I am waiting for my first CNC Router to ship (LongMill 2.5). I am a little excited if the post below doesn’t clue you in.
I have watched the assembly videos multiple times.
I already have the first project I want to tackle setup in Fusion. CNC Workstation Cart CAD and CAM are ready to go. I have imported them into gSender to visualize and I am happy with what I see.
This weekend I build the table for the machine. The spoilboard gcode is ready to go. (1/4-20 threaded inserts in 5" squares plus counterbores to screw it to the table). The gcode to put the 1/4-20 inserts in the table to mount the spoilboard is also ready to go.
So I’m ready whenever Sienci wants to mail it to me.
Anything else I can/should be doing to pass the time?
Hmm, what can I suggest… definitely check out the projects area of this forum - lots of amazing work and inspiration there.
If you’re into 3D printing, there are some useful things you could print - various types of clamps and stops (I just found these: CNC hold downs and clamps by TheOrneryMaker - Thingiverse - I will have to print some, they are a different design than what I used previously and look very handy).
One other thing that I have really found useful - I use nylon 1/4-20 fasteners (like you can find here Spaenaur Catalog 14 - Page A49) so that I don’t have to worry about hitting my hold down fasteners if I mess up the position of a clamp. As a bonus, if I ever need to shorten one, a pair of side cutters make quick work of it.
Another thing to think about is your dust extraction - are you purchasing a dust shoe, and if so, do you have a dust collection system that can suck everything up? I started out with just a shop vac, and rapidly found a cyclone was very necessary inline.
Keep us up to date with your projects, we’re looking forward to what you create!
I made my own cyclone for cheap following the video linked below. It has saved more vacuum bags than I can count! It seems to catch almost all the dust and chips. I was really impressed for a cheap DIY solution. Not sure if he mentions this in the linked video or if it was a follow up video but you will probably want two buckets on the bottom to stop it from caving in if the vacuum hose gets plugged.
Good luck and welcome to the group! I remember how exited I was when I bought my LongMill 30x30 a few years back.
Exiting times ahead. The thing I wish I had done before having the mill take up space was have the ability to switch off the death trap from multiple points and have way fewer heavy circuit breakers on it.
Fails will be made, and when the machine runs, you don’t want to rush towards it to shut it down.
I had it spiral into a piece of wood with a 22-mm flattening bit, dislodging the project while the router got stuck. I watched it happen from my office, and there was no way I was going to the machine to wack the stop switch. Eventually, the router bulged out thick smoke and shorted the circuit breaker.
I used the machine for laser projects only until I installed a kill switch in the office and had both the machine and the router running on a small circuit breaker, so it would flip way before the router or the machine would go up in smoke.
So if anything, try to imagine watching things go bad and what you need to do to stop it without getting in harm’s way.
