Experiments In Creating The Best Epoxy Granite

June 1, 2019 by 59 Comments

If you want a big CNC machine you need a strong, vibration-resistant base. They build bells out of metal, so that might not be the best if you want something that doesn’t shake. Epoxy granite is your best bet, but what epoxy granite is the best? That’s the question [Adam Bender] answered in a series of experiments that resulted in a great-looking CNC machine.

While this is a project that resulted in a completed base for a CNC machine, this is also an experiment to determine the best formula for creating your own epoxy granite. The purpose of the experiment is effectively to determine the best-looking epoxy granite and uses four variables in the composition of this composite. Play sand, gravel, dye (in the form of iron oxide and liquid epoxy dye), and two-part epoxy were used to create seven different samples. Samples using rock didn’t turn out that great and still had trapped air. This was true even if the epoxy was put in a vacuum chamber for degassing. The winning combination turned out to be a mix of 80% sand and 20% epoxy with a bit of black dye, vibrated for 30 minutes on a DIY shaker table.

With the correct formula for epoxy granite, [Adam] set up his mold and waxed everything liberally. The internal skeleton, or what the CNC machine will be bolted to, is assembled inside the mold and the epoxy is poured in. The result is fantastic, and an excellent base for a machine that turns metal into chips. You can check out the video below.

Continue reading “Experiments In Creating The Best Epoxy Granite” →

Precision CNC With Epoxy Granite

May 1, 2016 by 28 Comments

Epoxy granite is an overlooked material when it comes to making home CNC builds. As far as time and money goes, when you add in all the equipment it comes out cheaper than an aluminum casting set-up. Epoxy granite has mechanical properties better than cast iron, increased dimensional stability, better vibration damping, and looks awesome when done right. Also, you can cast precision surfaces and threaded holes into your design, which is pretty cool.

In these two videos by [Jørgen Hegner] we get to watch him and a friend make a matching set of precision CNC machines. It’s built in a similar style to other nice builds we’ve featured. This way of making it needs a bigger footprint than a gantry mill and can’t be built as large. However, it solves a lot of mechanical issues and squaring with the gantry design while not being as difficult to get right as a box or knee mill.

After casting they machined the material embedded in the granite to mount the ways. The ways are linear bearings and ball screws. Expensive, but as the footage shows, very accurate.  The rest of the machine is assembled and tuned. Then it gets installed in a home made 80/20 enclosure. We really like the LCD panel that’s incorporated into the front shield of the machine. They really went all out with the CNC control panel. It looks like they can do anything from jog the axis to monitor and control the water cooling for the spindle.

It appears that all the precision work is put to good use as there are some shots at the end of video two of a beautiful clock CNC’d on this machine. Videos after the break.

Continue reading “Precision CNC With Epoxy Granite” →

Using Additives For Better Performing Epoxy

March 17, 2020 by 13 Comments

Epoxy resins are an important material in many fields. Used on their own as an adhesive, used as a coating, or used in concert with fiber materials to make composites, their high strength and light weight makes them useful in many applications. [Tech Ingredients] decided to explore how combining basic epoxy resin with various additives can make it perform better in different roles.

The video primarily concerns itself with explaining different common additives to epoxy resin mixtures, and how they impact its performance. Adding wood flour is a great way to thicken epoxy, allowing it to form a bead when joining two surfaces. Microbeads are great to add if you’re looking to create a sandable filler. Other additive like metal powders lend the mixture resistance to degradation from UV light, while adding dendritic copper creates a final product with high thermal conductivity.

The video does a great job of not only explaining the additives and their applications, but also shares a few handy tips on best workshop practices. Things like triple-gloving and observing proper mixing order can make a big difference to your workflow and lead to better results.

We’ve seen practical applications of epoxy mixes before – with epoxy granite being a particularly popular material. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Using Additives For Better Performing Epoxy” →

How To Build A Mill With Epoxy

March 26, 2019 by 27 Comments

The typical machine tool you’ll find in a workshop has a base and frame made of cast iron or steel. These materials are chosen for their strength, robustness and their weight, which helps damp vibrations. However, it’s not the only way to make a machine tool. [John McNamara] has been working on a CNC mill with an epoxy base, with impressive results.

The molds were designed in CAD prior to casting, ensuring there was room for all required components.

The build is one that could be readily achieved in any decently equipped makerspace. [John] used lasercut steel parts to construct the molds for the epoxy base, with some custom turned parts as well. The precision cut parts fit together with great accuracy, and with proper control of the casting process there is minimal post-processing of the final cast piece required. The mold is built with zero draft angle, and is designed to be taken apart to remove the finished pieces. By using steel, the same mold can be used many times, though [John] notes that MDF could be used for a one-off build.

The base is cast in epoxy, mixed with granite aggregate and sand to create a strong, heavy, and vibration damping material. There are also steel reinforcements cast in place consisting of threaded rods, and conduits for various electrical connections. After casting, [John] has spent much time measuring and truing up the mill to ensure the best possible results from the outset.

It’s an impressive build, that shows that building your own accurate machine tools is quite achievable with the right tools and knowledge. We’ve seen similar work before, too – epoxy really does make a great material for casting at home.

 

Casting The Bed Of A CNC Machine In Granite

February 25, 2019 by 22 Comments

If you’re looking at CNC machines, or machine tools in general, heavier is better. That old drill press or mill made of a few hundred pounds of cast iron isn’t just better because it’s stood the test of time for a hundred years — greater mass equals less vibration. Thanks to modern epoxy resins, we now have a replacement for tons and tons of iron. Epoxy granite, or chips of granite bound together with epoxy resin, is a viable and very good base for CNC machines, mills, and other tools that are served well with a ton of mass. [Joerg Beigang] is building his own CNC router, and he’s building the base out of epoxy granite. Here’s how he’s doing it.

Before you pour epoxy into a mold, you’ll need to figure out how you’re going to attach your ways, linear rails, and ball screws. [Joreg] is bolting these parts to pieces of aluminum he cut on his home made panel saw before carefully drilling and tapping them to accept the linear rails. These aluminum plates were then mounted to the bottom panel of the mold, in this case melamine-coated plywood.

As you would expect, the most intricate part of this build isn’t globbing up a mold with epoxy resin. No, the real trick here is making sure the rails of the CNC are aligned perfectly before the epoxy goes in. This was done by bolting the linear rails to the mold box and checking everything with a dial indicator. Once that was done it was time to pour.

The bed itself is made of 18kg of epoxy granite, with the entire pour done in four batches. The best way to settle a big pour of epoxy granite is through vibration, just like concrete, but it looks as though [Joreg] is getting some good results by tamping it down with a few sticks. You can check out the first part of this build series below.

If we’ve captured your interest, it’s worth reminding you that this isn’t the first epoxy granite CNC machine we’ve featured.

Continue reading “Casting The Bed Of A CNC Machine In Granite” →

Casting Machine Bases In Composite Epoxy

March 27, 2017 by 62 Comments

When you’re building a machine that needs to be accurate, you need to give it a nice solid base. A good base can lend strength to the machine to ensure its motions are accurate, as well as aid in damping vibrations that would impede performance. The problem is, it can be difficult to find a material that is both stiff and strong, and also a good damper of vibrations. Steel? Very stiff, very strong, terrible damper. Rubber? Great damper, strength leaves something to be desired. [Adam Bender] wanted to something strong that also damped vibrations, so developed a composite epoxy machine base.

[Adam] first takes us through the theory, referring to a graph of common materials showing loss coefficient plotted against stiffness. Once the theory is understood, [Adam] sets out to create a composite material with the best of both worlds – combining an aluminium base for stiffness and strength, with epoxy composite as a damper. It’s here where [Adam] begins experimenting, mixing the epoxy with sand, gravel, iron oxide and dyes, trying to find a mixture that casts easily with a good surface finish and minimum porosity.

With a mixture chosen, it’s then a matter of assembling the final mould, coating with release agent, and pouring in the mixture. The final result is impressive and a testament to [Adam]’s experimental process.

We’ve seen similar builds before — like this precision CNC built with epoxy granite — but detail in the documentation here is phenomenal.

Steel Tubes And Ground Plates Form The Skeleton Of This DIY Vertical CNC Mill

November 27, 2019 by 29 Comments

If you’re going to do it yourself, you might as well outdo yourself. That seems to be the thinking behind this scratch-built CNC mill, and it’s only just getting started.

According to [Kris Temmerman], the build will cost about $10,000 by the time he’s done. So it’s not cheap, and a personal CNC from Tormach can be had for less, but that’s missing the point entirely. [Kris] built most of the structural elements for the vertical mill from cheap, readily available steel tubing, of the kind used for support columns in commercial buildings. Mounted to those are thick, precision-ground steel plates, which eat up a fair fraction of the budget. Those in turn hold 35 mm linear bearings and ball screws for the three axes, each powered by a beefy servo. The spindle is a BT30 with a power drawbar, belt-driven by an external motor that [Kris] doesn’t share the specs on, but judging from the way it flings chips during the test cut in the video below, we’d say it’s pretty powerful.

There’s still plenty to do, not least of which is stiffening the column; perhaps filling it with epoxy granite would do the trick? But it sure looks like [Kris] is building a winner here, and if he keeps the level of craftsmanship up going forward, he’ll have a top-quality machine on his hands.

Continue reading “Steel Tubes And Ground Plates Form The Skeleton Of This DIY Vertical CNC Mill” →