Getting the Hole Thing Done
Parts is Parts
Great weekend weather so there was some comfort working in the metal shop. Progress is being made on HB2! The picture shows a few of the components made today.
The linear rails are not here yet so that is holding me up a bit on painting the steel rails but there is plenty of other things to do. The rails are drilled except for the rail mounting holes. I feel certain the templates are fine as the rails are the same brand as recomended.
The X3 mill is coming in handy making the large holes. There are other ways suggested to make the holes but a boring head is the best.
There is a LOT of holes to drill. Anyone contemplating the full build, The templates are a MUST. Direct layout from the plans would be a killer for me. The money spent is well worth the time saved and accuracy created.
Something dawned on me whilst whittling away the hours this week end. This process of building the machine from raw stock is not the process to follow if the goal is to only save money on the purchase of a CNC router. I am doing this because I love to build machines. I am doing MACHINE SHOP work here, not CNC router work.
This is very much like my Ham Radio hobby. A few hams still like to build their radio equipment. Others buy their radios from the store and just like to operate. Others build what they can and buy what they can’t. In the end it doesn’t matter. We just do what light’s our fire!
Bearings for the HB2
I received the ball bearings last night. Only a couple of bucks (dollars) each. Amazing what Chinese mass production can do for the price of precision components. These bearings are very similar to the in-line skate bearings I used on HB1, being double shielded with deep races. The deep races will help with the preload and thrust loads that will be exerted by the linear screws. A very heavy duty system might possibly need thrust bearings as well as radial bearings but I haven’t seen that done in any of the smaller machine designs or in manufacturer’s linear screw technical specs. The linear screw makers I have investigated DO show two radial bearings at each end of the screw as being the most rigid design. On small HB2 type machines I haven’t seen that being done.
As soon as my rails show up I will be able to drill and paint the steel rail parts. I have a color picked. That’s the fun of rolling your own. I can paint it any color I desire, a secret for now. 🙂 I am holding off drilling just to be SURE the mounting holes will be correctly spaced. One thing I have is time to do it right the first time.
Dan’l
Kerk Nuts
This picture may look like a giant shock absorber for an off road vehicle but that is not even close. It is a linear drive component for my HB2 project. It is a nut that is driven left and right when the screw you see traveling through the center is rotated. It converts rotary motion to linear motion. Thus the name, “linear drive component”.
It is an amazing little piece of engineering as it is designed to self adjust as the parts wear to eliminate slop or looseness. This device will probably operate 20 years in the work I will have it perform. Find out more at this link to Kerk Motion Products. Also more info in the workshop.
Bakin’ Bench
It’s sizzling in Dallas (105 deg) but I went into the oven er… shop and painted the HB2 bench. This is close to where it will be living but the stuff around and behind it will be moved. That is the 2nd layer of the MDF top standing on edge to the left.
The heat gave me a baked enamel finish!
My daughter gave me a Texas dew (doo) rag to wear and it helped a lot to keep the sweat drops out of the paint job. 🙂 To live up to the new image I guess I will have to park the Harley out front for the neighbors to see.
The color is the standard shop color I use which is almond but looks more like light gray.
Working the Plan
I am sort of crossing the line between metal working and wood working with the HB2 project.
Building the machine is very much metal working and electrical. I just throw in the electrical without further classification. Building the HB2 bench was definitely wood working. I could have built a metal bench and many CNC gantry routers are mounted on metal benches. No problem with that. I am a qualified weldor. I believe either platform is serviceable in my environment.
The HB2 will be able to do some work in light (soft) metal. I do not consider HB2 to be a primary metal working machine. That is more suitable for CNC mills. I explained that elsewhere in my ramblings. Projects for the machine will be primarily wood or plastics. That is why I plan on posting projects from this machine over in “Sawdust” in TEDEX. I expect a lot of sawdust!
The HB2 will exceed the cost of my Powermatic 2000 table saw. That makes it important for me to plan on getting substantial use from both machines and perhaps a few more sawdust makers…
I am using my fully employed years to build up the major tools I would like to have when I don’t have to work so hard for income. By then my plan is to have the shop be at least self supporting. Metal or wood chips… I will be there in the middle.
The drawback at the moment is that the projects that can be made on these machines are on hold. The Lord willing, I will have enough time on my biological clock to enjoy my plan. If not, I am having a great time working the start-up plan…