Since the hdm is a much heavier machine then the other offerings I wanted to start a topic just for itself as im going through the process of deciding exactly what im going to be doing for mine. Would love to see everyone elses as inspiration.
My original plan was to use local sourced 2x2 inch steel but as I have the machine on its pallet sitting on a table made of 2x2 right now for intitial setup I feel like im going to move to 3x3 tubes instead for the enclosure just for the peace of mind. This here is what I have come up with so far. Still undecided on what im gonna make the outside panels of so they are not modeled yet. Trying to think of ways to make the panels hot swappable on and off for maintenance and the only thing I can realistically come up with so far is using lift off pinned hinges. Im still undecided if im going to run the machine just on the painted steel frame and let chips fall through into a hopper or if im gonna have a wood top inside and vacuum the chips out. I want to use a ceramic reptile heater on a thermostat to keep the enclosure warm( like 60-70f) as of right now the poor thing is sitting in a garage thats 27 degrees. I also have plans of adding a few noctua af14s and a vent to a window as im going to be using ratioed down ethanol or iso as my coolant.
I gotta believe 2x2 steel is more than enough to hold 250# of machine + whatever else you put on it.
With angle braces in both directions, “That ain’t goin’ nowhere!”
Those pedestals the elephants stand on are made of much less
This is my setup. I found a chunk of bowling alley, so made a bench out of it. Went the cheap route with the enclosure, drawers & shelf & used PVC & Plexiglass.
Lessons: 1) Leave a good 1/8" gap for the plexiglass to close freely. 2) Go taller so you don’t keep bumping your head, and anything you hang from the top has extra room to move around. (mist, vacuum…)
I used 2 Husky tables joined by a 3/4" ply top but it wiggles side to side some when running heavy and I wouldn’t use them again. They were local and fit my wheelchair access needs with them being able to crank the height up and down. I do love the 45 x45 rails I built the enclosure with as they are very strong and I might even add a smaller enclosure hanging off the side for my 16x16 So3 or my laser cutter.
I want to do a 2x2 box steel frame with a 36" x 48" x 4" granite surface plate base and bolt the machine down but that is going to be after my wallet recovers from the beating it will take adding ATC next year.
I love my little PC it runs my HDM and laser cutter perfectly and takes up barely any space. It’s a cheap Bmax that is only used for these 2 machines. I set it up and install everything then disconnect the internet so it never updates and I manually update any light burn or Carbide motion versions with a flash drive. This stops the machine from getting slower with every update windows does.
Ignoring my out of control garage mess, I have got her tacked up. I need to remove one of the cross braces and redo it as its got a 1/16th or so bow in it and its acting as a pivot for a straight edge. Those of you who run with chip collection buckets, Did you cut a hole in wood or are you stacked right ontop of bars? Debating if I want to run just sitting on and open and painted frame or if I want to run a wooden flay across.
That is one of the best frames I’ve seen so far. My assumption is that you will put in cross bracing on 3 sides of the lower section to prevent twist as pictured in you 3D model? As you weld this baby up, it will move as I’m sure you are well aware. What did you plan for decking material if you decide to go that route? If you decide to run on an open painted frame, maybe fill the tubing with a vibration dampening material? If you put a deck on it, maybe 1/2" plywood with a 1" epoxy pour. The epoxy would be the flattest surface you could get without milling. This would also forgive any movement of the frame during welding. Not sure but it could help dampen vibration.
I plan on doing a straight up and down on the x axis undersides right along the corners out of 2x1 and 2 45s since most of the weight is gonna be moving front to back, the rear and front will just be 2x1 up and downs. I originally wanted to run corrugated aluminum sheeting since im running ethanol for coolant on one side and wd40 drip on the other and wanted something fireproof, but I cant seem to find it anywhere anymore so the pannels at the moment are up in the air but it will be enclosed. If I dont run a deck im gonna have a hopper down to a bucket as this will be used only for 6061 and 7075. I know for sure i am not paying the price smw want for their half inch plugs to seal my fixture plates up. There will be a touch screen on a vesa mounted arm on the outside with a arduino control pannel that runs an air system and fan exaust out my window for when doing ethanol.I have a 4 6 and 10mm collet nut and collet set coming in the mail plus 2 more collet nuts so I can have everything be pop and swap for tool changes so i plan on adding a tool holder somewhere. I also plan on adding a braking resistor at some point. I attatched an image of the supports I have to add yet.
Sweet setup. If you will be cutting metal then vibration dampening is important. Once the harmonics start, it only gets worse. Ultra precision collets work best if you can afford them. I like Reg-Fix the most but they are expensive. (excessive run out kills tools) Tool selection gets important as well. Plenty of sources but Harvey Tool is priced reasonable and they have a very large selection of material specific tooling.
Rob,
Just wondering where you are at on this?
Have you or anyone else here considered using granite for a table top? I have a small 5 axis mill at work I use for POP and prototype work and it sit’s on a 3" floating granite base. While cruising FB Market Place, I stumbled across used granite island tops that were more than large enough and thick enough to create a floating top for a router table. The structure under the granite top would almost be inconsequential. (almost)
No real progress yet, I get bad migraines so I can only weld so much at a shot. That combined with working on a print nc mini at the same time means im slow rolling along. I have not decided yet what im doing. I am for sure gonna fill the outer rails with sand then cap them off. Bouncing back and fourth on if I want to do a base or lay it and shim it on the rails. Sourcing granite slabs off of facebook is not something I had though about and at this point in the build will raise the machine up quite a bit. I welded her up so shes at arm work height right now. But for the cost of some of these slabs its very tempting.
When you think about the stability of granite and it’s isolating properties of harmonics, it only makes sense. Not to mention how flat the surface is and how that translates to your machine bed. Tramming the head becomes easier and maintaining that adjustment would be almost zero effort especially if it is floating.
