Wood Frame construction.

I've since moved back to OIT and moved the machine here too. Between my internship at Pcc and school I've been too busy to update this blog.

Back to the meat. Since my last update, i built 3 wood frames while at home due to lack of access/time to properly machine the proposed 80/20 aluminum extruded frame. This involved using a skillsaw to fabricate 2 saw horses, then cutting up about 8x8' 2x4s to various lengths. Utilizing drywall 2-1/2" screws I fabricated these wood frames. Each wood frame is used for each axis in it's entirety. I then located and installed the rails, and ballscrews to each of these wood axis frames. I used some leftover white shelving made 3/4" plywood and or particleboard depending on the axis. I utilized the plywood for the Z-axis for strength.

The project had been sitting around due to my internship so long i had the itch to get something done, and with no access to machining equipment settled to make a wood frame first, with the intention of converting to a metal frame later. I thirst for more CNC experience out of the class, even if i'm only cutting wood, plastic, or wax.

Going through this process taught me the importance of locating individual components, i'm sure it will become even more important when made in metal. I wish I had modeled the wood frame completely, instead of deriving data from the 80/20 model. Given that I had less than a week to work on this before I went back to school (after internship.) I was pleased with the result. My good friend Bryan helped me substantially with this. I also purchased a 2.5 HP router for around 100$ at Lowes to just have something to start with.

[Pictures taken 9/22/10]