Joe's 4x4 hybrid

[Dave Spitzer]

Hi, I've been a member for over a year but haven't posted until now, just in the background learning as much as I can. I've started building Joe's 4X4 hybrid and I thought I would share some pictures of the current build. Out of fairness to Joe I will not be going into details on this build ( this can be obtained on his forum with the purchase of the plans). I hope to have it up and running by weeks end, and then start fine tuning.

I would like to take this time however to thank all those who do post often as I have learned lots over the past several months.

Dave

[Mike Heidrick]

Dave, Welcome!

I built my Joes Hybrid Rack and Pinion in April and absolutely LOVE it. Looks like you are about to have yours up and running. These are sweet builds!

Great to have you here.

Mikie

[james mcgrew]

man i love ingenuity, excellent!!

[Joey Jarrard]

Guys it looks great I hope you have fun at getting bit by the CNC bug!
Mike i hope you have all of those drawers labeled i would be lost in your shop.

[john blile]

great job
hope you enjoyed the journey

john

[Shane Sura]

Dave / Mike,

First of all great looking machines. I went and saw a ShopBot demo recently and was bitten by the CNC bug pretty hard. Since then I have been trying to Justify the purchase of the Shopbot Desktop for $5k and just can't do it. Then I stumbled upon the CNC build projects and am hooked. That being said a few questions for both of you.

How difficult was it to get the materials? I have been looking at some kits but there is either a delay or people not satisfied with their purchasing experience.

How difficult is the build? I am extremely anal retentive and I often find projects like this something always goes wrong.

How much money in the end (minus Computer)? I like the idea of purchase and delivered with Warantee but for half the price I could get over it.

Finally how do you find the performance of your home built machines? I see a lot about resolution or IPM but in practicality will I be gaining anything with a purchased machine over a properly build home machine?

Thanks in advance. I would like to get a potential build underway early next year so I am spending all of my time now studying.


Shane

[Gene Crain]

take a look at www.mechmate.com

[Mike Heidrick]

PM Sent Shane.

Also, mechmates look svery very sweet. Most are welded though so keep that in mind - makes for a very industrial DIY machine!

[Dave Spitzer]

Once I downloaded the bill of materials from Joe's forum all went Rather quick, I've had no bad experience's, most products shipped the same day, and arrived within 6 days. Most of the base materials I purchased local.

As for an all welded frame that's up to you when you build, I used unistrut, because of the location of me shop (I wanted to be able to move it out if needed) My base is extremely solid.

This past weekend I had a chance to rough wire the motors and run some test. I easily was able to run the X,Y at 250 ipm and the Z at 175 ipm. I know I will be able to jog faster but will wait until I have the machine complete.

So far I have about $3,000.00 invested in this build and have been learning a lot as I go. As for a warranty, most of the electronics are warranted by the manufacture, and as far as workmanship you are in control. Going back to speed, keep in mind that most cuts will be at a slower speed than what you can jog at and that is Dependant on the router, type of material, and cutter you're using.

At this point I'm very happy with the build and am glad I did it this way, there are a lot of options out there and different styles of builds. (example: you can go with an all cast aluminum parts for Joe's build for about $1000.00, you can also choose from lead screw to rack and pinion) You need to look at all your options and then decide whats best for you. But as for all the vendors I have had to deal with I had no problems.

As for time spent on this build, I'm approaching 120 hours with maybe 40 hours more to go before I can make sawdust. If time is a factor then a build is not for you. Also the type of material you will be working with, the machine I'm building will be great for wood, and maybe easy cuts in aluminum, however the X axis would need to be beefed up, I can do at a later date if needed.

Hope this helps

[Dave Spitzer]

Shane,

As far as difficulty in building, there are plans only, no instructions on how to perform a particular step. However, Joe's forum is and has been very helpful. If you go down this road you may want to have a Friend help as needed, or maybe look at saving a little more and just go with Stinger, a great machine.

[Dave Spitzer]

Started on the job of wiring. at this point I feel this to be the most difficult but fun part of the project, the wiring itself isn't hard it's just making sure it's functional and looks professional.

Some pictures are attached, but keep in mind it's not complete

[ray hampton]

good luck with your project

[Mike Heidrick]

Its interesting to see the differences in wiring and echain use on the Lead Screw version vs a R&P version and G540 setup with DB9 cables.

These macines will go crazy fast for my comfort zone. That is part of my learning curve right now. Control and achieving perfect cuts.

Logged a few more hours on mine today - making a V-inlay of a dove in cherry inlaid into walnut. It is a symbol of a local Diabetes Support Group and it will be for an auction they are having in a couple weeks.

Hope everyone gets all their machines up and running soon (Cams and Joes) - we have a lot of new machines on the board this month.

[Jim Underwood]

Dang that build looks good!

You sure got it crammed in there though.... How wide is your shop? Can't be much more than 16' wide if that much...

[Dave Spitzer]

Thanks Jim,

Yea, it is cramped, my shop is 25 X 13, there is another 13 ft, on the other side of the wall but as you can see my wife has yet allowed me to expand. However, she is getting into woodworking and it may happen soon. For now space management is difficult at best, but I've been able to manage.