Hi everybody,
Perhaps totally unnecessary I am trying a different route after being inspired by the Maslow mark II gantry type. I too noticed that if the sled wobbles a bit, the measurements of the part being cut are off. So goal number one is to let the routerbit always be perpendicular to the bed. Goal number two is getting some z-information, just like with a gantry-style router.
As you can see, I made the arm quite stiff, so goal 1 will be achieved. Goal 2 on the other hand…
My first impression while trying are that the bed and supportstructure are not stiff enough, especially around the place wher the arm pivots.
This is my solution for the chain attachment, two ballbearings (65x50x7mm) around a collar, under the router. When the router is in the lowest position the routercollet and the underside of the collar are flush, so no depth is lost.
I needed to do something like this, because the ringkit or the linkage kit do not have enough reach.
Here is a video:
I can’t test yet, because unfortunately the sliding bearings of the AEG router are not tight enough. They catch when I try to move the z motor (this was no problem with my former Festool router, with the same z method) so I will have to make something different.
Also, because the “sled” is lighter than the former sled, the chains hang much more. Might have to put some load on it.
So, still a lot to do, but thought I’d just share.
Looks nice, but at some point you are putting in more fabrication effort than a gantry. I’m personally thinking about making a “lowrider” style gantry that works on a Maslow style angled work area, wouldn’t take up any more space than my current Maslow frame and work better at the edges.
I agree that it is a lot of effort, and that a gantry is probably less work. I just thought that as the Maslow is not a traditional CNC, I could take a non conventional route towards fixing all the issues a gantry would fix: stability of the router, and z information. There is one advantage over a gantry though: the pivotpoints of the arm do not suffer from dust, as wheels on a gantry would. If I can get it to work that is
Hope to see some pics of your project,
This is awesome! Whether or not it proves to be superior to the typical Maslow or has some fatal flaw, I love that you thought outside of the box here. I had thought of a somewhat similar approach, but haven’t had any time to play with it.
Not to Hijack this wonderful thread, but I am working on engineering / designing a Lowrider style Gantry to run on a Maslow frame also. Do you have a thread started for your work? I am not far enough along yet but I would like to see what you are doing at some point if you will be posting your progress.
That is amazing. It strikes me, though, that it might actually work easier and not have balance/weight issues if you made this as a horizontal (flat) Maslow variant.
Thank you! And yes, I thought of a horizontal use as well, with an addition of a third pulling force instead of gravity. In my shop I dont have space for a horizontal machine though.
The balancing part is not an issue, turns out that the roof of my shop is not stiff enough…
