Planning Project: OSIDIAS (SFF taken to the extreme)

[craigbru]

Wow.. I can't wait to see that baby in action!

I know all the planning is going to pay off in the end, but I want to see if now!

Yeah, me either. I haven't worked with CNC since I was in high school, and that's been quite a while ago. This thing is going to open up quite a few new possibilities for me.

The sad part is, I'm still making small revisions, but could technically start tomorrow if I wanted. I just need to finish a current project first!

Damn thats nice. Congrats man!!!

Thanks man!

[craigbru]

Are you guys ready for this?

Well, it's finally arrived! Thanks to Ron Rogers of Romaxx for making this possible. What you are about to see is the unboxing of a shiny new HS-1 CNC router.

This machine is considered a tabletop CNC, and as such, doesn't take up a lot of space. Since I work primarily in small form factor, this will fit 99% of every need I have. Even though it's a compact design, this thing arrived to me in a 125 pound box. 105 pounds of that is the machine itself. If weight is any indicator of strength, then this thing is a beast.

So, shall we look at a few pics of this thing?

The box...

Let's crack this thing open. It's definitely well packed, and bolted through the bottom of the crate.

That's it for now, but I'll follow up once the machine is setup in the shop. Until then!

[x88x]

Mmmmm, preeetty. Can't wait to see it in action.

Also, I love the giant emergency shutoff switch.

[craigbru]

Mmmmm, preeetty. Can't wait to see it in action.

Also, I love the giant emergency shutoff switch.

Thanks man! I'm still waiting on the end mills to arrive, and I've got to get the software sorted out. I'm hoping for cuts in a week or so!

[craigbru]

While I know everyone is anxiously waiting to see the CNC running, I needed to take care of a few small details first. One of those details involved a custom misting solution for cutting aluminum. Why mist? Well, for the work I have to do it can be just as effective as flood, yet it's so much easier. I should say it's easier, only if you can find a workable and convenient way to implement it.

I have been doing some research into CNC misting techniques, and most of the options are geared towards commercial applications, and are quite expensive. I wasn't really willing to spend $300 on something I was convinced I could do myself. Since I'm a modder, it only made sense to mod a homebrew solution. Many hours were spent Googling anything that misted, before I came across the mention of using an airbrush as an option. I tried to find where someone had actually followed through using this method, and came up with nothing. So, I figured I might as well be the first. Even if I'm not, I'm hoping my methods and documentation will make it easier for others to find and implement themselves.

Now, before any fabrication could begin, I needed an airbrush and dedicated on-demand compressor. Amazon came through with this nicely outfitted kit.

Okay, well, now that I've got the airbrush, I need to find a way to get it mounted to the Romaxx machine. Since the mister needs to follow the mill bits as they cut through the material, it was obvious that it needed to be attached to some location near the spindle. It just so happens that there were some unused spindle mounting locations that would be perfect. So, I just needed to come up with a workable bracket of some kind. Not only did the bracket have to hold the airbrush securely, but it couldn't interfere with any machine operation whatsoever. I needed full X, Y, and Z operation with no limits or restrictions. I broke out the cardboard and started experimenting. This got me in the ballpark...

Since I was satisfied I had a workable idea, I committed it to metal...

I love bending things, so the newly cut bracket received some attention.

With the cutting of a few well placed slots, and the help of some rubber o-rings, the brush and it's coolant reservoir were attached to the bracket. I used a simple mounting method for two reasons. Ease of maintenance, the ability to have flexible mount points should some unforeseen interference occur.

So, let's get this bracket mounted! You can see how cleanly it sits in it's location. It's also easily adjustable for height.

There is plenty of room for travel with no interference.

Now finally, here are a few pics of the machine as assembled and ready to run.

All that I've got left to do is make sure I'm set for live streaming, and I'm ready to cut. If I can find a good material hold down solution, I'll give it a go tonight. (Yes, I'll likely be getting the aluminum top w/ mounting holes soon.)

[x88x]

Nice job; it almost looks OEM. I can't wait to see it in action.

[TheMainMan]

Wow, this thing looks like a lot of fun. Only question I have, and maybe I missed this in the pictures, is how will the airbrush trigger? Will it be always on, or setup so that it triggers when cutting? Love the bracket and can't wait to see what this will churn out!

[craigbru]

Nice job; it almost looks OEM. I can't wait to see it in action.

Thanks mate! I just happened to have some gold anodized aluminum on hand.

Wow, this thing looks like a lot of fun. Only question I have, and maybe I missed this in the pictures, is how will the airbrush trigger? Will it be always on, or setup so that it triggers when cutting? Love the bracket and can't wait to see what this will churn out!

Thank you. The airbrush will be triggered on constantly. Since the pump is activated on demand, there is no need to trigger it separately. The pump will be turned on and off via the Mach3 software.

[diluzio91]

Not knowing alot about CNC, is the sprayer for cooling lube (like the pink fluid the huge machines use?) while cutting metal?

[craigbru]

Not knowing alot about CNC, is the sprayer for cooling lube (like the pink fluid the huge machines use?) while cutting metal?

It most machines that would be correct. However, I'll be using denatured alcohol in mine. It has great lubricating properties when cutting aluminum and evaporates quickly. It should be relatively mess free.