Setting up my Maslow frame

I received my Kit through MakerMadeCNC a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve finally had a free weekend to start cutting and assembling my frame components.

I’m working from a Fusion360 model provided by @rerskins of his frame design with built in storage for plywood sheets inside the frame footprint. Here’s the original post, with a picture.

So That’s the goal, along with some 3d printed components for Electronics enclosures and chain guides. This is still a work in progress, and I intend to keep updating as I get things together.

I probably over bought on 2x4s for the frame build, 8 8ft 2x4’s and 2 10ft 2x4’s, but I’ll likely be inserting additional reinforcements to the “floor” area inside the frame, so I don’t think it will end up being an issue.

For the cuts, I’ve done some rounding on the decimal measurements from the model.
The side frames are each: 1x 72.5" (on the long side) front beam, with the bottom clipped at a 15 degree angle (the short side is just about 71.5"), 1x 68" rear up right, 1x 18.5" top beam, that the main beam will later mount to, 1x 30" lower beam, that will also be the work space rest, 1 3.5" square block, and one block that is clipped at 15 degrees on both sides, and is 3.5" in length.

I haven’t gotten to the interconnecting framework just yet, but I’ll add those measurements here as I get to them.

I’m starting this assembly with the side frames, which will probably lead to some complications later on.
First things first, Attach the Square block to the bottom of the rear upright make sure it’s squared to the wood, and flush with the bottom edge.

Repeat this with the angled block and the front upright, you probably don’t have to get as overzealous with the glue as I did.

Next up, attach the 30" bottom beam, using the two blocks as a guide.

And the final step on this side is to attach the top beam arm. it’s important to square this to the front frame piece. I’ve set mine up here to have 4.5" of arm out in front of the frame, to attach the top beam to.

Once that is done, you need to do it all again, as a mirror image, to build your other side.

If you’re not exactly sure on your measurements, at this point it wouldn’t hurt to clamp your two sides together to compare.


The top beam arm on my right size is slightly longer than my left, so on my next build day I’ll probably start by marking that, to see if it needs to be shaved to match.

EDIT 2/13/2019: FRAME BUILD UPDATE!

It’s been a little while, and the weather here doesn’t seem to be conducive to finishing this up outside. So, Cleaned up almost enough to get things worked around to fit, and made some headway on the frame in the Garage. Brace yourselves for my very WIP garage workspace, couch and various shelved projects included.

Before I get too far into this, I should point out that my frame is somewhat different than the design I’m working from, mainly in workspace pitch, I’ve canted my front face back 15 degrees, as in the stock frame, and I will be adding a second rear crossbar at the top, to stiffen the frame during my wonky build order.

Alright, for the next steps, You’ll need the following board lenghts" 2x 85"(rear crossbars), 2x 82" (front crossbars), 2x 34" (front vertical braces) and 2x 3.5" (front hanging blocks).

I started by squaring and affixing one side of the bottom rear crossbar, and then repeating on the opposite side.

Afterwards, I repeated this at the top of the frame, where I had previously profiled the top of the frame to a flat surface with a hand saw.

This is probably ill advised, but I chose this point to affix my swivel casters, which involved flipping the whole frame over, and leaning it up against a table saw that needs some restoration work (and may be mounted into a workstation in a later project)

From here, I built the work surface bracing assembly, by taking my two 34" boards, and affixing them to my 82" boards, one each 28" in from the end. To mount this, I used the remaining 3.5" blocks, and hung them with their top face 22" down the inside of the front frame arms. I then set my workspace support frame’s top bar on top of these blocks and clamped it in place, bot at the block, and on the bottom of the support structure, and screwed these in place, first on one end, then the other.

That’s as far as I’ve gone into the frame build, need to link up with a buddy of mine to get some plywood, and to have a second pair of hands to get the main beam up and mounted. This would be way more convenient if I owned a truck of some kind. Heh.

As for the printed components, I’m planning to use this PLC case, which I believe is @MeticulousMaynard’s design. So far, I have the door complete and the case itself is in progress.
The lid:


And the case:

Having some printer troubles on the case portion, supports breaking free and hairballing uncontrollably in the middle of a 15hr print. I’ll make another pass at that this weekend.

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Looking good, I would suggest putting a “floor” on your plywood storage area to make it easier to slide full sheets in and not have any issues with scrap pieces snagging and falling through. I also like the idea of having a couch so you are comfortable during multi-hour runs.

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That’s definitely in the plans for this, probably along with a second shelf below the floor to tuck a UPS and various power management devices into. Also, BUILD UPDATE! As a warning, my garage is a mess, I should probably clean it before I get into the final parts.

Just ordered my kit,

Been looking around for dimensions or specs on spacing of the location for the drive motors.
Is there a determined spacing and height above the 4’x8’ work space the drive motors need to be mounted?

Thanks
-Matt

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Welcome to the Forum!
You are generally free in motor distance and height over the sheet.
The default settings in GroundControl are 2978.4mm ~ 9.77ft, for how far the motors are apart and 463mm ~1.52ft for the height over the top of the sheet. I think they reflect the dimensions of the original frame.
It was found that a ~12ft top beam lets the MaslowCNC perform better in the low corners and many users went for the wider top. I had to go with ~11.5ft because of the 2 walls my frame is fit in.
Increasing the height could help if you have issues in the top centre.
An ‘ideal ratio’ was discussed but with no conclusive result. I attempted a most ‘symmetric’ approach based on the dimensions of a ply sheet.

Awesome!

Thank you for the prompt reply. This will give me a idea on the structural size I need to go with. Most likely will be building mine out of Steel square stock with a concave steel area behind it. I want to use this for not only routing plywood and exotic woods but I want to try and build a attachment to use a plasma cutter on it as well. I have a Crossfire plasma cnc but the table size is really small. 3’x3’

-Matt

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This thread is HUGE, but has a lot of information about how the stock frame recommendations (including motor spacing and height) were developed.

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Is the cut file posted somewhere?