CNC Router
Update May 25, 2008 - New picture
	Finally remembered to take a picture of the completed setup. The small white box to the left is an old full height hard drive enclosure that holds the power supply and stepper drives.
I used to work for a company that made industrial routers and I've always thought about making one for personal use. Surfing around I found a simple machine built of MDF (medium density fiberboard) and decided a new project was in order. Prices have really fallen in the last several years for decent motion control hardware and software so the last objections were out of the way. After moving several items off of the table saw the sawdust was flying.
	The build started on Sunday September the 2nd. A few pleasant hours making sawdust and the basic framework of the router is done. The pieces are joined with biscuits and glue. Nothing too sophisticated here.
	The plans called for the rod ends to be supported by blocks glued in place with a snug fit for the rod. As I planned to disassemble and paint the finished router I made the supports adjustable. I drilled and tapped the blocks for 1/4-20 hardware. It also allows for adjustment/alignment of the support rails.
	The Y axis is now basically complete. The threaded rod is driven by a stepper motor mounted on the back. It is 5/8-20 all thread which drives the table by means of a block of UHMW plastic drilled and tapped and then bolted to the bottom. The table slides on bronze bushings which ride on drill rod rails. The motion is smooth but takes a bit of adjustment.
	The controller board and motor were purchased from www.hobbycnc.com. The board comes as a kit, it was quickly assembled and adjusted. I downloaded a copy of Mach3 to control the machine and was running the motors under computer control in about an hour. No magic smoke was harmed during the testing.
	Detail of the Y-axis motor mount. The end of the all thread was turned down then drilled out to fit the motor shaft. A pair of set screws were drilled and tapped to secure the motor shaft. At this point I was able to run the table under control of Mach3 and start some of the basic motor tuning.
	The most complicated piece, the x/z mounting plate, is finished. It still needs the motor mount, the z-axis, and a few other bits.
	Tuesday, September 18 and the basic machine completed and running. Lots of little stuff to do but for now it is time to make saw dust! On Sunday I built the mount for the Dewalt cutout tool I chose for the spindle motor. So, for those following along at home, it is just a little over two weeks of calendar time to this point. Not too bad for a 2.5D CNC router build!
	Fast forward a couple of weeks and here is a little sample of text routed as pockets in MDF. I purchased a copy of BobCad V21, BobArt ProX and registered my copy of Mach3. Now I'm working through the learning curve. This text is part of a name plate for a coworker and is providing more opportunities for education than I expected. The interplay between the CAD and CAM software and then the machine control software is a complex path filled with pitfalls. Each run is an exercise in learning new options!