CNC Router Shop Made

Link to latest "Vise" for the Maxi Pallette
http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/c...g-system-53816

Link to new Maxi Pallete for this CNC machine:
http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/m...3069#post77378

Link to 3 tool holder plates for this CNC machine including one pen and 2 routers.
http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/c...e-plates-52265

Latest spindle with ER 20 Collet and DC power with an RC motor.
http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/c...-spindle-52268

This is an old project that I built in 2013 before the lathe and mill became
part of my shop. 5/8 thick aluminum was cut on the 10" table saw with a
non-ferrous carbide 80 tooth blade from Freud.

Here is the original posting from 2013 CNC Build Thread:

JJR Hybrid CNC 8020 MDF Aluminum 37 x 42

The 1 1/2 thick mdf was made by face gluing and screwing two pieces of 3/4 mdf
and securing them with many #10 screws. The screws were 1 1/2 inches long so
I ground them to 1 7/16 long prior to installing them into pre drilled and counter sunk holes.
The counter sinks and screw heads were filled, sanded and primed prior to applying the
rattle can silver paint to make my custom "Alumamdf" (my word, not in Websters book).

After reading many builds I assembled most of the parts/supplies that I would need to build my machine.
I had seen many 8020 machines and quite a few MDF machines as well as some machined aluminum with 8020.
Since I have a small garage shop with a drill press, band saw, and table saw I settled on a machine
that would not require a mill to build but would still be useful addition to my shop.

Southwest Steel is only a few miles from home so I had a good source for aluminum and steel.

The bench was made from two 19" rack mount computer cabinets. I added an MDF top and "outriggers"
to add some width to the table. They are torsion boxes that are bolted to the frames.

For a power supply I found a surplus power supply and converted it to output 32 volts at better than 10 amps.
It is not a switcher, just an old brute force full wave bridge rectifier and some caps.

Gecko 540 controller.

3 x 320 oz-in 2.8 mH Nema 23 Stepper Motor, 3/8" Shaft from CNCrouterparts.

Lead screws and couplers from Enco.

Nuts and bolts from my favorite local supplier.....Marks

8020 from 8020 inc on eBay.

MDF from the local home store.

It runs on Linux and Linux CNC.
I use CamBam to create the Gcode and various Cad programs for the drawings.

So far it has made parts for the F4 Phantom, B35 not built yet, and various
fixtures for the shop. Neat machine to have in the shop

So here are a few pictures from the start to date.

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Thanks jjr2001! We've added your CNC Router to our CNC category,
as well as to your builder page: jjr2001's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/cnc-router-23"> <img src="/uploads/151555/cnc-router-23.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/cnc-router-23">CNC Router</a> <span> by <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/jjr2001">jjr2001</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/cnc'>CNC</a>, <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/router'>router</a>, <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/controller'>controller</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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I just finished the spindle/motor mount for this CNC Router. Kinda nice when the tool can make new parts for itself. Of course drilling and tapping the small holes was done on the mini mill but the main pieces were cut from 1/2" 6061 aluminum and then dressed up with a file and Noga de-burring tool. I used a .125 carbide two flute end mill for most of the cutting on the periphery but used a 5/16 single flute carbide router bit for the pocket and the main circular mounting holes for the new spindle.

Should have it ready to run in a few days.

Cheers, JR

You like using a router as a spindle? I have a little trim router in my CNC and I can't stand all of the noise it makes. Plus just having the 1/4" collet is pretty limiting as far as the tooling I can run. I'm definitely saving my pennies for an ER-11 spindle over here.

Hi pfred,
It is not too bad. I do wear ear protection while it is whining along. It is fine for wood, too fast for plastic and ok for aluminum with a 1/8" bit. The high speed is why I am building the new spindle. I have a Dewalt 660 and collets from 1/8 to 1/4. The other router is a Porter Cable and collets from 1/8 to 1/2 but I want to use my end mills and at lower speed. I will have variable speed from about 100 to 5000 rpm with an er-20 collett so I can pick my end mill or drill bit from my stock. I expect the new spindle to be very quiet.

Thanks for checkin in,
Cheers, JR

I just face milled a block of HDPE with my CNC. I used a half inch diameter carbide router bit. I have a Bosch Colt router that runs at 30,000 RPM. It made nice chips. That is a peripheral surface speed of close to 4,000 feet per minute. I suppose it depends on what kind of plastic you're cutting? Some can get kind of melty. But HDPE the faster you cut it, the faster it gets cut. Maybe there's an upper limit? But if there is, I've never seen it.

I have some UHMW but I have not had a chance to cut any of that yet. I have milled some PVC and polycarbonate. Tried plexiglass and just don't like that stuff at all. The Polycarb and PVC tend to melt and I have quite a bunch of it so I thought I would try to slow down the speed. The other thing is that with a set of ER-20 collets I have a large choice of end mills to choose from. Plus it should be quiet. Maybe I can work without hearing protection!

Cheers, JR

You should like working with UHMW. I cast my own HDPE stock out of scrap plastic. It is kind of a hobby by itself. Plus it is handy to have an unlimited supply of stock in the shop. http://i.imgur.com/MogRQ2i.jpg

That is neat. I read a thread a while back where they were making machinable wax out of old plastic bottles and candles. I did not know you could make HDPE without a factory! Does it require a lot of heat?

Cheers, JR

I melt HDPE in a toaster oven. To figure out what temperature to melt it at, I just melted some on a scrap of sheet metal. Then I adjusted from there doing melts. On my toaster oven that I use I think I run around 365F? But that is going to vary from oven, to oven. It is all very much a whatever works for you process.

There's two kinds of HDPE. There's injection, and blow molded. Injection is thick stuff, like plastic buckets. Blown is like milk jugs. They melt different, and the plastic you get is different too. Injection flows better molten, but cooled it is softer, more rubbery, in a way? Sometimes folks have trouble melting blown HDPE. But I like the plastic better. It is harder, and slicker. Heavier, denser.

I made the Z axis of my CNC machine out of blown HDPE http://i.imgur.com/lSsNyBG.jpg

That's milk bottles.

Thanks, that is great info. I like the dovetailed Z-axis and thick pieces of HDPE. Looks like I am going to start saving Folgers coffee cans and milk bottles.

Cheers, JR

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jjr2001

Thanks, that is great info. I like the dovetailed Z-axis and thick pieces of HDPE. Looks like I am going to start saving Folgers coffee cans and milk bottles.

Cheers, JR

---

There is a discovery curve as far as melting HDPE goes. I watched a number of YouTube videos before I got going. Then I came up with my own method, which I refined. What I'm saying is it is a bit of a journey. No two people go quite the same way either.

But to describe how I do it in a bit more detail I made this box http://i.imgur.com/RpqLjJq.jpg that I line with non-stick parchment paper. Then when I have my material all melted I put that piece of diamond plate in the box, and clamp it down. That keeps the block of plastic flat. As the plastic cools I keep tightening up on the clamps. Because HDPE shrinks, and tries to warp a lot as it cools.

You'll see as you go. More valuable products are usually put into injected molded containers too. Like laundry detergent bottles, and probably your coffee too. You can mix blown, and injected plastic, but your resulting plastic will more resemble injected, than anything else. Thin plastic grocery bags are HDPE too. But they melt down to nothing. So you have to melt lots of bags to add up to anything. Anything with a recycling symbol of 2 in a triangle is HDPE. You can still get an interesting Damascus pattern melting bag plastic, if you alternate bag colors. Say do 10 layers of black, then 10 of white.

That's the other reason to make your own HDPE. For the wild patterns. This guy unlisted his videos but I found this in my history

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aM9rKWCt0w

I wish I could find the link to part 1 This guy is the God of melting HDPE

Thank You pfred, Good information. I am saving my bottles.

Cheers, JR

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jjr2001

Thank You pfred, Good information. I am saving my bottles.

Cheers, JR

---

I have so much plastic saved up that I'm doing a melt right now. Processing plastic is something else again. I have a method worked out how I slice up gallon jugs. I do it while I watch videos on my PC. I cut every bottle up the same way, and I stack all the like pieces together, so they pack in my melt box real tight.

Well the machine does fine with plywood, aluminum and brass.
Post 3 in the link below has a brass flywheel that it cut out the spokes with a 1/8" carbide 4 flute EM.
Depth of cut was .050" per pass for a total of .500"
http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/c...3816#post78802

Next test will be some steel.

Cheers, jr

I have a milling machine for milling steel. It weighs close to a half a ton. At that I still need to know what I'm doing to get a good cut.

Hi Pfred, It would be nice to have a large milling machine in the shop but all I have is this little "mini mill" and then the CNC router.
The Cnc was built for plywood model airplane parts but I have been pushing it lately and find it works well with brass and aluminum.
The steel will be just some thin 1/16 to 3/16 sheet. Figure if I go slow it will work and I can finish it with a file.

Cheers, JR

yeah I wish I had a large milling machine myself. My RF-32 is one of them bench top mill/drill jobs. I ran a K&T Milwaukee #3 at a tool and die shop years ago. Now it was a large milling machine. I had to walk on, and into the mill to run it. It was I'd say about 10 feet tall. I think the table was 8, or 10 feet long? It could plow a two and a half inch diameter roughing mill into a block of steel like it was cutting balsa wood. You could balance a nickel on edge on the work table while it was doing it too.

Ours was bigger than this ours had the extended coolant reservoir. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8pcd7nOgAs

Now that is a mill!

Cheers, JR

It makes a Bridgeport look like a toy. Ours for whatever reason looked a lot bigger. Maybe because we had it in a corner? Mills like that are so heavy they generate their own gravity fields.

I wanted to make startup a bit faster when setting up my CNC machine so I found this pendant on the bay and oh what a difference a pendant makes.
I upgraded to Linuxcnc v 2.7.0 and after setting up to run my cnc I added the config changes to run the pendant.

Now instead of having to make multiple trips to the control side of my machine I can quickly move all axis to the zero point and then easily home it and touch off the Z-axis. I can now control the speed of traverse, which axis to move, or even move all of them to zero with one click of a button.
The panic button is right on the pendant also. I have not implemented all of the buttons available but I have what I need.

Very nice upgrade. I ordered the HB04 wired unit USB not wireless. I like the direct connect and the cable does not cause me any difficulty.
The rf version for the USB port is available in the WHB04 model.

You will have some digging to do into Liniuxcnc to set it up. It takes a bit of time to get it running.

Here are a few screen shots:

MPG pendants are nice. The way I have my machine setup now the keyboard is right there. So jogging with it is not too bad for me. I made a remote box with the power switch in it too. So it is kind of my E stop. It is my on and off button really. I've never had an emergency, yet.

Here is the link to part 1 Combing HDPE for a Slingshot Frame - Part One - with Randy Knapp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m40oZxob8vg

Randy is the God of HDPE melting.

I still need to try melting some Folgers coffee cans and see if I can make some RED.
Really neat way to recycle.

Cheers, JR

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jjr2001

I still need to try melting some Folgers coffee cans and see if I can make some RED.
Really neat way to recycle.

Cheers, JR

---

Colored HDPE is different than uncolored HDPE is. The binder that holds the color to the material is what makes it different. Colored HDPE is a little softer and not quite as slippery. For some reason colored HDPE runs a bit more freely molten too. So it is favored by a lot of melters. I will say this, melting plastic that has stored an aromatic material tends to have a bit of an imparted smell to it (don't melt scented liquid detergent bottles or you will regret it). By itself HDPE is a bit sickly sweet in odor which goes up to acrid if you overheat it. You have to tune the temperature you melt at by doing small test melts. Generally you ramp up the heat until you burn the plastic, then back off a bit from there. Burnt HDPE "tans". Then eventually it looks like burnt sugar when you really cook the life out of it. In an oven convection allows you to run hotter. HDPE never gets really runny. But the hotter you can get it without tanning the surface the more relative flow you can get. Which helps with consolidation. You get less air pockets. Dialing in the process is a balancing act. Melting HDPE is border line mad scientist's stuff, so have fun.

Thanks pfred, great info on melting hdpe. I did not know any of that. Now I know what to watch for.

Cheers, JR

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jjr2001

Thanks pfred, great info on melting hdpe. I did not know any of that. Now I know what to watch for.

Cheers, JR

---

You'd know soon enough. Well maybe not about convection oven magic. I started out with a plain toaster oven myself. I burnt plenty of plastic buns in that oven too. Melting HDPE is a trial and error process until you get your method figured out. Everyone seems to have their own style. There's a lot in the process that you can vary. Everything from what you melt in, to what you melt. The next time I melt I should take a series of photos and post an article up on Instructables.

Here's a couple pictures I do have

The box that I melt in: http://i.imgur.com/RpqLjJq.jpg

Some blocks I made: http://i.imgur.com/MogRQ2i.jpg

Some uncolored HDPE (translucent milk and water jugs - that's all I melt now) blocks: http://i.imgur.com/boPwUiN.jpg

Same blocks milled square: http://i.imgur.com/K4lNH7B.jpg

The mess that milling them square makes: http://i.imgur.com/Mqsy43E.jpg

Using a piece of HDPE in a project - it is a nice board holder: https://i.imgur.com/BWiLc5Z.jpg

That is in this box now: https://i.imgur.com/Q9GTcWh.jpg

A router clamp made out of HDPE - not 100% done with it yet: https://i.imgur.com/Y6WSMdL.jpg

Could you melt it on a metal sheet, copper maybe, drilled full of holes, then let it drop into a bucket of water, to create plastic beads?