Planning Project: OSIDIAS (SFF taken to the extreme)

[Valenciente]

I've been following some of your other project logs, and they've all been amazing and truly epic.
This looks no different.

I also truly adore that "tiny" CNC, it looks both wicked and cute!

Subscribed, and looking forward to further progress.

 

[craigbru]

Thanks man! I've got a small update below...

Okay guys, since I have a habit of never being satisfied... I made a few changes to my CNC router. After my dry run with the picture in picture webcams, I started thinking about how cool it would be to add one of the cameras near the spindle itself. I thought it could capture the mill bit working as I machined. Well, in order to make this happen, I went ahead and got a $10 camera from newegg, and set out to find it a home.

I knew I had to get it as close to the spindle as possible, yet there could be no interference in the machine operation or safety. This was a must. The machine comes first, and these little extras second. So, as I was poking around with the cam, one thing became clear. My new mister bracket wasn't going to cooperate. I could either ditch the idea of a camera, or redesign the bracket. Well, I chose to make a new bracket. It is greatly simplified over the other one, but required the flexible metal shaft from a donor lighter. This shaft was the key to making everything work, as only this, a piece aluminum angle were going to be used in the new design. After a short while, the new bracket was in place, and I could move on the mounting the camera. This was even easier. I just needed a small aluminum triangle and a rubber washer... I removed the camera's original mount, and attached the aluminum. I then bolted the bracket to a free hole behind the spindle, and I was in business. So, shall we get on to a few pics?

Here you can see an overall pic of the machine. The new mister bracket, and the webcam behind the spindle are visible.

A little closer...

A few more closeups...

As you can see, there are no clearance issues of any kind. The machine is still just as easy to maintain, and I don't foresee any issues. Now all I need to do is get something cut!

 

[craigbru]

I managed to make a few cuts today guys. I was having a z-axis plunge problem which you will see in the first video in particular. (I've got videos 2 and 4 linked below). Apparently it's an occasional problem with Mach 3. I did manage to get it sorted though, and got all my cutting done. Take a look!

http://www.livestream.com/losiastechnologies/video?clipId=pla_8804960c-6617-45ac-9489-a1e822fd22be

http://www.livestream.com/losiastechnologies/video?clipId=pla_0aaba4ad-01c2-422b-9d44-c4d584e05332

 

[craigbru]

I came home from work today to find a nice sized box on my front porch. Inside was one of the last items I needed for setting up my Romaxx CNC machine. It was a VT6040 vacuum table that I had purchased from ebay seller dcad100. It measures 24.0”x16.5” x 0.8125", and was the perfect size for my machine. The vacuum table will allow me to hold parts in place without clamping. Should I need to clamp things anyway, there are M6 holes on the table that should easily allow this.

So, should we take a look at the table? Here it is as it arrived to me.

Opening the box revealed a very well packed table.

The table also came with a the necessary tubing for hooking up to a 2" vacuum line.

Also included was a solid rubber mat for blocking off unused holes during vacuuming, and a holed rubber mat that sits below parts that are being cut. The holed mat not only allows transfer of suction, but will help keep the end mill just above the aluminum table surface. These should be easily replaceable should the need arise.

The table looks to be of pretty good quality, and is well constructed.

Now finally, here is the table sitting on the machine. As you can see, it's the perfect size. All that's left is to get the vacuum lines hooked up, and it's ready for use. More coming soon!

 

[Solaris17]

Moar!

 

[HammerON]

Wow this is cool - subscribed

 

[xrealm20]

subbed! awesome so far!

 

[craigbru]

Moar!

Wow this is cool - subscribed

subbed! awesome so far!

Thanks guys! I should have more updates soon. I'll get the vacuum system figured out this weekend, and should be cutting again next week.

 

[papang]

Ahhh, my loaf of bread, small compact cases with hot hardware! No wonder you feel at home at Bit-Tech, only the best and most imaginative hob-nob around there. I hope someday to join and rub elbows with the gurus but I will bide my time a bit more till I get my techniques down better to not feel over-powered, hehe. I know a several members there but I will check in only as a visitor till I get my modding "degree".

Hot stuff as far as I have seen here! Kudos!

Cheers and Saludos

 

[craigbru]

Ahhh, my loaf of bread, small compact cases with hot hardware! No wonder you feel at home at Bit-Tech, only the best and most imaginative hob-nob around there. I hope someday to join and rub elbows with the gurus but I will bide my time a bit more till I get my techniques down better to not feel over-powered, hehe. I know a several members there but I will check in only as a visitor till I get my modding "degree".

Hot stuff as far as I have seen here! Kudos!

Cheers and Saludos

Thanks for the kind words! You shouldn't feel intimidated no matter where you are posting. There are a great bunch of guys over at b-t, the same as there is here.

 

[craigbru]

I had a little more time tonight, and was able to get the vacuum assembly finished. As of now, the vacuum table is completely ready to use. I am pretty happy with the way that things turned out. It's compact, easy to maintain, and fairly cost effective. Of course, none of that matters if the table doesn't perform as expected. Well, I'm happy to report that it performs even better than I had hoped. I know everyone is anxious to see how it turned out, so let me walk you through the rest of the setup process...

There are really only 3 major components needed in a vacuum table setup. The first is obviously the table itself which I covered in the last update. The second is the source of the vacuum itself. For this, I went to industrial parts supplier Grainger, and picked up a vacuum pump. I selected a two stage tangential unit capable of 97 CFM and 81.8 Hg vacuum. There were more powerful units available, but this one was an outstanding deal, and worth taking a chance. So, let's take a look at the pump...

Now, I should mention that although this is a vacuum pump, it's also a blower by it's inherent design. Unfortunately the only fitting for attaching a hose is on the blower end. That meant I had to get a little creative and epoxy a fitting over the vacuum hole. It was a simple fix, but just one more step I had to take before I could move forward.

Okay, now we've got two of the three major components out of the way. The third? Well, that should be easy. We've got to have tubing connecting the table and the vacuum pump. This shop vac hose kit offered the perfect solution.

As you can see the shop vac hose was a perfect match for the tubing adapter and splitter that came with the table.

Now all that was left was to route the tubing and hoses, mount the pump, and connect everything together. As you can see, the whole assembly is pretty clean and simple.

At this point I was pretty anxious to kick it on and do some testing. I'll try and get some video of that up in the next day or two, but as I mentioned above, I was very happy with the results. I could lay a block of wood in the center of the table, and with the pump running, it was surprisingly hard to move laterally. Keep in mind that this was without blocking off any of the other holes in the table. Doing so would increase the vacuum significantly. I'm pretty confident that as long as my feed speeds are appropriate, and my end mills are sharp, nothing is going to move while vacuum is applied. The only way to know for sure is to actually cut something, and I'll be doing that very soon!

 

[HammerON]

Awesome stuff

 

[craigbru]

Well, here it goes guys. After more than a year of planning, I've decided to officially to start Project OSIDIAS. Granted, I still have other projects I'm still working on, but I don't want to delay this any longer. I can't promise daily updates, but I have a feeling you all will keep motivated to keep my work as updated as possible.

OSIDIAS will take everything I've learned from my Rogue project, and double it, in both scope and ambition. I've got some pretty unique things I'll be attempting here, and I've got no assurances that everything will work out as I've planned. That doesn't matter though, as I enjoy the challenges of problem solving on the fly. Even though at this point, almost every detail of the case is planned, there are still going to be things I decide to change. However, due to the way the case is designed, there are certain things that must remain set in stone. The overall exterior of the case and the carbon fiber shell for example.

So, where do we begin? Well, for those that may not have been following along up until this point, this video gives the best project overview. If you've got 20 minutes to spare, this should catch you up to speed.

Now, although this is the first official post of the project, I've only got a few pics to show you. Don't worry, I've got more incoming, but I this should get things started.

This case will be the first time I move away from aluminum as my primary construction material. There will still be plenty of it in this case, but I figured it was time for something more exotic. That's where carbon fiber comes in to the picture. Actually, carbon fiber, as well as a carbon fiber/kevlar blend. The carbon fiber will be placed around molds that I'm currently building, and them vacuum bagged. This is a proven technique for manufacturing, but the first time I'll be attempting it. There aren't many computer mods made from CF, let alone molded as in what I'm trying, but that's where the fun part comes in! I've got to give full credit to MKmods for his advice and input regarding working with carbon fiber. With any luck I'll not end up with a very expensive mess on my hands...

I mentioned having to make the molds, and that's where the following pictures pick up. Thanks to the help of my Romaxx CNC machine, I was able to accurately cut out a few pieces of the OSIDIAS core. These pieces will sit in the center, while an aluminum 'clam-shell' sits around it. After the carbon fiber and vacuum bagging, the idea is to push the center core out, and then remove the shell from the inside. This will leave a solid CF case, from which I will make the needed cuts.

Here are the blank pieces of MDF ready for the Romaxx CNC.

After the CNC cut...

And finally, I've got a stack of them.

Next up, we've got the core assembly!

 

[Cold Storm]

Woot, woot! Finally getting to it! Can't wait to see more!

 

[craigbru]

Thanks man!

 

[Cold Storm]

Man, what I would give for that Romaxx set up! it made those cuts prefect

 

[Chicken Patty]

This is looking awesome. More updates!!!

 

[craigbru]

Man, what I would give for that Romaxx set up! it made those cuts prefect

Yeah, it's a solid little machine. I'm really looking forward to working with it a lot more!

This is looking awesome. More updates!!!

Haha, thanks! I'll have another update today.

 

[craigbru]

My last post left off with the cut MDF pieces for the core of the case. What I needed now was some simple way to fasten those pieces together, while still providing strength. I went round and round with possibilities until I decided on the following method. It all started with a trio of 22mm holes courtesy of the Romaxx.

Thanks to the CNC's accuracy and repeatability, I ended up with 6 pieces just like this.

With the first piece laying down, I tapped 3 sections of PVC pipe into the holes. The fit was just tight enough that there was no movement once in place, but taps with a hammer could still allow any needed adjustment.

Now finally, here is the assembled core. It's lightweight, yet very strong. The PVC pipe not only serves to hold the structure together, it also has a secondary purpose. Since the carbon fiber will be vacuum bagged, the pipe will allow for pressure equalization between the front and rear of the mold.

With the core done, I'll be moving on to the 2 part aluminum shell that fits around it. Thanks for reading!

 

[Thrackan]

Good thinking with those pipes! And a very nice start. That machining is absolutely top notch too.

 

[craigbru]

Good thinking with those pipes! And a very nice start. That machining is absolutely top notch too.

I appreciate it, thanks. That machine is definitely going to save me some time, although there is still going to be quite a bit I'll have to do by hand too. It's nice to be able to do both.

 

[Chicken Patty]

^^That's just sick, what is that supposed to be again?

 

[craigbru]

^^That's just sick, what is that supposed to be again?

That last pic is the center of a mold. There will be an aluminum skin around it, and it serve as the base for wrapping carbon fiber. The center will push out so I can remove the aluminum skin, and I'll be left with nothing but a shell of carbon fiber.

 

[Chicken Patty]

That last pic is the center of a mold. There will be an aluminum skin around it, and it serve as the base for wrapping carbon fiber. The center will push out so I can remove the aluminum skin, and I'll be left with nothing but a shell of carbon fiber.

Sounds crazy too! Awesome stuff bro.

 

[HammerON]

Now that is cool