one: https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-c...kedid=413615434027&wickedsource=google&wv=3.1 We can adjust the speed and change the grit of the abrasive as we step it to a polish. Eventually we would have multiple of these machines running to polish them step by step to get the ideal surface finish.
Initial thoughts were to just get one of these and mount the tool to it. OpenBuilds MiniMill CNC Machine I don’t really need both axis to move however, it wouldn’t be too much. Just didn’t know if that was necesary and assumed it would be easier to just focus on one axis.
Well, that makes more sense.. The surface grinder I posted, is more for making dead flat precision pieces, and less about polishing. It would be overkill for what you want.. but it would be a fun toy to have .
Okay, that tool is way more manageable. The Mini Mill should be fine. If you'd like something a bit larger and a bit stouter for just a slight bit more financially you might take a look at C-Beam Mini Mite | OpenBuilds
Thank you! I don’t know much of these things so what would be the difference and the advantage of going with the Mini mite vs the mini mill?
More workable area (8.5" sq. vs. 5" sq.) and more rigidity due to the two columns and the way it's framed. That being said, the Mini Mill can easily be upgraded to a 500mm X-axis which would take you to a 5"x9.8" usable area and there are a number of options to reinforce the column. Honestly if you plan to eventually build multiples try one of each to see which one works best for your application. With the modularity of the OpenBuilds system most of the parts will transfer across from one to the other.
How difficult would it be to lengthen the tracks on this type of setup? The parts we want to polish are about 6 inches long.
No. The C-Beam while a great machine for the time it was originally created is not all it could be now. It truly needs an update with more current plates to make it more rigid. The Mini-Mite I suggested is smaller but stouter and does not come as a kit from the parts store, it is piece built with all parts ordered individually. The parts list is provided parts tab of the build page. On the OpenBuilds MiniMill CNC Machine - OpenBuilds Part Store you would need to order an additional 500mm length of C-Beam 40x80 Linear Rail Aluminum Extrusion Profile (openbuildspartstore.com) and a 540mm length of 8mm Metric Acme Lead Screw - OpenBuilds Part Store and replace the 250mm and 290mm pieces that come with the kit to increase the length of the working area. The single X-axis gantry plate should be sufficient for working a 6" length. If you want to take it up to a full 9.5" you'll probably want to add another XLarge C-Beam Gantry Kit - OpenBuilds Part Store for stability.
With this being our first setup, I would like to make it as simple as possible. Do you think the pre made bundles would work for what we’re looking for? I’m a little discouraged with the lack of support from the company and everything being by email only. So I’m not sure if we will be going this route, but to have the info would be great. Thanks for all of your help
Yes go with the Mini Mill just you’ll want to add the two extra pieces as noted above if you need a full 6”. As for general support that happens here on the forum for anything that’s not order specific. There’s usually someone here that can answer a question pretty much 24/7.
What Rick said.. as far as support, the old adage, you get what you pay for applies. The OB parts and kits are quality, but the cost is also relatively cheap for what you get, to get to that point, some things have to be sacrificed, in this case, it is support for anything that falls outside the scope of the kits they sell.
Unfortunately that is the case lately with businesses and that’s just sad. My major concern is being new to this world and getting things the look to be pretty complicated to work. I’m trying to read and learn as much as I can but some things you just have to go through to figure out and it would be nice to have some support from who you purchase items from.
We provide full warranty, support and service for all out products. Kits and seperate parts. That has never been an issue Where it gets a little trickier is if you envision a custom machine, using our parts. We provide detailed examples of each modular assembly and many examples of how to connect them together. But there is the need for you to plan, and apply consideration, to your own designs. For example, you have to apply the maths in How to calculate V-Slot® deflection or your custom machine will be deflecting too much. We provide assistance, but if you decide to ignore that advice and push forward trying to build a machine with, for arguments sake, a 1500mm axis made of only 20x20mm V-Slot, well, then its not going to work - no amount of tech support can replace proper planning and logic That kinda puts things in 2 camps for you. Do you feel up to planning a custom machine (planning, overbuilding if you have concerns is always a good call, and if something doesn't work out - willing to consider it school fees and replace the unsuitable bits with other bits, happy to apply a little experimentation?) Or Opt for one of our proven machine bundles as a starting point (they can of course be modified to your hearts content) Either way, full support available, this forum is testament to that Building custom machines using our modular build system is as easy as Lego Just browse the Builds tab > OpenBuilds Machines category. We have tonnes of Sketchup Models for the Actuators and Machines you can open up to see how things connect together. Use the Builds tab to Plan your machine, here's a tonne of people standing by to advise and help with that, but its good to get some basic CAD into the mix - so we can see what you want to do - right now that picture is stuck in your head. Draw up some basic concepts, post it in a new Build, use the Discussion tab to discuss it, we'll help you refine it. You can use Sketchup and import our CAD models to built it up easily - you can use the predesigned Acutuators to do the bulk of the assembly and basically just "frame" it together etc
