The advantages of owning your own wood CNC router are truly limitless. A computer numerical control router allows artisans and woodworkers to create intricate patterns, custom parts, or mass-produced designs all from the comfort of their very own workshops. However, in order to get the most from your device, it is important to be fully acquainted with your machine. By educating yourself about the machine's various elements and functioning, you can ensure proper functioning of the machine, less waste, and a longer useful life for the cutting tool. Here are the elements of your CNC router.
1. Movable Bed vs. Movable Gantry
There are essentially two types of CNC machines, those with a movable bed and those with a movable gantry. Most machines resemble a table with a cutting tool suspended above it. The 'table top' of the machine is the bed, the assembly holding the cutting tool above the bed is known as the gantry. In all machines, material, be it wood, plastic, or metal, is loaded on to the bed of the device. In a movable bed router, the gantry is stationary and the bed moves the material backwards and forwards, up and down, to cut the material. In the more common movable gantry device, the material is stationary while the gantry moves along the various axes to cut the pre-programmed patterns.
2. The Base and Frame
The base and framing of your router is essentially the structural 'bones' of the machine. The base of the machine is also known as the x-axis frame. Whether you have a movable bed or movable gantry, the machine will move in line with x-, y-, and z-axes. The x-axis gives the machine its stability, as well as supports a linear cutting motion along the x-axis, or in more simple terms, left and right. The y-axis can be fully supported by the frame to give greater stability when moving forwards and backwards.
3. The Z-axis and Gantry
Next is the gantry. The gantry holds the cutting tool, and if it is movable, will move up and down in order to make deep or shallow cuts to the material. This up and down linear motion is defined by the z-axis.
4. The Cutting Tool
The most common type of cutting tool is a simple steel cutting bit, however there are a wide variety of tools currently in use, including jets of high-pressure water or plasma torches that evenly and precisely burn through material. A spindle motor that keeps the bit turning controls the cutting device. It is important to have some means of cooling the spindle motor and cutting bit, or at least a means of venting heat, as overheating is a common problem with these parts of the machine.
5. The CNC Controller
While we have discussed the 'bones' of the machine and the various moving parts, we have yet to discuss the executive center of the router. The controller is the brains of the machine. This is the interface that takes a designer's digital file and translates the file's patterns into a minutely defined cutting path. More often than not when something goes wrong with the router while in operation, it is because the user has entered a command that cannot be translated or completed by the router.
For more information on the wood CNC router, or to get a router of your very own, contact the CNC pros at BurnTables.com!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7511129
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق