OXBear

I have changed my design a bit to waste less V-slot. Its now going to be 6'X 3" instead of the original 6'X2'.

I need a CNC Mill that has a work surface at least as long as 6' and about 3' wide to cut snowboards and longboards!

The standard larger OX shared in the sketchup file uses 1500mm length of 8020 for the Y axis, I am going to buy an extra one for my build, cut it in half and effectively add 750mm to the length.

Connection the 1500mm length to the 750mm length will be an fairly long aluminum plate mounted inside the V-slot. I am waiting on my aluminium to arrive before I design that piece but will post it as soon as I do. Any thoughts or feedback on how others would connect 80x20 Y axis V-slot are welcomed!

In the old picture of my build you can see new taller gantry plates on the bed and also on the actual gantry. I added 10cm but then decided to just build with the original plates first and look at extending it later when I can cut my own and account of how much deflection there will be.

Update Sept 28th,2014
I have been receiving parts over the past couple weeks and and deep into researching the electronics side of my CNC. This is most definitely the hardest part for me and the most intimidating. Everyone uses different electronic components in their builds and thus there isn't a standard list of what to buy and how to assemble it. I figure this is a good thing because its forcing me to learn (or try to) all the specifics behind what electronics need and how to properly hook them up.

I am running a Gecko 540 for my controller, so this makes things a little easier.
My power supply for the steppers is this:
http://www.antekinc.com/ps-4n28-400w-28v-power-supply/

"An unregulated power supply will be sufficient and is recommended for most applications because of its simplicity. If a motor with a large inertial load decelerates quickly it will act as an alternator and send voltage back to the drive which then sends it back to the power supply. Because many regulated power supplies feature protection circuitry this may cause the power supply to fault or reset; however, if the supply is unregulated it will simply get absorbed by the filter capacitor. "
- http://www.geckodrive.com/step-motor-basics

These are the steppers I am using: Wantai NEMA 23 57BYGH633
http://www.wantmotor.com/ProductsView.asp?id=160&pid=75&sid=80

Also a Wantai NEMA 17 42BYGHW811 for the Z axis
http://www.wantmotor.com/ProductsView.asp?id=155&pid=80

Currently I am trying to figure out how to connect all the right wires from my steppers to the DB9 connecters. I found this video which was super helpful:


BUT the Wetlands guy doesn't include a resistor on his DB9 connections as shown in the this picture.

I know I need to also figure out what resistors I need specific to the ratings of my steppers but I have yet to figure that part out.

Update Oct 27th, 2014

I have been away from home for 3 weeks which really slowed down any progress on the machine. I was also waiting on replacements for the damaged V-slot and the other half of my parts order from OpenBuilds that seemed to have gone missing. To their credit they send out the missing stuff right away.

I built a small room for my CNC within my garage. One wall is left unbuilt until the project is completed. I lined the walls with door skin I had and sound insulation. My intention is to keep the dust and noise down. I am planning on running the CNC alot and don't want it to get on my neighbors nerves. I am not sure how much this is going to deaden the sound, I may have to do some tweaking once I can see how much noise I am actually dealing with.


I have assembled the Steppers and tested them with Mach3 and my G540, everything works good.
Tonight I finished the mock up of all my mechanical parts. Well not all... but most of them. I am waiting on the Double Tee connectors to extend my Y Axis rails out to the full length of the table.



When she is done the cutting area will be roughly 3'X6'


I am getting pretty excited now to start cutting!


UPDATE SEPT 3, 2015

Well I have been modifying the OXbear, here are some pictures of the changes and a new vacuum table!