$9.95
 10 x 9 Fixed Gantry MachineWork Milled with the 10x9 |
The photo below is of a piece of 3/8 x 6 inch aluminum flat bar that was milled with a 10x9 machine. The machine used 3/8 inch diameter precision Acme with anti-backlash leadnuts on the X and Y axes. The other examples shown on this page were milled with a 10x9 machine that used hardware store 5/16-18 threaded rods as the leadscrews with tee nuts for the leadnuts. |
Aluminum edge milled by the 10x9 machine with Acme leadscrews.
Aluminum milled by the 10x9 machine with 5/16-18 hardware store leadscrews. |
As the photos show, the differences between the cuts with the hardware store leadscrews are substantial on some cuts, while not that extreme on others.
As shown on the right, diagonal cuts that are made with both axes advancing will have more chatter than cuts that are milled when only one axis is moving. Though the chatter marks in this image are more pronounced, the cut is still functional, and the edge can be dressed with a belt sander. Keeping things in perspective, the cut was made with 89¢ leadnuts. 
Used 5/16-18 hardware store leadscrews.
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Milling Details
These pieces were milled with a 1/4 inch carbide end-mill in a Porter Cable or DeWalt trim router. The milled stock is 6061 T6511 extruded aluminum bare rectangle (flat bar). The second large image above shows drilled holes, quatrefoil holes, and two slots with dog bone recesses. The slots were cut in a zigzag pattern that lowered in a ramping motion at 0.03 inch per pass. The feedrate was 40 inches per minute. The circle is a helix or spiral cut that lowered 0.02 inch per cycle around the hole. The quatrefoils, dog bone corners, and through holes were all drilled with the end mill at 8 inches per minute. To eliminate tool changes, a center cutting end-mill was used instead of a drill bit. The first large image at the top of this page shows the edge of a piece of the same 3/8 inch thick aluminum flat bar that was milled on a 10x9 machine. The machine used 3/8-8 four start precision Acme leadscrews with anti-backlash leadnuts on the X and Y axes.
This was the only upgrade, and it added ~$140 to the price of the machine. The rails and bearings were still pipe and skate bearings, and the machine's frame was made of inexpensive spruce-pine-fir 1x4 and 1x6 boards. The feed rate was 40 inches per minute, and the carbide end-mill removed 0.03 inch of stock per pass. A 1/4 inch router bit performed similarly on the stock's edges. There is more information about working with aluminum on the Bits page. Information regarding a spoil board and hold down clamps for the 10x9 machine is on the Hold Downs page. |
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These plans do not include directions
for the software and electronics because the suppliers cover this information for their own products.
These plans do give directions for deriving the Step per Inch values that are needed to configure the software for this machine. The machines were all designed to use NEMA 23 stepper and drive components such as those from Geckodrive, Xylotex and
HobbyCNC.
Mach3 and TurboCNC are popular controller software options. Other software and motor suppliers can be used. The above vendors work with the Do It Yourself market. They have help forums and documentation. |
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Clicking the Buy Now button in the table below will forward you to PayPal via the downloading service.
The Digital Download page gives more information about downloading the plans. You do not need a PayPal account to use a credit card with PayPal. These plans are also in the five plans bundle, which includes the 10x9, 13x13, 18x24, 25x25 and 24x48. |
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The file size is
7,930 KB (8 MB) The file name is 10x9_plans.pdf |
$9.95
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10x9 Plan
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All five plans, digitally delivered as one PDF. |
The size is 32,351 KB (32.4 MB) The file name is 5_plans.pdf |
$39.95
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Five Plans
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