10. Applications and implications¶

Final projekt¶

Construction site mill¶

or Outdoor mill¶

I would like to have an easily transportable, space-saving CNC router that also enables large things to be milled. Preferably panel materials made of wood.

for the garden¶

I would also like to take it into the garden and work with it there. I am aware that it will then be a fine weather milling machine, but in this case I don't need any extra space in which to mill or in which the milling machine is located.

and for me¶

It would be great to put a stack of wooden materials in the garden and mill it down from top to bottom. Maybe for furniture, outdoor furniture, installations, pavilions, fab houses… ..whatever.

looks like¶

I am thinking of a fully enclosed moving/rolling gantry that has no mechanical connection with the substructure.

to make¶

Something big - outdoor

computer aided design¶

first cad sketches¶

First CAD drawings in which direction the implementation of the sketched ideas could go.

The marked area in the front shows the working area of the milling. The two behind it are common plate sizes.

closed rolling gantry¶

The gantry is a closed box in which the milling spindle in this case is moved on the Y-axis via a rack, gear wheel and guide rail. The Y axis is guided with fixed wheels on a bearing axis.

mill beyond the panel edge¶

An interesting option is certainly to let the milling cutter run the panel edge.

In this way, the material can also be cut beyond the long sides.

problems with pockets¶

With the drive in this form, pockets can only be milled in the places where no wheels run over the wooden materials. Simple 8-10 mm grooves should simply be rolled over.

I first drew the cnc milling machine as a quarter and then mirrored it. It may well be that I can get there with fewer motors and toothed belts.

theme with variation¶

However, a rail system for the guide could also be exciting, which e.g. would be screwed on or put on and could be adjusted more precisely in order to also be able to mill bags. It would also be easier to find starting points for milling the 2nd path or the other half.

Or something like a start and end ramp. With which you can adjust the tracks exactly at the starting point.

It is also possible to build the milling machine / gantry as long as you need it.
Since the gantry is not expensive, it is best to have one for every width.
It would also be good to be able to shift the roles and maybe have more than 4. This would make milling pockets possible again.
A tool change would also be conceivable.

.....don’t get lost!¶

Now that I have thought of a few variations, which in combination could again form many options, I would first like to go back and start with the rolling gantry.

Otherwise I might get lost.

what do I want to design?¶

I want to build a CNC milling machine where you can mill down all the plates from a pallet stack from top to bottom without having to put them somewhere else. The pallets with the wood-based panels (usually 2500 x 1250) are delivered and I have the option of placing my machine directly on them and cutting the panels to size. The machine is removed from the milled plate and the milled workpieces are taken down. Leftover chips and dust are removed from the next plate and the machine is placed on it again so that the next milling process can begin.

why do I want to design something like that?¶

Because I want to have it!¶

I have always enjoyed furniture and product development and am interested in FAB houses and tiny houses. In the past few years with the insight into the FABLAB I have learned that the means of production, at least if you are ready to assemble or design them yourself, have become very inexpensive. Here I have often looked for machines that are tailored to me and my needs. For a FAB house, products for urban gardening or for outdoor furniture. Since I have a large garden but do not want to rent a hall to be productive, I would like to have a stack of slabs come in and mill some products off the stack. I could cover the stack with foil and put the router in the evening. A good weather cutter, so to speak. I could also imagine that I would place the router in the building materials trade directly on the stack and mill the things I need there and save myself the delivery of the bulky, large panels.

what parts and systems will be made?¶

I build a frame, design and build the x-axis, mill and solder the pcb, design and print the cable cover, machine bracket, pen holder and fastening materials.

what processes will be used?¶

I will work with the 3d printer, the pcb milling machine and the big mill. So I will mainly mill, print and solder.

what questions need to be answered?¶

Where are the limits of the controls and how can I extend them? can I achieve the desired accuracy with this low tec concept, which is necessary for the assembly of wood-based materials?