Watch part 1 here:
I let the concrete base cure for a number of days before I stripped the kinds off. Besides the little "unflatness" of the bed, I'm rather delighted with how it ended up. That not-perfectly-flat bed was primarily fixed by an hour of grinding with a diamond blade and is now flat enough to secure the spoil board. After the spoil board is installed I can use the CNC itself to flatten that surface area.
My attempt to utilize the casting resin to level the bed was a problem. The resin was way too old which caused it to foam. However it being foam also conserved me time because it was reasonably simple to clean it out.
I'm utilizing the old CNC (with a new spindle) to make the aluminum parts for the brand-new one, beginning with the front plates that house the bearings for the Y axis leadscrews. These plates likewise "armor plate" the front corners of the base to avoid accidental damage, and likewise support the side extensions that attach to the top of the concrete base.
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Watch part 1 here: https://youtu.be/M_tlXAoWjVI
I let the concrete base cure for several days before I stripped the forms off. Other than the small “unflatness” of the bed, I’m quite happy with how it turned out. That not-perfectly-flat bed was mostly fixed by an hour of grinding with a diamond blade and is now flat enough to fasten the spoil board. After the spoil board is installed I can use the CNC itself to flatten that surface.
My attempt to use the casting resin to level the bed was a setback. The resin was way too old and that caused it to foam. But it being foam also saved me time because it was relatively easy to clean it out.
I’m using the old CNC (with a new spindle) to make the aluminum parts for the new one, starting with the front plates that house the bearings for the Y axis leadscrews. These plates also “armor plate” the front corners of the base to prevent accidental damage, and also support the side extensions that fasten to the top of the concrete base.
I can picture you getting pissed as the resin kept foaming up 😂
I was foaming at the mouth 🙂
I bet you said “golly gosh & dash” when you poured that foam in. Kind regards.
Absolutely nothing stronger than “dang it!”.
Wow! Ive never seen smoothon resin do that before, thats wild!
FUN FACT – in late 19 century biggest lathes were build using concrete , they need for it to “dry” for at least 6 months after curing and in this time entire frame twisted few mm , even after 6 months frame were twisting depending on moisture in the air
Too much gravel in the concrete, obviously 🙂
@@JohnHeisz 😂
@@JohnHeiszps
I will soon (if i found linear rails and not so expensive😅 bearings for chuck i have) working on my concrete lathe on my second channel so stay posted 😁
Thanks for including your mistakes as well as your successes. Mistakes are part of every large build and are an important part of the learning process. I’m looking forward to your next video on this project.
6:16 i work with composites all the time and i instantly see comparing to the sample what will happen if u use it BUT it could be rly good option to fill some square tubes for X axis etc
PS
You could look for old surface plate to measure flatness with it or if you found cast iron one – to apply diamonds on it , press them using steel roller and use as “sanding stone” to make concrete RLY flat (its same method as used to make granite surface plates)
Fischer duo power is my favorite wall anchor ,its good for almost everything.
Great video project. Nice work with the concrete and it did not seem to phase you when the PE foamed and needed removal. Some great tips always with your use of construction adhesive, all good to know. Cheers!
Well thought out. I love watching your builds. Gotta admit I’ve made similar mistakes with old epoxy that was too expensive to toss.
For those who don’t know, sand is an aggregate, it is small rock. Silica sand can be argued as not an aggregate because of how fine it’s refined too but technically it is still an aggregate. Glass mixed into concrete is an aggregate. Larger aggregate adds to strength, cement is a binder. There are plenty of sand and birdseye mixes available that are very strong concrete.
I wouldn’t have guessed the resin would turn into a baking project like that. Wow… Looking forward to the next installment.
I’m enjoying this series! This CNC is going to be rock… err … concrete solid.
This is a really interesting build. It’s a pleasure watching the process… and appreciate the included mistakes. We all get the benefit from it!
Thanks for showing us this, John! I’m currently building my first CNC, a MPCNC (Mostly Printed CNC). All that’s left is to build the base structure (Plywood half-sheet) and get the conduit for the linear rails. Looking forward to watching you with extreme envy in my eyes. 🙂
Concrete doesn’t dry to harden, it’s a chemical reaction. You want it to stay moist while setting. If you pour concrete again, keep it covered with some burlap and plastic on top. The burlap is to help distribute moisture and the plastic to keep it from evaporating. Occasionally check to make sure it’s moist and add water as needed. It will help prevent the cracks.
“It’s NOT concrete!”
It’s your stuff and you’re building it so whatever you call it is fine by me.
Good job on flattening the base. I’ve been saying for years that your grinder skills are not to be messed with.
It’s looking great, John! 😮
Looking forward to the next steps!
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Thank you for this series John, I am enjoying it a lot.
Nice work and lessons learned. Go John!!!
Civil Eng. here. Great work here, not all that much I would have done differently; reinforcement, wire mesh can be bought both as alkali-resistant mesh, fibers or galvanized steel. That being said, the cloth was an interesting idea. Curious to see if it works alright. The main purpose of reinforcement in concrete is to take up strain forces. Compression forces it handles fine. For the formwork, I would make 45 degree chamfers on all sides. Microcracks tend to form when you have sharp 90 degree angles. Also, heating and curing cycle of concrete is preferably done with as much moisture as possible. If you design the formwork almost like you did, I would flip it over on day two, to form a bathtub-style and fill it with water.