Cnc build

[Bo McCorkle]

Guys can you help me find some plans and tell me where i can buy stepper motors, driver, and power supply and what brands to buy i can not find any linear systems that are affordable Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dan Hintz]

Google Joe's CNC for a start

[seaver dave]

The following web site has free plans, stepper motors, drives, power supplies, rack :& pinion system and a unique rail system. There are also built logs at this site. These components are compatiable with the Joe's CNC plans. I am in the middle of a 5' by 5' cutting area for a cnc router.

Lots of threads on the CNCzone re:these components.

http://www.cncrouterparts.com/index.php

Dave Seaver.

[Clarence Miller]

I bought my driver control from Gecko, the steppers from Kelinginc, the leadscrews from roton. I built a 50 x 55 machine from joe's design.

[John McClanahan]

I too used Gecko stepper drives and Keling stepper motors. I found ball screws and liner rails on eBay. If I were to build another one, I would check into V bearings and rails with rack and pinion drive.

John

[Mike Heidrick]

The cncrouterparts rack and carriages are different than a standard Joes parts build. If used they will require modifications to the build. I did buy their R&P kits and teh G540 4-axis kit from them. Joes 4X4 hybrid plan is $100 and includes access to his forum for tons of build logs on the lead screw and rack and pinion versions as well as the cast cnc logs as well. You did not mention what affordable was . It will be $2500-$3500 to build a Joes hybrid 4X4 rack and pinion machine with a G540 setup and most are just over $3K. That does not include a computer or any software other than maybe Mach3. Adding cast cnc parts and k2 8" Linear Z axis will add a grand to the build. Adding Vrail and alum will add about $500.

Buying Ahrens G540 4-axis kit is sure an easy way to go really. The Gecko203s are probably nicer and there are better supplies out there but many that G540 4axis kit is convienet. I went with it and it works awesome.

[John McClanahan]

Longer rails and drive screws can get expensive. Thats why I would check into V rails and bearings. A lot of people use timing belts for the drive, but I would use R&P for a larger machine.

Gecko 203s can supply about 7 amps, while the G540 kit supplies 3.5 amps. If your motors don't need more than 3.5 amps, and wiring is not your "thing" the G540 kit is the way to go.

John

[Brad Knight]

If you're looking at a larger build, take a look at mechmate - free plans, forum for a larger steel machine. I haven't looked in years, but they had sources for all the parts and even sources for any specialized bent and cut parts. I think a few of the guys here have gone through a mechmate build and could give you their opinion of the process. You can just google mechmate plans...

[Steven DeMars]

This guy can make your life really simple & easy . . .

http://candcnc.com/

Steve

[Ross Moshinsky]

Fine Line Automation has plans for several different sized machines. Some use lead screws other use R&P. It was the brain child of the owner of FLA and the owner of CNCrouterparts. I'd compare their 4x4 plan to Joe's 4x4 plan. What I like best about the FLA setup is it is one stop shopping and the gantry design keeping everything 100% aluminum. The benefit of the Joe's machine is the excellent web forum and it's a 100% proven design with hundreds if not thousands of machines built.

[Mike Heidrick]

A good source for Vrails is superior bearing. Rick at Superio Bearing works with Schutz to distribut their rails. Cost is about $6.81 a foot or so for thire T2 Vrail that I then drilled and mounted to 1/2"X3/4" aluminum bar stock. I will then bolt that to 8020 using T-Nuts. VXB has Vbearings (where I bought mine) and so does Schutz but I never priced those with Rick. I ordered my drilled rack from Moore Gear at about ~$70 for 72".

Did Fine line ever release a 4'X4' or larger plan that did not use lead screw?

Harry's cast cnc carriages and a K2 Linear Z will get you an all aluminum and steel Joes build.

Mechmate is the Heavy duty way to go if you want the bad boy of steel builds. Can you weld? That might be the ticket.

[Ross Moshinsky]

I believe FLA only designed the 4x4 unit for R&P. I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to contact FLA/CNCrouterparts and get a R&P setup for a smaller setup. A person could take the 4x4 design and just scale it to work with a smaller design. That really shouldn't be too challenging. Going bigger obviously would require a second look at the structure to make sure the frame was rigid enough.

I know you can do Harry's Cast CNC system and K2's system to get all aluminum, but I believe it adds about $500 on the to cost. Not a big deal, but an extra cost. I'm by no means suggesting the FLA system over the Joe's CNC. I've wanted to build one of these for about 4-6 months but I haven't pulled the trigger on either. The one thing I like about the FLA system is that you can order the whole kit basically ready to run and all you have to do is bolt it together. It's a nice compromise between a full DIY setup and commercial offering. I really like Joe's hybrid not so much because of the design, but because of the huge support and how proven the design is. To me, that adds a lot of value to the system.

[Michael Simpson Virgina]

@Mike
Where did you get the 1/2 x 3/4 Aluminum Bar stock? Also did you have to order the vrails by phone?