X and Z Axis Upgrade

The current design has no provisions for dust covers on the x and z axis, Dust covers are needed because dust easily sticks on the linear rails and this will certainly destroy the machine easily.

So I revised the original design to have provisions for dust cover.

I have added small gaps(9mm) between the mounting plates of the x and z axis:

A good improvement compared to the original design:

Cnc Carver Upgrade

As noted in my previous posts, while testing the machine, I encountered a lot of problems and through my studies, I have concluded that I need to upgrade the work table from thick mdf and upgrade the motor controller. I will discuss in details in the next paragraphs.

Upgrade the MDF Work Table

During my testing, I found the work table difficult to use and encountered a lot of clamping issues. Mdf once gets wet, it will no longer be usable because it is just a hardened paper, this will be a problem when working with aluminum, because you will need to pour liquid  coolant from time to time to avoid over heating. It could not handle custom sizes and each of the projects I handled was a nightmare. So I decided to upgrade it to t slotted 20 x 40 aluminum profile. I also plan to put transparent acrylic on top to protect the metal surface although acrylic is more expensive than aluminum, but because it's transparent and would just be installed on top of the aluminum, it would be easier to replace. Another use of the acrylic is it will be a support to thin acrylic(<=2mm thick). Thin acrylics tends to bend so they need to be supported and rest on the surface flatly to avoid the bending. The bending while machining will not only destroy the material but the machine as well.

Upgrade the Motor Controller

Again, I have encountered several issues with the motor cotroller which are prone to electric fluctuations and esd, could not supply enough power to the stepper motors even though the rating was 2A max. So finally I decided to upgrade the controller although it still uses the arduino with grbl firmware.  One remarkable improvement is that the machine can run at 1800rpm at 1A ( the controller can supply up 4A but at 2A, the motors and wires gets very hot) while the old grbl controller can only support 750rpm.

It has beed over a month and the whole upgrade was well worth it. The machine no longer stops nor one of the motors stops unpredictably even the electricity fluctuates. Each project I had using this machine brought so much fun experience.

Here is a sample project I made, the CNC Carver's front panel of the enclosure: