3D Puzzle

   Today I milled out some parts for a simple little puzzle. Ill post a video, its sped up to keep it a little interesting. Its made up of only three pieces, I cut them out of 1/2" plastic. If you want to build one of these, I have posted plans over on http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1008

Plastic Router Pieces

   Today I milled out some plastic pieces that are to replace the current MDF router clamps. The plastic I think is HDPE and is 1/2" thick. My passes were .12" deep for a total depth of .6" to make sure I cut though all of the way. The parts turned out very nice. Better than I expected. This is the first time trying to machine plastic on the CNC and surprisingly the router cut through the stuff very well, better than MDF. The video is sped up so its not too boring. My feed rate was 10 ipm; I wasn't quite sure how it was going to cut. These settings were conservative. Next time I now know I can bump up the speed.

Z Update Completed

   So now the Z axis is almost 100%. And I do have to say, I love the look of the copper rails. The build went together almost flawlessly. Amazing what spending some time in a CAD program can do to save headaches instead of realizing halfway through building that something isn't going to fit. As you can see from the slideshow, I used the CNC to cut out the pockets for the bolted connections. This design is far stronger than using screws in MDF wood. You can torque down the bolts to adjust the Y axis bearing slides. I used 1/4" by 1.5" long bolts and nylon nuts so they don't back out. Im really happy with taking the time to rebuild the Z axis; it was a mess earlier due to the heavy router. Im sort of burnt out right now with the CNC machine. Ive been spending the past two weeks working on it non stop it seems. At least its up and running well. Just have to start cutting some stuff out.

Z Axis Update Deisgn

The Z axis slash Y axis setup is falling apart due to using screws in the MDF wood (or i should say sawdust glued together). Instead of going and buying cross dowels, Im going to just use 1/4" nuts, bolts and washers instead. Notice on the attached picture, I plan to cut out square pockets where the nuts and bolts will hold the joints together. This should be pretty easy to make, and Im planning on using the CNC to cut out the pockets instead of using a 3/4" drill bit so that the nut can be up against a flush surface.

Router Mounted and Cutting

It took me a while to rebuild the Z axis to support the weight of the router. I couldn't decide which design would be best but ended up with a similar design thats used on the Joe's CNC 2006. Its working well for now; Im hoping to have it cut parts out to improve the machine itself. Im debating on whether to rebuild the Z axis or to just use my CNC to make parts for a second machine. But for now, I want to explore the software side while my machine is working. First piece it has cut out completely is a gear shown in the picture.

Die Grinder Spindle

Since I dont have a router yet, I decided to mount an air die grinder my dad has to my CNC machine. I used a 1/2" straight plunge router bit I found and used that to test. The air works well, but is time limited due to the air compressor. It just cannot run continuously; it over heats and shuts off. Plans are I'm going to re-design the Z axis when I get a router. Check out the video of the die grinder pocketing a small square.

Caution: Loud Audio