P Cam router

[north shore fab]

i know there is a lack of info on the net about cnc plasma tables as routers so i decided to give a shot and share the info

i started just mounting the router to the arm for the torch just as a proof of concept. it worked but would flex about an 1/8 inch when plunging even under 10 IMP... but it did work.

i fabricated a braket that would go into the z axis and it has about 5/8 of adjustably built into it. it requires as much height as possible because there is only two inches of travel in the Z and there was barley enough room to get the 3/4 wood in there with out making new lower grates or brackets on the four corners to raise the rails. im leaning towards that because then i can cut square tubing and such.

the machinist messed up and only made one tab for the piece so its only mounted at the top so i couldnt go as fast on the on the y axis in fear it might pull it out of square. but i had it running close to 150 imp on the x taking about 1/8 inch of material off.

the 2414 is an address marker im going to do out of lexan and backlight i just wanted to see it work and see what it would take to make the tool paths for pocketing. I am not sure if there is a better way to do pocketing but this is what i came up and it isnt really that hard just very time consuming as i was using a 1/4 bit.

here are the pics tell me what you guys think

Tim

[Streetwerkz]

you are going to need a much more substantial mount as I suspect you are finding.
Here is the mount for our router (we have both a plas & router table)
you can see how much more substantial the entire mounting system is, there is such a huge difference in moving a plasma torch vs a router. Moving the weight, stopping the weight, chatter, plunge consistency, etc.

I would start by moving the router as close to the gantry as possible to help limit table chatter then incorporate a clamp/clamshell design similar to our mount to keep both the top & bottom of the router in line to eliminate any type of rotational swing between the 2.

I'm not a table builder, just a few things I have picked up along the way.

[north shore fab]

that first pic was just to see the thing work i went to lowes and just wanted to see some chips fly... i thought i had pictures of the mount i plasma cut and then had a piece machined that would weld to it so it would bolt to the z axis column. the router is in as tight to the gantry as i can get it. its pretty sturdy and seemed to work really well. i will snap a pic once i get back to the shop. i dont think ill get to crazy with routing on the Pcam im waiting on a torch mate 2X4 i want a dedicated plasma and router set up

what id really like to try or seen done is using some sort of engraver or plate marker on the plasma cam. have seen some really crazy things people have made with that combo.

thanks for the pictures of the set up what brand is the table?

[Streetwerkz]

both my router & plasma tables are Practical CNC's they are good units for the money.

I was going to do 1 table for routering & plasma, but quickly found it to be impractical.
although the machines are similar in form & function, routering opens a whole different set of variables that a torch doesn't have to contend with & vice versa.

good luck with it!!!

[north shore fab]

here is the set up used to make the 2414 sign
the guy that machined the part on the back of the bracket only made one for some reason but i didnt care i just put it in really tight i wanted to test it out.

[Streetwerkz]

the mount on my machine is a piece of rectangle tube with a hole through both sides & the ends welded shut, then a slit on one end with hardware for clamping
the tube is 3x5x3/16"

I think this could easily be adapted to your current bracket to replace the clamp you have now & greatly increase the rigidity of the mount for only a few $$$

[north shore fab]

so today was a very bad day in the shop. i never got the other piece for my router mount and had just been running it cautiously with just the top mount. i had about two hours in painting the wood before routing and between coats i was drawing the tool path. with the way i had it clamped i could only cut about 3 ft at a time on an 8 ft sign. the mount is strong on left to right cuts and i had the speed cranked over 250 imp i had some long straight cuts to make front to back and i knew the speed was up. instead of changing the settings in the computer i figured id twist the dial as soon as it started... went the wrong way jacked it up to over 450 imp!!! router folded up into the gantry and plunged all the way through my piece ( had six hours of work into it at this point) and moved it off its clamps.


so lessons learned
ALWAYS dial the settings in before even thinking of hitting the start button.
dont try to do production work with a prototype mount
no more indexing 8 ft pieces on a 4 ft table... time to have rails made and extend the table.

i took a pic of the router all wadded up but with the way my day went the pic dint save so i couldn't share my stupidity

[Streetwerkz]

ouch!!!

sadly I know what you mean I have had more than one occasion where I didn't do my setting properly, or double check them & invented a new cuss word

it's definitely a different monster than plasma, & the learning curve sucks sometimes, but its worth it in the end.
I burned up probably a dozen or so sheets of wood befor I started doing werk for clients & still only covered 1/10th of the learning curve.

keep at it

[north shore fab]

what size is your table and do you do any indexing. i have the 4x4 pcam and everything i do is bigger then that steel or wood. im just really tired of the smll foot print. i have a huge shop most of which is empty so i really want to exspand the table. how do you handle your indexing?

also how do you handle tool changes? i got tired of using the .125 so i switched to a .25 bit and i thought i was close on the z off set but was off maybe a 1/16