GalleryPictures of Solsylva™ machines shared by builders |
Jay used 3/8 inch Acme screws on his 13 x 13, and he writes, "After some degree of trial and error cutting plastic, I was able to complete this piece of art. (On left) The plastic was Gravoply 3c. The two cap layers (black and red) are .001 thick. So, the tolerance on the machine was exceptionally tight. I lowered the bit into the material at .0005 increments. Also, I milled an 'engraving' table to keep the table as level to the bit as possible. Still, the red areas in the photo were each cut individually with a different depth adjustment for each. Another key success factor was to use bits that are specifically intended for cutting plastic. With wood bits, the plastic would melt on the end of the bit, blob up and create a path of destruction. The bits made for plastic don't do that."  "The 'Egyptian' bird was done by machining the pattern down to about 3/16", spray painting the pattern, and then milling off about an 1/8" of the surface in order to remove the over-spray. This method could be improved by sealing the surface first. The paint penetrates into the wood an amazing distance!" "Thanks for taking the time to put together the plans for machines. You have done a wonderful job." |
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Jason built a 25 x 25 machine; he writes, "Just thought I'd drop you a note to tell you how happy I am with the CNC router I built following your plans!" "This was the first woodworking project I've done since high school (about 20 years ago) so I was a little nervous about whether I'd be able to pull it off. Your plans were easy to follow, and the machine is working very well for me." http://www.facebook.com/album |
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Mark writes, "My buddy and I recently completed building one of your machines (25 x 37 Dual Leadscrew Machine), we slightly modified it to make it longer... Your plans were awesome and it was a pleasure to build and a joy to use." Many more photos on Flickr.com at the links below. http://www.flickr.com/photos/23453429@N07/sets/72157612482588995/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/23453429@N07/sets/72157613052794077/ |
................  Gary emails, "Thought you might like to see how my build of the 24x48 is going." His build log is here: www.liming.org/cnc |
................   For 30 years, Mike made casts of plaster-wrap around patients' feet, and poured plaster to make the positives. After building his Solsylva 24x48 double leadscrew machine, he now scans the feet with a 3D scanner and CNC carves the positives. Right image. This process saves hundreds of dollars per month in materials and labor. Mike followed the plans as presented but altered the spindle mount. Above left image. The router is offset from the carriage with plastic cutting board and is held in place with 3-1/4" muffler hangers that are covered with hose. Contact info: Mike Hosford, C.Ped. Hosford Orthopedic Lab Knoxville, TN Mike is now a rep for the Vismach scanner in the US. Vismach.com 1-877-LABSCAN -- |
 This rotomolding machine is based on the one shown on this site's Rotomolder page. It was made by David Snellen, a site-visitor, who wanted to create a machine that could be used by his students. He thought they would find the geared version to be more interesting than the belt driven unit. He drew and built this machine, and has offered the DXF files of the components for others to use. "I teach middle school and high school Industrial Technology (shop) and the Rotomolder is an intriguing device. In addition to showing casting, it can be used to demonstrate gears and ratios." The files are in the folder linked here. www.solsylva.com/cnc/rotomolder_dxf. Contents: Rotomold Parts A.dxf is one drawing with all the parts. The parts are labeled. The only text engraving is on the base. Also included are 25 gears sized in ¼” increments from 2 x 8 to 8 x 32. His said his email address could be posted; it is dsnellen AT gmail DOT com. These files were obviously a lot of work to put together, and his generosity is greatly appreciated. |
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 Richard built this 25 x 37 machine and intends to use it for inlay work. Note the strip of walnut in the gantry beam. |
................  Mr. Raska 's machine is based on the 25 x 37 table. It has an open front and stands on full length legs. The Xylotex 269's give 60 ipm rapids with hardware store rod as leadscrews. He said that he previously built a smaller machine with 80 oz.in. steppers and was only able to achieve 10 ipm. |
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 Steven in New Zealand made this 25 x 37 table. He writes, "With this project the first task was to convert the imperial measurements in the plans to metric as I find them easier to deal with! Construction was quite fast using spare weekend time. The most time was spent acquiring the parts." "The case for the computer was designed to be dust free and the cooling fans are set up to create a positive pressure in the case. Air is sucked in through a filter at the bottom and vents out under the board protruding at the top left. A clear plastic sheet, held on with magnets spans the opening in front of the drive box & CPU case (hard to see in photo). The keyboard is fixed onto the board and simply folds down and closes with the cabinet doors." "To protect the plastic sheet in front of the screen I attached a hinged board for when the machine is not in use. It also seems to work well as an adjustable glare shield. The stop buttons (& the silver start buttons) operate the the E-Stop in Mach3 and the router directly." |
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Don T. made a table that has a cutting length of 4 feet, and the gantry is made of steel tubing. It can rapid at 40 ipm and cuts 1/4 inch balsa at 20 ipm with All Thread leadscrews. He has since upgraded it to use Acme screws to improve the cutting speeds. Here is his link http://www.eurekaaircraft.com/ |
................  Don D. is using hardwoods and Acme for the 25 x 37 machine which will be used in his guitar shop. Here is a link to his site. http://www.niteowlguitars.com |
................  Shane made a 25 x 37 based table of aluminum and plastic. He upgraded the leadscrews to get better speeds. Note the built-in computer cabinet. |
................  Mr. Miller made the 13 x 13 machine as an introduction to CNC; he used the Xylotex 425 oz.in. steppers which will be reused in a larger machine. |
................  JM built the 25 x 37 table and installed this vacuum system that is attached to the carriage's tension rods. |
................  L.G. built this table that is loosely based on the smaller tables in the original plans; it uses square tube and double rails for the X axis. |
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 Marty's 25 x 37 table has casters on the "headboard" and up-ends for storage. |
................  JLS in Mexico used the Xylotex 425s with large dampers on his 25 x 37 table. |
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Mr. Passuello in New Zealand based his design on the 25 x 37 machine, but placed the leadscrew underneath the table. The single 10 mm leadscrew gives good speeds and permits the end-board of the table to be removed. A torsion box for the gantry, and steel bracing on the X axis stiffen the machine for the conversion. |
................  Scot Bogart based his table on the 25 x 37 machine; he used oak on the gantry and carriage. The machine uses All Thread screws and rapids at 70 ipm with Geckos. |
................  Doug made a leadscrew protector from pipe for his 25 x 37 machine. He bandsawed the side out of a piece of PVC plumbing pipe; the leadnut can travel inside the pipe. This system helps to keep dust from clogging the leadscrew. |
................  JH in Brazil built the 25 x 37 machine that uses cables instead of leadscrews on the X axis. |
................  Jeff W. made this version of the belt drive table. The base is an MDF torsion box with four inch ribs spaced at six inches. The entire table rides on locking casters. He built the table low so bit changes could be done from a rolling work stool. |
................  Matt McGee made this 4' X 3' X 7" Belt Drive machine. He said he combined two of his favorite childhood toys, the Erector Set, and the Etch-A-Sketch. Here is a link to a YouTube video that Matt posted. Video |
................  Here is a YouTube video that was posted by Cncron who built the Belt Drive table. Video |
................  Here is a YouTube video of a guitar being carved with the 25 x 37 machine. Video Here is a link to his cnc router page. www.cncguitar.org |
................  Here is a link to a YouTube video by Gregg Zurek. Video |
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The router is based on plans from solsylva.com. It's cutting out parts for a Horten XVI flying wing r/c model. |
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John B. built a 24 x 48 leadscrew machine; he writes, "I got creative and added a shelf on the front of the gantry and mounted a fluorescent light under it which I wired to the power switch for the control panel. Since I took the pictures I also added a bit holder block to it which I made on the CNC machine." "A few weeks ago I decided to try some 3d work and got the free Vector Art 3d Machinist and tried some of their free samples, and the machine works great for it. I made a box for one of the standard jewelry boxes that I like to make and carved a stag head into it. (Left image above) Have orders for two more already and I haven't even put the final coat of finish on it." |
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Louie built a CNC table based on the 25 x 37 plans. He used quality hardwoods for most of the wooden components, and made the carriage sides from aluminum. The leadscrews are multi-start Acme which give rapids well over 200 ipm with the Xylotex 425 steppers. Here is a YouTube video describing his build. Video |
