Cast upgrade parts for a desktop cnc

Discussion in 'Other metal working projects' started by Gippeto, Jan 23, 2020.

  1. Gippeto

    Gippeto Silver

    Working on upgrading my little desktop cnc. My first kick at the cat making wood patterns and working with petrobond turned out well enough. Maybe not quite as fast as lost foam, but not without its advantages...and another skill worth learning.

    Also finding it just as addictive as lost foam lol...maybe it's the CO from the furnace hmm? o_O

    Finished casting my "kit" today and did a little more on the machining. Still waiting for the rails I ordered for this project to show up in the mail, but lots of work that can be done before they get here.

    Picked up a cast iron table saw sans fence at the pawn shop for peanuts...thinking to use it as a base for the Y axis and use the 550mm rails I have. Only down side is losing portability...

    Al
     

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  2. Al2O3

    Al2O3 Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Looks like a very worthwhile project to me!

    Best,
    Kelly
     
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  3. Petee716

    Petee716 Gold Banner Member

    My hats off to you Al. As far as I'm concerned your opening post is what it's all about. Rock on.

    Pete
     
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  4. OMM

    OMM Silver

    What kind of fuel are you using? And what temperature is it there??? I seeeeee snow.

    I pulled my furnace outside at -4°C (about 25°F). She ran OK on the diesel, but… Slowly choked up when I shifted it to WVO.

    Edit; I just finished testing the viscosity bringing it back into the shop. The shop is at 20°C. The oil warmed up pretty quick four hours later and was moving at 1 gallon per hour faster.
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2020
  5. Gippeto

    Gippeto Silver

    Just using propane. Warmed up a bunch from last week lol... -5C or so during the day, -15 last night.

    Al
     
  6. OMM

    OMM Silver

    Last week at -10°C I had no problems with the diesel. The WVO pulled down to less than 50 mL per minute.
     
  7. Petee716

    Petee716 Gold Banner Member

    I can't remember if you're pressurizing your fuel tank or just pulling with Venturi, but if you're not pressurized you could use a 100-cup coffee urn to heat and dispense the WVO.

    Pete
     
  8. Gippeto

    Gippeto Silver

    Got some of the milling done, then set things aside waiting for the rails to show up....which happened today. :)

    Definitely some piping (terminology?) where the gates were (pretty sure they froze) and some areas showing either inclusions or porosity. Not quite sure how I would do the long pieces if I were to cast them again...thinking either pad the pattern or add some smaller risers mid way down.

    Overall, fairly happy with how they were to machine. Not gummy, threw nice chips and the surface finish is acceptable.

    Drilling and tapping I go....

    Al
     

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  9. Rotarysmp

    Rotarysmp Silver

    Nice set of castings you made. Thanks for sharing them.
    Mark
     
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  10. Gippeto

    Gippeto Silver

    Gone a bit bug-eyed from "dial watchin", but that's pretty much all of the M3 holes/counter sinks drilled and tapped.

    Rails mount up and carriages slide freely. Calling it a "win". :)

    A DRO would have been nice to have today....

    Bearings for the lead screws are not here yet, connecting X axis to the verticals is next.

    Al
     

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  11. Gippeto

    Gippeto Silver

    Dove back into this project and made some head way on it. Found I miscalculated ( messed up :( ) and will have to re make the stepper mount plate for the x axis. It's just a flat plate with some holes in it so not a huge deal.

    Had a visit from bozo today as well, drilled/tapped an M6 screw .100" short of where it was supposed to be...oddly, that's exactly half the diameter of my edge finder...hmmm.:oops:

    Used an end mill to clean up the off center hole then drilled and tapped M12-1.5. Made an insert on the lathe and installed it with red loctite...it'll do.

    Layout lines would have prevented that and saved me some time...hopefully a lesson hammered home.

    Anyways, need some M5 screws when I get to town next, figure out where I'm going to mount limit switches and reconfigure the lathe again to drill the feet of the uprights. (too tall for my little mill).

    Al
     

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  12. Gippeto

    Gippeto Silver

    More drilling and tapping. A bit of figuring and then got the saw top mounted on the mill and dialed in. Then locate, drill and tap 22 M3 holes. Flip, repeat 22 more times.

    No taps were harmed this day. :) Indicated off the miter slots because it's too big for travel of my mill...sure hope they're parallel. Might be a do-over hiding there yet though.

    Table is the next big job, and will be cast in multiple pieces...sized to my foundry capacity. Any thoughts regarding T slot vs threaded inserts are welcome. Leaning toward threaded inserts.
     

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