Hey guys, i need to build something special. It´s about to punch 4 Holes at the same time or as fast as i can with only 1 pneumatic cylinder. Machine Accuracy - better 0,10mm or lower. Workarea: X + Y -> min. 1000x660 mm Material: Polystyrol <1,5 mm , Aluminium 0,45-0,60 mm (maybe 1,00 mm) Hole diameters: <5,00 mm Build: Workbee 1510 Tool/s: pneumatic Cylinder/s Two ideas at this point: 1. - 2x Gantry - 4x Gantry Cart - needs a software where it is possible to type in the absolute position for every Cart 2. - 1x Gantry - 1x Gantry Cart - has to be very fast in positioning Now i have a lot of questions: - Is it possible to work with this amount of gantrys/gantry carts? - Which controllers and software do i have to use? - Is the Workbee build strong enough to hold the gantry in position if the tool punch the holes? - What´s the max. Speed with the Workbee 1510 built? Any Suggestions? Thank you for your help and sorry for my bad english and knowledge in building (DIY) David
What's the force on the cylinder? How big are the holes? My immediate thought is "you're gonna be flattening and cracking wheels". You probably need a steel build with some kind of linear rod or rail bearing. Perhaps even a UMHW sliding bearing which get replaced at pre-defined intervals. If you already had a WorkBee built, I'd say add some kind of inverted platform directly above the gantry that it can push against when punching the material, to take the force off the machine frame- mount the cylinder on freely-sliding bearing mounts so it can push itself up against the "roof". Are you sure that moving the cylinder is the best option, here? Could you instead move the workpiece (inside a frame, for example) and have a stationary pneumatic punch press? I've hydraulically punched 1/4"/6mm holes in 1-1.5mm aluminum before and it's not a force I'd like to put on hobbyist grade hardware, that's for sure. I also have a 4 tonne pneumatic multi-stage cylinder lying around I need to find a fun use for, come to think of it... Final question, while I'm thinking about it: is it definitely worth having a CNC machine to index the holes rather than just buying more cylinders and mounting them on a cheap welded structure?
