Angus : A Slightly "Beefier" OX

UPDATE (12-1-14): I was going to build this machine geared toward milling aluminum plate. After much thought and discussion with some knowledgeable people here I have decided that it would be more trouble than it's worth to get this design to machine aluminum accurately enough for my needs. Therefore I have decided to scale back this design a bit and use it for cutting plastic and wood. It will still be "slightly beefier" than the original OX design but a lot less "beefier" than I was initially planning. In the mean time I will be designing and building another machine for my aluminum milling adventures.

Warning: This is a build in progress, therefore dynamic, and subject to revision.

The "Parts List" below will be dedicated to the parts I order from the OpenBuilds Part Store. Everything else will be documented elsewhere in this Build Log.

Mechanical/Hardware:
I will be using the "standard" OX plates and 4 Nema 23 Steppers for this build so I ordered a set of CNC'd Aluminum Gantry Plates, 2-Nema 23 Z-Axis Threaded Rod Plates, a set of Aluminum V-slot Spacer Blocks, and 4 CNC 5-hole Joiner Plates from Chris Laidlaw on Ebay (chrisclub1).

I decided to go with a taller Z-axis X-plate design that Mark Carew (kram242) came up with, as well as some custom made 4-Wheel Aluminum Spacers that Chris Laidlaw designed to go along with the taller plate. I have been working closely with Chris on this part of my build. He does top notch work and I have been very happy with the results thus far. He is located in California and ships very fast.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Openbuilds-OX-CNC-Aluminum-Gantry-Plates-/261475896332?hash=item3ce12d8c0c
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Openbuilds-...Rod-Plate-1-/261633294385?hash=item3cea8f4031
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Openbuilds-OX-CNC-v-slot-Spacer-Blocks-2-/251692338053?hash=item3a9a084b85
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Openbuilds-OX-CNC-5-hole-Joiner-Plates-4-/251693452486?hash=item3a9a194cc6

• Openbuilds-OX-CNC-Aluminum-Gantry-Plates $150.00
• Openbuilds-OX-CNC-Z-Axis-Nema-23-Threaded-Rod-Plates $ 24.00
• Openbuilds-OX-CNC-v-slot-Spacer-Blocks $ 12.00
• Openbuilds-OX-CNC-5-hole-Joiner-Plates $ 24.00
• Custom Super-X Plate (taller Z-axis X-plate) Original design by Mark Carew (kram242) modified for my use, and machined for me by Chris Laidlaw (contact him at [email protected] if interested in pricing/availability)
  
• Custom 4-Wheel Spacer Blocks designed and machined for me by Chris Laidlaw (contact him at [email protected] if interested in pricing/availability)
• 3 Custom 1/8" Aluminum Nema 23 Spacer Plates (My own design, machined for me by Chris Laidlaw)

Total: $210.00

Y-Axis Frame:
The Y-axis frame consists of:

X-Axis Gantry:
(3) 20x60 V-Slot 750mm in length bolted together for rigidity ($15.50 ea).
(1) 20x40 V-Slot 750mm in length ($13.00)
(2) Custom 1/8" Aluminum Nema 23 Spacer Plates (see above)
(10) Cast 90-Degree Corner Brackets ($1.50 ea.)
(10) M5x8mm Low-Profile Screws
(12) Tee Nuts
(10) M5x10mm Low-Profile Screws
(18) M5x25mm Low Profile screws (taken from wheel kits)
(10) M5 Nylon Lock Nuts

(2) Nema 23 Custom 1/8" Spacer (see above)
(2) X-axis Gantry Plates (see above)

Z-Axis:
(1) 20x60 V-Slot ~300mm in length (Left over from X-axis Gantry Frame)
(1) T8x8 Metric Lead Screw ~300 mm in Length ($10.00)
(1) 1/4"(6.35mm)x8mm Flex Coupler ($5.95)
(2) 688zz Bearings
(2) 8mm Washers
(1) 8mm ACME Nut Block
(2) Nema 23 Motor Mount Plates (see above)
(2) Z-axis Gantry Plates (see above)
(1) Nema 23 Custom 1/8" Spacer (see above)
Electronics:
Stepper Motors:
(4) Nema 23 175 oz-in Stepper Motors from the part store $25.00 ea


Power Supply:

Stepper Drivers:

E-Stop:

Spindle: Bosch 1617 2HP Router $124.00 on amazon

Software:
Control Software: I will be using LinuxCNC(EMC2) software on a purpose built PC.

Credits:
This section is dedicated to the people who helped me along the way.
I would like to thank:

@Robert Hummel for answering questions about Water Cooled Spindles and VFD's.
@kram242 (Mark Carew of the OpenBuilds Team) for his wonderful designs.
@Travis for sharing his experience with the challenges of milling aluminum on his OX.
@Chris Laidlaw for machining my plates and custom parts.