It’s looking great, you have inspired me to make my own epoxy granite CNC machine. I have searched the internet for the right mix ratio and I have found many different ways of doing it. I was wondering what you used.
I used sand and small gravel from the local hardware store. With my mix about 13 percent epoxy felt right. You got to do some tests. It depends a lot on the ingredients. I mean you can't just copy a recipe that worked for someone else. The amount of epoxy got a big effect on how the mix handles. As I already said, you should start experimenting with some small test casts with different mixes. You don't want a thick layer of epoxy on top after casting but on the other hand you want to have the spaces between the particles filed with epoxy. Very important is that the sand needs to be dry. It usually comes humid when you purchase it. Good luck!
I've been toying with the idea myself of doing this, or a epoxy sealed gfrc (fibreglass-reinforced concrete ) one myself. But in a raised gantry style. I'm leaning towards gfrc for the base and raised rails, but I am still undecided on the gantry itself. Might just go with box aluminum filled with epoxy granite. cant use gfrc for that due to shrinkage. well that, or just cast a 1 piece gantry from scrap alu and have it machined. decisions decisions. just don't want the gantry to be too heavy.. just ridged.
Awesome build! I noticed at part 2 that you milled aluminium surface for linear rails, whereas in this part you are just sanding it using surface plate. Is the milling really necessary, or will sanding it like this do? By the way your circular saw is also really neat. Thanks for the very inspirative videos 👍
No, it wasn't necessary. I was anyway in the area where a friend got his shop, so we milled it there. But the x axis was too long for his mill. Then I tried lapping with the piece of granite and that worked very well. More accurate then milled. It's just a sh** load of work. Several hours per part.
Don't forget that the the surface where balls screw is sitting on needs no be absolutely parallel to the linear rails. And it won't be. I fixed that by lapping spacers for the bearing blocks of the ball screws, till they fit. That was an other very time consuming process. Didn't show that in the videos, because it's not really exciting to watch.
Hi once again, finally I have some time and money so I started obtaining components :) I would like to ask, just for reference, what are the dimensions of your machine base? Thanks in advance
Nice work. I hope you have not packed in to much epoxy sand mix and ruined your carefully won column adjustment! On another front. Heavy stand is your best friend. Even your existing stand with a concrete cap would be better. Although you may want to touch up some of the welds :)
Was concerned about that as well. But I had luck, it didn't move while packing the sand. Me touching up the welds wouldn't make much sense. Should be done by someone that actually knows how to weld :-)
@@joergbeigang Practice welding on some scrap steel. Yes, it will cost you welding rods. But having the skill to weld properly is a life long useful thing to learn. Even simple spot welds like you showed in the video in a row are better than nothing. There are good videos to teach you. Here is one: th-cam.com/video/SzDuQpHId10/w-d-xo.html. Your welder may be AC or DC. That you will have to check. Another video that teaches you more is this one: th-cam.com/video/DIf_l8l5BkY/w-d-xo.html Both of these men have other videos that cover more about welding. Mark
@@KravchenkoAudioPerth Thanks for the links. I'll give it a go when it's getting a bit colder here. And it's an AC welder, basically just a transformer.
@@joergbeigang Every AC welder is basically a transformer. But, they still work! At home I have a MIG which is usually DC. But I have welded since school days with an AC arc welder. School days are more than 3 decades ago :) Mark
Great overall! One question: What is the process of assembly between X & Y axis, are you firstly mounting rail slides to bottom side of axis X ? can't see it from movie. At least seems like it is hard to remove bolt screw from rail slides
The bearing blocks are mounted on an aluminum plate. This plate is bolted to the base of the x axis. And because there's a little play with the screws in the holes, it can be adjusted in order to be square. Which was a hell of a job. Gave up after a few hours and tried again the next day...
@@joergbeigang ok thank you for quick answer. So plate to plate connection while screws can be removed under table. I was considering following example th-cam.com/video/m8BoCilmnog/w-d-xo.html where rail slides are at side of axis
You're absolutely right. This is indeed the weak point of this design. I'm aware of this. In the back of the column are 4 m10 threads to attach a steel reinforcement if necessary. For now I leave it like it is. Once it's making chips I'll see.
Really inspiring. Now I want to go and build some machine :D. Have you published a recipe for the granite somewhere and how strong it is? And isn't different thermal expansion of these three materials a problem?
I just used sand and some gravel. Lots of people using sikamix. But anyway you got to do some test to figure out the right amount of each component. The different thermal expansion should be a problem in theory. So far I did not see any effect. The base I made in January in the unheated garage. The temperature was just above the limit for the resin. Now we got between 35 and 38 degrees here and it's all still straight. I'm sure there is some tension in the parts, but as long as they are straight and they don't break that shouldn't concern me too much.
Thanks. Not yet. Just received the first motor for testing. Apart from that there is still plenty of work to do. I guess one more video before the first chips.
You could have made the base slightly wider and thicker, if you use a tall vice or 4th axis it might twist a bit. On the other hand i'm really happy that damping and geometry are the priority :D What spindle are you going to use? Did you do any dynamic simulations?
No, I didn't simulate anything. The material properties are pretty much unknown. If I'd take some properties of industrial made epoxy granite I'd lie to myself. I'm not that much worried about deflection. I tried to deflect it with my body weight (90KG) while measuring on different points and I couldn't deflect them at all. I'm more worried about the damping and the resonance frequencies, and the connection of the column with the base. These are the weak points. How this is really gonna be I'll see when I start milling. I'm planning to use a Chinese 2KW spindle. And yes, you're right. I could have made everything a bit wider and more massive, and if I'd do it again I'd use 25 mm linear rails instead of 20 mm.
Excellent build tutorial... just one comment: Your flimsy stand will create many problems with chatter later on.... why not build a substantial base, from solid steel, to dampen vibrations?
You think it's too weak? My hope is that most of the vibrations are going to be absorbed by the epoxy granite. Got to get it running, then I'll see. Worst case I can make a more solid stand
I concur it will benefit greatly from a solid block of a base. No matter what the material as long as it is heavy and big. On a side note what was that interesting looking welder?
The welder made is in our family thirty something years back, when I was a kid. Back then it was already old. It came for free and now it's sitting in my garage. That's all I know about it...
@@tomweinstein It always surprised me that just those few percent of carbon apparently makes the difference in damping, after all steel is nothing but cast iron with much of its carbon removed. Surely those few percent of carbon won't make a world of difference?
Am... Am I seeing this correctly? Is the resolution of that indicator 0.001 MILLIMETER??? And if so, am I really seeing the needle not even flicker as you sweep the axes? If so, that's beyond Gotteswinter precision. Hell, even beyond Renzetti precision. That's Dan Gelbart precision... Holy shit.
No, it's moving. Depending on the axis between four and six thousands. The angle im measuring against is din875/0 and according to the protocol that was shipped with it's 0.007 mm off on the long side. So with some luck I'm realistically within 1/100mm
You mean the ones made out of thin aluminum extrusions? It going to be substantially better then those, not even close. As far as 'narrow and high' it looks like the main casting of virtually every VMC. Go ahead and call up dmg mori and tell them they can stop making vmc's cause they suck.
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Great series! Looking for to see the results! Enjoy the build! 👍🏻
Progress is looking good.
It’s looking great, you have inspired me to make my own epoxy granite CNC machine. I have searched the internet for the right mix ratio and I have found many different ways of doing it. I was wondering what you used.
I used sand and small gravel from the local hardware store. With my mix about 13 percent epoxy felt right. You got to do some tests. It depends a lot on the ingredients. I mean you can't just copy a recipe that worked for someone else. The amount of epoxy got a big effect on how the mix handles. As I already said, you should start experimenting with some small test casts with different mixes. You don't want a thick layer of epoxy on top after casting but on the other hand you want to have the spaces between the particles filed with epoxy.
Very important is that the sand needs to be dry. It usually comes humid when you purchase it. Good luck!
Thank you.
I've been toying with the idea myself of doing this, or a epoxy sealed gfrc (fibreglass-reinforced concrete ) one myself. But in a raised gantry style. I'm leaning towards gfrc for the base and raised rails, but I am still undecided on the gantry itself. Might just go with box aluminum filled with epoxy granite. cant use gfrc for that due to shrinkage. well that, or just cast a 1 piece gantry from scrap alu and have it machined. decisions decisions. just don't want the gantry to be too heavy.. just ridged.
Awesome build! I noticed at part 2 that you milled aluminium surface for linear rails, whereas in this part you are just sanding it using surface plate. Is the milling really necessary, or will sanding it like this do? By the way your circular saw is also really neat. Thanks for the very inspirative videos 👍
No, it wasn't necessary. I was anyway in the area where a friend got his shop, so we milled it there. But the x axis was too long for his mill.
Then I tried lapping with the piece of granite and that worked very well. More accurate then milled. It's just a sh** load of work. Several hours per part.
Thanks for the reply. I am considering a build like this and to me, sh** load of work seems way more obtainable than workshop with a huge mill :D
Don't forget that the the surface where balls screw is sitting on needs no be absolutely parallel to the linear rails. And it won't be. I fixed that by lapping spacers for the bearing blocks of the ball screws, till they fit. That was an other very time consuming process. Didn't show that in the videos, because it's not really exciting to watch.
Hi once again, finally I have some time and money so I started obtaining components :) I would like to ask, just for reference, what are the dimensions of your machine base? Thanks in advance
At last, you are lapping the rails mounts flat....Bravo.....got there in the end then...lol.
hi! nice work. Weight of mixture? how many epoxy used
Thx! About 13 percent epoxy and each part is about 25 kg.
Very nice work.
my friend, you need scraping place for rails, this a good and precise technology
I'm on it. Organized a scraper two weeks ago. Now I gotta find a good reference.
Nice detailed work.
Nice work. I hope you have not packed in to much epoxy sand mix and ruined your carefully won column adjustment! On another front. Heavy stand is your best friend. Even your existing stand with a concrete cap would be better. Although you may want to touch up some of the welds :)
Was concerned about that as well. But I had luck, it didn't move while packing the sand.
Me touching up the welds wouldn't make much sense. Should be done by someone that actually knows how to weld :-)
@@joergbeigang Practice welding on some scrap steel. Yes, it will cost you welding rods. But having the skill to weld properly is a life long useful thing to learn. Even simple spot welds like you showed in the video in a row are better than nothing. There are good videos to teach you. Here is one: th-cam.com/video/SzDuQpHId10/w-d-xo.html. Your welder may be AC or DC. That you will have to check. Another video that teaches you more is this one: th-cam.com/video/DIf_l8l5BkY/w-d-xo.html Both of these men have other videos that cover more about welding.
Mark
@@KravchenkoAudioPerth Thanks for the links. I'll give it a go when it's getting a bit colder here. And it's an AC welder, basically just a transformer.
@@joergbeigang Every AC welder is basically a transformer. But, they still work! At home I have a MIG which is usually DC. But I have welded since school days with an AC arc welder. School days are more than 3 decades ago :)
Mark
The second link is pretty awesome. Did some welding today and having this watched before helped a lot. Thx again!
Great overall! One question: What is the process of assembly between X & Y axis, are you firstly mounting rail slides to bottom side of axis X ? can't see it from movie. At least seems like it is hard to remove bolt screw from rail slides
The bearing blocks are mounted on an aluminum plate. This plate is bolted to the base of the x axis. And because there's a little play with the screws in the holes, it can be adjusted in order to be square. Which was a hell of a job. Gave up after a few hours and tried again the next day...
@@joergbeigang ok thank you for quick answer. So plate to plate connection while screws can be removed under table. I was considering following example th-cam.com/video/m8BoCilmnog/w-d-xo.html where rail slides are at side of axis
Better then my my solution. Looks like it's easier to dial it in and less parts.
You need a surface grinder my friend. I would have just gone to my local cnc shop and had them grind it for me.
Or hand scraping, which takes a lot longer but can be done at home with the proper tools (which are a lot cheaper to purchase than a surface grinder).
Good build but I feel like the connection between base and column is a real weak point. Do you have plans to add some reinforcements?
You're absolutely right. This is indeed the weak point of this design. I'm aware of this. In the back of the column are 4 m10 threads to attach a steel reinforcement if necessary. For now I leave it like it is. Once it's making chips I'll see.
@@joergbeigang Not a big deal. You can always add one or two support fins on the back of the column.
Really inspiring. Now I want to go and build some machine :D. Have you published a recipe for the granite somewhere and how strong it is? And isn't different thermal expansion of these three materials a problem?
I just used sand and some gravel. Lots of people using sikamix. But anyway you got to do some test to figure out the right amount of each component. The different thermal expansion should be a problem in theory. So far I did not see any effect. The base I made in January in the unheated garage. The temperature was just above the limit for the resin. Now we got between 35 and 38 degrees here and it's all still straight. I'm sure there is some tension in the parts, but as long as they are straight and they don't break that shouldn't concern me too much.
Nice work! Does this CNC work functionally now? Maybe a test milling video will come.
Thanks. Not yet. Just received the first motor for testing. Apart from that there is still plenty of work to do. I guess one more video before the first chips.
You could have made the base slightly wider and thicker, if you use a tall vice or 4th axis it might twist a bit. On the other hand i'm really happy that damping and geometry are the priority :D
What spindle are you going to use? Did you do any dynamic simulations?
No, I didn't simulate anything. The material properties are pretty much unknown. If I'd take some properties of industrial made epoxy granite I'd lie to myself.
I'm not that much worried about deflection. I tried to deflect it with my body weight (90KG) while measuring on different points and I couldn't deflect them at all.
I'm more worried about the damping and the resonance frequencies, and the connection of the column with the base. These are the weak points. How this is really gonna be I'll see when I start milling. I'm planning to use a Chinese 2KW spindle.
And yes, you're right. I could have made everything a bit wider and more massive, and if I'd do it again I'd use 25 mm linear rails instead of 20 mm.
How much does he weigh?
Did you build table saw also
Yes, a few years ago
@@joergbeigang Any video on the table saw fabrication??
@@kj4242 no, didn't record any footage on this. But I got some information about the build on my site : dangeroustools.com/tag/circular-saw/
Excellent build tutorial... just one comment: Your flimsy stand will create many problems with chatter later on.... why not build a substantial base, from solid steel, to dampen vibrations?
You think it's too weak? My hope is that most of the vibrations are going to be absorbed by the epoxy granite.
Got to get it running, then I'll see. Worst case I can make a more solid stand
I concur it will benefit greatly from a solid block of a base. No matter what the material as long as it is heavy and big. On a side note what was that interesting looking welder?
The welder made is in our family thirty something years back, when I was a kid. Back then it was already old. It came for free and now it's sitting in my garage. That's all I know about it...
Steel doesn't dampen vibrations, it transmits them. You need granite or cast iron for vibration damping.
@@tomweinstein It always surprised me that just those few percent of carbon apparently makes the difference in damping, after all steel is nothing but cast iron with much of its carbon removed. Surely those few percent of carbon won't make a world of difference?
Am... Am I seeing this correctly? Is the resolution of that indicator 0.001 MILLIMETER??? And if so, am I really seeing the needle not even flicker as you sweep the axes?
If so, that's beyond Gotteswinter precision. Hell, even beyond Renzetti precision. That's Dan Gelbart precision... Holy shit.
No, it's moving. Depending on the axis between four and six thousands. The angle im measuring against is din875/0 and according to the protocol that was shipped with it's 0.007 mm off on the long side.
So with some luck I'm realistically within 1/100mm
@@joergbeigang if it's off after the fact you can shim the linear guides into square.
@@joergbeigang You can rotate the angle 180° to check it's accuracy if you have repeatable axis.
Nice
perfect.
Interesting, subscribed! Feel free to embed your video on our homemade tools forum; looks like you're one of us :-)
Schöne ostdeutsche Werkstatt Meiner 😉👍
Varese ist nicht exakt Ostdeutschland, aber dennoch danke :-)
👏👏👌
neat
👍👍👍👍👍👍🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This gotta be the weirdest build on youtube.
Editing of video is not Up to Mark
Why so much of vibrating ....?
It's painful to my eyes to watch videos
Edit video smartly.....its painful to our eyes to watch videos
6.49....why so much of fast-forward... cut whatever u want short it.... Simply ur doing nothing.... Like a .....rats walk
too bad, like china style, narrow and high. weak router, may be for wood and Al and Cu it will be ok, sorry bro.
Make something better and share it, its easy to throw shit on someone else work while sitting on your fat ass I guess.
You mean the ones made out of thin aluminum extrusions? It going to be substantially better then those, not even close. As far as 'narrow and high' it looks like the main casting of virtually every VMC. Go ahead and call up dmg mori and tell them they can stop making vmc's cause they suck.