CNC Router Plans

Jay used 3/8 inch Acme screws on his 13 x 13, and he writes,
"After some degree of trial and error cutting plastic, I was able to complete this piece of art.

The plastic was Gravoply 3c. The two cap layers (black and red) are .001 thick. So, the tolerance on the machine was exceptionally tight. I lowered the bit into the material at .0005 increments.
Also, I milled an 'engraving' table to keep the table as level to the bit as possible.
Still, the red areas in the photo were each cut individually with a different depth adjustment for each.
Another key success factor was to use bits that are specifically intended for cutting plastic. With wood bits, the plastic would melt on the end of the bit, blob up and create a path of destruction. The bits made for plastic don't do that."

"The 'Egyptian' bird was done by machining the pattern down to about 3/16", spray painting the pattern, and then milling off about an 1/8" of the surface in order to remove the over-spray.

Jason built a 25 x 25 machine; he writes, "Just thought I'd drop you a note to tell you how happy I am with the CNC router I built following your plans!"
"This was the first woodworking project I've done since high school (about 20 years ago) so I was a little nervous about whether I'd be able to pull it off. Your plans were easy to follow, and the machine is working very well for me."
"The work (above) is made of HDPE and is about 12" x 5". The finish pass was done with a 1/8" bit, which was just small enough to fit into the plunged letters."

Trevor built a 24x48 with an aluminum gantry and carriage, and used it to carve the piece shown above. A detailed image of the carving is here.

He intends to use the machine for a larger project. More information about his undertaking is here.
http://www.mykitlog.com/trevorleslie/

Dave built this 10x9 to cut PCBs, plastic, wood and aluminum.
He used a precision spindle from Wolfgang Engineering WA. 12v 20 amps with speed control: 8-20,000 rpm.

The leadscrews are Acme 3/8-10 2 start with X and Y anti-backlash nuts. These are the V90 upgrade kit from Probotix. There was enough rod left for the Z axis. The brass couplers are also from Probotix. The rod clamps and Z leadnut are from DumpsterCNC. Using these components resolved international shipping problems he had with Mcmaster.

Gary built the aluminum and leadscrew version of the 24x48. He emails, "Thought you might like to see how my build of the 24x48 is going."

His build log is here: www.liming.org/cnc

For 30 years, Mike made casts of plaster-wrap around patients' feet, and poured plaster to make the positives.
After building his Solsylva 24x48 double leadscrew machine, he now scans the feet with a 3D scanner and CNC carves the positives. Right image.
This process saves hundreds of dollars per month in materials and labor.

Mike followed the plans as presented but altered the spindle mount. Lower right image. The router is offset from the carriage with plastic cutting board and is held in place with 3-1/4" muffler hangers that are covered with hose.

Contact info: Mike Hosford, C.Ped.
Hosford Orthopedic Lab
Knoxville, TN
Mike is now a rep for the Vismach scanner in the US.
Vismach.com 1-877-LABSCAN --

Ed built this leadscrew version of the 24x48 of wood. He said he has it running with some temporary wiring, and is in the process of making an enclosure for the various components.

John B. built a 24x48 leadscrew machine. He writes, "I got creative and added a shelf on the front of the gantry and mounted a fluorescent light under it which I wired to the power switch for the control panel. Since I took the pictures I also added a bit holder block to it which I made on the CNC machine."

"I decided to try some 3d work and got the free Vector Art 3d Machinist and tried some of their free samples, and the machine works great for it."

Nick writes, "I have built the 25"x25" machine and am very happy with it."
https://picasaweb.google.com/

"The electronics are from Probotix. Leadscrews are Enco single turn 3/8-12 Acme rod, which were on sale for $7/6ft. As you can see from the link above, I also made my own mounts for the Acme thread nuts. Mostly done pictures here."
https://picasaweb.google.com/

"So far I have cut out a few things...a router holder with vacuum attachment and a random gear...and etched a couple of more things."
https://picasaweb.google.com/
https://picasaweb.google.com/

"Also here are some videos....you might want to mute the volume."
http://www.youtube.com/
https://picasaweb.google.com/

"I keep yelling 'Tea, Earl Grey, Hot!' at it, but so far it hasn't managed to respond satisfactorily."

Patrick writes, " I ordered the plans from you for the 24x48 machine and it took me exactly 1 month to build it. Not sure if that's good or bad as I am not sure what the average time frame is :) but wanted you to know I have made quite a few cuts on it so far and it works like a charm! I love it!" "Thanks for your very detailed plans, outstanding job!"

Greg L. writes that the robotics club, which meets after school at Montpelier High School in Montpelier, OH, won the silver metal at the National Robotics Challenge in Marion, OH, in the industrial work cell category. Their machine was based on plans from Solsylva.

There are videos of Solsylva machines on YouTube that builders have posted.