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      1. Build Progress:
        • Build Complete!
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      image.jpeg This is a two axis (X & Z) machine to drill adjustable shelf pin holes in the sides of the custom cabinets we build in our custom cabinet shop.

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      A Porter Cable Router "drills" the 5mm holes at a 32mm spacing. Also notice the gantry does not extend past the width of the C-Beam!
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      Up close of the gantry. Notice it does not extend past the C-Beam on either the X or Z axis. This gives me the fullest range of motion possible.



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      Backside. Mean Well Power Supply & TinyG Controller.
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      TinyG Controller up close.

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      Limit Switches mounted to a 1/8" X 1" X 3" steel plate. Then it is mounted to the C-Beam. Heat Shrink is put over the spade contacts to keep them insulated. Wired in the NC (Normally Closed) position.


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      Mean Well Power Supply hookup.

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      Upper drag chain mounting bracket. The aluminum angle after trimmed & bent.


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      I used a 1"X1" aluminum angle to build the mount for my cable carrier (drag chain). This shows where I trimmed the piece with a hacksaw. I filed the rough edges off. And bent it using a hammer and a vise. Mounted it using 2 of those T-nuts from OpenBuilds.

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      The above photo shows how the drag chain is mounted to the "trimmed & bent" aluminum angle. Drilled 2 holes in the angle and used two 5mm X 20mm pan head screws with OpenBuilds T-Nuts to secure.


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      The lower mounting of the drag chain is just one T-Nut in the top of the C-Beam and thru 1 of the holes in the drag chain. Slick and easy. Plenty of space in the chain for the wires. The 4 Wires are are ran to the (2) Z-Axis Stepper Motor and the (2) Z-Axis Limit Switches.

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      The above photo shows the milled gantry on the left. The silver circles show how it was milled down so the pan head screws would not interfere. Those same holes were also drilled out to remove the threads so the 2 pieces could be bolted together.

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      Above shows the 2 gantry plates bolted together.

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      Shows how the limit switches are mounted. They can slide to where you want them and then the screws tightened to keep them where you want them.

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      Shows where the 2 Stepper Motors are connected to the TinyG.

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      This shows the Porter Cable Router power cord held up out of the way by the aluminum angle that is mounted to the top board.


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      I cut 4 short pieces of the aluminum angle to use to mount the power supply. 4M bolts hold it to the power supply.
      1. Special Notes

        See the Parts List for more details in the comments section. Like Cost of items, and more notes.

        Wire:
        At the moment all wiring is Southwire Brand Security Wire 22/2. (22AWG 2 conductor) It is shielded wire but I do not have the wire's shield grounded. I purchased the wire years ago from Lowe's. I just ran two runs of it to the Z Axis motor to get the 4 conductors needed.

        Gantry:
        I milled out one of the gantries that came with the C-Beam bundle so that I could bolt them together at a 90 degree making zero gantry extending beyond the C-Beam. Drilled out the threads that were in 4 holes and recessed a place for the bolt heads. Clean and simple.

        Drag Chain and Limit Switches came from Amazon.

        Mounts for Power Supply: Purchased a 1x1x48" aluminum angle from Lowe's and made little mounting tabs.

        The Drag Chain (Cable Carrier) is also mounted to the Z Axis with a piece of the angle aluminum.

        The power cord to the Porter Cable Router is also managed with a short piece of the aluminum angle.

        5mm with 1/4" shank Router Bit:
        I bought a 5mm brad point drill 1/4" diameter shank router bit from Carbide Processor (online) Part# SE63505RH. Cost ~$13.00 each plus shipping. This is a hard to find item btw.

        Controller: TinyG v8
        GCode Sender: Chilipeppr

        Works perfectly. I drill one side of the cabinet piece, turn it around and drill the other side of the board. This keeps the CNC footprint small which is what the hubby wants.
        Adding a Y Axis would take more floor space but make it quicker to run the parts.

        I feel this is a better solution than buying a Line Boring Machine or Multi-Head Drilling/Boring Machine less parts to break, less drill bits needed, and it is much cheaper!

        I first used a cheap power supply that looked just like the more expensive Mean Well brand but when I turned on the Router it would cause Code Errors and Skips and malfunctions. I swapped out the power supply and connected the Mean Well 24volt Power Supply, which must have EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) filters. Works like a champ!!! Buy Mean Well or pull your hair out. lol!

        If you don't count the parts I didn't use and the tools I purchased, then this cost about $500 to build.
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  • Build Details

    Build License:
    • CC - Attribution - CC BY

    Reason for this Build

    To drill adjustable shelf pin holes every 32mm in custom cabinets. We use it in our custom cabinet shop.
  • Parts list

    Qty Part Name Part Link Comments
    1 C-Beam Linear Actuator Bundle - 250mm http://openbuildspartstore.com/c-beam-linear-actuator-bun... Link $122
    1 C-Beam Linear Actuator Bundle - 1000mm http://openbuildspartstore.com/c-beam-linear-actuator-bun... Link $164
    2 Nema 23 Stepper Motors from OpenBuilds http://openbuildspartstore.com/c-beam-linear-actuator-bun... Link I chose the include the motor option. So cost is included in the above bundles.
    1 Mean Well Power Supply 24VDC https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KTJE3L4/ref=oh_aui_s... Link $49 This put a stop to the EMI issues that were caused by my Porter Cable Router Motor. Don't buy the cheap power supply.
    1 15 x 20mm 1.07M Open On Both Side Wire Carrier Cab https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00843VYGO/ref=oh_aui_s... Link $9 each. Bought 2 - only used 1 but I need to add some links to it from the second one I purchased to make it the perfect length.
    4 Micro Limit Switch Long Hinge Roller Arm SPDT https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H8TJOU8/ref=oh_aui_s... Link $7 for 20 switches. They work perfectly. Comes in a package of 20. I Configured them NC (Normally Closed).
    1 Chilipeppr.com is free. It is a website. http://chilipeppr.com/ Link FREE. It allows you to Send G-Code to your TinyG Controller which is connected via USB cord from your computer
    1 TinyG Controller v8 $130 as of 2016 0808 http://synthetos.myshopify.com/products/tinyg Link $130. Pretty amazing Controller. Check out it's website. It can control 4 axis.
    1 C2G / Cables To Go 28102 USB 2.0 A/B Cable, Black https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FW7L4Q/ref=oh_aui_s... Link $5.49 This is a Twisted Pair (TP) Shielded USB Cable. Connects TinyG Controller to Computer.
    0 Link
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